Matthew 6
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
In Matthew 6 v 19-24 it speaks about not storing up treasures on earth and that no-one can serve two masters. The following illustration was used: In one of his sermons, E. V. Hill tells of a time when he preached in Michigan with Dr. Jack Hyles, the former pastor of First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana. Hyles’ church averaged 20,000 in Sunday school back then. “[E. V.] asked, “Jack, let me in on why you’re so caught up in soul winning. You’re on the verge of fanatic. What’s behind all that?”
He said, “One night, I was awakened by this piercing scream from my sister. I ran upstairs to her bedroom, and there she was sweating and in hysterics. I shook her, and I couldn’t get her attention, so I had to slap her. I said, ‘What’s wrong? You had a dream?’ She said, ‘No, no dream.’ I said, ‘You had a nightmare?’ She said, ‘No it was real.’ I said, ‘What happened?’ She said, ‘Jack, I just got back from hell. After a few miles of the glitter and lights and all of that which deceives mankind, there was nothing but desolation. It was a bummed-out situation. It’s nothing but desolation and hopelessness. You walk towards the gates of hell knowing that you will never again be free. I got to the gates of hell and the keeper said, “Hold it.” I stood outside hell, and I saw people whose faces were twisted and tongues were thick, eyes bulging and hands split, dropping blood. I said, “Sir, please let some air in.” And he said, “No air in hell.” Then I said, “Kind sir, let them have a drink of water.” And he said, “No water in hell.” Then I said, “If that’s true, let ’em die.” And he said, “No death in hell.” She said, “My God, how long will they suffer?” And he said, “Forever and ever! Hell has no exit and there is no death.”
“She said, ‘Just as I turned to leave, he said, “Go back and tell the story.” And just as I turned I saw Daddy.'” And I said, “Yep, our Daddy is in hell, because he never got around to doing the most important thing. He schooled us, he fed us, but he never got around to saying yes to Jesus Christ.” Jack concluded by saying, “I win souls every day so that nobody else’s daddy has to go to hell.” Citation: E. V. Hill, A Savior Worth Having (Chicago: Moody Press, 2002), 91-2.
During the early days of Kwasizabantu I had a baby buck (a little deer). It followed me like a pet dog. I would feed it with a bottle and it would often sleep on my bed. One day, however, it disappeared. It was being hunted across the valley but when they heard it was mine they returned it. Bok (it’s name) had a wound in its side and I sent it to the vet in Greytown for stiches. I removed the stiches myself and Bok got better again. I found out the reason for it having disappeared. It was seeking a mate across the vally. The second time it disappeared, it never returned. Though it was so affectionate towards me it was lured away by another love. We cannot serve two masters – the world and God. The love for the one will drive us away from the other.
Any other love, for money or anything else, must not be your master. Only God must be your Master.
Deal with the love for sin in your life by bringing it to the Cross. Jesus wants to “sup with you” in close fellowship and love.