Our Lord deals with everything
in His Word. Anything and everything of value
that we should know, He deals with it. And this sermon, His
Sermon on the Mount, is case in point. He deals with everything
we need to know. One of the subjects we're looking
at this morning is this thing of fasting. Look at verse 16-18. The Lord says, Moreover, when
ye fast, be not as the hypocrites of the sad countenance, for they
disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But thou, when thou fastest,
anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto
men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret." And thy
Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." Now,
fasting means simply going without food, going without necessities,
especially food and drink. And we get the term breakfast,
break fast. That means that's where that
term came from. You end a fast the next morning. The Jews had times that they
set aside for it. But fasting is something misunderstood
and abused. perhaps ignored altogether, and
not understood at all, so ignored altogether. Our Lord did not
go into great detail about fasting, did He? He does not explain how
or when, nor does He make it a law. But he did say, like prayer,
when you fast, when you pray. But he did not say, you must
do this. That's important to know that.
But scriptures contain many examples or instances of fasting. and tell us why and when. One in particular, David was
in great sorrow and it said he would not eat because he was
so sorrowful. He was so sorrowful. Our Lord
fasted when He went and was tempted by Satan, something so serious
and so, what's the word, so vital, where He did not take His necessary
food, but it was completely taken up with the business at hand
and facing our adversary. That's the sense of fasting.
Fasting is not something actually that you go about or set aside
to do, but it's something, it's an attitude, like prayer. You
pray without ceasing. It's not something you can actually
make yourself do, but it's an attitude of the heart and the
mind. Samuel called for a fast, Nehemiah,
Ezra, Esther, Jehoshaphat, Cornelius, Anna, Paul, and Silas, the Lord
did, and one instance in particular. There was a man with a demon,
and the disciples could not cast out that demon. And you remember
what the Lord said to them when they came to Him. It was such
a serious case, such a terrible possession of this man, and the
Lord said this kind. cometh not out, but by fasting
and prayer." In other words, if you're really serious, then
you won't be concerned about anything. You won't take the
time to do anything, not even eat, until the Lord answers your
prayer. That's what he's talking about.
I think of Abraham's servant one time. Remember, Abraham sent his oldest
servant to find a bride for his son Isaac. And what a beautiful
picture that is of our Lord sending His preachers out to preach the
gospel, looking for Christ's bride. And anyway, he was sold. overcome by the weight of this
task sent by Abraham, his great master, to find a bride for his
son and give him express orders, what to say, what to do, and
don't tarry, don't waver from what I've told you to do. So
he went there and he was just so burdened by this weighty mission
at hand, feeling Incapable, unworthy, and all these things. Well, he
did. The Lord made a way and he met
Rebecca, Isaac's future bride, the Lord's Provident. But anyway,
the family said, and he hadn't got an answer from Rebecca yet.
He needed an answer from Rebecca if she would go back with him
to marry Isaac. And he was real anxious about
this. He knew, he thought he'd found his answer. Well, they
said, well, stay here and we'll eat and we'll drink and have
a good time and all that and then we'll call her. And I said,
no, I'm not going to eat until I've told my errand, until I've
finished my mission. So that's the sense. I'm not
going to eat something more pressing than
filling my belly up. So that's the sense of fasting.
It's not something you can force yourself to do to try to impress
God with it. God's not impressed. God looks
on the hard anyway. But at any rate, that's the sense
of it. And we don't know too much about
it because the scriptures doesn't really tell us how or when or
so forth, does it? But it's not excluded, is it?
It's not a law, it's not a duty, it's not a work, it's something
from the heart, a burden over sin, a burden over troubles,
a heart seeking help, seeking answers, and so sincere as to
not wanting or needing to feed the body until help is found.
That's what it's all about. Moses spent forty days and forty
nights on that mountain, didn't he? Fasting, receiving the holy
Word of God. Daniel, when he saw that vision
of Christ, and then our Lord facing our foe, Satan. So, that's about all I can say
about it. That's all I can say about it.
