LIVE FOR GOD RATHER THAN FOR YOURSELF

Sermon on the Mount: A model prayer and some perplexing advice
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Matthew 6

Matthew 6:33 “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.”

Matthew 6, a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount, contains the Lord’s
Prayer, perhaps the most famous prayer of all time. This model prayer by Jesus
captures well the message of the kingdom: “Your kingdom come, your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Jesus seeks to bring the two
worlds together, and the Sermon on the Mount explains how.

At first glance, some of Jesus’ advice may seem downright foolish: Give to
everyone who asks, love your enemies, turn the other cheek, grant
interest-free loans, don’t worry about clothes or food. Can such idealism ever
work in the “real,” or visible, world? That is precisely Jesus’ point: Break
your obsession with safety, security, thriftiness, self-righteousness. Depend
instead on the Father, letting God take care of the personal injustices that
come your way, trusting God to look after your daily needs. In a nutshell, the
message of the kingdom is this: LIVE FOR GOD RATHER THAN FOR YOURSELF.

The message applies to rewards as well. Most of us look to friends and
colleagues for our rewards: a slap on the back, a raise, applause, a generous
compliment. According to Jesus, far more important rewards will come in God’s
heavenly kingdom. Therefore, the most significant acts may be carried out in
secret, seen and rewarded by no one but God.

Future Savings Account

As Jesus explains it, we are accumulating a kind of savings account, storing
up treasures in heaven rather than on Earth—treasures great enough to pay back
any amount of suffering in this life (see Matthew 6:19). The Old Testament has
dropped a few scant hints about an afterlife, but Jesus speaks plainly about a
place where “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their
Father” (Matthew 13:43).

In their quest for a kingdom, the Jews of Jesus’ day have been looking for
signs of God’s approval in this life, primarily through prosperity and
political power. Beginning with this speech, Jesus changes the focus to the
life to come. He discounts success in this visible world. Invest in the future
life, he cautions; for rust, a burglar or even an insect can destroy all the
accumulated things of this present one.

GOD SAID, “YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN.”

Many years were spent regretting sins from my past. These sins had hurt others
and me. Day after day I would replay my decisions. Two decades later, the
sting of past sin still had a hold on me.

God had forgiven me; I'd told Him about my sin and asked Him to pardon me. So
why couldn't I accept the freedom of His forgiveness?

I wanted so badly to believe I was the person David mentions in Psalm 32:2,
"Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose
spirit is no deceit." Yet I struggled with accepting that God's grace could
erase my sin, wiping it away as if it never happened.

This can be a hard thing to accept for many of us. It sounds all well and
good, but in reality, the weight of sin makes it difficult to believe a
perfect God can forgive us.

Yet, His Word assures us that God does not count our sin against us. So how
can we live in this truth?

The first step is to acknowledge our sin: to ourselves and to God. This opens
up the door for honest conversations with the Lord and helps us stop hiding
from the fear of being found out.

The next step is to fill our hearts and minds with truth. Throughout the
Bible, God teaches how an unaccepting heart can be changed and softened to
accept His forgiveness. The following verses are truth from a loving God who
longs to transform our lives through the grace of His forgiveness.

My God doesn't condemn. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

Are you lugging a load of sin that God has already forgiven? Are you ready to
stop living in shame, shackled by regret? Life is too short to exchange the
freedom of grace for the bondage of unbelief.

Today, allow God to wash the hurt and regret from past sins away with the
transforming power of His truth. And let's pray for an accepting heart that
lives in the freedom of God's grace and forgiveness.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, by faith I accept Your forgiveness and refuse to be a slave to sin
You've already forgiven. Today, I confess and move on! I commit to believe
Your transforming truths to live fully and freely in Your grace. In Jesus'
Name, Amen.

Reflect and Respond: /
"Do you struggle accepting God's forgiveness? Spend time talking with God and
ask for help to accept His forgiveness.

Use index cards to make several copies of the transforming truths above. Place
a copy in your purse, car, Bible, desk, and other places you often go. Read
them as long as it takes to experience the blessed life David speaks of in Psalm 32:2

TEMPTATION

It is not a sin to be tempted.

Temptation comes our way in all sorts of forms and sizes. Our minds are like a hotel. The manager cannot keep someone from entering the lobby. However, he can certainly keep that person from getting a room. Likewise, it is not a sin when a temptation passes through our mind. The sin comes when it does not do that, when it doesn’t pass through our mind. The sin comes when we give that thought a room in our mind and let it dwell there.

One should not confuse temptations with trials that come our way.

Most often, trials are allowed, or even sent, by God to cause the Christian to stand. Temptations are sent from the devil to cause the Christian to stumble.

Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. — James 1:13–14

The devil never made us do anything. He simply dangles the bait in front of us.

Then we are tempted; we are “drawn away by [our] own desires and enticed” by that which is outside the boundaries laid out for us in God’s Word.

Make no mistake about it: we will be tempted. As long as we are encased in human flesh, it desires to rebel against what is good and godly. We never have to teach our children to disobey. They pick right up on it. We have to teach them to obey. So it is with us and the issue of temptation. It is a reality that is not going to go away. Consequently, it behooves us to know how to deal with temptation when it comes.

Some people live with the erroneous concept that the longer we walk the Christian path and the deeper we go with God, the less we will be tempted. None of us will ever arrive at the place when temptation will not be looming before us in some form or fashion.

