Devoted: Prioritizing the Unseen Over the Seen
Sermon on the Mount- 16
TITLE: Devoted: Prioritizing the Unseen Over the Seen
TEXT: Matthew 6:16-24
TONE: Encouragement
TARGET: Disciples
TASK: To encourage believers to prioritize the eternal and spiritual over the temporal and material.
TEACH: In Hebrews 11:8-10, Abraham is highlighted for his faith in God, which led him to obey and set out for the land promised to him without knowing his destination. The test emphasizes that Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of promise, dwelling in tents signifying his trust and hope in God’s future promises. Specifically, Hebrews 11:10 notes that Abraham was looking forward to a city with foundations, who architect and builder is God, symbolizing his ultimate faith in a heavenly, eternal city prepared by God, rather than a temporary earthly dwelling. This reflects the broader theme of the chapter, which encourages believers to live by faith, trusting in the promises of God and looking forward to eternal fulfillment. Abraham avoided temporal wordily allurements by keeping his focus on the eternal promise of God.
TRUTH: The ‘worldliness’ which Christians are to avoid can take either a religious or a secular shape. So we are to differ from non-Christians not only in our devotions, but also in our ambitions. In particular, Christ changes our attitude to material wealth and possessions. It is impossible to worship both God and money; we must choose between them. Secular people are preoccupied with the quest for food, drink and clothing. Christians are to be free of these self-centered material anxieties and instead to give themselves to the spread of God’s rule and God’s righteousness. Our supreme ambition is to be the glory of God, and neither our own glory nor even our own material well-being. It is a question of what we ‘seek first’.[1]
I. Conceal Your Devotion (16-18)
Explanation: Disciples of Jesus cannot live full blown lives of hypocrisy, but they can be hypocritical at times. Hypocrisy robs us of reality in Christian living. We substitute reputation for character. Hypocrisy robs us of spiritual rewards. Instead of the eternal approval of God, we receive the shallow praise of men. Hypocrisy also robs us of spiritual influence. Everything the Pharisees touched was defiled. We must be honest with God.
(1) Avoid Afflicted Faces- Jesus warns against making fasting a public performance to gain human recognition. Genuine fasting focuses inward, not on impressing others. Jesus cautions against displaying a somber or suffering appearance while fasting as a means of seeking attention or sympathy from others. The genuine purpose of fasting is spiritual growth and connection with God, not to gain human approval or recognition.
True devotion is characterized by humility and sincerity. The focus should be on the internal and spiritual benefits rather than the external perception. Fasting should enhance one’s relationship with God, standing apart from any desire for social recognition.
(2) Conduct Yourself with Discretion- Anoint your head and wash your face, maintaining a sense of normality. Devotion should be unseen by others but seen by God, reflecting true intent. Jesus encourages maintaining a normal outward appearance by anointing your head and washing your face. This signifies that private act of devotion -like fasting -are mean to remain between the individual and God, not as displays for others to see.
Maintaining discretion in acts of devotion aligns with the idea that spirituality is a personal journey, guided by sincerity and humility. This reflects a deeply personal faith, emphasized by actions that are notable to God rather than to people around us.
(3) Cultivate Your Reward- God sees the unseen and rewards true spiritual sincerity. Seek spiritual reward from God, rather than earthly accolades. God values unseen acts of sincerity and devotion. While human accolades are fleeting, divine reward is eternal. By focusing on the spiritual rewards from God, individuals are encouraged to prioritize genuine faith over public acknowledgement.
Seeking spiritual fulfillment from God, rather than earthly validation, cultivates a deeper, more profound connection with the divine. The ultimate reward comes from God’s recognition of true intent and faithfulness, which is more valuable than any earthly praise.
Illustration: Jesus Himself prioritized private time with God, modeling the importance of personal devotion. One notable instance is found in Mark 1:35: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” This pattern of seeking solitude for prayer is seen throughout the Gospels. Jesus often withdrew to be alone with God to seek guidance, strength, and communion.
Another example is before choosing his twelve disciples, as recorded in Luke 6:12-13: “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them.” This shows the significance Jesus placed on seeking God’s will through private prayer before making major decisions.
