Skip to content 10. Singleness of Heart - Part 2 Sep 7 · 27 min ...more
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Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
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0:10 Shall we give the Lord a clamp offering church? Hallelujah. It is always a joy and a privilege to study God's word together. Today, we're gonna be talking about singleness of heart. It's a continuation0:22 from our previous study. Singleness of heart from Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 to verse 34. Now, would love for you to read this text after this0:34 study, after I've done this teaching. In Matthew chapter 6, verses 19 to verse 24, we already establish there are 3 things that Jesus is addressing. The first0:46 thing is a single treasure, from verse 19 to verse 21. He says you can store your treasure either on earth or in heaven. Then the second thing he deals with is0:58 single eye from verse 22 and verse 23. This 22 and 23, he deals with single eye. In other words, what are you focusing on? What are you preoccupied1:09 with? Then, from verse verse 24, he deals with single master. So as you look at this text, single treasure, single eye, and single master.1:22 You can conclude this, that this passage of scripture, he's dealing with a singleness of heart. In fact, we concluded by1:33 addressing what is the key verse that unlocks this entire passage. It is that verse 22 and verse 23, single eye. What are you focusing on1:45 will determine how your discipleship is. In fact, this whole chapter is dealing with core allegiance to God. Seek first the kingdom of God and1:56 his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you, the Bible says. So he's dealing with single heart. Hallelujah. So there are 32:08 kinds of people that I want you to pay attention to in any group or any church. 1, there are carnal people. They are the carnal Christian. Now what do I2:20 mean by carnal Christian? A carnal Christian is someone who is very worldly worldly in their value system, very worldly in their world view. And there's no2:32 difference between them and the heathen. They are carnal people. They they are namesake followers of Christ, but there's no real desire to live for the glory of God or for the good of his kingdom.2:44 So they are carnal Christian. The second 1 is a committed Christian. Now committed people, you know, they attend meetings. They are regular in their attendance. They are regular2:56 in their giving, in their serving. They do things in the kingdom of God. And you may many times look at them externally, and you can say that they are very spiritual people, they are very pious3:07 people. But then there is a category of Christians the Bible talks about. In Galatians, Paul says, I've been crucified with Christ. In fact, I have died and let Christ live in3:19 me and through me. Who are these people? They are not just crucified Christians, they are the consecrated Christians. So this is where you and I have 3 groups of people that we talk about. 1, they3:31 are the carnal Christian. 2, it's a committed Christian. And 3, they are the crucified or consecrated Christian. Now, you and I know this. Now pay3:43 attention to this. What is the difference between a committed Christian and a consecrated Christian? Both look the same externally,3:55 but 1 has 2 loves in their heart, and the other 1 has only 1 love in their heart. What do I mean by this? Many years ago, an4:06 American preacher by the name of Adrian Rogers, he was invited to Romania, And in Romania, he saw how the poor, poorest of the poor,4:18 how they were seeking the Lord fervently. They were hungry for God's word. They would come and listen to God's word being preached from morning till night. So Adrian Rogers, out of4:29 curiosity, asked the Romanian pastor, how come your church, they are poor people. They don't have much resources in their life. And yet they are so4:41 fervent for the Lord. They are faithful to the Lord. They are consecrated for the Lord. How come I don't see this in my own church back in America?4:53 And this is what the Romanian pastor said to Adrian Rogers. He said this, in America, you ask for people's commitment, whereas here, we ask for5:05 people's consecration. Now, what's the difference? Commitment is like this. You can give something without it being a sacrifice to you. You can do something5:16 without it actually affecting your lifestyle. You can stay committed to church. You can stay committed to a ministry. You can give. You can serve. You can do all these things because they are just external5:29 rituals or activities that you perform without that really affecting the way you live your life, or really changing or transforming your heart and your life.5:41 1 is settled for commitment, the other 1 requires total surrender, consecration. If I want to explain this, I will give you another illustration.5:54 I want you to listen to me carefully. This is just for illustrative purposes. A pig and a chicken were going for a walk. As they were walking together,6:06 they came across a church. And in that church, they saw a food fair. And this food fair was done so that they would raise money for the renovation of the6:18 church. So both the pig and the chicken, they came up with an idea. We should contribute something for the renovation of the church. We should also give them6:30 something that they can sell in the food fair. So the pig came up with the idea that we should contribute, and the chicken came up with a brilliant plan, what they should6:42 contribute. The chicken said, how about we give them a bacon and egg roll? Now, this is where the pig said, wait a minute, wait a minute.6:53 For you, chicken, egg is just a contribution. But for me, to give bacon, it is a total sacrifice. Now listen to me carefully. That is the7:05 difference between commitment and surrender. 