Wesley's 9th Discourse

We are beginning a new sermon series based on the Sermon on the Mount. As part of this we will also be studying Wesley's original sermons. These sermons are a part of the rich history and doctrinal teachings of Methodism.

Below you will find a study guide our small groups and Bible study groups will be using during this series. Also there is an Ai translated version of Wesley's original sermon to aid in your reading (Wesley's Quotes and key ideas are in bold). Also there is a preached sermon video from youtube if you are like me and find listening as a better avenue for the content.

Keep growing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qof5HtyUhs

Study Guide Questions

Sermon

Sermon 29 — Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount

Discourse 9

Matthew 6:24–34

24 “No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.

Do Not Worry

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 important than food, and the body more important 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 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies 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, O 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. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

1. It is written concerning the nations whom the king of Assyria, after carrying Israel away into captivity, placed in the cities of Samaria, that “they feared the Lord, and served their own gods.” These nations, says the inspired writer, “feared the Lord”; that is, they offered him an outward service, which is plain proof that they had some fear of God, though not a fear guided by true knowledge. And yet they also “served their graven images,” both they and their children and their children’s children; as their fathers did, so they continued to do to that very day.

How closely the practice of most modern Christians resembles that of those ancient heathens! They too “fear the Lord”; they also perform an outward service to him, and by this they show that they have some fear of God. But they also “serve their own gods.” There are those who teach them, just as there were those who taught the Assyrians, “the manner of the God of the land,” the God whose name the country still bears, and who was once worshiped there with holy worship. “Howbeit,” they do not serve him alone; they do not fear him enough for this. Rather, every nation makes gods of its own in the cities where they dwell. “These nations fear the Lord”; they have not laid aside the outward form of worshiping him; but at the same time “they serve their graven images,” silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. Money, pleasure, and praise, the gods of this world, more than divide their service with the God of Israel. And this is the way both of “their children and their children’s children”; as their fathers did, so do they to this day.

2. But although, speaking loosely, after the common way of men, those poor heathens were said to “fear the Lord,” yet we may observe that the Holy Ghost immediately adds, speaking according to the truth and the real nature of things, “They fear not the Lord, neither do after the law and the commandment, which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob; with whom the Lord made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor serve them.—But the Lord your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.”

The same judgment is passed by the unerring Spirit of God, and indeed by all whose eyes of understanding he has opened to discern the things of God, upon these poor Christians, falsely so called. If we speak according to the truth and the real nature of things, they do not fear the Lord, neither do they serve him. For they do not live according to the covenant the Lord has made with them, nor according to the law and commandment he has given them, saying, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” They still serve other gods to this day. And yet the word of our Lord remains unshaken: “No man can serve two masters.”

3. How vain is it for any man to aim at this, to try to serve two masters! Is it not easy to foresee the unavoidable result of such an attempt? “Either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” The two parts of this sentence, though presented separately, are to be understood in connection with one another, for the latter naturally follows from the former. He will naturally hold to the one he loves. He will cling to him in such a way as to render him a willing, faithful, and diligent service. And in the meantime he will, at least to some degree, despise the master he hates, so as to have little regard for his commands, and to obey them, if at all, only in a slight and careless manner. Therefore, whatever the wise men of the world may suppose, this remains true: “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

4. Mammon was the name of one of the heathen gods, who was supposed to preside over riches. Here it means riches themselves—gold and silver, or money in general—and, by a common figure of speech, all that may be purchased by them, such as ease, honor, and sensual pleasure.

But what are we to understand here by serving God, and what by serving mammon?

We cannot serve God unless we believe in him. This is the only true foundation of serving him. Therefore believing in God, as reconciling the world to himself through Christ Jesus, believing in him as a loving and pardoning God, is the first great branch of his service. And thus believing in God implies trusting in him as our strength, without whom we can do nothing, and who every moment gives us power from on high, without which it is impossible to please him; as our help, our only help in time of trouble, who surrounds us with songs of deliverance; as our shield, our defender, and the lifter up of our head above all our enemies round about us. It implies trusting in God as our happiness, as the center of spirits, the only rest of our souls, the only good that is adequate to all our capacities and sufficient to satisfy all the desires he has given us. It implies, also, what is closely related to the former, trusting in God as our end; having an eye to him in all things; using all things only as means of enjoying him; wherever we are, and whatever we do, seeing him who is invisible, looking upon us with pleasure, and referring all things to him through Christ Jesus.

