The Secret Life of Successful Christians: Part 5 - Knowing What to Treasure

_{The Secret Life Of Successful Christians}

_{Part 5: Knowing what to Treasure}

_{Introduction:}

_{"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." -Matthew 6:1}

_{In chapter 6 of Matthew, Jesus is giving us practical instruction on Christian living. Specifically, He causes us to focus on our motives. Whom, exactly, are we trying to please? It is entirely possible, it seems, to spend a lifetime doing "righteous" things and yet, not be right with God. Jesus tells us to "beware" of the temptation to live for the applause of people. He further tells us, that if that is our motivation, we forfeit any heavenly reward.}

_{Part 5: Treasuring the Right Things}

_{[Mat 6:19-21 ESV] 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.}

_{What does it mean to "Treasure"?}

_{As a noun, "treasure" means: wealth stored up or hoarded, riches, a store of money in reserve}

_{As a transitive verb, it means:  to collect and store up (something of value) for future use :  hoard:  to hold or keep as precious :  cherish, prize .}

_{An example, [Mat 19:16-29 ESV]}

_{The big question about eternal life:}

_{16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?"}

_{The impossible answer:}

_{17 And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." 18 He said to him, "Which ones?" And 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 mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself."}

_{At first, Jesus chooses to focus his attention on those commandments that govern human relationships, in essence, he says, "love your neighbor." The man assures the Lord that he has kept these commandments.}

_{20 The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?"}

_{Jesus then challenges him at his greatest fault. He was living in violation of the commandment, "You shall have no other God's before me..." :}

_{21 Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.}

_{The teachable moment:}

_{23 And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"}

_{In other words, if the wealthy (whom they assumed to be favored by God) could not enter, who could? Jesus then delivers the moral:}

_{26 But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."}

_{The practical application:}

_{27 Then Peter said in reply, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?" 28 Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.}

_{When we take the whole body of scripture, and view this verse in the light of other passages we realize that Jesus is not advocating the physical abandonment of a person's family (1 Timothy 5:8). However, our allegience to Jesus must be greater than our allegience to any other person or possession. Jesus is calling us to settle this allegiance in our hearts long before a choice is necessary. If forced to choose between Jesus  and people or possessions, we must choose Jesus ( 1 Corinthians 7:15 give us an example of this).}

_{Things to consider}

_{1. Are wealth and possessions inherently evil?}

_{2. How am I to view wealth and possessions?}

_{3. How do I know if I am "treasuring" these things?}

_{4. Where should my treasures be? How do I get them there?}

_{5. For what reason, would God want me to have earthly wealth?}

_{6. For what reason, would he want me to lose it?}

_{7. If God removed all wealth and possessions from my life, how would it affect me spiritually?}

To view the next lesson in this series, click HERE.

LESSON OUTLINE: "Anticipation".

Family Life Class        June 27, 2014 

<sub>Almost everyone has experienced separation from loved ones. Sometimes it is temporary. Other times separation seems permanent.  The "Blessed Hope" of believers is that Jesus will soon return for his church. In this lesson we will talk about the longing the church should have for the return of Christ, and how that longing will affect our everyday lives.

"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" [Titus 2:13 KJV]

"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." [1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 KJV]

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." [Hebrews 9:27-28 KJV]</sub>

·         _{Does the Bible support the idea of reincarnation or any other “do over” theology?}·         _{Should Christians grieve over the death of another Christian?}·         <sub>What is the believer's hope?

"For we know that if our earthly house of [this] tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in [this] tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing [is] God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore [we are] always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." [2 Corinthians 5:1-8 KJV]</sub>·         <sub>Does the Bible speak of the death of a believer as a loss or a gain?

"Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present [us] with you. For all things [are] for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward [man] is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal." [2 Corinthians 4:14-18 KJV]</sub>·         <sub>What evidence do we have of bodily resurrection?

"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only [they], but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body." [Romans 8:22-23 KJV]</sub>

·         _{Is death natural?   Why is death so unpleasant?}·         _{How does being “born again” impact my soul?}
·         _Spirit?·         _Body?

"The LORD is known [by] the judgment [which] he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah. The wicked shall be turned into hell, [and] all the nations that forget God." [Psalms 9:16-17 KJV]

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." [Matthew 10:28 KJV]

·         Do all people automatically go to heaven when they die?

·         What effect should this knowledge have on believers?

·         Ultimately who knows the destination of another’s soul?

What? No goodbye?

 "And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight." - Acts 1:9 esv

Has it ever occurred to you that Jesus didn't give his followers a proper  "goodbye". 

He could have given them a hug or a hand shake, but he didn't. He could have signed autographs or had a farewell dinner. He did none of those things. 

Instead, he stood on a hill and gave instructions to his followers, just like he had many times before. Then, without so much as a goodbye, he rose into the clouds and disappeared from their sight.. 

Here the disciples stood on the front porch of the world, if you will, watching as the one they loved disappeared into the heavens...

And he didn't even say "goodbye".

Imagine how you'd feel if your company left that way. We like to get a goodbye before someone leaves. It puts a period on the end of the visit. Why didn't Jesus give us one?

I've got a theory...

I tell my wife and kids goodbye when I leave for work, and I tell them goodbye when I leave to go into town.  I have to pass around the hugs and kisses (sometimes twice) before I can leave, but, I don't tell them goodbye when I walk into the yard or go into another room in the house. Why? Because I'm not going that far. I'm still home even if they can't see me.

Perhaps you recall a verse from Isaiah 66:1 in which God says, "Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool..."

 You see, what we see as the greatest journey in history looks much different from Jesus' perspective.  We see an almost incomprehensible transition from the earthly temporal to the heavenly eternal. Jesus on the other hand, sees a mere move from the ottoman to the chair.

The reason he didn't say goodbye is because he didn't go that far. In fact, moments before he vanished in to heavens, he promised his disciples, "...I am with you always...".

Friend, heaven is just around the corner and Jesus is still so close he can hear your whisper. He is waiting to hear from you. 

He never said, "Goodbye."