Jesus sat down and shared with us His disciples the facts of earthly life. That’s how I describe the Sermon on the Mount.
The Facts of Earthly Life
Those chapters contained Jesus explaining the basics of salvation, prayer, relational dynamics, and earthly treasures. We’ve studied the prayer portion at length, as well as the salvation portion. But the treasure lesson is what we’ll see today. Look at Mt. 6:19-24.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches (Greek word mamonas).
Jesus told us clearly that materialism, or the craving for the things riches can buy, first enslaves our hearts (v.19-21); then it takes captive our minds (v. 22-23), and finally conquers our will (v. 24):
Either we lay up treasures in Heaven that can never be lost (Mt. 6:19-21);
Or we clutter our life on Earth with things & lose our treasures in Heaven.
There is no middle ground Jesus said. We can’t serve two masters (Mt. 6:24).
Peter heard those facts from Jesus in person. He chose to act on what Christ said.
Peter Never Forgot
As we open to 2 Peter 3, we are opening into a final session Peter had with the growing churches he had poured his life into. They were now scattered across the heart of the Roman Empire.
They were facing both fiery trials, and glittering allurements. They were torn between loyalty to Christ and painful persecutions or floating along with the world and its endless pursuits of pleasure and possessions.
Peter’s congregation sounds eerily similar to the church of the 21st Century in America.
Are You Floating or Fighting?
We either stop floating along with the crowd that lives for the weekend sports, the weekend parties, and the weekend fun, and live every day as sacred for Christ: and suffer.
Or, we float along with the world as believers; and enjoy, as much as we can, the best of both worlds.
Are you floating along in the river of materialism this morning? Or are you fighting against its control of your heart, mind, and will? That is the proof of who we really serve.
(ROK-04)
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