February 04, 2024 | Pastor Brandon Metcalf
Passage: Matthew 6:1-8
MESSAGE NOTES: “Life on the Rock: Pride” Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 ESV
Our world is set up so that we feel the most valued and we find our identity in what others say about us.
Matthew 6:2, “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
Matthew 6:5, “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
Matthew 6:16, “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
Because it’s so easy for us to buy into the lie that, “If others talk about me, if they admire me, know me…then I will be someone. I’ll be worth something. I’ll belong.”
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10:2-5
The World Says….
God’s Word Says…
“What of that did I do? What of that did I build?”
Instead of worrying about being successful or being noticed, we are set free to be faithful.
Series Information
Jesus had much to teach about wisdom and what it means to live in this world. In this world, we look around and see negative actions that can creep into our lives. Actions like anger, lying, cursing, arrogance, and worry. Jesus shares His wisdom about these in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. At the conclusion of this section of teaching, He said, “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does this will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24) We want to be like the wise man. Over the next five weeks, we will reflect on Jesus’ teachings from the Sermon on the Mount and, we will take on some practical habits that can help us live in His wisdom today. We do not do these things to earn God’s love but instead because, as Jesus says of His own teaching, “those who hear My words and do them is like a wise person.” I pray that this season will be one where we reflect and learn from Jesus’ wisdom as we live our lives built on the rock of Jesus. ~ Pastor Dave