1 requires the sacrifice of heart. 1 requires a total allegiance and a surrender and totally giving everything, and there's no7:17 plan B, only 1 plan A. Now that is what Jesus was requiring from his disciples. He said, if any of you come after me, let him deny himself,7:29 pick up his cross, and follow me. In other words, there's no plan B. If you cannot renounce all, you cannot be my disciple, Jesus said. In other words, what Jesus7:41 was asking from his followers is a total dedication, total consecration, that requires a total and complete surrender of their7:53 life. Now this is what we sometimes fail to understand. Therefore, we miss what it means to be a disciple of Christ. He's not just8:04 asking for us for commitment, he's asking for consecration. Hudson Taylor said this, if Christ is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all.8:17 In other words, if Christ is not Lord of every aspect of your life, He's the Lord in your marriage. He's the Lord in your decision making. He's the Lord in how you handle your8:29 finances, how you spend your finances. He's the Lord over your parenting. He's the Lord over every decision about your future. He's the Lord over every aspect of your life.8:41 If he's not Lord of all, he's not Lord at all. In other words, he's not happy with just token commitments, he wants a total8:52 surrender, a total consecration of life. So this passage of scripture deals with our core allegiance. It deals with our total consecration,9:04 our complete surrender. That is why in this passage, you and I, we need to understand as a believer in Christ, as a disciple of Christ, your heart is designed to love 19:15 wholeheartedly. Not fragmented heart that loves a lot of things. Not a divided heart, but a whole heart, because that's what Jesus wants, a wholehearted9:27 discipleship. That's why in this passage in verse 19 all the way to verse 21, he deals with that 1 thing, single treasure. What does it mean? He says, you9:39 can store treasure on earth, or you can store treasure in heaven. Storing treasure on earth is perishable. Why? Because thieves9:51 break in and steal, moth and rust destroy. They are not only perishable, they are precarious. You know, what does it mean to be perishable and precarious?10:03 See, people go and invest in stocks that sometimes fail. They buy homes hoping it will grow in value, and it depreciates in value. Sometimes the things that we10:14 invest in doesn't bear the fruit that we want. Why? Because anything that you do on planet earth is perishable and precarious. That's what Jesus is saying. If you10:26 are single-minded, you would choose to invest in the things of the eternal kingdom of God. You would choose to invest in the eternal souls of men. Why? Because these10:38 are treasures stored in heaven. Hallelujah. Then he goes on to say in verse 24, single master. And this time, he puts 2 and 2 next to each10:50 other, single master in verse 24. If 1 serve me, look at that, no 1 can serve 2 masters. Isn't that a beautiful scripture? A husband went to11:02 the pastor and asked, is there a verse in the Bible that says I cannot have 2 wives? And the pastor gave him this verse. No 1 can serve 2 masters.11:13 Listen. That was just a joke, people. The Bible says single master. No 1 can serve 2 masters, for he will either hate the 1 or love the other, or he will be devoted to the11:25 1, and he will despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Why is this so clear? Jesus says you have to make a decisive11:37 choice. You have to choose. You have to decide who you will give your allegiance to. Who is truly the master of your life? You know, I've wrestled with that11:49 question for a whole year in my life. As a young man, I came into this country. I wanted to serve God, and I had such grandeur vision for my own life. Because from a young age12:01 of 16, I've been serving the Lord faithfully. And when the Lord gave me a vision to come into this country, and he gave me a vision of what I would be doing for him, I always envisioned12:13 to be a remarkable ministry, a wonderful ministry, blessed by the Lord. But then the first 10 years of me being in this country, I went through so much pain, and12:24 pain to the point of, I said, Lord, I can't anymore, until every ounce of my self will was stripped away from me, until I came to that place of12:36 realizing my will, not my will, but your will. Not my way, your way. What do you want me to do, Lord? And the Lord said, even if I don't use you at all and12:48 keep you in the shelf just for me to admire you, unknown to men, only known to God, will you be content? I had to come to that place to be able to say, I wanna serve God, not on12:59 my terms, but on his terms. And the moment I came to that realization that he is my master, he's truly the master of my life, and my life is for his glory. And whatever13:11 way I can give him glory, I should be content. I always say this. You not only desire to do the will of13:23 God, you not only learn to discern the will of God, but you need to do the will of God, and you also need to learn to delight in doing the will of God.13:35 Many times we don't delight what he has chosen for us, because it falls short of what we want out of our life. See, the rhetoric you hear in the world today is13:47 this, design the life you want. Live the way you want. You are the captain of your soul. You are the master of your destiny. You shape everything through your13:59 desires. You actualize by visualize. You visualize, so you actualize. If you believe it, you can achieve it. In other words, you are the master. And here Jesus says, you cannot have another14:10 master. There's only 1 master in your life, and he compares God and mammon. He puts it side by side, and he said, you have to choose which 1 you serve. 