Ladies, we have heard the Word this weekend. We have also from heard ladies for whom God has done great and mighty things. The Lord has truly spoken to our hearts. At this time I would like to give you some final words of admonition and encouragement. Let us stand for the reading of the Word.
Matthew 6:19-34
Jesus has just been talking about the hypocrites who fast with disfigured faces in such a way that they will gain the respect of men. Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart. Jesus saw the secret places of their hearts and knew what they were about. He knew they sought not to please God, but only to gain a name for themselves. But Jesus warns the disciples to do their good in secret and not to seek the praise of men. He says when we do this, we shall be rewarded openly. He goes on to say, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on the earth.” That is what the hypocrites were doing. They valued they praise of men. They coveted the praise of men, and that’s what they got. That was their only reward. If you value the things of this world, when you get them that is your only reward. But our Lord went on to say, that for Christians, we are to value heavenly things. The things of this world have absolutely no eternal significance. They are created things. They are things which moths and rust can corrupt, or things that thieves can break in and steal. But we are to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Our heart is to be concerned about the kingdom of God. We are to seek to do his will. We are to seek to love God wholeheartedly and to love others as ourselves. When we wake up in the morning we should have Jesus on our mind. When we lay our head to rest at night, we should have Jesus on our mind. And all throughout the day He should consume our thoughts. He should be what we value most. Most of us would say that God is the most important thing in life -but it can not just be lip service. We need to put action with our words. He should be what we devote most of our thoughts, our time, and our energy to. We should be able to say “Just as the deer pants for the water brooks so my soul LONGS after you Lord.” He should be our treasure. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If He is our treasure, then He has our heart. If He is what we value most, then he has our heart. If we find ourselves more occupied with the things of this world, or the things around us, then THEY have our hearts. “For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”
Let’s take a look at some guys whose treasure was in heaven. Turn over a few pages to chapter 4, verse 18.
Matthew 4:18-22
When Jesus came along, Peter and Andrew were just doing what was natural for them. They were fishermen so they were working with their nets. The gospel of Luke tells us that they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. Do you ever feel like that? Like you are laboring and toiling at the things you have to do and it seems like you’re not getting very far? That’s where these men were. But Jesus had shown his power to Peter and Andrew. Luke tells us that Jesus came along and miraculously filled their nets with fish. Peter had said, “Lord we’ve been there and done that. We’ve worked in vain, we’re tired, we’re weary. But if you say so, Lord, we’ll do it your way.” They threw in their nets again and they filled with fish. When Jesus was part of the picture, when Jesus was in the work, it was profitable. And they didn’t have to toil and strive all night as they had done before. His yoke was easy and His burden was light.
So, Peter and Andrew, as well as James and John had seen the Lord’s power. Not only that, but they had heard his words. He had borrowed Peter’s boat to go out upon the water and teach the people there on the shore. And these guys caught a vision of who this man Jesus could be, so much so that Peter fell down on his knees and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” He had begun to see into something eternal, this treasure, this man Jesus, and he realized that he was not worthy to be in His presence. Peter and all that were with him were astonished, the Bible says. But Jesus reassured them, “Fear not,” Luke records. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus gave them a higher calling. He introduced them to the kingdom of God. They were going to be a part of building the kingdom of God by fishing men. So Jesus laid the kingdom before them. And they caught the vision. These guys valued the treasure set before them, and IMMEDIATELY they laid aside their nets, IMMEDIATELY they laid aside their nets, they left their ships and followed Jesus. They pursued their higher calling.
God has the same thing for us. There is more to this life than just our day-to-day routine, our burdens and our cares. In fact, that isn’t life at all. People of the world experience many of the same things without hope for anything better. Each day for them is just one step closer to death. But real life is only found in Christ. When we turn our lives completely over to the Lord, he sets us free from the futility of this world--from the striving and toiling that seems to amount to nothing. When we become Christians, then we are not even truly a part of this world any longer. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” I Peter 2:9-11 says,
1 Peter 2:9-11
We have been called out of that darkness in which we lived. We once were not a people, we had no true purpose, but now we are the people of God. We are citizens of a heavenly kingdom. We are strangers and pilgrims in this world. We’re just passing through. The things we struggle with, the things that concern our mind, that occupy our time--they are only temporary. God is bringing us through to a new kingdom. So don’t get to comfortable in this world and with the things of this world. We must lay aside all those things and concern ourselves with the kingdom of God. We are pilgrims and strangers. We have been called out of the darkness of this world and into His marvelous light. We must set our sight not on the things of darkness, but on the things of light, on the marvelous treasure of Jesus and His kingdom.
