1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,440 We’re continuing our series entitled The Conveniently Neglected Teachings of Jesus, 2 00:00:06,320 –> 00:00:12,080 and it’s really based on the question that Jesus once asked of his disciples—and I guess therefore 3 00:00:12,080 –> 00:00:17,200 asks of all of us who bear his name. He said to the disciples on one occasion, you remember, 4 00:00:17,200 –> 00:00:22,719 Why is it that you call me Lord, and then you don’t do what I say? 5 00:00:23,200 –> 00:00:29,360 Good question. I mean, you could call Jesus your counselor and ignore his advice. 6 00:00:30,959 –> 00:00:35,040 You could call Jesus your friend and disagree with his teaching. 7 00:00:36,880 –> 00:00:43,680 But if we call Jesus Lord, we have no business disobeying his commands. 8 00:00:45,040 –> 00:00:51,040 If I call Jesus Lord, that means that I’ve put myself in the position of being his servant, 9 00:00:51,520 –> 00:00:56,160 being his servant. And Jesus says, well, now, if you call me Lord, what are you gonna do what I say? 10 00:00:57,520 –> 00:01:03,119 Good question. And this series really was born in my mind some months ago when a member of the 11 00:01:03,119 –> 00:01:07,279 congregation with whom I was speaking said, you know, Colin, I’ve been reading through the 12 00:01:07,279 –> 00:01:12,320 gospel, so I come to some of these verses, and I’ve asked the question, do we really do these things? 13 00:01:14,000 –> 00:01:20,160 Or are we people who just say that we believe and skim over what Jesus actually tells us? 14 00:01:21,120 –> 00:01:27,279 To do? And the truth is that sometimes the teaching of Jesus is just so challenging that 15 00:01:27,279 –> 00:01:32,239 we find it more convenient to neglect what he said. And the result too often can be, 16 00:01:32,239 –> 00:01:40,000 as we know, a kind of shallow Christianity that looks like a religious veneer that thinly covers 17 00:01:40,000 –> 00:01:46,400 a basically unchanged life. So we’re taking the risk. We’re opening our Bibles, we’re 18 00:01:46,400 –> 00:01:51,360 looking at what the Lord Jesus said to his followers, and we’re discovering that it 19 00:01:51,360 –> 00:01:58,400 searches our hearts. And if we will receive it, it will indeed change our lives. 20 00:01:59,199 –> 00:02:04,239 Now I hope you’ll have your Bibles open at Luke chapter 12 and verse 33, 21 00:02:04,239 –> 00:02:11,279 where I want us to begin today, and for us to hear these challenging and searching words of Jesus. 22 00:02:11,279 –> 00:02:22,639 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not 23 00:02:22,639 –> 00:02:28,800 wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth 24 00:02:28,800 –> 00:02:41,399 destroys. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Well, that’s got our attention, 25 00:02:41,399 –> 00:02:51,520 hasn’t it? I mean, what would this include? Would it include your second home? Would it 26 00:02:51,580 –> 00:03:00,479 include your first home? Would it include your third car, your second car, your first 27 00:03:00,479 –> 00:03:11,699 car, or all three? I know it’s gonna go quiet here. Would it include your CD collection? 28 00:03:11,720 –> 00:03:15,679 Might it include your golf clubs? 29 00:03:17,240 –> 00:03:23,279 This radical stuff! I’m going back to England this afternoon, you don’t need to 30 00:03:23,279 –> 00:03:30,380 worry. Now listen, suppose some unbeliever comes to speak to you this week and 31 00:03:30,380 –> 00:03:36,759 says, now you’re a follower of Jesus aren’t you. You say, yes. Well that means 32 00:03:37,160 –> 00:03:44,759 you’re committed to do what he said. Yes. Well, says the well-educated unbeliever, 33 00:03:44,759 –> 00:03:49,339 you see what it says here in Luke chapter 12, sell your possessions and 34 00:03:49,339 –> 00:03:57,759 give to the poor. Have you done that! What are you going to say? These are real 35 00:03:57,759 –> 00:04:04,740 questions. After all, Mahatma Gandhi, who was a very 36 00:04:04,740 –> 00:04:14,619 prosperous lawyer, did precisely this and lived in incredible simplicity with a 37 00:04:14,619 –> 00:04:21,000 remarkable power in his life. And he was not a Christian! He was a Hindu. And his 38 00:04:21,000 –> 00:04:25,239 greatest criticism of Christians was that they wouldn’t do the same. He said, 39 00:04:25,279 –> 00:04:31,880 I see Christians, but they’re not prepared to do what Jesus said. So, we’ve got a 40 00:04:31,880 –> 00:04:39,339 challenge here, haven’t we? It’s important, whenever we come to the Bible, that we 41 00:04:39,339 –> 00:04:45,760 interpret Scripture by Scripture. I want us to face the challenge of what Jesus 42 00:04:45,760 –> 00:04:52,959 says, and I want us to face it squarely, and I want us to face it clearly in the 43 00:04:52,980 –> 00:05:00,079 context of what God reveals to us about the stewardship of our lives. 