Presentation 28
Presentation 28
Introduction
What are the things on which you place the greatest value? It is easy to give a
trite answer or the sort on answer that might be expected of us. Nevertheless,
the real answer to that question is of crucial importance.
In Ch. 6 Jesus has identified some pitfalls to Christian living and
shown how hypocrisy can blight the three spiritual disciplines
of giving, praying and fasting v1-18. In v19-24 Jesus
identifies the danger of materialism and in v25-34
the danger of anxiety. What does Jesus have to
say materialism? Perhaps no part of the
Sermon on the Mount requires to be
treated with greater urgency since
so many have capitulated to its
influence.
Presentation 28
Two Treasures
You will note that Jesus’ teaching in this passage employs three sets of contrasts.
The first of these in v19-21 is a contrast of treasures. Earthly treasure is
contrasted with heavenly treasure.
In order to understand what Jesus means by earthly
treasure we need to be clear upon what he is
not saying. He is not saying that the
obsession of wealth is intrinsically
wrong and that we must therefore
get rid of all our possessions.
The spirit of materialism is something
which can influence the poorest of men
so that taking a vow of poverty does not
free us from its influence.
Presentation 28
Two Treasures
Nor is Jesus teaching that to make provision for ones old age is wrong. This
understanding of our passage has caused some to be dismissive of pension
funds, health and life insurance policies or bank savings.
In 1 Tim. 5v8 Paul deals with a similar
misunderstanding and writes; ‘If anyone does
ot provide for his relatives and especially for
his immediate family, he has denied the
faith and is worse than an unbeliever’.
Nor is Jesus teaching that we are to
despise the material world around us,
a view which that began to creep into
the early church and which Paul
refutes in 1Tim. 4v3-4....
Presentation 28
Two Treasures
What then lies at the heart of Jesus’ concern?
We begin by reminding ourselves that when God
completed his material creation, he declared all
that he surveyed to be ‘good’.
However, when man sinned many of the things
that God created for man’s benefit now became
the focus of man’s love and he made these things
the source of his satisfaction. So that his treasure
took on a temporal rather than an eternal quality.
When Jesus says, ‘where a man’s treasure is
there a man’s heart is also’ he is making a
distinction between two types of men.
Presentation 28
Two Treasures
Think first of the man who confines his ambitions, interests and hopes to this
world only. He is more concerned about improving his material condition on
a Sunday than he is in worship. As a result he has failed to make a proper use
of the good things that God has provided him with. We all feel the pull of this
world and its values including the missionary martyr Jim Elliot who prayed :
“Father let me be weak that I may lose my clutch on everything
temporal. My life, my reputation, my possessions.
Lord let me lose the tension
of the grasping hand”.
Presentation 28
Two Treasures
The more we gather possessions in order to feel secure, the more we feel we
need them in order to be secure, and then the more we need to guard them in
order to maintain our security. Therefore, the less secure we are.
Wealth cannot buy happiness and Jesus explains
why. Happiness depends upon lasting wealth.
The fascination with prosperity in some areas
of the Christian church and the encouragement
to see prosperity as a chief indicator of God’s
blessing fails to take Jesus’ teaching here
seriously. Real spirituality is not seen in the
accumulation of wealth but in being
delivered from loving it whether we
have it or not.
Presentation 28
Two Treasures
Secondly there is the pursuit of heavenly
treasure. And Jesus’ argument to pursue this
treasure is powerfully compelling. Earthly
treasure has a short life expectancy cf.. v19...
And although it is true that today we have
insecticides, rust proofing and burglar alarms
we also have inflation, devaluation and
economic crisis. By contrast all heavenly
treasure is secure.
But what is this heavenly treasure? Jesus does
not expand upon it here but other biblical
passages fill out his meaning…
Presentation 28
Two Treasures
First, we can begin to lay up treasure in heaven by
developing Christian character, cf. 1 Cor. 3v10ff....
Quite simply that which is worked into our lives
down here will be reflected up in heaven.
Secondly, we send treasure on ahead of us by
using our talents in Christian service. When
a man is delivered from grasping after status
and recognition in the world, he is truly free
to serve others. The focus of his service will
be to glorify God. His aim through prayer
and witness will be to see others come to
faith in Jesus. This should be the great
treasure we pursue.
Presentation 28
Two Treasures
With this in mind, look at what Paul had to say to the Philippians. He writes
‘you are my crown’ Phil. 4v1. He recognised that the contribution that he had
made in their midst would be rewarded in heaven in a way that was visibly
tangible both here and there!
We also make a heavenly deposit when we use
our material wealth to promote Christ’s kingdom
cf. 1Tim.6v17-19...
What kind of treasure are we building up?
Are we more concerned with our bank balance
on earth than with our balance in heaven? What
do you dream about? What occupies your mind?
Presentation 28
Two Visions
The type of treasure we are accumulating will very
much depend upon whether we are people with a
clear or a distorted vision. This leads us into the
second set of contrasts introduced by Jesus in v2223. These verses are concerned with spiritual
perception. The eye is regarded as the window by
which light gets into the whole body. The colour
and state of the window decides what light gets
into the room. If the window is clear the light will
come flooding in. If the glass is dirty and obscure
the room will not be lit up.
