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3/ Jesus is all we need, He is our provider…

— In Canada, this is our Thanksgiving weekend (Oct. 11/21). So this works out well as our next Bible study topic.

— Matthew 6:31-34 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ (32) For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. (33) But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (34) “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Q1 — To be set free from the anxieties of life-sustaining provisions, how do we follow Christ’s command to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”?

• I have an interesting direction for us to take when thinking about this question…

• Q1 A/ What is the difference between “the Gentiles”, spoken of here, and those that God considers His people?
  — Is it not that God’s people believe in one God (Jehovah) who created everything? While the world (the Gentiles), Believes in many gods and denies one supreme Creator and Lord of all, who is present in His Son, Jesus Christ.

• That is my point… Anxiety, and stressing over our tomorrows arise from a failure to believe in the supremacy of our Lord and SAVIOR, Jesus.

Q2 — What is this RIGHTEOUSNESS that Jesus ‘the Christ’ taught us? (Who exampled true righteousness? & What did His example show to us?)

eg. Who is our neighbor? — Jesus taught us in the story of the ‘Good Samaritan’ that everyone is our neighbor, even the ones we may despise. (Luke 10:25-37)

What is required of spiritual leaders? — Jesus called many of the spiritual leaders of His day, ‘Whitewashed tombs’ and hypocrites. He told them to do right not just preach it. (Matthew 23:1-31)

What rules does God insist we obey and is there any room for bending them? — Many times the religious leaders of His day accused Jesus of breaking a commandment of God and it usually involved dealing with the Sabbath. Jesus taught them that to do good on the Sabbath from a heart of compassion and love, was not only allowed by God but was encouraged by Him. (Luke 14:1-6)

What mindset is required to please God? — A mindset of trusting God and Faith in Him (Luke 12:22-34)
— There are many accounts of Jesus either praising the faith of a person, “Your faith has made thee well.” And of other times people were scolded for their lack of faith, “Oh ye of little faith”.

There is an Old Testament Prophet who also shared how God requires us to choose to seek Him, or else we turn away and fall into the dangers that come directly from our bad choices.

— Isaiah 1:18-20 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. (19) If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; (20) but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

— Surely we see here that the Word of our Great and Holy God is a two-edged sword…

• In Isaiah 1 God’s Words are both the sword of merciful salvation, and of holy judgment.

• If you read the whole chapter it becomes clear that this same judgment that God put upon Judah, speaks well to the judgment that is soon coming upon mankind.

Q3 — Do you see a common promise in the words of Isaiah and Jesus?

(Jesus says in Matthew 6:33) But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

(See the words of Isaiah 1:19) If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

• Q3 A/ Is OBEDIENCE required in both of these scriptures?

• Q3 B/ Are we promised anything if we fail to put obedience to God first in our lives?

One final thought before we close…

Jesus promises that God will provide ALL WE NEED… (Note NEED not WANT.)

— It brings us to consider GREED VERSUS NEED…

• So let’s talk about what ‘things’ we find we can become ‘greedy’ for:

1/ Money; It is recorded in three of the Gospels, “And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:23)

— It seems the problem with wealth is that it tends to take a higher place in our lives than obedience to God.

2/ Power; When this becomes a passion in life, we find ourselves overcome with a desire for recognition and unyielding direction for our lives. (Ambition and ego begin to play a larger and larger role in our life.)

— We become GREEDY for control.

3/ Control; Have you ever wondered why we desire full control over our lives?

— When CONTROL becomes a full-blown passionate pursuit, is it not motivated by a sense of insecurity and distrust of the lead of others?

— Again, this causes us to not want to share the lead with others.

4/ Fame & Attention; (These go together)… Hollywood, Sports, Politics, and sadly even some famous Christian ministries, have given us too many examples of how damaging this pursuit can become.

— What do you think drives these passions?

— Does this include; (Wealth; Power; Control; Ego)?

5/ Can you think of any other factors of GREED?

To close on a positive note, as we follow Jesus and give up self-centered greed and control, where do we find the blessings of PEACE, JOY, and CONTENTMENT?

• Is it not in finding your God-given call to serve others, and to put others first in your life?

• Philippians 2:3-7 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. (4) Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (5) Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, (6) who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, (7) but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

I am absolutely convinced that regardless of our earthly situations, if we follow Christ’s example in this, we will find that HE IS OUR PROVIDER. Our provider of everything we need, and the provider of the power to walk on through troubled times.

We will close with further discussion and let our final song lead us into our prayer time…

‘He’s the Lily of the Valley’