Truth That Changes Lives

JP Jones: So, where is your treasure? What are you putting your eyes on, and who is your master?

Greg: Thank you for joining us on Truth That Changes Lives. Pastor JP Jones is the senior pastor of Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, California, and a professor in biblical studies at Biola University. Today on Truth That Changes Lives, JP will be giving us another message from a series entitled The Religion of Jesus. Let's listen in as JP gives part two of Seeking First the Kingdom.

JP Jones: The word for money that he is going to talk about here in a moment that is translated in the NIV is the word mammon. It is an Aramaic word, *mamona*, which means riches, property, or wealth. So, where is our treasure? Because you treasure your treasure. Is it on mammon, or is it on the kingdom of God and His righteousness?

Where are your eyes? Where are they focused? Because that is the conduit into your heart. That is why there are so many scriptures, by the way, that speak about our eyes, our focus, our attention, and our mind. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith."

Second Corinthians 4 says that we do not lose heart because we look not to the things that are seen, but we look to the things that are unseen. Because the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are unseen are eternal. Colossians 3:1-2 says, "Since then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

First Peter 1:13 says, "Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your heart completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." All of these commands about our eyes, our thoughts, our hearts, our focus, and our attention. Jesus just says don't store up treasures on earth; store them up in heaven. Watch where your eye is because it will fill your whole body. If it is dark, your whole body is dark. If it is light, your whole body will be filled with light.

So, where is your treasure? What are you putting your eyes on? Here is the third question: what is your master? Jesus says this in verse 24: "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." There is that word, *mamona*, mammon.

Jesus says the relationship is a master-slave relationship. He uses the word *kyrios* for masters. The word Lord is the word applied to Jesus, His sovereign Lordship. He uses the word for serve, the verb *douleuo*, to serve as a slave, a devoted slave. So, He is not talking about some scenario like where you can have two or three jobs. I can work for different employers, so I can kind of serve God and mammon at the same time. I can do them both. No, you cannot. You serve your master. You are a slave, but you get to choose whose slave you are.

He says you can choose God, or you can choose mammon. It is amazing the power mammon can have on us. It really is. It is not exclusive to Orange County. Jesus told this story in Luke chapter 12. Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed Me as a judge or an arbiter between you?"

But let Me tell you this story. Watch out and be on your guard against all kinds of greed. A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. So, He told them this story. The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, "What shall I do? I have no place to store all my crops." Then he said, "This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, 'You have plenty of goods laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.'"

But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" This is how hard it will be for anyone who stores up for himself things on earth but is not rich toward God. If He were telling the story today, He would say a certain man started a dot-com company, and it just blew up. So, he poured all of his resources into it, and then it went pop.

Yes, we live in Orange County. Yes, these values are multiplied to us. But the guys Jesus is talking to had the same struggle because it is a struggle of the heart. You can be rich and greedy, you can be poor and greedy, and you can be middle-class and greedy. The issue is greed. The issue is the heart. The issue is what do you love? The issue is who is your master?

Jesus says this is so important for you as My disciples because it marks you as being different from the religious hypocrites. It marks you as being different from the people of the world. It gets you a blessing right now and a blessing in heaven. So, where is your treasure? What are you putting your eyes on, and who is your master? You cannot serve God and money. I struggle just like you, so it is not like this is any different for us.

Jesus went on to say this in Luke chapter 12 in a parallel passage to this here in Matthew chapter 6. Jesus said, "Therefore I tell you not to worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body's more than clothes. Consider the ravens: they don't sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?"

"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." This is such an important teaching of Jesus; He gave it on multiple occasions to different audiences because it was the same message that people needed to hear.

It is the same message we need to hear today. We need to ask ourselves, where is our treasure? We need to ask ourselves, what are we putting our eyes on? We need to ask ourselves, what is our master? And here is the last question that Jesus puts before us: what are we worrying about? This past week in our men's Bible study, Next Step, looking at this passage and discussing it, worry or anxiety, excessive worry or excessive anxiety, is like a trigger that ought to tell us something is going on underneath the surface.

It is like a thermometer. When you do not feel that well, you put a thermometer in your mouth and look at it, and your temperature is 104. You may not know what is wrong, but you know something is wrong because you have a 104 temperature. Well, worry is like that temperature. When there is a lot of worry in your life, it is saying something is not right. Something is not settled in your soul.