The Lord didn't say too much, did He? But He warns this, as
He did with the giving of alms, anything done, any charity work
done, or prayer. This is the warning in it all. It's whatever you do, don't do
it to be seen by anybody. Don't do it to be seen. That's
the warning here that our Lord is enforcing. Not to be seen. Don't do anything. Don't wear anything. Don't try
to appear to men to be religious. He calls it hypocrisy. Hypocrisy
is what our Lord is warning us. Don't act the part. Don't do it. This is the lesson
our Lord is, the supreme lesson He's teaching us is to be, Paul
called it the leaven of the Pharisees. Hypocrisy. Insincerity. Trying to appear to be what you're
not. Don't do it. Be transparent. Be upright. We're going to see
that in old Job. Upright. Straight up. Don't try
to be what you're not. Don't try to appear to men to
be something. We live before God. Abraham walked before me. So
that's what we're to do. Alright. Now look at the next
thing our Lord deals with in verse 19. Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth where malt and rust corrupt, and where thieves
break through and steal. Read on. But lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven where neither moth or rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also." Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon the earth. Earthly treasure. A treasure
is something that you esteem very highly. Something you value. Something you consider as of
great value and will give you what you need. Happiness, contentment,
security, whatever. Something you treasure. Something
you esteem as great value. The Lord says, lay not up. Don't
accumulate, don't store up anything on earth that you think is going
to give you security or happiness or pleasure. You might look at
it this way, treasure is something that you love and live for. You
see that a lot today, don't you? People make no apology for it. I love this or I love that. Live to ride, ride to live. Stuff
like that. That's their life. Their life. And the Lord warned, He said,
the slightest little thing will destroy that. Moths and rust
will corrupt it. A moth is a tiny little thing,
a little bigger than a stink bug. We're familiar with those right
now. It can sure mess things up. A moth, you know, many people
highly value clothing. The world, well, our Lord is
going to deal with that in this sermon. Many are taken up with
what they should wear, what they'll eat and what they'll wear. The
most valuable garment on earth, made of the finest wool on earth,
a little moth will destroy it, totally destroy it. Completely
destroyed. An insect. It doesn't take much. What the Lord is telling us is
it doesn't take much. The slightest little thing will
destroy our happiness if our happiness is in a thing. No matter
what that thing is, something out there is going to ruin it.
Rust is something that happens in time, isn't it? It's something
that happens in time. Even to these bodies. Call it
arthritis. Whatever it is that we esteem
highly and we think it's going to give us happiness, it doesn't
take much and it's only a matter of time until it is corrupted
and ruined. You know, all of us are guilty.
We look forward to buying something new. We get a little money and
save up and we're going to buy something. Like a car or whatever. Good example. And we're human. And we look so forward to getting
it. And then when we get it, it's
not just a week until it's old, man. Until the newness is gone
and you think, why in the world was I so excited about that?
Then you get your first scratch on it. We all do that. I've got to tell
this on you, Hannah. Even Hannah got that new van,
you know, and I'm glad for her. I needed it as a family. Lord
knows we need these things. And when we get something new,
we're quite pleased with it, you know, and want to take care
of it. Well, it wasn't how long until y'all ran over a tire or
something and just ruined the front bumper. Well, that's kind
of good, actually. You probably ought to go out
there and take the key. As soon as you get something,
just go on out there and just go ahead and do it yourself so you
won't cry over it later. It's a fact, isn't it? It's just
a fact. We're all guilty. And thieves,
what will steal our treasure? Who or what can steal away our
happiness? Anything and everything can take
it away. What do you treasure? What do
you treasure? Now, does our Lord prohibit any
savings accounts or any retirement? No. I want to show you something. Look at Proverbs 13. Proverbs
13. You need to read the word carefully. You need to listen to him carefully,
what he says. He says, "...lay not up for yourselves." The rich man, he gave the parable
in Luke 12, the rich man said to himself, take thine ease,
O eat and drink. You've laid up many goods for
yourself. Right? Yourself. That's what he said. Don't lay
it up for yourself. But look at Proverbs 13, verse
22. A good man leaveth an inheritance
to his children's children. See that? A good man, a grandfather
that is, will set aside some things and leave them an inheritance.
What's that called? Love. It's called providing for
your own. That's what it's called. Father,
children. There's another one, Proverbs
19, verse 14. The Lord doesn't contradict Himself.
This is His Word, isn't it? This is the Lord's Word. He's
not contradicting Himself. He says, lay not for yourselves.
Verse 14 of Proverbs 19. Houses and riches are the inheritance
of fathers. So, you know, you provide for
your own. And here's the fact of the matter. Those of you getting up in years,
there's nothing you really desire anymore. You're like Solomon.
You've tried this, tried that. It's all vanity, vanity, vanity.
But you've got your children, your grandchildren that you're
concerned about. And so if you love them, you're
going to try to help them, aren't you? That's love. Did the Lord leave us an inheritance? So, the Lord's not prohibiting
anything like that, but He's saying don't lay it up, store
it up for yourselves as something you treasure, something you think
is going to give you great happiness or security. Security. I've got me a 401k now, and buddy,
I'm set. Right. Yeah, right. Boy, this country, I don't know
what this country is in for. I know the depression. I don't
know. It could happen. It sure could happen. You know,
every generation up until the last few hundred years has gone
through great financial catastrophe. Every major civilization. And
the Lord has just put us in a time where we've got so much carnal
security. Don't trust in Egypt, don't trust
in Pharaoh, don't trust in the national treasury. Paper will be like toilet paper
if things get bad. I said it, didn't I? But it's
a fact. It's a fact. What is our treasure? What is our treasure? Our Lord
said, look at verse 20 in our text. He said, lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and
where thieves do not break through and steal. They cannot take away
if your treasure is in heaven. Set your affection on things
above. Paul wrote in Colossians, didn't
he? Not on things of the earth. Things above what's in heaven. Remember the owl? Who is in heaven? Where Christ
sits at the right hand of God. If Christ is your pearl of great
price, your treasure, Nothing. No one can take Him from you. If you find your peace and contentment
in Christ, if Christ is really your all and in all, then you
can lose all and still have it all. If Christ is your all. If Christ is your treasure, if
He's the one who gives you great contentment, then you, like Paul,
can be content in whatever shape you're in. Paul and Silas were
in jail singing and praying in the midst of bodily affliction
and pain and suffering and sorrow, yet began to sing and pray and
the chains fell off. And so will ours if we set our
affection on things above, our treasure in heaven. Lay up. How
do we lay up treasures? Well, what we're doing right
now. We're seeing the value of Christ. We're seeing the value. You know, if you go through troubles,
There's nothing on this earth that can give you peace or comfort
except God's Word. Nothing. And at that time, only
when you're at a loss for all those things you want, happiness,
contentment, peace, some reassurance, only then will the Word mean
everything to you, and you wouldn't take anything for it. The greatest
treasure. The Word. The treasure. And we're
laying it up. How do you lay it up? By faith.