II. Chart Your Course (19-21)
Explanation: There are two treasures to choose from (on earth and in heaven). We must answer the question: what was Jesus’ forbidding? It may help by listing what He was not forbidding. First, there is no ban on having possessions. Scripture nowhere forbids private property. Secondly, ‘saving for a rainy day’ is not forbidden. What then? What Jesus forbids is the selfish accumulation of extravagant and luxurious living; it is a failure to understand the need of the worlds underprivilege people.
(1) Assess Your Affections- Do not store treasures on earth where physical wealth is vulnerable. Earthly treasures are temporary; heavenly treasures are eternal. Jesus advises against amassing wealth and possessions purely for earthly pleasure or status, emphasizing the vulnerability and temporality of earthly treasures. These material goods are susceptible to decay, and destruction. The core message here is an encouragement to evaluate what we hold dear
(2) Aspire for Heavenly Accumulation- Store up treasures in heaven that hold lasting value. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also -align your focus upward. Earthly treasures are transitory and can distract from our spiritual journey. By placing too much emphasis on accumulation wealth on earth, we risk shifting our focus away from God and the eternal values of His kingdom.
Wise people, the true children of the kingdom, put their treasure where they cannot lose it, where it will never wear out, and where it can never be eroded. Their treasure is in heaven. It is safe with the Father.[2]
If the heart loves material things and puts earthly gain above heavenly investments, then the result can only be a tragic loss. -Warren Weirsbe
Illustration: One of the key themes of Ecclesiastes is the transient and often unsatisfying nature of worldly accomplishments and pleasures. Phrases like “meaningless” often translated “vanity of vanities” are recurrent, indicating that pursuits of wealth, pleasure, and labor do not ultimately satisfy the quest for lasting fulfillment.
Despite acknowledging the futility of many earthly endeavors, Solomon advises on a course grounded in reverence for God and moral integrity. In the conclusion of Ecclesiastes, Solomon emphasizes what he deems the right course for living: “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind” (Ecc.12:13). This perspective suggest that true fulfillment and meaning in life are found not through material success or personal gratification but through a relationship with God and living according to His will.
III. Clarify Your Vision (22-23)
Explanation: There are two bodily conditions (light and darkness). The contrast now is between a blind person and a sighted person, and so between the light and darkness in which they respectively live. This is not literal, as if the eye were a kind of window letting light into the body, but it is a figure of speech. The principle is simple a sighted person walks in the light, while a blind person is in darkness. The point being: just like our eye effects our whole body, so our ambition affects our whole life.
The eye serves as a lamp for the body, giving light or leaving it in darkness. Applied to the problem of material possessions, the lesson is that one who divides his attention between God and the material, he will not be able to have the proper focus.
(1) Singular Vision- The eye is the lamp of the body; purity of vision leads to light. A clear, focused outlook brightens the entirety of life. The metaphor of the eye as the ‘lamp of the body’ suggests that our vision, both literally and metaphorically, is crucial in directing out entire lives. If our eye, or our focus, is ‘single’ or healthy, it allows in light, leading to clarity and understanding in all aspects of life. This implies a singular, undistracted focus on what is true and righteous.
(2) Avoid Bad Aim- The phrase “eye is bad’ translates opthalmos poneros (eye is evil). “Evil eye” was an idiom in Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures, among others, signifying a jealous or grudging spirit. An evil eye looks with envy on the possessions of others…Conversely, a “good eye” agathos ophtalmos signifies generosity. Consistent with the term translated healthy is haplous, which can mean “simple” in the sense of lacking ulterior motive.[3]
If your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. Divided vision leads to spiritual darkness and confusion. Having a pure and focused outlook means concentrating on God’s purpose and values. Such clarity brings spiritual enlightenment, empowering us to navigate life with His light to illuminate our hearts and minds fully.
Illustration: In Genesis 6:9-22. Noah is described as a righteous man who walked faithfully with God. When God decides to bring a flood to cleanse the earth of its widespread violence and corruption, He commands Noah to build an ark to save his family and pairs of every living creature. Despite the immense and seemingly daunting task, Noah follows God’s instructions with precise obedience, constructing the ark as specified and gathering the animals as commanded.
