Welcome to Day 2110 of  Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Sermon on the Mount 8 – A Christian’s Ambition: Not Material Security, But God’s Rule – Daily Wisdom

Putnam Church Message – 07/04/2021

Sermon on the Mount – A Christian’s Ambition: Biblical Priorities Result in Freedom From Worry

Matthew 6:19-34   Teaching about Money, Possessions, and Worry “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.  Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."  “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.  But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!"  “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 God and be enslaved to money."  “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?  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?  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?"  “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,  yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  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?"  “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."  “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." In the first half of Matthew 6 (1–18), Jesus describes the Christian’s private life “in the secret place” (giving, praying, fasting); in the second half (19–34), he is concerned with our public business in the world (questions of money, possessions, food, drink, clothing and ambition). The same contrast could be expressed regarding our “religious” and “secular” responsibilities. This distinction is false, because we cannot separate these into water-tight compartments. Indeed, the separation of the sacred from the secular in church history has been disastrous. If we are Christians, citizens of God’s kingdom, then everything we do is holy because it is done in God’s presence and according to God’s will. In this chapter, Jesus's emphases are precisely on this point: God is equally concerned with both areas of our life—private and public, religious and secular. There is no difference between the two. Christ's manifesto, The Sermon on the Mount, is for us to be different from the hypocrisy of the religious (1–18) and now different from the secular’s materialism (19–34). But how shall we make our choice? Worldly ambition has an intense fascination for us. The spell of materialism is hard to break. So in this section, Jesus helps us to choose well. He points out the folly of the wrong way and the wisdom of the right.  Within the passage we are covering today, there are four fundamental questions that we have to settle in our minds.

1. A question of treasure (verses 19–21)

Here the point to which Jesus directs our attention is the comparative durability of the two treasures. It is essential to face squarely and honestly the question: what was Jesus prohibiting when he told us, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth?” It may help if we begin by listing what he was (and is) not forbidding. First, there is no ban on possessions themselves; Scripture nowhere forbids private property. Secondly, “saving for a rainy day” is not forbidden to Christians; for that matter, a life insurance policy, especially for young couples, is prudent. Scripture even praises the ant in Proverbs 6:6-8, “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.” The believer who makes no provision for his family is worse than an unbeliever. Thirdly, we are not to despise, but rather enjoy, the good things our Creator has given us richly to enjoy. So neither having possessions, making provision for the future, nor enjoying the gifts of a good Creator are included in the ban on hoarding earthly treasures. What then? What Jesus forbids his followers is the selfish accumulation of goods, extravagant and luxurious living, the abundance of possessions, and the materialism which tethers our hearts to the earth. If God grants us the ability to gain wealth on earth, our vocation, as citizens of his kingdom, mandates that it is used to build his kingdom.  Sharing of treasures will include assisting people and organizations in need. The Sermon on the Mount repeatedly refers to the heart. Here, Jesus declares that our heart always follows our treasure, whether down to earth or up to heaven. Everything that we hoard here on earth could be gone in an instant.  The world’s economy could collapse overnight, leaving us with nothing of value.  When you die, you take nothing with you.  The only treasure we can take with us is the impact on lives that our lives have enriched.  Our lives should be living legacies that will impact eternity through our kids, grandkids, and countless others we have influenced for God’s kingdom. These are the treasures stored up in heaven.  Anything we accumulate here on earth is just stuff. Over the years, understanding this concept became real when we realized that our home, considered our family’s ancestral home, Paula and I, are just caretakers of it as long as we live. So it is with everything we own. It is the same for all that you think you own. We are only caretakers while we are alive.

1. A question of vision (verses 22, 23)

Jesus turns from physical treasures to what we treasure with our eyes. These two are tied together.  What we allow our eyes to gaze on becomes that which we desire.  Our eyes direct our whole body, so what we fix our eyes on by default is tied to our hearts and affects our entire lives.  If we focus our eyes (that is, our lives) on what God desires for us to build his kingdom, then our bodies and actions should be filled with light.   If we focus our eyes on what we desire to build our kingdom, we will be filled with spiritual darkness. Getting our eyes and minds off what is eternally significant is easy as we get bogged down in building our kingdom.  We may delude ourselves into thinking it is for something good and thinks it is light instead of darkness. When that happens, how deep is that darkness?

