“A Christian’s Commitment” – Matthew 7:21-29

Let’s have a conversation this morning. I have lots of questions. The word “doctrine” gets thrown around and sometimes it is misused but it’s important that we use it right because it simply means what we believe. Obviously, it’s important to know what we believe and to know that what we believe is true. So, let’s make sure our doctrine is right and based on scripture, especially about the most important stuff.

Knowing what we believe is important: Jonathan Whitfield was preaching to coal miners in England. He asked one man, "What do you believe?" "Well, I believe the same as the church." "And what does the church believe?" "Well, they believe the same as me." Seeing he was getting nowhere, Whitfield said, "And what is it that you both believe?" "Well, I suppose the same thing." Jonathan Whitfield.

Let’s start off big. The first question is, how do we get to Heaven? Now, before you answer, you have to know that almost everybody in the world thinks they are going to Heaven. I have talked to very few people who believe in Heaven and Hell who believe they are going to Hell. Now, I promise I get very little of my doctrine from rock ‘n roll song titles, but I will say that Highway to Hell and Stairway to Heaven are pretty good indicators of the expected volume.

So, what is our doctrine on getting to Heaven? What do I have to believe? What do I have to do? Who do I talk to? How much money does it cost? What role does baptism play? What role does church, the Holy Spirit, the Lord’s Supper, good works play?

What are the differences in this life in people that are saved and going to Heaven and people that are not saved and going to Hell? How good do you have to be? Do you lose your salvation when you sin? How often can you sin and still be a Christian? Can you be a Christian and smoke cigarettes? Drink? Do drugs? Look at porn? Overeat? Dance? Cuss? I could do this for days. Is it a sin to miss church? Can gay couples be members of our church?

Some of you are sitting there with your eyelids fluttering and your eyeballs are about to roll back into your head. I have more questions but I’ll stop there. I bring all of this up because those are common questions and we need to be able to answer them. Sometimes we can get bogged down in knowing all the names of the disciples or how the Trinity works or if we are pre-trib or post-trib when all your neighbor cares about is if can he still drink beer and go to Heaven.

Don’t you know Jesus was asked a lot of these kinds of questions? In John 3, Nicodemus comes to Jesus with questions and Jesus gives him what is probably the most commonly quoted verse in the Bible. He told Nic at night, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus plainly said that all we have to do to get to Heaven, to be a Christian, to be saved or whatever you want to call it is…to believe in Him. Just believe in Jesus and have eternal life in Heaven. It’s so simple.

But because it is so simple, it’s a problem. It’s a problem because so many people obviously don’t understand what it means to believe. James 2:19 says that even demons believe. The dictionary says that belief is just accepting something as true. But Jesus tells us in the last part of the Sermon on the Mount that not everybody who says they believe will go to Heaven.

Turn to Matthew 7:21. This is a scary passage, or it should be scary for lots of people. If understood, this passage should rock the world of a lot of people, especially good people; moral people and people that have spent their life in church and are very religious. In the passage that we read last week, Jesus warned of false prophets and false shepherds, the leaders of the church. This week, we see his warning about false sheep and all the people that say they are Christians but don’t do what is required and those that hear what is required but don’t do.

Jesus ends His Sermon on the Mount by saying, “Not everyone who says to me, 'LORD, LORD,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'LORD, LORD, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' 24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." 28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

And with that, Jesus drops the mic and walks slowly down the mountain. At least, that’s how I picture it. He has told them everything they need to know in three short chapters. Want to be happy? Do the opposite of what the world says. Don’t be a hypocrite. Know that God sees your heart and knows your motives and they matter. Get your doctrine right. Know what is truth. Know how to pray. Know what is important and what’s not. Now, you know what to do. Don’t just say it and don’t just hear it. Like Nike says, just do it.

Let me ask you another question. What is the very least I have to do to become a doctor? I’m thinking about becoming a brain surgeon because I hear there is a lot of money in it but I don’t know how to begin. Do I really have to go to school? I’m pretty smart. I know right where the brain is in most people. I think I can do it but I don’t really want to go to school all those years. I want to make a lot of money so what is the very least I have to do to become a brain surgeon?

That’s not a very good question, is it? That’s wrong on several levels. Brain surgery is pretty important. It could easily affect your life or cause death. And yet, that is the same attitude a lot of people have when it comes to their eternity. “What’s the least I have to do to get to Heaven?” Nobody really asks that question, but their intentions are clear when they don’t do what scripture says to do.

Look closer at what Jesus said. In verse 22 He says, “Many will say to me on that day, 'LORD, LORD…” What day is He talking about? That day is judgment day. In Romans 14 it says, “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.” 12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.…”

Now, the good news for Christians is that our good deeds are the only thing that will be judged. We will be rewarded when we get to Heaven for all the good things we have done. Our sins were judged on the cross when Jesus died and we are forgiven and made right with God because of that.

But, for everybody else, there will be what is called the Great White Throne Judgment. In Malachi 4, Malachi the prophet wrote, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty.” That is the day Jesus speaks of here and some people are going to be very surprised to be there.

They will earnestly call out to Jesus as “Lord, Lord!” They will say, “Wait just a second here. You need to check your records again. See, I did a lot of good stuff in your name, so you have to let me in.” But if they did all those things in His name, why does Jesus say, “I never knew you” in verse 23? Well, going back to verse 21, Jesus said, only the one who does the will of my Father gets to Heaven. It takes more than just saying you are a believer. It takes more than just saying you are doing something in the name of Jesus. So, evidently, to Jesus, “belief” is more than just accepting something as true like the dictionary defines it.

Alright, I have another question. Do you always wear your seatbelt when you are in the car? Always? Why? It’s the law. Is that enough to make you wear it? I read the other day about a man in New Zealand who was ticketed over 20 times for not wearing his seatbelt. Finally, he made a fake seatbelt. It looked real but just draped over his shoulder and didn’t attach to anything. Know what happened? He didn’t get any more tickets. He died in a car wreck. Now, I don’t tell you that to make you feel guilty about not wearing your seatbelt. I want you to think about why you are obedient to God because the reason is all-important.

You can fake it. You can fool me and you can fool the church. You can say all the right things and give and smile and help out at the RV Park and serve on committees and do all those good things. And when you fool me into thinking you are a believer, it’s like that guy from New Zealand fooling the cop with his fake seatbelt. But it will wind up killing you dead in Hell for eternity.

