Love the Giver, Enjoy the Gifts

Transcript

GRM 1035
6/21/2009
Love the Giver, Enjoy the Gifts
Matthew 6:19-24; 19:16-22
Gil Rugh

One of the more familiar portions of the Word of God is the Sermon on the Mount and we're studying that together so turn in your Bibles to Matthew 6. The Sermon on the Mount covers three chapters in our Bibles—chapter 5, chapter 6 and chapter 7. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is explaining to His disciples what is required to be part of the kingdom that He will establish on the earth. He describes the character and conduct of those who will be going into that kingdom. He's making clear that the religious leaders in the nation Israel are not going into the kingdom in their present condition. They thought they were righteous, they were looked up to by the people in Israel as righteous people. And yet Jesus said in their present condition they cannot go into the kingdom. Matthew 5:20, for I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. You have to have a greater righteousness than the scribes and Pharisees, you have to have a righteousness that comes about from having your heart cleansed. You must be born again to go into the kingdom, as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3. God is looking at the heart and He sees a heart that is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. He requires that that heart be cleansed and made new. Now out of a new, a cleansed heart changed conduct is to come. The religious leaders thought as they attempted to change their conduct and try to live in conformity with what they believed God wanted from them, they would be acceptable to Him. Understand that God is looking at the heart and until the heart is changed nothing is acceptable to Him. Once the heart is changed and made new, then we can live now pleasing to Him.

When you come into chapter 6 He has talked about religious activities through the first eighteen verses. He's drawn a contrast between those who do thing externally for the show, to be seen by men, and those who are doing it from the heart to be pleasing to God. We noted the contrast drawn in verse 2, the hypocrites do what they do to be honored by men. They have their reward in full when men honor them. The same things was said in verse 5, the same thing was said in verse 16 regarding giving to the poor, regarding praying, regarding fasting. All these things have the external appearance of being very religious and righteous, but they may be done just to please men. The other side is to do things in secret, emphasizing the point they are done from the heart with the desire to please God. Then, verse 4, your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. The end of verse 6 the same thing, the end of verse 18 the same thing. So the question is who is the One you want to please? Other people come to church today because they want to worship God. We're all here, we're seen, but it's the condition of our hearts. Why we are here, what we are doing here that determines whether we are acceptable to God or not. The foundational thing is faith in the revelation God has given. Now the provision of His Son, Jesus Christ is what provides the inner cleansing and enables us now to worship God and to serve God in a pleasing way.

Jesus is going to continue this same emphasis and discussion as He focuses specific attention on the matter of material things, our possessions. The basic theme hasn't changed. That emphasis in chapter 5 verse 20, you must have a greater righteousness than the scribes and Pharisees or you'll never go into the kingdom, is the same emphasis He has now when He talks about material things.

Come over to Luke 16. Here Jesus has been talking to them about money and so on. He says in verse 13, no man can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and wealth. And He's going to say the same thing in a section we're going to look at in a moment in Matthew. Now notice verse 14, now the Pharisees who were lovers of money were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. You see here are the Pharisees, the religious leaders. But in their hearts they were lovers of money.

So Jesus is continuing, back in Matthew, that same theme. You have to have a greater righteousness than the scribes and Pharisees. They looked like they weren't interested in these things, they acted like that's not what was important, but in their hearts they were lovers of money. And God was looking at the heart. So Jesus is carrying on that theme, you have to have a greater righteousness than they have.

Down in Matthew 6:33, seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things, all these material things will be added to you. It doesn't mean God is going to make you rich, but it does mean God will provide for you day by day. We'll see that as we move on in future studies.

The matter of material things. Good days for us to be talking about this. Our country has gone through and is going through a major crisis in the whole financial realm. Many people have experienced a loss of wealth that they were sure that they had. The whole world has been impacted by the financial turmoil. You know we sometimes think that's because we became so materialistic. I do want to say that the world has always been materialistic. We go back to the Old Testament and we read about emphases on wealth and people becoming absorbed by that and so that. So we are not more materialistic or less materialistic as far as I can tell biblically than people have been before. We live in a material world and it is such that material things are necessary to a certain extent. And after you have ample of the necessities, when you have excess life becomes more comfortable. And we talk about the good life. And so we are always and have always been drawn to material things—the necessities and then beyond the necessities. So Jesus is going to address a very important area and put it in proper perspective for anyone who is going to be part of the kingdom. For anyone who is truly a child of the living God the matter of material things will have to be seen in the perspective that God gives it.

