Life Lessons from the Lord

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 6:16-24

Sermon by: Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - June 26, 2013

(Revised March 27, 2021)

MESSAGE:

*It's getting close to summer, and little kids everywhere are learning how to swim. Did you ever try to teach your children how to swim? That was a lot of fun wasn't it? The lesson I learned was this: Never try to teach your own children how to swim, unless you absolutely have to. That is a job best left to the professionals.

*The best person to teach you about plumbing is a plumber. The best person to teach you about brain surgery is a brain surgeon. And the best person to teach us about life is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

*Here in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives us more important lessons for life.

1. AND THE FIRST LESSON IS THAT WE SHOULD FAST FOR OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.

*The Lord spoke about fasting in vs. 16-18, where He said:

16. "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

17. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

18. so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

[1] WHEN IT COMES TO FASTING, NOTICE THAT THE LORD CARES ABOUT OUR HABITS.

*Most of us need to change our eating habits. Many of us, including me, tend to eat too much. We get addicted to things, and one of those things is food. For example, I love coffee. I have no problem going without coffee, as long as I can drink 3 or 4 cups a day.

*I like what Charles Lowry once said about being addicted to coffee: "You know you are drinking too much coffee:

-When you answer the door before people knock.

-When you convert your car's radiator so you can brew a pot on the way to work.

-When you can play ping-pong without a partner.

-And when you chew on other people's fingernails." (1)

*Most of us have bad habits when it comes to food. But here Jesus mentioned a good habit regarding food, and that is fasting. In vs. 16-17, Jesus didn't say "IF you fast." He said, "WHEN you fast."

*The three most important personal, spiritual disciplines I can think of are prayer, Bible study and fasting. Many people neglect all of these, but fasting is the most neglected of all. As the Lord leads, and as our health allows, all believers should get in the habit of fasting.

[2] BUT FASTING IS NOT JUST ABOUT OUR HABITS. IT'S ABOUT OUR HEARTS.

*God promises here to richly reward us, if we will fast. But we have to fast with the right attitude. So, in vs. 17-18 Jesus said, "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

*Fasting then, is not just about skipping meals. It is not just about our habits. It's about our heart. Fasting is not for other people to see. It's for our Heavenly Father. It's for seeking God, with the desire to please our Heavenly Father. Fasting is about our hunger for God, and this is the kind of hunger we need.

*John Piper wrote about our hunger for God and said: "The more deeply you walk with Christ, the hungrier you get for Christ. . .

-The more homesick you get for heaven. . .

-The more you want 'all the fullness of God'. . .

-The more you want to be done with sin. . .

-The more you want the Bridegroom to come again. . .

-The more you want the Church revived and purified with the beauty of Jesus. . .

-The more you want to see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ penetrate the darkness of all the unreached peoples of the world. . .

-The more you want to see false worldviews yield to the force of Truth. . .

-The more you want to see pain relieved, tears wiped away and death destroyed. . .

-The more you long for every wrong to be made right and the justice and grace of God to fill the earth like the waters cover the sea." (2)

*Fasting is about our hunger for God, so we should fast for our Heavenly Father.

2. WE ALSO SHOULD STORE MORE ETERNAL TREASURE THAN EARTHLY TREASURE.

*This is the Lord's second lesson, and we see it in vs. 19-21. Here Jesus said:

19. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;

20. but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

21. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

*Where are you storing your treasure? That's the question we must answer, the choice we all face: Will we choose earthly treasure or eternal treasure? But notice that this does not mean that we should give all of our money away.

*Jesus did ask one rich, young man to give all his money away. Matthew 19:16-20 shows us why:

16. Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?''

17. So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.''

18. He said to Him, "Which ones?'' Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,'

19. 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

20. The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?''

*That rich young ruler thought he had kept all of those commandments, including "love your neighbor as yourself." He was trusting in his own goodness to earn eternal life. He was trusting in his own ability and sufficiency. But Romans 3:23 tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And Jesus wanted the young man to realize how far he was from perfection. So, in Matthew 19:21 Jesus said, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.''