Because Jesus in this section addresses how kingdom disciples should not be consumed by worry. Worry is related to what we treasure. Worry is related to what we put our eye on. Worry is related to who is our master. So Jesus says in this context, "Therefore I tell you, don't worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'"

"For the pagans run after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus says worry is not to be the experience of kingdom disciples.

He gives two reasons. First of all, it is antithetical to faith in a loving God who has committed Himself to provide all of our needs. When we are worrying and consumed by worry, we are basically saying I do not believe God is going to take care of me. Secondly, He says worry, just practically, is not a positive thing because you end up worrying about something in the future and the future is not here yet. You need to take care of the stuff that is going on today.

Jesus repeats Himself several times. He multiple times says, "Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry." He is using a word here, *merimnao*, which means to worry, to be concerned, or to feel anxious. The word itself is somewhat of a neutral word. It can be used in a positive sense of the concern for God's kingdom or the crisis concern that a parent has for a child. But that is not the way He is using it here.

He is using it in the same way Paul uses it in Philippians 4, where Paul says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

The idea of worry or concern or being anxious here is not the positive anxiety that a parent should have for a child if they are supposed to be home at midnight and it is 2:00 in the morning and they have not called yet and you wonder where they are. That is a positive concern. It is a negative concern Jesus puts it in the context because we are taking matters that God has committed Himself to for us and we are taking them under our control.

We are putting our treasure not on heaven, but we are putting our treasure on earth. We are disregarding God's promises and we are disregarding God's commands. Instead, we are trying to control our own security and comfort, and as a result, we become consumed with worry. Now, in juxtaposition to that, He says seek first the kingdom.

You want to know what it means to seek first the kingdom? Think about how you feel when you are worrying about something. Seeking is the equal opposite of worrying. When you are worrying about something, you are thinking about it, you are talking about it, and you are trying to do something about it. When you are seeking first the kingdom, you are thinking about it, you are talking about it, and you are trying to do something about it.

We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. We are to think about the kingdom. We are to talk about the kingdom. We are to try to do something about the kingdom. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Now, possibly when He says the kingdom of God and His righteousness, that is just another way of defining what the kingdom is. Oftentimes in the New Testament, there will be a statement and then, connected with the word "and," another statement, and it is just a restatement of the previous statement.

So, God's righteousness could be synonymous with God's kingdom. Or possibly Jesus is speaking about God's kingdom, which is God's rule, His reign. Then God's righteousness is the aspect of God's rule and reign that is particularly concerned about His justice. To seek first the kingdom, then, is in the illustration and in the contrast of what Jesus is talking about. It is the positive opposite of worrying about stuff.

When you worry about stuff, when you are concerned about stuff, when you are anxious about stuff, you think about it, you talk about it, you do something about it. So, when you are seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you are thinking about it, you are talking about it, and you are trying to do something about it. The verb "to seek" is the Greek word *zeteo*, which means to diligently search after. Even implied in the word that He uses has this passion and commitment to it.

The idea of the kingdom is God's rule. I am trying to break this down. What is my takeaway? Jesus has told me I need to ask, where is my treasure? I need to ask, where is my eye focused? I need to ask, who is my master? I need to ask, what am I worrying about? All of this is geared towards me being a kingdom disciple who seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and trusts that everything else is added unto me.

Start here when I think about the kingdom. First of all, God's rule. What about God's rule in my life personally? Am I letting God be ruling every part of my life? Is there any part of my life that is not under God's rule? What about my finances? That is right there in that passage. What about my career? What about my thought life? What about my purity? What about my values? What about my recreation life? What about my conversations? What about my habits? All the parts of my life.

Am I letting God's rule permeate every part of my life? Next, God's rule in my relationships. What about my marriage? What about my children? What about my friends? What about my neighbors? Am I letting the kingdom of God rule all my personal relationships? What about my church? Am I seeking the kingdom in my church? Am I doing all I can to help my church be a kingdom church? What about my community? Am I actively seeking the kingdom of God in my community? What about my world and the Great Commission? Am I actively seeking the kingdom of God?

