As we come to this passage of scripture today, we must remember that we are entering into the middle portion of an ongoing sermon of Jesus Christ.  Therefore, we must keep in mind the context of this sermon, what has been said so far.  For Christ is building a message, precept upon precept.  And in order to correctly understand what we are looking at today, we must remember what Christ has already been preaching, and consider it in that context.

So what has Christ said so far in His message?  Well, He started out criticizing the Pharisees who He said were hypocrites.  The sin of hypocrisy, you will remember, is thinking that you are hiding your sin while outwardly putting on a religious front.  And the Pharisees were very good at that.  But Jesus says, that which is hidden in the heart, God actually sees.  And one day, God will reveal the hearts of men at the judgment.  He said that we should fear God who has the power to not only take away life, but is able to cast the soul of man into hell.

And this is really the theme of the message up to this point, to show that there is coming a day of reckoning for every man and woman on earth.  He illustrated it with the parable of the rich man, who stored up treasures on earth and thought he was going to be able to live luxuriously for the rest of his life and enjoy himself.  But God called him a fool, and said that that night his soul would be required of him.

But to his disciples, Jesus reiterates that they should not concern themselves with the things of this world such as clothing and food and shelter.  But rather they should be concerned with the things of the kingdom of God.  He teaches them the principle that if they seek first the kingdom of God, then all the earthly things will be added unto them.

So this has been the emphasis of Jesus message up to now, to contrast the life of the citizen of the kingdom who is working for the kingdom and investing in the kingdom with the life of the unconverted person, who is living a self indulgent life for his own interests.  Jesus is speaking primarily to his disciples in saying that God has chosen gladly to give them the kingdom, and so in return they should work for the kingdom, put the kingdom of God first in their lives, and lay up treasure in the kingdom of heaven.

So Jesus continues with this theme in this next section.  He teaches that there will be a day of reckoning for all men and women, and that those that are of the kingdom of God will be rewarded according to their works for the kingdom, but those that are not of the kingdom of God will be judged accordingly.  But Jesus introduces a new concept here in this passage.  He is not just talking about a person dying and going to receive his reward, but He also introduces the principle that He Himself will one day come back and be the judge of all things.  In vs. 40, Jesus says, “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

So this section introduces the essential doctrine of the second coming of Jesus Christ.  He alluded to it in chapter 9 starting in vs. 25, “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”  In chapter 10 and 11, Jesus referred to a day of judgment, but now He is adding more specific information.  He is revealing that He Himself is coming back to bring judgment to the earth.  He makes that clear in the next passage which we will look at next week; in vs.49 He says He came to cast fire upon the earth.  And in vs. 51, He says, “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division.” Matthew records Him saying at another time virtually the same thing but in a more direct method, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matt. 10:34)  He is coming again to divide the sheep from the goats, the righteous from the unrighteous.  To bring reward to the righteous and judgment upon the unrighteous.

Jesus illustrates what I have been saying to you for some time now.  That there is a progressive nature to the gospel, especially in regards to revelation.  There is a principle that as you believe and obey, God will give you more.  And that is borne out by this passage.  But with that revelation comes responsibility.  That is why the principle of faith is always connected to the principle of obedience.

Listen, the gospel is simple enough that a child can accept it and be saved.  That is why Jesus said that one must enter the kingdom as a little child.  A childlike faith is characterized by trusting and obeying. So Jesus invited  children to be brought to Him.  But though the gospel is simple, yet it is also a mystery.  And as a mystery it is understood in a progressive nature as we grow up in Christ and maturity is tied directly to obedience and perseverance.  In other words, there is no such thing as being converted and yet remaining unchanged any more than it is possible for a child to remain a child and never grow up.

Today the church in America is in crisis because the gospel has been dumbed down to the point of some sort of relationship without any sort of responsibility.  But this passage is one of many that illustrate that concept is at odds with the full counsel of God’s word.  I don’t know if any of you are familiar with the working of a plumb line.  In it’s simplest form it is a weight that is tied to a string.  And the string is let down from a height to determine a straight line to reveal if something is true, or straight.