5. Thus to believe is the first thing we are to understand by serving God. The second is to love him.

Now to love God in the manner Scripture describes, in the manner God himself requires of us and, by requiring, promises to work in us, is to love him as the one God; that is, with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength. It is to desire God alone for his own sake, and nothing else except in reference to him. It is to rejoice in God, to delight in the Lord, not only to seek but to find happiness in him, to enjoy God as the chiefest among ten thousand, to rest in him as our God and our all. In a word, it is to have such a possession of God as makes us always happy.

6. A third thing we are to understand by serving God is to resemble or imitate him.

So spoke the ancient father: Optimus Dei cultus, imitari quem colis—“It is the best worship or service of God, to imitate him whom you worship.”

Here we speak of imitating or resembling him in the spirit of our minds, for here true Christian imitation of God begins. “God is a Spirit,” and those who imitate or resemble him must do it “in spirit and in truth.” Now God is love; therefore those who resemble him in the spirit of their minds are transformed into the same image. They are merciful, even as he is merciful. Their soul is full of love. They are kind, benevolent, compassionate, tender-hearted, and that not only toward the good and gentle, but also toward the froward. Yes, like him, they are loving toward every person, and their mercy extends to all his works.

7. One thing more we are to understand by serving God is obeying him: glorifying him with our bodies as well as with our spirits; keeping his outward commandments; zealously doing whatever he has commanded; carefully avoiding whatever he has forbidden; and performing all the ordinary actions of life with a single eye and a pure heart, offering them all in holy, fervent love as sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.

8. Let us now consider what we are to understand, on the other hand, by serving mammon. First, it implies trusting in riches, in money, or in the things that can be bought by it, as our strength, the means by which we shall accomplish whatever business we have in hand; trusting in them as our help, by which we expect to be comforted in trouble or delivered out of it.

It implies trusting in the world for happiness, supposing that “a man’s life,” the comfort of his life, “consisteth in the abundance of the things which he possesseth”; looking for rest in the things that are seen, for contentment in outward plenty, expecting from the things of the world that satisfaction which can never be found outside of God. And if we do this, we cannot help but make the world our end, the ultimate end, if not of all, at least of many, of our undertakings, actions, and designs, in which we aim only at increasing wealth, gaining pleasure or praise, or securing a larger measure of temporal things, without any reference to things eternal.

9. Serving mammon implies, secondly, loving the world; desiring it for its own sake; placing our joy in the things of it; setting our hearts upon them; seeking there, though it is impossible we should ever find it, our happiness; resting with the whole weight of our souls upon the staff of this broken reed, although daily experience shows that it cannot support us, but will only enter into our hand and pierce it.

10. To resemble, to be conformed to the world, is a third thing we are to understand by serving mammon: to have not only designs, but desires, tempers, and affections suited to those of the world; to be of an earthly, sensual mind, chained down to the things of earth; to be self-willed, inordinate lovers of ourselves; to think highly of our own attainments; to desire and delight in the praise of men; to fear, shun, and hate reproach; to be impatient of reproof, easy to be provoked, and swift to return evil for evil.

11. To serve mammon is, lastly, to obey the world, by outwardly conforming to its rules and customs; by walking as other people walk, in the common road, in the broad, smooth, well-traveled path; by being in fashion, following the crowd, and doing as the rest of our neighbors do. In other words, it is doing the will of the flesh and the mind, gratifying our appetites and inclinations, sacrificing to ourselves, and aiming at our own ease and pleasure in the general course both of our words and actions.

Now what could be more undeniably clear than that we cannot serve God and mammon in these ways at the same time?

12. Does not every person see that he cannot comfortably serve both? To try to divide our loyalty between God and the world is the sure way to lose the peace of both and find rest in neither. How miserable must the condition be of someone who has the fear of God but not the love of God, who serves him outwardly but not with the whole heart, and therefore receives only the burdens of religion but none of its joys! Such a person has religion enough to make him uneasy, but not enough to make him happy. His religion will not allow him to enjoy the world, and the world will not allow him to enjoy God. Thus by trying to stand between the two, he loses both, and finds no peace either in God or in the world.

