Jesus actually teaches that your desires will follow your treasures.

We all know that desire is not enough, it must be backed up with action. But how do you get from simply wanting something to actually doing what it takes to get there? That requires discipline. 

Where Your Treasure Is, Your Heart Will Follow

Jesus actually teaches that your desires will follow your treasures. You can easily wrap your minds around this. If you invest all of your savings into a particular stock or investment, you are going to be on pins and needles as you watch the numbers rise and fall. 

Where do your treasures come from? Even if you have done a pretty good job of going to Church, reading your Bible, and saying your prayers, you tend to accumulate earthly treasures along the way. 

A.W. Tozer, in his book, “The Pursuit of God,” says, “In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come. Within him was God; without, a thousand gifts which God had showered upon him...Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and ‘things’ were allowed to enter.” Then, later on, “The roots of our hearts have grown down into things, and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die.”

How do your treasures get control? Like a garden that has overgrown, the small things start to take over your life. Slowly, but surely, the treasures that occupy God’s place in your heart begin to make their demands and direct your desires. 

Not all of your treasures are bad. They just don’t belong on the throne of your heart. That is why Jesus told His disciples that they needed to leave family, give up careers, and sell all of their possessions if they wanted to follow Him. Those are just the things you accumulate without even trying. You aren’t thinking that they have become idols, but they sneak in all the same and subvert your affections from the things of God. 

Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

What is the first thing you reach for when you wake up in the morning? Is it coffee? Breakfast? Your phone? You do it without even thinking. The Psalmist says, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water (Psalm 63:1).” When you start your day with the Word, you are actually teaching yourself to taste and see that the Lord is good.

You can teach yourself to hunger for God’s Word through the practice of fasting. This is a physical way to cultivate spiritual desires. When you are hungry, use the physical prompts as spiritual prompts to pray or meditate on God’s Word. Jesus did this when He fasted in the wilderness for forty days. After which, the devil tried to tempt Him to turn stones into bread. But Jesus had already spent a month and a half teaching His body to crave the words of God over His physical needs. He was armed and ready. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).”

You already know this. You’ve heard them before, even from me, but have you acted on them? It is all too easy to nod our heads and agree intellectually. But Jesus is not calling us to agree with Him, He’s calling us to act. Following Christ demands steps in the right direction. It requires physical discipline. 

 

Two Types of Testings

In his book on fasting, “A Hunger for God,” John Piper says, "We easily deceive ourselves that we love God unless our love is frequently put to the test, and we must show our preferences not merely with words but with sacrifice."

There are two types of testing. James tells us that you should count it as a joy when you face various trials, because, “The testing of your faith produces steadfastness (James 1:3).” Those are trials that are unwillingly inflicted upon you.

But there is another way to test your faith: when you willingly discipline your bodies. Paul writes about the sort of exercises that athletes put themselves through because they want to win the prize. “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified (I Corinthians 9:27).” This is a self induced testing that trains your body to prioritize God over your physical desires. 

 

All these things will be added to you 

There is a fear in sacrifice, a fear in giving something up, especially if you don’t want to lose it. Again, Tozer writes, “Everything is safe which we commit to Him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed.”

When you give all of your cares over to God, you can know that He loves you and He won’t disappoint you. He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field. If you ask Him for bread, He won’t give you a stone. When you surround yourself with the treasures of this world, worry creeps in as you discover that you cannot keep everything safe on your own. This is what causes you to be anxious. It is a burden you were never meant to bear. Jesus tells you to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and everything else will be added to you. 

God is a much better caretaker than you are. You know that, but it is still difficult to surrender everything over to Him. God wants you to trust Him. He wants you to cast all of your cares upon Him. You can’t just do it intellectually. You have to physically let it go. You have to make sacrifices and discipline your body. Then, you are free to appreciate what God has given you and know that it is safe in His hands. 

Fellow Christian, you are weary and heavy laden. Christ has already taken your greatest burden of sin. You can trust Him with all your other needs. Don’t be anxious, but discipline yourself through sacrifice to turn all of your concerns over to God. It is time for you to rest in His mercy and grace. 

Adam Miller is the president and host of Songtime Radio and serves as the pastor of South Chatham Community Church. 

You can hear his teaching on our daily broadcast on the radio or online, watch his preaching live on Facebook, and read his weekly sermon manuscripts on our website.