Let's pick up with Matthew 6:19. Jesus said, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. He's talking about earthly things and they are transitory. In biblical times you accumulated wealth with certain valuable garments, with your grain. Some of you farming would measure your wealth in grain. Or other kinds of treasures. Storing up gold or silver, money. These are all susceptible to loss of one kind or another. Moths could eat the valuable garments, the grain could be rusted. Now the word translated rusted gives us the idea of metal being eaten away, and certain metals were valuable. And this word could refer to rust. It just means to eat away. It could also refer to rodents eating away the grain or insects devouring a crop or things like that. Anything eaten away. And again in those days as you are aware much of their wealth was determined by crops. And then anything else you might store up. If you had cash thieves could break in and steal. Interesting here, thieves dig in and steal. Many of the homes in those days were made out of mud that had been hardened and criminals often would dig through the wall. The point is you can lose earthly possessions. Don't store up treasures for yourself on earth where you could lose them in one way or another.

This is not new material. Jesus is reminding them of what the Old Testament said. Come back to Proverbs 23. Some of you make a practice of reading a proverb every day at various times. And you can go through the book of Proverbs in a month. Very profitable as a constant reminder of these basic statements of wisdom. Verse 4, do not weary yourself to gain wealth. Cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. Wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens. The picture is that it just flies away, is gone. Don't get absorbed in trying to amass earthly treasure because it comes and it goes, it's gone, it doesn't last. That's the point. It's not something you can count on.

Solomon wrote many of the proverbs, the wisest man who ever lived and one of the wealthiest. Turn over to Ecclesiastes 2. Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes and with all his wisdom and all his wealth he decided he ought to try to make the most of life. So he says in verse 3, I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, how to take hold of folly so I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives. He never lost sight, he's a wise man, remember, that life is short. I thought I'd try out everything I could. He wouldn't have been familiar with the beer commercial but he would have been familiar with alcoholic beverages—go for the gusto. So what did he do? I enlarged my works, I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself, I made gardens and parks for myself, I planted all kinds of fruit trees, I made ponds and water for myself to irrigate a forest of growing trees. You know, nothing new. What happens? You get a mansion, then you want trees around the mansion, then you want ponds and water around. I had male and female slaves, I collected silver and gold, verse 8. I had my own singers to entertain me. I mean, the more wealth you get the more you get focused on entertainment. Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom stood with me. All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them, I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure. So my heart was pleased because of all my labor, this was my reward for all my labor. Then I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted. Behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.

You know when all is said and done I had it. Now what do I have? I have nothing. And he's right. It couldn't satisfy him then and now what do you think of the wealth of Solomon today? I don't know, where is it? Good question, where is it? Gone. I mean, even in his own life he says, I did everything I could and still it's not what I needed. There is an emptiness to it and then it has a way of dissipating. Who are the heirs of Solomon today? And where is his money? And where is his wealth? It just goes away. That's the point.

Come back to Matthew 6. So don't occupy yourself with earthly treasure, don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth. They are susceptible to the loss of one kind or another. Inflation, deflation. You put your money in the market and it seems you are doing well and you wake up one morning and it's gone. That's all right, I'll put it in cash. Then inflation comes or deflation comes and it's gone. And what do I do to keep it safe? Endless articles being written on where you can put it to be safe, truly safe. And then somebody else writes just the opposite. This is the advised thing to do. Always trying to make it safe. There was an article in the paper this last week. A lady, I think she was in Israel, she put her life savings of $1 million in a mattress. Then she decided she needed a new mattress and she sent the old one to the dump. The article said they were scouring the dumps of Israel trying to find a mattress that was lumpy. There it goes.

Matthew 6:20, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Here is the contrast. Verse 19, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth; verse 20, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break in or steal. Any treasure you have in heaven is safe, it is secure, it is not going to be lost in any way. No matter when you put it there, no matter back in the days when Christ is speaking, or 2000 years earlier when Abraham, the servant of the Lord, the friend of God was putting treasure in heaven, or right to today. It's durable, hasn't lost anything. It is still of eternal value.

Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. The remarkable thing is that we can do that. You know, how many people have lost a fortune by thinking they were into a sure thing. I mean, I was getting 12%. But you understand you really weren't getting anything, you were losing your money. One morning you woke up and you had nothing. What happened? One of the well-known wealthy men in New York went to his classy apartment in downtown New York and committed suicide. Why? All my treasure is gone, life is over. How sad.

Turn over to I Peter 1:3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His great mercy. That's where we have to start out, we need mercy. We are wretched, lost people. We are condemned in our sin, doomed to death and hell. We need God to show us mercy. And He has, in Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. Peter writing to believers going through trials, don't get disheartened. You may have lost your home, you may have lost your job, you may be in prison. But keep in mind you haven't lost anything. Everything is safe, everything is secure.

I remember visiting with an elderly pastor, 75, when I was in China many years ago. And he had spent 20+ years in prison and we were talking about the Lord in a hotel lobby and getting him some materials that he could pass on. And we asked, are you afraid they will arrest you again? He smiled and said, what are they going to do? Take away my house? They already did. Take away my possessions? They already did. Put me in jail and have to feed me? Go ahead. I thought, here is a man who is truly free from the bondage of things. What's the government going to do? Arrest me and put me in prison and have to give me my food? They've taken away my things ____________ _______________________ you don't know how hard it is, I've lost everything. He has this big grin on his face. They already took my house, can't take it again. They also told me as a pastor, they took the church building. I have nothing else for them to take. Sort of like Paul, I have suffered the loss of all things. But you know what? I count it rubbish, I Corinthians 3. We walk along, I gave it all for the Lord, what a sacrifice but you know it's worth it. You don't get that sense from there.

So here I have an inheritance, I Peter 1:4, it's imperishable, it's undefiled, it will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. So markets have crashed, retirement accounts are done. What have you lost? Nothing. Where do you invest? Where I won't lose anything. Can I get in? Yes, you can. Do you need to know how much, is there a minimum? Yes, it costs you everything. I knew there was a catch. But you don't have to give anything, you just have to receive the gift. There is a cost. You let go of everything, your treasure becomes real treasure. Do you know the catch in it? There are people who have stored up well and have died before they got to enjoy it. They thought they had everything and they died. But you know what? That won't happen to me, either because verse 5, I am protected by the power of God for the final revelation of my salvation while I will enter into my inheritance. Now there is treasure that matters. What a great deal. I mean, this is what I have. This world is coming apart, what am I going to do? What are our kids going to do? What are our grandkids going to do? My prayer for them is they will do the only thing that matters—place their faith in Christ and have treasure that will endure. Right? Isn't that what you want for your kids? Want for your grandkids? What else would we want? If they have that they'll have something they'll have in a hundred years, in a thousand years, in a million years because we are told it is reserved in heaven for you, verse 4. It won't fade away. So the passing of time won't diminish it. We talk about what you have today, what will that be worth in twenty years. My heavenly treasure will be worth everything, I won't have lost anything. It will endure.

Go to Hebrews 10:32, remember the former days when after being enlightened you endured a great conflict of suffering, partly be being made a public spectacle through reproaches, tribulations, partly by sharing with those who were so treated. You showed sympathy to the prisoners, you joyfully accepted the seizure of your property. Why? Knowing you had for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Don't throw away your confidence, it has great reward. You have need of endurance. You see that, joyfully. You know those initial days when you placed your faith in Christ, you thought it doesn't matter what else I have. I would lose everything now. And after awhile the danger is we settle in, we get comfortable, I belong to the Lord and I have treasure in heaven. But you know what? I enjoy comfort in life and now I get distracted.

Turn back to Colossians 3:1, therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. And then verse 5, we'll pick it up here because this is where we'll be going in a moment in Matthew 6. Therefore consider the members of our earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires and greed which amounts to idolatry. Keep that in mind when Jesus said you can't serve two masters. Covetousness. Having a heart focused on this world's treasure is a form of idolatry, worshiping another god. You can't do that and worship the living God as well.