13. Does not every person also see that he cannot serve both consistently with himself? What greater contradiction could appear in someone’s behavior than in the person who tries to obey both these masters, attempting to serve both God and mammon? Such a person is indeed a sinner going two ways—one step forward and another backward. He is continually building with one hand and tearing down with the other. He loves sin and yet hates it. He is always seeking God and yet always fleeing from him. He both wills and does not will. He is not the same person for a single day, no, not even for a single hour. He becomes a strange mixture of opposite things, a heap of contradictions thrown together. Therefore, be consistent with yourself one way or the other. Turn either to the right hand or to the left. If mammon is your god, serve him; but if the Lord is God, then serve him. Yet never imagine that you can truly serve either one unless you do so with your whole heart.

14. Indeed, does not every thoughtful person see that it is absolutely impossible to serve both? For there is the greatest possible opposition and irreconcilable conflict between them. The opposition between the most contrary things on earth—between fire and water, between darkness and light—disappears when compared to the opposition between God and mammon. Wherever you serve the one, you necessarily reject the other.

Do you believe in God through Christ? Do you trust him as your strength, your help, your shield, and your exceedingly great reward—as your happiness and your ultimate end above all things? Then it is impossible for you to trust in riches. But if you trust in riches, then you have denied the faith; you do not trust in the living God. Do you love God? Do you seek and find happiness in him? Then you cannot love the world or the things of the world. You are crucified to the world, and the world is crucified to you. But if you love the world and set your affections on earthly things, seeking happiness in them, then it is impossible for you to love God; the love of the Father is not in you.

Again, do you resemble God? Are you merciful as your Father is merciful? Are you transformed by the renewing of your mind into the image of him who created you? Then you cannot be conformed to the present world; you have renounced its desires and passions. But if you are conformed to the world, if your soul still bears the image of the earthly, then you are not renewed in the spirit of your mind, and you do not bear the image of the heavenly. Finally, do you obey God? Are you eager to do his will on earth as the angels do in heaven? Then it is impossible for you to obey mammon; you openly resist the world, trampling its customs and principles under your feet. But if you follow the world, if you live like other people, if you seek to please others or please yourself, then you cannot be a servant of God; you are serving another master altogether.

15. Therefore, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” Lay aside every thought of obeying two masters, of serving both God and mammon. Set before yourself no end, no help, no happiness except God. Seek nothing in heaven or on earth except him. Aim at nothing except to know him, to love him, and to enjoy him.

And because this is the whole purpose of your life on earth—the single aim that should guide all you do—our Lord continues his teaching by saying, “Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body, what you shall put on.” This is a deep and weighty instruction, one that deserves our most careful attention and thorough understanding.

16. Our Lord does not mean that we should be completely without thought about the concerns of this life. A careless, thoughtless spirit is as far from the religion of Jesus Christ as possible. Nor does he command us to be lazy in business, slow or negligent in our work. Such behavior is also entirely contrary to the spirit of his religion. A Christian hates laziness as much as drunkenness and avoids idleness just as he would avoid adultery. He knows well that there is a kind of care and thought that pleases God and is absolutely necessary in performing the duties to which God’s providence has called him.

It is the will of God that everyone should labor to eat his own bread and provide for those of his household. It is also his will that we owe no one anything and conduct ourselves honorably before all people. But these things cannot be done without taking some thought and care; indeed, often they require long and serious reflection and much earnest attention. Therefore the care required to provide for ourselves and our families, and the thoughtful planning needed to deal honestly with others, is not condemned by our Lord. On the contrary, such care is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.

17. The care our Lord condemns is the care of the heart, the anxious and troubling kind of care, the care that brings torment. It is the kind of care that harms both body and soul. What he forbids is that anxious worry which, as experience shows, wastes the blood and drains the spirit; which imagines all the suffering it fears and begins tormenting us long before the trouble comes.

This kind of care poisons the blessings of today with fears about tomorrow. It prevents us from enjoying present provision because we are afraid of future lack. Such worry is not only a painful disease of the soul but also a serious offense against God. It is an insult to the wise and gracious Governor of the world, implying that the great Judge does not order things rightly. It suggests either that God lacks wisdom and does not know what we need, or that he lacks goodness and will not provide for those who trust him.

Therefore be careful not to fall into this kind of anxious thought. Be anxiously careful for nothing. Do not give way to uneasy worry. This is a clear rule: uneasy care is sinful care. With your eye fixed on God alone, do all that lies within your power to provide what is honest in the sight of all people. And then commit the entire outcome to God, leaving everything in his hands.

