Close your eyes with me for a little bit. Close
your eyes. It's time to use our imagination skills
for a moment. I want you to imagine you are walking
into a restaurant. You have one goal, as everyone
does when they walk into a restaurant, and that
is to enjoy good food and a good time. And as
you walk in, you notice it's not a really crowded
restaurant. It's actually kind of empty. It's
not super busy. There's not a lot going on. There's
waitresses that are just hanging around. There's
a hostess who's not doing anything, open tables,
but you also notice that everyone working is
just kind of hanging out. You observe this for
a few minutes until finally the hostess comes
to get you seated. So you take your seat. The
hostess says, someone will be with you shortly
to take your order. Similar to your lengthier
than explainable wait to get seated, you wait
a while before the server ever gets to you to
take your drink order. The same annoying wait
you had to get seated becomes the same wait you
have to get drinks. And the same wait to get
drinks becomes the same wait to get your food.
In fact, by the time the food gets to you, it's
cold. Naturally, you're very frustrated by this
horrible service. And you can't give them the
grace of being busy because they're not busy.
If you're like me, you might look to the person
you're eating with and say something like, oh
my goodness, where's the urgency? Open your eyes.
I took you through that little imagination exercise
to get you in the right headspace to chew on
this question. Where's the urgency? By the way,
if you have a bulletin this morning, you'll notice
on the back of the bulletin, there are some fill
in the blank notes. We're just trying that out
to see if that maybe helps you, one, hold on
to your bulletin, but also engage with the lesson
and have some notes to look back on. So we ask
this question, where is the urgency? We ask it
whenever we have a coworker who's supposed to
be helping us on a project, but they're actually
not really helping us on the project. They're
just letting us do all the work. We ask this
question when we have a contractor that's supposed
to be building a house for us or doing a project
for us, but it's taking them a lot longer to
finish this project than they were supposed to.
We ask the question, where's the urgency when
we're in the ER or we're waiting on an ambulance
and somebody is really struggling and their life
is in danger, but it seems like nobody cares
how long you've been sitting in the waiting room.
We ask the question, where's the urgency? It's
a question that we're quick to ask someone else.
We're quick to ask this question concerning other
people. We even ask this question concerning
God. God, I've been praying to you to heal my
loved one. I've been praying for you to fix this
situation with my spouse. I've been praying for
you to fix this situation with my job. But it
seems like you're taking longer than you should
be. Where's the urgency? But do you ever ask
yourself, where's... The urgency. Do you ever
ask where that urgency is in your life? Maybe
a better way to ask this question is not where's
the urgency, but where's your priority? I want
you to think about the people in that restaurant.
Usually what's happening is they're not just
sitting around not serving you. They're not serving
you because they've got something else that they
think is more important than getting you your
food on time. or getting you your drinks on time
or getting you seated. They are living, they're
acting like there is something else that deserves
their urgency. And the truth is we all live life
with a sense of urgency toward something. And
whatever that something is, that's our priority.
And so I would say like this urgency is an indicator
of what your priorities are, what you chase.
tells me what you value. And I want you to notice
I'm saying priority in a singular sense, and
that's on purpose because we can claim that we
can have multiple priorities. You know, we say,
I've got to get my priorities, plural, in order.
I just need to, you know, this thing is my top
priority. So we act like we can operate with
multiple priorities, but the truth is you can
only have one priority. At least you can only
have one priority in a healthy sense. You know,
I can say something is my top priority, but all
that really means is I'm dividing my attention.
I'm dividing my time. I'm dividing my resources
to accommodate lesser things. But I want you
to see what Jesus says in Matthew 6, verse 24.
He says, no one can serve two masters. I want
you to see that Jesus doesn't say no one can
serve two masters well. He doesn't say... No
one can serve one master, and he can kind of
serve another. He says no one can serve two masters.
And I bring up what Jesus says because this is
a sermon, not a TED Talk, which means it doesn't
matter what I say. It matters what God says.
So we're going to look at Scripture this morning
because I do believe Jesus has something to say
regarding our urgency being a reflection of our
priority. And so before we get into the Scripture,
I want to ask another question, and that is where
does God want us to aim? I frame the question
that way because, as I stated earlier, we all
have a sense of urgency in life towards something.
