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.
