Matthew 6:33 Part 1
Many of us are familiar with Matthew 6:33.
The matter isn’t our familiarity with it, instead the matter is if we 1) understand what Jesus was imparting and 2) are adhering to its principle.
The Heart of the Matter
Matthew 6 is about:
- Our focus being heavenward.
- A lifestyle of prayer – prayer without ceasing.
- A lifestyle of consecration (devotion) unto God.
- Emphasis placed on Father God and where He is – His abode.
- God’s desire and will and not our own.
- Self-awareness of our unredeemed passions within us and how they wage war against the Spirit of God indwelling us.
- Self-awareness of our need to forgive as we have been forgiven (and seek forgiveness).
- Abandoning the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life.
- Abandoning worldly pleasures.
- Choosing God above all else.
- Not worrying about the past, present, or future.
- Knowing that God is good and will provide us abundantly and increasingly beyond what we could have ever asked or imagined.
The whole of Matthew 6 is about character.
What We Know
We’re in a time where knowledge acquisition and information are at the drop of a time.
We know a lot…or at least we think we do.
True knowing, experiential knowing, breeds transformation. Ergo, to know is to know Him, which means we become more like Him.
We know, as believers in Jesus Christ, that we need to live abandoned for Him and all of the rest.
We know so much that we often forget the fundamentals of knowing, what it means to know.
The Antidote
How do we draw up the anchor we’ve casted into the depths of our knowing? This anchor that roots and grounds us in forms of godliness instead of authentic godliness.
This anchor that keeps us from pure and undefiled service unto God.
Jesus maps it out in verses 1-4 and again in verses 16-18.
- We do what pleases God.
- We fast.
First
Doing what pleases God is our transformed mind in the image of God by being renewed in Jesus.
What pleases God? Faith. And faith is the antidote against forms of godliness (the spirit of religion) as faith brings forth realities. Another way to put it is that faith has actions to back it up.
Next
Fasting is a discipline that starves the flesh at enmity with the Spirit of God. In recent history, we haven’t had the best outlook on fasting. Essentially, it is consecration.
And we consecrate because we must be separate and come from among the world. We consecrate because we are a holy nation, a peculiar people.
Just remember to seek God on the fast He wants for us.
What Is God After in Us?
What is God after in us according to Matthew 6? It’s simple. He wants to put His glory in us.
And glory cannot be mixed with what is born of this world, forged by the god of this age – Satan and all of those who follow his regime.
