FIRST THINGS FIRST

“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them…  ‘But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow…”  When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.”  (Matthew 5:1-2, 6:33-34, and 7:28-29 NIV)

During the height of Jesus’ popularity in Israel, crowds followed Him everywhere, hungry for a word of insight or a touch of compassion. At that time, Jesus spoke at length the words of what has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Seated on a hill, Jesus shared practical lessons based on spiritual principles relating to everyday concerns. Jesus spoke about anger, revenge, and greed; the importance of building strong relationships; and God’s provision for everyday needs, such as food and clothing.

Just like people today, the people of Jesus’ time must have struggled to put all this into perspective. They must have longed to “get their priorities straight.” Jesus’ answer was simple: Put God first and everything else will fall into place. This life principle is as powerful today as it was back then. Relationships, goals, responsibilities, and desires are constantly competing for your attention. Only by looking at them from God’s perspective can you make wise decisions on how to use your time and energy in the way that makes the most positive and effective difference.

By constantly choosing to live out your life in a way that reflects the priorities of God’s kingdom in heaven, your concerns about things that are out of your control lose their grip on your heart. Your dependence on material provisions is transformed into a deep dependence on God. That’s when you discover that whatever God provides is enough. 

-- From “100 Favorite Bible Verses”

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LONGING FOR GOD

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”  (Matthew 5:6 NIV)

We do not come to be with Jesus because we are righteous or strong. The people gathered around Jesus because they were needy. In His [Sermon on the Mount] Jesus begins to explain the profound difference between the religious leaders’ teaching about attaining righteousness through their interpretation of the Law and traditions and the greater righteousness that moves beyond the Law to a relationship with God in Christ.

Our sinful, restricted self is uncomfortable and fights being revealed. But deeper within us is the longing for God, placed within our true self by God. We come to God as we are: caught by sin and longing for God; and we are always met by God’s grace and mercy. 

-- Wendy Miller in “Learning to Listen”

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A GENEROUS HEART

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”  (Matthew 6:1-4 NIV)

Jesus obviously expected His disciples to be generous givers. His words condemn the “selfish stinginess of many,” as one author put it.

Generosity is not enough, however. Our Lord is concerned throughout this Sermon on the Mount with motivation, with the hidden thoughts of the heart. In His exposition of the sixth and seventh commandments He indicated that both murder and adultery can be committed in our heart, unwarranted anger being a kind of heart-murder and lustful looks a kind of heart-adultery. In the matter of giving He has the same concern about secret thoughts. The question is not so much what the hand is doing (handing over some cash or a check) but what the heart is thinking while the hand is doing it. There are three possibilities. Either we are seeking the praise of men, or we preserve our anonymity but are quietly congratulating ourselves, or we are desirous of the approval of our divine Father alone. 

– Adapted from John R. W. Stott in “The Message of the Sermon on the Mount”

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THE CRITICAL DIFFERENCE

At the conclusion of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told a quick story about two housebuilders. The one famously built his house on a foundation of rock, and the other infamously built his house on a foundation of sand. Terrible storms hit both houses. The former survived the assault, while the latter fell.

Two builders represented two different kinds of people. And the critical difference between them, according to Jesus, was in how they responded. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock, “ while, on the other hand, “everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.” (Matthew 7:24-27) The two people heard the same words, you see. The monumental difference in what became of them lay in how they responded to those words…

Graciously, the Lord initiates with us, and it is our calling to respond appropriately to what He is saying and doing. The question is what that response looks like for you and me today. 

-- David Kalas in “Reunion: A Bible Study for Churches Getting Back Together”

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THE PRIORITIES OF GOD'S KINGDOM

Jesus said, "The thing you should want most is God's kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need will be given to you. So don't worry about tomorrow."  (Matthew 6:33-34 NCV)

During the height of Jesus' popularity in Israel, crowds followed Him everywhere, hungry for a word of insight or a touch of compassion. At that time, Jesus spoke at length (probably over several days) the words of what has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount. Seated on a hill, Jesus shared practical lessons based on spiritual principles relating to everyday concerns. Jesus spoke about anger, revenge, and greed, the importance of building strong relationships, and God's provision for everyday needs, such as food and clothing.

Just like people today, the people of Jesus' time must have struggled to put all this into perspective. They must have longed to "get their priorities straight." Jesus' answer was simple: Put God first and everything else will fall into place. This life principle is as powerful today as it was back then. Relationships, goals, responsibilities, and desires are constantly competing for your attention. Only by looking at them from God's perspective can you make wise decisions on how to use your time and energy in the way that makes the most positive and effective difference.

By continually choosing to live out your life in a way that reflects the priorities of God's kingdom in heaven, your concerns about things that are out of your control lose their grip on your heart. Your dependence on material provision is transformed into a deep dependence on God. That's when you discover that whatever God provides is enough.

-- from 100 Favorite Bible Verses

#3637