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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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How Much Do You Trust God? |
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Matthew
6:33 Fifteenth
Sunday after Trinity September
20, 2009 “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” Most people think of this verse as an admonition to obey God by keeping His commandments. Actually it is about trusting God. To seek His righteousness is to abandon your own and trust in His. It is to say, “All my righteousness is as filthy rags in Thy sight, O Most Holy God. Strip me of my rags. Wash me in the fountain that cleanses the heart and soul. Dress me in the brilliant perfection of the righteousness of Christ. Then will I be cleansed from all my sin and worthy to stand before You.” It is about faith. It is about trust. But it is not just about trusting God with your soul. It is also about trusting God with your life. I am sometimes amazed at the almost countless exhortations of the Bible to trust God. I should not be, for I know as well as anyone else that our natural inclination is not to trust Him. Our natural inclination is to trust in money and the things money can buy. Money is power. Money is possessions. Money is security. We are all tempted to trust our money to deliver us from the varying circumstances of life. “There may be wars and depressions and shortages and problems,” we think, “but as long as I have money I can purchase a little piece of security for myself and my family.” Of course we realize the limitations of money, and we realize it can all be taken away from us, but as long as we have it we have whatever security and hope money can buy. If the hungry and the homeless had money, they wouldn’t be hungry or homeless. Our natural inclination is to trust in governments and armies education, science, and religion. And, most of all, our natural inclination is to trust in ourselves; our talents and abilities to “look out for Number One.” And yet, we are forced to realize that some things about life are just beyond our control. All the money in the world can’t add another year to our lives, can’t make others like us, or get us into Heaven. All the money in the world can’t change who and what we are. So the point of this passage of Scripture is to encourage us to trust God. We can put it in the form of a question; do I trust God enough to put Him first? That’s what this passage is about. Do I trust God enough to put Him first in my life, and let Him take care of the rest? Our Lord said that when we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all the other things will be added unto us. He told us that the fowls of the air are fed by the Providence of God. He told us the lilies of the field are dressed in glory that the wealth of Solomon could not buy. He said that you are much better than the birds. In other words, God values you far above the birds; if He feeds them will He not also feed you? God values you far above the lilies; if He clothes them will He not also clothe you? Can you not trust Him to care for you in this life as well as in the next? Rather than spending all your time and energy on the accumulation of the things of this world, would it not be wise to spend some time and energy on the things of the next world? Surely that is at the heart of what it means to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. But what if God doesn’t give what I think I need? We should not read this verse as a promise from God to give us what Francis Schaeffer called, “personal peace and affluence.” If we think of it that way we shall be soon disappointed. What if God allows me to be poor? What if God allows me to be sick, or homeless, or alone, or persecuted? He does that sometimes, doesn’t He? Job found that to be the case, and Jesus Himself was poor and rejected, homeless and hungry. What if God allows that to happen to us? Then can we not also trust God? Is our faith only a “goodtime faith?” Are we merely “sunshine soldiers” who love the ceremony and the uniform, but desert in the time of hardship and the day of battle? Will we stand firm in the face of the enemy? Are we willing to suffer hardship as good soldiers of the cross? Are we willing to give all, loose all in the service of our Saviour? Does not “Seek ye first” really mean “value first, above all things?” Is it not just another way of saying “Thou shalt have no other gods but Me;” and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart soul, and mind? And does it not teach us to value God above all things, and trust Him with the rest, yes, even everything? Can we not trust that the God, who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we are able to ask or think; and that Saviour, who said He has gone to prepare a place for us in His Father’s house of mansions and promised that He Himself will come again to receive us to Himself; can be trusted to do right and good for us in all things? Can we not trust that the One who feeds the birds, clothes the lilies, and whose eye in on the sparrow will also do right by us? Holy God, You are faithful in all things. You have promised that all things work together for the good of your people. Let us trust you enough to put you first in all things. In the Name of Christ. Amen.
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