*Many devoted Christians surely have given away everything for Jesus. But this is the only time we see the Lord command someone to give away all their possessions. And this was not the Lord's command in Matthew 6.

*Also notice that this Scripture does not mean that it's wrong for us to have possessions and money. In Genesis 41:33-36, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream, and Joseph knew that 7 years of plenty would be followed by 7 hard years of famine, so Joseph said:

33. "Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.

34. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years.

35. And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.

36. Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.''

*There is a big difference between saving wisely and selfish hoarding. And God wants us to know the difference. That's why in Luke 12:15-21, Jesus said:

15. "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.''

16. Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.

17. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'

18. So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.

19. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.'''

20. But God said to him, 'You fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'

21. So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.''

*Jesus is quite clear on this: We should store up more eternal treasure than earthly treasure.

3. WE SHOULD ALSO LIVE IN THE LIGHT OF THE LORD.

*This third lesson is found in vs. 22-23, where Jesus said:

22. "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.

23. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"

*Or as the New Living Translation says, "Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!"

*We generally like light. Even with the heat, most people greatly prefer the longer days of summer.

*In the dead of one winter, Don Schultz wrote, "Many people complain about how dark it is this time of the year. But imagine living in the little town of Barrow, Alaska. It's located on the far northern tip of the state, above the Arctic Circle.

*If you think it's dark in Indiana this time of the year, you haven't seen anything. In Barrow Alaska, the sun sets in the afternoon on November 18th, and it doesn't rise again until January 24th. That's 65 days when they don't see the sun shine!

*Up there, the earth is tilted in such a way that the sun never shows itself for over two months out of the year. But when the sun does rise for a moment on January 24th, the whole town comes out to celebrate, because finally, there is light again. (3)

*Living in the light is far better than living in darkness, and this is especially true when it comes to spiritual light. So, it's hard for us to understand, but sadly, many people choose not to live be in the light.

*As Jesus said in John 3:17-21:

17. . . "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

18. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

21. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.''

*Some people would rather live in the dark, but living in the light is infinitely better! And the great news of the Gospel is that we can choose to live in the Light, because Jesus Christ is the Light of the world! As He said in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

*What a difference it makes when we live in the light! Christian hymn writer, Fanny Crosby, lost her sight as a very young child. But in Fannie's hymns, we see God's spiritual light shining brightly in her soul.

*Fannie Crosby wrote over 8,000 of those hymns. One of our favorites is "Blessed Assurance." Listen to these words:

"Perfect submission, all is at rest. -- I in my Savior am happy and blest,

Watching and waiting, looking above. -- Filled with His goodness, lost in His love

This is my story; this is my song. -- Praising my Savior, all the day long;

This is my story; this is my song. -- Praising my Savior, all the day long." (4)

*Fannie Crosby was physically blind, but in the most important way, she could clearly see. And so can we, IF we choose to live in the light! God wants us to live in the light of the Lord.

4. SO WE MUST MAKE THE MESSIAH OUR MASTER.

*We must receive the Messiah Jesus Christ as our own Lord and Savior. This fourth lesson is in vs. 24, where Jesus warns us, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

*Jesus sets out a clear choice before us in this verse. We cannot serve both God and mammon. "Mammon" in vs. 24 is riches or treasure. You could call it "Money" with a capital "M."

*A. T. Robertson tells us that the word "mammon" comes from the Chaldee word for the false money-god. And Robertson said a "slave of mammon will obey mammon while pretending to obey God." (5)

*The problem with serving Money is that it is a heartless master. Money will always demand more of you, and make you desire more of it. I once heard a quote from Ted Turner where he said something like this, "I don't want to own all the ranches, just the ranches that are next to mine." Of course, that's a never-ending trap. Money is a heartless master that never says, "Enough." (6)

*And we can't put our trust in money. One person said, "Money talks. -- It says 'bye-bye.'" And one day it will. Proverbs 23:4-5 puts it this way, "Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven." (7)

*We can't trust in money. But we can always trust in the Lord! Hebrews 13:5 tells us that Jesus has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." And He never will!