I believe God’s word is the plumb line of truth.  I believe that truth is absolute. God has given us the word of God that we might know the truth and that the truth would set us free.  But we have a responsibility to rightly divide the word of truth as it says in  2Tim. 2:15; “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  Why would someone be ashamed?  Because on the day of judgment they will find out that they did not correctly divide the word of truth.  Their lack of scholarship resulted in a flawed doctrine which will make them ashamed at His coming.

And so I am afraid that there are a number of doctrinal issues in which the church today is being deceived.  We looked at that last Wednesday evening in regards to the spiritual warfare that we are engaged in. We were reminded that Satan is the father of lies and a great deceiver, and that his strategy has always been to subvert the truth.   That’s why Eph. 6 tells us that the first piece of armor that we are to put on is the belt of truth.  All the other armor hinges upon the truth.  Our doctrine of grace hinges upon the truth.  Our doctrine concerning the nature of God hinges upon the truth.  Our doctrine of faith hinges upon the truth. All of these things are rendered ineffective if truth is lacking.  Our very salvation is dependent upon the truth.

But truth in the Bible is revealed by being obedient to the Spirit of truth. John 16:13 says, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”   And Paul makes it clear that obedience to the truth results in righteousness; Rom. 6:16, “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”

In other words, there is a plumb line of truth coming down from heaven which is found in the word of God. 2 Peter 1:20 says that truth is not dependent upon personal interpretation but upon divine revelation.  And we must be responsible, faithful workmen in regards to accurately handling the word of God that we might discern the truth and be obedient to it.  I am concerned that the scheme of Satan has always been to twist and subvert the word of God.  Sometimes that is done by the pendulum swinging too far in one direction or the other.  You can err by using some scriptures and to establish a doctrine but at the expense of ignoring other scriptures. And the end result will be a false doctrine.  Just enough error to cause you to go astray.  But a careful examination of the full gospel of Jesus Christ will put things in the correct balance.

Let me give you some examples;  the scriptures teach that God is love, but God is also just.  It teaches that God is merciful, but God is also the faithful and righteous judge.  The gospel offers salvation, but there is also damnation.  There is a heaven, but there is also a hell.  And in practically every doctrine of the faith, you will find this sort of balance.  There is the doctrine of election and predestination, and there is also a doctrine of free will, that whosoever will may come.  They both have to be taken together, and rightly dividing the truth is comparing scripture to scripture and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit bringing all of it together as the truth.

I say all of this because there is a degree of either laziness, or apathy or selfish motivation that has permeated what passes for church doctrine today.  And so many are teaching only a piece of the gospel.  Let me tell you something folks; the gospel starts in Genesis chapter one and continues to Revelation 22.  Churches today are teaching grace without growth, love without responsibility, salvation without sanctification.  And it really gets worse and worse by the decade.  There is very little talk of heaven in most churches today because they want to believe that the best that God has for us is available right here and now.  There is practically nothing taught about judgment today.  Hell is a non-topic.  But in the 18^th and 19^th centuries of the Great Awakening, most sermons were about either heaven or hell.  Jonathan Edwards best known  message was “Sinners in the hands of an angry God.”  He read his message aloud and half way  through people were sobbing and weeping and prostrating themselves on the floor in repentance and getting right with God.  Today if a pastor read that message from the pulpits of most evangelical churches he would be run out of the church in a heartbeat on the grounds that he was a legalist and uncompassionate.

Today the typical message on a Sunday morning in most churches is often on topics  like “Seven steps to financial freedom.”  A pastor I know personally very well recently kicked off a new series of messages on Sunday mornings at his church on the Daniel Plan.  The Daniel Plan, for those of you that haven’t heard of it, is a diet plan book written by Rick Warren.  And for a certain price you can buy a sermon series from him, complete with diet books and helpful guidelines for healthy living which are suitable for small group meetings.  And if you really want to do it up right, you can incorporate special workouts at the church as well. It’s a big hit.  It’s exactly what the self absorbed modern Christian wants to hear. I think a better title for the book might have been, “How to have your cake and eat it too.” Churches today are doing away with midweek Bible studies and adding exercise classes but 1Tim. 4:8 says that “bodily exercise is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

Folks, there is something seriously wrong with the church today in America when this sort of stuff passes for preaching the word of God.  What should be clear from the teaching of Jesus in this passage is that the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of this world are diametrically opposed.  That friendship with the world is enmity with God.  That you are either laying up treasures on earth or you are storing up treasure in heaven.  Jesus preached unapologetically that message.  And He called anyone who focused on this world either a hypocrite or a fool.  There was no middle ground with Jesus.  You were either working for the kingdom of God or you are working for the kingdom of yourself.  Jesus said, where your treasure is, there is your heart also.