Some urgently chase financial success. Some urgently
pursue fame and acclaim. And some urgently work
toward ensuring that their families are taken
care of. We urgently work to secure our retirement
or to secure an education, to secure a status
position in a career. We pursue these things
urgently. But what does God say we should pursue?
Where does God want our urgency? So I want us
to look at what Jesus says entirely in Matthew
6 concerning that idea that no one can serve
two masters. Matthew chapter 6, starting in verse
19. If it's underlined, I would love for you
to read along with me. Do not lay up for yourselves
treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy
and where thieves break in and steal, but lay
up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither
moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not
break in and steal. For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also. The eye is the
lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy,
your whole body will be full of light. But if
your eye is bad, your whole body will be full
of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness,
how great is the darkness. No one can serve two
masters, for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or he will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and money. Now I want to make it very clear right
now, this is not a sermon about money. I could
actually preach the rest of this lesson without
saying the word money again. This is not about
money. This is about principle. And the principle
is simple. It's stated there in verse 21. Where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
You see, what Jesus begins by saying is, be mindful
of where you're putting your treasure. Be mindful
of where you're putting your devotion. Be mindful
of what it is that you value above other things.
Be mindful of where you are storing up, where
you are working towards building your kingdom.
In other words, be careful what it is you're
working for. And so we have this idea that we
have two places that we can work for, two places
that we can store up our treasures. The first
place is earth. That first place is this temporary
place where moth and vermin, they can break in,
they can chew it up. It's like I used to love
the show American Pickers. Anybody ever watch
American Pickers? And you'd have these people
that would have these barns full of junk. But
in the junk, there was always some really cool
stuff. There would be like a really nice car.
But you know what happened to the really nice
car? Somebody parked it in this barn way back
in the 60s. It hadn't moved since then. And guess
what? It's rusted out. It's got rat nests in
it. The wires are all chewed up. Because why?
Because these things on this earth are... temporary.
They are subject to destruction. But do you know
what's not subject to destruction? What is not
temporary? What is secure? There is no question
about it. It is what is eternal. It's what is
in heaven. And so Jesus knows this because why?
He's lived in heaven and he knows exactly what
heaven's like. He knows what goes on there. And
he's also lived on earth and he's seen loved
ones die. He's seen houses cave in. He's seen
possessions lost. He's seen businesses go out
of business. order. He has seen what happens
in heaven and he has seen what happens on earth
and he knows what the better part of the deal
is. And Jesus says, do not store up your treasures.
Don't devote your life toward, don't pursue,
don't work towards what is here, but work toward
what is there. Because all of these things here
are subject to destruction and being taken away.
And we know that's true. The fact that everything
on this planet only lasts, it's only ours for
a little while. It's borrowed, it's temporary,
no matter how important it is to you. As Solomon
says, Solomon, by the way, the wisest man to
ever live besides Jesus, Solomon says that this
is vanity. Look at Ecclesiastes chapter 1, verses
2 through 4. Vanity of vanities. says the preacher.
By the way, vanities also could be translated
to meaningless, also could be translated to foolishness,
to rubbish. Vanity of vanities, says the preacher.
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What does
man gain by all the toil at which he toils under
the sun? A generation goes and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever. What he says there,
As all of this stuff comes and goes, the people
you love, the people you admire, the people you
put in power, the people that you follow, they
are temporary. They will cease to exist. All
of the things you secure in this life, they will
cease to exist. But the earth will keep on spinning
without you. You keep working. You keep slaving
away under the sun, beating your life away only
for it to end one day. Jobs hire you and then
they fire you. You have the money and then the
market collapses. You're healthy and then a pandemic
hits. Earthly kingdoms rise and then they fall.
And so what we see in scripture is this idea
that to chase these things, to devote our urgency,
to give our priority towards these things is
foolish, it's meaningless, it's vanity. I don't
know about you, but I don't want to live my life
in vain. And what Jesus is teaching there in
Matthew 6 is that this doesn't happen by accident.
You don't just accidentally end up giving your
life, giving your urgency toward these earthly
priorities. Jesus says it's where your heart
is. And your heart fixes, it decides where it
wants to be devoted, where your priority is.
