This was the first session. I doubt my notes will do justice to the message- it was a very helpful message and I was convicted several times about my abundance of worry and lack of faith in the God whom I know to be Sovereign. For me to worry is a contradiction toward my faith that God is Sovereign.
Matthew 6.25-34
Points:
FOUR REASONS WORRY IS WRONG
1. Worry is incompatible with the Biblical concept of life (v.24-26)
*Life is for glorifying God, honoring and obeying Him (Col. 1.16; I Cor. 10.31)
*We live for His glory, not for ourselves
*(my note: worry puts the focus on us instead of God and His sovereignty)
2. Worry is incompatible with the character of God (v.27-30)
*It is God's responsibility to care for us (He clothes the flowers and feeds the birds, and He values us more than them)
*Our worry cannot change anything or add time to our lives, God is in control of those things
*Worry is inconsistent with a Reformed view of God (His sovereignty)- it is inconsistent to fear death as a Reformed believer, as we accept that God has ordained all things
*Worry is a sin because it demonstrates a lack of faith in God's promises to us
3. Worry is incompatible with the conduct of believers (v.31-33)
*Contrast between Christians and non-Christians
*Pagan "gods" were not interested in them, they were self-centered; God is concerned with and in charge of our welfare (I Peter 5.7)
*We are not to seek our needs first, but God's righteousness
4. Worry is incompatible with taking care of legitimate concerns of the present (v.34)
*Jesus breaks down between present and future cares
*Today has cares of its own to deal with
*"God gives grace only for today's problems, never for tomorrow's troubles"
*Worry always seeks worst case scenario- if we track out worries, we will see that almost none of them ever come to fruition
Our purpose for living should be to honor Christ first
This message was a challenge to me. I hope to apply it in a much better way from now on. That is my hope and prayer.
2 comments:
At the same time ...
"work out your salvation in fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12)
Eternal security is not promised to anyone, although some may have it.
We may be deceived.
James, that is convoluted. Read in context. Eternal security is promised to believers. Grace is totally beyond what we can comprehend.
It is easy for people to try to look to their own strength for their salvation. And that is what you do when you think you have to keep your salvation- it is kept by Christ. (I'll let you do the Bible study on that one- it's in there)
Post a Comment