The Treasure of Seasons: Reprise

Posted by anointedplace on September 13, 2014 · 1 Comment 

Matthew 6:19-24

19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where the moth and rust destroy and where the thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Money.

In our seasons we know full well that there is a time to plant and a time to harvest but we don’t expect or deny the time in between. We don’t know what to do with ourselves as we become idle. In those moments of doubtful waiting we drift. In our drifting we begin to measure and estimate rewards. The moments of waiting is like watching paint dry. Unlike true farmers we fail to realize that even though the planting is done, we have to still cultivate the foundation. We still have to water and feed. We still have to protect the crops from insects that desire to eat the young plants. We still have to watch over what is not quite ready for harvesting from the ravens and crows. There is work of faith to be done, there is a continuous feeding of the heart with the word of God, the promises of God, and the past works of God. In the midst of the trials and struggles of a season, the in between is our passover. But we spend that time trying to figure God out. This leads to speculation of what the harvest will be, how much, when it’s coming, how will it help us. Our speculating soon moves into doubt as God has to change our hearts from having faith in results and back to having in him. We are thinking that the harvest better be worth the suffering of waiting. And that God owes us an answer and it better make sense to us. We no longer value God’s purpose of being the good Shepherd who leads us through the wilderness and we grumble questioning his goodness.

Don’t devalue your struggle with a treasure that will rust while it tries to replace Jesus as a consultation prize.  Our break through is to realize that the struggle is bigger than us.  The struggle is a God agenda, as long as the enemy keeps you focused on you; you will miss your grace and strength.  Look outward to the real target that enemy can never defeat, Jesus Christ.  But Christ has prayed for us, that when the dust settles and as we constantly push, we would strengthen others. To the enemy we are just another Job that he is trying to discredit. God removed the hedge to put a mediator in front of us and a advocate within us.  Our struggles lead us to remember the Armor of God, they lead us deeper into the gospel which establishes our source for provisions. We can feed a multitude if we simply return to Christ for more fish. Walk in faith, be driven by our love for God, don’t worry about your basket God has that already set aside since the beginning.  We have even greater than the prizes we so easily settle for in the Kingdom of God.  As we seek earthly treasures that eventually darken our souls we lose our hearts.  The darkness flows from the eyes and a unbelief in the wisdom of God.  This issue isn’t new as it is the same problem of the tree of good and evil.  The treasure Jesus is addressing is the same treasure that causes the anxiety later on in Matthew chapter 6.  It’s the same treasure that was promised to Adam and Eve by the serpent.  The treasure is what Job had and the reason Satan says we worship God.  The comfort of life, the kingdom of self, being god of our own little world, being like God.  Adam and Eve wanted it because the serpent said that God was keeping it from them as well as God not giving them everything.  Job had it and used it the justify himself and never realized that it became more important.   We desire it and worry when we have it that we’ll lose it. We lust for it when we don’t have it and worry that we’ll never get it.  But Jesus says that our lives are more than that,  the body is more than clothes and the stomach is more than food.  He should know exactly how much we are worth as it cost him his own life and fellowship with the Father.  Christ lived on earth and knows what is needed to live. Christ also knows how easily it can all be lost, stolen, decay, and not satisfy.  Christ knows the end of our lives as he has appointed all a time to die. Christ knows how easily we can put love, trust, hope, happiness,  joy, and faith into something that can’t talk back, answer prayers, pay for sins, make us righteous, give grace, show mercy, strengthen, give lasting peace and salvation.  Christ knows that his good gifts can be turned into idols and hold our hearts. That hold will become the devil footstool and we all say never me Lord.  We say its condemning and judgmental, Peter may have felt the same way until that third cock crow.  Our seasons of suffering will pull away actual idols that we love more than God.  We really don’t believe or realize how much we depend on or love more than God.  But when certain things are no longer there it crushes our souls.   Only the separation from God should bring the feeling of hell on our hearts.

In our seasons Satan stands accusing us of idol worship which he helped establish in us.  If taking part in a gift brings feeling of self accomplishments or self-sufficiency and not praise and worship of God, then that gift has stolen your heart from God.  This is why Jesus said to put your treasure in heaven where our hearts are safe and saved.  But God is so gracious and merciful as when he removes the corrupt treasures he gives us eyes for Christ.  With new eyes we use not to walk but see others to love and to properly see Jesus correctly and not as the one who is holding back love. With new eyes we don’t see gifts and love as the same thing. We are all born blinded to seeing God.  But think, we can’t look at the sun without special glasses so how can we seek The Lord without different eyes?  We can’t begin to see God if we don’t have God’s eyes; the Holy Spirit gives us His eyes. Through these eyes can we now read the scriptures, see God’s grace in our lives and actually seek after God.  But one of the beautiful things about our new eyes is that we see with compassion and when we cry they are gospel tears and not selfish weeping.

He gives us an advocate who convicts not condemns by reminding us of Jesus Christ and the gospel that tells us we gave God, who in him is everything we need and that he holds everything together for us and his glory. For some reason most Of us think that the Holy Spirit is a cosmic power ranger that comes and goes.  We act as if he must be summoned; yet he is always present even when we do dirt.  He is constantly speaking with the Father while in dwelling us.

Whatever we chase after or focus on becomes the rudder of the ship.  Our desires steers us, even when the holy spirit fill out our sails.  What we long to have in our lives, we will use the sails to justify the rudder’s direction no matter how bad. It takes a fearless captain to have faith in the winds.  The one who blows, whispers have no fear but we struggle to let go of the rudder. In the midst of our seasons the things that we were so sure of fall away.  The things in our lives that let us know that we are ok fail us.  In our seasons we are always left with what we have never really fully committed to, Jesus Christ.  Honestly no one loves God perfectly. We are rich young rulers standing before the answer turning away because we can’t turn loose.  But there is a difference,  every time we turn Jesus is there because the Father promised us to him for his glory and he will make sure that the jewels for his crown shine.

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