Lord, I believe. I believe. Set our affection,
love on things above. Hastening the coming of our Lord. Thinking about it. Meeting together.
Considering these things. Encouraging one another. to see
what our great treasure really is, the Lord Jesus Christ, that
great pearl. And he says, nothing and no one
can take him from you. Verse 21, where your treasure
is, Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Whatever
you value most highly is what you're going to have your mind
on, is what your affection will be set on, is what you worry
about, what you're concerned about, what you'll spend your
time over. Your thoughts will be taken up
with it. Whatever you really treasure is what you'll give
your all and all and in all to. But advantage, advantage. To
give your all to things that are as a soap bubble is foolish. It's foolish. Things you cannot
keep. To polish the brass on the sinking ship. The story is
told that those on the Titanic, you know, they paid great sums
of money to get on board that ship. A trip of a lifetime. A trip of death is what it was.
But anyway, they paid great sums of money and the who's who in
the world was on that boat and they said it cannot sink. So
everybody wanted to take the clamoring to be on board. And
they got on board and it was the finest of the fine. It was
opulence, extravagance, just everything that you could possibly
hope for on board this luxurious ocean voyage. Boy, it went right
to the bottom there. And the story has it that when
they warned them that they'd struck an iceberg and the ship
could, will sink, that few people believed it at the time. And
they continued to whine and dine. and enjoy china plates and chandeliers
and fine music while the ship is going down. That's foolish,
isn't it? We've got that old saying, polished brass on a sinking
ship. My, my. Everything in this earth,
everything on this earth, our Lord said, don't treasure it
because it's going down. And where your treasure is, that's
where your heart will be also. Now look at verse 22. This is
wonderful. He says, the light of the body
is the eye. If therefore thine eye be single,
thy whole body shall be full of light." The light is the word
for understanding, is what it is. The entrance of thy word
giveth light, that is, understanding. You can't see anything without
light. and just have a little bit of
light and see something. But there's no light, you can't
see. We often use that term, don't we, when we come to understand
something. Someone tells us this and you say, oh I see, now I
see. Well, the light of the body is
the eye. And if the eye be single, the
whole body is full of light. And David perhaps, the Lord through
David, gave this most wonderful definition of what that means.
Single. Single eye. David said, one thing
have I desired. You know, the desires enter into
the eyes? That's where it starts, isn't
it? Through the eye. You see, lust of the eye. One
thing if I desire of the Lord, that will I seek after. The flesh,
the heart, the desire that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord, to inquire
in His temple. When we see Christ as all. And
only God can give us an eye to see Him as the one and only thing
I need. That one great need is Christ. And only the Lord can give us
that eye. And if I be single, set on Christ,
Your whole body is full of life. Mind, body and soul, your whole
being is full of light, understanding. When the Lord gives us an understanding
to see who Christ is, that He's all. My, my. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
redemption. We won't look elsewhere, will
we? We won't look elsewhere. We won't look to the right or
left. We'll look straight on to Him. See Him as true contentment, true
peace, true happiness, eternal. Then we'll be full of light. Look at our text in closing.
It says, But if not I, be evil. Verse 23. And what our Lord has
been talking about is covetousness, hypocrisy, all that men and women
do. He says, if your eye be evil,
An evil eye is an eye set on things below, set on self, set
on this world, the things of this world. They're not evil
in themselves, but they are if we reject God for these things. That's idolatry. And the Lord
places it right alongside of murder and everything else. If
thine eye be evil, the whole body shall be full of darkness.
And man in darkness stumbles at everything, doesn't he? Therefore the light that is in
thee be darkness. Oh, how great is that darkness,
double darkness. And our Lord is surely talking
about religious darkness. What men think they have as light
is great darkness. They do not see Christ as all
in salvation. If they put anything in place
of Christ, they're in darkness. They're in darkness. I don't
care what they think they say. fasting and where your treasure
is. May your heart be also. What
do we treasure? And the eye, the single eye.
Set your affection on things above.