FBC Marshallville
March 22, 2026 Clay Burdette
  • Spirit Of The Living God
  • Make Me A Channel Of Blessing (Euclid)
  • The Solid Rock

  • Choosing Light Over Darkness

    Bible Passage: Matthew 6:22–24, 33

    As you know, this passage is part of the Sermon on the Mount.
    This sermon is the longest recorded sermon Jesus ever gave.
    In this particular passage He was making reference to long held beliefs among Jewish people.
    He discussed prayer and the tradition of making public your ability to pray long prayers.
    He discussed fasting and how fasting is often made known but Jesus said fasting should be between God and the one fasting.
    In other words beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them.
    Another topic faced by everyone who has ever lived is the desire to store up treasures.
    Jesus mentioned the desire to store up treasures here on earth.
    The problem with that as He noted is that...
    Moth and rust destroy them
    Or Thieves break in and steal them
    Jesus mentioned another place we could store our treasures...
    Heaven
    Moth and rust do not destroy
    Thieves do not break in or steal those treasures.
    Jesus also noted that where our treasure is that is where our heart will be.
    1st chair
    2nd chair
    3rd chair
    As Jesus continues in His sermon...
    Matthew 6:22–24 NASB 95
    22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
    Skip down to ...
    Matthew 6:33 NASB 95
    33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
    Pray
    Those who choose light over darkness must...

    1. Illuminate Your Vision

    Matthew 6:22–23 NASB 95
    22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
    The eye is the lamp of the body
    Lamps were used to dispel darkness in homes or other buildings.
    The temple had many lamps some of them burning continually illustrating the light of God.
    Jesus is making reference to these lamps and alludes to the fact that our eye is the lamp for our body.
    With that in mind, lets look at what He says.
    If the eye is clear ie. healthy or sincere the body will be full of light
    The clear eyed person is in the first chair.
    This person is listening to the word of God and is taking up the cross of obedience.
    The clear eyed person has a desire to know God, to live God’s life in this world.
    Though you might not have all the answers you trust the future to God.
    Maybe you remember the story of Dilip Joseph. Kidnapped by the Taliban Audible
    He was Medical Director for Morning Star Development which is an economic and community initiative that works in Afghanistan.
    He is a Christian who went to Afghanistan to train Afghanis to care for their health.
    In doing this the Taliban captured He and his translator and driver.
    At the beginning of this captivity he had to decide how he would handle it.
    Of course fear was rampant because no one knew what was going to happen.
    When fear comes it must be overcome.
    So Dr. Joseph reasoned out what he knew about God.
    As soon as he surrendered his emotions to God, trusting God with his outcome, peace came.
    We know this because he was rescued by Seal Team 6.
    1st Chair people have sincere eyes and trust God, no matter the situation.
    On the other hand...
    If the eye is bad or evil the body is full of darkness
    In just a few minutes we will see that Jesus presents us with 2 options for master.
    We will love one and hate the other, or
    We will be devoted to one and despise the other
    You cannot serve 2 masters
    So if the eye is bad or evil it is because we have chosen to worship the wrong master.
    In worship all that we are is devoted to the thing of worship.
    When I was dating Dawn other women were not on my mind.
    I devoted all my time to trying to understand her
    to please her.
    To make her think that she was all important to me.
    In short I was somewhat guilty of worshipping her.
    When I looked at a map it was to find a quicker way to her.
    When I was working it was so I could earn money to make a trip to her in Ohio.
    So much of my life was consumed by her.
    I attended church but most of my time was dedicated to thinking of Dawn.
    When we worship that which is not God our eye is bad or evil.
    If the light in you is bad or evil how great is the darkness
    When light is bad we often do not see the things that are present.
    Often those things are out to destroy us.
    Work when worshipped separates us from those things God has given us for the purpose He created us.
    When a girl friend is worshipped we are apt to ignore the call of God because our eye is bad or evil.
    Your vision must be illumined so...