So Jesus adds now another dimension to this sermon.  In vs. 35 He says, “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.”  The KJV puts it more literally; “let your loins be girded…”  It comes from Exodus 12, when God told Moses in the instructions concerning the Passover, that they were to eat it standing up with their staff in their hand and their loins girded.  They were to tie their robes up under their belt in order to be able to move fast.  In other words, they were ready to march.  They were ready to go out of the land of Egypt on a moment’s notice.  And that is what Jesus is saying here.  If you are a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, then you are to have that attitude of readiness.  You are ready to leave this world.  You are looking forward to the next world.  This world is not your home.

But since we are looking at Ephesians 6 this week on Wednesday, I can’t help but remind you of the first piece of our spiritual armor that is described in Eph. 6:14,  “Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH.”  Truth is tied to that idea of readiness, isn’t it?  If you have the plumb line of truth as your foundation, then you will be ready when Jesus comes.

And then He says “keep your lamps lit.”  Now what does that mean?  Well, for one it is a reference to  Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  But it also can refer to a parable Jesus gave in Matt. 25 about the ten virgins.  In the story, Jesus tells of ten virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom.  And five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones did not bring enough oil and so their lamps went out.  But the wise virgins had brought extra oil, so when the bridegroom came late, the foolish virgins were without lamps and were left out of the wedding feast.  Whereas the wise virgins refilled their lamps and so had light in their lamps and they were ready when the bride groom came.

Well, what does that all mean?  The most obvious meaning is that we are to be waiting and ready for the appearing of the bridegroom who is Jesus Christ.  But there is another implication in the oil for the lamps.  Without oil, the lamps go out.  Oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit.  So what this is signifying is that there is a need for being constantly filled with the Holy Spirit.  In Ephesians 5 we looked at that principle in vs.18 which says, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”  It is talking about a constant supply from  the Holy Spirit that comes as a result of being obedient to the Holy Spirit.

The opposite of being filled with the Holy Spirit is to be drunk with wine; out of control, of dissipation which is self indulgence.  But Gal 5:22 tells us what being filled with the Spirit produces:  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Paul is saying that walking by the Spirit is putting to death the deeds of the flesh, it’s passions and it’s desires and having self control.  That’s a Spirit filled life.

And so Jesus is saying that we are to be ready for His return.  That means girding our loins with truth, and keeping our lamps lit by walking in obedience to the Spirit.  Jesus continues in vs. 36; “Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks.”   To understand the metaphor Jesus is using here you have to understand the Jewish wedding ceremony of that time period. There were three stages to a Jewish wedding in that day. The first was engagement – a formal agreement made by the fathers. The second was betrothal – the ceremony where mutual promises are made. The third was marriage – approximately one year later when the bridegroom came at an unexpected time for his bride.

So Jesus is referring here to the bridegroom’s friends that were part of the wedding party.  They would have been preparing the house for him to return with his bride.  Jesus is saying that blessed are those men that are waiting and ready for the bridegroom.  These are the faithful men who have been preparing for his arrival.  Now look at what He says He will do when He finds them ready.

Vs. 37, ““Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.” Here is the principle; those that have been faithful in serving Christ, will one day be invited to His marriage supper in which He will serve them. In Revelation 19 there is a prophecy concerning the marriage supper of the Lamb.  It is a metaphor of the time of celebration and consummation between the Lamb of God and His bride, the church.  But it is also a prophecy concerning the judgment that comes upon the earth.  Following the invitation of the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19:9,  John writes in vs. 11, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”  So those that are ready are invited to the marriage supper, but those that are not are judged by the Word of God.

So even though Jesus has just commended the faithful slaves who were ready when He came, now in an almost contradictory fashion Jesus adds this warning in vs. 39, “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”  Allow me to emphasize what Jesus said.   Jesus is coming again at a time you do not expect.  I think far too much attention is given today to trying to figure out all the signs and prophecies concerning the future, and not enough emphasis given concerning our present responsibility to be about the business of the kingdom of God. Jesus doesn’t elaborate on all the details that we like to focus on.  He doesn’t mention a rapture, for instance.  He just says He is coming back and we need to be ready.