That's what you're going to pursue. And he speaks
to this idea of priority in verses 22 and 23
when he's talking about the eye as a lamp. It's
this idea that the eye, what the eye sees is
what's leading you. And if your eye is divided
or if it's split, you won't be able to see clearly.
I'll put it to you this way. Anybody ever just
go cross -eyed sometimes? Sometimes your eyes
just cross and it just gets blurry and you can't
see. I had a test one time and like the question,
was so perplexing. And it wasn't, I don't think
the question was that hard. Like I'm not, I mean,
I'm a dumb guy, but I'm not that dumb. But the
question was written in a way that I should just
stare at it for a minute to think, is the teacher
really asking what I think he's asking? And so
I'm staring at this question and my eyes start
to cross. And next thing you know, my vision
is as confused as my mind was. And that's what
Jesus says. He says, when your eyes are divided,
when they're not healthy, when they're split,
you cannot see. You can't see where you're supposed
to be going. You can't see what you're supposed
to be doing, what you're supposed to be chasing,
what you're supposed to be pursuing. This is
the very reason horses wear blinders, so they
can keep going in one direction until they cross
the finish line, which leads us to where we started
in verse 24, where Jesus explicitly says you
cannot serve two masters. Another way to put
it is we cannot have a split focus. We can't.
You can't have a split focus. Our priority has
to be singularly focused. Otherwise, we won't
be able to live with the urgency toward what
actually matters. And I want you to hear this
because it's really important. The word there
for serve doesn't just mean serve like I'm going
to serve you dinner. It doesn't mean serve like
I'm going to service you at the station. It means
to be owned by. So when Jesus says you cannot
serve two masters, he means you cannot be owned
by two masters. You can't work for two bosses.
There's no moonlighting in the kingdom of God.
You have one job, one priority, one focus. So
this isn't a time management equation. It is
about ownership. Another word would be lordship.
And so I would ask the question, who or what
is lord of your life? That's the question. that
we have to ask when we say, where's the urgency?
Where's my priority? It's who's my boss? Or as
Will said, who's my king? Who is the Lord or
what? Because sometimes it's not a person. In
fact, I would say most of the time, it's not
a person. It is a thing. Sometimes it's a place.
Sometimes it's a goal. I don't know what it is
for you, but I know you have something. And I
know for most of us, it is not the kingdom of
God. Do you know why I know that? Because if
it was, we would not be able to fit in this building,
and this community wouldn't look like it looks.
This world wouldn't look like it looks. Because
if our singular focus, if our Lord was singularly
Jesus, we would have changed this world and flipped
it upside down by now. And so I preach this as
an indictment, but also as a challenge. We have
to fix our focus on our king. Singularly. I feel
a sense of urgency here in preaching this lesson
because what I read in the next few verses sounds
a lot like what many of us are struggling with,
not just right now, but what we've been struggling
with for centuries. Look with me at verses 25
through 32. Therefore, I tell you, do not be
anxious about your life. what you will eat or
what you will drink, nor about your body, what
you will put on? Is not life more than food and
the body more than clothing? Look at the birds
of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather
into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not of more value than them? And
which of you, by being anxious, can add a single
hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious
about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow. They neither toil nor spin, yet
I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these. But if God so
clothes the grass of the field, which today is
alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will
he not much more clothe you, O you of little
faith? Now that first word there in verse 25
is, Therefore, which means everything we just
read, everything we just talked about leads to
this. And so we see that we're not to prioritize
building up our kingdoms on earth, our treasures
on earth, but instead we are to prioritize heaven
because treasure here is temporary and disposable.
And we read to not be divided in our focus or
priority because we can only serve one master.