You can fool me. You can fool the church. But the easiest one to fool is sometimes yourself. So, let me give you a test. The first question on the test is do you remember a specific time in your life when you asked God to forgive you of your sins and asked Him to be Lord of your life? Did that profession of faith include repenting from that sin; turning away from that lifestyle? I didn’t ask if you are sinless. I asked if you turned away from that lifestyle and went in the way you know God wanted you to go?

If you don’t remember that time in your life, it should send up a red flag for you. You may have forgotten the date and the time and even the exact place but you should remember some of the circumstances of that big decision. Who told you about Jesus? Did you go before the church and let them know? Where you baptized? You should remember some of those things.

The next question is did your life change? Was it a remarkable change? Did other people notice a difference in you? Your spouse, your co-workers, your friends should have noticed a difference pretty quick. If not, that’s a red flag.

Do you sin less than you used to? Does your sin pain you more than it used to? Are you still struggling with the same old sins month after month after month? Do you truly desire to please God with your life, even if nobody else sees? Those are the marks of a changed life; a life that hates sin and hates the old man in us, the flesh that still comes out every now and then.

Let me ask you this. Don’t answer out loud. Just think about it. In what circumstance would a small sin be acceptable to you? I’m not talking about murder or kicking a puppy – something horrible. I mean a small sin like lying or cheating on a test. Let me give you a scenario. You and some friends are on vacation at the beach and you see a member of the opposite sex walking down the beach looking hot. Is a little bit of lust acceptable to you in that situation? Is that okay?

What about on tax day when you know that if you just fudge the numbers a little bit, it will make a big difference in what you owe? That’s not a big deal, right? Sure, it’s a sin but God understands, doesn’t He? Okay, some of y’all are going to hate me for this one but that’s okay. The speed limit is 45 on the road by our church. Is 50 okay? At what point is it a sin? 55? 65? I know it’s against the law and scripture tells us to obey the laws of man but come on, is that really a sin?

Look, if all you are hearing me say is that we have to follow a bunch of rules and Christianity is all about legalism, you have missed the point. If all you hear is don’t do this and don’t do that, you have missed the point. If you think I am preaching about lying, lust and speeding, you have missed the point.

The point is that a true believer; a true follower and disciple of Jesus will want to do what Jesus said to do and what scripture says for us to do. A true believer WILL hunger and thirst for righteousness. A true believer WILL abide in Him. A true believer WILL be different today than he was yesterday. You can hear it all day long and you can say you are a believer all day long but the only proof is a radically changed life.

Now, if you think I am telling you that you need to live a better, more devout and moral life, you are wrong. Anybody can do that. There are good, moral, sweet people busting Hell wide open every day. You don’t get to Heaven because you asked God to forgive your sins and then you made yourself become holy and righteous.

You get to Heaven by asking God to forgive your sins and then declaring to Him that you can’t do it. You can’t be holy. You can’t be righteous. You can’t do one little thing that will make you deserving of God’s holy and precious Heaven. That is all Him. You have to decide that Jesus is going to truly be Lord of your life, meaning that if you read in the Bible that Christians are to stand on their heads for an hour every day, you’re going to stand on your head by God’s grace and with His help.

If God says not to lust, then by God’s grace and with His help, you won’t do it. If God says not to worry, then by God’s grace and with His help you won’t. If He says to set no vile thing before your eyes or let no coarse word come out of your mouth, then by God’s grace and with His help your life will change. And if you just can’t understand how that works then that, too, is a red flag because 1 Corinthians 2:14 says that if you don’t have the Spirit of God living in you then you won’t understand this stuff.

I have to tell you that one of the greatest fears of my life is thinking that somebody has gone to Christ Fellowship for years and been active and gave and sang the songs and gave a 3-minute testimony and all that stuff and then dies and Jesus tells my sweet friend, “Get away from me. I never knew you.”

Don’t let your house come down with a crash. If you have any doubt that you have once and for all asked God to forgive you of your sins, allowed the Spirit of God to live inside of you and asked Jesus to truly be your Lord and to change your life, then let’s make sure right now. That is what Jesus meant by “believe” and that’s what I’m asking you to do today. It’s free but it will cost you your life. Do it right now, as the music plays.

“A Christian’s Relationships” – Part 2 – Matthew 7:15-20

In the mid 1980’s, there were an estimated 10,000 physicians who got phony medical degrees from medical schools they had never even attended. One such broker for these degrees, Pedro DeMesones, who served a three-year prison sentence for mail fraud and conspiracy, told investigators that clients paid him from $5000 to $27,000 for his services. (Spokesman Review, December 8, 1984.)

Can you imagine that? There are at least 10,000 doctors out there practicing medicine who may not have even spent one day in medical school. They evidently got medical school loans and, instead of using the money to go to school, they used it to pay Pedro for a certificate saying they went to school.

Now, some of you have retired and seem to spend almost as much time at the doctor’s as you used to spend at work. How do you know that your doctor is legit? How do you know he didn’t get his medical certificate from some guy named Pedro? Let’s think about it for a minute. How do you tell a real doctor from a fake?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaBxnMmMIkc *3 Stooges video of them as doctors*

Don’t you wish it was that easy to tell the real thing from a fake? So, how might you tell a real one from a fake? Does he look like a doctor? Does he talk like a doctor? Does he act like a doctor? Does what he says to do actually work? Does he prescribe meds that actually work? Does he know what he is talking about and does he prove it? If he doesn’t meet those minimum requirements, you should have some red flags about him. Right?

Knowing that your doctor is real and not a fake is pretty important, isn’t it? It could be a matter of life and death. But do you know what is even more important than getting wise, real medical advice? Knowing that you’re getting wise, real spiritual advice. We all want to know truth. None of us want to be deceived, especially when it comes to the most important things in this life.

If your doctor found out you had a horrible disease, would you want him to tell you the truth? If he found a tumor, would you want him to give you the truth about how to get rid of that tumor or would you rather he not worry you and just prescribe an antibiotic or something? You would want to know the truth so that something could be done. Changes would need to be made. Maybe some drastic steps would need to be taken. You would probably rather change your lifestyle than have that disease kill you.