Now Jesus’ point is the amount of light that gets
into a man’s soul is related to his spiritual
perception.
Presentation 28
Two Visions
Diseased eyesight affects more than the eyes, Jesus says, ‘the whole body is full
of darkness’. The eye is the door way to sight – the body has no other way of
seeing. What then will be the result of poor spiritual vision? Having wrong
spiritual priorities will influence the entire direction of our lives.
The materialist has cataracts clouding his
spiritual sight, his vision of God has been
eclipsed, the deceitfulness of wealth
obscures any spiritual insight he may
once have had. He can amass a fortune
by ruthless means and then say, ‘I see
nothing dishonest with that’.
Material ambition plunges him into moral
darkness which in turn distorts his vision.
Presentation 28
Two Visions
In contrast, the man who has a singleminded ambition to serve God adds
meaning to life and throws light on
everything he does.
He has a completely different world view.
He sees others not as pawns to be
manipulated and sacrificed and
discarded in the fulfilment of his selfish
ambition but as precious lives in need of
the redeeming grace of God.
Presentation 28
Two Masters
Now the third contrast. We serve one of two
masters; God or Wealth. People can become quite
indignant if it is suggested that they have become
a slave to things. They resent thinking that things
that have been created to serve them have
somehow exchanged roles and made them their
servants.
Now obsessive desires can cause parents to
neglect their children. Think of the man whose
world collapses when his stamp collection is stolen
or the woman who is distraught because she has
not found curtain fabric to exactly match her decor.
The Lord of Materialism can creep into every area
of our lives enslaving us.
Presentation 28
Two Masters
People sometimes ask why there is not the same
overt opposition to the gospel in the West to that
found in the Middle East, or in parts of Africa or Asia.
One apparent answer is that materialism is doing a
great job on its own of arresting the progress of the
church without the need of less subtle forms of
opposition. C. S. Lewis was thinking along these lines
in his ‘Screwtape Letters’ where a senior tempter
advises a junior in the following manner:
“Don’t waste time trying to make your subject
believe materialism is true. Make him think it
is strong or stark or courageous.”
Presentation 28
Two Masters
A great many people have bought into the
materialistic dream. And that has certainly
caused the advertising industry to thrive. They
have persuaded us that status is connected to
material possessions and lifestyle choices.
We no longer dispose of products because they
are worn out or broken but because they are no
longer fashionable. We are told if we do not
wear ‘this years colour’ or possess state of the
art equipment then we cannot be truly happy.
When we buy into that then we end up as
puppets dancing to the tune of material things
with the advertising puppet masters, and those
employing them, pulling the strings.
Presentation 28
Two Masters
There are of course those people, who believe that it is possible to have the
best of both worlds. They adopt a philosophy of compromise. They are
determined that they will serve two masters. God on Sunday and Wealth during
the week, or God with their lips and wealth in their hearts.
They think they have developed a version
of Christian moonlighting little realising
the direction in which they are being
carried and the practical implications
of their behaviour.
Now Jesus makes it very plain that we
cannot divide allegiance, just as we
cannot divide heart loyalty.
Presentation 28
Two Masters
The illustration that Jesus uses to drive home his point is that of the
slave compared to the employee. While a man can work for two
employers, no slave can be the property of two owners,
for single ownership and full time service are the very
essence of slavery.
The person who tries to divide his loyalty between
God and his possessions has already yielded
allegiance to his possessions since God can only be
served with an entire and exclusive devotion. He
may to convince himself that he is not a slave to his
possessions by painting his chains with gold paint but
He is still a slave! It is essential for the sake of our
spiritual well-being that the question of our devotion be
settled once and for all. Have we resolved that issue?
Presentation 28
Two Masters
Jesus’ teaching can be reduced to an axiom, ‘Either God owns our possessions
and we serve him, or our possessions own us and we serve them’.
The story is told of a farmer who had two calves, one red, one white. He told his
wife he intended to devote one of the calves to the Lord’s work. He did not
specify which calf. Both were to be reared in the same way and sold at market,
the proceeds of one of the sales would go to God.
One morning the farmer brought his wife bad news.
‘God’s calf is dead’. His wife reminded him that they
had not decided which calf belonged to God. He said,
‘I intended all along that the red calf was God’s and it
is the red one that died.’ God’s calf always dies when
we try to serve both God and wealth. The first thing
we are persuaded to economise on is God’s work.
Presentation 28
Conclusion
Jesus’ teaching is searching in our materialistic
age. He asks three simple questions of us .
1. Where is your treasure?
2. On what is your vision focused?
3. Who is your Master?
The answers we give will have a profound
influence upon how we live our lives. The
world offers inadequate alternatives, which
promise to enrich, empower and liberate us
but in reality they impoverish, weaken and
enslave us. May God help us to give to him the
wholehearted devotion of our hearts that we
be seen to be citizens of another kingdom.
Presentation 28