Where's Your Heart
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning everyone!
How are you today, are you happy?
Are you blessed today?
Let me ask you a question… Did you pray this week for your youth directors and the youth that attend the meetings on Sunday evenings?
They are having a bunch of kids over there on Sunday nights and they need you to be praying for them and praying for those kids!
And realize when we contribute in physical and Spiritual ways, we are helping see the Kingdom of God come more and more in their lives, homes, communities, schools etc...
And with that in mind…
Let’s talk about out text for today… We are coming back to Matthew chapter 6 and with it we are going to look at the topic of storing up for yourself treasure in heaven.
So consider this… are your efforts producing those “things” for lack of a better word that are important for the church, for His kingdom, and yes for your spiritual life?
So today I want to share this message with you as we examine the idea of “Where’s Your Heart.”
You see my friends, it is our heart that will drive our efforts to obtain, work and serve those things that have temporal or eternal values..
So the question we must ask is where is our heart....
So lets look at our text...
Find Matthew chapter 6 and with that verses 19-24.
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.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
remember where we are and what is happening.
Jesus is teaching those who are following him, there on the mountain side, thus the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus is reminding them about how humanity should live in front of God and man. And as we have seen, there are no topics that are off limits… Following the Lord calls for us to take the higher road if you will, life as we normally live is not acceptable.
We must be willing to take His ways upon us, and lay aside our ways.
So lets begin where with this first thought today...
1. A Firm Command...
1. A Firm Command...
Understand when we mention the word “command” it is not to be taken as a suggestion. No!
Commands are to be followed, really that is the whole point in them being given. Jesus makes it very plain Do Not....
The emphasis is to abstain from this or that action, thought, ..what ever it is.
So what is Jesus telling His followers to be careful and not do?
Jesus tells His followers, “Do not lay up for your treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break into steal...” Verse 19
So think about this, Do not accumulate treasure for yourself here on earth. What do you think about this?
When you think of treasure, your mind might be drawn away to great riches,gold and silver, precious stones like diamonds, rubies, emeralds and pearls… All of this gets our attention.. Something that perhaps being even the old pirate Blackbeard himself might have found worthy...
But....
Please understand Jesus is not talking about the issue of having wealth possessions or anything of the sort. No … that is not it at all...
Q. So What is Jesus saying?
Well first off consider the following...
He calls attention to two states that exist… The Earth (The Temporal) and Heaven (Which is eternal).
So for this first state of mind, Jesus calls for His followers to go against the grain of society…Do not possess the desire to get all you can while you can.... Do not think that you have to have all the newest, all the finest, all the best..
Why? it is temporal. Treasure for the sake of treasure, possessions for the sake of having more and more will get you know where. In fact jesus says it is temporal.
Why?
It cannot last, it will not last forever. And when you die, someone else will get it.
In fact, Jesus says these temporal things are subject to decay, to destruction and theft. God back to what He says …Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
Those expensive clothes, those beautiful fabrics and materials will not last forever. Those great cars we drive, keep them long enough the paint fades, the body will rust and it will go away.
Those things we work for and have here on earth will not endure forever.
Jesus says Do not make that your focus… its temporal.
Please note its not wrong to have possessions, it’s wrong to make those things our focus.
Instead Jesus tells us this… look at verse 20
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Work for the eternal… is the Master’s focus here. lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…
What are the treasures we can store up in heaven?
It is everything we can take with us beyond the grave. There is an old saying that we can’t take it with us. Have you every paid attention what people send with people at death....
Now your thinking, what do I mean. When a person dies, people at times place things with them in their caskets… I have seen money, pictures cigarettes and pipes. None of those things will enter the kingdom of Heaven...
But I tell you there are things that we can take into heaven with us....
What can you take with you?
A. We have take with us our holiness of character,
B. Our obedience to our Lord and His commands
C. The souls won for Christ
D. The disciples that were nurtured in the faith.
E. Our compassionate work to help others
F. Our commitment to advance the Kingdom of God.
I believe these are all things that we can take with us as we enter into the presence of our Lord.
Why do I think this… Listen to Rev 14:13
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
How you live for Jesus, what you do for others in His name matters, and it is a blessing…in fact Jesus says these items are incorruptible.. moth and rust cannot destroy them and they cannot be stolen.
This command is a firm command my friends, do not do this instead be sure you are working toward that...
Now how can you lay up treasures for yourself?
Let me share with you these thoughts...
Involve and grow yourself in the church with other believers
Give monetarily to help the work of God continue in the local church and cooperative missions. When you give here, the money helps us serve and work, but it extends across the state and whole world with missions.
Serve - Get involved and help ministry continue to bless and effect others
Share - What Christ has done in your heart to those around you that they might see your light...
You are able my friends, The Lord commands us to follow and serve Him according to His ways..
You are able because He resides in You...
Now lets move on to our second thought today...
2. A Physical Example...
2. A Physical Example...
As we move into this next section I think it is safe to say we would all testify that good health is important.
