Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
There are three different statements that we are going to look at this morning from Jesus’ sermon.
Each of these could stand alone, but they all promote the same general lesson, so we are going to try to present them all together.
Jesus is building off of what He has just finished teaching His listeners.
He has been hammering a specific point home.
When it comes to religious activity, we must have the right motivation.
Do we do what we do in our religious exercises for the praise and reward of men?
Or, do we do it for the rewards that only God can give?
Having the right investment strategy for life is of utmost importance.
It not only applies to our religious expressions.
It applies to the entirety of our lives.
Location of our life storage
Jesus’ disciples will all have to make a decision regarding where they will invest their limited resources in laying up treasures.
Though we don’t all get the same number of years, we all get the amount of time within the years of our life.
Every day you get 24 hours
Every week you get 7 days.
This is the same for everyone.
We all have to decide how we will spend these moments that we are given.
A 2017 study found the following statistics to be true about how we spend the average lifespan of 79 years.
33 years in bed
13 years at work
11 years looking at a screen
4.5 years eating
3 years on vacation
1 year exercising
1 year romance
1 year socialising
-1 year in school
This leaves about 8 years for all of the other activities of life.
These are pretty sobering numbers.
It gives weight to the oft-repeated quote...
Only one life it will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.
Men have always struggled with the idea of leaving a legacy.
We want to invest our lives in something that will outlive us.
Too often, though, we don’t think far enough in the future.
We think if we leave something for the next generation, then we’ve done our job.
Jesus tells His disciples not to think about leaving a legacy that will last for 20-50 years after we are gone.
Jesus tells His disciples to invest in something that will last forever.
Anything that we can produce on earth will be subject to the effects of the curse.
Rust, rot, atrophy, corruption, and theft will eat away at our life’s work.
All of the things that we were so passionate about, that this world offers, will not last.
We should want to find a better investment.
If you had a choice between investing in something permanent or temporary, which would you choose?
Which would you choose if you were sick and I offered you a choice between medicines
One would make you better for 1 year.
The other would make you better for ever.
What about if I offered you the choice between a car that would run well for 3 months vs one that would run well forever?
It should be a no-brainer for people with limited time to invest.
We should be most interested in laying up treasures that will last than we are in laying up treasures that fade.
Unfortunately, this is often not the case.
It’s too easy to be focused on the temporary treasures that the world offers.
We need to adjust our Life focus
In this next section, we see Jesus further emphasizing the importance of focusing our lives on the right priorities.
The illustration sounds weird.
It’s really not complicated.
If I could explain verse 22-23 it would be like this.
The eye is a picture of our life’s focus.
Whatever we focus on will dictate who we are.
If our eye is working the way it should, the we will be focused on a singular mission,
This will settle and organize all of life’s responsibilities.
We will be able to live a purposeful life.
We can clearly see what we were meant to invest our lives in.
If our eye is evil or fragmented, like a person who has an astigmatism, then we find it difficult to focus on any one thing.
This leads to a constant upheaval in a person’s priorities.
They are unstable and constantly over-promising and under-performing in whatever shiny object has caught their eye for the moment.
Rather than purpose, their life is full of distractions, whims, and “phases.”
Now, just having a focused purpose, is not enough.
What happens when someone has a focused eye, but rather than letting in light, they are focused on letting in darkness?
Jesus says “how great is that darkness!”
This is a dangerous position to be in.
We have many examples to look at of people who were singularly focused, but they were not focused on their God-given purpose.
Politicians
Businessmen
Celebrities
Athletes
These people, with great focus, throw themselves into their mission.
And yet, not a day goes by where you can’t go online and read about some super successful person whose life is unfulfilling.
The treasures of the world are fleeting.
They can only satisfy us for so long before we realize how vapid they really are.
We all have a limited amount of focusing ability in our lives.
The difference between what God offers us and what the world offers us is as dramatic as the difference between light and darkness.
Some people are focused on God’s purpose for their lives.
Some people are focused only what the world can offer.
Some people, most people, are torn between what God offers and what the world offers.
It is to these people that Jesus addresses His next statement.
Not only do we have limited time and focus, but we also have limited loyalty.
Limitations on service
As a general rule, no man can serve two masters.
This applies to everything.
Have you ever worked in a situation where there was not a clear chain of command?
You have different people jockeying for authority.
One person tells you one thing.
Another person tells you something else.
This never works well.
We all must live under authority.
Sometimes we don’t get to pick our authority.
Sometimes it is absolutely our choice who we submit to.
When given the chance, we need to submit to the better authority.
In this case, specifically, Jesus tells His disciples that they cannot serve God and mammon.
There is a big part of me that wants to look at this portion by itself, in it’s own message.
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