We can only be owned. We can only follow and
devote our lives to one Lord. And so after Jesus
says all of that, he says, Therefore, don't be
anxious about your life. Don't worry about what
you're going to eat, what you're going to drink,
where you're going to live, what you're going
to wear, how you're going to survive. Stop worrying
about that. Worrying doesn't help you. Don't
worry about that. And again, I feel an urgency
in preaching this because does anybody in this
room feel a little anxious this morning? Or have
you felt a little anxious lately? It's okay to
say yeah. It's okay to nod your heads. That tells
me you're awake. I felt anxious lately. I'm sure
you have. You've worried what's going to happen
to my job. How am I going to pay this bill? How
are we going to face this diagnosis? How am I
going to make it through to the next day? I can't
even handle today. Maybe you're anxious about
your anxiety. I don't know what you've been dealing
with, what you've been worrying about, but I
know you've been worrying about something because
we're human. And again, we don't really do this
whole God is our singular priority thing too
well. And so we're anxious. We live in a generation
like this current generation is called the anxious
generation. Everybody's worried about something.
Everybody's medicated over something because
we're just worried all the time and it's killing
us. And Jesus knows this. Jesus came to give
us abundant life and he knows that worrying and
anxiety do not coincide with abundant life. And
so he says, don't worry. But we do. Because our
focus is divided. Our priorities are split. I
want you to think about that restaurant again.
What's usually the cause of bad service? If you're
like me, you observe these things and you notice,
well, the server, she's sitting there and she's
just on her phone. She's just texting. Or maybe
she's just hanging out and chatting it up with
that table. Meanwhile, my drinks are empty and
my food's not here. Or maybe you look and you're
like, what are the cooks doing? You know, you
ever go to those restaurants where you can see
into the kitchen and you see the cooks are just,
they're just hanging around and there doesn't
seem to be any urgency. Maybe the manager, you
know, the manager notices that the cooks and
the servers, they're pretty lousy. But the manager,
he's too scared to fire the bad employees because,
well, they'd struggle to find new ones. That's
a true, that's a real thing. We had a member
of our church at the last church we were at.
He owned a restaurant and he... He didn't hate
his workers, but he struggled with his employees.
But he was scared to fire them because he didn't
know if he could hire new ones. He was worried.
He was anxious about this. All of these things
are just examples of people not being focused
on the end goal, which in a restaurant, it's
to make the customer happy, right? They're not
focused on the end goal. They're not focused
on making the customer happy, which leads to
inadequate service. The same is true for our
lives. When our priority isn't on the right thing,
we lack the urgency required to make the right
thing happen. Like I said... if the church's
main focus, if our singular priority, if the
Lord of our life was Jesus, we would make the
right thing happen. And what Jesus says the right
thing is, is to flip this world upside down and
make earth look like the kingdom of heaven. We
just sang it. Father, let your kingdom come.
Well, Jesus employed us to fulfill that mission.
But we're too distracted. We're too anxious.
We're too split -focused. We're double -minded.
And so we are not fulfilling the mission. We're
not making the right thing happen. We chase our
own comfort. We try to provide for ourselves
or do what we can to get someone of this world
to take care of us, all while missing the most
important thing, the true priority. But Jesus
says if God takes care of birds, if he takes
care of flowers, things that don't even know
that they are being taken care of, you don't
have to worry. He says he does this for them.
He's like, look at the clothes that the birds
wear. And you've seen some pretty birds. Look
at how beautiful they are. God clothes them.
You think he's going to just leave you out to
dry? No, he's going to take care of you. And
then pay attention to what he says in verse 27.
Which of you, by being anxious, can add a single
hour to his span of life? Just think about that.
All that worry and anxiety. All the energy you
poured into how you're going to survive in this
world, how you're going to make it through the
next week. Yet none of it can help you. None
of it will make you live longer. None of it will
make you happier. It only adds gray hairs and
wrinkles. None of it helps you. It only deteriorates
your life faster. But Jesus says, stop doing
that. It doesn't help you. But you know what
it did do? It stole hours of your life wasted
thinking about that problem. It stole peace where
you should have been enjoying these days because
you were exhausted by the stress. It stole the
ability to actually be present in the life, the
good life that God has given you because you
were too busy trying to secure a life that you
may not ever see. And Christians in the room,
Christ followers in the room, verse 32 is exactly
for us. It tells us what the Gentiles do. It
says they chase. They chase the things of this
world. The people of this world, the pagans,
they do that. And if you are a Christ follower,
or as the people in the early century, first
century called the little Christ, if you are
this mirror image of Jesus, you don't... do that.
You don't worry about the things of this world.