How much more important is it to know spiritual truth that will affect, not only this life, but also your eternity? Would you want to know spiritual truth even if it meant you may have to make some lifestyle changes? Or are you so comfortable in this life that you are fine living in deception? And how do we know what is truth and what is not?

Have you noticed how often that medical research changes? One day they tell you that coffee is bad for you and then they change their minds and say it’s good for you. And for some of you, you don’t care. You’re going to drink it no matter what. It’s the same with eggs. “Never eat eggs. It’s bad for your cholesterol.” Then later, “Eating eggs is good for your good cholesterol and bad for your bad cholesterol” or something, I don’t know.

It used to be back in the ‘50’s that doctors would recommend certain brands of cigarettes, even to pregnant women. I heard an elderly person scolding a young mother the other day. “Back in my day, we didn’t have all those luxuries like you do today.” And the mother said, “Yes, but back in your day, the soft drinks had cocaine in them.”

So, how do doctors know what is medical truth and an even better question is, how do any of us know what is spiritual truth? Let’s look at what Jesus had to say about it in Matthew chapter 7. We are almost done with our study of the Sermon on the Mount and we see Jesus starting to wrap it up here as well. I really want to encourage you to be here next Sunday as we see what Jesus saved for last in this sermon because it may be the most important stuff.

But for today, it is vital that we understand how to tell truth from lies; how to tell real from fake and how to spot a false prophet. Look at Matthew 7:15-20. In it, Jesus said, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

We don’t have any false prophets today, do we? Surely that is just a New Testament thing, right? What is a prophet? Do we even have any true prophets today? Well, let’s look and see what the word means. According to my big, bad concordance, the word Jesus uses here is “pseudoprophetes” (sudo–prophet-tace) which is one word that means false prophet but the word prophet literally means “to speak or say in front of.” It is used of someone who speaks what God tells him to speak. It says, “The prophesying of the New Testament prophets was a preaching of the divine counsels of grace.”

A preaching of grace…kind of sounds like what preachers do today, doesn’t it? You know what? I think I’m going to give myself a title. Everybody else is doing it. What do you think? “The Prophet Todd Blair.” Man, that’s going to look good on some business cards, isn’t it? I also understand that chicks dig prophets. Am I right? Huh? That’s so ridiculous. No. I’m just Todd. But I do preach and my highest goal is to preach truth and to preach what God wants me to preach.

But Jesus said to watch out for false prophets because they come to you in sheep’s clothing. And when He says that, we imagine somebody dressed like a sheep but the real meaning comes from the fact that shepherds would wear clothing made from the wool of the sheep that they raised. This isn’t saying to watch out for false sheep but for false shepherds. Watch out for false pastors and preachers and other leaders in the church. They aren’t shepherds but are wolves that will tear apart churches and individuals.

Now, the first step in figuring out if a prophet is true or false may be the hardest part of all for some of you. The first thing you have to do is listen to them. I know. What a bummer, right? You know, I have had some crazy stuff said to me after I preached. Somebody once told me, "You always manage to find something to fill up the time."  "I don't care what they say, I like your sermons."  "If I'd known you were going to be good today I'd have brought a neighbor."  Even, "We shouldn't make you preach so often."  (Not actually true) (Arthur Myers, Berkshire Sampler.)

You know what? None of that is true. Nobody ever said any of that stuff to me. I’m just kidding. But it begs the question, how do you know if a preacher is preaching truth? It’s one thing to make a joke. It’s another thing to lie and deceive and be a false teacher. So, how do we know? Well, Jesus tells us in verse 16. He shifts His metaphor from sheep and shepherds and says, “By their fruit you will know them.”

Okay, so now we have to figure out what He means by fruit. I want to know exactly what Jesus said and what He meant and I think you know why but it will come up in just a few minutes. But first, let’s see what is meant by “fruit.” There are at least three kinds of fruit by which you might judge a preacher. Yes, you heard me right. We should judge preachers. Wow! It’s like Jesus knew what He was talking about when He first mentioned in the passage we looked at last week in verses 1-6 about the motives for judging. Just like you might judge a peach tree to see if the peaches are good or an apple tree to see if it was producing good apples, so we must judge a preacher by his fruit.

The first kind of fruit you might judge is in the realm of character and conduct. Like judging a doctor, you want to know if he acts like a doctor. Does he have the character of a doctor? When Jesus talks about fruitfulness, He means Christlikeness and Paul called it the Fruit of the Spirit. What is the fruit or the proof that a person has the Holy Spirit living in their lives (and we should all be bearing this fruit)? Paul says in Galatians 5, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

The first fruit you should look for is actually the fruit of the Spirit. Does the preacher reflect those attributes in the pulpit and out? Is that his lifestyle? If not, it ought to send up a red flag. Now, when I say that, I can just hear some people chomping at the bit. I don’t see it in this church but I know there are a lot of people who are ready and willing to put the preacher under a microscope…and that should be okay.

But let me just tell you that preachers, pastors, leaders of the church here and all around the Christian world are sinners just like you. Just like you. So…if you judge (and you should judge) a preacher by his lifestyle, just make sure you take the plank out of your eye before you get to worrying about the speck in his. You make sure your life is right with God and you make sure your motives are right and you make sure you know his motives. And I tell you what, while this goes for all preachers, not just me, if you see something in my lifestyle that does not reflect the fruit of the Spirit, if you come to me in love, prayed up and with a Bible in your hand, I will listen to you all day.

But I learned as a little boy watching my dad pastor that Satan has a special hatred for preachers and pastors because he knows if he can take out the leader of the church, the rest are easier to get. If the wolf takes out the shepherd, the sheep are easier to get. Yes, leaders of the church should be held to a higher standard. But just make sure you are at the standard you should be before you judge anybody else, even a pastor.

So, the first fruit to examine is a man’s character. The second kind of fruit you should look for is his teaching. In Acts 20, Paul said, “Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. ²⁷For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.” If a prophet is one who preaches what God wants, then that prophet has to preach all of it. He has to preach the whole will of God or some versions say the whole counsel of God. That means everything from Genesis to the maps and whatever God wants you to say about it. This includes the difficult parts, the hard sayings of Jesus and the parts that are controversial or hard to understand even if it drives some people away.

If you watch the megachurch pastors on TV, a lot of them – not all – but a lot of them never seem to get around to talking about sin or repentance. They never touch on abortion or homosexuality. Those are too controversial and people may not feel all warm inside hearing about that stuff. They may lose members and if they lose members, they might lose money.