114:22 is of the earthly kingdom, the other 1 is of the heavenly kingdom. And why does he use the word mammon? You know, in King James Version, that word for money is the word mammon, because mammon carries a spirit14:34 behind it. It's a personality. He's addressing it as though it is a person. Listen to me carefully. Why? Because God promises you security. Money seemingly14:46 gives you security. God promises you a secure future and prosperity. Money promises you the same. God gives you freedom to live life14:58 in him, to choose life in him, but money promises you other kinds of freedom. So there's always a competition between God and money, right? That's why people, you and I, we need to be15:10 decisive in who we show allegiance to. But the Bible is placing these 3 things, and I want you to pay attention to this, because this is where many times we are tripped.15:22 You know, there's a popular theology that is, you can't call it a theology, but because people call it theology, I'll use it. It's called the prosperity theology. The prosperity15:33 gospel. The more rich you are, the richer you are, the more successful you are, the more blessed you are, favored you are. In other words, God wants you to be rich.15:46 That's the prosperity theology. And I believe it is from the pit of hell to deceive people. But at the same time, don't jump to the other extreme poverty theology. What is that? Poverty15:57 theology is God wants you poor, the more holy you are. In other words, more holy, meaning you walk with shoes with holes. More holy your16:09 shoes are, you're more holy. The more poorer I am, the more holy I am. No, no, no, that's not true. That's not biblical either. So there's no prosperity theology, neither is there a16:20 poverty theology. But what is he saying? It's a stewardship theology. It's a providential theology. It is a theology that says that God provides for his people. So you and I have a different kind of relationship with16:32 money. Money can never be our master. It is a slave. It is a tool that God uses. Whether he entrusts to me 200 dollars16:44 or whether he entrusts into my hands 20000000 dollars, I need to be a good steward for him. Why? Because he's the master. He16:55 determines how I live my life. That's why in this whole passage, he puts these 3 things together. Do you want to know how your17:07 discipleship is, church? The acid test for discipleship is this. What is actually your treasure? What do you consider to be your treasure?17:19 Is it money, or is it God? Is it temporal things, or is it eternal things? Is it material things, or is it spiritual things? What do you consider17:30 as treasure? Ask yourself that question. Secondly, ask yourself this question. Where are you storing up your treasure? If you wake up every17:42 single day and you're storing your treasure on earth, trying to accumulate as much as you can, trying to gain as much as you can, everything is about this world, then you know who you are17:54 truly serving. That's the acid test for discipleship. Thirdly, how are you spending your earthly treasure? See, you and I, we go to work, we exchange our hours, That means we exchange our18:06 life. We exchange our time. Our time is our life. Our life for the earthly mammon. So when you receive money, it's actually bought with your blood. You have given your18:17 hours, your time, and you're receiving a transaction, and you're receiving something, and that is worthy of worship unto God. But where do you spend that treasure? Matters the most.18:29 That's why if you truly want to identify your spirituality, you've got to look at 2 things. 1, where you spend your time, your schedule, and where you spend your money, your bank18:41 transactions, statements. Your statements or your checkbook will tell you what your treasure is. That's why the Bible says in verse 21, where your treasure is, that's where your heart will follow. In other words,18:53 your heart will follow where you spend your money. So the third question is, how are you spending your earthly treasure? Let me give you the fourth 1. What is your heart longing and yearning for,19:04 searching after and pursuing? In other words, what is your heart longing for? Is it longing for the recognition among men? Validation from men? Applause of men? Or19:16 is it truly seeking, searching, longing, yearning for the approval of God? You and I, we need to decide. Lastly, let me ask you this fundamental question that rocked my world many19:28 years ago. Who is truly the master of your life? Now, as you ponder over these questions, there are some verses I'm going to give you19:40 in your notes. I don't have time to go through them here. These verses will help you to differentiate between what people treasure and what God19:51 treasures. In fact, it will help you define how God sees mammon, how God sees money. The verses that I've given you will help you20:03 to read through it. I'm not gonna go through that. But I want you to pay attention to 1 thing. The main reason why Jesus speaks about the singleness of heart, and he deals with a single treasure,20:15 single eye, you train yourself to see that 1 thing. And single master is because you and I have to develop a singleness of heart. You20:27 know, there is a purpose why he starts that verse 19 with, Do not lay up for yourself treasure. Do not. You know, it's like a double negative. Do not. Don't20:39 definitely don't do it. In other words, I want you to pay attention to this. When I say to my children, do not do something, it could mean 1 of 2 things. 