Sermon on the Mount Series

Worried? There is a Cure!

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.

Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable - if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy - dwell on these things.  Philippians 4:4-8

"Remember, our heart is our will, or our spirit: the center of our being from which our life flows. It is what gives orientation to everything we do. A heart rightly 

directed therefore brings health and wholeness to the entire personality." - Willard, Dallas. Divine Conspiracy, p. 206.

Monday: 

Choose Your Master Carefully. Matthew 6:19-24

"We simply cannot have two ultimate goals or points or reference for our actions. -Ibid. p. 207

What are some characteristics of earthly treasures?

What are some characteristics of treasures in heaven?

What do you think God wants you to treasure?

Tuesday: The Cure for Anxiety: Freedom from Bondage to Stuff.  Matthew 6:25-34

"The words anxious and worry both have reference to strangling or being choked. Certainly that is how we feel when we are anxious. Things and events have us by the throat and seem to be cutting off our life. We are being harmed, or we fear what will come upon us, and all our efforts are insufficient to do anything about it." -ibid. p. 209

What do you worry about?

What do you think God is saying to you about worry in these verses?

What do you think God wants you to do?

Wednesday: The Cure for Anxiety: Freedom from Judging and Being  Judged. Matthew 7:1-6

"This is what Jesus means when he says, "Judge not." He is telling us that we should, and that we can, become the kind of person who does not condemn or blame others. As we do so, the power of God's kingdom will be more freely available to bless and guide those around us into his ways." -ibid. p. 218

How has being judged by others effected you?

How has judging others effected you?

What are could you do to be free from judging or being judged?

Thursday: The Cure for Anxiety: Ask. Matthew 7:7-12

"When I ask someone to do or to be or to give something, I stand with that person in the domain of a constraint without force or necessitation. We are together. A request by its very nature unites. A demand, by contrast, immediately separates. It is this peculiar "atmosphere" of togetherness that characterizes the kingdom and is, indeed, what human beings were created to thrive in." -ibid. p. 233

Who do you ordinarily ask for something?

What does God know how to do when we ask Him for something?

What do you ordinarily do when someone asks you for something?

What is one thing you need to ask God for?

Friday: Beware of False Teachers and Teachings. Matthew 7:13-27

"Those to be trusted are the ones who actually learn to do what Jesus taught was best. Calling him "Lord," or even doing astonishing things in his name, is no substitute. The one who enters the kingdom of the heavens is the one who does the will of Jesus' Father in the heavens. The will of the Father is precisely what Jesus has been teaching here on the hillside, the real meaning of "the law and the prophets." -ibid. p. 275

What are some characteristics of false teachers?

What are the characteristics of false teaching?

How can you build a strong life?

Jesus’ teaches us how to develop a righteousness that is beyond that of the most righteous appearing leaders in His day, the scribes and Pharisees. In Christ, we become personal fulfillments of the law and the prophets.

This life shines in our lives as obvious authentications of His existence and presence. When we learn from Him how to conform to God’s will, we become answers to billions of prayers, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done.”

In the beginning God told Adam and Eve, Follow Me.

They should have asked, "Where are you going?"

However, they did not.

Where He was going was much less important than who He was.

He was their Creator, God.

He led them to experience eternal life... good life that never ends.

Jesus came and told His disciples to do the same thing, "Follow Me."

Many asked, "Who are you?" knowing that His identity was more important than His destination.

They learned from Him how to live eternal life that never ended.

Jesus comes to us today offering the same thing, "Follow Me." "Whoever believes in Me (whoever Follows Me) will experience eternal life.

His kind of life is like:

"Walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh... The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Galatians 5:16, 22

"Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8