Money is a big deal when examining a person’s fruit. If that’s all they ever preach on, that should raise a red flag. If they make everything about them, that’s a red flag. In fact, while not every sermon has to be about Jesus necessarily, preaching the full will of God has to include a substantial amount of Jesus and I’ve heard it said that you can’t bring God glory while making yourself look good. The goal of every message, in fact the goal of our lives should be to make Jesus look good even if the sermon is not all about Him.

The main issue here in regard to a man’s preaching is, is it truth? A preacher should preach about money sometimes and it’s fine to use yourself as an illustration sometimes. I’ll even listen to a guy preach if he has an irritating voice or mannerisms…if he is preaching truth. So, how do we know what is truth? Who decides what is truth? Is truth always the same for everybody?

Well, let’s go back to the doctor illustration. How does a doctor know what to tell a patient? Well, he has hopefully gone to school for many years. He has read a lot of books. He continues to study and learn. He has a lot of experience. He has talked with other doctors. He has seen what works with his own eyes. In short, he tells the patient truth because it has been tested and proven to work.

While modern medicine has arguably only been around for maybe a hundred or two hundred years, this Bible was written thousands of years ago by dozens of people under the inspiration of one Holy Spirit of God. And while I don’t have a lot of schooling, I have spent my life searching, trying, and testing the scriptures, just looking for anything that wasn’t truth. I’ve always said if I ever find one thing in here that isn’t truth, I’ll put it down and never pick it up again. If you can’t believe all of it, how can you believe any of it?

I’ve never found anything in here that wasn’t truth, though, and I have searched and I have talked with lots of other people smarter and wiser than myself who have also been looking. I firmly believe that the Bible is truth and is the source for all truth and if a prophet preaches anything that is not backed up by scripture, he is a false prophet. He may be a fine motivational speaker but that is something completely different.

Years ago, I went to San Francisco on vacation with some friends. When Sunday morning came around, none of them wanted to go to church, so I went by myself. It was walking distance from our hotel and so I let them sleep and I got my Bible and went on. It was a big church but I noticed as I got in there that nobody else had a Bible and I thought that was strange. Even the pastor got up to preach and didn’t have a Bible.

But at some point, he referenced Genesis chapter 3 and so I started turning there in my Bible and the preacher said, “Now, we see in Genesis chapter three that Eve went in and slept with her girlfriend…” and I thought, “Oh! That’s why nobody has a Bible. They’re just making this stuff up.” He might as well have said to turn in your superhero comic books to page 10.

John Calvin once said, “All doctrines must be brought to the Word of God as the standard, for in judging of false prophets the rule of scripture holds the chief place.” So, instead of taking a preacher’s word for it, like that congregation did in San Francisco, be like the Bereans who it says in Acts 17, “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Nothing is more exciting to me than when somebody says, “Hey, I looked up that passage you were preaching from and I have a question.” I could very well be wrong about something. I study hard and pray for nothing more than I pray for truth. But I could be wrong and I am open to that so check me and let’s talk about it. Being wrong sometimes doesn’t make a preacher a false prophet. Just because you don’t like a guy, doesn’t make him a false prophet. Everybody is different and has different styles and some people may believe differently than you do. That doesn’t make them fake.

Let me give you one more fruit by which you can judge a preacher. Judge their influence. What kind of effect their does their teaching have on others? If they are a pastor, what kind of church is it? Now, this fruit may take a while to ascertain. It may take years for this fruit to mature but after a while, if the church is ungodly, divisive and faithless, it is very possible the pastor may not be teaching the truth of scripture. You can’t blame people’s behavior on their pastor but when taken as a whole, over a long period of time, the Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit will work through the truth of scripture and will change a church to become more like Jesus. That should be the goal of every prophet, preacher and pastor.

Look, if all you do is come to church even two or three times a week, I guarantee you are not getting enough spiritual food to sustain you during the week. If you are a disciple, a true follower of Jesus who is abiding in Him then you need more than just a sermon on Sunday morning and a Bible study or two during the week. You need to be listening to other preachers on the radio or TV. You need to read books by Christian authors. You need other sources of spiritual nourishment but if you just go to You Tube or the library or anywhere really, how are you going to know who is telling you the truth?

I go to a Bible study at Cates Street Baptist Church on most Wednesday nights. After the first few times I went, the teacher, a godly man in that congregation, said he was surprised that I didn’t have more to say during the Bible study. He thought I might be more argumentative and he was on guard for that. I told him to just relax. I said, “When I come here, I feel like I am being fed some real spiritual meat. This isn’t milk. This is meat. And if I get a little bit of gristle every now and then, who am I to complain?”

I can handle a little bit of gristle. He and I might not agree 100% on every little thing but I know that he is real and his love for the scriptures is real and he wants nothing more than to learn from Jesus and tell others what he has learned. That’s what a true disciple does and that’s what a true prophet or preacher does. I can judge the man’s character, his teaching and his influence and I know he is the real thing.

A false prophet intentionally deceives people, usually making himself look good or to gain power or money. If you study a person carefully and you realize that is what this person is, you need to have nothing else to do with them. Don’t ever hear them again. As for me, let me ask one favor of you. If you have a problem with me or what I preach, before you leave and go tell the world what a false prophet I am, would you please have the courage to come talk to me personally? That, too, is biblical and I would appreciate it. I promise I won’t get mad or even beg you to stay. I just want to know if there is something I need to work on.

Right now, we have come to our time of prayer and invitation. I want to encourage you to come down to the front here if there is anything in your life we can be praying for. Maybe you have a spiritual need or a physical need or a financial need. I don’t have all the answers but I know the One who does and I would love to lift you up this morning.

Maybe you don’t have a relationship with Jesus like we talk about around here. All you have to do is believe that Jesus died for your sins, ask God for forgiveness of those sins and allow the Holy Spirit to change your life. I’d love to talk with you more about that. Do that right now as the music plays.

“A Christian’s Relationships” – Part 1 – Matthew 7:1-6

If I told you I had the solution to the gun violence in our country, would you believe me? If I told you I had a no-kidding, fool-proof way of making sure nobody is ever shot in anger again, would you listen? Would you hear me if I told you there was a serious, concrete step you can take even today to do your part in this? Would you listen if I threw in the fact that it will be a great blessing to you?