Come back to Matthew 6. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth but, verse 20, store up for yourself treasures in heaven. And that's what Jesus instructs us. Anyone can do it, anyone can have treasure of great value. I trust in these days when people are concerned about their finances, they talk about it and they want to talk to us about investments and things. Easy time to turn the conversation, you want to have an investment that will last. How much will you have, not only during this life, how much will you have 5 minutes after you've died? Sad to see the wealthy of this world, they are making provision for how their money will be distributed when they die, but they give no thought, what is their preparation for their life after their death? True treasure in heaven will be there.

Then verse 21 Jesus says, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The real issue comes down, not to the amount you have or don't have, but to where your wealth really is, where your heart really is. A person may have a large amount of earthly wealth, but as a true believer his heart is not attached to it. A person may have very little of earthly wealth, but constantly wish and desire they had more. Their heart seeks after. So it's not a matter of how much is too much or too little, it's a matter of where is your heart, where is my heart. And where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If I set my mind on things above where Christ is, I set it on my heavenly treasure, that's where my heart, that's what I treasure. What do I think about? What is my concern? What is my passion? What is my desire to please Him? What am I looking for? A good comfortable retirement on this earth. No, I'm looking for the coming of my Lord, I'm looking for the glory of His presence, I'm looking for the wonder of eternity in serving Him. I have certain things that have to be taken care of here. This is not my treasure, this is not my wealth. That's why Paul could write to the Philippians in Philippians 3, I have suffered the loss of everything and I consider it worthless rubbish because I have gained Christ. Instead in Him I have everything that matters. That's it. Where you treasure is, there will your heart be also.

That's why these are great times for us as believers. That's why trials are good for us as believers. It's good for us to take loss, to go through difficulty and trial, it helps to refocus our attention. Like the writer to the Hebrews said, remember back when you first trusted the Lord and when you trusted the Lord you lose your job, you could lose your possessions, you could lose your house and you are happy about it. You have joy in your heart to be identified with Christ because you've lost your focus. You need to get refocused and endure. _______________ we as believers things are going so well, we are doing so good and we see I really haven't had to do much and we say the Lord just provided and I'm so thankful. But when He takes it away we're crushed. That becomes a test, where is my heart, what do I really value. It's important here, we get into these modes, since we live in a materialistic world and always have, we begin to think that if you do without and you live more a poverty lifestyle you are more godly, you are more spiritual. Even the evangelical church in the broad, broad, broad sense of the word, I think outside the bounds of true evangelical, emergent and so on with the emphasis on go back to the Middle Ages and the mystics and the monks, those who gave up everything and went and lived in caves as though that kind of isolated poverty lifestyle is more pleasing to God. Do you think the Hindu religious men who live by begging are pleasing to God? Where do we get that idea? Misunderstanding what the Bible says. We say, I don't have any treasure, therefore I must be spiritual. And then we begin to think of working with the poor and living poverty is more spiritual. I'm not saying you can't be spiritual and be poor. I believe it was C. T. Studd who inherited a great fortune but believed God called him to the mission field and he gave away the whole fortune because he said it wouldn't be right for me to live on the mission field and depend upon my inheritance. I want to depend upon the Lord. For him it was a godly action. But just giving away my wealth doesn't make me spiritual.

Turn back to Job 1. All these things become ways of moving us away from what the real issue is. I was reading that some believers have become enamored with Mother Teresa and that's a model for doing without and sacrificing. Understand that what God is looking at is the heart. Earthly possessions are not the issue. We admire the sacrifice someone makes and we understand that that does not make a person spiritual or acceptable to God. Verse 1, there was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. Here is a godly man, in fact we'll see in a moment he is the most godly man on earth. And yet you'll note verse 3, his possessions also were 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, very many servants. That man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

Come down to verse 8, the Lord said to satan, have you considered my servant, Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil. You know what God says to satan? He is the most godly, righteous man on the face of the earth. And yet we're told he is the wealthiest man of his time. So it doesn't mean if you are wealthy you won't be godly because if you were really godly you would give away all your money. Job didn't and God said he was the most godly man on the earth with all his wealth. The evidence of that will be God is going to take away all that wealth in a moment of time. You know what Job says? Look down at verse 21, naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. His heart wasn't wrapped up.

