Good Morning Beloved,
Thank you for joining us today. It's is such an honor and privilege to have all of you here today.
Almighty God continues to bless me, over and over again.
I pray that each of you too will be blessed today..
First, let's pray
Heavenly Father,
Let my mouth speak only Your Words
speak only the truths of Your heart,
and in Your Word
Guide me to speak, truly, clearly, faithfully,
that You might be glorified here today
Thank You O Lord as You open the eyes and ears
of the hearers, that as You use me, Your vessel
that they each may hear Your message for each of them.
In Jesus' precious name
Amen
Today's Message Is Called: You Cannot Serve Two Masters
Our text for today is found in the sixth chapter of Matthew, verses 24-34.
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
The Cure for Anxiety
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:24-34
So What's The Problem?
Baby boomers and their young rivals, the Generation X'ers, have a lot more in common than conventional wisdom dictates. Here are my observations:
They share there attitude of being betrayed by politics.
They’re strong supporters of environmental causes.
Because they are working longer and harder to meet their basic financial needs, they've come to value happiness over financial rewards.
They are liberated thinkers.
And these two generations, share something else, they have both become servants of the system.
Unfortunately, like these two generations, the following two generations, Generation Y and the Millennial Generation, those between 18 to 29, have ALL become servants of the system…
Here's my point, the ideologies that are freely embraced in society are finding their way into the thinking of those in the Church.
The sad and disturbing reality is that the American culture has shaped our lives more than the Word of God!
Many Churches and quite frankly, many Christians Today, are under the influence of the world, and the spirit of the world, than he or she is influenced by the Holy Spirit and Word of God!
The life of a newly saved believer, in the United States, generally goes on pretty much the same as it did prior to his confession of Christ as Lord of his life.
They continue to go the same places, hangout with the same people, do the same things, talk the same, even drink the same.
Many go to the clubs on Friday and Saturday nights and show up, often tired, and in somewhat of a daze on Sunday. But because they showed up at church, they're a Christian.
Beloved, coming to church on Sunday no more makes one a Christian, anymore than standing in a garage makes one a car!
Oh my brothers and sisters, there is an all-out war for the heart and mind of every single Christian. Of that, you can be certain!
"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us...."
1 John 2:15-19
This is a clear-cut statement, which describes the fierce competition that goes on for a person’s devotion. The ever present, ongoing battle for a person’s heart and mind, and ultimately, their soul.
To put it even more bluntly, beloved, you are either devoted to living your life for God or you are not! And the tell-tale factor lies in the true interests of your life.
Jesus Himself, warned us when He said, "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
What on earth does that even mean?
Simply put your treasure is that which is most valuable to you, it's what you love.
And I must say, it is without exception, a person will be led throughout their life by what he or she cherishes most!
A person who is motivated by and controlled by a deeper affection for anything other than Christ has become a servant of the system – a slave of the world.
Remember this, You Cannot Serve Two Masters!
Every one must choose.
It cannot be both or nothing at all.
You either choose being a slave or a servant.
But beloved, like it or not, you will be one or the other!
There's not a third option.
The choice is man’s, but the consequences of that choice, are predetermined by God,
Our Creator.
The person whose Lord is Christ has the rewards of an abundant life, according to John 10:10; and peace of heart in spite of tribulation, according to John 14:27
But the person whose god is Mammon; money, materialism, the things and spirit of this world – will live in constant anxiety.
No one can serve two masters!
There cannot be two heads on one body!!
We cannot divide our lives into spiritual and material components.
Soul, spirit and body are combined to make one person.
Therefore, we can have only one master.
Our world, and modern Christianity has elevated concern about the body and material things so high that spiritual concerns have become secondary, if they are even there at all...
The message has become, “If you’ll give, God will bless you abundantly…”
And it should be, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Matthew 6:33
The Problem of Priority:
Love and hate, two verbs, that stand in contrast of degree.
As part of our human nature, we will love one more that the other.
God MUST come before every one and every thing else in our lives.
"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple"
Luke 14:26
"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me"
Matthew 10:37
The reason these two entirely opposite words are used, love and hate, is to indicate how tremendously greater our love for God should be!
The requirement to hate father and mother, wife and children, and one’s own life found in
Luke 14:26, means that all of our earthly ties and love must be subordinate to our love for Christ.
Our Love for God should – and MUST – come first.
Nothing should take the place of God in any person’s life!
When Jesus is the sole Master of our lives, He gives us a balanced view of all else…
Relatives
Material things
Work
Sufferings
Sickness
Health
Abundance, etc.
Our human relatives must not have the same priority in our lives as the Lord does!
In essence, what Jesus is saying here, is that our love for our relatives should not lesson; rather, our love for Christ should increase and greatly exceed that of our family!
Among our relatives, also, there is a grading of priorities.
A husband or wife is to be the first human priority; and then come the children and grandchildren etc.
One can not equate the kind of love meant for the children with the special love for a spouse.
Next are parents; and then come other relatives and so on...
The word translated “other” in Matthew 6:24 means another of a different quality.
Christ declares that mammon cannot be give the same importance as God – the two are fundamentally different!
God deserves to be first in our lives, because He is the cause and the sustainer of all things.
When God is not first in our lives, we become so confused in our thinking that we lose perspective and live in constant anxiety!
Loving material things more than God is a lot like loving your favorite shoes more than your children.
When we truly put God first, Scripture tells:
"Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken."
Psalm 55:22
In Closing...
The Problem With Anxiety:
Worry and anxiety is like making payments on a car we haven't bought yet!
Striving to serve two masters causes anxiety in our lives!
When God is our Master, He supplies our every need, not only spiritually but including our material needs!
To be certain, the body has physical needs.
We must not neglect the body’s needs.
The phrase translated, “take no thought” means, “do not continually be anxious.”
Freedom from anxiety presupposes God being our Father.
If you become a child of God by receiving His Spirit, you should have absolutely nothing to worry about!
So Don't Worry, Be Happy!
When you make Jesus your sole Master, you have a promise that all of your needs shall be met; therefore, you will have no need to be anxious for anything!
Just think about it… Let it sink in
Why should a child of God, whose Master “made everything that was made,” provides everything, and controls everything, worry about anything?
The Bottom line is this:
You can’t serve two masters.
But if you serve Jesus Christ, the True Master, you have His promise that you shall have “peace that passes understanding.”
And beloved, I will attest to that!
You know you have Christ's peace when everything around you is falling apart and you're not!
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name."
John 1:12
"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
Joshua 24:15
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord life up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen