Monday, October 22, 2018

October 20-22, 2018 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Luke 12:27-34 “WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS…”


STEWARDSHIP

October 20-22, 2018

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Luke 12:27-34



“WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS…”

1.     Let’s check where God’s treasure is.

2.     Let’s check where our treasure is.



Luke 12:27-34 (NIV 1984) “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”



          Today we are going to be talking about money so if that will bother you, you should probably leave. For visitors here today please don’t go away thinking we are one of those churches where all they talk about is money. We aren’t. We are actually one of those churches where all they talk about is Jesus and since Jesus sometimes talked about money we sometimes do too. So if talking about money at church bothers you maybe you shouldn’t leave because the only reason Jesus is going to be talking about money is to draw us further into His kingdom.

          He does that in Luke 12. First Jesus warned the people he loved against adopting the values of the society they lived in which valued pride in outward obedience over humble repentance in the heart. Not really much different from ours. He then warned the people against placing too much value in money and placing their trusting in the size of their bank accounts rather than God. And then in our reading he followed with the reason why. Where your treasure is there your heart will be. Did you hear that correctly?  He didn’t say, “Where your heart is you will put your treasure, your money.” He said, “Where your treasure is, your heart will be!” Your heart follows where you put your treasure. There’s another way of saying that. “Follow the money.” That phrase has many uses but in essence it says if you follow the money you will get to the heart of the matter.

          Let’s do that with God. Let’s check where His treasure is. Follow the money. Only we realize God uses a different form of currency. Gold is paving material in heaven. Worthless. Diamonds as valuable as glass. What is God’s currency? Not with gold or silver but with His holy precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. That’s the price God paid. His treasure is His Son. Now follow the money trail. No follow the blood trail. For whom does Jesus bleed? Follow the blood when it drips from His head as the crown of thorns is smashed down again and again. Follow the blood as His back is laid open with a Roman scourge. Follow it as it drips from his chin as he staggers under the cross. Follow it as it bleeds anew when the spikes go into foot and hand. God’s treasure trail leads to you. God spent His treasure on you. He spends His one and only Son Jesus on you to free you from your sins, to keep you out of Hell. God spent His treasure on you and so that’s where His heart is. He cares most about you. Listen to what He says!

          “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”  “Don’t be afraid.” God says, “My heart is yours. Look what I do for what I created that does not have my heart. I take care of my creation. I will take care of you. Don’t be afraid,” God says. “I spent my Son for you and it pleases me to give the kingdom.” Did you hear that? You own a kingdom. You are royalty. Kings. Queens. Princesses and Princes. Because God put his treasure on you.

          Now why is the Lord telling us these things? To help us in our weakness. To help us avoid falling into the trap of the unbeliever and putting your treasure on what will not last because where you put your treasure your heart is going to be. Listen to what He says. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” God wants you to have lasting blessings that won’t wear out or be destroyed. He’s talking about people. Only people go to heaven, not things. To work to get people in heaven is divine.

          But hard to prioritize. Sell what you have and give to those who don’t have. Even pagans agree that is noble. But how far do you go? Jesus knows we will never be perfect in this. That’s why He was perfect for us. Jesus also knows we can be better so He encourages us. “And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” What are things we might put our treasures towards and set our hearts on? The people that Jesus was talking to were poor. Their treasure, their money would be spent on food and drink the things that they needed. We will be a little different because we are rich. Not feeling rich are you? Well consider this. Rich people wonder what they will eat for their next meal. Poor people wonder when they will get their next meal. Rich people wonder if their clothes look good on them. Poor people wonder if their clothes will keep them warm at night. Rich people complain about how much it cost to fix their car. Poor people don’t have car. Got it? And so my fellow richies where is your treasure? Follow the money. It will show you where your heart is.

          For us rich people it won’t be the necessities. If you buy a case of toilet paper at Costco your heart won’t be there. You have to. It’s needed. I’m talking about where you are putting your treasure when you don’t have to. If an auditor came and checked your wants not needs spending where would they find your treasure at? Alcohol? Restaurant eating? Club sports? Clothing? Golf? Now don’t misunderstand me. It is not wrong at all for us to enjoy things. God chose to put us in a wealthy country and God has given us wealth. But friends, it is not a good sign for our hearts if we don’t bat an eye at paying $700 for a seat a game or concert or $3000 for a nice vacation or $4000 for our kids extra curricular activities but inwardly cringe at and can’t get ourselves to give $5000 to spread the Gospel and save souls for heaven. There is no wiggle room here. Jesus is black and white. Where your treasure is there your heart will be. If your treasure is with Jesus your heart will be there too but if your treasure isn’t with Jesus don’t fool yourself, your heart isn’t there either.

          I have to confess to you that there was a time, when I was in high school, if you had told me that to win a football championship game I would have to blow out my knee I would have said, “Sign me up!” I was willing to spend the treasure of my knee. You can guess where my heart was. Now most of you are thinking Pastor was sure a dumb kid and you’d be right. Juvenile priorities. In my defense I was a kid. And now I have grown. I don’t  think that way anymore. As you check where your treasure is if it reveals something you don’t want to see or admit to, turn back to these words of Jesus. He not only tells you what to do but gives you what you need to do it. “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” Jesus loves you. He forgives you and me for misplaced priorities in high school and old age. He knows we can’t be perfect in this or any other way so He was perfect for us. He also knows we can get better. So He promises, He promises, that when we put our treasure on Him and for His kingdom He will give those things we do need, that will provide lasting happiness. For then our treasures and our hearts will always and only be with Jesus. Amen.