In verse 22, our texts reads:
Matthew 6:22-24
Colossians 1:12-13
Colossians 3:1-3
We must lay aside our nets and leave our ships this evening. As children of the light, heirs of the kingdom of God, we can not afford to hold on to the things of this world or to be burdened with the cares of this world. We must set our sight on our treausure. For where our treasure is there will our heart be also. We can not be double minded. We can not dwell in darkness and in light. We can not serve two masters.
We know that anything that comes between us and Jesus is sin. Jesus even said we must hate our mothers and fathers to serve Him if that’s what it takes. But it is interesting that in our text in verse 24 He only mentions one element of darkness that keeps us from laying up treasures in heaven. And that is Money. If Jesus took time to single out this one thing, I think it deserves some of our attention tonight.
There are many things that can come between us and the Lord, but money can often be one of them. Jesus knew the love of money is the root of all evil. Why is that? Well, the love of money is everything opposite of the kingdom of God. Christ was humble and lowly and he instructed us to be the same say. Money gets us position and prestige in this world. The more money you have the more things you have. The more things you have the more prestige you have from others. This is NOT God’s way. He said the greatest shall be the least and if you want to be great, then make yourself the least.
So, it is not hte things we buy that are bad. Many of those things are God’s gifts to us because he lvoes us and knows how to give good gifts to his chilren. It is the attitude, the heart condition that often comes with haveing a lost of worldly goods that is dangerous. We cn begin to think more hightly of ourselves than we ought. We tend to like the esteem that comes with having nicer things. When James said, “Be no respector of persons,” he had specifically been talking about the poor and rich. It’s the whole attitude that being rich is BETTER than being poor that is unGodly. Jesus knew the danger of mateialism and here in America we’re eaten up with it. Jesus knew the danger of valuing things money could buy. That’s why He said it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. To be in the kingdom you must humble yourself and the pride that often comes with money makes that difficult. Not only that, but when we have the comforts that money brings--nicer homes, better clothes, money in the bank, we tend to put our security in those things and in our own ability to obtain those things rather than depending solely on God. Our eyes are fixed on the things of this world and not our treasure in heaven.
So, if you’re living from paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet, be encouraged! The poor are rich in faith, James said. They have to be! The poor shall inherit the kingdom of God. Because their treasure, their faith, is in Jesus and nothing else.
You know, the number one stressor in American families is finances. We think we need more than we have and we strive to obtain those things, often putting extra stress on our relationships. I want to challenge you to release yourself from that. Lay aside the pressure to have more. Paul said,
Philippians 4:11-13
Whether you struggle with materialism or you struggle just to keep food on the table. Be encouraged-both of those are not concerns of the kingdom. God will meet you needs. Our texts says we should
“Take not thought for your life, what you will eat or drink, or what clothes you will put on.” NOTICE THIS: “Is not the life more than meat and the body more than raiment.” Jesus said that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That is our life: the Word of God, the kingdom of God. Our treasure is in heaven, so we don’t have to worry.
Jesus said, look at the birds. They don’t plow the field and plant and reap and gather food into barns, but God feeds them. And you are much better than they. He went on to say, consider the lilies of the field how they grow. They don’t toil and strive and try to spin clothes for themselves. And yet they are more beautifully dressed than King Solomon in all the glory of his royal robes. So if God clothes the grasses of the field, how much more will he clothe you. And then Jesus rebukes us for having our mind on these things. He says, “O ye of little faith.”
Therefore, take no thought of these things. NOTICE THIS: The Gentiles, or the world, seek after these things. But your Father in heaven knows that you need these things. His hand is not short that he can not meet your needs. But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these thing will be added unto you. Seek out your treasure. Set your eyes on the light, not the darkness. Do not worry about tomorrow, verse 34 says, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Let me just encourage you ladies, if you have concerns in your heart, things your worrying about, understand that your Father in heaven knows you, He knows your needs. He knows the things that have been on your mind lately. He has heard your prayers. And if we ask Him for bread, he will not give us a stone.