Noah’s actions reflect a steadfast commitment to God, even in the face of potential skepticism or criticism from those around him. His faithfulness is carrying out God’s command results in the preservation of humanity and animal life through the flood. Noah’s singular focus on obeying God, despite the unprecedented nature of the task, underscores his pivotal role in biblical history as a model of obedience and faith.
IV. Choose Your Master (24)
Explanation: There are two masters (God and mammon). Jesus now explains that behind the choice between two treasures (where they lay them) and two visions (where we fix our eyes) there lies the still more basic choice between two masters (whom we are going to serve). It is a choice between God and mammon, that is between the living Creator Himself and any object of our own creation. We cannot serve both. We have a choice between someone beautiful (God) and something miserable (money/wealth).
By selecting the term “Mammon” as his name for money, Jesus strengthens his point. “Mammon” means ‘trusted thing’ or ‘that which one trusts.’ The name fits, for people are prone to trust money. Jesus warns against the tyranny of things. The only escape from the rule of things is submission to the rule of God.
(1) Pledge a Singular Service- No one can serve two masters; divided allegiance ends in failure. Loyalty to God requires exclusive devotion. Jesus emphasizes the impossibility of serving two masters, illustrating that divided allegiance leads to inner conflict and ultimate failure. Trying to be loyal to both God and material wealth -or any other distraction -results in competing priorities and the weakening of spiritual commitment.
(2) Prioritize Divine Dedication- Serving God demands wholehearted commitment over material possessions. True devotion necessitates a wholehearted choice. To spiritually thrive, one must commit entirely to serving God, acknowledging that dual allegiance dilutes sincerity and purpose. This singular focus enables a deeper relationship.
Money, the ancients came to see, is like sea-water. The more you drink of it the thirstier you get.[4]
We would do well to remember the words of the Apostle Paul to Timothy, “godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.” (1Tim. 6:6-8).
Illustration: In Daniel 6, after being promoted by King Darius, Daniel’s peers become envious of him and seek to find grounds for a personal attack. Knowing Daniel is devout, they manipulate the king into signing an edict that for thirty days, no one is allowed to pray to any god or human except the king. The penalty for violating this decree is being thrown into a den of lions.
Despite the harsh consequences, Daniel remains steadfast in his devotion. He continues to pray openly to God three times a day, as was his custom, without fear or hesitation. For this, Daniel is indeed through into the lion’s den. God honors Daniel’s faithfulness by sending an angel to shut the mouths of the lions and Daniel emerges unharmed the next morning. Witnessing this miracle, King Darius acknowledges the power and sovereignty of Daniel’s God and decrees that everyone in his kingdom should revere the God of Daniel.
Through Daniel’s example, we see how his commitment to obeying God transcended any human decree or threat, showcasing a profound trust in God’s protection and a deep-seated faith that influenced even the powerful rulers of his time.
TAKE-AWAY: (1) Get your conscience truly enlightened: It needs the illumination of God’s word. Without that you will be blind at beast. (2) Regard the dictates of conscience in little things: It you violate the dictate of your conscience in little things, you will soon cease to reverence it in greater matters. (3) Guard against worldly and carnal lust: Even sensible men like David and Solomon were blinded by foolish hurtful lust. (4) Set the Lord Jesus ever before you: He is the light of the world; and if you follow Him you will not walk in darkness.
TIE-UP: As we begin to grasp the reality that the things we see around us -wealth, status, even our daily challenges -are all temporary, we begin to look beyond them to the eternal truths that anchor our lives in meaning and hope. These eternal truths are embedded in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and rose again to bring us real, everlasting life, and a relationship with God that never fades.
Today, you are invited to shift your focus from the fleeting to the forever. You’re invited to embrace a life that values what is unseen -faith, hope, love, and the promise of eternity with God. This promise comes not because of what you do, but because of what Jesus has already done for you. Christ offers rest for your soul and a new perspective, one that sees beyond the immediate to the infinite.
[1] John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 25.
[2] Michael Green, The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 102.
[3] Daniel M. Doriani, Expository Commentary: Matthew (Wheaton: Crossway, 2021), 114.
[4] Michael Green, The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 103.
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