*Jesus Christ left all of His riches in Heaven to become poor for us. He even died on the cross for us. And we can trust in our Risen Savior! We can even trust Him in the worst situations of life.

*The testimony of Mike Turner confirms this truth to us. On August 2nd, 1998, Mike was hiking in Wyoming near the shore of a mountain lake 11,400 feet above sea level. Mike was a Presbyterian preacher finishing a leave with a 60-mile, solo hike through that wilderness.

*Four days earlier, Mike said goodbye to his wife of 20 years. He gave her flowers and a note thanking her for this time she was giving him to hike alone with God. But on August 2nd, Mike slipped on an unsteady boulder. He jumped to another hoping for balance. But he had set a rock slide in motion, and Mike was pinned between two boulders right above his knees.

*He wrote in his journal, "About 2 hours ago a large rock rolled upon me and trapped my legs. I was very careful be sure of that, but I hurt. . . I am in your hands Lord. . . I don't know what I face."

*After the initial shock of the rock slide and being trapped, Mike realized that he could not free himself, and his mind turned to survival. His greatest concerns were water and the onset of dark which would bring cold temperatures.

*He used the snow around him to melt for drinking water. He kept warm by wearing his jacket and stuffing his sleeping bag around the part of his legs he could reach.

*Mike wrote in his journal, "I dreamed of a special time with God, facing the elements, the passes, thinking about life, the direction of the church, about my family. Indeed this has been all of those things only magnified 100 times. I believe I will survive, smarter or wiser, more thoughtful, more aware of limits . . .

*I do feel confident in my Christian hope. God will make a way either earthly or heavenly. My only dread is not seeing my family and being present with them in body. That's what I think about."

*Not wanting to panic, wife Diane waited as long as she could to contact authorities. Danny Holgate took the call. He was a search and rescue helicopter pilot with 18 years of experience.

*The search area was huge: Two national forests. Carloads of people from Mike's church joined the search for Mike. Holgate said he had never had a search where friends and family were so involved.

*Mike continued to write in his journal, "I cried and cried out to God who doesn't seem to care about my suffering, and pain, and loss of my left leg. I begged and prayed for some help in moving the rocks, but none seemed to come."

*"Fill me with peace, Lord, May the conditions not deny my love for you. . . I am ready to die though missing my family. To live is Christ, to die is gain. I will trust in God though he will slay me, yet will I trust him, he is the way, the truth, and the life."

*"Backpacker Magazine" later wrote: "As his final hours approached, Turner's body was shutting down. But it was as though his spirit was opening up. All the questions, all the doubt and anger seemed to dissolve. What remained was the unbreakable bedrock of belief. On the tenth day Mike wrote, 'God loves, Love Dad, Mike.' Then there was silence.

*Mike's body was discovered on the last day of August. And "Backpacker Magazine" wrote, "A boulder could crush his legs. It could not crush his faith!" (8)

CONCLUSION:

*Jesus Christ is the Master we can trust in every situation. May God help us to trust Him and love Him with all our hearts. May God help us to learn from Him and apply His lessons in our lives. And may God help us to fully serve the Lord all the days of our lives.

*Would you please bow for prayer.

(1) Charles Lowry in SBC LIFE - March 2003

(3) SermonCentral sermon "From Darkness to Light" by Don Schultz - Isaiah 60:1-6

(4) Source: cyberhymnal.org

(5) WORD PICTURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT by Archibald Thomas (A. T.) Robertson - Published in 1930-1933 - Matthew 6:24

(6) Original source unknown for Ted Turner quotation

(7) Online sermon "Where's Your Heart" by David Hoke - Matthew 6:19-24 - 09171995

(8) Sources:

-Backpacker.com June 2002 - http://www.backpacker.com/article/1, 2646,4585_P,00.html

-SermonCentral sermon "Faith vs. Religion" by Rob Westlund - John 6:1-60