Title: Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
Contents
Bible: Matthew 6:19-24 Title: Lay Up Treasures in Heaven
Jesus taught his disciples about money (riches). Wealth is directly related to the problems of body, mind, and spirit. This is a lesson to be given in the age of mammonism and the end of money ideology, which believes that money is all things.
Do not build up earthly treasures
The Bible neither condemns wealth nor encourages poverty.
How much wealth does the Lord have? But what attitude toward possession and how are you using it? teaches a lesson about
Diaspora Jews had no country for thousands of years, so the only thing they had to believe and live was buying real estate and jewelry. Jesus condemns people's attitude toward riches, which builds up material things on the earth and loses the values of everlasting life. At the judgment seat, God will ask the question, 'How have you made others happy?' It is, ‘When I was thirsty, when I was imprisoned, when I was naked…Did you make my children happy?’ (Matthew 25:43) Materialism is harder to get out of than religious heresy. There are moths that eat clothes, rust that corrodes iron, and thieves who steal treasures.
Lay up treasures in heaven
The Apostle Peter said, ‘When you are a stranger, live in fear… … .It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that we were redeemed from the profane deeds of our fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:17-18). It is the treasure of the earth that prevents them from doing so and takes away the worship of God. Money is the means of life, not the purpose of life. We should focus on God's purpose, goal, and plan, rather than regulating our lives through financial technology. To lay up treasures in heaven is to use material things by faith for the kingdom of God and the gospel.
good eye and bad eye
The first tool of the fall and crime of mankind was the ‘eye’. “When the woman saw the tree… that it was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eye, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise…” (Genesis 3:6) Jesus Christ came as the light of the world. But the devil obscures and covers the light of the world, causing people to stumble and tempting them into the path of death. Gnosticism in the 1st and 2nd centuries, the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries, Enlightenment and atheism in the 18th century, World Wars 1 and 2 in the 19th century, and the clash of civilizations in the 20th century separated mankind. When human beings open their eyes to sin, they leave behind a legacy of suffering. The Lord says, “If your eyes are bad, your whole body is dark; if your eyes are bright, your whole body is bright.” The church in Laodicea couldn't see Jesus and was blinded by gold, so he stood outside the door.
servant and two masters
A servant cannot serve two masters. God wants the loyalty of serving one master full-time, not part-time. The love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10) We are not owners, but lessors, stewards, managers, and stewards of the kingdom of God. 'What is seen is temporary, but what is not seen is eternal.' (2 Corinthians 4:18) We live while enjoying what God gives us, doing what God wants us to do, and then going to the Father to receive praise and rewards is the life of a disciple who follows Jesus. .
Prayer/Please help me to build up the kingdom of God on this earth and serve the Lord by becoming a disciple with bright eyes who do not pile up treasures on earth, but treasures in heaven. Amen.