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Sunday 10/20/24
Title: The Prize
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The Prize
The last time we were together we were expounding upon the commands regarding what we should and should not treasure or store up.
We began this branch of our yearly journey of teachings back at Pentecost and the fact that it was to our external life what the New Birth is to our internal life.
The Holy Spirit is THE person of the Godhead Who empowered both.
At the New Birth the Spirit of God moved within us, making us new. Planting the seed of God-man Jesus Christ within our spirits. This forever changed what type of tree we are and what fruit we produce due to the intimacy of our ongoing and eternal union with Him.
Then at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon believers, empowering them to be living witnesses and testimonies of the real and internal change they had already partaken of in the new birth.
So we started down a path of examining this relationship and how it works most effectively.
We know that if it is neglected it can lead to empathy and worldliness. If continued in and without repentance it can lead to a hardened heart which COULD in some extreme cases lead to apostasy.
So we know that HOW we respond to the indwelling Spirit has consequences. If we do little, but at least remain faithful – we will reach the end but with very little reward.
However, if we cooperate with the indwelling Spirit of God, we can fast pace ourselves towards the goal, be found well pleasing to God being both maturing children and powerful witnesses to His rule and reign.
So first in the list of things we can be deliberate about is loving the Lord our God with ALL WE ARE!
The second was respecting and revering Him.
The next was acknowledging Him in every thought and action and most recently treasuring Him which is to say storing up His words within us!
We read from Matthew 6 where Jesus’ teaching was focused upon where to and where NOT to store up treasures.
He taught us that our eye is what sets the pace of your desires. The eye being a metaphor for those desires we give our attention to.
He told us that it is impossible to serve God and earthly passions.
But then Jesus said something unexpected!
He defined earthly passions in a different way than most Christains would and that is a bit of a sbu-theme for the day. Allowing God rather than the devil to define what God means.
Jesus, in offering examples of serving earthly passions before God, mentioned food & clothing. The issue was not these needs themselves, but rather the anxiety over these needs being met.
THIS was Jesus’ go to example of having an eye filled with darkness!
He also called it an example of exceedingly little trust.
Knowing as we do that our trust in God is formed by coming to know Him, Jesus might as well have said that such anxieties demonstrate how little we really know our Father.
We are then instructed to direct our eye (our desires we act on or give ourselves to) towards the furtherance of the kingdom of God (within and without) and right standing with God.
Jesus began this line of teaching that day with an encouragement to not do WHAT we DO to be seen by, acknowledged by, valued by, esteemed by, praised by people – but by God alone!
THIS is the true riches and it is deeply, intensely relational and intimate.
Intimacy claims all of you or it isn’t true intimacy and nothing quite offends the flesh like giving up the self-focused life. Jesus warned us that ALL who come to Him WILL BE OFFENDED!
This is a warning to ourselves and our witness.
We are to guard our hearts against any inroads of offense we could have at Him. Paul tells us that nothing we suffer in this life can honestly be compared to the glory we are to inherit.
But it also tells us that our witness, while lifegiving to some and threatening to others – everybody will initially be offended.
Jesus actually warned us about the dangers of being liked by everyone. He said, “Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.” – Luke 6:26
We don’t have to attempt to force our morality upon the lost through our votes in order to offend. Trust me – all we need to do is live a life empowered to honor Christ before them and they will be offended – but this time at the right thing!
Right now they are just offended at Christians – when they need to be offended at Christ!
We must bring Christ as a light before the world. To live Him before the world makes us lights in their darkness – but what offends them regarding our testimony is Christ. What offends them when we enforce our morality upon them is US.
True treasure is not a world without offense to the gospel – such a gospel is no gospel at all and no treasure at all. The real treasure is the good news of God – His Kingdom – His rule, His reign as we surrender our lives entirely to Him!
(44) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
You see the real gospel is one that costs you everything. The real testimony of Christ which the Spirit empowers in our lives is one where we have surrendered EVERYTHING and like Paul, count it as meaningless rubbish that we might gain Christ and know Him!
“(45) Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, (46) who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
(47) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, (48) which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.
(49) So it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, (50) and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” – Matthew 13:36-50
One final example taken from Jesus’ instructions was regarding the true treasure of keeping the commandments which is in agreement with our opening verses in Psalms and Proverbs two weeks ago.
It is found in Matthew 19:16-30,
“(16) Now behold, one came and said to Him,
“Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have ETERNAL LIFE?”
(17) So He said to him,
“Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
(18) He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said,
” ‘YOU SHALL NOT MURDER,’ ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,’ ‘YOU SHALL NOT STEAL,’ ‘YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS,’ (19) ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER,’ and, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ “
(20) The young man said to Him,
“All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
(21) Jesus said to him,
“If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
(22) But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
(23) Then Jesus said to His disciples,
“Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. (24) And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
(25) When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying,
“Who then can be saved?”
