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*Section 2 – Kingdom Conduct
Twenty – Real Treasure
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matthew 6:19-24).
In John 12:1-6 we see a powerful illustration of two diametrically opposed perspectives on possessions. Mary, who was not likely a woman of great financial means, takes expensive perfume—valued at a year’s worth of income—and pours it on Jesus’ feet. In an act of great humility, worship, adoration, and sacrifice she uses her hair as a towel, mopping up the offering given to her Master. The treasurer of the group, Judas Iscariot, saw things differently. He said Mary’s gift was a waste. This passage indicates, however, that his motives were not—as he piously stated—based on kingdom principles; instead, he wanted this commodity for personal gain and his own pleasure.
Matthew 6 condemns the pursuit of luxury and extravagance over the pursuit of God. The bumper sticker mentality, “He who has the most toys wins,” suggests a life of marked contrast to the one Jesus desires of those who serve in His kingdom. While most place their hope in earthly “treasure,” only spiritual “treasure” holds any lasting value. In admonishing listeners to seek after His treasure, Jesus encouraged people to find security in Him. He offers eternal life and provides hope that proves real, satisfying, and lasting. Out of the renewed condition of our hearts and out of a desire to trust our Lord, believers should pause and give serious consideration to what we value most.
Matthew 6:19-24 does not stand as a prohibition against material possessions or wealth. On the contrary, demonstrating good stewardship through planning and saving may allow us the opportunity to give and serve for His glory. This portion of the sermon is perhaps best understood in conjunction with another verse: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17). God is the true source of all we hold. When we recognize that He owns all things and that provision comes from Him, we tend to release the wealth and things over which He has made us stewards. We cheerfully do this for His purposes. We choose Him over accumulation.
When Jesus said “not to store up for yourselves” earthly treasures, He meant that people should not pile things for the purpose of self-centered consumption. Doing so disrespects the Giver and ignores the needs of others. Scripture refers to Jesus’ followers as givers not accumulators of material possessions, proving that what we gain in this life comes to us so that we might honor Him and receive an eternal reward from Him (see Matthew 5:40-42; Mark 10:21). Our lives should center on giving, not gaining. “Watch out!” Jesus taught, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Only relationship with the Lord provides lasting satisfaction (see Philippians 3:8, John 14:27). Only there do we find the true meaning of life.
As I consider the state of the modern western church, the deception that possessions bring abundant life and spiritual benefit proves particularly troubling. Gaining possessions for their own sake proves a poor facsimile of the fullness and satisfaction found in Christ and His righteousness. Coveting more and more of this world’s trinkets leads to emptiness and destruction, to a never-ending and never-satisfying hunger for more. Christ—not gradually decomposing, man-made “treasures”—should stand as the source of our satisfaction. Fixing our hearts on earthly and material things eventually leads us to great spiritual darkness. We can never fully serve God when our hearts focus on our bank accounts and possessions.
Later in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus connects our perspective on possessions with the value we put on His kingdom. In a staggering passage Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like a treasure and is of greater worth than all of our earthly possessions: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field” (Matthew 13:44). Here too Jesus delineates two clear choices. We can love and pursue money and the possessions it brings or we can love and pursue the things of God. We will serve one or the other; therefore, each must ask: Do I hold a passion for God or stuff? What do I desire most: the things of this earth or King Jesus and eternal bounty? Our honest answers determine our faithfulness to the King.
Jesus taught, “Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). The Lord knows that we need money to pay our bills and buy food for our tables, but rather than focusing on our needs we should zero in on His role as our Provider. Instead of asking Him what He can give to us, we should offer all we hold to Him. As we relinquish the desire to accumulate, we position ourselves to find real and lasting joy through the unfathomable treasure of the King and His kingdom.
Apply It.
Read Philippians 3:10-14. From where did Paul gain his sense of security and satisfaction? Pull out your checkbook and investment statements. Do an honest assessment of your spending habits and money management. What do the results suggest about where you derive your sense of security and satisfaction? Ask God to eliminate anything in you that puts material possessions ahead of His kingdom.
*This is an excerpt from Captivated by the King and His Kingdom: A Personal Encounter with the Sermon on the Mount published by Crossbooks in 2010. The links for this book are:
Amazon in book form – http://www.amazon.com/Captivated-King-His-Kingdom-Encounter/dp/1615073418/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302820767&sr=8-1
Amazon Kindle – http://www.amazon.com/Captivated-King-His-Kingdom-ebook/dp/B004KAA9UC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1302820767&sr=8-2
Barnes and Noble in book form – http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Captivated-by-the-King-and-His-Kingdom/Linden-C-Wolfe/e/9781615073412/?itm=3&USRI=captivated+by+the+king
Other eReader formats – http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/33572
If you follow along with this category (albeit backwards) by the same name as the book, eventually, Lord willing, we will have walked through the Sermon on the Mount verse by verse in a devotional commentary approach. I pray that this series impacts you as much as it did me as I studied this passage and wrote this book. Grace to you!