    2. Choose Your Master

    Matthew 6:24 NASB 95
    24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
    You can serve only one master for The other master will be hated.
    Dilip had to decide who He would be, which master He would serve.
    He could serve fear so that everything he did was about lessening that fear, essentially serving himself.
    Or He could serve God and recognize he was in this for a purpose.
    He chose to serve God and watch to see where God was working.
    In so doing he impressed his captors because of his peace.
    They expected fear.
    He was casually peaceful.
    One even said, “He is a better Muslim than we are.”
    Of course Dilip’s peace came from choosing the correct Master.
    Since we can serve only one master...
    Therefore either God will be your master Or wealth will be your master
    In this verse Jesus says there cannot be a second chair.
    You cannot live serving 2 masters.
    Riding the fence brings inner turmoil and compromise.
    We all live in this world and therefore we are invested in the things of this world.
    But they do not have to become master.
    This verse says we will choose one master or the other.
    In our world it is very easy to let materialism become our religion.
    It is a subtle form of idolatry.
    Thus wealth becomes our master.
    Perhaps you see that you do live in this second or even third chair.
    V.33 tells us how to move into the first chair.

    3. Seek First the Kingdom

    Matthew 6:33 NASB 95
    33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
    The first chair seeks His kingdom and His righteousness first.
    Maybe you have been in a situation where you did not know what to do, which way to go. What did you do first?
    Did you stop and pray?
    Did you simply start doing all you knew to do?
    Seeking the kingdom first means you have learned the lesson and now humble yourself before the Lord in every decision.
    This first chair knows that God knows best.
    Even though I think it should go this way.
    First chair has learned our understanding is very limited.
    First chair has learned to trust God no matter the situation.
    When Joshua reasoned how to fight Jericho he saw something He learned was from the Lord.
    The instructions given him were not typical battlefield strategy
    But he did what he was told.
    The people of Israel walked into Jericho over fallen walls.
    Every decision we make needs to be made by seeking the kingdom and His righteousness first.
    The second and third chair does not seek His kingdom and His righteousness first.
    These chairs have never experienced complete trust in the Lord.
    These chairs understand God as something to be worshipped in a religious experience.
    The word of God is seen as a good way to live life but you can’t find answers for everything in there.
    The result is anxiety, misaligned priorities and often hopelessness.
    The second chair says God is the answer.
    But life proves that is not what this chair really believes.
    This chair is in a constant struggle aligning their lives with the word of God.
    I know what the Bible says, they say, but I do not believe it applies in this situation.
    Or they say, I know you believe that but I just cannot believe like you do, talking to a 1st chair person.

    Conclusion

    When choosing light over darkness....
    Illuminate your vision
    Fill your eyes with clear vision.
    Do not let the bad or evil things of this world fill your vision.
    Bad or evil will keep you out of this first chair.
    Choose your master
    Of the 2 masters, God or wealth you must choose.
    No one can serve 2 masters, try as we might.
    We will always forsake one for the other.
    Second chair tries it but through compromise becomes hypocritical.
    Seek first the kingdom
    The only way to remain in the first chair is to seek the kingdom first.
    Nothing is more important than the kingdom.
    So I ask you today, What is most important in your life?
    God’s kingdom ?
    Or your thinking?
    The hymn of invitation is different today.
    Some might think it impossible to do.
    Others might think it too easy.
    But as you listen to these words understand you are pledging to do what only God can do.

    570 Lord, Lay Some Soul upon my heart

    Verse 1 Lord lay some soul upon my heart And love that soul through me And may I bravely do my part To win that soul for Thee
    Chorus Some soul for Thee some soul for Thee This is my earnest plea Help me each day on life's highway To win some soul for Thee
    Verse 2 Lord lead me to some soul in sin And grant that I may be Endued with power and love to win That soul dear Lord for Thee
    Verse 3 To win that soul for Thee alone Will be my constant prayer That when I've reached the great white throne I'll meet that dear one there

      • Matthew 6:22–24NASB95PARA

      • Matthew 6:33NASB95PARA

      • Matthew 6:22–23NASB95PARA

      • Matthew 6:24NASB95PARA

      • Matthew 6:33NASB95PARA

  • Lord Lay Some Soul Upon My Heart
  • Praise God From Whom All Blessing Flow
FBC Marshallville
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