44 00:05:00,420 –> 00:05:03,920 Interpret Scripture by Scripture, you say, now, wait a minute, before we go any 45 00:05:03,920 –> 00:05:09,119 further, where do you get that principle from? Well, we get that principle from the 46 00:05:09,119 –> 00:05:15,200 fact that the Bible is the Word of God. It has one author, and God is not in 47 00:05:15,200 –> 00:05:21,700 confusion. He does not contradict himself, and therefore, if we are to be faithful 48 00:05:21,700 –> 00:05:25,899 to the Word of God, we must never interpret what he says in one place in a 49 00:05:25,899 –> 00:05:31,160 way that contradicts what he says in another place. So it is reasonable for us 50 00:05:31,160 –> 00:05:35,559 to ask, as we try and face the challenge of what Jesus is saying to us here about 51 00:05:35,559 –> 00:05:39,880 possessions and the poor, to ask the question what else does Jesus say about 52 00:05:39,880 –> 00:05:45,540 possessions and about the poor? And the first thing that is very clear, as we 53 00:05:45,540 –> 00:05:49,160 look at what else the Lord Jesus and the Scriptures make clear to us on this 54 00:05:49,279 –> 00:05:54,940 subject, is that giving to the poor, while important, is not the only use of our 55 00:05:54,940 –> 00:06:00,019 resources. I take that from Matthew chapter 26 in verse 9. You remember there 56 00:06:00,019 –> 00:06:06,700 was an occasion when a woman poured a very expensive flask of ointment over 57 00:06:06,700 –> 00:06:10,720 Jesus’ head, and the disciples immediately said, whoa whoa whoa, that could 58 00:06:10,720 –> 00:06:18,799 have been sold and given to the poor. And Jesus did not say, yes, that really is 59 00:06:19,000 –> 00:06:21,959 what should have been done with every kind of resource—he doesn’t say that 60 00:06:21,959 –> 00:06:25,959 at all. He acknowledges and dignifies what the 61 00:06:25,959 –> 00:06:30,679 woman has done. So he makes it clear in this way that giving to the poor, while 62 00:06:30,679 –> 00:06:36,440 very important and commended here, as we will see with all that the weight 63 00:06:36,440 –> 00:06:41,700 of what Jesus says, it is not the only use that is to be made of our resources. 64 00:06:41,700 –> 00:06:45,399 It’s very dangerous, you see, just to take one statement of Jesus and kind of 65 00:06:45,619 –> 00:06:51,239 it out, as if that were the only consideration out of its context. 66 00:06:51,239 –> 00:06:59,640 Secondly, Jesus never specifies how much we should give. He never does. You 67 00:06:59,640 –> 00:07:05,260 remember in Luke’s Gospel chapter 19, we have the story of Zacchaeus, the man who 68 00:07:05,260 –> 00:07:09,859 is converted to faith in Jesus Christ, Christ comes into his home, it makes a 69 00:07:09,940 –> 00:07:15,660 radical change in his life, and, oh that our conversion would make the kind of 70 00:07:15,660 –> 00:07:21,000 radical change that came to Zaccheus’ life. You remember what he said to Jesus? 71 00:07:21,000 –> 00:07:27,459 Here and now, half of everything that I give, I give to the poor. 72 00:07:27,459 –> 00:07:34,339 And Jesus did not say to him, what about the other half? See, I find that 73 00:07:34,339 –> 00:07:43,480 profoundly searching. You see, if Jesus said give 10% then I 74 00:07:43,480 –> 00:07:51,119 could just do that. If he said give 50% then all we’d feel 75 00:07:51,119 –> 00:07:59,760 we were sucking it up, wouldn’t we? But we do that. But Jesus never puts a number 76 00:07:59,760 –> 00:08:06,519 on it and the reason for that is very simple and it takes us to our third 77 00:08:06,519 –> 00:08:10,420 principle from the scripture that the kind of giving that Christ calls us to 78 00:08:10,420 –> 00:08:17,160 is giving that is a reflection of the heart. And that, of course, is the point of 79 00:08:17,160 –> 00:08:21,059 Paul’s very famous statement in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 in verse 3. 80 00:08:21,220 –> 00:08:23,480 He talks about this possibility. 