And we would think automatically, about our physical life. But lets shift and apply that thought to our spiritual person, Your spiritual life is important!
Let look at our text...
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
The comparison that Jesus makes here is comparing our eyes to a lamp. The lamp is used to cast light into the room, into our homes. The eyes allows light into us, our physical and spiritual person.
And what do your eyes see?
Well that depends on what you are looking at.... right?
Are you allowing your eyes to see and focus on the good, the right stuff if you will or is your eyes wandering all over the place and thus everything including all the bad is seen.
My friends if you allow your eyes take in it all, pretty soon it will all be bad, unacceptable, for the little will lead to a lot...
Now I am going to use a couple physical examples
Think about this, and alcoholic begins with one drink… and soon it is to much, and the much has brought destruction, suffering and death.
The tobacco user… it begins with a little, and leads to a lot and leads to an add… and addiction, possibly physical problems...
Think about a batter in baseball, if he has a good eye, he is not swinging at all the pitches, instead that eye is looking, waiting for the right one. That is the one who want to hit...
That’s the one that is over the fence, that is the one that brings in the runner that’s on second , that is the one who scores.
Allowing his eye to be distracted, he is soon struck out and he has lost his chance to score.
It is the eyes that can cause a person to be distracted...
Lets turn it up a notch… How are your finances…
What we do or do not do with our finances determines how we live. We can live richly, have lots of debt and it prohibits us from the freedom to give or go and do...
But when we are careful with a our finances, a person gives more generously, they have more freedom for the day in front of them and they are better prepared for tomorrow and its own problems.
How is your life, your physical and spiritual life… your heart and your eyes
Are you seeking after the good, or the bad?
I want to challenge you to stop and examine your life.
What are you watching? What are you chasing after? What are your goals?
Is it temporal, earthly or is it heavenly or eternal value.......
Now we come to the last verse of the section my friends and with it my last point today...
3. A Personal Choice...
3. A Personal Choice...
As we have walked through these passages this morning, Jesus has been warning those he is teaching about the dangers of falling prey to materialism.
Materialism is one of those traits of humanity that everyone experiences in their lives.
The old phrase “keeping up with the Jones’” presents that idea, we have to have what our neighbors have…or what our friends have.. It happens with clothes, it happens with vehicles, it happens with a desire to have bigger bank accounts.
I remember when I worked in institutions in adolescent units there was a young boy in our custody who was always buying new shoes, he had all the Michael Jordans, the Addidas’ the Nike the one and on, I remember him having close to 30 pairs of high tops… it was a status symbol in that place..
And it happens with other things as well,
And here is the truth of the matter… its not the brand, or the number that mattter, its the heart that has to have more and more that becomes the issue.
This is what Jesus is warning about here… Lets look at our final verse, Verse 24.
Lets look at it.
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Jesus begins with the phrase “No one can serve two masters....” The term “master” here that Jesus uses is a term that speaks to a land owner who has people under them, some perhaps who have made themselves as bondservants. By that, they are ones who have pledged their loyalty to the master, they would not leave them.
When you have people who are under those Masters, we understand they were obedient to them.
In today’s world, it would be like trying to work two full time jobs at the same time. Like holding two positions, two supervisors and trying to do both within the same company
Jesus says a person cannot serve and be obedient to two Masters… you cannot fulfill the wishes of both of them.
Jesus says in fact you will either love one and hate the other or you will be devoted to one and despise the other.
Do you see the contrast there… love and hate, devoted and despise… they are the opposites of each, one interactions would be positive and one would be negative.
A person would enjoy one and detest the other...
Rightly so.. Jesus says
You cannot serve God and money…
Now the word we translate as money really speaks to all that a person would have.. all their material possessions. It could also be translated as mammon, to give it that greater meaning.
Some observers of thought that the greatest danger to Western Christianity is not all these other false religions that come to be at times. Instead it is thought that a materialistic culture will not follow the Lord faithfully at times.
And so understand materialism can hinder a person from living, from doing all that our Lord desires or in fact being surrendered to the Lord.
The Lord desires that He be first in our life, and in fact he doesn’t say a person cannot have or experience wealth, He just says do not make it your priority in life.
Consider us, The Lord knows that people have to work. They knows that can and do make money, they save, they prepare and so forth. All Jesus is alluding too is this: don’t love it more than Him, more than your family, more than your brothers and sisters in Christ..
Think about how you can use your life, your job, your knowledge and yes your money and be a blessing to the Lord and others?
Your heart will determine what you do or don’t do.
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing some generous people thorough my 40 years of ministry. Some where wealthy and some were notm, they were just hard working people who earned a salary at their job...… but the one truth that spoke for both. They loved Jesus more than all the rest...
Their heart was given to him.
How is your heart?
God wants you to know that he desires to be first in your life… And if you will give your all to Jesus, he has the rest of us… Amen.
Let me ask you a question… How can God use you?
There are many ways… You can give in lots of ways… You can serve in lots of ways.. You heart will determine what you will do or not do
Is your heart ready for him today/
let’s pray...
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.