Let’s restate vs.39 like this.  If you knew that Jesus was coming back tomorrow at midnight, what would you do during those last 36 hours?  Jesus is basically saying that you need to live like it’s your last hours on earth.  Because it just might be.

This teaching is sort of unnerving for most of us Christians, isn’t it?  We like to think that we don’t have anything to worry about because we are good to go.  To quote Crocodile Dundee, “Me and God be mates.”  We want to believe that we have nothing to worry about because somewhere in our past we walked an isle, or said a sinner’s prayer or had some sort of spiritual experience.  And so we can sympathize with Peter’s question in vs. 41, “Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?”  “Hey Lord, you’re not talking about us are you? Certainly not us.  Right?” Peter wants to know if they are off the hook or not.

Well we can have all kinds of theological debates and try to wriggle out of the following passage in a number of different ways.  But since Jesus didn’t let Peter off the hook, I won’t let you off the hook either.  However, I would challenge you to just consider the plain truth of what Jesus is saying.  If you asked Peter’s question of Jesus that day and this is what He answered you, what would you think?  Let’s just take Jesus’ entire answer at face value for a moment.

Vs. 42-48  is Jesus answer to Peter’s question. “And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers.  And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”

Well, I don’t imagine that that answer let Peter and the disciples off the hook.  Here is the gist of what Jesus is saying.  If you are a faithful and sensible steward who is found doing what he was commanded to do, then you will be rewarded with good things.  But if you are a foolish steward who is sinful and does what is pleasing to himself then you will receive punishment.

We can slice and dice that statement any number of ways in an effort to get ourselves off the hook so to speak.  But I can suggest how Peter might have answered that himself a few years later because he did so in 1Pet. 4:17, “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”  Here is what Jesus’ statement means at the very minimum.  It means that you can’t separate faith and obedience. It means that if you are filled with the Spirit then you will do the works of the Spirit.  It means according to James 2:26 that faith without works is dead.  It means according to Matt. 7:20 that you will know them by their fruits.  Not by their professions, but by their works. Matt. 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”  Listen, God isn’t interested in a kingdom of people who only give lip service and then go live like they want.  That was the picture of Gideon’s army.  Those that laid down and lapped the water like a dog could go home.  God didn’t want them in his army.  He would rather have a few that were ready and willing than thousands of self indulgent soldiers in name only.

There is one final aspect to this statement that I want to examine quickly in closing.  It is a warning to me and to you, of this I can assure you unequivocally. Jesus said, “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”

Have you been given much?  Has Christ not given His precious blood for your salvation?  There can be no greater gift than the gift of our salvation.  There can be no greater gift than the gift of God’s word.  There can be no greater gift than the gift of the Holy Spirit.  And the word of God was given that we might know His will.  The Holy Spirit was given that we might understand His word and have the power to do God’s will. But Jesus says if we know His will and did not get ready or act in accordance to His will, we will receive many lashes.

You know, I have to bear that burden as a preacher. James 3:1 says, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”  But all of us have to bear that burden to some extent.  Because to some extent we are all teachers.  If not by our words, then by our actions.  Your life is a testimony to what you believe.  You are teaching others by what you do or don’t do.

Listen, don’t get mad at me.  I have to tell you what Jesus says or I will receive greater judgment for my dereliction of duty.  As Jesus said in vs. 48, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”  I would just close with this question, “how are you doing with what God has given you?”  Modern Christians love to claim the gifts, but what is that grace producing?  Are you using your life to further the kingdom?  Or are you using it on your own pleasures and passions?  Are you a faithful and sensible steward that is about the kingdom of God?  Jesus says you are going to be held accountable for what you have been given.  From His simplest commands to His noblest aspirations for us, as we have been entrusted with much we shall be asked of much.  Jesus says one day there will be a judgment and you will be judged by your fruits.  I hope you are ready and unashamed when that day comes.  That you will be found faithful.  That Jesus might say as in Matt. 25:23, “‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’”

There is a dangerous tendency when coming across a passage of Scripture such as this one, to isolate these verses from it’s context.  It’s dangerous because when you do that, what you end up with is a flawed doctrine.  And a flawed doctrine is one that you cannot fully rely upon.  You can’t fully trust it.  It may sound good, it may seem true from a superficial reading, but when a real crisis hits your life that flawed doctrine isn’t going to hold water and it can cause shipwreck to your faith.