You know we have these preachers on TV, some of them very popular. I don't know why people keep going back because one of them that I hear periodically says the same thing every time. I guess you like to hear what you like to hear, even if it's the same thing every day. It's just like if someone tells you that you are handsome every day that's not too much, someone tells you that you are beautiful every day that's okay. Well someone tells you good things are going to come. You may be in a down time now, things may be bad now but you trust God has a blessing on the way. Okay, you can tell me that tomorrow, too. You know for Job you can't tell him that. He's lost all his wealth and worse days are yet to come.

Back in Job 1:2, he has seven sons and three daughters. They are all going to die on the same die in the same accident. That's not the end of it, then he's going to lose his health. That's not the worst of it, then he's going to have three friends who don't understand how God works and they're going to come and add to his misery. But Job doesn't sin, he wasn't invested in the things of this life. He was rich but that wasn't his treasure. His heart wasn't locked onto that, so when God took it all away he said, naked I came into the world, naked I'm going out. The Lord gave it, the Lord takes it away. May the Lord be blessed. So the issue is not having possessions, the issue is loving our possessions. We talk about hold them lightly, I don't grasp onto them. I don't know what I'd do if I lost what I have. That's not it.

Come back to Deuteronomy 8, we've been here a number of times but it is a clear passage on this matter and a warning to Israel. They are about to go into the land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land that they will have abundance. So the Lord warns them, verse 10, when you've eaten and are satisfied you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. Never forget that all you have has come from the Lord. Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and so on. Otherwise when you have eaten and are satisfied you build good houses, you live in them, your wealth multiplies, your heart becomes proud and you forget the Lord. Down to verse 17, you begin to think that somehow you acquired all this by your doing. Verse 18, you shall remember the Lord your God. It is He who is giving you power to make wealth. Some believers the Lord prospers, never forget it's the Lord who did and ultimately it doesn't belong to you. It's entrusted to you to care for properly.

We like to think it doesn't affect us, it does. The wealthier we have become, the more prosperous, the more difficult it has become for us to fit the Lord into our lifestyle, hasn't it? We have so much, we have so many things to do and enjoy it gets hard to fit the Lord into our schedule. We begin to adjust things, it would be nice if things were shorter and they met here and they did this because I have so much going on in my life. And all of a sudden what's happening? The Lord who has so blessed us, now He just gets pushed back. Not intentional, but just over time we allow ourselves to be conformed to the world. If you have all these material things you have to spend enough time enjoying all these material things. And more and more I become absorbed in these things. You know it didn't happen that one night Israel went to bed honoring the Lord and knowing the Lord and blessed them and wanting to devote themselves to Him and the next morning they got up feeling differently. No, little by little by little, and pretty soon the wealth and prosperity and the blessings wrapped the arms around them and they were bound by what they had. The Lord had been squeezed out. Isn't it amazing He had to tell the people of God, Israel here in verse 18, you shall remember the Lord your God. We forget. We think we did Him good because we ______________, we had a lot of things on our minds, we had a busy day yesterday and we have a lot of things planned today. But as long as we get out by then I'll be all right and we'll be on our way. We convey that to our kids. That's all right, it won't interfere with the day, we'll get out of there early enough, we can do what we want to do then. So what have we told them? This is just something we do because we're obligated to do it but we'll do the things that really matter. And we wonder, we've conveyed something, what really is important to us, where our heart really is. And then we raise the next generation and wonder how they struggle with more, and then the next. And soon like Israel, they forgot the Lord altogether. They'll get to the point where when they find a copy of the law that God gave to Moses, they're all shocked at what it says. Just like progressively we become more ignorant of scripture because we have less time for it, because there are so many things we are doing and our wealth has taken hold of us.

Come back to Matthew 6. There is a balance. We looked at Proverbs 6 in a previous study and we were told, contemplate the ant and their wisdom in making provisions. So some people use this as an excuse, well the Lord has given me this today and I'll enjoy it today and they don't plan for tomorrow, they don't provide for tomorrow when they could and that puts them in trouble. That's not the issue here, the Lord speaks to those matters. To the best of my ability we ought to plan for the foreseeable future. At my age I have to consider, have I done what I should to plan for if I'm not able to work now to the best of my ability. Am I worried about it? No. If I have less today than I had last month or last year is that a concern? No. Lord, these things are in your hands. The way our country is going we may end up with money that is worth nothing before our lives are over. That's all right, our treasure is in heaven and my heavenly Father has me in His hands and everything is under control. I don't worry about it a bit. Does that mean I don't plan for tomorrow? No. I have to spend my whole paycheck today? No. I only get paid once a month, I ought to plan and spread it out over the month. The Lord has put something on our shoulders and between our ears and we are to use it. But we're not to become involved or caught up in the things of this life. Jesus will elaborate that.