You don't chase. The same word that Solomon used
in Ecclesiastes for pursuing things of this world,
where he says, it's like chasing after a wind.
Anybody ever catch wind? Well, I think that's
a saying, but like, you know what I mean? Like
you can't catch wind and pull it out of the air.
You try and you try and you try and you run after
it. You pursue the next thing and the next thing
and the next thing. And look, if you've done
your Enneagram test, I've done mine. My Enneagram
is the challenger and the trailblazer. I like
to try. I like to push. I like to push people's
limits. Ask my wife how much I rage bait her.
It's my favorite thing to chase the next thing.
But Jesus says, stop doing that. Sit where you
are and work diligently and faithfully where
you are. We don't chase. like the pagans do.
It's not supposed to be us. Verse 33 actually
says what's meant to be us, and this is what
he says. Seek first the kingdom of God and his
righteousness, and all these things will be added
to you as well. The food that you worried about,
the home you worried about, the clothes you worried
about, the life you worried about, if you will
just pursue God, if you'll seek God, all of that
will be taken care of. And I found that to be
true in my life. When I put God first, when I
stop trying to make my own trails, when I stop
trying to push the limits because I want to and
I feel like I need to, when I just trust in God
and seek him, everything works out so much better.
Now, it doesn't always look good, but it works
out the way it's supposed to. And I want to make
a note here. Seek, that word that's in verse
32 and now in verse 33, the Greek word there,
and I'm not a Greek scholar, but I have a Google,
so the Greek word there is zateo, which is used
to describe an ongoing pursuit. Again, chase,
run after. Go after, pursue. This is the same
word as verse 32. But this time, instead of we're
chasing the things of this world and we're chasing
the ideals of this world, now we're aiming it
at God and his kingdom. We are chasing first
priority, the kingdom of God. See, the difference
isn't whether you're seeking because we're all
seeking. Everybody is seeking something. The
difference is what you are seeking first. What's
your priority? The urgency. It means always pursuing.
It's this constant pursuit. Always pursuing God
before the career of success. Always pursuing
the kingdom before figuring out the bills. Always
pursuing God's will before you decide how you're
going to ensure your security in this life. It's
pursuing the kingdom before anything else on
your list gets your urgency. The kingdom of God
comes first. And I want you to notice something
that Jesus is doing here. He's saying, you seek
the kingdom of God first and the treasure you're
storing up. Now it's safe because it's in an
eternal place where moth and rust can't touch
it. The kingdom of God first in your life, in
your eye. That leads to a single focus where
you're not feeling like you're being pulled in
two directions. Your mindset, your urgency isn't
divided. It's not divided vision. You're not
seeing confused. You're not blurred. You are
seeing straight and clear. You seek the kingdom
of God first and your master, your Lord. Now
there's only one. You don't have two people fighting
for your life, fighting for your attention. You're
not trying to serve two. Or in some of our lives,
we're trying to serve three or four or five because
we've got to take care of our family. We've got
to take care of our friends. We've got to take
care of our social groups. We've got to take
care of our jobs. Oh, and don't forget, I got
to have my hobbies. How many things do we have
pulling us? I've only got two arms and two legs.
I can only imagine how long I can go before I'm
ripped apart. And what Jesus says, if you seek
the kingdom of God first, you won't get ripped
apart. Your life won't be stirred up all the
time in a bad way. You won't be disillusioned.
You won't be confused. You won't be blurred.
If you will seek the kingdom of God first, all
those things that make you anxious, guess what?
They'll be added to you. They'll be given to
you. You will be taken care of. Jesus doesn't
say figure it out yourself. He doesn't say pull
yourself up by your bootstraps. He doesn't say
go out and figure it out. He says it will be
added to you. God will give it to you. And this
isn't a health and wealth. It's not prosperity
gospel, although I do love to say the gospel
is prosperous. But what this is, is God saying,
stop worrying about things you can't control.
Stop worrying about the things that this world
is trying to sell you and just pursue God. And
he'll take care of you. He's a good promise -keeping
God. Now, Jesus isn't telling you to ignore your
bills. He's not telling you to ignore your job
or your family's needs. This is Jesus telling
you what happens when you chase God. Those things
that you're worried about, they go from things
that you have anxiety over and that you're urgently
pursuing to things that you trust the God of
the universe to handle. And I've got to be honest
with y 'all. I love the idea of a good... loving,
promise -keeping God, handling my stuff, my situations,
my issues, because I've tried to handle my stuff.
