Introduction
This Bible passage is familiar but is both difficult and controversial. This
passage is using pictures stories. This
type of teaching is also known as parabolic in nature. It is using stories or parables to teach the
audience, and this type of teaching is often used by Jesus in teaching the
messes.
Jesus used this to teach jumping from the
seen to the unseen. Or teaching about
the “inner treasures” and “outer treasures”.
So Jesus jumped from “what can be seen” to “what cannot be seen”.
One of the key verse in this passage is 6:21” For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also.”
Another key verse 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.”
1. Treasures
The Bible identifies two sets of treasures
a) treasure on earth b) treasures in heaven.
Treasures on earth are our earthly
wealth. Treasures in heaven are the
treasures that we share out from our inside.
They are intangible. God wants
us to share and bring out the good in us.
Matthew 12:35 “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an
evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”
God wants us to share out with others.
God advised us not to lay treasures for
ourselves. Luke 12:20 “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?”
The great evangelist Jim Elliot said it
eloquently:
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain
what he cannot lose.”
We are to show the treasures to the
world. One of the treasure is the Holy
Spirit. When it is manifested in us, we
show ourselves to be Christ like. This
is a treasure that Christians have. When
people who do not know Christ see this, they will want to know how they can get
it. The witnessing of the Holy Spirit as
spelt out in John 15:26-27:
26 “When
the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth
who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must
testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.”
The greatest treasure we have is the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us.
2. Vision
Physically when we have vision we can
see. What we see caused us to have a
perception. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[a] your
whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[b] your
whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness,
how great is that darkness!”
Here Jesus is talking about our vision of
God. This will determine how we live.
With this vison is also God’s calling on us. What we want to do with our lives.
If we look at God with astigmatic eyes our
vision of God will be distorted. If our
eye is not sound the whole body will also be not sound.
The Greek word “ponorose”, (my apology
spelling by sound, may not be accurate) meaning one eye on God and the other on
the world. If this happened, our vision
will not be clear. Dr. Chung gave an
example of Peter who wanted to walk on the sea with Jesus, but one of his eyes
was on God the other on the world when he doubted and fell.
It is important to have Spiritual or
biblical perception, like “What would Jesus do?”
3. Provision
God unfailing provisions. Dr. Chung gave an example of Hudson Taylor’s
ministry in China. He depended entirely
on God’s provisions.
V.26 “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?”
Certainly we are much valuable than the
birds that God provided for them even though they do not sow or reap. It is all in our hearts, we are to trust God. Jesus also taught what are created by God are
far better than what created by man ( comparing Solomon’s dress to the flowers
He created).
V.33 “But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well.”
God will not cause us to lose out, He knows
our needs as long as we turn to Him.
We are to have faith, trust and hope.
V.34 “Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own.”
Conclusion
Ephesian 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ”.
Ephesians 1:18-19 “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that
you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious
inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who
believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength”.
Ephesians 5:8-10 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as
children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness,
righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord.”
Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be
hidden.”
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