A superficial view of this passage would suggest that Jesus is teaching a sort of Christianized version of the song from the Lion King; “Hakuna Matata.”  Or to put it another way, “don’t worry, be happy.”  Such a flawed theology professes that Jesus is promising an unconditional elimination of worry – that a person doesn’t need to be concerned about finances or worry about needs or even worry about any unfulfilled desires you might have because God loves you and wants to fill your life with blessings. God just wants you to be happy.  That’s His ultimate goal for your life.

It kind of reminds me of this plaque that someone gave me the other day.  It was a quote supposedly taken from a text of Scripture in Matthew 21:22.  It had a nice little frame and this artsy lettering which was well suited for hanging somewhere above the kitchen sink.  It said, “Pray for anything, and if you have faith you will receive it.”  I thanked the person who gave it to me, and then I promptly threw it in the garbage can.  Not only is it a poor translation of the original scripture, but that statement on a plaque over the window  proposes a blanket doctrine devoid of all context, and yet only within the proper context can it be truly understood.  It was never intended to be a cure-all statement akin to rubbing a genie bottle.

We have to avoid the tendency to prescribe to platitudes that are supposedly formed on Scripture, yet cannot be fully understood without considering the framework in which they were given.   For instance, in this passage Jesus is not advocating a carefree, hakuna matata lifestyle, in which God is obligated to work out every wish and desire that I have, irrespective of His will.  As if God’s reason for existence is to serve me and my desires.  No, the fact is that these promises are conditional upon the fulfillment of certain principles of the kingdom of heaven.  IF you are a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, IF you have as your priority the priorities of the kingdom of heaven, IF you are living for the kingdom of heaven, then these things are true.

Notice Jesus is speaking to his disciples. These promises are never intended for all men in general. These promises are only for those who have sacrificed everything for the sake of the kingdom.  These are people that have given up this world, given up their jobs, given up their religion, given up their families, given up their source of wealth or income, to follow Jesus.  Peter acknowledged this in  Matt.  19:27, “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”  And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”

Notice that Jesus isn’t suggesting that He will restore all their fortunes in this life on this earth. But Jesus says that in the regeneration, which is the final part of the kingdom when Christ will sit on His throne and we will be resurrected with a glorified body, THEN they will also sit on thrones.  The fact is, on this earth, all of the apostles ended up losing their lives as a martyr, except for John.  Jesus goes on to say that anyone who gives up his possessions or his family here on earth for the sake of the kingdom of God, will receive many times more and will inherit eternal life.  The promise is simply this; that God offers the blessings of His kingdom for those that are willing to give up the earthly rewards of this life for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.

That is what Christianity really is, by the way.  There are a lot of people running around claiming to be Christians and yet they have never truly renounced sin, they have never given their lives to be lived solely for Christ.  They essentially just added an outward form of Christianity to their lives.  Kind of like the way somebody might add a life insurance policy to their portfolio.  And I cannot help but wonder if a lot of those people are truly saved, whether they are truly children of God.  Salvation is not necessarily obtained through an emotional experience you had sometime in your past.  That may have been a factor in coming to Christ, but somewhere along the line there needs to be a recognition that salvation is an exchange; not only an exchange of your sins for Christ’s righteousness.  But also an exchange of your priorities for God’s priorities.  An exchange of your goals for Christ’s goals.  An exchange of your desires for God’s desires.  An exchange of your life, for His life lived through you.  Don’t kid yourself, folks, anything less than that is not salvation. Anything less is just religion. It’s just adding a little Jesus like a good luck charm to your life to help you accomplish all that your goals.  But that ain’t salvation.

Salvation means to be transferred from the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of this world, to the kingdom of God.  You once were of the world system, you were captured by the sin of this world and were under the domination of the ruler of this world, Satan.  But when the grace of God appeared, Christ transferred you to the kingdom of God, and that resulted in a change of mind, a change of heart and a change of action. Titus 2:11 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, [who are] zealous for good deeds.”

