LIVING WITHOUT FEAR; TRUSTING IN GOD (PART I) MATTHEW 6:19-34

Transcription

1 LIVING WITHOUT FEAR; TRUSTING IN GOD (PART I) MATTHEW 6:19-34 MAIN IDEA Loving and trusting in God is the only thing that can help us to live without fear. I. TWO TREASURES (VS 19-21) It s important to know what is truly valuable. A. EARTHLY TREASURES B. THE VALUE OF EARTHLY TREASURES C. HEAVENLY TREASURES D. THE VALUE OF HEAVENLY TREASURES II. TWO EYES (VS 22-23) Being able to see and understand life is critical in successfully navigating life. A. BAD EYESIGHT B. THE RESULTS OF BAD EYESIGHT C. GOOD EYESIGHT D. THE RESULTS OF GOOD EYESIGHT III. TWO MASTERS (VS 24) Serving God is the only thing that brings peace, joy, and contentment to life. A. WORLDLY MASTERS B. THE RESULTS OF SERVING WORLDLY MASTERS C. GOD AS MASTER D. THE RESULTS OF SERVING GOD

2 LIVING WITHOUT FEAR; TRUSTING IN GOD (PART I) Matthew 6:19-34 Note: Everything I am preaching in this series on the Sermon on the Mount is taken directly from the following sources. There is not much that is original thinking on my part: The Gospel of Matthew by William Barclay Be Loyal by Warren Wiersbe The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard Celebration of Disciplines and Workbook by Richard Foster The Good and Beautiful Life by James Bryan Smith In order for us to keep understanding the logical progression of the Sermon on the Mount, we need to keep reviewing what Jesus has been teaching and how He has been building on what precedes this passage. Jesus started out by throwing wide open the entrance gates to the Kingdom of God. In other words, He said that anyone who wanted to enter God s Kingdom and become a child of God could enter by simply placing their faith and trust in Him. That offer is still open today. Anyone who wants to live a quality life here on earth and live in heaven for eternity can do so by simply placing their faith in Christ s finished work on the cross. Secondly, Jesus said that although entering the Kingdom is free; He expects us to live according to Kingdom standards as children of God. The way we live our lives ought to reflect the character, nature and person of Jesus. Jesus then went on to describe what that looks like. God s children are strong, courageous, humble, and meek. We are expected to live with love and purpose; because we live in the blessed state of an abundance of God s love, God s provision, and God s presence. B ecause of this, we can live without unresolved anger, without the need to retaliate or get even, without lust, without lying, and without being hypocrites. We can do all this because God puts in us the will to do this and the power to pull it off. Without Jesus we have no chance to accomplish this; but with Jesus we can do more than we can think or even imagine. And that brings us to this morning s text. We can learn to live without fear by loving God and placing our trust in Him. The main idea of this morning s text is this. LOVING AND TRUSTING IN GOD IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN HELP US TO LIVE WITHOUT FEAR. Treasure is a funny thing. Billy Graham used to say, I ve never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul. That s really the point isn t it? At John D. Rockefeller s funeral someone asked his accountant, Just how much did he leave behind? to which the account answered, All of it. He didn t take a thing with him. Page 2

