LIVE IN THE MOMENT
John 4:35
John 4:35-38
Do you not say, \’Four months more and then the harvest\’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying \’One sows and another reaps\’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.\”
We are blessed by the hard work that Jesus did on the cross. The blessings we have are because of the sower, Jesus Christ. We reap the benefit of salvation.
JESUS WILL MEET YOU WHERE YOU ARE
Jesus made a trip through Samaria, a place where most Jews avoided. He went to meet a
woman who came to Jacob’s well to draw water. Jewish men would not be found
talking to a woman in public alone. Jesus did not regard women as inferior as most
Jewish men did.
This woman of questionable reputation was with her sixth man. She had been married
5 times and the man she was with was not her husband. Jesus may have sent His
disciples away to buy bread so He could have a private conversation with this woman.
He revealed to her that He was the Messiah that Samaritans were expecting to come.
She became his messenger Samaria. She took the good news to the city reconciling
the differences between the Jews and the Samaritans.
Her daily chore was to come to the well a noon time to draw water. Jesus revealed
to her that He was the living water. If she drank from His well she would never
thirst again. Not wanting the chore, she gladly accepted the invitation.
The revelation today to all believers is that we live in the presence of the Messiah,
Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
In the presence of Jesus is all we need, want, desire, or can even conceive.
Despite the presence of Jesus, we constantly thirst because we live with future
worries.
The text reminds us to live in the moment.
John 4:35-38
Do you not say, \’Four months more and then the harvest\’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
Most of us awake in the morning with thoughts of what needs to be done, We bring the
unfinished business of yesterday into the new day. In our efforts to get moving, we
forget to smell the roses. God\’s roses, His grace, and mercy are fresh each day. Open the
eyes to your heart and see that God has in store all you need.
If we live in the moment, we can see the ready blessings of God. If we live in the moment
we can take hold of His grace and mercy that is flowing into our lives. We don’t have to
wait for God’s blessings. We have access to them through prayer, now.
My brothers and sisters, it is not easy to live in the moment. We constantly push ourselves
into future events. If you are working, you are constantly preparing for the next day.
If you have children, you spend part of your day planning breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
There are clothes to be washed. You get them up put them to bed and start over again.
If you have pain in your body, you looking for the day when the pain goes away.
You wake up with pain, endure pain during the day, and go to bed with pain.
If you have goals and aspirations, you are planning the day when they are fulfilled.
It is difficult to live in the moment, Whatever worries and frustrations you have
take you in the past or push you into the future.
CHOSE TO LIVE IN THE MOMENT
To live in the moment with the
hope and joy of the Lord is a choice. We make choices
every day. Why not strive to live in the moment?
Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Jesus lived in the moment. He was focused on the work of the Lord presented Him each day.
Well, you say He is Jesus and I am not.
Living in the moment is a choice. You can choose to worry about tomorrow or you can choose
to focus and what you have in front of you. You can drive yourself crazy worried about
what might happen. Worry is a lack of trust in the Lord. Worry sees the outcome of
tomorrow as being in your hands.
Worry takes responsibility for your well-being from God who created you and owns
you. Worry is a trick of the devil to take your focus off God.
My brothers and sisters I am not telling you to not have concerns. I am telling you
to put those concerns in the hands of the Lord.
I am not telling you to live irresponsibly, I am telling you to do what you can today
and leave the rest to the Lord. Do what you can today with no thought of tomorrow.
You can’t possibly know what is going to take place tomorrow. You don’t
even know how the day will end. Our worry is useless because it changes
nothing. Worry only pushes you farther from the Father. Worry clouds the mind
so you cannot see the blessing in front of you. Worry frustrates the mind so you
cannot believe that God has taken care of your problems.
Worry takes the joy out of life and replaces it with sadness. Worry eliminate
confidence and replaces it with doubt.
Any plans we make for tomorrow can fail because of circumstances we cannot foresee.
