New Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sermon Matthew 6:33 “Single-Mindedness”
January 27, 2019
Listen to this sermon.
We are continuing today with our look at spiritual practices. These are things we do which help us to grow spiritually. We become more and more like Jesus. So far we have looked at three very important spiritual practices, worship, prayer, and Bible study. These are all things you can do by yourselves, in small groups or here at church. And you must do all of these. You worship God by attributing supreme worth to him. You pray, talking to God like you would a friend. And as you study the Bible the Holy Spirit works in you. So worship, prayer, and Bible study must be the starting point of your spiritual transformation. Today we turn to a spiritual practice that will take you to the next level. This is “Single-Mindedness. We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.
“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)
In the ancient world, their worst nightmare was to be on the water, alone and in the dark. They had no radio, no radar, no GPS, no clock and sextant, nothing that would allow them to navigate on the sea. They had to keep within sight of the shore. If they were blown by the wind out past the horizon they were doomed. And if it was dark they had no way of getting home. This fear of water can clearly be seen in the second verse of the Bible. Genesis 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep”.
Being alone on the sea in the dark was frightening. And their worst fears were realized when it rained for 40 days and 40 nights and the Lord said,
Genesis 6:7 ...“I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”
The people had stopped following God. They had gone their own way abandoning their own creator, except for Noah, a righteous man who walked with God. Noah followed God. He obediently built a boat. And his family was saved from the flood.
This is an important principle. If we single-mindedly focus on Jesus then he will save us from what we fear. We have to focus on Jesus when we make decisions. We have to focus on Jesus when we set priorities. We have to focus on Jesus in everything we do. And Jesus will save us from our fears.
Jonah had a problem with this. He knew the God was sending him as a missionary to Nineveh, the capital city of the hated enemy, the Assyrians. Jonah did not want this calling. So he decided to ignore God and go the other way.
And Jonah experienced an even greater fear, the sea.
Jonah 1:3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. 4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
So Jonah took his eyes off God. He did not focus on God in making decisions and setting priorities. He did not consider God in everything that he did and so he suffered the consequences.
The world was created by God. If we focus single-mindedly on God in making our decisions and setting priorities, and in everything we do, then God will bless us. But if we turn our backs on God and go our own way then we will, like Jonah, suffer the consequences.
So if Jonah had focused on God, what would have happened? Would God have saved him from the violent storm? Or would he still be tossed into the sea? Consider this story of some men who focused on God in the midst of a storm.
Matthew 4:37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
Jonah took his eyes off God and was tossed off a boat into the sea during a violent storm. But the disciples focused on Jesus during a storm and the winds were still. If we focus single-mindedly on Jesus in everything we do, in all our priorities and decisions the storms of our lives will be calmed and we will live in peace.
Of course, we all have many worries in our lives. We worry about aging and health. We worry about jobs and finances. We worry about families and the church. We worry about lots of things. But if we focus single-mindedly on Jesus our worries go away. Jesus put it this way:
Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can anyone of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
So Jesus does not want us to worry. He wants us to be confident and enjoy the life he has given us. And so he points out the obvious fact that human beings are the only things in all creation that worry. And Jesus gives us some practical advice to keep from worrying. Here is what he said:
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
The vaccine for worry is to single-mindedly focus on Jesus. We make Jesus Lord of our lives. In worship, prayer, and Bible study we find out what Jesus wants us to do. And we do it. And the benefit of following Jesus and doing what he wants you to do is that you will be freed from worry.
We see a wonderful example of this in the Book of Acts
Acts 27:27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic[a] Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet[b] deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet[c] deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.
Paul was a prisoner on a ship on his way to Rome. The winds were against them. The crew worried that they would sink. But Paul was able through worship, prayer, and Bible study to know the will of God. And he sensed that God wanted them to stay on the boat. The crew obeyed Jesus and followed him as lord. Then Paul led them in worship.
Acts 27:33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.
So they engaged in worship through the bread of communion. They gave thanks to God and ate the nourishing food representing the body of Christ. Through this, Paul knew that their worries would go away. The next morning, with God’s help they avoided the rocks and the boat landed on a gentle sandbar. All passengers were able to get to land safely. God had saved them.
So if we keep our focus always on Jesus. If we single-mindedly focus on Jesus in every decision we make, in every priority we set, in everything we do, then we have nothing to worry about. The storms of life will pass over us. We will find ourselves on a sandy shore.
Jonah had lost his focus on God and was tossed into the sea. So God sent a fish to swallow Jonah. And in the belly of the fish, Jonah had three days to think about his relationship with God. Jonah decided that he would obediently follow God in making decisions, in setting priorities, and in everything he did. And he prayed to his creator.
Jonah 2:3 You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.’
5 The engulfing waters threatened me,[b]
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit.
7 “When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
So if you are worried about anything just be single-minded, focus on Jesus in every decision you make, in every priority you set, and in everything you do. God will save you from all your worries. Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, help us to focus our minds on you continually. Help us to single-mindedly focus on you in every decision we make, in all the priorities we set, and in everything we do. As we follow you through the storms of life banish all our worries. This we pray in your glorious name. Amen.
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