81 00:08:34,820 –> 00:08:36,280 So, suppose I sold the second 82 00:08:36,280 –> 00:08:39,500 house, the first house, the third car, the second car, the first car, the CD 83 00:08:39,500 –> 00:08:45,659 collection, and the golf clubs. And I gave it all to the poor and I did the Gandhi 84 00:08:45,960 –> 00:08:49,599 thing. If I were to do all of that and have not 85 00:08:49,599 –> 00:09:02,400 love, says Paul, I gain nothing. You see, legalism, which is any formula that puts 86 00:09:02,400 –> 00:09:08,359 a structure and a bottom line on what you’re to do in this regard—legalism 87 00:09:08,359 –> 00:09:13,840 reduces the Christian life to a series of activities. Activities that may be 88 00:09:13,859 –> 00:09:19,840 very good, but cannot in themselves take you to the soul of what it means to be a 89 00:09:19,840 –> 00:09:29,440 real Christian. Rather like being a good husband. What makes a good husband? Well, 90 00:09:29,440 –> 00:09:37,619 we know, don’t we? A good husband takes out the garbage. A good husband regularly 91 00:09:37,619 –> 00:09:45,500 takes his wife out on a date night. A good husband buys a diamond on Valentine’s 92 00:09:45,500 –> 00:09:51,140 Day, and we could go on and on, listening to the things that a good husband should 93 00:09:51,140 –> 00:09:56,679 do, but when we’ve completed our list, and when we’ve got a volunteer, and 94 00:09:56,679 –> 00:10:00,799 we’ve trained him to be a good husband, and he does all these things, every wife 95 00:10:00,799 –> 00:10:04,940 in the congregation knows that we’re still a dimension short of what a good 96 00:10:05,280 –> 00:10:08,919 husband really is. Though I know some of you are saying it would be a pretty good 97 00:10:08,919 –> 00:10:11,419 start. 98 00:10:11,859 –> 00:10:18,400 Now frankly we’re facing a deluge of attempts in these days from church 99 00:10:18,400 –> 00:10:26,440 theorists to get a handle on what a real Christian looks like, and so they start 100 00:10:26,440 –> 00:10:29,559 working on profiles that will make it easier for us to have it all in 101 00:10:29,559 –> 00:10:33,440 checkboxes, you know. A good Christian spends 30 minutes a day in the 102 00:10:33,460 –> 00:10:37,400 Scriptures, writes down his or her experience in a journal, knows how to 103 00:10:37,400 –> 00:10:41,479 explain the gospel to a friend, gives at least ten percent of their income, is in 104 00:10:41,479 –> 00:10:44,479 a small group, has got involved in a ministry, the list goes on and on, all 105 00:10:44,479 –> 00:10:50,840 good things, but like the descriptions of the good husband they leave you a 106 00:10:50,840 –> 00:10:57,900 dimension short, they leave you with a soulless Christianity and with something 107 00:10:57,900 –> 00:11:04,979 automatic almost robotic about it because it doesn’t get to the matter of 108 00:11:04,979 –> 00:11:11,619 the heart and you see that is the thing that Jesus is most concerned about here 109 00:11:11,619 –> 00:11:17,679 do you notice verse 34 which is where the whole of this passage nets out what 110 00:11:17,679 –> 00:11:23,619 you do with your money is of great significance because it is a reflection 111 00:11:23,619 –> 00:11:38,780 Of your heart where your treasure is there your heart will be also now this 112 00:11:38,780 –> 00:11:44,679 theme of the heart this is the really searching thing money as an indicator of 113 00:11:44,679 –> 00:11:51,760 heart this issue of heart runs right throughout this passage of scripture I 114 00:11:51,760 –> 00:11:55,239 want you to go back with me to verse 13 if you would and see where this whole 115 00:11:55,239 –> 00:12:00,119 incident begins because it’s all about the heart and I find it very searching 116 00:12:00,119 –> 00:12:05,859 to see that verse 13 that you see that there’s this request someone in the 117 00:12:05,859 –> 00:12:12,239 crowd says to Jesus teacher tell my brother to divide the inheritance with 118 00:12:12,239 –> 00:12:17,440 me and there’s obviously a problem over a will here you know they also enquire 119 00:12:17,440 –> 00:12:23,080 there’s a will there’s relatives and here’s a man in the crowd who’s worried 120 00:12:23,080 –> 00:12:27,219 about an unresolved conflict with a brother about money he thinks he should 121 00:12:27,219 –> 00:12:29,960 inherit there’s probably someone here who’s worried about a similar kind of a 122 00:12:29,960 –> 00:12:34,419 thing or some other financial issue or some other family issue that is 123 00:12:34,419 –> 00:12:39,520 unresolved and as this man listens to the teaching of Jesus just as we’re 124 00:12:39,520 –> 00:12:43,200 listening to the Word of God this morning the thing that’s really big in 125 00:12:43,200 –> 00:12:46,979 this man’s mind is I’ve got a problem with family and I’ve got a problem with 126 00:12:46,979 –> 00:12:55,559 finance, a brother and a will and that’s the big issue for the man even when he’s 127 00:12:55,559 –> 00:13:00,500 listening to the teaching of Jesus now if you look back just a few verses 128 00:13:00,500 –> 00:13:05,020 you’ll see the teaching of Jesus that he was hearing imagine actually listening 129 00:13:05,020 –> 00:13:12,000 to Jesus from the pulpit imagine that look back a couple of verses and see 130 00:13:12,020 –> 00:13:19,260 what he heard from the lips of Jesus live for example verse four and five 131 00:13:19,260 –> 00:13:26,239 where he talks about fear him who after killing the body has