I will tell you how we can solve this problem but first I want to tell you how NOT to solve this problem. It should be obvious since pretty much everybody in the news is doing it right now. Every time there is a mass shooting in our country, what happens? There is a corresponding mass shooting off of mouths telling us who is to blame.

Liberals blame the conservatives and conservatives blame the libs. The NRA blames the mentally ill and the celebrities blame the NRA. The democrats running for president all blame Trump and the Russians and global warming while Trump blames fake news and social media and video games. So, where’s the truth? It’s in there somewhere.

So, here’s something else that won’t help a bit. Passing more gun laws is ridiculous. These people are literally committing murder. They don’t care what laws are in place. They are just going to break them and if they can’t get a gun, they will use a knife or a bomb or a car or an airplane or something else. That’s just a proven fact.

But I can promise you that nobody goes on a killing spree in a school or a mall or a stadium or concert that is thinking correctly. Nobody who is mentally stable and spiritually right with God kills even one other human in cold blood. Nobody. It has never happened and never will. So, if you want to stop your neighbor from becoming the next mass shooter or stabber or spitter or pincher or mass-anything else, tell that neighbor what Jesus has done for you and develop that person into a disciple of Jesus. That’s how to solve that problem.

Now, let me tell you something else that I have learned and I promise I am leading into a biblical sermon coming from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7 here in just a minute. But I have learned that people commit these killings, not because they are mad at blacks or whites or Mexicans or teachers or presidents. They commit these horrible crimes because ultimately, they are mad at themselves. Hear me out. I’ll prove it.

Have you ever done something stupid? Of course, you have. Okay, maybe not my sweet mother but all the rest of us have. How does that make you feel? Have you ever done something really stupid, really bad and then somebody you love just happens to say something minor and you snap at them and bite their head off? Now multiply that times a thousand, subtract the Holy Spirit in their lives to guide them, add the warped mentality of someone constantly bombarded by things of this nasty old world and it equals mass suffering all the time. It happens every day, sometimes ending in death and Satan giggles his little red head off.

And when it happens, the very first thing that our society does is blame somebody else. It’s not me. It’s not the group I’m in or the cause I believe in. It is somebody else. Now, the problem with blaming somebody else is that, unless you are perfect, somebody else is going to blame you. That’s just how it works and it was predicted and described by Jesus here in our passage for today in Matthew chapter 7.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has told us, as we have been studying all these weeks, how to be blessed and happy. Have you noticed that? Everything Jesus has taught us so far in this sermon has to do with living a life that is happy and blessed. Do you want to be happy and blessed? Well, you can try it the world’s way and divorce your wife and then the next wife too because she actually didn’t make you happy like you thought she would. You can try worrying, being selfish, lustful, hateful and angry. Throw in some drugs and alcohol, maybe a little revenge for good measure and what do you have? In other words, how’s that workin’ out for ya so far?

Or you can try it the way Jesus said 2000 years ago and be happy and blessed. For today and next Sunday, we are going to see how Jesus said we can be blessed in our relationships with other people. Unless you are stranded alone on a deserted island, I bet you wish you could have better relationships with the people around you. In fact, you’ve probably heard the old joke about the man who was found on a deserted island by the fishermen. They found him on the island after years of being by himself and they saw three huts he had built on the shoreline. They asked what the huts were and the man said, “Well, that one is my house and that one is my church.” The fishermen asked him about the third hut and he said, “Oh, that’s my old church but I didn’t like the congregation there so I started another one.”

Everybody wants to have better relationships so let’s read what Jesus said to do in Matthew 7: 1-6. Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. 6"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

Okay, here we have the non-believer’s favorite verse. Right? Everybody knows this first verse and almost nobody quotes it in context. Matthew 7:1 is used by everybody who knows they are wrong but doesn’t want to suffer the consequences. Don’t judge me! I know I just sinned, even if I will never admit it or even understand it but I don’t want you to say anything about it. That’s how the world uses this verse…and that’s wrong. This is one of the most quoted and most misunderstood verses in scripture.

So, what does Jesus mean when He said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”? Well, let’s first see what the word means and better yet, let’s see what it meant to Jesus as He said it. We do that by looking it up in a concordance like this one from Strong’s. Sometimes words change in their meaning from one generation to another so we want to see what Jesus meant when He used the word “judge” and my concordance says it means to “distinguish, give an opinion upon and to condemn.” Jesus said not to condemn other people or you will be condemned. Sounds like what’s all over the news, doesn’t it?

Now, let’s look at the context of what Jesus was saying here. All through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has been poking a stick in the eye of the Pharisees. Every time He said, “You have heard that it was said…” that means that you have heard the Pharisees say it but I am going to tell you what it really means because they don’t get it. All through this sermon, Jesus preaches that we shouldn’t do this or think that because it is hypocritical. Don’t be a hypocrite like the Pharisees.

That’s the whole context of this verse. Do you want to know what will make you happy and blessed? Know what is truth and do it, unlike the hypocritical Pharisees. What Jesus is forbidding here is a self-righteous, hasty, unmerciful, prejudiced, and unwarranted condemnation based on human standards and human understanding. He gives three reasons why this kind of judgment is sinful: it reveals an erroneous view of God, an erroneous view of others and an erroneous view of ourselves. (MacArthur, Matt. 1-7, pg. 433)

Look at verse 1 again. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Have you ever seen somebody do something good for somebody else and you think how great that is? Then you find out that person got paid to do that. It ruins the effect, doesn’t it? It’s the same in the opposite way. Have you ever seen somebody do something wrong and thought that person is such a jerk, and then find out why they did it and you changed your mind? That’s what happens when you judge somebody without knowing their motives.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4, “The one who examines me is the Lord”, meaning only God knows Paul’s heart. When we assume we know someone’s motive for doing something that we would have done differently, we judge him like Jesus is talking about here and that is making ourselves out to be God since only God can judge motives. Making ourselves into God is an erroneous view of God.

Now look at verse 2. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. There is a fascinating story in Esther chapter 7 about the evil Haman having a gallows built to hang innocent Mordecai because Haman didn’t like him and felt superior to him. Do you remember what happened to old Haman? He was hanged on those gallows he built and Mordecai went free. In Judges 1, the cruel Adoni-bezek ordered the thumbs and big toes cut off of seventy other kings. Want to take a guess what happened to him? Yep. No more hitch-hiking for him. His thumbs and big toes were cut off.

