Turn with me now, if you would,
to Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6. I do not believe that I could
begin to tell you right now how important I feel this message
is. I hope to reach us and I hope to comfort
us with what our Lord has written here. But there are people out
in this world who do not truly know God. And they do not have a heart
to gather with the saints to worship Him. And they are going to leave this
world having missed Christ. And there will be no hope for
their souls. And they will spend an eternity
suffering God's utter damnation on their sin. There will be people out there
in the world who are going to miss Christ, and that will be
their end. But do you know that there are
gonna be people who spend their whole life sitting in a pew? even where the truth of God is
taught. Gathering with the saints for worship who are still gonna miss Christ. They're still gonna miss Christ.
And just like those who have no regard for God at all, They're
gonna go out into eternity with no hope for their souls, and
they're gonna suffer the same damnation on their sin. If a person spends his or her
whole life sitting in the pew of a false church, hearing a
false gospel concerning a false Christ, obviously they're gonna
miss him. Obviously. False church, false
gospel, false Christ. Obviously they're gonna miss
Him. But what I'm saying tonight is,
and I'm truly saying this, what I'm saying tonight is there are
people who are sitting in true churches where the true gospel is preached
concerning the true Christ of Scripture. And oh, so sadly,
how sad is it to be in that environment? And they're never going to lay
hold on Christ. And it's because He never laid
hold on them. And they're going to half-heartedly
toy with His doctrines. That's what they're going to
do. They're going to very half-heartedly toy with His doctrines And they're
going to miss him. And I'm telling you, I'm telling
you this right now, because I don't want that to be us. I sincerely,
sincerely don't want that to be us. You've heard me say that
before, and you'll hear me say that again, Lord willing, but
I mean it. I mean it. Now, here's what's gonna happen
tonight and every time that we gather together for the rest
of our days on this earth. The message of the gospel is
going to tell us, it's gonna tell us to lay hold on Christ. That's what the message of the
gospel is gonna say. Lay hold on Christ, okay? The message of the gospel is
gonna say, Christ is all. Christ is all. He is the pearl
of great price. He is the one thing needful. There is one thing needful. Lay hold of Him alone, Him alone. All right, that's what the message
of the gospel is gonna say. And the scripture of God's Word,
the Word itself, is gonna tell us that only those who God has
first laid hold of will lay hold of Him. Only those who God has first
laid hold of will, in turn, lay hold of Him. The apostle Paul said, I apprehend
the one who apprehended me. So the evidence of who God has
laid hold of is this. When that urgent command, when
it becomes urgent, we get to that urgent place. When that
urgent command goes forth to lay hold of Christ, lay hold
of Christ, God's people, those who are God's people will desperately
cry. This is what they will cry. Lord,
lay hold of me and make me lay hold of you. I understand something of you. I understand something of me. And I know that this is the only
cry I have. Lay hold of me. and make me lay
hold of you. All right, that's what God's
people will do. And those who are not God's people, in that
same declaration, in that same gospel message, in that same
congregation, those who are not God's people will be content
to let it go in one ear and out the other. And then they will
walk out of the building saying, that was a great message. They
will, just like everybody else is doing. That's what everybody
else is doing. I'm not saying that, you know what I mean by
that. That's what everybody else is doing. They'll have some,
they've been toying with the doctrines. That was a great message. Yeah, wasn't that a great message?
Oh yeah, brother, you better believe it. Hit the nail on the
head. That's what they'll walk out of here saying, hit the nail
on the head. Yes, sir. Now, when I tell you that I don't
want that to be us, I'm telling you, I don't want that to be
us. This is so, I was just sitting there, you know, singing our
song. So thankful to have a song leader
in this moment. Hearing about, I need no other
argument. I need no other play. It's enough
that he died and shed his blood. That's enough for me, you know?
And singing these songs, thinking about we're worshiping the Lord.
