The Word This Week
Matt 6:19…
Jesus continues The Sermon on the Mount with a view of how citizens of the kingdom of heaven will see economic forces differently from those who are citizens of the kingdom of this world.
Again, this is all according to our faith in God.
Since we believe there ARE two kingdoms, Jesus expresses how our concerns economically center around two areas: what we possess, and where we invest.
It is important to remember ALL our resources come from God. Whatever we possess and all we invest has been provided by Him.
Jesus reminds us how are hearts will follow our investments. (Have we invested in earthly things or heavenly things?) This is an important realization when we remember EVERYTHING we invest in this world is going to burn. Not a shred of it shall survive a moment after our death, and none of it shall be carried into the new heaven and the new earth promised by God.
The old saying is, “All that’s done for this world will pass, and only what’s done for Christ will last.” That’s a saying worthy of all acceptance.
But the concerns of this world crowd us into fear of how we may maintain a comfortable standard of living, and what the future holds for us in terms of financial stability. And so we have a natural tendency to be more concerned about the things of this world than the next.
And it shows.
Jesus instead reminds us our focus must always be eternal – and we can always trust God to provide for our temporal needs. When our focus is on eternal life financially it affects everything about our relationship with God because our relationship with God is where we have set our hearts. We choose to trust Him with our all.
When our primary focus is how we may gain or maintain prosperity in this world our relationship with God suffers because our focus is divided – and no one can serve two masters. This is a VERY helpful reminder, and once again it runs completely contrary to how natural man sees things.
Pastor Bill
Jesus continues The Sermon on the Mount with a view of how citizens of the kingdom of heaven will see economic forces differently from those who are citizens of the kingdom of this world.
Again, this is all according to our faith in God.
Since we believe there ARE two kingdoms, Jesus expresses how our concerns economically center around two areas: what we possess, and where we invest.
It is important to remember ALL our resources come from God. Whatever we possess and all we invest has been provided by Him.
Jesus reminds us how are hearts will follow our investments. (Have we invested in earthly things or heavenly things?) This is an important realization when we remember EVERYTHING we invest in this world is going to burn. Not a shred of it shall survive a moment after our death, and none of it shall be carried into the new heaven and the new earth promised by God.
The old saying is, “All that’s done for this world will pass, and only what’s done for Christ will last.” That’s a saying worthy of all acceptance.
But the concerns of this world crowd us into fear of how we may maintain a comfortable standard of living, and what the future holds for us in terms of financial stability. And so we have a natural tendency to be more concerned about the things of this world than the next.
And it shows.
Jesus instead reminds us our focus must always be eternal – and we can always trust God to provide for our temporal needs. When our focus is on eternal life financially it affects everything about our relationship with God because our relationship with God is where we have set our hearts. We choose to trust Him with our all.
When our primary focus is how we may gain or maintain prosperity in this world our relationship with God suffers because our focus is divided – and no one can serve two masters. This is a VERY helpful reminder, and once again it runs completely contrary to how natural man sees things.
Pastor Bill