Plans need to be placed in the hands of the Father.
To live in the moment, we have to submit ourselves to the will of the Lord.
We start by constantly studying His Word and obedience to His commands
John 6:27
27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you. On him, God the Father has placed his
seal of approval.\”
What food is Jesus talking about?
John 4:34
\”My food,\” said Jesus, \”is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
John 6:55
For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.
The Word of God is the food we ought to eat. The will of the Father is the drink we ought
to drink. You can’t eat the food of God and digest it with the stuff of the world.
Materialism and God is no mixture.
We constantly have our sights on stuff. We buy stuff, it gets old and we buy
more stuff. We have closets full of stuff that brings no joy, no peace, and
no confidence.
We make plan for the future that does not include God. We
do stuff without considering whether it is pleasing to God. Our routine is
the same day to day because God is not the guide.
If God is the guide we will look forward to what each day will bring because
we are assured that God wants the very best for us. We ought to be excited
when we get up in the morning expecting God to do something new.
The Samaritan woman came to the well for a bucket of water. Jesus sent
her away with life-giving water. She still had to come to the well for water.
But she came with a new excitement not knowing what to expect nor
worried about the outcome.
John 6:27 gives spiritual advice, but practical confusion. To eat you got to
work even if you stand on the street looking for a handout.
If we commit ourselves to the Lord, He will guide us to fruitful employment
using the gifts and talents he has provided. We can then focus on the
will of the Lord working unto the Lord. We want leave home working for
ourselves but working for the glory of God. When Jesus is our focus, work is
not work but an opportunity to serve the Lord.
Jesus gives us an example of a dinner hosted by Martha and Mary for Him
and his disciples. Martha was busy in the kitchen preparing the meal while
Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to His teachings.
God does not tell us, but I can see Martha frying some chicken, and fixing some
potato salad, collard greens, and apple pie. At some point, Martha got upset
that she was doing all the work while Mary was enjoying the company
of Jesus. Martha complained to Jesus to make Him send Mary into the kitchen.
Jesus responded that Martha was worried about too much, but Mary was digesting
Word of God.
Martha was preparing food that not would last. But Mary was eating the food
of eternal life. There is nothing wrong with preparing a meal, but if you
do it out of love it becomes a work of joy.
BE ASSURED THAT GOD WILL PROVIDE
Matthew 6:31-33
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. 33 But seek first his kingdom
and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
When God is first in our lives, He will provide a way for us to get all we
need. The difference between one who trusts God and one who does not is
one has no plan but is assured that things will work out. The other has a
plan with no assurance.
Everyone wants something out of life, but not everyone is assured they will
get what they hope for.
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR HEART
John 14:1
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
Out of the heart flows the issues of life. To take control of your heart you
must trust the Father and the Son.
What are the issues of life that matter?
Love
Confidence
Assurance
Success
Health
Joy
Peace
None of these can be controlled by our efforts. All of these are in the hands
of the Lord. If we live by our efforts, we are limited to what we know or can do.
If we live under the guidance and directions of the Lord we can do all things.
Our possibilities are unlimited.
A life without a troubled heart is a life totally dependent on God.
A child lives for the moment. The child is totally dependent on his/her parents
to provide for them. They give no thought to what it takes to feed and clothe
them. They are not worried about the light bill, the grocery bill, the house note,
or anything regarding responsibility.
Jesus himself said ;
Mark 10:15
I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
We have the kingdom of God before us. Why not live in it?
So how do WE LIVE IN THE MOMENT?
1. Put God first in your thoughts
2. Commit your ways to the Lord
3. Obey His commands
4. Pray without ceasing.
5. Worry not, but trust God
6. Work unto the Lord.
LIVE IN THE MOMENT
CLASS QUESTIONS
WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS OF LIVING IN
THE MOMENT?
BASE ON YOUR EXPERIENCE, HOW CAN YOU
LIVE IN THE MOMENT?
