Sermon on the Mount - Part 17

Today I want to look at verses 19-24 of chapter 6, once again focusing on who Jesus was speaking to, and on the context of the entire message. 

Matthew 6:19-24

(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.

I believe that the Sermon on the Mount can be viewed as the manifesto of Jesus, where He is setting forth the major principles for His ministry, where He is setting forth what true faith really entails. A place where He is not only showing us how to have a relationship with God and what that should look like, but He is also showing us what is not a relationship with God.

In 19-21, Jesus is speaking of focus, you could say He is asking the question, where is your head at? Is it focused on the here and now, on your current circumstance, on life as you know it? If so, you have to know that whatever your circumstances are, they are subject to change in a heartbeat, and you have no control over what might occur. Stuff rots and thieves steal, do you need any more proof that you really have no control? But if you focus on God, if you make Him your treasure, your pearl of great value, then not only will it never rot or decay, but no one can take it from you. If you think about it, God is the only thing in your life that does not change and is not given to chance. Your treasure determines your heart. You can say you love God, but if He is not your true treasure, then your actions will reveal what your treasure really is. Think back to what He said about loving your enemies. If you are focused on the things of earth, you love those who love you. If you are focused on God, then you love even your enemies, for God loved us even when we were His enemies. 

What are you looking at? Are you focused on the things of earth? If so, darkness abounds and you are missing what life is truly about. Sure, you might enjoy a moment of earthly pleasure because you were sold out to Jesus, but in hindsight, you will realize that it was not worth an eternity of pain. Some will only realize this in hindsight. But if you focus on knowing God, and see who He is, and what He has done in His graciousness, then you will find joy in the present and in eternity. This is why, even after being beaten and placed in prison, Paul and Silas were able to pray in sing hymns to God (Acts 16:23-25). They were focused on their treasure, and not their circumstances. It is why Stephen, while being stoned, prayed that God who not hold this sin against those who were stoning Him (Acts 7:54-60). It is why martyrs give their lives even today.  

You have to make a choice, no one can serve two masters. It is not a choice of earthly pleasures or heaven, it is a choice to either make God your treasure or not. Love the things of earth, or love the maker of the things of earth. To love the things of earth is not to love God. This is what the leaders missed, and so many still miss today because they listen to those who preach such nonsense. Any theology that does not have God at the center misses the mark. Any preaching that lures you in with what God can do for you is dangerous. Whether is it speaking of what God can do for me (putting material or fleshly things in the center) or what I can do for God (putting me or my behavior at the center, as if I can earn my way to heaven), or anywhere in between. 

The eye is the lamp of the body. So what are your eyes focused on? Do you have a healthy, God-centered focus, or are you focused on things that will take your eyes away from God? Imagine a ball player trying to it a fastball or curve, while staring at the dugout or at the fans in the stands. He's not gonna hit the ball at all, is he? I want to stay focused, I want to hit it out of the park.

Edited 2/10/2020

Sermon on the Mount - Part 13

 Today I want to look at verses 1-4 of chapter 6, once again focusing on who Jesus was speaking to, and on the context of the entire message. 

Matthew 6:1-4

(1)“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

 (2)“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  (3)But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  (4)so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

A couple of things up front:

• The chapter divisions are not in the original text. Although I do believe that this is as good a place as any to start a new chapter, it does not mean that Jesus is now entering a new train of thought.
• I don't think that Jesus was interested in giving a 3 point sermon. He was teaching, setting forth the main tenants of His ministry. I believe that there is a flow in this sermon, and this section continues His overall message of restoring the true relationship between God and man.

At the end of chapter 5, Jesus speaks of our being perfect, as God is perfect. I think this deserves some more thought, as it leads into these verses. Can we be perfect? I believe that Scripture teaches that our actions will never be completely perfect. So does experience for that matter. However, we can be seen as perfect if washed in the blood of Christ. This is not a license to do whatever we want, and if you are understanding this sermon, you will see that, but it does cover our flaws. So when Jesus says "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them," He is making sure that we understand that we do not do righteous deeds for the approval of God or others, we do them because seeing the love, grace, and mercy of God has brought about an internal change  that we often refer to as repentance. He goes on to say that if we do righteous deeds to be seen by others, they have lost all value before God.

The Jewish leaders were experts at giving, as well as letting others know of such actions. In fact, most everything they did was for public display rather than out of the desire to honor God. For whatever reason, they had lost the concept of a personal relationship with God. According to Jesus, it appears that there would be no other reward for their efforts. But for the crowd He warns, when you do such actions, do not seek the approval of others. Not even your closest friends or brothers, lest you also fall into the temptation to do such actions for their approval. Shhh! Do it in secret, so that not even your left hand might know what the right hand has done. That is, provided you didn't have to cut off one of you hands to keep from sinning!

Edited 2/7/2022

I'll have an order of Christianity, hold the cross.

Post found here.

I read a post I had written before, it speaks of the fact that Satan offered Jesus a shortcut to achieve his mission, one that would bypass the cross. A legitimate temptation for Jesus, who while fully God, was also fully man. No cross means no suffering. What a deal!

But Jesus said, "No deal!"

He knew that to eliminate the cross was to fail. Can we think any less?

How did he do it? How did he overcome that immediate temptation and press on? Satan was not aware of one important thing about Jesus. He saw the cross as joy. "Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

How could the cross be a joy? Was it because he was going to be so happy he gave me salvation? I don't think so. I think it was because Jesus was not focused on himself (or me for that matter), but on his Father and the mission God gave him. Jesus relished in doing the work of God, no matter the cost.

We too, are called to take up our cross and follow Jesus. (Matt 10:38; 16:24 for starters) If we look at the cross, that is very unappealing. If we look at ourselves, it is still unappealing. But if we look to Jesus, if we understand that our cross is not ever going to be as big a burden as his. Even in death, we do not have to suffer the consequence of the sin of the world. I can and should take up my cross because I am focused on God the Father, and God the Son. I can bear my cross, because God has promised to see me through.

Try as you might, if you do not have the cross, you do not have Christianity.