Take the Shot | In Between | Senior Sunday
IN BETWEEN
Take the Shot
Soul Tattoo: Take the shot but change the target.
Matthew 6:24-33 (ESV) 24 “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. 25 “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? 26 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 they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 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? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
1.) The problem isn’t effort, it’s the target.
The anxietythat is eating you alive right now, it’s a symptom. The root cause is that you’re aiming at the wrong target.
Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV) 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
2.) Peace is not the absence of a plan, it’s the presence of the Savior.
What Does It Mean to Seek the Kingdom?
Matthew 6:33 (ESV) 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
His Kingdom taking priority over mine. Not God fitting into my story, but me stepping into His. His rule, His reign, His agenda.
His righteousness, that means becoming who He’s called me to be on the inside, not just performing the right things on the outside.
Colossians 3:1-2 (ESV) If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Romans 14:17 (ESV) 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 46:10a (ESV) 10 Be still, and know that I am God.
3.) “…and all these things will be added.”
He doesn’t say you have to seek me and set aside your future, He says seek His Kingdom FIRST and then watch what happens.
Psalm 37:4 (ESV) 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
The target shift changes everything. What you want starts to line up with what He wants. And now you’re not just taking any shot, you’re taking the right shot.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV) 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Ephesians 2:10 (ESV) 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
You are not walking into your future hoping God shows up. You are walking into a future He has already been in.
4.) The scope helps you focus in on the target.
Community helps you lock in on the right target.
Proverbs 13:20 (ESV) 20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
The enemy’s greatest strategy against you in this next season is to isolate you or surround you with voices that keep pulling your aim back to the wrong target.
Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV) 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
The next day it is going to feel like the most ‘in between’ day of your entire life.
Joshua 1:9 (ESV) 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13 (ESV) 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
You are not walking into uncertainty. You are walking into a story He’s already written. Your job is not to write it. Your job is to seek Him first and trust the Author.
Soul Tattoo: Take the shot but change the target.