Last week on Easter Sunday we began the new series, "The Case for the Real Jesus, How Jesus is not Synthetic or False, but Real and Reliable!"
We talked about how the reality of Christ challenges our fears, especially the fear of death. Not a thing that we’re afraid of is worthy of our fear and dread. Through Christ we can vanquish every fear!
Our theme verse for this series is…
"Examine and see how good the Lord is. Happy is the person who trusts Him." Psalm 34:8 (NCV)
This verse says that the way to learn about Jesus is by personal examination. There’s plenty of historical evidence to support the case for Christ but this series is about empirical evidence - about personal experience. Anyone willing to make a faith commitment to Christ as Lord will not only find Him completely and totally satisfactory - they will find that He exceeds their expectations! The greatest evidence in the case for the real Jesus is so often overlooked. People fail to accept the challenge of examining God for themselves.
Today we’re considering why and how we can trust Christ for every-day needs. We’re going to see what Jesus teaches about how accepting Him into our lives impacts us in our day-to-day lives.
For this consideration we’re looking a portion of one of Christ’s most famous messages called “The Sermon on the Mount.”
The Sermon on the Mount is recorded in the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of Matthew. It’s divided into 5 sections and we’ve talked about each one of these sections at various times at Pathway because they’re all needful:
The first division is made up of the Beatitudes - Teachings that begin with "blessed." These were meant to comfort suffering believers.
Second section: New laws - Contrasts the law of Moses with the law of Christ.
Third: Model Prayer - Instructions on prayer. Jesus also teaches the proper motives for fasting and offering gifts.
Fourth: Money and why we shouldn’t worry about it - Christian attitudes concerning the use of money. It is that 4th division of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount that we’ll consider today. It’s in this section that Jesus says, "I tell you not to worry about everyday life." (Verse 25) That’s our theme for this message. If you practice the presence of Christ as He teaches in today’s Scripture you won’t have to worry about everyday life.
Fifth section of the Sermon on the Mount: Warnings - Dangers of false teachers and hypocrisy.
What difference does having Christ in my life and following His precepts make in my every-day needs? Jesus didn’t shy away from this topic. In fact, the answers that He gives are very powerful as well as practical. They teach us how to be free from worry, worry about where we’re going to get the money to buy our food and clothing, the money for tomorrow’s necessities. Christianity is not some “pie-in-the-sky” cult. Christ followers do have the promise of heaven but they also have access to here-and-now joyous living!
Today’s Scripture, Matthew 6:19-34, is only 7 paragraphs long. For each paragraph we’ll quickly consider a success principle for trusting Christ for every day needs followed by a question to ask ourselves about how well we’re doing. If you’ll do these things you’ll find Christ very real in your every-day life! And when Christ’s presence is manifested in your every-day life you will find greater joy, peace, and success.
Here’s the first paragraph.
19 "Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."
So the first precept is…
1. BANK IN HEAVEN
If you want assurance and confidence that your every day needs are going to be met – if you don’t want to go around worrying about these things – bank in heaven.
I stopped by my bank this week to make my weekly deposit and noticed a brochure on the counter touting the “world’s 50 safest banks.” No doubt with all the banking problems lately they wanted to reassure their customers. My bank was number 13. Our church has its money in the same bank. I thought, “well, that’s pretty cool.” (If I had a lot of money I would be even more impressed.)
I noticed that they did not have the safest bank ever on the list – the bank of heaven.
I don’t have any deposit slips for the bank of heaven because Jesus was speaking metaphorically. He’s using the idea of storing our treasures on earth and how subject to decay and theft they are, and comparing it to storing our treasures in heaven. But HOW do we store our treasures in heaven? How do we bank in heaven?
It is what Jesus says in verse 21 that explains the application of His metaphor. 21 "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Jesus links treasure with desire."
To bank in heaven means to let your desires be guided by spiritual principles. This has a lot of implications, obviously more than we can cover today. So I’m going to give you a simple question to ask yourself in order to tell whether or not you’re banking in heaven. In fact I’ll have a question for you for every paragraph we read in this portion of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. We need to think critically about what we’re doing in life and asking ourselves questions is a good way to do that.
The best thing to do, if you want to bank in heaven, is to ask yourself one question about your day-to-day decisions: “How will the choices I make impact eternity?”
I can choose to spend my time, my money, my talents and abilities selfishly on things that will not matter in eternity, or I can choose to spend them on things that will make an eternal difference! Ask yourself what the end result will be of your choices.
Okay, second paragraph from the portion of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount that deals with day-to-day stuff.
22 “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!"
If I’m going to experience Christ’s power in my every-day needs, first I’ve got to Bank in heaven. Next, I’ve got to…
2. FOLLOW THE LIGHT.
Jesus uses another metaphor. This time He compares how light enters our bodies through our eyes to our ability to have our every-day needs met. Jesus said, “When your eye is good your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness.”
You may have 20-20 vision but unless the lights were on when you walked into this room with no windows you wouldn’t see a thing. We have to have light to see. Jesus uses this metaphor for spiritual sight.
Once more, after Jesus shared His metaphor, He applied it. Jesus said, "And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!"
Jesus is talking about the misinformed. A lot of people believe they’re walking in the light but they’re actually in darkness. That makes a tremendous difference in our day-to-day lives! A lot of the attitudes we have and principles we live by can be based on misinformation.