18. Take no anxious thought of this kind, even for your life—what you shall eat or drink—or for your body—what you shall wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? If God has given you life, the greater gift, will he not also give the food needed to sustain it? If he has given you the body, how can you doubt that he will also provide clothing to cover it—especially if you have given yourself entirely to him and serve him with your whole heart?

Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or gather crops into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not far more valuable than they? You are creatures capable of knowing and enjoying God. Are you not of greater worth in his sight? And which of you, by worrying, can add even a single measure to your life? What good does anxious thought accomplish? It is entirely useless.

Consider also the lilies of the field. They grow without labor or spinning, yet even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists and tomorrow is burned in the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? You were created to endure forever and reflect his eternal glory. Your worry shows how small your faith is, for if you truly trusted his love and care, you would not doubt him even for a moment.

19. Therefore do not say anxiously, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” if we do not store up treasures on earth or seek worldly security. For these are the things the Gentiles eagerly pursue, the people who do not know God. But you know that your heavenly Father knows you need all these things.

And he has shown you the certain way to have them provided. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

20. To seek first the kingdom of God means that before any other thought or care enters your mind, it should be your great concern that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ reign in your heart. He gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Therefore seek that he would reveal himself in your soul, dwell within you, and rule there, casting down every proud thought that rises against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into obedience to Christ.

Let God alone reign over you. Let him rule without any rival. Let him possess your entire heart. Let him be your one desire, your joy, your love, until everything within you continually declares, “The Lord God omnipotent reigns.”

And seek his righteousness also. This righteousness is the fruit of God’s reign in the heart. And what is this righteousness except love—love for God and love for all people—flowing from faith in Jesus Christ and producing humility, meekness, gentleness, patience, and a heart that is no longer attached to the world. From this inward love flow all holy actions, everything that is beautiful and commendable, every work of faith and labor of love that is pleasing to God and beneficial to others.

Finally, remember that this righteousness is God’s righteousness. It is his free gift to us through Jesus Christ the righteous. It is purchased for us by him and worked within us by God himself through the power of the Holy Spirit.

21. Careful attention to this truth may also help us understand other passages of Scripture that have not always been clearly explained. For example, the Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans concerning the unbelieving Jews: “Being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God.”

One meaning of these words may be this: they were ignorant of God’s righteousness, not only of the righteousness of Christ that is credited to every believer, by which all his sins are forgiven and he is restored to the favor of God, but also—and this seems especially intended here—they were ignorant of that inward righteousness, that holiness of heart, which may most properly be called God’s righteousness, since it is both his free gift through Christ and his own work by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Because they did not understand this, they tried to establish their own righteousness. They labored to build up an outward righteousness, a merely external religion, which could rightly be called their own. For it was not produced by the Spirit of God, nor was it accepted by him. They could produce this outward righteousness by their own natural effort, yet when it was finished it was still offensive before God. Nevertheless, trusting in this outward religion, they refused to submit to the righteousness that comes from God. They hardened their hearts against that faith through which alone this righteousness can be received. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. When he cried, “It is finished,” he brought an end to the law of external ceremonies so that he might bring in a better righteousness through his own blood—the image of God restored in the inner soul of every believer.

22. Closely related to this is another statement by the Apostle, found in his letter to the Philippians: “I count all things as loss that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

When he says, “not having my own righteousness which is of the law,” he refers to that merely outward righteousness, the external religion he once possessed, when he believed he could be accepted by God because he was, as he himself says, “touching the righteousness of the law, blameless.”

But now he desires instead “that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” This is the inward holiness of heart, the renewal of the soul in all its desires, affections, and attitudes. This righteousness is of God, because it is God’s own work and not the work of human effort. And it comes by faith, through the revelation of Jesus Christ within us and through faith in his blood, by which we receive the forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified.

23. Therefore seek first the kingdom of God in your hearts, this righteousness which is God’s gift and God’s work, the image of God restored within your soul. And when you seek this first, all these other things shall be added to you—all things necessary for the body, in such measure as God sees best for the advancement of his kingdom.

These things shall be added; they will be given besides what you are truly seeking. As you seek the peace and love of God, you will not only find what you seek directly—the kingdom that cannot be shaken—but you will also find what you did not seek for its own sake, but only in relation to that greater good. On your way to the kingdom you will find the outward things you need, so far as they are truly helpful for you. This care God has taken upon himself. Cast all your care upon him. He knows your needs, and whatever is lacking he will certainly provide.

