Christianity

When you go to bed at night, what gives you comfort? What gives you peace as your head hits the pillow? Your job? Your family? Your possessions? Your good looks, or high IQ? What is it that you treasure?

Today, we finish up Matthew 6, as we continue to look at Jesus’ words to His followers in the Sermon on the Mount. This passage (v. 19-34), detail Jesus’ words concerning treasure and anxiety, two things that, according to Jesus, are closely related.

We often hear words like “materialism,” and assume that it’s a much bigger issue now than it was in Jesus’ time, since they “didn’t have as much back then.” But every culture and every time period has struggled with idolizing worldly treasures, whether it’s a strong ox or camel in the 1st century, or the latest iPhone in the 21st century. Idolatry has been and always will be a problem, so long as there is sin in this world. Thankfully, Jesus is the answer to our idolatry. Let’s hear what He has to say:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

According to Forbes.com, Bill Gates’ net worth sits at just under $80 billion, making him the wealthiest man in the world. Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, has solidified his place as one of the most successful businessmen in world history. He is, without a doubt, rich. The man could literally swim in piles of money.

Gates is 59 years old. In fifty years, Gates will most likely be dead. His money will go to his surviving family. His money will not go with him into eternity. At the end of his life, Bill Gates’ net worth will do nothing to save him from the wrath of God. It will do nothing for him in the next life. When all is said and done, money is simply a piece of paper that means nothing.

Tom Brady has four Super Bowl rings, two MVPs, and 10 Pro Bowl selections. He will go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, quarterbacks to ever play professional football. He has fancy cars, fancy houses, and is married to a supermodel. By worldly standards, Tom Brady’s doing pretty well.

When Brady dies, his Super Bowl rings won’t keep him from death. His nice cars and celebrity lifestyle won’t last forever. His NFL records will collect dust in a history book, remembered by fans, perhaps for a short while, until the next great quarterback comes along.

Death truly is the great equalizer. I’m certainly not speculating on the nature of these people’s relationship with the Lord, as I have no clue what they believe about Jesus, but their lives serve as an example to all of us of the fleeting nature of material possessions.

The problem with earthly treasure is that it is temporary. You can’t take it with you into heaven. As Jesus says, “moth and rust” destroy these “treasures.” They are eternally worthless. You made $100 billion in your lifetime? Great! How much is that worth on your death bed? You lived in the nicest house in the nicest neighborhood, your kids went to the nicest schools…great! What does that mean when you’re staring death in the face?

Jesus calls His followers to pursue that which is eternal, that which will last forever–heavenly treasure. But what is heavenly treasure? What does that mean?

The Bible tells us that there is a reward for those who follow Jesus. For those who turn against their sin, trust in Jesus to come rule and reign in their hearts as Lord and trust in Him for salvation, there is: eternal life, adoption by the Father, fellowship with God and the church forever, and rewards for obeying Jesus in this life. A life lived to the glory of God with faith in Jesus Christ yields all the treasure, all the reward, of union with Christ and obedience to Him.

Why chase after money when I can hear the Father say, “Well done, good and faithful servant?” Why chase after the false god of sex when I have fellowship with God? There is more pleasure in one second of fellowship with God than there is in a lifetime of sex (yes, even the gift of sex God gives in marriage).

Ultimately, the reward of following Christ, of storing up heavenly treasure, is not the benefits that come from union with Christ, as discussed above. It’s not the heavenly treasures God gives to His obedient children. These are certainly part of that great reward, and Jesus most definitely had these things in mind, but the greatest reward of following Jesus is Jesus Himself. If we could have forgiveness without Jesus (which is impossible), it wouldn’t be worth it. The point of forgiveness is the restoration of our relationship with God. If we could have eternal life without God, it wouldn’t be worth it. To ask the oft-asked question: If you could go to heaven and God not be there, would you still go?

All of us would like to answer that question in the negative, but if we’re honest, sometimes we want the things of God more than God Himself. The things of God are good, and we ought to thank Him for them, but we must pray that God would help us desire Him more than His gifts.

Jesus makes it clear in verse 21 that whatever it is that we’re chasing after directs our lives: “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In the Bible, the word “heart” refers not just to our emotions, but to our will, to our minds, and symbolizes that which leads our lives.

So, if we’re treasuring this world, we will not follow God. We will follow after this world, and forsake God. But if we treasure God, and all that He is, we will follow Him, be guided by Him, and forsake the world. Brothers and sisters, let’s do that. He’s much better.

Jesus also says similar truths about our eyes:

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, 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 in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

In the same way our treasure directs our hearts and the direction of our lives, what we set our eyes on often decides what we chase after. If my “eyes are on the prize” of that job, or that relationship, that’s what I’m going after. But if my eyes are on Jesus, on knowing, trusting, loving and obeying Him, I’m going to seek Him. Again, brothers and sisters, let’s set our eyes on Jesus.

This is an all-or-nothing deal, according to Jesus. He says, in verse 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.”

The word translated “money” here is the word “mammon,” meaning money or possessions. For many of this, we glance over this passage, because, for us, we don’t idolize money. Well done! If I’m being honest, I don’t struggle with the desire to have a lot of money. Never have.

However, we all have those false gods that tempt us to worship them. Maybe it’s your job. The corporate ladder of success is appealing to you. Maybe it’s your family. You wake up, burdened to be the best husband/wife, father/mother you can be. Maybe it’s sports. You want to play the best, or, if you’re like me and totally unathletic, you immerse yourself in the world of sports, enjoying watching other people play the sports you love, and there’s a temptation to identify yourself by your team affiliation.

Idolatry is common to every person that’s ever lived. And Jesus makes it clear that if we are to be His disciples, if we are to be saved, we must choose: Will we follow God wholeheartedly? Or will God be an add-on to my already busy life?

The problem, for those who want the latter, is that God refuses to be an add-on. Jesus makes it clear that if you’re not willing to give up all else in order to gain Him, you cannot be His disciple (Matt. 16:24-26). Jesus will either be everything to you, or He will be nothing. If you are a Christian, your life must be consumed with knowing Jesus, trusting Jesus, being like Jesus, and glorifying Jesus, or you don’t know Jesus.

Thankfully, when we all fail to love Jesus above all, when we all fail to take up our cross and follow Jesus, we’re reminded that He took up His cross and died for us. And that allows us to repent confidently, to confess where we’ve failed, trusting Jesus to forgive us and restore us. None of us treasure Jesus perfectly, but, by God’s grace, we turn away from treasuring this world to treasure Him, trusting in His saving and empowering grace to help us in the fight.

When we treasure Jesus, it destroys anxiety. The root of anxiety is fear. Fear that if I don’t have this relationship, my life will be ruined. Fear that if I don’t get that job, I won’t be successful.

When we fear and worry over these things, we exalt them to the place of God, allowing them to direct us and control us. But when we treasure God, we allow Him to direct us, and we can trust in Him to provide all that we need:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Because God is our God, not money, not food, not clothing, we can trust God to provide those things as we need them. And we trust in Him to provide, not for our sake, but so we may continue to live our lives for His glory. We’re called, not to “let go and let God,” but to trust God and get going for His glory.

When God is our God, things like food, jobs, clothing, sex, houses, relationships, etc. become avenues, not for sinful idolatry, but for the enjoyment of the common grace of God, as we glorify Him for His many gifts and use them as we can to advance the gospel.

Seek first the kingdom. Put your eyes on Jesus. Treasure Him. Trust in Him. Kill anxiety by killing idolatry.

Lord, may you destroy our idols by showing us your goodness. May we trust in you, treasure you, and rest in you. May your beauty make the things of this earth grow dim, as we seek our joy in you.

God bless,

Neal E.

Today we continue the Sermon on the Mount series, examining what it means to have humble faith, a faith that is centered on God and His glory, not our fame.

Moving forward in this series, posts will come out on Sunday, instead of Monday.

“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.”

Why are you following Jesus? Keep that question in mind as we move forward in this post. Do we follow Him out of love for Him? Or do we perhaps follow Jesus because we want others to see what a great moral person we are, or how much more spiritual we are than “those people?”