the power to throw 132 00:13:26,239 –> 00:13:32,200 you into hell you imagine sitting there and hearing Jesus in the flesh talk to 133 00:13:32,200 –> 00:13:40,179 you about hell and then in verse eight I tell you whoever acknowledges me before 134 00:13:40,219 –> 00:13:43,359 the son of Man well I will also acknowledge before the angels of God 135 00:13:43,359 –> 00:13:50,059 this is the promise of heaven Jesus is saying you acknowledge me I’m going to 136 00:13:50,059 –> 00:13:53,659 give you this promise imagine sitting listening to the personal promise of 137 00:13:53,659 –> 00:13:58,419 Jesus I’m going to look you in the eye on the last day and as you’ve 138 00:13:58,419 –> 00:14:01,780 acknowledged me before men I’m going to acknowledge you before the Father and 139 00:14:01,859 –> 00:14:11,640 before the very angels of God Jesus is preaching about eternity but hell and 140 00:14:11,640 –> 00:14:25,599 about heaven Wow the Son of God preaching eternity while he’s speaking 141 00:14:25,599 –> 00:14:31,299 there’s someone in the crowd and he puts up his hand excuse me Jesus I got a 142 00:14:31,299 –> 00:14:38,559 question what’s the question the master graciously allows him to speak well the 143 00:14:38,559 –> 00:14:43,179 thing that’s really bothering me is not so much eternity but the fact that my 144 00:14:43,179 –> 00:14:51,580 brother won’t give me the money could you help me with that problem it’s 145 00:14:51,580 –> 00:14:57,580 staggering isn’t it this man is listening to the Son of God setting out 146 00:14:57,599 –> 00:15:04,979 the stuff of eternity and the teaching of Jesus runs right over this man’s head 147 00:15:04,979 –> 00:15:12,000 because his head’s already full with the stuff of family and finance and the one 148 00:15:12,000 –> 00:15:15,200 thing that really bothers him and the reason he never hears the Word of God 149 00:15:15,200 –> 00:15:19,479 and doesn’t benefit from it is that his fundamental questions how am I going to 150 00:15:19,479 –> 00:15:24,159 get the money and if Jesus can help me on the problem of the family and the 151 00:15:24,159 –> 00:15:28,140 finance then I’m interested but I’m not interested in any of this other stuff 152 00:15:28,140 –> 00:15:34,780 you feel the tragedy of this now the problem with the money has become the 153 00:15:34,780 –> 00:15:39,840 biggest thing in this man’s life the one question that he has for Jesus is not 154 00:15:39,840 –> 00:15:49,119 about his eternal future but his can you help me over the money. There are many 155 00:15:49,119 –> 00:15:52,760 people like that of course for years they never benefit from the Word of God 156 00:15:52,840 –> 00:15:58,320 because the mind is crammed full with an obsession with immediate problems often 157 00:15:58,320 –> 00:16:04,320 related to family and finance that caused us to miss the power of the word 158 00:16:04,320 –> 00:16:11,280 of the Lord Jesus Christ into our lives I want you to notice Jesus response it’s 159 00:16:11,280 –> 00:16:19,479 very important verse 14 Jesus replied Man who appointed me as a judge or an 160 00:16:19,619 –> 00:16:25,140 arbiter between you presumably because Jesus uses the word you in the plural 161 00:16:25,140 –> 00:16:28,719 that the two brothers were actually standing there in this guy’s got his arm 162 00:16:28,719 –> 00:16:32,460 round his brother maybe even around his throat and his keys he’s saying to even 163 00:16:32,460 –> 00:16:36,719 Jesus can you sort out this dispute and Jesus says hey who appointed me as an 164 00:16:36,719 –> 00:16:45,320 arbiter between the two of you he simply refuses to get involved isn’t 165 00:16:46,000 –> 00:16:52,820 problem Jesus refused to get involved in solving Jesus knows all things he could 166 00:16:52,820 –> 00:16:55,919 have opened up the truth of this he could have offered a judgment but he 167 00:16:55,919 –> 00:17:00,580 simply refuses to do so which reminds me that if we are looking for a Jesus who 168 00:17:00,580 –> 00:17:07,199 answers every question and solves every problem we will be disappointed if your 169 00:17:07,199 –> 00:17:11,719 agenda in coming to Jesus is that he will answer all your questions and solve 170 00:17:11,719 –> 00:17:14,880 all your problems especially in relation to family and finance you will be 171 00:17:14,880 –> 00:17:19,979 disappointed and by the way there is a very very 172 00:17:19,979 –> 00:17:27,280 important guiding principle for pastors and for Christian leaders right here it 173 00:17:27,280 –> 00:17:33,439 is a great mistake for pastors and Christian leaders to see ourselves as 174 00:17:33,439 –> 00:17:37,459 those who are somehow called to deal with every human problem we are not 175 00:17:37,459 –> 00:17:43,780 Jesus didn’t do that