*Section 1 – Kingdom Character
Five- Desiring Righteousness Brings Satisfaction
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
The first four beatitudes follow a logical progression: Conviction leads to confession which leads to repentance. These postures, when progressively combined, compel us to seek after what we cannot attain, the righteousness that comes only through the Lord! In Matthew 5:3, “the poor in spirit”—those who acknowledge their spiritual bankruptcy before holy God—are positioned to receive entry into “the kingdom of heaven.” As they are confronted with the holy demands of God, they characteristically mourn over their sinfulness. Doing so allows them to enter into the type of humble state, or meekness, that’s required of those who will inherit God’s kingdom. When a person experiences this reality, he or she gains the key to happiness: the ability and incentive to pursue a godly life.
When His people get hungry and thirsty for His righteousness, God promises to satisfy their cravings and to bless them! Often that blessing comes in the form of joy. But humanity seeks carnal happiness instead. Sadly, we routinely grasp for contentment through pleasure, possessions, accumulation, relationships, climbing the ladder at work, and carving out a pain-free and comfortable life—none of which offer the joy and long-term satisfaction we crave. Real satisfaction and contentment remain elusive. Why? Because we won’t find happiness in the temporal and the tangible: we need a relationship with God that’s both spiritual and eternal. The idea that we can have happiness without holiness proves a fatal flaw. Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, clearly taught that true contentment comes from the pursuit of righteousness.
“Righteousness” in this passage speaks of a personal and practical standard of holy living that projects both the King (Jesus) and the type of ideals and principles on which His kingdom is founded. Humanity finds “blessing”—true joy and fulfillment—when they relentlessly pursue a life that reflects Christ. Living in moral uprightness and demonstrating faith through it leads to Christ-imitating growth, to contentment, to a blessed and purposeful existence. Poverty of spirit, brokenness, humility, and the pursuit of righteousness prove essential steps in attaining joy and in living in a manner worthy of the God who invited us to share in His kingdom.
At one time I got caught up in the world’s definition of success. I wanted the so-called American Dream: grow up, get an education, get a good job, marry your sweetheart, buy a house, have some children, climb the corporate ladder, buy a bigger house, have some grandkids, and then retire to the beach or golf course. But in spite of my best efforts, I couldn’t find deep-rooted satisfaction on that path. Once I began to pursue God and His righteousness, however, I realized that true contentment derives more from His description of holiness than our culture’s definition of success. In other words, when I hunger and thirst after Him I find a better way to live.
Though the notion completely clashes with popular secular belief, holiness—moral integrity— is a fundamental prescription for true happiness. Without Christ, a life of holiness can’t happen. When, however, we pursue righteousness-giving Jesus, He empowers us to live the holy lives that reflect the joy we find in Him. Through Jesus we can live rightly. As we do, we find the consummation of holiness and happiness in Christ. Through Jesus we are blessed with every spiritual blessing (see Ephesians 1:3).
A hunger and thirst for righteousness, a desperate desire to know right and to live uprightly, defines a fundamental ambition of God’s kingdom dwellers. While those without relationship with Jesus understandably pursue the things of this world as a means to fulfillment, believers find satisfaction in the righteousness that only comes through Christ. Those who follow Jesus should seek the spiritual and not the material, knowing that living the type of godly life Christ requires provides the only means to satisfying our thirsty souls. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). He has promised to fill those famished for Him, those who pursue His timeless righteousness over the latest thrill.
The desire for holy living and the joy it brings rise out of a passionate pursuit of the Lord. It flows instinctively out of our love for God and our gratitude for what He does for us. When Christ died for our sins, He justified those who would come to faith in God through Him. That means that He made us just as if we never sinned. This justification of sins and resulting positional righteousness before God through faith in the atoning work of Christ should create in us the desire to live free from sin. The desire to do right.
“Be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord,” the writer of Hebrews said (Hebrews 12:14). As we routinely ponder what Christ has done for us, we’ll desire no part of anything which would hinder our relationship with Christ or injure our ability to demonstrate His love. Let’s make it our passion to honor the Lord through every thought, word, and action.
Apply It.
Consider your life goals and daily priorities. Analyze your prayer life. How well do you integrate the pursuit of righteousness? Memorize Ephesians 4:22-24 and ask God to empower you to seek His holiness and to experience His joy in that pursuit.
*This is an excerpt from Captivated by the King and His Kingdom: A Personal Encounter with the Sermon on the Mount published by Crossbooks in 2010. The links for this book are:
Amazon in book form – http://www.amazon.com/Captivated-King-His-Kingdom-Encounter/dp/1615073418/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302820767&sr=8-1
Amazon Kindle – http://www.amazon.com/Captivated-King-His-Kingdom-ebook/dp/B004KAA9UC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1302820767&sr=8-2
Barnes and Noble in book form – http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Captivated-by-the-King-and-His-Kingdom/Linden-C-Wolfe/e/9781615073412/?itm=3&USRI=captivated+by+the+king
Other eReader formats – http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/33572
If you follow along with this category (albeit, backwards) by the same name as the book, eventually, Lord willing, we will have walked through the Sermon on the Mount verse by verse in a devotional commentary approach. I pray that this series impacts you as much as it did me as I studied this passage and wrote this book. Grace to you!
Captivated by Christ 