We're going to spend eternity with, we're going to be with
him forever. We're going to, I want to make it there. I want
to be persevered all the way to the end. I don't want to be
one of those who it said of them, they went out from us because
they were not of us. Had they been of us, they no
doubt would have continued with us. I do not want that to be us.
I don't want one soul in this building to miss Christ. I would say one soul in this
room, but we got some souls in the nursery down there. We had
a nursery worker down there. I don't want one soul in this
building to miss Christ. Let's not leave this world having
missed Christ. And I'm saying that to myself
first. The apostle Paul said the same thing to himself. He
said, I keep under my body and I bring it into subjection. lest
that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself
should be a castaway." He said, after I have preached to others,
I don't want to find that I have missed Christ. And I don't either. I don't either. How can I know
if I am missing Christ? How can I know if I am right
now playing the game of religion, toying with the doctrines of
the truth, and I'm gonna wind up being one
of the ones who misses Christ in the end? How can I know if
I'm missing Him right now, which will cause me to end up missing
Him in the end? Well, our Lord gave us a key
to that answer in verse 21 of Matthew chapter six. If you look
at verse 19, this is what he said right here. He said, lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where
thieves break through and steal. but lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves do not break through nor steal. Verse 21, he said,
for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. How can I know if I am missing
him? How can I know if I've laid hold
of him or if I'm missing him? How can I know? This is what
he said in verse 21. Where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. We will know what our treasure
is, what we've laid hold of. by examining our hearts. Solomon said, out of the heart
are the issues of life. The heart is the issue. The heart is the issue. A man
or a woman can have everything down pat right in the mind, okay? Scriptures, quote scriptures,
King James Version. Scriptures, rattle them off. Doctrines, truths and can still miss Christ. And the reason is because out
of the mind are not the issues of life. It's out of the heart. Two people getting married. It's
pretty fervent on my mind at the moment. Two people getting
married. That is not a mind thing. It's just not. Two people don't
get married because it makes sense. Well, I just think it's
probably the best. It's not why you get married.
It's not a mind thing. It's a heart thing. It's a heart
thing. And that's how it is with the
things concerning Christ and His bride. It's a heart thing. It's eternal life with Him. It is a heart thing. Look with me at Matthew 15. The Lord is condemning a group
of religious people right here. And He said to them, this is
your problem. He said, this right here is your
problem. Matthew 15 verse seven, He said,
you hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you saying, this
people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoreth me with
their lips. but their heart is far from me."
And what he's saying in that is, I am not their treasure. They draw nigh to me. Think about
what he's saying there. They draw nigh to me. And he
said, they honor me. They draw nigh to me and they
honor me. But here's the problem, he said,
I'm not their treasure. Where their treasure is, there
will their heart be also. And he said, their heart is far
from me. Now, I'm gonna ask myself this
question and you need to ask yourself this question. Is Christ
my treasure? Has Christ been made to be my
treasure? Your treasure is where your heart
is. It's where your desire is. And your need is. It's where
your need is. Everybody has something that
they need. Everybody does. Your treasure is what you hold
on to with all your might. It's what you hide to keep it
safe. Do you have anything that you
have hidden in your house or hidden somewhere? Why do you
do that? It's because you don't want anybody to come in and steal
it. You don't want thieves to break
through and steal. Your treasure is what consumes
your thoughts and influences your actions. Your treasure does. And that's because your heart
is constantly seeking it. We will spend all of our time
searching for our treasure, just like a pirate does. That's what
we will do. We'll spend all of our time searching
for our treasure. It'll be a need that consumes
our heart until that need is fulfilled. All right, now, honestly, is
Christ my treasure? If we get honest with ourselves,
all of us, if we get honest with ourselves, it'll strike fear
into us. If we really, really, really
get honest, if we don't just rattle off, you know, spout something
off, if we stop and think and search the heart, say this is
a heart thing and go into the heart and we get truly honest
with ourselves on this, it'll strike great fear into us because
we will recognize the worldly needs and desires of the flesh. Honestly, Is He my treasure? Is He my treasure? I believe
Him, but do I need Him? I believe Him, but do I need Him? Do I search
for Him and the things concerning Him as much as I search for the
things concerning this world? Do I? Do I listen to the gospel as
much as I listen to the radio? Which is easier to hold your
attention? Really? Do I set aside as much time to
pray as I do to surf the internet on my phone? Really? What, what just, just
subconsciously, what do I desire? What do I need? Do I become as absorbed and engaged
and engrossed in the word of God as much as the news? Am I as urgently concerned about
eternity as I am my retirement accounts? Really? Do I check the promises of the
word as often as I do the stock ticker? I don't have stocks,
but you know what I mean. You know what I mean? Honestly. Am I as concerned about my worship
as I am my work? Honestly. Is Christ my treasure? Is Christ my treasure? If we
get honest, I believe every single person here is gonna have to
say, oh man, I don't know. I don't know, I want Him to be,
I want to say yes, but we're getting honest. I desperately want Him to be,
but because of my flesh, I'm doubting myself. I really am. I'm doubting myself. Which is
easier, to read God's Word for three hours or surf the internet?