Ladies to accept Jesus at His Word can sometimes be a real challenge. It is not always as easy as it sounds. Our problems and struggles are very real to us. We feel the stress or then hurt from them every day. But we must fully rely of Jesus to resolve our conflicts, or else we spend all our time and effort on them rather than on the kingdom.
We talked about how Peter, Andrew, James and John laid aside their nets, and followed Jesus. But, there were some others that just couldn’t quite do that. Let’s look over in Chapter 8 of Matthew. Verse 19:
Matthew 8:19-22
When the scribe came to Him, Jesus said, “You want to follow me? Okay, but I have no where to lay my head at night. I might sleep in a cave or out in a field of grass. Can you handle that? Is my kingdom worth that for you?
Then another of His followers said, “O Lord, I think I can handle that. I want to follow you. But first there are a couple of things I need to take care of. You know, my dad just died and I can’t really come with you until I bury him and get all that settled.”
What Jesus said to him was very shocking, at least to me it was. He said, “Follow me, and let the dead bury the dead.” In other words, absolutely nothing can stand in your way of serving me. I have come to give life. You need not concern yourself with the things of death, the things of this world. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon this earth. Be concerned only with the things of God. Worrying and strife is for those who are still dead in their trespasses and sins. When we put on Christ we are to lay aside all those things at His feet and trust Him to take care of us. We lay aside every weight that we have been carrying. We lay aside every sin and every unGodly habit that would keep us from serving Him with our whole heart. For our troubles, we trust that He will work all things together for our good. For our sins, we repent and trust that He forgives. We do not walk in condemnation for the things in our past. We are not guilty for we have put on the righteousness of Christ. We have his light at work in our hearts. And what fellowship does light have with darkness? None! You can not be guilty AND free. Christ has set you free. And no man can serve two masters. If we are truly His bondservants, we can no longer be servants the cares of this world. We can no longer be a slave to sin. We must whole-heartedly trust Him.
The two men in this last passage could not do that. Their treasure was on this earth . They could not lay aside their position or their cares to follow the Lord. But we have a higher calling. We have been made to sit in heavenly places. Our treasure is heaven and not on things than pass away. Heaven and earth will pass away but God’s Word, his kingdom, will endure ‘till the end.
Hebrews 12:26-28
If we can catch a vision of this kingdom we have received, we will be able to do as Peter did. We will no longer desire the things of this earth. Our focus will be on the treasure of Jesus Christ. When we allow God to do this work in our hearts, when we lay aside every weight and every sin, we can begin to see things in the right perspective. Turn to 2 Cor. 4:6. Paul said ,
2 Corinthians 4:6-9
In Paul’s heart was a treasure--the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That’s why he was able to say,
AGAIN
The glory of God is our hope. It is the treasure in our hearts. That’s why we don’t worry about things in this life. They will all be shaken, they will all pass.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
The anointing is our treasure. The kingdom of God is our treasure. It is an eternal treasure. We must seek after the kingdom of God. We must seek after His anointing. Jesus compared this search for God’s treasure to a man who went digging in a field. He uncovered a hidden treasure. A pearl of great price. It breathtaking beauty so allured him that he went and sold everything he owned, everything that he had ever considered valuable so he would have the money to purchase the field where he found the pearl. Nothing was more important to him than having the beautiful pearl.
Such is the kingdom of God for us. We must lay aside anything that would hinder the work of the Spirit in our lives. We must not concern ourselves with all the trivial things of this life, but should focus solely on obtaining our heavenly treasure--our walk with Christ, the anointing of the glory of God. It is the anointing of the knowledge of the glory of God that will see us through. The anointing will get us in and the anointing will get us out.
So ladies I just want to challenge you one final time this evening. Don’t throw to the dogs that which is sacred. Don’t cast your pearls before a pen full of pigs. They may trample them under their feet and tear you to pieces. When we waste our time and energy on the things of this world we often come up short. Things don’t turn out as we had hoped, we get let down, we get disappointed, we get our hearts broken, we fell frustrated with our own inability to manage things just right. Don’t waste your energy and time on the things and cares of this world. You have more important things to walk in. You have a higher calling. God has an anointing for you.
At this time, I would like you to prayerfully consider what things the Lord would have you lay aside for good this week end. What worries or concerns, what weights or sins would you like to lay at his feet this evening?