1,20:51 it could mean stop doing this. In other words, if I tell my children, stop, do not lie. If I say to my children, do not lie, what I'm saying is, you are capable of21:03 lying, and you may even lie, but stop lying. Do not lie means stop doing it. But if I tell my children, do not smoke,21:15 I know they are not smoking right now, but I don't want them to start smoking. Does that make sense? So when Jesus says to the people, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,21:27 What he says is not start doing something. He's saying, do not do not start doing something. He's saying, stop doing something. In other words, this is the natural way we21:39 operate. We accumulate on earth as though this is the only world there is. You and I, we need to reverse our thinking. You and I, we need to renew our21:51 thinking. We need to turn around our orientation. We need to recalibrate our heart. We need to recognize that this world is not our home. This world is just a passing through. 1 day we22:03 will enter into the eternal kingdom, and there we want treasures stored in heaven so that we are much rewarded in that place. So you gotta choose. So the acid22:14 test of discipleship is this. The acid test of discipleship is, where do you really spend your treasures, and where is your heart leading22:26 towards, and who is truly the master of your life? Now that is just verse 19 to verse 24. Then Jesus goes on to22:38 speak about something else. Same thought, but something deeper. From verse 25 all the way to verse 34, 3 times22:50 Jesus repeats the statement, do not worry. Do not be anxious. The reason why he repeats the statement 3 times is because he wants you to23:01 recognize something. If you want an acid test for discipleship, am I a person with single heart, or am I a person with double love in my heart? Am23:13 I a person who is single-minded about the kingdom of God, or am I a person who is double minded? The acid test is, it's not seen in the23:25 aspirations of your heart, but it's rather seen in the anxieties of your heart. Jesus says, you want to know how true your discipleship is? Who is actually23:36 your master? Where you truly find your treasures? It is revealed in the anxieties that grip your heart. That's why 3 times in the next passage of scripture, verse 2523:48 to verse 34, he says, do not worry about tomorrow. Do not worry about what you will eat, what you will wear, and where you will live, what clothes you wear. And do not24:00 worry about life. Why is this so important? You know, he's not just addressing basic needs, you know. He's not just talking about what you would wear. It's not about clothing.24:12 See, in those days, clothing meant something different. Like, for example, if you watch the Chinese emperor, you want to see the Chinese emperor in all his glory and beauty.24:24 He'll wear a clothing that depicts wealth, prosperity, with a lot of different jewelry and colors. Right? So if you go to the common market in those days, in the24:35 agora, you can differentiate the noblemen and the slaves based on what they wear. In other words, clothes mean social status, social24:46 symbols, symbols of success. In fact, even today, doctors wear white coat. Lawyers wear a certain type of clothing.24:59 Why? Because you want to present yourself as success. It has prestige, status symbol, success symbol. Now listen to me carefully. That's what clothes means. So what Jesus was25:11 saying is, do not be like the Gentiles who worry about climbing the corporate ladder, achieving a social status, being applauded by men, being recognized by men, being able to tell the world,25:22 I have arrived. I'm a millionaire. I'm a self made man because I've stored treasures. Whereas he's saying to the people of God, you are concerned about a heavenly25:34 kingdom. You are concerned about pleasing the master, the Lord Jesus Christ. And because you are focused on these things, you're not anxious about tomorrow. You're not anxious about life. You're not anxious about25:46 clothes or place to live or what to eat and what to drink. Why? Because your heavenly father knows that you need these things, and he will give it to you. When? You seek first the kingdom of25:58 God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Hallelujah. In other words, all you have to develop in your heart is a singleness of heart, a single26:09 treasure, a single master, a singleness of I, and a single heart, a single allegiance. And therefore, he will provide for26:21 you everything. Praise God, hallelujah. Now this is important for you and me. Now while you're studying this, from verse 25 to verse 34, there are 4 key26:33 questions, a rhetorical questions that Jesus asked that I want you to pay attention to. And the reason why he asked these rhetorical questions is because they are loaded with inner life issues. I26:45 already established it's the anxieties of the heart that reveal whether you're single-minded or double minded. And here, the inner life issue surfaces as you read these 4 questions. Let me give you the26:56 4. First 1 is, is not life more than food? Verse 25. Is
Paul Jeyachandran
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