24. Therefore take no anxious thought for tomorrow. Not only should you avoid worrying about how to store up earthly treasures or increase worldly possessions, or how to obtain more food than you can eat, more clothing than you can wear, or more money than is necessary for the simple and reasonable purposes of life; you should also avoid anxious worry even about the things that are truly necessary for the body.

Do not trouble yourself now by thinking about what you will do at some distant time. That time may never come, or it may never concern you. Before then you may have already passed through the waves of life and entered eternity. Such distant concerns do not belong to you, a creature of a day. Indeed, strictly speaking, what do you have to do with tomorrow? Why trouble yourself without need? God provides today what is necessary for the life he has given you today. That is enough. Place yourself completely in his hands. If you live another day, he will provide for that day also.

25. Above all, do not use concern about the future as an excuse for neglecting your duty in the present. This is the most dangerous way of taking thought for tomorrow, and yet how common it is! Many people, when urged to live with a clear conscience, to avoid what they know is wrong, respond by saying, “How then shall we live? Must we not take care of ourselves and our families?” They imagine this to be a sufficient reason for continuing in known sin.

They say, and perhaps truly think, that they would serve God now if it were not for the fear that they might lose their livelihood later. They would prepare for eternity, but they are afraid of lacking the necessities of life. Thus they serve the devil for a piece of bread. They rush toward destruction because they fear poverty. They throw away their souls in order to avoid the possibility that someday they might not have enough for their bodies.

It is not surprising that those who remove their affairs from God’s hands often fail to obtain even the things they are seeking. While they abandon heaven to secure earthly things, they frequently lose both. In the wise ordering of his providence, God often allows this to happen. Those who refuse to cast their care upon him, who worry about earthly things but show little concern for eternal things, often lose even the portion they have chosen. A visible disappointment rests upon their efforts. Their plans fail to prosper. Thus, after forsaking God for the world, they lose what they sought as well as what they rejected. They fail to obtain the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and neither are other things added to them.

26. There is another way of taking thought for tomorrow that is also forbidden in these words. It is possible to worry wrongly even about spiritual matters, becoming so concerned about what might happen later that we neglect what is required of us now.

If we are not constantly watching and praying, we may easily drift into this error. We begin to imagine future situations and plan what good we will do then. We picture ourselves serving God faithfully once certain circumstances change. We think about how useful we will be when we are in a different place, or when a different time comes, or when our situation becomes easier. We imagine how diligently we will serve God once some obstacle has been removed.

Perhaps you are presently in a season of spiritual darkness. God seems to hide his face from you. You feel little sense of his presence and cannot taste the sweetness of his redeeming love. In such a condition it is easy to say, “When the light of God’s face shines on me again, then I will praise him greatly. Then I will encourage others to praise him. Then I will boldly speak for Christ and redeem the time. Then I will fully use every gift God has given me.”

But do not deceive yourself. You will not do it then unless you do it now. The one who is faithful in little will be faithful in much. But if you now bury one talent in the ground, you would bury five if they were given to you. Indeed, there is little reason to believe they ever will be given. For to the one who uses what he has, more will be given; but from the one who does not use what he has received, even that will be taken away.

27. Do not take anxious thought about the temptations that may come tomorrow. This also is a dangerous snare. Do not say, “When that temptation comes, what will I do? How will I stand? I know I do not have the strength to resist it.”

It is true that you do not now have the strength to overcome temptations that are not yet present. But you do not need that strength yet. The enemy you fear is not attacking you now. With the grace you have today you could not overcome tomorrow’s trials—but when those trials arrive, the necessary grace will come with them.

When trials increase, strength will increase also. When sufferings abound, the consolations of God will abound as well. In every circumstance the grace of God will be sufficient for you. God does not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear, and with every temptation he provides a way of escape. As your days are, so shall your strength be.

28. Therefore let tomorrow take care of itself. When tomorrow arrives, then think about it. Your task is to live today. Make it your earnest concern to use the present moment well. This moment is yours, and it is all you truly possess. The past is gone and cannot be recovered. The future is uncertain and may never come. You do not know what tomorrow may bring.

Therefore live today. Do not waste an hour. Use the present moment faithfully, for it is the portion God has given you. Those who lived before you have already passed away. Their generations have vanished like leaves that fall from a tree. They lived their day and then were gone, returning to the dust. Other generations followed and passed away in the same manner.

