Here is a GREAT email from Dave summarizing Men’s Topic #1 (and I have added 2 audio’s–Bucky’s teaching points and the debrief insights time): Where is your treasure?
The passages from Matthew that we talked about Wednesday are among my all time favorites. (For those unable to attend we covered Matthew 6: 19-34. You may wish to take a moment and read it before going further.)
Bucky covered so much this morning as he talked about Jesus’ Life Investment Strategy:
- One of the key words in these passages is “treasure.” When we hear that word most of us think in terms of physical things – material possessions; but Jesus meant it as the order of the heart.
- We all have a treasure box – our hearts. What do you have in your treasure box? (“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”)
- We tend to organize our lives around our investment strategy. We need to organize it around God’s Kingdom and all else will follow. (“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be given to you as well.”)
- It is impossible to treasure two things equally. We cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom. It does not work; one will eventually dominate. (“There shall be no other gods before me.”)
- The treasure isn’t something we get when we die (like some prize); it is here and now. The Book of Matthew is the Gospel of the Kingdom and it tells us the Kingdom of Heaven is here and now. We can have the eternal, abundant life today. Something Cynthia and I do each morning is pray together and one of the prayers we use is the one Dr. Bill G. gave us a few months back. Ask Bill or me if you’d like a copy.
So, what does God treasure? He treasures people, relationships and the creative order of things. As you re-read these passages look for how God tells us about how He takes care of all things that honor Him. Don’t be afraid to take that step. Tell God you want to turn your life over to Him (“thy will be done”). “You will find rest for your soul.”