April 18, 2021
Morning Service

Jesus laid the foundation for this entire teaching when He spoke on the Beatitudes (5:3-12) emphasizing that following Him was more about the “why” than the “what.”  He desires us to be changed from the inside out; our heart first and then our actions will follow.  When we truly surrender who we are on the inside to Him, then the rest of our walk will fall into place.  Last week we spoke on two areas of practical righteousness; charitable giving and prayer.  In both cases it is important that we do them for the right reasons and not the wrong ones.  Are we doing them for our glory or His?  Are we doing them as a duty or cheerfully giving?  Our giving whether it be our money, time or materials is to be shared knowing all of those things were given to us by God in the first place.  Following Jesus will create in you a generous heart.  Prayer is an important, intimate conversation with our Lord, Savior and best Friend.  He asks you to “Come unto Me” and lay your burdens at His feet and allow Him to carry them for you.  It is to be done in secret and with an attitude of yielding your will to His; becoming a more faithful follower.  I believe all of us would say our prayer lives could use some improvement.  Today we start out with the third area of practical righteousness that we often ignore and that is fasting.  Notice the attitude needed for it to be rewareded.

Mat 6:16-18 "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  (17)  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, (18) so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

            Fasting is going without food for a period of time with purpose of drawing closer to God.  It is a noble and yet difficult task.  It could be as simple as missing a single meal or expand to several days.  This area of practical righteousness is designed to give us time to pray and look into our spiritual mirror.  It teaches us self-discipline and reminds us that we can live on a lot less along with having us to appreciate the many gifts God gives us daily.  I would encourage you at any time that your heart is deeply troubled do a fast and reach out to God with your need.  Jesus here is certainly not condemning fasting, but condemns doing it to show others your “holiness;” which is hypocritical.  The Jewish people were commanded to fast once a year on the Day of Atonement. The Pharisees however fasted twice a week and made everyone aware of it by their disposition.  They received their reward, however it was from man’s praise not from God.  Jesus here again promises that if we do this with the right attitude, He will reward us.  These three areas of practical righteousness are to be done quietly and with sincerity.  Give, pray, and fast to give God glory and to help you follow a little closer to your Rabbi.  They are about building stronger your relationship with your Lord, not about displaying your “holiness” to the world.  They are about Him not you.  Now Jesus tells about how one who follows Him looks and deals with wealth.

 

Mat 6:19-21 "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.

            This teaching is one of the most revolutionary teaching that Jesus gives us as He instructs us on how to find security for the future.  He goes against the ways of the world which tells us that our priority is to plan financially for the days ahead.  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth” because they can be lost in a moment in a number of ways.  Where is the security in investing in something that is not certain?  We are to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” that cannot be lost or stolen.  Invest your lives in the things of God which lasts for eternity, which we cannot lose, not in the things of this world which we cannot keep.  Is He saying it is wrong to invest in a 401K and make financial plans for our future?  Absolutely not!  In so doing you are being a good steward of what God has blessed you with.  I would say it would be wrong not to have a plan in fact, but that plan cannot be priority #1.  Our society is obsessed with the attaining and building of wealth so much so that even spiritual things take a back seat to it.  Wealth and the attaining of it along with attaining material things has become our society’s god.  They think about it, desire it, work hard for it and plan their lives around it.  Jesus defines this well in verse 21; “for where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

            See how everything always circles back to the heart, our motivation to do what we do; the true factor in defining who we are?  Where is your treasure?  In your bank account, in your stock market investment, in your house, in your social status, in the material things you strive to attain-OR- does your heart belong to Jesus and your treasure is in Him and Him alone?  Ask that question to yourself as you look deeply into your spiritual mirror.  Jesus helps us out here as He continues and gives us an example of how we can honestly examine ourselves on this front.

 

Mat 6:22-24 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  (23)  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  (24)  "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

            Jesus again uses a natural truth that we understand to help us better understand a spiritual truth.  It is through our eyes that we see where we are going.  Light aids us in making that journey as it illuminates our path and we can be sure our steps are true.  The darkness hinders us as we can be easily deceived to go the wrong way and even fall along the way.  The application of this is that walking in the light means you have fully surrendered your life to following Jesus and His Light is what guides you along your path.  Your heart belongs to Him and your motive is a pure and sincere love for Him.  He is our treasure and serving Him is our greatest desire.  He comes first and foremost in our lives and everything revolves around our relationship with Him.  The opposite is also true if we choose darkness over light, uncertainty over security, the world over Christ we cannot be sure where we are going or where will end up.  Jesus speaks plainly as He tells us we can’t do both.  “No one can serve two masters.  You can’t serve God and mammon.” (wealth) If you are trying to do just that, have your cake and eat it too, you are fooling yourself.  It is often called “riding the fence” between being heavenly minded but keeping your feet in the world.  It is not a very pleasant or fulfilling way to live your life.  You are always torn between a desire to serve the Lord and also pursue the pleasures of this world (sin).  You are constantly stumbling around getting glimpses of what God has for you, but you are pulled by your desires to the darkness and are unable to really experience the close intimate relationship He desires you to have with Him 

That is no way to live, I have been there.  I was going through all the motions, saying the right things, but I had never totally given my heart to Jesus.  I kept back part of my life that I refused to surrender; a secret treasure.  I was miserable, torn with guilt and shame of professing one thing and living another; a definition of a hypocrite.  Then came the time that I was sick of it and decided to push all my chips into the middle of the table and give my all to Jesus.  I was “all in” to follow wherever Jesus led me.  I turned on the Light and the path became clear.  That was in no way the end of my struggles, our journey to Him is a marathon not a sprint.  The difference was now I was empowered by the Holy Spirit to never give up even when I fall down.  He became my treasure and the owner of my heart.  He led me here to this pulpit.  I had no aspirations of ever being here or being used by God in this way, but by surrendering all that I am to the will of God here I am.

What does God have in store for you?  What is your treasure and who owns your heart?  Are you walking fully in the light, fully in the darkness, or are you like I was “riding the fence?”  If you are not where you need to be with the Lord, you know it.  Only you have the power to make that first initial step towards Christ to change your path.  Once you do, the Holy Spirit will empower you to finish that journey.  He blesses those who obey His word.  Turn it all over to Him; you will never regret it, I promise you.

 

Heavenly Father help each one of us to place our treasure in You by giving You our whole heart.