Which is easier? If we get honest, we're going
to have to say, I don't trust myself. Where my treasure is is where
my heart will be. Lay not up for yourself treasures
on earth, lay up treasures in heaven. I don't trust myself
with this. I'm so easily drawn away. I'm
so easily impressed and enamored by the flashy things of this
world. I am still so consumed with the
fleshly things that I was always consumed with. Still, is Christ
my treasure? Is He really? Is He really? Here's how we can know. If we are satisfied, and this
is honest, if we're satisfied to let this question go in one
ear and out the other one without giving it much concern at all, And if we're satisfied to assume
that Christ is our treasure, is Christ my treasure? Yeah.
If we're satisfied to assume that Christ is our treasure,
just so we can forget about this and move on. If this issue doesn't seem to
be a matter of urgency that needs to be looked after and made secure
right now, Right now, let's find the answer to this right now.
Let's not leave the service until we find the answer to this right
now. If that's not the case, then he is probably not our treasure.
If we're indifferent to it, if you're indifferent to something,
it's not your treasure. Does that make sense? I'll give you an example. We
were on the beach, you know, a week or so ago. I kept looking
for two things. Sharks teeth and sand dollars
and whole spiral conch shells. Other than that, I'd pull something
up, throw it back. Pull something up, throw it back.
It was not my treasure. I was indifferent to it. But if hearing this question
brings a fearful urgency to us. And we need to get to the bottom
of this. And if you won't be able to rest
until this issue is settled in your heart, and if thinking on
this makes you cry from the depths of your soul, Lord, I don't trust
myself. I don't trust my desires and
I don't trust my priorities. I don't trust where my heart
of flesh is. Where is your heart? I don't
trust where it is. Sometimes I don't know where
it is. I don't trust what my flesh is
seeking after. I don't believe for one minute
I have the ability in me to make you my treasure. I don't believe
I have that for one second. Lord, you're gonna have to do
it. I need for you to do it. If our
cry is, Lord, you must do this for me. You must do this for
me. Jacob said, I cannot let you
go until you bless me. You must do this for me. I cannot afford to miss you. I don't have it in my ability
to make you my treasure. I'm so sorry. But I cannot afford
to miss you. I need your blood to cover my
sin. I don't know where my heart is.
I don't. I don't know what my flesh is
doing. There's no telling what I'm seeking after, but I'm saying
that I need your blood to cover my sin. I must have your righteousness
or I'll never be able to be accepted into the presence of God. You must answer for me before
the judgment throne. I know I can't answer for myself. I know I can't. Lord, please,
if you don't save me, but if you leave me to myself and all
of the ungodly, wicked, sinful treasures that my flesh is so
prone to go seeking after, if you leave me to myself and you
don't do something for me and you don't help me, then I'm gonna
die right here in my prone to wander sins. If this is left up to me, I'm
going to be seeking the wrong thing and I'm going to die in
my sins. Lord, please make Christ to be
my treasure. Please, in spite of me, I see
and I believe that there is one thing needful. I see this flesh
won't go after it. You're going to have to do it.