How do we know what’s light and what’s darkness?
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life." John 8:12 (NCV)
Here’s the question you ask yourself while making life’s choices: “Am I following Christ’s teaching and example?” So simple. If I’m following Christ I’m walking in the light. I will see things clearly. I won’t be one of the misinformed who thinks that he or she is walking in light while they’re actually stumbling in the darkness.
We’re talking every day needs, every day problem solving. How? Walking in the light solves a lot of our problems!
So, 1. Bank in heaven. 2. See the light. Then Jesus says this in the third paragraph of our text,
24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
What a profound teaching! And yet we are all so tempted to think that we can get away with ignoring this indisputable truth! We think we can serve God and money simultaneously and have true spiritual success – and have our everyday needs met. In fact, with our faulty human reasoning we think, “If I serve God AND money, I have twice the chance of success!” But Jesus says it can’t be done! Yet we keep on trying. We try to be Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. We’re spiritually schizophrenic. So the third principle of spiritual success in having your every-day needs met by Jesus…
3. SERVE GOD, NOT MONEY.
If I devote myself to money I’ll despise God.
Jesus never magnified poverty and He didn’t criticize the legitimate getting of wealth. He’s not talking here about using money. Using money is fine. That’s what it’s for. We all need it. He’s talking about serving money. Either Jesus Christ is our Lord or money is our lord. Either we follow how Christ taught us to live or we do what money tells us to do.
If God blesses you with money use it as a tool for God’s glory! But don’t let the acquisition and hoarding of wealth guide your day-to-day decisions. The question to ask yourself in this case is, “Who am I serving in this decision, God, or money?”
4th paragraph:
25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?"
Circle “everyday life.” That’s why we’re utilizing this portion of Christ’s sermon as we are. What is more of an every day problem than having enough food and drink and clothing? Very basic stuff. And so Jesus uses a very down-to-earth metaphor: birds. “Look at the birds,” Jesus said. Birds don’t plant, harvest or store – THEY ALSO DON’T WORRY!
But we do. We worry about daily necessities and Christ clearly tells us, “I tell you not to worry about everyday life.” But before He said that He said, “That is why…”
Bank in heaven, see the light, and serve God, not money. If you begin with those you won’t have to worry. You’ll know that no one can take your true treasure from you because it’s secure in heaven. You’ll have the light, following Christ, who is the Light, to make good day-to-day decisions, and since you’re God’s servant, not money’s, you know He’ll take care of you just like He takes care of the birds! So the 4th success principle for meeting your every day needs is…
4. DON’T WORRY.
Worry just clouds your mind and distresses your heart. Worry is no fun at all! Worry keeps you from seeing the doors that God is opening for you. Worry motivates you to sit down and wring your hands instead of having this positive mental attitude that seeks for God’s solutions. God always has a solution for your day-to-day needs!
This past Wednesday was tax day. I didn’t have enough money in my checking account to pay my debt to Uncle Sam. So I almost did something stupid. I went down to a place to borrow the money. But when the guy showed me the interest rate I told him that was almost immoral. (So, if you hear word of a preacher in town who walked out of a lending institution calling them almost immoral…it was me.) I prayed. Deb prayed. And then I realized that there was a better solution. No, I didn’t rob a bank. (Especially not my bank since it’s one of the safest banks in the world.) But God brought a plan to mind that worked. If I had kept on panicking, kept on worrying, I wouldn’t have had the mental clarity for God to give me a workable solution.
Every time we get into a jam we need to ask myself, “Can I not trust in the God who feeds the trillions of birds on this planet every day to feed me?”
Worry stinks. So Jesus keeps on talking about worry in the next paragraph.
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?"
5. HAVE FAITH.
I read something this week. God brought it to my attention while I was going through my tax ordeal.
“Discouragement is a faith issue. Satan wants to assassinate the character of our God until He becomes smaller than our circumstances…Christ desires to minister to our discouragement.” (ChristianityToday.com)
What I need to ask myself is “How big is my God?”
This is our chance to really show how big we believe our God to be.
6th paragraph, and Jesus is still on the topic of worry.
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."
6. SEEK THE KINGDOM FIRST.
Straight to the question we need to ask, “Who or what dominates my thoughts?”
Do I think like someone that doesn’t even believe in God? Am I focused on worrying about all these material things when God wants me to "seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."
Worry is the devil’s tool to keep you preoccupied so that you don’t seek the kingdom of God above all else, so that you don’t think about living righteously.
God’s promise: Seek the kingdom of God first, live righteously – and I’ll take care of the rest.
Last paragraph: 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
7. DON’T BORROW TOMORROW.
The question I ask myself, “Am I neglecting today in order to worry about tomorrow?”
Worrying about tomorrow robs me of effectiveness today – which means I’ll be even less effective tomorrow.
If I just concern myself with today – being effective today. I can leave tomorrow alone. Sure it’s okay to plan for tomorrow but its not okay to worry about tomorrow because worrying about tomorrow makes me less effective today.
This is liberating! This sets us free! We enjoy life more. We have greater happiness and success. We get more accomplished for God and for others.
To those of you who know Christ, are you taking advantage of all the wonderful resources that are yours in Him? If not, while we pray, ask God to strengthen you in any area needed.
If you don’t yet know Christ - "Examine and see how good the Lord is!"
