“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”– Matt. 6:19-21
Over the years I’ve known many people who made the mistake of living for the moment rather than eternity, people who wasted their lives on things of no lasting value. Some time ago I read this sad story that illustrates the folly of those whose faith is not in the Lord. “Sarah Winchester’s husband had acquired a fortune by manufacturing and selling rifles. After he died of influenza in 1918, she moved to San Jose, California. Because of her grief and her long time interest in spiritism, Sarah sought out a medium to contact her dead husband. The medium told her, ‘As long as you keep building your home, you will never face death.’

Sarah believed the spiritist, so she bought an unfinished 17-room mansion and started to expand it. The project continued until she died at the age of 85. It cost 5 million dollars at a time when workmen earned 50 cents a day. The mansion had 150 rooms, 13 bathrooms, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, and 10,000 windows. And Mrs. Winchester left enough materials so that they could have continued building for another 80 years. Today that house stands as more than a tourist attraction. It is a silent witness to the dread of death that holds millions of people in bondage.”

The fruit of deception, the folly of disobedience, and the fear of death has caused many to live in misery, waste their lives, and deprive themselves of treasures in heaven. To avoid that Paul says, “ Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”- Col. 3:2 . So where is your treasure? – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:” – Isa. 30:1
Every pastor desires to say something that will get people’s attention, meet their need, and bless their lives. The closest he can get to that is to give them God’s word. It has exactly what every person needs and has proven itself again and again.  Sadly it is ignored by the vast majority.
Rather than searching out its treasures and embracing its truth, people question its source, debate its declarations, doubt its promises, disobey its commands, and disregard its warnings. Consequently they are left with nothing but their foolish notions or the counsel of others to depend upon. And we can clearly see where that leads. All the ills of the world can be traced back to that fatal moment when, instead of obeying God, Adam and Eve questioned God and took another course of action. We have been reaping the results and repeating their rebellion ever since that day. And then have the audicity to call ourselves wise. If we are so wise why haven’t we devised a way to stop hurting ourselves? There must be a better way, and thank God there is! God has always had a witness in the world.
At numerous times and in different ways God has said, “This is the way, walk ye in it” ( Isa. 30:21), but most have not yet learned the benefit of doing so. Isaiah speaks of a coming day when His people, at long last, shall hear and heed His call – submitting themselves to Him. But we are not there yet. So, until then, this is the world we’re left to live in – a wicked world in rebellion against the Creator. As a result there is corruption, confusion, conflict, and consternation. The only safe course is God’s word – “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” – Psa. 119:105 -HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened” – Jer. 25:3
Nearly everyone, especially parents and pastors, knows the fears and frustration of trying to persuade people to do the right thing only to be ignored. It tears your heart out when you see people racing head-long into trouble and refusing to heed the counsel or warnings. But, try as we may, we aren’t able to persuade people against their will. They do as they desire. We can preach the truth, pray, and plead for people and all that is good, but only the Holy Spirit can convict them of their sins. Preachers might impress people with their subject, personality, speaking ability, or preaching style, but they can’t persuade them to do God’s will unless they have a heart to do it. As you’ve heard, “A man persuaded against his will is of the same opinion still”.

We are in a spiritual warfare. It isn’t a matter of winning an argument or over powering the will of people. Even Spirit-filled preaching and heartfelt prayer will not awaken some sinners. Jesus himself, the greatest preacher ever, could not convince everyone to repent. Neither shall we be able to reach all our dear loved ones. Although we should do our best at using the means appointed by God to win them we are wise to face the reality that we can’t win them all. So what do we do?

The only thing that will cause people to live as they should is love for God. Until they love the Lord they will continue living as they please ( Matt. 22:35-38). And since we love Him because he first loved us, the best hope we have to reach others is to both declare and demonstrate God’s love. The sinner’s mind has been blinded by Satan and reaching them will take a miracle of God’s grace. As those who love the Lord we can play a part in that by loving others unconditionally, as God loves us. If anything can get their attention that will. It is then that they are most likely to see their need and turn to the Lord. So don’t give up! – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”- Phil. 4:19
Words cannot explain how awesome it is to have the assurance afforded by this verse. Living in a world of problems this precious promise provides “peace that passeth all understanding”. Knowing it is a promise from “my God” it is sure, for He “cannot lie” ( Tit. 1:2). Knowing he says, “all your need” I am confident that there are no exceptions. Knowing he does so “according to“, not out of, “his riches in glory” assures us that there is never a shortage. His riches are never diminished due to us drawing on them. Knowing God does this “by Christ Jesus” reminds us where our focus should be.

However, we must not misunderstand. This doesn’t mean that God will give us whatever we want. He is too wise for that. Sometimes what we want is not what we need, and God knows the difference. Nor is this a promise that just anyone can claim. It was given to a generous church that had given sacrificially to support God’s work. We cannot claim this promise if we are lazy and unwilling to work, selfish and unwilling to give, poor stewards who mismanage what we receive, and foolish in that we waste what we have.

This promise was to a generous church, from the voice of experience, for every area of life, and from God who is able. If you are drifting in the darkness of some dire need I hope the light of this promise will direct you into the harbor of hope where you will find comfort in the “God of all comfort”. In light of all this we should be greatly encouraged to do as the Lord says in Matt. 6:33 “– seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”. Since His eye is on the sparrow you can rest assured that He won’t overlook His children. So with that thought I leave you with this reminder: – HDS

Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows come
Why should my heart feel lonely
And long for heaven and home
When Jesus is my portion
A constant friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches over me
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” – Phil. 4:19
Yesterday I mentioned what a great help this verse has been to me over the last 53 years as a preacher. Today I want to mention something we all need to remember. Not long after the incident I mentioned yesterday I quoted this verse during  a sermon. After the service a lady came up to me and said, “You misquoted that verse”. I responded by saying, “No I didn’t” and proceeded to quote it again. Then she said, “You did it again”. When I asked how, she replied, “You said ‘needs’, but the verse says ‘need'”. Finally I got the picture she was trying to make. Her point was that God supplies our “need” when it is needed not before. In other words, God doesn’t supply all the needs we will ever have at one time. He supplies what we need as the need arises.

Now you might think that she was nit-picking, but she was actually making a good point. As you know, we tend to want what we think we will need in the future right now. But Jesus taught us to pray for our “daily bread”, not our monthly supply. We are to live one day at a time and trust God for what we need. We worry because we have doubts about the future, whether or not our needs will be supplied. If we truly believed this verse our worries would vanish and we would be at peace.

An old song says, “I don’t worry about tomorrow. I just live from day to day”. That’s a good song, but singing it and living it are two different things. Anyone can sing the words, but it takes faith to actually practice what we sing. If our faith was strong we would rest in calm assurance that God will keep His promise and meet our need – at the moment of need. As much as we crave contentment we will never have it until we come to that conclusion. So as you think about your greatest need today it might not be what you think. It just might be that what you need most is faith – the faith to believe that God will meet your need. The good news is, this is something you can do something about – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” ( Rom. 10:17). I hope our verse today will be used for that very thing. I pray you will find peace in this precious promise. – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346