So when you consider all that Jesus has been saying in our text, it is obvious that the characteristic of a citizen of the kingdom of God is a complete surrender of your will to God’s will.  He started off in vs. 1 by saying that anything less than a transformed heart resulting in a change of behavior is hypocrisy; it’s not really salvation.  It’s just empty religion unless the heart is changed and that transformation will produce a behavior change, or else it’s not real.

Then Jesus says in vs. 2, 3 that God sees the heart.  Nothing is hidden from God; not your thoughts, not your motivations, everything is laid open before the eyes of God.  And then Jesus tells us in vs.5 to fear God! Now that would seem a direct contradiction to the passage we are looking at today.  How do you fear God and not worry at the same time?  Well the answer is that those that are not really a citizen of the kingdom of God should fear God who will cast them into hell one day. But those that are of the kingdom of God don’t need to fear Him, because those that are truly His children do what He wants them to do and He takes care of them.

Jesus then goes on to teach the disciples in vs. 15 that kingdom life is not about accumulating possessions.  That’s the world view, the view of the kingdom of darkness is to say that he who dies with the most toys wins.  That we should just focus on being happy and whatever brings you happiness is ok.  But God doesn’t promise you a perpetual state of happiness as a Christian.  And blessings are not measured by material things.  That view is contrary to Scripture.  But Jesus calls that kind of thinking the plans of a fool, and He says that judgment awaits such a person who thinks and lives a materialistic life.  Jesus says in vs. 21 that rather than being focused on the riches of this world, we need to focus on being rich towards God.

So that’s the context in which these promises are placed.  They are first and foremost for the citizens of the kingdom of God who are living for the kingdom and who have died to the things of this world. They have renounced the world’s view of life, and are living solely for the kingdom of God.  The overarching principle to understanding all of this is found in vs. 31, “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”  Matthew adds the phrase, “seek first His kingdom…”  The priority of the kingdom of God in your life is the condition by which all these things are so.

You know, I hate to sound harsh, but for some people we could just stop right here.  There is no sense in going on about all these promises that God has for us if we are still living carnal lives that are only concerned with our needs and our desires.  If your allegiance to God is dependent upon getting what you want in this life, then you might as well just stop right here.  Because that is not Christianity, that is not discipleship and that is not the hallmark of true salvation.  If you love this life more than you desire the next, and you’re not willing to give up this life in exchange for the one that God has for you, then you are fooling yourself.  The promises of God have no place in you.

Don’t be deceived, Christ is not talking about an easy believism, “name it and claim it” type of Christianity.  That is why back in vs. 11 He says, “When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”  This isn’t some idle speculation.  This is a promise founded on a prophecy that they would be brought up before trial for what they believed. They would give up their lives for the gospel.

It’s sad that the gospel of Jesus Christ that not only the apostles were martyred for, but thousands upon thousands of men and women through history have died for has been watered down and twisted and perverted to the point that it has been reduced to the prosperity doctrine that it has become today.  In it’s modern dilution, the gospel has neither the power to deliver from sin nor the power to save.  But that is not the true gospel and that is not the gospel of our forefathers in the faith.  Those men and women are described in Hebrews as those that “looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”  “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”  “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”

I recently read the story of such a man of faith as that which I would like to share with you. In a book first printed in 1890, John Ryle describes the death of Rowland Taylor, who was executed in England because he believed that priests could marry and that the bread and wine of communion did not become the actual, literal, body and blood of Jesus.

On the last day of January 1555, Taylor appeared with two others before the Bishop of Winchester, and was charged with heresy and dividing the church. When they refused to change their minds, they were condemned to death. When condemned, they replied back to the Bishop, “We know that God, the righteous Judge, will require our blood at your hands, and the proudest of all of you shall repent this receiving again of Antichrist, and of the tyranny you now show against the flock of Christ.”

On February 4, Taylor was kicked out of the priesthood, and that night, his wife and son were permitted to eat dinner with him. After dinner they left, with much affection and tears. The next day, he was led out to Hadleigh to be executed, so that he would be burned to death in the city where he served as a pastor and in front of his congregation.