And if you've seen me, if you've been around
me long enough, you know I will mess something
up quick. I will tear something up. I will mess
something up. I will kick something over that
didn't need to get spilled. I will mess something
up quick. But God does not mess up. And so I
will take God handling my issue long before I
will handle it. It's like when you take your
car to the mechanic because you know they are
a lot more qualified than you are to fix that
part. I think I've maybe shared this illustration
with you before, but if not, you're going to
hear it, or if I have, you're going to hear it
again. When I was in college, my truck wouldn't
start. And so I'm like on YouTube trying to diagnose
the issue, trying to figure it out. I called
someone. I'm like, hey, what do you think about
this? Like, yeah, you know, it's the starter,
blah, blah, blah. And so I found this YouTube
video. So I've always said I can fix anything
with YouTube in a toolbox, but this was the first
illustration of that not being true. So I saw
this YouTube video that said if you take a flathead
screwdriver and you jam it in the starter or
the ignition, you can turn it because it'll get
past the little key thingies and it'll go. Don't
ever jam a flathead screwdriver into the ignition
of your car, which most cars are, you know, pushing
start now or whatever. But this was a 05 Silverado.
Don't do that. I ended up having to like replace
the whole ignition, whatever column. And long
story short, I brought it to a mechanic after
that. Okay. Yeah. So that's how I feel about
God handling my life. I want God fixing it because
I know if I do it, I am bound to mess it up.
Now, I want you to look at how Jesus closes this
thought in verse 34. Therefore, do not be anxious
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious
for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own
trouble. You know what that tells me about urgency?
That tells me that Christian urgency. isn't about
tomorrow. It's not about what will this look
like tomorrow. It's not about what can I have
tomorrow. It's not about what can I set myself
up for tomorrow. Christian urgency is about being
faithful today. And can I just say this? Anxiety
is just urgency aimed at a future you have no
control over. That's all it is. But Christian
urgency takes action in the present, trusting
God with the future. It says, I'm going to work
today. I'm going to work faithfully. I'm going
to do what I can today. I'm going to make what
I can happen today. I'm going to take care of
the things I need to today. And I'm not going
to worry about what it looks like tomorrow. I'm
going to be faithful today, trusting that God
will handle tomorrow. And before I go any further,
I need to stop and say something directly to
somebody because I know somebody needs to hear
this. Maybe you've been sitting here. You've
been listening to all of this, this treasure,
the idea of priority and urgency, and you know
it doesn't apply to you the same way because
you haven't made Jesus your master yet. You've
never even hinted at making Jesus your master
yet. Maybe you've been on the fence about following
Jesus, thinking about it, meaning to. You've
been saying, one of these days. I'm going to
do it one of these. I'll give my life to Jesus
one of these days. I'll get baptized one of these
days. Here's what I want you to hear. Everything
we just read about urgency applies to you too.
When Jesus was preaching. the Sermon on the Mount
that he's talking about, that he's preaching
in Matthew 6, he was not just preaching to his
followers. He was preaching to people that were
curious about this Jesus guy that showed up because
they wanted to know what the hoopla was about
this Jesus guy. They were not yet Christ's followers.
And so even if you're not a Christ follower,
Jesus preaches the same message to you too because
he loves you and cares about you too. It is,
don't be anxious about tomorrow. Don't wait until
tomorrow. Don't put it off till tomorrow. Worry
about today. And when I say worry, I don't mean
get anxious about it. I mean take care of today.
Handle what you can handle today. Take care of
what you can take care of today. So if you've
been thinking, I don't know, this might not apply
to me. It does. The truth is the same for you.
Seek God. Seek first the kingdom. of God. He
says this is an invitation for everybody. And
verse 34 tells you, tomorrow isn't promised.
