Lord’s Day, Vol. 11 No. 12
Seek Ye First the Righteousness of God (1)
– Matthew 6:19-34
“Seek Ye First the Righteousness of God” is today’s continuing exhortation for Evangelism 2023. Over the past 6 years, we have spent time in our Sunday School Classes on the essence of devotional life – how to build a strong, vibrant spiritual life from the Study of the Epistles (Ephesians, Romans), the Old Testament of Haggai and Zechariah, and now on 1 Corinthians. We looked at cultivating a life of good works, a vibrant prayer life of dependence and communion with God and the discipline of fasting – mortifying the passions of the flesh to maintain, keep and improve, that fellowship and communion with God.
It is the will of God that we enjoy the blessing of a vibrant, worshipful, God-glorifying life of closeness and favour with God in the everyday activities of life.
In Matthew 19-34, Jesus warned against being trapped by the two main temptations that attack us all in this life and often threaten to tear us away from enjoying this blessed life of walking with God in being His faithful witness. He warned of the temporal or material trap (v19-24) and the anxiety trap (v25-34).
If you think of it carefully, Jesus is spot on in His assessment of life though these words were penned more than 2000 years ago.
Our daily struggle as depraved earthlings is often between two states. When we have plenty, we want more. When we are poor, we worry non-stop. Often overwhelmed by temporal or material concerns, we become as it were, incapacitated, incapable of discerning the weightier matters concerning our souls!
In present-day Singapore, children’s education, health concerns, housing issues, cost of living or job promotion prospects can preoccupy the heart of an average Singaporean. His heart is so taken up with these cares that he is incapable of sparing a thought for anything else that may even be of greater value. These present-day cares seem so innocently legitimate; yet, the preoccupation with them obstructs a vibrant devotional life and for the unsaved, the entrance of the Gospel into these care-filled hearts. We feel its cares, its strains and its stresses. It is the problem of living in the world.
And so, Jesus says to you lovingly:
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Come to Jesus, and listen to His wisdom, He will lighten your heart’s burden and give restfulness to your restless and anxious soul.
Our Lord will now bring us out of the “sanctuary”, as it were, and into the world. He addresses the temptations and trials that you will face in the world.
Our Lord Jesus showed us how the care in life can choke the life of His children. A good illustration was given in the parable of the sower when Jesus warned how the world can choke the seed of God’s Word with a stranglehold that threatens to kill the plant.
In Mark 4:19, He warned that these are the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things. Here in our text, he will address it though not in the same order. He will deal with firstly – the lusts of the heart and the deceitfulness of riches (v19-24) and in verses 25-34, He provides the antidote for anxious cares.
(1) The Temporal or Material Trap (v19-24)
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
Jesus points out this first trap by requesting us to examine our hearts if we are guilty of this first temptation of worldliness.
He says, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth…” This is the first principle in handling the cares in life. It does so by way of a negative command that we be careful not to store up as “treasure” for the sake of storing up because it gives you a false sense of security. Rather store up treasure in heaven by being Christ’s faithful witness to things eternal.
…where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
These so-called “treasures upon earth” can wither away or can be taken away from you and you will be disappointed by them.
What are these earthly treasures? It is not just the material aspect of life – the money in your bank account, your cars, your houses, your jewellery, your silk shirts and dresses, broadly speaking, the possessions that you may hoard or amass to build a sense of security and worth in life. That’s what the world will do. Realize the fleeting nature of these earthly possessions. The moth will eat up. The rust will corrupt and tarnish. The Lord is concerned with our attitude towards these possessions. Be careful, you will be disappointed by it. What do you do when you amass them, you would not spend them, in that sense it corrupts. A covetous heart is the root problem that Jesus is addressing here.
Proverbs 23:4-5 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. 5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
How do we know if we are covetous? How do we know if we love money more than we love our Lord? One litmus test is this – the security of the covetous is in the abundance which he or she possesses. And the lethargy in witnessing for the Lord. We are covetous when we build our confidence and security in life on the health of our bank account, our assets as our insurance! We must at all costs do our utmost to grow our bank account to feel secure otherwise we become depressed and insecure. Jesus said “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” (Luke 12:15)
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures (valuables) in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The command that we are to do so continually is to store up treasure in heaven.
Jesus said this of the rich young ruler, “How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God”. It is this trusting in riches, this fatal self-confidence, that it impossible for this young man to be poor in spirit.
Jesus said to another man. “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you.” (John 6:27)
To be continued….
Yours lovingly,
Pastor Lek Aik Wee