When the left the London jail on the morning of February 5, it was still dark. Taylor’s wife suspected he might be taken that morning, so she waited with her two daughters outside the jail. When she called out to him, the sheriff allowed her to come with her daughters for one last meeting with her husband. Rowland Taylor took his little daughter Mary up in his arms, while Elizabeth knelt with him and said the Lord’s Prayer. They prayed together, then kissed and hugged, and Taylor said to his wife: “Farewell, my dear wife: be of good comfort, for I am quiet in my conscience. God shall raise up a father for my children.” He kissed his daughter Mary and said, “God bless you, and make you His servant;” and, kissing Elizabeth, he said, “God bless you. I pray you all stand strong and steadfast to Christ and His Word.” As he was led away, his wife called out, “God be with you, dear Rowland: I will, with God’s grace, meet you at Hadleigh.”

The journey from London to Hadleigh took several days, and all along on the trip, Rowland Taylor was joyful and merry, as if he were going to a banquet or a party. But on February 9, 1555, they came into Hadleigh. When they were still two miles from town, Taylor leapt off his horse and started on foot-but he was walking fast, almost as if he were dancing. The sheriff asked him how he felt, and he said, “Well, God be praised, good master sheriff, never better; for now I know I am almost at home … even at my Father’s house… O good Lord, I thank You! I shall yet once before I die, see my flock whom You, Lord, know I have most heartily loved and most truly taught. Good Lord, bless them, and keep them steadfast in Thy Word and truth.”

When they came into Hadleigh, they put a hood over his head and came over a bridge. At the foot of the bridge was a poor man with five children, who cried out, “O dear father and good shepherd, Dr. Taylor, God help you, as you have many a time helped me and my poor children.” The streets were crowded on both sides with people who wanted to see him; when they saw him being led to death, they cried and wept with all their strength. People cried out, “Ah, good Lord, there goes our good shepherd from us, that so faithfully has taught us, so fatherly has cared for us, and so godly has governed us. O merciful God! What shall we poor scattered lambs do? What shall come of this most wicked world? God Lord, strengthen him and comfort him.” Taylor answered back, “I have preached to you God’s Word and truth, and am come this day to seal it with my blood.”

When they came to the town square, he heard a great multitude and asked where they were. When they told him they were at the place he would be executed, he said “Thank God, I am even at home,” and he took the hood from his head. When the people saw his face, there was an outpouring of emotion. They wept and cried out, “God save you, good Dr. Taylor! Jesus Christ strengthen you; the Holy Spirit comfort you,” and many other such things. Taylor wanted to speak to the people one last time, but as soon has he opened his mouth, a guard put a spear right up to his open mouth, and made him stop.

He started giving away his clothes-first his boots, then his coat and jacket, till all he had left was his pants and shirt. He then cried out with a loud voice, “Good people, I have taught you nothing but God’s Holy Word, and those lessons that I have taken out of God’s blessed Book, the Holy Bible; and I am come here today to seal it with my blood.” But then one of the guards clubbed him over the head and said, “Is that keeping your promise of silence, you heretic?” So, seeing he could not speak, he knelt down to pray. A poor woman came to kneel beside him and pray, and the guards tried to push her away but she would not go.

When he had prayed, he came to the stake he would be tied to and he kissed it, stepped into a barrel, and stood with his hands folded in prayer and his eyes towards heaven as they tied him to the stake. After some agonizing delays, they finally lit the fire, and Rowland Taylor prayed out loud: “Merciful Father of heaven, for Jesus Christ my Saviour’s sake, receive my soul into Your hands.” Then he stood perfectly still as the fires arose around him, without crying or moving, until a guard clubbed him on the head and his brains fell out, and his dead corpse fell into the fire. A marker was left that simply said, 1555: Dr. Taylor, in defending that which was good, at this place left his blood.

It is obvious that this man loved the kingdom of heaven more than all this world had to offer.  And though such a story might seem drastic to our 21^st century ears, such an attitude is the hallmark of true discipleship.  For those that are willing to bow their knee to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every facet of their lives, then Christ promises that God will take care of them. They need not worry about earthly things such as food and clothing.  They have a higher calling.  They have been commissioned by God Almighty.  And though they may suffer the loss of all things here on earth, God will reward them.  God the righteous judge will one day set things aright.  This life lasts but a moment.  But eternity lasts forever.  The riches of this world will one day be burned up, but the riches laid up in heaven will  never fade away.  But some of you are clinging to the things of this world, and in so doing precluding the promises of the next.