You're going to have to make me go after it. You're going
to have to draw me to Him. You're going to have to pull
me to Him. I do not trust myself to go after
Him. So please make him, make Christ
to be my treasure. I believe him. Make me need him. Make me need him. All right?
If that is you, if you can enter into what I'm saying, if that's
you, after looking within and searching your own heart, If
after doing that, all you can do is beg God to put that desperate
need for Christ in you, if that is you, and that's all you're
left with after your search. Lord, make Christ to be my treasure. Put that desperate need for him
in me. If that's you, then turn to Philippians
chapter four. You want to talk about good news?
We're about to read it. Philippians 4 verse 19. It says, But my God shall supply
all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. If you find yourself in a place
because of your wicked flesh where you cannot see that treasure
need in you, but you are begging God to put
it there, then rest assured according to His promise according to His
riches in glory by Christ Jesus, God shall supply all your need. If you can't see it, but you're
begging Him for it, God shall supply all your need. If you
need for Christ to be your treasure, the Lord will provide. If you can't provide it yourself,
God shall supply all your need. Everything you need to have fulfilled,
he'll supply all your need. Everything that you need to have
fulfilled and everything you need to have as a need, God will
put the need there and then he'll fill it. And if you wanna have that proven
to you, then honestly ask yourself this, all right? Honestly ask
yourself this. I don't trust my flesh, I don't
trust my heart, I don't trust anything about me, nothing. But
just ask yourself this question. What would you be willing to
give or take in exchange for your soul? And this is what I
mean by that. Come up with a number, all right? Come up with a number.
How much money would it take? Come up with a number. How much
money would it take for you to give up your interest, give up
your part in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? Come up with
a number. How much would it take? Let's
find out where your treasure is. What dollar amount would it take
for you to say, I will give up the blood of Jesus Christ for
that amount of money? If the whole world was made out
of solid gold, we would grind it to powder and say, give me
the blood of my salvation, wouldn't we? By God's grace. By God's
grace. By His grace, if we were offered
from here on a remaining life of absolute ease, no more troubles,
no more worries, no more problems, no more sorrows, you can have
total, total ease. But in exchange for that, Christ
could no longer be our advocate. No longer advocate for us before
the throne. He could no longer make intercession
for us as our mediator to God. If that was our choice, which
one would you choose? There's no hesitation, is there?
Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said, we're not careful about
these matters. We're not full of care. We don't
need to think about this. These light afflictions, which
are but for a moment, are working a far greater eternal weight
of glory for us. Every child of God will say,
I gladly suffer with him, that I may win him and be found in
him. A moment ago in our scripture
reading, the Lord told Martha, he said, there's only one true
treasure for a child of God. There's only one thing needful. And the apostle Paul said right
here, God shall supply all your, and I'm so glad there's not an
S on the end of that, need. All your need. Where our treasure
is, that's where our hearts will be. So Lord, give our hearts
to Christ. Give our hearts to Christ. Give
us that one great need. Give us a need for Christ. Make
him to be our treasure and do it by giving our hearts to him.
Lord, this is in your hands. Our hope is in you. And I'm just
going to close. I was going to read John Newton's
tis a point I long to know. Oft it causes anxious thought.
Do I love the Lord or no? Am I his or am I not? If I love,
why am I thus? Why this dull and lifeless frame?
Hardly sure can they be worse who've never heard his name.
And he ends by saying, you decide this doubtful case. Thou who
art the people's son, if indeed you have begun a work of grace,
let me love you more and more. If I've never loved before, let
me start today, right now. Please, you do this for me. You
do this for me. Make Christ to be our treasure.
May God make that to be so. All right, Brother Dwight, you
come.