And you know this. You know people who felt really
good about their lives, and then the next thing
you know, they're gone. You know people who felt
really good about their career, and the next
thing you know, it's gone. You know people who
have lived. You may be a person who has lived
this truth that tomorrow is not promised. But
yet we continue to act like we've got all the
time in the world left. This is important for
you to hear and for us to be reminded of because
Jesus says in John 10 10 that Jesus came so that
we could have abundant life. That is not a life
of chasing things that you can't catch. That
is not a life of anxiety over what you're going
to eat, wear, sleep. It is not a life that is
worried about everything that might or might
not happen in the future. It is a life that Jesus
has been describing as good, as a life with treasure
that can't be stolen, a life with goodness that
cannot be destroyed. It is a life where eyes
can see clearly and have direction and know their
purpose. It is a life where you serve one master
instead of being pulled apart by two. It is a
life where the good father, the God of the universe
who created and handcrafted everything in this
world, it is a life where that same father takes
care of you. And I don't know. If you believe
it, but I believe that that life is incompatible
with anxiety. He's not asking you to figure it
out first and then come find him. He is asking
you to seek him now and forever and let him handle
the rest. And so if that's you, if you've been
on the fence, I don't want you to wait for a
more convenient tomorrow because tomorrow may
never come. I want you to think about the Garth
Brooks song. If tomorrow never comes. Will everything
that you meant to be handled today have been
handled? Would God know that he was your top
priority? Would the people around you know that
you love them enough to tell them the good news?
Would the people that you live and work and fellowship
with know that you love God enough and you love
them enough to be a light like Jesus to them?
If tomorrow never comes, would your place in
heaven be secure? Because I know the truth is
that this morning there are people in this room
who have not given their life to Jesus. Maybe
they have said, yeah, I'm a Christian. Maybe
you've said, yeah, I go to church every once
in a while. Maybe you have said, I follow Jesus,
but you haven't been following Jesus. And if
that's you, it's okay. We can fix that. The thing
that you have to do, though, is not put it off
until tomorrow. You have to give Jesus your life.
You have to give him your devotion today. Let
me try to land the plane. If urgency is the evidence
of priority, I believe it is, then the question
isn't really where's the urgency. And it's not
necessarily where's your priority. It's also,
it's not what makes you anxious. The question
of if urgency is the evidence of priority, then
the question you have to ask yourself is who's
your master? Who's the Lord of your life? A lot
of people say, Jesus is my savior. Is he your
Lord? Does he have sole custody of you? Is he
the sole owner of your life? Who's your master?
Because whatever has your urgency owns you. Whatever
it is that you spend your life worried about,
spend your life focused on, spend your life chasing,
spend your life working toward, whatever that
is, is who your master is. And if it is not Jesus,
then we need to change it today. Because tomorrow
may not come. But today has plenty that we can
take care of. I want to push this just a little
bit further because I don't think Jesus meant
seek first the kingdom of God to just mean get
your own life in order and stop there. I do believe
a kingdom that you're the only one in. A party
with just you is not a party at all, right? A
kingdom that is just you in it is not a kingdom
at all. If seeking God's kingdom first is really
your priority, if that is what is the master
of your life, if that is what has your urgency,
then that urgency should not and cannot stay
contained to just you. you. It has to look outward.
Think about the people you love. If you love
somebody, you'd be urgent about telling them
when something might not be safe. If you love
somebody, you'd be urgent about telling them
when something just doesn't feel right or there's
some danger present. If you love someone, you
will tell them when they are in danger or when
they need help. We don't hesitate. We don't wait
for the right moment. When we see somebody suffering
and they're hurt, we call 911 immediately. If
they're in the middle of the road and you see
a bus coming their way, you're going to yell,
get their attention. You are going to run and
knock them out of the way of the bus, even if
it means you get hit yourself. What we don't
do is go, maybe I'll mention it. We don't look
at the bus coming head on at them and say, I
sure hope they get it figured out. We don't go,
hey, by the way, I don't know if you noticed,
but over there, there's a bus coming, and it's
about to hit you. We don't do that because there
is a sense of urgency with the people we love.
We have to act with a sense of what? Urgency,
you're awake still. We act quickly because we
love them and because we want to help save them
from destruction. And so if we know tomorrow
isn't promised for those we love, then why in
the world are we waiting around to tell them
the life -saving good news truth of Jesus? Why?