Jesus has called those who know Him as Lord to have a humble, God-exalting, faith. He says those who practice their faith in order to be seen by others have no reward from God. He uses the example of giving to the poor: “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. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Jesus never says to not obey out of a desire to be rewarded. What the Lord condemns is desiring a reward from man that exalts us, and thus, gives no glory to God. Jesus closes this passage by exhorting us to obey trusting that God will give us a better reward, as only our perfect Father can. This reward will be much better than the praise of man, and will bring glory to God.

We give to the needy not because we want others to think of as generous, but because Jesus, by His grace, has made us generous. He has been generous in living perfectly for us, in dying for us, and bringing us to faith in Him as Lord and Savior, and we desire to glorify Him by walking as He walked. Serving others in a way that honors God means doing it because it’s who we are, not to gain some external reward.

Next, Jesus moves to a discussion on prayer:

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Once again, Jesus makes it clear that prayer is not about us being seen, but God being glorified. Our reward in prayer is not God answering our prayer. Our reward is knowing God, having a relationship with our Father in heaven. Our reward, which Jesus bought with His blood, is being able to talk to a holy God who not only doesn’t condemn us, but adopts us as His beloved children. This is infinitely better than someone looking at us and saying, “Wow…they’re really spiritual.”

Jesus gives an example of this prayer, commonly referred to as the Lord’s Prayer. While I could have an entire post dedicated to the Lord’s Prayer, I’ll discuss it briefly as it relates to having a humble faith.

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Nothing in this prayer calls attention to our ability, to our power, to our goodness and merit. Every syllable uttered in the Lord’s Prayer calls attention to God, to His holiness, to His glory, to His ability to meet our needs, to forgive our sins, and to lead us in His ways. Jesus continues to drive home the point that for followers of Christ, every area of life is about God. Every word of prayer, every thought, every action, is to glorify God, calling us to be humble and not consider ourselves more important than God or others.

We praise God and desire for His name to be known as holy. We ask Him to meet our needs, because we cannot even eat unless God wills it. We certainly cannot forgive ourselves, so we ask God, through Jesus, to forgive us as we forgive others. We know, moving forward with Christ, the only way we can overcome forgiven sin is with His help. The Lord’s Prayer is intended to humble us and cause us to rely on Christ and glorify God.

Lastly, Jesus talks about how His followers are to fast. Notice that Jesus says “when you fast,” not “if you fast.” It is expected that we fast as followers of Christ, because we desire God more than food.

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Our reward is God, not attention. There’s a temptation in fasting to say, “Look at me. Look how I’m not obsessed with food like the rest of you sinners. I love God so much more than you.” Those who have fasted know the temptation to “feel more spiritual” that comes along with it.

There’s nothing to boast about when it comes to obedience to God. If a child cleans his room after his mom’s asked him to do it, does he boast, “Look how great I am, Mom! I picked up every toy!” That certainly doesn’t make him look great…he’s simply doing what his parents told him to do. We don’t boast before God that we did what He commanded, we thank Him for the grace to obey.

Fasting is intended to humble us, to cause us to remember that we need God more than we need food. This is not self-exalting, this is God-exalting. Fasting should always end in worship, for we see that God is greater than food.

Our joy, because of Jesus, is to see God glorified. So what are we seeking? Why are we following Jesus? Having the right answers isn’t as important as having the right motivations.

The gospel gives us the right motivations. The gospel calls us to trust Christ for salvation, to know His righteousness and His forgiveness, and to follow Him as Lord. The gospel calls us to know God, not be known by man. When we know God and are known by God, we don’t have to be known by man (Jer. 9:23-24). When we know Christ and rest in Him, we can have humble faith.

Lord, may we be humble, as you are humble. May we serve you and others out of a desire to see you glorified, to be more like you, and to see others saved. May you kill our pride with reminders of your grace.

God bless,

Neal E.

The Life I Now Live

Living by faith in the Son of God

Treasuring God and Destroying Anxiety: Matt. 6:19-34

Humble Faith: Matt. 6:1-18