3 There was a man who had worked all of his life, had saved all of his money, and was a rea l miser when it came to his money. Just before he died, he said to his wife, "When I die, I want you to take all my money and put it in the casket with me. I want to take my money to the afterlife with me." And so he got his wife to promise him with all of her heart that when he died, she would put all of the money in the casket with him. That day came, and he died. He was stretched out in the casket, his wife was sitting there in black, and her friend was sitting next to her. When they finished the ceremony, just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said, Wait just a minute!" She had a box with her; she came over with the box and put it in the casket. Then the undertakers locked the casket down, and they rolled it away. So her friend said, "Girl, I know you weren't fool enough to put all that money in there with your husband." The loyal wife replied, "Listen, I'm a Christian, I can't go back on my word. I promised him that I was going to put that money in that casket with him." "You mean to tell me you put that money in the casket with him!!!!?" "I sure did," said the wife, "every penny of it. I got it all together, put it into my account and wrote him a personal check. That s a woman after my own heart. Look if the guy can cash the check, then he can spend it. Too many of us have spent so much time building up so much earthly treasures; we no longer want to go to heaven. I. TWO TREASURES (VS 19-21) I took the names for the points in the outline directly from James Bryan Smith; two treasures, two eyes, and two masters. First of all, let s take a look at two treasures in verses IT S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT IS TRULY VALUABLE. If you think about this section of the sermon; Jesus does a brilliant thing. The logic wor ks in both directions. In other words, if we start by defining what true treasure is, our eyes will be focused on what is truly important. If our eyes are clearly focused on what is truly important, we will find ourselves serving God. That works in reverse as well. If we start by dedicating our lives to Jesus, then our eyes will be focused on eternal things. If we are focused on eternal things, we will be pursuing treasures that last into eternity. If you look carefully at both verses 19 and 20, you ll notice that they both use the same language in the comparison. The words store up and treasures come from the same root word. Store up is the verb form; treasure is the noun form. The Greek word is the word from which we get our English word thesaurus. It describes a place where goods and precious things are stored up and laid up. It can refer to a safe, a locked room, or even a casket. Metaphorically, it can refer to the heart. In this passage, heart will refer to what makes us human; our thoughts, our desires, and our will. Life organizes itself around the heart. Let s start by defining what earthly treasures are. Earthly treasures are the things that this world apart from God has come to value. Let s start with the obvious. The world values wealth, Page 3

4 prosperity, notoriety, reputation, position, possessions, power, and pleasure. The more of these things we obtain and hold on to; the more successful we are rated by other worldly people. Therefore, people buy houses, cars, clothes, shoes, jewelry, furniture, etc. because the more they have and possess is what gives them security and happiness. I don t think the world has changed much since the time of Jesus. Jesus now gives a value to earthly treasures. He says that on the basis of true value, all these things are bad investments. They all have a relatively short shelf life and because they are vulnerable; they are not good investments. I think cars are a good example. We all know that once we drive a car off the lot; it loses value. Let s say I buy a new car for $15,000. To be sure, once I drive it off the dealer s lot; it s only worth about $12,000 if I m lucky. And then its value decreases every year until one day it is junk. We all understand that example. Jesus tells us that all earthly treasure is just as vulnerable. He says that moths can eat them up. In the days of Jesus, expensive clothes were like an investment. It s kind of like women s mink coats today. If we are not extremely careful, moths can destroy our expensive clothes, suits, and linens. We go to great lengths to protect our expensive clothes. However, one day, they will deteriorate and become worthless. Next Jesus points out that corrosion will end up destroying other things. Like we said in the example of the car; ultimately rust, wear and tear will end up making it worthless. In our culture, manufactures build our products with what is called planned obsolescence. This means the product is built to break down after so many years because then they need to be replaced so that we will have to buy new products. No matter how well we care for material possessions; they will not stand forever. And what is not rendered useless by time and nature, is vulnerable to thieves. We spend a great deal of money protecting our stuff. We lock our houses, put alarms on our houses and cars. We put our valuables in a bank safety deposit box. We buy all sorts of insurances and protections. Even our reputations are not safe. One day, we have to retire and it seems we lose our power, status, and privilege. Jesus points out that anything worldly is a bad investment because it will all turn to dust someday. On the other hand, Jesus teaches us to store up heavenly treasure. What are heavenly treasures? Jesus made it clear that the most valuable treasure is love; love for God and love for one a nother. Heavenly treasures are acts of love, kindness, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Becoming more like Jesus every day is valuable. The early church was famous for caring for the poor, the distressed, the sick, helpless, and the outcasts. Advancing the Kingdom of God is valuable. We can extend love grace, mercy, forgiveness, kindness, hope, and eternal redemption to everyone Jesus brings into our lives. Jesus then goes on to give us the value of heavenly treasures. To be sure, there are treasures that await us in heaven. Jesus promised us a life beyond imagination in heaven. I don t want to downplay that in any way because we know that we are going to be dead a lot longer than we are alive. And Jesus made it clear that these investments will pay off eternally. Listen to what He said about this: 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed Page 4