That’s the principal behind what Jesus is warning us against here. When you judge and condemn someone for their actions without knowing their motive, what you judge them for may come back on you and that is only fair because so often we are guilty of just what we are condemning somebody else for.

Romans 2:1 says, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” Don’t you just hate that? Don’t you hate it when you call somebody out and then you get called out for the same thing? That’s the principal here.

It’s the democrat congressman who says republicans are evil and then gets caught paying a prostitute with campaign funds. It’s the Baptist preacher who says the Catholic preacher is an alcoholic and then gets a DWI on his way home. It’s even the little girl who tells her mommy that her brother didn’t have his eyes closed during the prayer. That is having an erroneous view of the other person and it will come back to bite ya.

Jesus gives us one more reason why being harshly judgmental is wrong. In verses 3-5, He says it is an erroneous view of ourselves. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

*Put 2x4 up to my eye* Hang on. David, you have a speck of dirt in your eye. Let me get that. No, trust me. I can see fine. I’m good at this. I’ll have that speck out in no time. Just relax. Just sit back. No problem.

That would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it? It’s almost as ridiculous as when we judge someone and criticize them for being so unrighteous when we have so much unrighteousness in us. One of the biggest excuses people give for not going to church is that there is so much hypocrisy in the church. And I know. Our best comeback to that is, “Yes, and we have room for one more.” Yes, we are all hypocrites at one time or another. We all mess up. But just don’t be that guy that goes around criticizing people and passing judgment on people as you do the same thing you are judging them for. Okay? That’s having a wrong view of yourself.

So, is there ever a time when we can or even should judge somebody else? Right here Jesus has just said “Don’t do it.” But in John 7:24 Jesus said, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” So, now what? Did Jesus just contradict Himself? Of course not. Now, let’s take all of scripture in context. We saw the context of the verse among the other verses around it. Now, let’s look at the Bible as a whole.

We have seen that Jesus preaches against being hypocritical in our judgments. We are not to be self-righteous in our judgments. We are also not to be harsh and unforgiving. Titus 3:2 says “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” We should always be truthful in our judgments because Proverbs 19:5 says, “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.”

But judging what God calls sin is not necessarily wrong, if done correctly. Let me illustrate.

“Janet, my sweet friend, I have noticed that you have been struggling lately with using bad language. (This scenario with Janet is totally ridiculous, by the way.) If you are willing, I would like to pray for you and give you some scripture that might help.”

“Lois, dear one, I’m concerned about your violent temper (also absolutely ludicrous). Can I recommend a Christian counselor?”

One more: “Troy, Troy, Troy, it breaks my heart to see you abuse your dogs like you do (also completely untrue). Is there anything I can do to help you with them?

Okay, so while all three of those scenarios are wildly untrue, hopefully you get the idea. To be able to help somebody, I have to be able to judge what they are doing and if that is my motive; if I do truly want to help and I’m not telling anybody else about it, then that kind of judgment is not just okay, but when done in love for that person, it is expected.

Christians are often accused of “judging” or intolerance when they speak out against sin. But when done in love and if you are able to help, then we should judge someone. And if they allow you to help them, you are blessed and they are helped. The problem is, some people don’t want your help. Or maybe they want your help with the situation they are in, but they don’t really want to change.

Have you ever met anybody like that? They have made a mess of their lives and want you to fix their problems but when you suggest a way for them to change to keep it from happening again, they don’t want your help. Do you know what you should do? Walk away. Don’t say another word. This is especially true with the greatest gift you can give a person – the Gospel. Some people want you to fix their problems but when you tell them that if they would allow Jesus to be Lord of their lives then their lives would be changed – “Oh no. Stay out of my business.”

Look at verse 6 again. "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” The context of this is the right judgment that someone needs help and so you truly want to help by giving them the sacred, holy, precious Good News of Jesus and they reject it.

I have to tell you that God thought I needed a personal illustration of this and so He led two young men to my door Friday morning. They literally knocked on my door and said, “We need help. Can you help us? We are both addicted to meth and can’t quit and need someplace to go.”

So, I helped them. They got some food from the food pantry, a warm shower in the Fellowship Hall and a few other things they needed and then I agreed to take them to a rehab place in Denton. They got in the car and I asked about their salvation and they couldn’t really answer me and so, as I drove, I told them what God had done in my life and then I launched into the Gospel.

We hadn’t gone too far and I realized they weren’t much interested but I told them I was going to share it with them anyway. And I did. Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23 and John 3:16. Does that make sense? Ephesians 2:8-9, the cross, sin, Heaven and Hell, grace, peace and joy. Any questions? No? Okay. I don’t have any more to say. So we drove the rest of the way in silence and I dropped them off with a prayer and drove away.

I had a pearl of great price for those boys and I wanted to give it to them but they weren’t interested. I’m not saying they are pigs or dogs but they treated my offer of real help like a pig would treat a pearl. So, I quit offering. You can’t make somebody accept the free gift of salvation. You can’t make somebody accept your offering of help in any way and it is heart-breaking.

Just before those boys got out of the car, I told them, “One of these days you are going to remember that some guy gave you a ride somewhere and tried to tell you the Good News of Jesus. I just hope you remember it before it is too late.”

I’ll make the same offer to you today. I’m not saying that becoming a true disciple of Jesus is going to fix all your problems. It might even bring you more problems but in those problems you can have peace and even joy knowing that God is in control and He loves you. Accept this offer of salvation today and repent or turn away from your sins and ask God for forgiveness of those sins and 1 John 1:9 says He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness.

Do you want to be blessed and happy? God wants you to be and so it is by His grace and through our faith that we are saved and have guaranteed life in Heaven with Him when we die. It’s completely free but it will cost you your life. Do it today. Do it right now as the music plays.

“A Christian’s Wealth” – Matthew 6:19-24

We are going to be talking about money today and so, in preparation, I researched (googled) what people would do for $100.  I found a website that asked this question and then gave some scenarios.  Don’t worry.  I’ll save you from the really gross ones that will haunt me forever.  Here we go.  Would you do these things for $100?