(26) But Jesus looked at them and said to them,
“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
(27) Then Peter answered and said to Him,
“See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”
(28) So Jesus said to them,
“Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (29) And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
(30) But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Several words are used to describe the same thing in these passages.
- Eternal life
- Kingdom of Heaven
- Kingdom of God
- saved and
- being made perfect.
It is the last of these which I find the most telling.
“Being perfect” is teleious and means to have reached the goal. To have reached the limit, to be mature, to want for nothing.
So to know God in true intimacy is to keep the command and to reach maturity in it!
In Revelation 22:13 Jesus reveals Himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. The word END shares a common root with this word for “being made perfect”. It means the termination point or the point of completion.
So Jesus or rather Jesus being formed in us IS our ending point.
Conformity to Him is our terminus. It is the completion of our testimony empowered by the Holy Spirit.
He IS the end of our race. He is the prize we are running for.
It literally signals back to the beginning –
Genesis 15, “(1) After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
The reward is the terminus – the end, to goal the prize!
We run this race by setting our gaze upon Jesus the author and developer of our faith as we are told in Hebrews 12.
Paul said,
“(13) Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, (14) with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
(15) Therefore let those of us who are “perfect” embrace this point of view. If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways.
(16) Nevertheless, let us live up to the standard that we have already attained.
(17) Be imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and watch carefully those who are living this way, just as you have us as an example.
(18) For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.
(19) Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things.
(20) But OUR citizenship is in heaven – and we also eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, (21) Who will transform these humble bodies of ours into the likeness of His glorious body by means of that power by which He is able to subject all things to Himself.” – Php 3:13-21
That power is the person of the indwelling Holy Spirit!
AND
1 Cor. 9:16-27,
“(16) For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason for boasting, because I am compelled to do this. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
(17) For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward. But if I do it unwillingly, I am entrusted with a responsibility.
(18) What then is my reward? That when I preach the gospel I may offer the gospel free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights in the gospel.
(19) For since I am free from all I can make myself a slave to all, in order to gain even more people.
(20) To the Jews I became like a Jew to gain the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) to gain those under the law. (21) To those free from the law I became like one free from the law (though I am not free from God’s law but under the law of Christ) to gain those free from the law. (22) To the weak I became weak in order to gain the weak.
I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some.
(23) I do all these things BECAUSE OF THE GOSPEL, SO THAT I CAN BE A PARTICIPANT IN IT.”
And that is our final point today. We cannot be a witness to a gospel we do not participate in. One means of participation is denying ourselves.
Paul says here, he has freely given up his rights, his privileges and even his personal identity in order to live the gospel before all men. Furthermore he said that his reason was so that he might participate in the gospel.
We know that the gospel is the good news.
What is the good news – you have been liberated from death. Meaning you have been set free from a life of selfishness.
Words like this always remind me of a song from one of the most outstanding Christian rock groups of all time – namely Whiteheart. The song is called Independence Day. It was written by Bill Drescher and it goes like this…
Listen to our declaration
Listen to our testament
We’ve been given a revelation
We are sure of where we stand
So let the banner be unfurled
We’ve found the light of hope in a dying world
Hear the myth of modern man
You’re the god of your own land
They call you weak, a spineless fool
Say you’ve given up your right to rule
But I have been to the land of me
And I know I was never free
Freedom came when I gave it all away
That’s why I call it independence day
Let the rockets blaze across the sky
Raise the flag of faith up high
Let the doubters call it what they may
It’s independence day
The world can crown another hundred kings
But I believe in a better dream
They may call it slavery
But the biggest chain I knew was me
So let the idols tumble down
The walls of lies crumble to the ground
I know where salvation can be found
Let the idols tumble down
That’s why I call it independence day
Let the rockets blaze across the sky
Raise the flag of faith up high
Let the doubters call it what they may
It’s independence day
So join us in the celebration
It’s the birth of a holy nation
As people of light we are proud to say
It’s independence day
Let the rockets blaze across the sky
Raise the flag of faith up high
Let the doubters call it what they may
It’s independence day!
A modern and poetic means of retelling the words of Paul.
You cannot be a living witness to something you do not participate in. The Good News is that we can forsake the land of “me” where we were never free, and give the rule of our lives over to our Creator. In His kingdom, we live for Him, for each other and in the likeness of our Father.
Jesus has won our freedom and has gone to be given authority over this whole world. When He returns for us, will He find that we have busied ourselves with the work of the kingdom or with the mundane affairs of this life?
Paul goes on to say…
“(24) Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win.
(25) Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.
(26) So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air. (27) Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified.”
Blessings!