5 me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me. 37 Then these righteous ones will reply, Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you? 40 And the King will say, I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me! Page 5 Matthew 25:34-40 / New Living Translation Heaven will be a place filled with treasures and Jesus makes it clear He intends to share them all with us. However, I want to point out that there are treasures we will receive here on earth in this life and we will carry them on with us into eternity. First of all, we receive eternal life. That means that if we are believers, then our lives right now are eternal. Death is no legitimate marker that applies to us. We will step over the grave right into eternity. One moment we will be walking on this earth and the next step will be in heaven; without missing a beat. In addition to that, when we follow Christ and live the way He wants us to; we will enjoy an abundance of love, joy, peace, and contentment. These are treasures that do not get eaten by moths, destroyed by corrosion, or stolen by thieves. Our treasure is eternal. It can t be earned, it can t be bought, and it can t be lost. Jesus summarizes this section by reminding us about the nature of treasure. Remember, we already said that life organizes itself around our hearts. Whatever our heart is focused on, that s where we will spend our time, money, and energy pursuing. Our heart is intricately tied to our treasure. Worldly people treasure wealth, power, notoriety, and pleasure. Therefore, they spend their time, money, and energy trying to gain as much of these as possible. Chasing and acquiring these things bring us worry and anxiety. We worry about whether we can get more or at least hang on to what we have. On the other hand, Paul lays out Jesus argument like this in his letter to the Philippian church: 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9 / New Living Translation Right before this Paul described this peace as a peace which is deeper than any human understanding. Peace, joy, and contentment; that is really a treasure to be sought after. We gain this by entering God s Kingdom through faith in Jesus. We take hold of these treasures as we learn to live life following Jesus. This is Jesus logical starting point. IT S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHAT IS TRULY VALUABLE. In other words, if we at least know what s important, then we know what to spend our time chasing after. Warren Wiersbe reminds us that if we choose the wrong treasure to pursue, our hearts will be enslaved. In the next section, he says that if our hearts are enslaved and we start to pursue wrong goals; then our minds will next be enslaved.

6 II. TWO EYES (VS 22-23) In verses 22-23, Jesus goes on to describe two types of eyes. BEING ABLE TO SEE AND UNDERSTAND LIFE IS CRITICAL IN SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATING LIFE. Jesus is going to make a comparison of physical and spiritual eyesight. In other words, physical eyesight guides our bodies while spiritual eyesight guides our souls. Let s start with bad eyesight. I remember being a chaplain in the army and having trouble reading the maps. I went to the eye doctor and he said, Chaplain, at your age, the eyes start to deteriorate. You need reading glasses. That s not what I really wanted to hear. But now that I m even older, I m developing cataracts. It clouds my vision and interferes with vision. Most of us older people know how frustrating it is when we have trouble seeing. Paul s argument is that if we lose our physical eyesight, it makes it difficult for us to navigate through our physical world. We don t see objects in our paths. It s easy for us to trip over things we do not see and run into walls. It s easy to take a wrong turn. So what are some of the things that give us bad spiritual eyesight? Let s think about some of these attitudes. Jesus has already told us in this sermon that anger, lust, pride, fear, resentment, and things of this nature tend to cloud our judgment. We can easily add to that prejudice, lack of forgiveness, hatred, and placing the wrong value on things here on earth can distort our spiritual vision and cloud our judgment. So what happens when our spirits are clouded by these things? We are constantly worried, anxious, angry, filled with lust, and don t experience any joy or contentment because we know these things we value and have acquired are only temporary at best. We start to value things over people. I m amazed at how people are so overwhelmed by compassion for animals and have so little concern for other human beings. I have been preaching this for the past 25 years but I m shocked at how quickly our society is becoming totally anti-jewish and anti-christian. Our society is blind to what is truly valuable. Our society is morally bankrupt and walks around in moral confusion. There is no objective standard for right and wrong. This next sentence I m preaching to myself. When we see how anti-jewish and anti-christian our society has become; we as children of God, followers of Christ should rejoice because we know that Jesus coming is near. Our society feels good about chasing slogans and jumping on bandwagons. However, none are truly interested in people. We have come to use people to gain what we want. I preached this a couple of weeks ago, but I think it s indicative of what poor spiritual eyesight leads to. Our society loves wealth, power, notoriety, and pleasure; and they use people to obtain these. On the other hand, the proper attitude is that we should love people and use wealth, power, notoriety, and pleasure to serve others. Jesus describes good eyesight as having good spiritual insight into the nature of things in the world. Shakespeare said, The eyes are the window to the soul. Good eyesight helps us to see life from God s perspective. Jesus was loving, meek, and humble. He extended grace, mercy, forgiveness, healing, and wholeness to the people He encountered in His daily life. Good eyesight sees all of our assets as opportunities to be generous. Paul told us that God has prepared good works for us to do as we journey through life. Good eyesight will help us to see the opportunities God is giving us to excel. The results of good eyesight are formidable. We end up helping a great deal of people while bringing glory to God. In other words, as we accomplish the good works Go d has given us to do; we spread the reputation of our God. Further, when we see properly, our lives become more Page 6