there were human needs and human problems that Jesus 176 00:17:44,500 –> 00:17:51,020 refused to get involved with and I want you to notice that by refusing to get 177 00:17:51,020 –> 00:17:56,560 involved in making a judgment over the family dispute and the will that Jesus 178 00:17:56,560 –> 00:18:01,859 was there for able to stay on mission that was the key to is staying on 179 00:18:01,859 –> 00:18:05,560 mission you see didn’t get pulled into this who appointed me as an arbiter 180 00:18:05,560 –> 00:18:10,420 between you he stayed on mission and what he did was he opened up a much more 181 00:18:10,699 –> 00:18:16,699 significant need in this man’s heart notice how he did it he uncovers that 182 00:18:16,699 –> 00:18:22,500 the problems that have gripped this man’s heart our three number one greed 183 00:18:22,500 –> 00:18:28,900 number two worry and number three futility notice what he says about 184 00:18:28,900 –> 00:18:34,300 greed verse 15 watch out watch out he says to this man who’s so worried about 185 00:18:34,300 –> 00:18:41,339 the family in the and the money be on your guard against every kind of greed 186 00:18:41,339 –> 00:18:48,000 because says Jesus to him a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his 187 00:18:48,000 –> 00:18:53,540 possessions so I’m talking to you about the turner to Jesus is saying and your 188 00:18:53,540 –> 00:18:59,579 minds crammed full of worried about the money you can’t see beyond it and 189 00:18:59,900 –> 00:19:04,760 and therefore he says verse twenty two do not worry about your life what you 190 00:19:04,760 –> 00:19:09,300 will eat or what bite your body what you will wear look money is a kind of a 191 00:19:09,300 –> 00:19:15,219 power he’s saying and if you allow it to have its power over you it will lead you 192 00:19:15,219 –> 00:19:18,880 into greed and it will lead you into worry it would be a terrible snare for 193 00:19:18,880 –> 00:19:26,300 you so be on your guard you need to do something to make sure that you break 194 00:19:26,459 –> 00:19:32,280 free from the power of this enemy that otherwise will bind you and chain you 195 00:19:32,280 –> 00:19:37,439 and make you live a life of this accumulation how can I get and and 196 00:19:37,439 –> 00:19:47,060 worry over it and what’s worse of course is the utter futility to which that 197 00:19:47,060 –> 00:19:52,439 leads that’s why Jesus of course tells his very famous story that I think most 198 00:19:52,439 –> 00:19:55,599 of us know well about the man who has the bumper crop and doesn’t know what to 199 00:19:55,640 –> 00:20:00,079 do with the surplus so he builds bigger barns and on the night that he is 200 00:20:00,079 –> 00:20:08,119 construction project is finished he dies and notice Jesus record of God’s 201 00:20:08,119 –> 00:20:13,199 verdict on his life verse 20 you see this in the Bible what God said about 202 00:20:13,199 –> 00:20:20,219 this man you fool you imagine having God say 203 00:20:20,420 –> 00:20:30,699 to you no one to here God’s a well done good and faithful so which of us wants 204 00:20:30,699 –> 00:20:40,140 to hear God say you but you see that’s what happens for the person who allows 205 00:20:40,140 –> 00:20:47,239 themselves to be bound in the position of being so obsessed with issues of 206 00:20:47,900 –> 00:20:55,540 family and finance that we lose eternity 207 00:20:56,380 –> 00:21:00,300 now of course the great question then at this point is we’re following the 208 00:21:00,300 –> 00:21:06,020 narrative in in Luke’s gospel is well how can I avoid that kind of a fate how 209 00:21:06,020 –> 00:21:15,260 can I avoid money creating greed within me growing anxiety within me and leading 210 00:21:15,260 –> 00:21:22,160 me ultimately into a futility of a foolish life and you see Jesus makes it 211 00:21:22,160 –> 00:21:26,599 very clear how we are to avoid that snare that this man was so obviously in 212 00:21:26,599 –> 00:21:31,599 even as he was hearing the Word of God and he suggests three things briefly and 213 00:21:31,599 –> 00:21:43,459 simply first identify your purpose what is life for that’s a great question you 214 00:21:43,479 –> 00:21:54,180 can’t answer that question you’re in big trouble what is life far I reckon that’s 215 00:21:54,180 –> 00:21:57,859 one of the reasons why there has been such phenomenal success for this book 216 00:21:57,859 –> 00:22:01,599 the purpose-driven life because so many people are asking this question what is 217 00:22:01,599 –> 00:22:09,939 life for what am I for now notice that Jesus points us in the right direction 218 00:22:09,939 –> 00:22:13,119 here first by giving us the negative and then we’ll come in a moment to the 219 00:22:13,119 –> 00:22:18,260 positive but notice