Most of the great heroes of the Bible faced their greatest temptations near the end of their pilgrimage rather than in the beginning.

This was certainly true of Moses, Elijah, and David. There is a word of assurance here for those who may feel a sort of pseudo guilt over being tempted: it is a reality. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man.” It is inevitable. Temptation is “common to man.”

Life may have its shadows, but one thing is certain: they are never caused by God’s turning or by His changing. He is faithful.

James reminded us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

God provides a way of escape for us.

The word picture here is of a mountain pass. The idea is of an army that is apparently surrounded, and then suddenly they see an escape route to safety through a mountain pass.

None of us needs to succumb to the temptations that come our way. Jesus will make a way of escape. Many who have fallen into sin did so willfully because they refused to take the path of escape that the Lord put before them.

You say, “I am tempted.” The Lord says, “What else is new? I, too, was tempted in all points as you, yet I was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus taught us how to overcome our temptation.

For forty days He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness of Judea. On each occurrence, Jesus overcame by quoting Scripture.

The Word, hidden in our hearts, will also keep us from sin when applied by faith to our lives.

We should not be surprised when temptation comes our way. It is, after all, “common to man.” But Christ Himself is our way of escape. And one thing can certainly be said of Him — “He is faithful.”

Meditate on the words of James:

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. — James 1:12

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Your Turn

Have you ever felt guilty for being tempted? Have you ever felt as though after years of walking with Christ you should not be tempted any more? Does your spirit feel cautioned at the reminder that so many of the Bible heroes faced their greatest temptations near the end? Spend some time with God today and ask Him what areas of your life you need to be particularly careful about, especially conscientious. 

CHRIST DIED THAT YOU WOULD BE FREE OF THE PAIN OF THE PAST

However, we must understand and accept that we are free from the penalty of our past because we trust Christ’s sacrifice as the ultimate and final payment for sin (see Hebrews 7:27).

Even so, sometimes the pain of our past comes
calling. Many women have an emotional disposition or personality type that lends itself to dwelling on bitter memories. Our adversary, the devil, often misuses this sensitivity to accuse and discourage us. He tempts our thoughts with guilt over past deeds. He calls into question the penalty of our past as if it is somehow unpaid—an outstanding debt he convinces us we must pay ourselves. We respond to his perverse persuasion by feeling as if we don’t deserve the love of family or friends, much less God’s love. After what you’ve done? Who are you kidding? This is the language of lies—a familiar tongue to anyone who longs to be free from a shameful past.

Satan tries to slip the chains of guilt back on our shoulders. And sometimes we again pick up those old familiar chains—our guilt feels so comfortable that we revert to it out of habit. But Christ has set us free! He paid the FULL penalty for our sins. Every wrong thought, word or action—all paid for.

Don’t believe the lie. God set you free; Christ died that you would be free—but you must choose to live that way.

“Christ’s call on our lives is a call to liberty. Freedom is the cornerstone of Christianity.”—Brennan Manning

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” / John 8:36

See also
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Romans 8:1–4; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:1

GOD'S LETTER TO YOU

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GOD'S LETTER TO YOU
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My Beloved Child,

It’s time to surrender your fears, your insecurities, your pain, and even your loved ones completely to Me. I want your whole heart and mind and soul to be worry-free. I want your complete trust so you can focus on your faith and be free of the spirit of fear controlling you. Give up the fight of trying to figure it all out. Don’t let your circumstances hold your heart hostage or cause you to lose your confidence in Me. I am asking you on this day to answer this one question: In whom do you place your trust?

Love,
Your Trustworthy King

ENCOURAGEMENT

I want to say that when you're in a fire, stand on the Rock (Jesus) and Roll away from those that try to burn you out, beat you up, or bring you down.

I discovered once when God was all I had, that God is all I will ever need! Even when you don’t “feel” Him, He is holding your life in His hands. He fights for you when you are in the midst of a personal battle. He carries you when you are too weary to walk on your own. He will part your sea of hopelessness and reassure you of His faithfulness.

In 1 Samuel 23:16, Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. Let me be a spiritual mom to you right now and offer some words of wisdom. First of all, when you're in a fire and all that you have lived for or love is being burned up in front of your very eyes, (whether it is a good job, a family member, or a marriage coming to an end) the last thing I want you to do is talk to a discourager; someone who fuels the fire of fear and doubt. Instead, I encourage you to do the following 4 things to protect your heart and refuel your faith...

1. Don’t share personal battles with people who bring you down, because their negativity will fracture your faith even more.

2. Don’t give up your faith because of how you feel in the middle of a battle. God is glorified best when there appears to be no hope. He brings new and more powerful hope!

3. Stay in church even when you’re mad at God. It truly is where you need to be when you're in a battle. To keep your faith, you need to surround yourself in God’s truth.

4. Watch videos containing revelation faith and it will encourage you more to help you through any fire that this life brings.

AT ISSUE - OBEDIENCE

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Genesis 6:22

Noah did everything exactly the way God told him. Can the same be said of you? If you’re honest … probably not. But do you want it to be true? Do you love and respect God enough that you genuinely want to obey him 100 percent? Let’s assume that you do—but you find it’s easier said than done. Don’t get discouraged. Remember that God has an endless supply of mercy and forgiveness. Confess your failure to him, and know that he will forgive you and give you
the grace to try again … and again … and again. Just don’t give up!