7 fulfilling as well because God continues to fill us with an abundance of love, joy, peace, and contentment. That s really what everyone desires; isn t it? Good eyesight is critical if we want to arrive at our desired destination. I don t think people start out in life saying, I want to be divorced two or three times. I want to end up bitter, unhappy, and alone. I want to alienate all my children, my family, and my friends. I don t think people set out to reach that destination. However, if their eyesight is bad, then they will spend their lives chasing after the things they think are important; while using, hurting, alienating, and abandoning the people brought into their lives. I m pretty sure I told you this before but one of the field exercises we had to do in army was to take three person teams and navigate ourselves to a particular destination. We were only given coordinates, directions, and a compass. Our team was pretty cocky and proud. We thought we would easily win this competition. And so the instructor gave us the command to go. We were good. We would have one chaplain go out and mark the spot while the other chaplain us ed the compass to navigate. Then the other chaplain would go further out, and hold the mark. We were whizzing through this. There was no one who could beat us. When we got to the end destination, it looked a little strange. We were out in the middle of a field. What was the problem? Oh we followed the directions fine; but we failed to start from the right starting point. We were so proud and arrogant, we took the map and compass and started right there on the spot. Because we had poor vision at the start; the whole process was thrown off; especially since we followed the other directions perfectly. We were perfectly off course. If we want to have good spiritual eyesight, we must read, study, and apply the Bible to our everyday lives. The Bible will tell us what is valuable, what s worthy of our time, money, and energy, and what s worth chasing after. BEING ABLE TO SEE AND UNDERSTAND LIFE IS CRITICAL IN SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATING THROUGH LIFE. III. TWO MASTERS (VS 24) Warren Wiersbe has already told us that if we are blind and assess things with the wrong value; our hearts and minds will be enslaved. In this next section, he reminds us that if we choose to follow the wrong master; our wills will be enslaved as well. Most of the people in our society a re living with enslaved hearts, minds, and wills. Jesus has a much greater vision for us. In verse 24, He describes two masters. SERVING GOD IS THE ONLY THING THAT BRINGS PEACE, JOY, AND CONTENTMENT TO LIFE. I don t think it s too hard to follow Jesus logic. If we value worldly treasures like wealth, power, notoriety, and pleasure; then we will start to look at the world through these kinds of glasses that place value on these things; we will end up serving the god of money and all that money can buy. On the other hand, if we start to value the things God says are valuable; we will start to look at the world through these lenses; and we end up loving and serving the one true and living God. The logic is not confusing. I want to point out the structure in this verse. The first and last sentences are meant to parallel one another. The first sentence has three parts; no one, serve, and two masters. The last sentence compares no one to you. The word for serve in first sentence is in the Page 7