first the negative verse 15 a man’s life does not consist 220 00:22:18,260 –> 00:22:25,280 in the abundance of his possessions so life is not for the accumulation of 221 00:22:25,280 –> 00:22:29,680 possessions and that obviously is the mindset that this questioner who had no 222 00:22:29,680 –> 00:22:37,119 concept of eternity had got himself into I recently read a book entitled the best 223 00:22:37,119 –> 00:22:40,920 things in life by Peter Kreift brilliant book 224 00:22:41,439 –> 00:22:48,420 it’s a series of imaginary dialogues between a strange questioner a kind of 225 00:22:48,420 –> 00:22:55,760 modern Socrates and a college student and one of the scenes takes place when 226 00:22:55,760 –> 00:23:01,239 the student is sitting in his dorm at college and he’s reading a book and this 227 00:23:01,239 –> 00:23:05,819 strange questioner comes into the dorm and begins to ask him some questions and 228 00:23:05,819 –> 00:23:10,479 the conversation runs for quite a long time so I’m going to summarize it and 229 00:23:10,839 –> 00:23:14,500 give you the sense of where it’s going the questioner comes into the student’s 230 00:23:14,500 –> 00:23:18,040 dorm right and he says what are you doing 231 00:23:19,079 –> 00:23:24,859 well says the student I’m reading a book can’t you see that why are you reading 232 00:23:24,859 –> 00:23:31,140 the book well to prepare for my exam tomorrow why are you doing the exam 233 00:23:32,660 –> 00:23:35,660 well to get a degree of course that’s why I’m here 234 00:23:36,660 –> 00:23:38,459 why do you want a degree 235 00:23:38,880 –> 00:23:47,020 what to get a decent job of course. Why do you want a decent job so I can get 236 00:23:47,020 –> 00:23:47,920 money 237 00:23:47,920 –> 00:23:51,199 why do you want money 238 00:23:51,199 –> 00:23:56,140 this point the student begins to get exasperated with these ridiculous 239 00:23:56,140 –> 00:23:57,040 questions 240 00:23:57,040 –> 00:24:00,040 surely it’s obvious he said I need money to do things 241 00:24:00,680 –> 00:24:03,560 what do you want to do with the money 242 00:24:03,560 –> 00:24:13,140 well everything everything well for instance I want to raise a family any 243 00:24:13,140 –> 00:24:19,099 idea what it cost to raise a family these days and what do you think is the 244 00:24:19,099 –> 00:24:23,000 most significant cost in raising a family 245 00:24:23,000 –> 00:24:33,680 well probably sending my kids to college at this point the questioner 246 00:24:33,680 –> 00:24:40,520 scratches his head now let’s review what you’ve just said you’ve come to college 247 00:24:40,520 –> 00:24:46,560 and you’re reading a book to pass an exam to get a degree to get a good job 248 00:24:46,560 –> 00:24:49,859 to get money so that you can raise a family to send your kids to come to 249 00:24:49,859 –> 00:24:56,380 college to read a book have you ever asked the question what is the whole 250 00:24:56,380 –> 00:25:07,160 circle for what’s is for people jump off bridges for lack of an answer to that 251 00:25:07,160 –> 00:25:12,599 question you know people despair in midlife for lack of answer to that 252 00:25:12,599 –> 00:25:21,800 question what is it for Jesus answers the question in three words that you’ll 253 00:25:21,800 –> 00:25:35,959 find right there in verse 31 do you see them seek his kingdom seek his kingdom 254 00:25:36,000 –> 00:25:46,599 See you were made for God by God and in the likeness of God you cannot find out 255 00:25:46,599 –> 00:25:52,560 who you are and why you are here therefore apart from God but you will 256 00:25:52,560 –> 00:25:59,520 find your purpose as you seek to advance God’s purpose in your life and in the 257 00:25:59,520 –> 00:26:04,680 world the Bible often speaks about God’s kingdom 258 00:26:04,680 –> 00:26:09,640 the kingdom of course is a place under the rule of a king so to seek his 259 00:26:09,640 –> 00:26:16,040 kingdom means to seek that his rule over me will be advanced and ever more 260 00:26:16,040 –> 00:26:23,800 complete but his rule over us will advance and be ever more complete that 261 00:26:23,800 –> 00:26:29,000 the blessings of his rule will touch those who do not even get to know him so 262 00:26:29,000 –> 00:26:33,719 that they may come to see the love and the mercy of Jesus Christ and so when 263 00:26:33,719 –> 00:26:41,359 you’ve grasped that and you go off to college your highest purpose is to seek 264 00:26:41,359 –> 00:26:51,040 his kingdom when you get your paycheck your highest purpose is to seek his 265 00:26:51,040 –> 00:26:55,920 kingdom when you get married and you make your vires together and you 266 00:26:55,920 –> 00:27:01,839 establish a home your highest purpose is to seek his kingdom when you’re there 267 00:27:01,839 –> 00:27:05,560 