Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev19970119.htm

MATTHEW: JESUS AS ISRAEL'S MESSIAH AND HIS MESSIANIC KINGDOM
Part X. Christ's Messianic Kingdom Postponed
L. Christ's Edification Of The Disciples In View Of His Rejection As The King
8. Learning To View God Instead Of Possessions As Our Source Of Blessing
(Matthew 19:16-30)
  1. Introduction
    1. It takes possessions to live--that is a given. You need them to buy food, to keep up a home, to supply for transportation and a host of other needs.
    2. However, our use of possessions can lead us to view the as our source of provision when there is really another Source to which we should look for that supply. Jesus addressed this in Matthew 19:16-20:16.
  2. Learning To View God Instead Of Possessions As Our Source Of Blessing, Matthew 19:16-30.
    1. In Matthew 19:16-26, an unbeliever had an undue reliance upon possessions that kept him from salvation.
      1. A rich young ruler asked Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life, Mtt. 19:16.
      2. Since the address of Jesus as "Good Master" was a complement, revealing the rich man's disposition to trust in personal merit for righteousness, Jesus began to respond to reveal the error of his dependence upo n his riches as a block to true faith, Mtt. 19:17-22:
        1. Jesus revealed that only God was "Good," and that the man needed to see that he was not good in himself as a helpless sinner, Mtt. 19:17a.
        2. Then Jesus took the man through the Decalogue to expose his failure to be without covetousness, 19:17b-22. He was sinful, needing God's help independent of his own merit to be saved, 19:23-26.
    2. But in Matthew 19:27, a believer, Peter, revealed how he was also hung up on possessions as being so important that he expected something from God in return for his sacrifices to follow Jesus, Mtt. 19:27. Though Peter went further than the rich ruler in giving up possessions to follow Jesus, he had not really let GO of expecting to get them BACK as they were still his SOURCE of fulfillment!
    3. Jesus then took time to reveal the believer's need to replace possessions as his blessing source with God:
      1. Since God plans to reward believers in the next life and somewhat in this life materially due to sacrifices in following Him, Jesus detailed the teaching on such possession rewards in Mtt. 19:28-29.
      2. However, the grounds for such rewards is GRACE as the believer's welfare comes from GOD, not God's REWARDS. Jesus taught this truth in Matthew 19:30-20:16.
        1. At the end of His discussion on rewards for following Christ, Jesus qualified the Lord's rewarding by the intriguing statement: "But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first," Mtt. 19:30.
        2. This same statement appears at the end of a parable in Mtt. 20:16, indicating that the Matthew 20:1-15 parable describes a unique condition to God's possession rewards for following Christ.
        3. That parable reveals that rewards are supplied at the valuation of God rather than the valuation of the believer: (a) Though some men are hired earlier in the day than are other men, since all of the hired men in the parable each agree to work for a day's wage of a denarius, each man receives the same pay according to the agreement, Mtt. 20:1-10. (b) When the laborers who had worked longer murmured about what appeared to be unfair to them, the landlord remarked that the decision to offer the pay was his--not the laborers', so they should be happy with what they received, Mtt. 20:12-16.
        4. Such a parable would have discouraged Peter's expectations were he looking to get for giving for Christ's cause! It was designed to shift his hope from God's rewards to his GRACE!
      3. Thus, Jesus was trying to replace Peter's expectations of possessions for fulfillment with seeking his fulfillment in the Gracious Giver of all possessions, for happiness comes from the Giver, not His gifts!
Lesson: Where unbelievers may depend upon money as their source of fulfillment, and have that dependence keep them from relying on Christ for salvation by faith, the BELIEVER can rely upon money as his SOURCE of provision rather than the LORD HIMSE LF through distorted expectations of rewards! God wants to wean man, unbeliever and believer alike from looking to His GIFTS of POSSESSIONS to looking to HIMSELF for fulfillment! Anything less is a form of idolatry, Col. 3:5c!

Application: Always treat possessions as God's provisions, not our god of provisions, 1 Tim. 6:17!