8 affirmative while in the last sentence the negative. And two masters is in the last sentence are described as God and money. The middle sentence also has two parts that are in chiastic form. The first phrase puts hate first and loves second. The second phrase puts devoted first and despised second. So we will love and be devoted to one; while hating and despising the other. Let s take a look at these worldly masters. The word serve comes from the root word for slave in Greek. The word for money here is mammon in Greek. We tend to think of mammon as negative as if it were evil in and of itself. The word is not a negative word. It simply is a word that describes money. Money is needed to buy food, clothing, housing, etc. Money itself is neutral. The thing Jesus is pointing out is the same thing that the Apostle Paul pointed out when he said, The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (I Titus 6:10). Warren Wiersbe sums it up like this, It is not wrong to possess things, but it is wrong for things to possess us. You see if money, power, wealth, and pleasure become the masters of our lives, then we will spend our time, money, and energy pursuing them. These false gods always leave us empty, disappointed, discouraged, and hungry for more. They always demand more of us and yet they never satisfy us. Let s go back to the spiritual eyesight and combine it with this. Let s say I m addicted to drugs, alcohol, or pornography. Everything I do in life will be interpreted through these addictions and the drive and desire to fulfill them. Lust becomes our master and lust cannot be satisfied. It always needs more to be satisfied. What are the results of serving worldly masters? They are never completely satisfied. They always demand more and leave us hungry for more. They eat up our time, our money, and our energy. We think getting more money, more power, more notoriety, and more pleasure will bring meaning and fulfillment to our lives. But the point is; the more we have, the more time we need to care for it and hang on to it. The thought of losing it or not being able to get more becomes a source of worry and anxiety. On the other hand; having God as master is a totally different story. God loved us first. We love Him because Jesus came to suffer and die for us. Submitting to Jesus as Lord is freeing. The Father calls us beloved children. Jesus calls us friend, brother, and sister. The Holy Spirit seals our relationship in heaven and calls us heirs to the Kingdom of God. The Master we serve is the One Who died for us. The results of serving God are living in eternity in heaven with Him and enjoying His love, provision, and presence as we journey through life on earth. There is nothing that can separate us from His love and He gives us the peace the passes understanding, joy way beyond temporary happiness, and contentment that leaves us wanting for nothing. Here is the point we must consider. We cannot chase after the gods of this world while claiming Jesus as our Lord and Savior. This is a violation of the first and second commandments in the Ten Commandments: 2 I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 You must not have any other god but me. 4 You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them Page 8

9 or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. Exodus 20:2-6; Deuteronomy 5:6-10 / New Living Translation If we choose to love the world and dedicate our lives to fulfilling our lust for wealth, power, notoriety, and pleasure; we will hate and despise God because He is an obstacle Who stands against our way of life. On the other hand, if we serve God alone; we will love Him and love others. We will simply use our wealth, power, and notoriety to help others and to worship God. This is what brings lasting pleasure to life. Serving God as Master gives us all the love, joy, peace, and contentment our soul desires. SERVING GOD IS THE ONLY THING THAT BRINGS PEACE, JOY, AND CONTENTMENT TO LIFE. This is the foundation that Jesus wants to have as we start to deal with worry and anxiety. It is critical for us to know the true value of the things in this world, to be able to see the world as God does, and to be absolutely certain about Whom we are going to serve. If we have chosen to follow Jesus as Lord, if we start to look at the world the way He does, and if we value what He values, we will be able to deal with worry and anxiety. We will study through that next time. But for now we need to know this. LOVING AND TRUSTING IN GOD IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN HELP US TO LIVE WITHOUT FEAR. This week s spiritual discipline is counting your blessings. It s important for us to remind ourselves of God s faithfulness and blessings. Do this over the cour se of next week. Don t try to do it all in one day. Start out by reading I Thessalonians 5:16-18, 16Always be joyful. 17Never stop praying. 18Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Ponder this throughout the day. Sing the song Count Your Blessings by Oatman and Excell. Do it often throughout the week. When upon life s billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. Refrain Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God hath done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, And you will keep singing as the days go by. Refrain Page 9

10 When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. So, amid the conflict whether great or small, Do not be disheartened, God is over all; Count your many blessings, angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey s end. Refrain Refrain Get out a notebook and start writing down things you are thankful for. Here are some ideas: family, friends, music, church, nature, sports, sunshine, my dog, rain, mentors, encour agement, air conditioning, ice cream, movies, popcorn, favorite foods, the ocean, etc. Think about everything you are thankful for and start to write them down in a notebook. On the last day, read, I Thessalonians 5:16-18, sing Count Your Blessings, and read what you have written down to God and tell Him thank You. Pay some attention to how you are feeling when you complete this and journal about it. Page 10

11 Lectio Divina Colossians 3:1-17(NLT) 1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. 5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. 12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Page 11