in the hospital room and you’ve got all the joy of a little boy a little girl 268 00:27:05,560 –> 00:27:10,319 being born into the world and you become a family your highest purpose is to seek 269 00:27:10,319 –> 00:27:16,619 His kingdom when you experience tragedy and when you experience loss and your 270 00:27:16,619 –> 00:27:22,680 joy is turned into tears your highest purpose in your pain is to seek His 271 00:27:23,140 –> 00:27:28,739 kingdom it’s what life’s about that’s what it’s 272 00:27:28,739 –> 00:27:38,199 for identify your purpose so that in every and any situation of life that is 273 00:27:38,199 –> 00:27:46,800 the grid through which I begin to think and begin to make decisions and when 274 00:27:46,800 –> 00:27:49,719 you’ve identified your purpose you can do the second thing that we’ll touch 275 00:27:49,719 –> 00:27:54,739 is very briefly you can evaluate your treasure that’s something that each of 276 00:27:54,739 –> 00:27:58,900 us has to do for ourselves because we put our treasure in different places 277 00:27:58,900 –> 00:28:05,420 now obviously treasure includes money but it would be a great mistake to limit 278 00:28:05,420 –> 00:28:09,520 your treasure to money if Jesus meant money he would have said where your 279 00:28:09,520 –> 00:28:14,319 money is there your heart will be also he used a broader term and I believe 280 00:28:14,319 –> 00:28:19,500 intentionally so he uses this term treasure your treasure is everything 281 00:28:19,500 –> 00:28:25,359 that is of value and importance to you it is everything that you are invested 282 00:28:25,359 –> 00:28:29,020 in and for some of us our treasure is in 283 00:28:29,020 –> 00:28:35,160 the area of sports it really is the thing that’s got us buzzing for some of 284 00:28:35,160 –> 00:28:39,680 us our treasure is in the area of careers and we pour ourselves into that 285 00:28:39,680 –> 00:28:44,319 for some of us the treasure is in the area of relationships it’s friends that 286 00:28:44,319 –> 00:28:49,020 really determine all the crucial decisions of our lives for some of us it 287 00:28:49,020 –> 00:28:53,420 is in the role that we play the role in ministry the role in an organization or 288 00:28:53,420 –> 00:28:59,640 whatever and we treasure that particular position it’s fascinating to think about 289 00:28:59,640 –> 00:29:09,719 the question what are you invested in where is your treasure then the last 290 00:29:09,719 –> 00:29:17,680 thing is simply this invest yourself in Christ’s kingdom because notice as Jesus 291 00:29:17,819 –> 00:29:23,540 invites as to identify where our treasure is he says there your heart 292 00:29:23,540 –> 00:29:31,959 will be also know once you to notice the way around that Jesus puts it he 293 00:29:31,959 –> 00:29:35,560 doesn’t say the pressure will follow your heart he says that your heart will 294 00:29:35,560 –> 00:29:40,359 follow your treasure where your treasure is their your heart will be 295 00:29:40,359 –> 00:29:47,560 also see heart follows treasure when you invest yourself that’s where your heart 296 00:29:47,560 –> 00:29:54,339 goes the heart does not operate by a kind of independent impulse in the 297 00:29:54,339 –> 00:30:00,699 normal pattern of life heart follows the investment that we make of ourselves 298 00:30:00,699 –> 00:30:10,880 it’s a very powerful principle here habit shapes the heart you take the 299 00:30:10,959 –> 00:30:17,640 action of making some sacrifice selling something and giving to the poor you 300 00:30:17,640 –> 00:30:26,160 will care more about the poor afterwards period heart follows treasure 301 00:30:26,439 –> 00:30:35,599 move your treasure you move your heart see some of us really struggle at this 302 00:30:35,599 –> 00:30:39,800 we we go around for years sometimes saying you know I’m looking for God to 303 00:30:39,800 –> 00:30:46,040 give me a burden I wish that the Lord would ignite a passion within my heart 304 00:30:46,040 –> 00:30:51,160 as if passions in the heart kind of just dropped out of heaven in some kind of 305 00:30:51,160 –> 00:30:57,020 independent fashion I’ve noticed a principle in my own life 306 00:30:57,020 –> 00:31:00,640 that the passions of my life that are a reflection of choices that were made I 307 00:31:00,640 –> 00:31:06,219 feel a great passion for India and I try and trace it back and the best I can 308 00:31:06,760 –> 00:31:12,699 for its beginning is I went to India. Mooji said in the heart followed the investment 309 00:31:12,699 –> 00:31:17,760 of the life. That’s why as this church makes a commitment to do something in 310 00:31:17,760 –> 00:31:22,219 Congo, we’re going to start to care about Congo, because we are going to send some money 311 00:31:22,219 –> 00:31:26,479 we’re going