1. A question of worth (verse 24)

Jesus now explains that behind the choice between two treasures (where we lay them up) and two visions (where we fix our eyes), there lies the still more basic choice between two masters (whom we are going to serve). It is a choice between God and money. Money here refers to material “things.” As citizens of God’s kingdom, it boils down to whether we will work to build God’s kingdom or our kingdom. Are we going to serve God or ourselves? You cannot build both kingdoms at the same time. It is not about whether you have wealth or not. It is about your heart's attitude toward that wealth.  We are but caretakers of what God has provided to us.  This concept will revolutionize your outlook on life, our next topic.

1. A question of ambition (verses 25–34)

Unfortunately, verses 25-34 are often read and preached on as a separate subject and isolated from what has gone before. Jesus tells us, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life.” What he taught us in verses 19-24 is the groundwork for the remainder of this chapter.  We worry about everyday life because we focus on building our kingdom, not God’s.  We don’t understand what it means to be citizens of God’s kingdom.  If we understood this in our hearts and minds, we would not worry about anything because God, as the great and wise king, will care for our needs as his loved children.  How can we think for an instant that the Creator of the universe will not provide us with food, drink, and clothing? It probably stems from the fact that God did create us with free will to make choices. So with this ability, we think in our mind the saying, “If it’s to be, then it’s up to me.” To a point, we are responsible for providing for ourselves and our families. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: ‘Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.’” Unfortunately, as with many areas of life, when we get our eyes off building God’s kingdom to build our own, we begin to worry if we will have enough. It may be that our kingdom is a bit too big for the available resources, and we want to control it.  I am glad that Jesus breaks it down for a simple person like me. Come with me, and let’s imagine we are sitting outside on the mount listening to Jesus’s teaching, and we hear the birds singing all around us. Jesus points to the right and says…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?  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? We then see and feel the gentle breezes wafting past us, and Jesus points to the left and says…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, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  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? Now please understand this. Jesus Christ neither denies nor despises the needs of the body. He knows we need both food and clothing. He created our bodies and allowed us to care for them. In his model prayer, Jesus just taught us in the lesson last week that we are to ask, “Give us today the food we need.” Since we are to ask him, we should be willing to have enough faith to know that he will also provide.  Worrying about what we just asked for is unproductive and unnecessary.   Instead of worry, we should then get up and hold up our part of the bargain and do what is needed to make sure we allow God to provide through our God-given abilities. The birds have to build their nest, and care for and feed their young, but God does provide what they need.  You may have heard this poem before: Said the robin to the sparrow: ‘I should really like to know Why these anxious human beings Rush about and worry so.’ Said the sparrow to the robin: ‘Friend, I think that it must be That they have no heavenly Father, Such as cares for you and me.’ A preoccupation with food, drink, and clothing is an outward manifestation in which we have taken our eyes off building God’s kingdom and redirected them to our kingdom.  Human life is more significant than food, clothing, and shelter.  Jesus tells us that these things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers.  Unbelievers are preoccupied with building their kingdoms, so they are consumed with the stuff of the earth. Worry is incompatible with the Christian faith.  Faith is not just sitting around doing nothing and thinking that God will provide.  Faith is belief in action. Worry is also incompatible with common sense.  We do have obligations in life. So, first, believers are not exempt from earning their living.  Secondly, believers are not exempt from responsibility for others.  Thirdly, believers are not exempt from experiencing trouble. These three principles are part of our lives as citizens of God’s kingdom. We do not have to worry because God will provide. However, there is a prerequisite for God’s provisions. We are instructed in verse 33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Therefore, seeking first to do God’s will within his kingdom and practicing right living are the steps we need to take. Finally, we turn to the fact that worrying accomplishes nothing beneficial. Worry is like a rocking chair.  It gives you something to do but doesn’t get you anywhere. Worrying about tomorrow won’t stop the bad stuff from happening; it just prevents you from enjoying the good today. When you think about it, all worry is about tomorrow, whether about food, clothing, or anything else; but all worry is experienced today. Whenever we are anxious, we are upset in the present about some event that may happen in the future. However, our fears about tomorrow, which we feel so acutely today, may not be fulfilled.   So then worry is a waste, - a waste of time, thought, and nervous energy. We need to learn to live a day at a time. We should plan for the future, of course, but not worry about the future.  Christ finishes this part of his teaching with the words, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Let us focus on God’s kingdom daily by being the earth's salt and the world's light.  That is our mandate.   As citizens of God’s kingdom, we should be eager to develop our gifts, widen our opportunities, extend our influence, and live rightly in a world desperately seeking the savory salt and brilliant light we possess.  We are not here to boost our ego or build our kingdom, but rather to glorify God through everything we do. Therefore to the greatest of all ends, namely God’s glory and Supreme Good, let us seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal. As we take this trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word! Join us next week as we learn about judging others and effective prayer.