Sermon # 256 - August 12, 2007
A preacher friend of mine tells the story of having a young lady come to his office in Seattle for counseling many years ago. She moaned about how difficult life had been for her; she didn't have this and she didn't have that. It was all about the possessions that other seemed to have. She also moaned about her job, her relationships, and her family. Then suddenly her face brightened and she said: "At least I can thank God that I'm not greedy or materialistic – I don't have any worldly treasures!" She was wrong! She was as greedy and materialistic as anyone my friend had ever met.
Greed has nothing to do with the number of your possessions; it has everything to do with the condition of your heart. And a heart greedy for the things of this world will always be disappointed. But in the gospel lesson today Jesus says that a heart that is hungry for God's word, that’s a heart that seeks true treasure. That kind of hunger that kind of greed, so to speak, is a good thing. It can be good to be greedy as long it’s for God's word.
Look at gospel lesson and read with me please the last sentence there. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
There your heart will be also. Remember that we started talking a few weeks ago about being together here at Mount Olive with one heart? We brought that out of Romans 15:5-7. But today Jesus also is talking about our heart, about our hearts here and now on this earth. And today Jesus is talking about how our heart is connected to our treasure. It’s about being known by what we value most.
To find our heart, we must together find what we value. What do we stand for? What we are willing to do anything to gain? For what are we willing to sell ourselves?
If we want hearts that grow in faith and strength toward God then we need to seek the heart of Christ. To seek what He says is valuable, that’s what we want our hearts to be set on. And today Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is what is worth trading our hearts for. The kingdom of heaven is the only thing worth that.
He proved that by bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth in His own very body. He brings the kingdom of heaven near to us and He even puts it in us when we take communion. In communion we take His kingdom into our very bodies. That kingdom that says we are worth the broken heart of Christ on the cross. He was willing, and He broke His heart for us so that we would see of what great worth we are to God. In the cross we see that God's heart treasures us because He has set His heart on us in the sending of His only begotten son to die for us.
So what can we possibly seek on earth here and now that is greater than God’s kingdom? But yes, you say, I’ll be glad to go to that kingdom in the sweet by and by. Oh, but Jesus doesn’t tell us that we need to wait for it. No, He brings that kingdom to us. He does so by His actions / and by His word.
By His actions on the cross He brings to us the righteousness that qualifies us for heaven. In His actions on the cross and in His resurrection we are given His righteousness in exchange for our filth and our unworthiness. His actions in our baptism bring us into citizenship in that kingdom, here and now.
And in addition to His actions, Jesus gives us His word. It’s in His word, in the bible, that we can, right here and now, begin to grow and be nurtured in that kingdom to come. It seems though that what God wants to give us in His word so often we seem to turn away from. It’s odd how we act with what God stands to ready to give us.
It’s like education in this country. Many people have said, education could be the silver bullet to many of the problems in this country. If only people wanted what was offered through free education, they could improve not only their own lot in life, but the quality of life for many others around them. So often time, people think that the work needed to get an education is something that’s forced on them. They don’t see that what’s offered in education is for their own benefit. How true that is for us and scripture as well.
God has given us His word to learn from, to grow in and to benefit by. And yet we often think God is trying to force something on us, when the opposite is true. God is giving us what is best for us in His word.
We need to set our hearts on the word of God. How much scripture do you have memorized? How much do I have memorized? How many hours or minutes a day are spent on the study of scripture in your life? How many hours a week? How would someone know that you have set your heart on heaven? Jesus indicates today, that one of those ways is by the time you spend on growing and maturing in the Lord.
This isn’t easy stuff. Becoming a Christian is easy, we know that. It’s done by the gift of God coming to us and by God's grace through faith to us that makes us members of His kingdom. But that’s not where things end for us. Becoming a Christian is not the same thing as being a mature Christian.
We’re to grow in God's grace. We’re to live out that grace day by day. We don’t mature in grace without effort on our part. Now of course saving faith, as we said, is not by our effort but by God’s gift. But that’s not all there is to the kingdom of heaven. We’re told in many places in the bible to grow, to mature and to become stronger in faith. We are to store up treasure in heaven. That’s what Jesus speaks of today.
The story is told of a ship, many many years ago that wrecked on a south seas island early in the spring of the year. Fortunately, all the passengers were saved, together with sufficient food for many months along with several sacks of seed for springtime planting. But the people had hardly reached shore when someone discovered gold. They began to eagerly dig for this gold, heaping it up for themselves, dreaming of the day when they would be rescued and arrive home with this great treasure. They forgot all about the seed and the need to plant and harvest. They continued to dig as the fall winds began to blow, and then the cold of winter settled on them. That winter they all died of starvation. Sometime later they were discovered dead, but surrounded by their useless treasure.
How much do you trust God? Are you willing to put other things – the things of this island of earth – set those things aside to grow in the way He would have you grow? Are you willing to trust God and give over your time to mature in the faith He has given you as His gift? As Jesus says today, God knows what you need of the things of this earth regarding food and clothes etc. We’re called to seek after His kingdom, and to be greedy for that.
Like a car that you’ve been given as a gift. Of what good is it if you don’t invest yourself in learning to drive it, take care of it and use it. The kingdom of heaven is given for us to live and grow in, here and now. Will we ever get it all right here and now? No, but that’s no excuse to not seek to grow and mature in the faith. It’s easy to live off milk, but milk’s for babies. Milk is great for growing bones and bodies, but it’s not food for the mature. Only by learning to develop a taste for the richer things of God's word can we grow in the meat of scripture.
So let me leave you with this challenge. We’re often tempted to not read scripture and it’s easy to give into that temptation. But this week, struggle against that. Give yourself permission to overcome that temptation and see what happens as a result of it. Of course we all give in to temptation at times. But when the temptation comes to ignore scripture, stop and think about that.
Stop and recognize what’s happening, and ask yourself; am I being greedy the right way? Am I being greedy for time in God's word or do I think that I’m just fine on my own. Rather than give into the temptation to ignore scripture, resist that and give in to the hunger for God's word.
Use that as a tool for learning to understand more of God's grace in your life. This isn’t a matter of earning points with God; it’s a matter of growing in the grace of God. And perhaps do one other thing; memorize a new verse this week. Just one. Memorize just one new verse and see what comes of that.
And one final thing about scripture. Take advantage of the bible studies and Sunday school classes here at Mount Olive. Plan this fall to commit yourself to making Sunday school and bible study a priority for you and your family. As we spend time in God's word together, together the heart of Mount Olive can grow in sharing the free gift of God's grace with others. After all His word of grace is what we treasure most for this life and for life everlasting.
In Jesus name, Amen.