Now it is your turn upon the earth. Therefore rejoice in the days God has given you. Enjoy the present moment by enjoying the One whose years never fail. Fix your eyes on him in whom there is no change. Give him your heart now. Trust in him now. Be holy now, as he is holy. Take hold of the opportunity before you to do his good and perfect will. Rejoice even to suffer loss for his name if by doing so you may gain Christ.

29. Therefore gladly accept whatever God allows you to face today for the sake of his name. But do not burden yourself with the sufferings of tomorrow. Sufficient for the day is the trouble of it. Trouble it may be, speaking in human terms—whether reproach, poverty, pain, or sickness. But in the language of God all of it is blessing. It is a healing balm prepared by divine wisdom and given to God’s children according to the needs of their souls.

God gives to each day exactly what that day requires. If you try to carry tomorrow’s burden today, you will receive more than you are able to bear. Instead of helping your soul, it will harm it. Therefore receive only what God gives you today. Today do and suffer his will. Today give yourself—body, soul, and spirit—entirely to God through Jesus Christ. Desire nothing except that God may be glorified in all that you are, in all that you do, and in all that you suffer. Seek nothing except to know God and Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Pursue nothing except to love him, serve him, and enjoy him both now and forever.

Week 9 - One Master, One Trust

Scripture: Matthew 6:24–34

Wesley Sermon: Sermon 29 – Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse 9

Introduction

Jesus speaks with unmistakable clarity: “No one can serve two masters.” In these words, He exposes a divided heart—the tension between trusting God and trusting what money, security, or control can provide. John Wesley presses this truth even further, insisting that divided loyalty is not merely difficult, but impossible.

This passage moves us from the question of who we serve to how we live day by day. Jesus does not call us to carelessness or passivity, but to freedom from anxious, consuming worry. A heart fully given to God can work diligently, plan wisely, and still rest confidently—because its trust is settled.

GATHER

Purpose

To identify where our hearts feel divided between trust in God and trust in worldly security.

Personal Discovery

• When you hear the phrase “You cannot serve God and mammon,” what emotions or thoughts rise up in you?

• What kinds of worries tend to dominate your thinking—finances, health, family, the future?

• Where do you notice a tension between trusting God and wanting control?

Group Discussion

• Why do you think divided loyalty feels so normal in our culture—even among Christians?

• Wesley says some people have “religion enough to make them miserable, but not enough to make them happy.” What do you think he means by that?

• How have you seen worry affect people’s joy, faith, or relationships?

GROW

Purpose

To understand the difference between faithful responsibility and anxious care—and how wholehearted trust reshapes daily life.

Summary

Wesley makes an important distinction between the care of the head and the care of the heart. God approves of thoughtful planning, honest labor, and providing for our households. What Jesus forbids is anxious, tormenting care—the kind that poisons today with fears about tomorrow.

Serving God means trusting Him as our strength, help, happiness, and ultimate goal. Serving mammon means trusting possessions, security, or approval to provide what only God can give. These two ways of living are fundamentally opposed. Anxiety often reveals where our trust is actually placed.

Jesus’ invitation is not to do less, but to trust more: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” When God reigns fully in the heart, our worries lose their grip, and our priorities fall into place.

Personal Discovery

• How do you distinguish between wise planning and anxious worry in your own life?

• Which of Wesley’s descriptions of “serving mammon” felt most convicting or familiar?

• What does it practically look like for you to “seek first the kingdom” this season?

Group Discussion

• Why do you think anxiety can be a spiritual issue, not just an emotional one?

• How does trusting God reshape the way we approach work, finances, and daily decisions?

• What helps you release worry once you’ve done what is responsible and right?

GO

Purpose

To practice daily, wholehearted trust by living faithfully in the present moment.

Take It Home – Mark of Holiness

A heart undivided—working diligently, trusting deeply, and resting fully in God’s care.

Scripture Readings for the Week

• Matthew 6:24–34

• Psalm 37:3–7

• Philippians 4:4–9

• 1 Peter 5:6–7

• Lamentations 3:22–26

Memory Verse

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” — Matthew 6:33

Prayer Prompt

“Lord, search my heart and show me where I am divided. Teach me to trust You fully—not just with eternity, but with today. Help me to work faithfully, release my worries, and seek Your kingdom first in all things. Amen.”rify my focus.Where my trust has drifted, gently call it back.Teach me to live with a single eye—to seek You above all else,and to trust You with all I have. Amen.”