Come to I Timothy 6:9. Incidentally, we have a quote from Job, a reference back to Job which we read in Job 1:21. Verse 7, we brought nothing into the world so we can take nothing out of it either. Job knew that a long time ago. Verse 9, those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money, not money, the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. Some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Flee from these things you man of God. Doesn't mean that God has given you the ability and the capability to make money you shouldn't do it because I wouldn't want to do that. If I can do that as a faithful servant of His, I do it. I want to use my abilities to the best of my ability. But I'm not doing it to get rich, I'm not doing it to be a wealthy man. I can use the ability God has given me and a way to honor Him. I don't want to fall in love with these things. And the Bible is consistent. It doesn't say we can't have possessions, we can't have wealth, but it consistently warns us of the danger of allowing wealth to ___________.

I remember someone telling me, I've been poor and rich and being rich is better. We'd probably all say that. If we've had little and now we have more, it's nice having more, isn't it? I'll see some of you out for lunch, we'll drive a nice car. Those are things, I'm not saying we shouldn't enjoy them. The Lord has given us all good things to enjoy but not to fall in love with, not to focus my heart on. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy and live, enjoy things the Lord has given me now that I couldn't enjoy as a student in school, scraping to get by. You say, well I should live like that, I lived like that then and I should live like that now. If the Lord would call me to do that, I trust I'm ready to do it. All I can say is if the Lord has blessed you, you can enjoy it, use it as He guides you, but hold it lightly. Your attitude shouldn't change if He does take it away as He did for Job. We don't want to fall in love with these things.

Come back to Matthew 6. The eye is the lamp of the body, so if your eye is clear your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness. We say, that's sort of strange. But really, close your eyes, open them. When you close your eyes you are in darkness, right? Now the lights are still on, the room is not dark, but in you there is darkness. You can't see anything, it's just darkness. So the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is clear, your whole body is full of light. But what happens if you begin to lose your sight? Things may begin to get darker. So if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness. If you lose your sight you can be in the bright sunshine, you can look at the sun, but you can't see any light. You are in darkness.

If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness. What's the application? Verse 21, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If your heart is focused on earthly treasure you are in a realm of spiritual darkness. Everything is distorted and out of perspective. You don't see anything. You live in the realm of darkness, spiritually speaking. That's the point. Just like you see, the eye lets in light and enlightens everything in you. So it is when you have spiritual light within. Then you can see. God has blessed us materially and we enjoy these material things, but I have them in true perspective. They are not my treasure, they are not my wealth, I'm not in love with them. I enjoy them. It's easy to say, all you can do is day by day be reminded, live for the Lord, be faithful to Him as Job did. He had all that, when the Lord took it all away he could say, the Lord gave and the Lord takes away. And he's blessing the Lord who is such a gracious God.

Verse 24, no man can serve two masters. No one, no exceptions here. Either he will hate the one and love the other or he'll be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. The love and hate, that's a contrast the scripture uses and in the biblical usage of it. We say we determine a Semitism coming out of an Old Testament kind of mentality and a Hebrewistic use. Doesn't mean you hate, you despise it. It means that your love, your devotion is to the one and not the other. We are to love God and we hate our parents. Well we don't hate our parents, we have responsibility to our parents, the scripture addresses our responsibility to our parents, Christ addresses that. But the devotion of our heart and our love that supersedes everything is our love and devotion to God. So you can't serve two masters. That doesn't say you can't work two jobs. Remember you do work two jobs, you have two bosses. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about a master/servant, slave. No one can be a slave to two lords, if we want to do it in the clear terminology. Serve, to be a slave, a master, a kyrios, a lord. Why? The definition of a slave to a lord belongs 100% to him. Everything he is, everything he has, everything he does is for that master. So you can't have two of them, it's not possible. You cannot serve God and wealth. There is no way to work this out. You cannot serve God and wealth.