Punch your dad?  Say “I Love You” to the person making your burrito at Chipotle?  Not bathe for a week?  Eat a bar of soap?  Eat a USED bar of soap?  Call your boss “Daddy” for a week?  Shave all the hair on your head including eyebrows?  Let a toddler shave your legs? Introduce yourself as “Satan” for a month?

That’s all I’m going to read to you.  There were over one hundred of them which just proves that some people have way too much time on their hands.  I have another question for you.  I think it’s a much better question and will tell much more about you.  The question is, what would you do with the $100.  We know what you might do for it.  Now what would you do with it?

The question of what you would do for it might help answer how crazy you are.  The question of what you might do with it might answer how wise you are.  For some people, $100 might not be much and for some others they might think if they just had $100 all their problems would be solved.  How you use your money is a direct reflection of your wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 7:12 says, “Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it.”  In other words, wisdom and money are both helpful but only wisdom can really save.  The million-dollar question is what is true wealth and what is true wisdom?  I say often that everybody wants to know the truth.  Nobody wants to be misled or lied to about anything and especially when it comes to money or anything that really matters.  What is the truth?

The Bible is truth.  It is our rock.  It is infallible and inerrant and is what we have to help us know exactly what truth is. And it has a lot to say about money.  It is a subject that Jesus Himself often brought up and we see in Matthew chapter 6 another instance of this as He preaches His famous Sermon on the Mount.  We are continuing to look at what Jesus taught because we, as disciples of Jesus, know that to be a disciple it means to learn from Jesus and then to teach others what we have learned.

The Sermon on the Mount is a great place for us disciples to just have a seat here on the side of the hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee and gaze up as the Master teaches in Matthew 6:19-24 about the subject of money.   

Matthew 6:19-24 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!  24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

There are three paragraphs here and despite the fact that some people see at least two different trains of thought here, I see it all being one train of thought with three points.  Jesus was a pretty good preacher and He knew how to break things down into three points.  If you are taking notes, the three points to see here are true wealth, true wisdom and true worship.  (Adrian Rogers outline) 

So, what is true wealth?  How rich is rich?  I read a study that said that over half the people in the US that have assets of 1-5 million dollars do not consider themselves wealthy.  Can you believe that?  Some guy with $5 million in the bank says, “Nah, I’m not wealthy.”  Do you know why that is?  Let’s ask the wisest man who ever lived.  Troy Pittman, what do you think?

No, I’m just kidding.  Troy’s not the wisest man who ever lived.  Solomon was, and Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 5:10, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”  It is human nature not to be satisfied with what you have.  Solomon recognized it and he was not only the wisest man but also the wealthiest man to ever live.  So, this is coming from somebody who knew. 

In verse 19 Jesus is literally saying, “Do not treasure treasures here on earth.”  We all know that the love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Tim. 6:10) We all know the truth of Proverbs 11:4 that says, “Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath.”  And we can all relate to what Solomon said in Proverbs 23:5: “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” 

None of us would admit to loving money.  None of us would dare say we rely solely on wealth and yet money is the cause of as many problems today as it was in the days of Jesus.  We read His words here in verse 20 and we say “Amen!” and we believe it and we vow that we will store up more treasure in Heaven and we will do better about treasuring treasure but the days go by and we have to admit again and again that our heart, as it says in verse 21 is with our earthly treasure.

We have to admit it when we see our bank balance every month and we see where our money goes.  We have to confess it when we step back and look at where we spend our time and how we use our gifts.  Are they being used for the here and now or the yonder later?  “Pastor, that all sounds really good and I want to do that but I’m not sure how.  What does that really look like?”

Well, I’m glad you asked.  Let’s talk about what it means and what it looks like to store up treasures in Heaven.  If we are to invest our assets in spiritual things then that means we need to spend our time, talent and treasure on things going to Heaven.  What goes to Heaven?  Prayer and praise go to Heaven so we need to invest in those for sure and we will talk more about worship in a minute.  But souls also go to Heaven so we should invest our time, money and energy into what is going to get people’s souls there. 

Now, while it is important to invest our time and energy into spiritual things, Jesus says in verse 21, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  He’s talking about money specifically.  Where is your heart?  Is it with the church; the hope of the world?  Or is your heart and your money somewhere else?  Now, I can just hear some of you thinking, “Oh, great.  Here it comes.  C’mon Ethel, let’s go.  All this guy ever preaches about is tithing to the church.  Money, money, money!” 

Well, #1, if you have been here any length of time you know that’s not true.  I rarely talk about money.  In fact, I talk about it much less than Jesus did.  I can quote any number of verses that talk about the wisdom of tithing; how the word means “a tenth” and 10% of our gross income is expected of believers but that’s not my message today.  In fact, I am going to tell you something I don’t think I have ever heard a pastor say before in my life.

This church doesn’t need your money.  You heard me.  I’ll say it again.  This church doesn’t need your money.  Do you know why?  This church doesn’t need your money because Jesus said, “I will build My church.”  He didn’t say He will build it if everybody tithes.  He didn’t say if there is enough money in the bank then I will build My church.  Jesus – who is God and who is the Creator and Sustainer and Redeemer and Deliverer and who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and IS LOADED – said He will build His church. 

So, I have to believe that this church lives and dies by His grace and mercy; at His word and by His Spirit this church will grow and thrive leading people in Lake Bridgeport and around the world to have a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. 

So…if God tells you to…give your money to the church down the street…if God tells you to.  Or give your money to support missionaries.  I would rather have a church full of missionary supporters who were obedient to God’s will than a church full of church supporters who thought they were doing this church and God a favor by giving their money. By the way, did you know that our church financially supports five different missionaries and ministries?

See, when Jesus says to store up treasures in Heaven, He is not saying that for the sake of the church.  He is saying it for the sake of the disciple.  He is not saying that we should support the church.  His message is to the person who wants to be blessed; who believes Jesus and wants to have true wealth; a person who wants to know the truth – not the “truth” of the world that changes every time somebody sees dollar signs. 

Maybe somebody should stop me but I have to preach it like I read it and Jesus was not talking about support for the church.  There are other passages that talk about that and we will see some of that but right here, Jesus is concerned for the eternal blessings of His disciples.  Do you want to spend your money on things that don’t satisfy or on things that will?  If you want an eternal inheritance that satisfies eternally; if you want true wealth, then deposit your money where it will do the kind of good that Jesus was doing.   