Jesus says in vs. 22 to those willing to forsake all to follow Him: “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.”  It has taken me almost half my life to come to realize that it is far better to have lived for the Lord and have little, than to live a lifetime without Him but have much. It is far better to burn out for Christ, than to rust away in the world.

Here is the principle; God will take care of His own. “Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!”  David said in  Psalm 37:25, “I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread.”  Now that is a general principle about God’s provision.  And without contradiction listen to how Paul said that is worked out in his life; Phil. 4:12, “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”  Paul was sold out for Christ.  He said he considered all the things of this world as rubbish in comparison to knowing Christ. And so Paul knew he could trust Christ to take care of him.

The citizen of the kingdom of heaven must first come to give his life to God to use as He wills and trust that God values His life and will use it for His glory.  Jesus explains the freedom that comes from having that understanding in vs. 25, “And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?”

And Jesus illustrates that with an example of the flowers in a field.  Now at first reading this seems to be about clothing.  But I don’t think it’s talking about clothing at all.  I think Jesus is saying to consider how meticulously God created the flowers and how beautiful they are.  They are a picture of our lives which are precious to God.  And yet those flowers are so short lived that they are here today and gone tomorrow.  But how much more value are we than the flowers. Let’s read vs. 28  “But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!”  Isaiah 40 says, “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.” Our lives are but a fleeting vapor.  We can’t hold onto it.  We can’t add to it.  But if we are citizens of the kingdom, then Jesus promises that our lives will count for something if we give them to God for Him to use.

Jesus continues to contrast the way people of the kingdom of God are as opposed to the kingdom of this world. Vs. 29, “And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.  Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”

There is a book out called “Fearless”, the biography of Adam Brown.  He was a former drug addict who was saved while going to Teen Challenge.  After graduating from college, he joined the Navy to become a member of Seal Team 6.  And one day he paid the ultimate sacrifice by drawing enemy fire to himself in order to save his comrades.  But just before he died he sent a letter to his wife and children which said in part, “I’m not afraid of anything that might happen to me on this earth because I know, no matter what, nothing can take my spirit from me.”  He knew he had eternal life, he knew that he had an inheritance awaiting him in the kingdom of God and so he didn’t fear losing his life here on earth for the sake of a higher calling.

I don’t think that we fully appreciate the nature of this inheritance we have in the kingdom of God.  We have been given the right to be joint heirs with Christ! Listen to  Rom. 8:16, “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”  I’m afraid that we commonly swap the treasures of heaven for the baubles of this world much like Esau traded his birthright for a cup of stew.  We rightly condemn Esau for making such a dumb trade, but we commonly trade the glory of heaven for the garbage of this world and think nothing of it.

Christ gives one more set of characteristics of those that are children of the kingdom. Vs. 33 “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Having no fear, having no worries results in the freedom to give yourself totally and completely to the Lord.  So that rather than accumulating possessions as the rich fool did, the citizen of the kingdom gives his possessions away.  Rather than storing up treasures on earth, the citizen of the kingdom makes a money belt that doesn’t wear out because it’s resource is in heaven.  If God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the wealth in every mine, then because He is our Father then they are mine as well.  That gives me the freedom to give without my right hand knowing what my life hand is doing, because God my Father has endless resources.

But if my treasures is wrapped up in things of this earth, in my possessions, in the fulfillment of my agenda, my desires, my will, then that shows that my heart is still unregenerate.  My heart never has really been transformed.  If I am afraid to live fully and unreservedly for the kingdom of God, then that shows that I have a heart that is still trapped in the kingdom of darkness.  Or at the very least, I show that I have allowed the enemy to take back territory that was claimed for the kingdom of God.

Listen, if we claim to be a child of the King, a citizen of the kingdom of God, then we should act like it.  We should live fearlessly, fully throwing ourselves into the work of the kingdom and not allow ourselves to get caught up again in the worries of this world. 2Pet. 2:20, “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.”

I am going to close with a warning from Hebrews 12, starting in vs. 15. “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.  For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them.  For they could not bear the command, “IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED.” And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.  See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven.  And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.” This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.  Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.”