You know it's a pressure point. We live in a materialistic world and when you live in a materially prosperous society it's hard. We as parents, it's Father's Day, we fathers have to be careful we model for our children what matters. My dad may have done well, may have had much, but it was never a question of my dad's devotion, the love of his heart was the Lord Jesus Christ. I know my dad well enough to know that if he had lost everything it would not have made any difference to him because he viewed what he had in Christ as everything. We pass on to our kids. I pray for my kids when they were young, if they have to suffer, if they have to live in misery, if they have to be poor, if they have to suffer great physical trials, whatever, what matters is that they come to believe in Jesus Christ and know His salvation. Sometimes we pass on to our kids what is most important is you have to get this education, you have to get this training, you'll never get a good job, you ............ I want to teach them to be wise, to have responsibility, to prepare, to do what you can to prepare yourself for what God says is your responsibility in life. But I never want to blur, I want them to always understand the most important thing you'll ever do in your life is come to trust in Christ and live for Him. And if you never have much, if you live your life in poverty and never own your own home, that will be fine, if you know Jesus Christ and live for Him. If you're never important or famous, that won't matter because the most important thing, the most valuable thing is known in heaven, in the courts of heaven as a child of God. Is that what we convey to our children? Is that what they see in us? _______ do they see in me as a father, yes he worked hard to provide for us and some have to work 12-15 hours a day to provide for their families. Someone else can provide in 7. You know our kids have a way of knowing whether we are living for things or living for the Lord, whether we arrange our lives around things or around the Lord. That's why what we do models where the commitment of our heart is.

Come to Matthew 19 and we're done. Remember the rich young ruler? Verse 16, someone came to Christ and said, teacher, what good things should I do that I may obtain eternal life? He said to him, why are you asking me about what is good? There is only one who is good. You see what He does first of all. Are you calling Me good because you recognize who I am and you're ready to do what I say? I am the Son of God. There is only One who is good, you've called Me good. Do you know who I really am? If you wish to enter life, keep the commandments. He's luring him on. Which ones? Don't commit murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, honor your father and mother and so on. Verse 20, the young man said, all these things I have kept. What am I still lacking? He knew. Trying to keep the Ten Commandments and there is something not there. Jesus said to him, if you wish to be complete go and sell your possessions, give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Come follow Me. When the young man heard this he went away grieving, he was one who owned much property. Jesus said it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom than a camel to go through the eye of a needle. See what happens? Why did he bring this to Him? Everybody then who wants to come to Christ has to give away all their possessions. No. He knew this man's heart was in love with his possessions and what does the law require? You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind. Now Christ the Son of God says you must give it all away to follow Me. I don't love the Lord God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind. You can't have eternal life. What a bargain. Two thousand years later what does the rich young ruler have? Was that so valuable?

It's like your children, 3-year-old has something so important to him, it's so valuable, he'd give away diamonds for it, the most precious thing. You grow up and look at it and think, it wasn't anything, it was worthless, it was nothing. And here we grab on and think, what we have here in these possessions, what we've acquired is so important, so valuable. When we stand in heaven we'll look at it and say, what was it. Remember II Peter 3 says all these things will be burned up. What manner of people ought we to be with all holy living and godliness.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the wonderful offer of life in Christ. How amazing that you give as a free give eternal life to all who turn from their sin and place their faith in your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, your mercy is overwhelming, it is ongoing, but it will not be endless. These are days of salvation, days when you offer the treasure of heaven to all who will believe in your Son. Lord, we recognize and are reminded that the danger of our prosperity, you have blessed us greatly, you have provided our needs and far beyond our needs. Lord, we struggle with becoming attached to things, our time gets absorbed with enjoying what you have provided, our lives become occupied and little by little we allow you to be pushed further and further aside. We have less and less time for you. Lord, may the Spirit examine our hearts and convict us today, convict those who need salvation in Christ. When they let go of this world and the things of this world and take hold of Christ, they have gained everything of value. May we who have trusted Christ examine our lives and experience the convicting work of your Spirit for any adjustments that need to be made and the focus of our lives that you might receive honor. Thank you for our time in the Word together. In Christ's name, amen.