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The
Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
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EEP, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy;
and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by
thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our
salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel
Matthew
6:24-34
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O man can serve two masters: for either he
will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Be
not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet
for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and
the body than the raiment? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth
them. Are not ye of much more value than they? And which of you by being
anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious
concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil
not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God doth so clothe the grass of
the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not
much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore anxious, saying,
What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be
clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly
Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first his
kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for
itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
We see throughout the Holy Bible that we are presented a choice between
two realities:
There are but two families upon the earth:
1)
the family God
2)
the family of the damned
There were Two Trees in the Garden:
1)
the Tree of Life representing Jesus Christ
2)
the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil representing The Law which cannot
save us
There are but two paths, one of which we all shall travel:
1. The
straight and narrow Matt 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which
leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
2.
Broad Way filled with people
and going down to destruction Matt 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait1
gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat:
And now, the Lord has pointed out two Masters, only one of which we can
claim as our own:
1.
2. God
whose yoke is light and easy to be born Matt 11:28 -30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you,1 and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
And the way of Mammon (worldly riches): Matt 13:22 –
3. He also that
received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of
this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh
unfruitful.
4.
We ask ourselves, in moments of greed and weakness: “Could I not claim this bit of unearned wealth and
still be gracious unto God?” The answer of course is always no. Any
thing ill-gotten cannot satisfy a Holy God.
But we must go into the matter still further than that: Anything gotten
outside the will of God cannot please Him – honestly acquired or otherwise.
The determinate principle is our motive in the getting and using
of our possessions, and the manner with which we view them.
Let us examine verses 25-32 with a view of gleaning the deeper meaning
our Lord conveys therein:
Christ is telling us that there are two ways with which to view the
future.
a.
He certainly does not mean we
should not exercise due foresight in providing for our families, our professions,
our education, our food, etc.
b.
Foresight aids us in our daily
walk with the Lord.
c.
We have our Bible study plans,
d.
our General Conventions,
e.
our Morning/Evening Worship,
f.
Our Holy Communion Service,
g.
Our family budgets –
All these things are results of careful planning and foresight. They
free our minds of worry and undue concern so that we can concentrate our
thoughts on Christ – morning, noonday, and evening.
But neither does He mean that we should view the future in fear and
foreboding.
Foresight and foreboding are two very
different things. Each opposed to the other:
1.
The more a man looks forward in
the exercise of foresight, the less he
does so in the exercise of foreboding.
2.
And the more he is tortured by
anxious thoughts about a possible future, the less clear vision has he of a
likely future, and the less power to influence it.
When Christ here, therefore, enjoins the abstinence from thought for
our life and for the future, it is not for the sake of getting away from the
pressure of a very unpleasant command that we say, He does not mean to prevent
the exercise of wise and provident foresight and preparation for what is to
come.
John 10:10 The idea is, therefore, that here it is forbidden for a
Christian,
A.
not the careful preparation
for what is likely to come,
B.
not the foresight of the
storm and taking in sail while yet there is time, but we are herein
counseled against the constant occupation and distraction of the heart
with gazing forward,
C.
and fearing and being weakened
thereby;
D.
or to come back to words already
used, foresight is commanded, and, therefore,
foreboding is forbidden.
Why does Christ tell us these things regarding our love for Mammon?
‘Is
not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?’ (v 25)
LIFE! The object of our faith in Christ is not the
material riches He will bestow upon us, but LIFE itself – and that eternal.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly. (John 10:10)
When we are born into this world, we must depend upon our mothers and
fathers to provide our every need. In fact, they gave us life as ministers of
the Creator God.
As children of our parents, we inherit all that our parents have – a
nice home, good and fresh meals, clothes to cover our nakedness, careful
protection – all come- not through our labors, but as a result of to whom we
belong as children.
Without our parents to love and care for us when we are young, what
prospect would we have for the future? The worries of all our necessities do
not belong to the child, but the parent.
So likewise with the Christian. He allows God to do his worrying and
accepts the life offered through the Redeeming Blood of Christ. That is our means
to life, and our assurance of the future life in Eternity.
Seek first to be born into the Kingdom of God (just as you were all
born into loving, caring families here on earth) and all your necessities will
be provided – ALL!
Just as your good parents know what things you have need of, so does
the Heavenly Father know your needs and desires.
No one in this church has parents that will not provide food and
clothing to them. Because of the bond of love a parent has for his/her
children, just so much more love does the Father in Heaven have for you.
Not only does the Father love you with an unending Love, but He is one
who is able to enforce that Love through the gifts of His Heart to you who love
Him.
And why do we love Him?
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth
out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is
not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:18-19)
Who is your God? Mammon or God the Father?
Do you love the things of this world: parties, fashions, money, romance
……… anything … more than you Father in Heaven?
Do you spend more time thinking on the vain and material than you do
about the one who created you?
Serious questions for a serious matter……..
Be sober; be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast1 in the
faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in
your brethren that are in
the world But the God of all grace,
who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye
have suffered a while, make you perfect,1 stablish, strengthen,
settle you. (1 Peter 5:8-10)
He will promise you the world, but in the end, destroy your soul.
Turn to God each waking moment, for it is who is able Wherefore he is able also to save them to the
uttermost1 that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
Mammon or God? Which is it in your life?