You know, if we sit here and wait around and
we don't tell the people we love about the good
news of Jesus, I might look at you like I look
at a lousy server, and I might say, where's the...
Wow, man, y 'all are asleep. This was a real
dud of a lesson, right? Let's try that again.
Where's the... Great. And so next Sunday is Friends
and Family Day. Next Sunday is a day that we
have set aside in the year where we're still
going to worship God like we do every Sunday.
But on this special Sunday, we're encouraging
everyone to find the friends that they know that
don't have a church home or that are struggling
in their walk with Jesus, to think about the
family members who haven't given their life to
Jesus yet, that are still walking this life like
the world does, and they haven't found the abundant
life of Jesus. We think about those people and
the destruction that their life... So right now,
I want you to think of your one person. Somebody
who needs to hear that their tomorrow is not
promised either. Somebody that needs to hear
that there is an eternal kingdom that is just
waiting for them to make deposits into it. I
need you to think of the person that needs to
know that they're invited to God's family. And
before you leave this room, I want you to commit
to God that you're going to invite them. Like
right now. In fact, I want us to stop right now.
We're going to take a moment and we're going
to pray for that person. So go ahead and have
that person on your mind. Think about them. And
as we pray, I want you to talk to God about that
person and how they deserve your urgency. And
then after we leave here this morning, because
you're not on your phones during the sermon,
right? After we leave here this morning, you
are going to send them a text and say, hey, I
would love for you to join me next Sunday at
my church with my church family for Friends and
Family Day. Let's pray for our one. Father God,
we thank you for your goodness, for the promise
that you will provide for us, for the promise
that if we will live a life that pursues you,
that seeks you, that isn't worried about this
world and isn't worried about tomorrow, but will
just focus on faithfully following you today.
God, we thank you for the fact that if we will
do that, you will secure, you have secured a
place for us in heaven. But God, we're also mindful
of our loved ones, the people that we want to
know you, the people that we want to see in heaven,
the people that we want to know for a fact that
their life is secure in you, that we know they
can have the abundant life that Jesus came to
give. God, we pray for that person, for that
coworker, for that neighbor, for that server
at the restaurant that sees us every week. for
that family member that's just been resistant,
or maybe they just don't quite understand that
their life is not yet secure in you because they
haven't made you Lord of their life. God, we
pray for that person. We pray not only that we
would have a sense of urgency in our reaching
out to them, in our inviting them, but God, that
your spirit would be working on their hearts
right now so that when we invite them, that there
would be something in them that is stirred up,
that they would say, yeah, I'm going to come.
And that when they come, that they experience
the community that Jesus came to. And God, my
prayer is that something happens in this room
that stirs their hearts, that they will give
their lives to you, that they will commit to
seeking your kingdom first. And God, that we
would love them, that we would disciple them,
so that they would know that Jesus wants them
in his family. And that God, our lives... collectively
would go into this world and change this nation,
would change this earth. Because God, there are
people in this world that need to know you. There
are people in this world that need to come to
know Jesus and live a life like Jesus and have
a place in heaven with Jesus. God, my prayer
is that your spirit would empower us, would stir
us up to go faithfully into this week and live
like that is our pursuit. And God, if anything
is competing for our focus, if anything is competing
for our urgency, if anything has tried to fake
its way into being the Lord of our lives, my
prayer is that you would strike it down, remove
it from our lives, and make no question about
who our God is. God, we pray for the people that
we want to invite, and I pray that we would show
boldness and urgency in inviting them. And God,
when they get here, Would we love them like Jesus
did so that they know that all the talk about
abundant life and a kingdom and a family and
a community and a good God, that they would know
that that is not just lip service, but God, that
that is real and that this is a family that is
empowered and is filled with your spirit. God,
we love you and we praise you. It's in Jesus'
name we pray. Amen. Now, if you need... to lay
your anxieties down at the feet of Jesus. We
want to help. If you want help in pursuing Jesus,
we want to help. Or if you're ready to get off
the fence, to give your life to Jesus in baptism
today, don't delay. Tomorrow is not promised.
And you weren't made to live in worry today,
so I'm asking you, I'm pleading with you to respond
with urgency. We would love to help you trust
and follow Jesus better today. So whatever you
need, please come.