to send some of our best people, we’re going to get to know some 312 00:31:26,479 –> 00:31:29,520 people the other side of the world that we don’t have the faintest idea about 313 00:31:29,520 –> 00:31:33,819 their situatio,n and as we make that investment we’re going to begin to care 314 00:31:33,859 –> 00:31:39,819 about some of your desperately poor and desperately needed. You see you move the 315 00:31:39,819 –> 00:31:44,800 treasure, you move your heart and become a church that cares more and more about 316 00:31:44,800 –> 00:31:49,260 the world. That’s why this significance of our investment in everything that we 317 00:31:49,260 –> 00:31:58,900 give is huge for the kind of community that we are. Where your treasure is there 318 00:31:59,160 –> 00:32:07,199 your heart will be also. What you do shapes who you are and who you become. 319 00:32:07,199 –> 00:32:13,119 That’s the principle that Jesus is making very clear. The power of greed 320 00:32:13,119 –> 00:32:19,540 that is always coming up as a subtle temptation to me, the power of worry that 321 00:32:19,540 –> 00:32:24,579 is always approaching as a subtle temptation to me, the danger of a futile 322 00:32:24,579 –> 00:32:29,219 use of life which is always lying there to ensnare me—these things will be 323 00:32:29,219 –> 00:32:36,219 overcome by intentional sacrificial actions that have no other explanation 324 00:32:36,219 –> 00:32:45,099 except that you and I are seeking His kingdom. Do something for the poor, and 325 00:32:45,099 –> 00:32:54,380 you’ll get a heart that God has for the poor. Do something. Try something. Make an 326 00:32:54,380 –> 00:32:58,459 investment of yourself in some area of God’s kingdom, and you will find that God 327 00:32:58,459 –> 00:33:01,719 will blow on that, and it will move your heart. 328 00:33:01,719 –> 00:33:06,660 Not every investment of life becomes a passion of the heart, but no passion of 329 00:33:06,660 –> 00:33:11,219 the heart begins apart from an investment of the life. Passion follows 330 00:33:11,219 –> 00:33:17,939 practice. The concert pianist who is lost in the passion of a concerto one day sat 331 00:33:17,939 –> 00:33:23,239 down, probably as a little child at a piano, and played the first three notes. 332 00:33:23,359 –> 00:33:26,839 By the way, this is one of the great hopes for A Marriage in Trouble. It 333 00:33:26,839 –> 00:33:32,119 applies in all kinds of spheres. You have folks going around saying, how can I 334 00:33:32,119 –> 00:33:39,040 possibly invest in a marriage where I now feel so little? How can you ever feel 335 00:33:39,040 –> 00:33:47,599 anything if you will not invest in that marriage? Heart follows treasure. The 336 00:33:47,900 –> 00:33:56,359 passion of the life follows the steps of commitment. Where your treasure is, there 337 00:33:56,359 –> 00:34:06,599 your heart will be also. So where’s your treasure? Where’s your 338 00:34:06,599 –> 00:34:15,439 heart? How does that relate to the purpose for which God has brought you to 339 00:34:15,459 –> 00:34:21,080 be here? Let’s pray together, shall we? 340 00:34:24,520 –> 00:34:34,760 Lord it would be much easier if You gave us five easy steps, but much shallower. We 341 00:34:34,760 –> 00:34:41,840 thank You that You do not want us to be automatons, but that You seek that from 342 00:34:41,840 –> 00:34:49,419 within, a heart that reflects Your heart may grow and mature so that the very 343 00:34:49,419 –> 00:35:01,340 likeness of Christ may be seen in us. In a world of greed, a world of worry, and a 344 00:35:01,340 –> 00:35:07,879 world of futility, we thank You that You have called us to pursue the purpose of 345 00:35:08,000 –> 00:35:16,340 Your kingdom. Thank You that Your word makes clear why we are here. Lord, we feel 346 00:35:16,340 –> 00:35:20,580 that we need in a fresh way to look at the investment of our lives, in its 347 00:35:20,580 –> 00:35:27,439 totality, to look at our treasure in all that that means. To look again at the 348 00:35:27,439 –> 00:35:33,179 degree to which it really reflects our purpose. We thank You for this wonderful 349 00:35:33,520 –> 00:35:39,379 principle that we learn from the teaching of our master and our Lord, that 350 00:35:39,379 –> 00:35:45,340 the heart follows the treasure. So, we feel now that in the last moments of this 351 00:35:45,340 –> 00:35:50,919 service, where we have felt challenged by the searching light of Your word, we 352 00:35:50,919 –> 00:35:57,139 simply want to offer ourselves in a fresh way to You. To ask that You will 353 00:35:57,139 –> 00:36:06,320 take us and lead us, and that as those who call you, Lord, we will be quick to do 354 00:36:06,320 –> 00:36:13,639 what you command. For these things we ask. In Jesus’ name, Amen.