This is an all-consuming, lifelong commitment to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. It should take precedence above every other concern. That is what Jesus is teaching us. Because when we get all worried about what we are going to wear, what we are going to eat, what title we are going to have at our job, where our kids are going to go to school, what car we are going to drive, what furniture we are going to put in our house, and what vacation we are going to take, every investment of worrying is an emotional investment we are not going to be able to give to the kingdom.

The kingdom should capture all of us. It is kind of like in that old Chevy Chase movie, Vacation, where he is off trying to drive out to the vacation land with their kids and the car wrecked and he is going to have to pay to get his car fixed. They are stuck in that podunk town and the mechanic comes out and asks what it is going to cost. He goes, "All of it, boy! All of it!"

How much of my life is the kingdom going to consume? All of it. All of it. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. But then Jesus is so gracious because He does this in every one of these high standards of the Sermon on the Mount. He adds, "and all these things will be added unto you." In other words, whatever the demands of discipleship are, we still get rewarded more in this life and in the life to come. In this life, the reward of righteousness and being conformed more to the image of Christ, becoming more like Christ, experiencing more of God in our life, more of the fruit of the Spirit being released into our relationships, more of God's love and God's truth being activated in my life. And in the life to come, heavenly rewards. You cannot outgive God. You just cannot outgive God.

Jesus gives us the one-two punch in Matthew chapter 6. First, He just punches at our religious hypocrisy and how we are pulled in that direction. Then He punches at our worldly materialism and how we are pulled in that direction. But He is saying to us, follow Me with all your life. You will be blessed now, and you will be rewarded in heaven.

Greg: What a great message for all of us today. Pastor JP provides us with great insight. That is why we would like to make it available to you on CD. Just get in touch and mention today's date. We will send it your way for just $5. Or if you would like to support this ministry, you can write us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653. Or give us a call at 949-916-0250. That's 949-916-0250. For your gift of $25 or more, we will send you a signed copy of JP's new book, Facing Goliath.

Please join us every Sunday at 9:00 or 11:00 AM at Crossline Church in Laguna Hills. The address is 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653. Or check us out on the web at crosslinechurch.com. We are going to get to the address and phone number again in a moment. But before we do that, Pastor JP, do you have any insight from today's message?

JP Jones: Thanks, Greg. In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus is describing for us an upside-down kingdom. Jesus is teaching His way of discipleship, what it means to know God and to walk with God. Jesus says that His teaching is counter-cultural to the way of religion, the way of the Pharisees, and His teaching is counter-cultural to the way of the Gentiles, secular culture.

The way of Jesus is a unique way. It is a narrow path. Jesus says that it begins with a transformed heart. When we have a new heart, we practice our righteousness to bless God, not to be seen by men. When we have a new heart, we put up our treasures in heaven and we seek first the kingdom. A new heart is the key to being in Jesus's kingdom. A new heart is the key to living as Jesus's disciple.

If you are listening to this message and you have never crossed the line into a new relationship with Jesus Christ, you need to put your faith in Christ. You need to receive a new heart. It is not about doing certain things to earn God's favor. Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 says this: "For by grace you've been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not as a result of works, lest anyone should boast."

Entering the way of Jesus is by having a new heart, and only Jesus can give us a new heart. That comes by grace through faith. If you are hearing this message and you know Christ but you have gotten into the trap of religion or you have been sucked up into the culture of this world, then what you need is a new heart. You need to surrender your heart back to Jesus. You need to return to your first love. You need to ask Jesus to transform your motives and to transform your priorities.

So, whether you are someone standing outside looking into the kingdom or whether you are someone in the kingdom but you have lost your way, the answer is the same. The message of Jesus is the same. Allow Jesus Christ to transform your heart. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all other things will be added unto you. If that is your desire, then I invite you to pray with me right now.

Lord Jesus, give me a new heart. Transform me from the inside out. Help me seek first You and Your kingdom and Your righteousness. Forgive me of my sins and give me a new life and a new focus. I ask for this in Jesus's name. Amen.

Greg: We want to help you in your relationship with Christ. Please get in touch with us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653. Or call us at 949-916-0250. On the internet, you will find us at crosslinechurch.com. We hope to see you at one of our services every Sunday at our new campus in Laguna Hills. For more information and directions, please go to crosslinechurch.com. Please join us next time on Truth That Changes Lives.