Monday, October 1, 2018

September 29-October 1, 2018 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: 2 Kings 6:8-17 “THOSE WHO ARE WITH US!”


ST MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS

September 29-October 1, 2018

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: 2 Kings 6:8-17



“THOSE WHO ARE WITH US!”

1.     Mighty servants of God.

2.     Mighty servants of God’s people.



2 Kings 6:8-17 (NIV 1984) “Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.” 9The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. 11This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?” 12“None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” 13“Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. 15When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked. 16“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”



          It seems to me there are two spiritually dangerous mistakes we can make when it comes to God’s angels. The first is to adore them, to treat them greater than they are. Even our brother, John the Apostle, fell into that one. He was the one given the Revelation which is written down as the last book of the Bible. An angel delivered that revelation to him and he was so overwhelmed by the vision, so in awe of the angel, that he wrote this about himself,  I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!” (Revelation 22:8-9) How painful that must have been for John to own up to, getting rebuked by an angel. No you don’t want to adore angels, worship them, pray to them, in any way treat them as God. You also don’t want to ignore angels, act or live as they don’t exist, that God does not have them all around us, guarding and protecting us. If this was the 90’s we’d probably be talking about adoring them. If you remember that was when the angel craze was in full swing. Even in the early 2000’s I remember seeing ads in the Journal Sentinel with someone setting up shop at a local hotel meeting room offering to help you get in touch with your own personal angel, for a price, of course. No, instead I wonder if God’s people today aren’t more likely to ignore God’s angels. We live at a time with heightened concerns for safety, and rightly so. As we march to the end of the world there will be more wickedness and evil and people who do evil. We can tend to live in fear, too much fear, for people whose God is the Lord who commands the angel armies.

          If fear that forgets the presence of God’s angels describes you in anyway you are not alone. You heard in our reading of a brother in faith found himself very afraid, and with reason. The nation of Aram, where Syria is today, was raiding the nation of Israel. Whenever the king of Aram planned an ambush to destroy Israel’s army, God, through Elisha, warned the king of Israel. As you can imagine the king of Aram thought he had a spy in his camp. But his men told him, “No! There is a prophet of God named Elisha. He’s telling them where they are.” So the king of Aram sent soldiers to capture Elisha.

          Then this happened.  “When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked.” Can you blame him? Imagine you woke up in the morning and the breaking news was that Milwaukee was surrounded by troops from the People’s Republic of China. We’d be asking, “What shall we do?” Our thoughts would likely not be centered on the protection God provides through angels. Elisha’s was. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Those who are with us, we are going to find out, are the angels, mighty servants of God and God’s people. Who then are the “those who are with them?” Well the angels’ opposites of course, the fallen angels, we call demons. These attacks on Israel were prompted by demons who were using Aram’s greed and pride to try to wipe out the people who carried the Savior with them. That, God would not let happen. He provided those who are with us, angels. “And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” Angels. Mighty servants of God were sent by Him. They appeared as an army. Reminds me of the angels, the cherubim, guarding the Garden of Eden with a sword. Not little babies with tiny bows and arrows. Mighty servants. Of God. They serve Him. In the Bible we see angels serving God as messengers, taking to people the good news of salvation in Jesus. We see them serving God by praising Him for how great He is. We see angels serving God by protecting His people. The angels are powerful. God has given them the power to do things that are impossible for us, like be invisible and the appear, like making it so people cannot see for a time, like ending the lives of those who try to harm God’s people, these and many more for the mighty servants of God.

          And they also serve God’s people. You picked that up from the reading in Hebrews, didn’t you? Look again at the last verse of that reading. “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Those who will inherit salvation, that’s you and me. Because the one who is greater than all angels, Jesus Christ, gave His life as a ransom, because the Holy Spirit worked in your life to bring you to faith through the Gospel and keep you in faith, you will inherit salvation. And the angels, the mighty servants of God, are serving you, God’s people. They are all around us though most often unseen like with Elisha and his servant. They are here right now. The Bible tells us they long to look into and understand the truths of Scripture. They love to worship the Lord. Though they have no physical form they have appeared as human beings and some have entertained them without knowing it. And they do a lot of helping and guarding and protecting. The Devil and the demons who were behind the attack on the prophet Elisha want to hurt us too. The angels stop them. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them. They help God’s people like getting the Apostle Peter out of jail or helping lift a car off of a person. I still remember Clarence Zastrow telling me how his neighbor who had fallen whose weight was beyond Clarence’s strength was thanking him for helping her up and he didn’t know how that could possibly be. I still remember the triple rollover crash I and my friend survived in college. 60 MPH with no seat belts and all he got was a little scratch. I had nothing. Angels. Mighty servants of God and His people. This doesn’t give us the right to be foolish. Jesus refused to jump from the Temple when Satan urged him to trust God’s promise of angel protection. It doesn’t mean that we should stop being safety conscious. It does mean that because Jesus has made us heirs of salvation we don’t have to live in fear and worry for ourselves and our children. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.

          Those who are with us. Angels are mighty servants, of God and of you, God’s people. So don’t ignore ‘em. God has them here for a reason. To give us comfort and peace in a world where sinful people do evil things. But don’t adore ‘em. They are servants of God so it’s only Him that we praise. Amen.