For your sake, deposit your money where lives are being changed.  For your sake, put your money where people are coming to know the Lord; where people are maturing and growing in Christ.  Deposit it where prayers are being answered.  Give to where marriages are restored.  Give to help the poor and the addicted and the incarcerated.  Is Christ Fellowship a place where all of that happens? 

Yes, it is but don’t give to Christ Fellowship thinking that a few bucks (or lots of bucks) are going to make you and God even for the week.  Don’t give out of guilt.  Don’t give expecting to get anything back in this world.  Deposit your money in the bank of Christ Fellowship – or the church down the street or to missionaries or wherever God leads you – knowing that God sees you and knows your heart like He knew the widow who gave the two mites (Luke 21).  “And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, 2 and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”  God sees your heart. 

The church doesn’t need your money but you need to give it and knowing where to give it is the next part of the message Jesus is giving in verses 22 and 23.  Here Jesus turns from talking about our heart to talking about our eyes.  Several times in scripture the eye is equivalent to the heart, metaphorically. 

In Psalm 119 the psalmist says in verse 10, “I seek you with all my heart.”  And then in verse 18 he says, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”  So, Jesus is continuing His thought about how to invest in treasure that will last and says we will know where to invest if we have a “good eye”.

“Wisdom is the power to see and the inclination to choose the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.”  J.I. Packer, Knowing God, p. 80.  Read again.  Wisdom!  Wisdom allows us to see where our heart is now and to know where it needs to be.  Just like our physical eyes allow us to see where we are and where we need to be, so do our spiritual eyes gained by wisdom. 

So, where do we get true wisdom?  Science?  Knowledge? School?  Friends?  The world would say yes but remember, everything Jesus said in this sermon is countercultural so don’t bet on any of that. I love how the New Living Translation translates Proverbs 4:7: “Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!”  How’s that for a wise proverb?  But the question remains, how do we get it?  How do we get wisdom to know where our treasure is and should be?   

Well, here’s a couple of quick things about wisdom in general.  We all know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom as it says in Psalms and Proverbs.  Also, James says that we can just ask God for wisdom and He will give it generously. (James 1:5) 

Now, let me ask you about this next verse.  1 Chronicles 29:12 says of God, “Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.”  Do you believe that?  Do you really believe that God is the source of all wealth?  If you do, raise your hand.  Well, if that is true then why would you not just go to God and ask Him for “good eyes” to see how much you are to give, how much you are to save and how much you are to spend on chrome for the Harley, knowing, believing and trusting that even if God tells you to give more than you think you should, you know He will provide for all your needs? 

Adrian Rogers was one of my favorite preachers and years ago he said, “Sometimes, when I get busy, I find my life not centered on Christ. I'm double‑minded, and I have to take a deep breath and say, "Only You, Lord. I want to be sin­gle‑minded about You." Then I take everything and just give it to Jesus. I give Him my work, my family, all my possessions, my position, my abilities, and even myself. There are times when I struggle with that, so I have to wrestle with my attitude until I can acknowledge Christ as Lord over all. Then it's as though my body is full of light.” 

Isn’t that fascinating?  He felt as though his body was full of light when he had “good eyes” (wisdom) to turn everything over to the One in whom all wealth comes.  That’s why Jesus is saying here that it takes good eyes to see where your treasure is and wisdom brings that trust that allows us to go to God with open hands because everything we have is His and everything He has is ours. (John 17) That’s true wisdom. 

Lastly, let’s see what Jesus says in verse 24 about true worship.  Verse 24 says, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”  Notice that He doesn’t say that you shouldn’t serve two masters.  He says you can’t serve two masters.  It is impossible.  It will not happen. 

The word "servant" in our English New Testament usually represents the Greek doulos (bondslave). Sometimes it means diakonos (deacon or minister); both words denote a man who is not at his own disposal but is his master's purchased property. Bought to serve his master's needs, to be at his beck and call every moment, the slave's sole business is to do as he is told. (James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986.) 

That does not sound like a very good way of life does it?  To be owned by someone else and to be on call for them 24/7 – not me!  I am not owned by anybody, right?  Wrong.  Jesus is saying that you will be owned by one of the two.  Either you will be owned by God or by money. 

Now a lot of people, probably most people would have to disagree with what Jesus is saying here.  They just know it’s not true because they do it all the time.  They serve God on Sundays and they go to work on weekdays.  It’s no problem.  Or they serve God with half of their hearts and money with the other half.  No big deal.  Or they say they serve God but really serve money or they even deny serving anything.  They serve themselves. 

Nowhere does God condemn having stuff, even nice stuff.  1 Timothy 6:17, in fact, says, “God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”  The problem is that when you take that money, that stuff, those good things God has provided and you start to cherish those things more than you cherish your relationship with the Lord.  Let me put it this way.  If you can go to God and say, “God, you can have every part of my life…except this thing”, then “this thing” has become your god.

God says in Isaiah 42:8, “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another!”  We all just agreed that God is the source of all wealth.  If He is the source, the how dare we pretend to keep some of it from Him.  The thing is that God is not asking for your permission.  He gives and takes away as He sees fit.  He wants your attitude to be right so He can bless you even more, maybe here and now and maybe then and yonder. 

God wants your attitude to be right to have true wealth that comes from depositing your money where the work of God is being done.  He wants you to have true wisdom that gives “good eyes” to see where your treasure is and where it should be.  He demands true worship that says, “God, I give you every part of me and all that I have.  I’m not giving permission.  I’m just agreeing with you that you are the giver and supplier of all wealth and all good things and you can have all that I have because I know that ultimately, all you have is mine.  So I worship you in spirit and in truth and with all that I have.” 

All of that is countercultural.  The world says to get all you can because you deserve it.  But the Bible is truth and it says in Malachi 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” 

God doesn’t need your money.  This church doesn’t need your money.  As disciples, as we start to grow and mature in our relationship with Jesus, we see His blessings in our lives and will see the eternal blessings in Heaven when our attitude about money is right.  Do you have that relationship with Him today?

I’m not asking if you go to church or if you have been baptized or if your daddy was a deacon or anything else. I’m asking if YOU have admitted to God that you can’t do this. You can’t save yourself nor can you make yourself a better person for any length of time. Surrender to God and ask Him to come into your life and change it; to forgive your sin and clean you up and change your life to be more like Jesus. Do that today and start your relationship with Him right now, as the music plays.