GOD, YOU, & ME (MATTHEW 6:25–7:12)

Tomorrow we celebrate Palm Sunday. We are at the end of the main message of The Sermon on the Mount. Since Chapter 5, verse 20, Jesus has been explaining to us what he means when he says, “You must obey God’s commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them.” Here, at the end of Chapter 6 and the beginning of Chapter 7 (remember it was not Jesus that divided this sermon into chapters and verses), Jesus speaks to us about worry and condemnation – about how we relate to God and to each other. Then, in 7:7-12, Jesus tells us how to become the kind of person he has described in 5:21–7:6; the person who obeys God’s commands because it is who they are. Jesus then sums up those commands in one short sentence we call The Golden Rule.

When we read Matthew 6:25-34, we hear Jesus telling us not to worry. That is a valid, quick reading of the text. A more studied reading of these verses will tell us exactly why we don’t need to worry .... even telling us why it is counter-productive for us to worry. Jesus teaches us that our worry is based on a misunderstanding of who God is. When we can see clearly (go back to v.22-23) who God is, then we will understand the futility of worry.

Now, at the closing of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus comes to his last example and he assumes the best about us; that we have been listening and paying attention, and striving to be the people he is describing. We have dealt with our anger and our closest relationships; we do not manipulate, but seek to help the way God helps us. We are not doing these things just to look good or to be admired, but because we know and love and trust God. Now Jesus encourages us to abandon Condemnation Engineering. Condemnation Engineering is the art of telling people how not to do everything before they ask.

After Jesus has given us these examples of obeying God better, the logical question is, “How?” Jesus answers, “Ask, search and knock. If this is what you want to do then devote your time and your energy to the task of transformation. God is good and is waiting to help you. And if you want to get off to a quick start then treat others the way you want them to treat you.”

Join us this Sunday online at 10 am for worship. You can worship with us on our Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/FirstMethodistSealy) or wait for a new Sunday email to deliver the sermon. You can still watch last week's sermon on our website or find us on YouTube.