Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount Part 14
Where is your Treasure Stored?
Matthew 6:19-24
Introduction
Where are our thoughts? What do we think about? Are our thoughts on Earth or on Heaven? Is our mind on Earthly things or on God? What are we seeking, the things of the Earth or the things of Heaven? Where is our heart, focused on earth or focused on heaven?
The concern of Jesus in this passage is on money, possessions, and material things. His concern is that we guard against centering our lives around houses, furnishings, cars, lands, buildings, stocks, all the things that make up security and wealth on this earth.
The reason is simple to understand; nothing on this earth is secure and lasting. It is aging, decaying and wasting away. What Jesus wants is for us to center our lives around Him and heaven, because in Him is life and Security. To stir our thinking about this He will give us a lesson on wealth and materialism. Again the theme of the sermon on the mount is being distinctive, so even in how we handle money and possessions is to be distinctive from the rest of the world.
Read Scriptures: Matthew 6:19-24
I. A Contrast between two kinds of Riches.
Vs. 19-20 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Jesus gives us a contrast between two kinds of riches.
1. There are earthly riches. These are things on earth that we as mankind desire. Earthly riches would be things like clothes, cars, jewelry, toys, houses, pleasure, fame, power, money, anything that dominates a person’s life and ties it down to this earth.
Jesus says three things about earthly riches that are very important for us tonight.
A. Don’t store up for yourselves earthly riches. Jesus says that our lives are not to be focused on earthly things, not to set our eyes, mind, energy, and effort on trying to gain earthly riches.
B. Earthly riches are corruptible and destroyed. Something terrible happens to everything on earth. Everything ages, dies, deteriorates, and decays. You walk through a junk yard, all of those automobiles in that junk yard were once prized by someone, and now they are just rusting pieces of scrap metal.
C. Earthly riches are insecure. The things on earth are insecure for three reasons. They can be stolen or eaten up, they do not last; they waste away. We can’t take it with us!!!
2. Then there are heavenly riches. These are things in heaven that we should desire as believers. What are heavenly riches: becoming a true child of God, living a blameless life. Jesus says two things about heavenly riches that are important for us to understand tonight.
A. We are given the command to store up heavenly riches.
B. Heavenly riches are incorruptible. Heavenly riches are secure, thieves cannot break in and steel.
Jesus says a we are to store up treasures in heaven for ourselves, not store up treasures on earth for our family. That is the contrast.
II. A warning about two kinds of hearts
Vs. 21-23 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
Jesus warns us about two kinds of hearts in this passage.
1. There is the good heart. It is just like a good eye. This verse says that the eyes are the gate of entrance into to the mind of a person. What we look at is what we think about. Now this is not just a glance or look, look in this context is what you are longing for, it is what the focus of your life is. If your focus is on Jesus, who is the light of the world, then your heart will be full of light.
Where your heart is, your focus, what you are longing for, that is where your treasure will be. If your heart is focused on earth, then your treasure will be on earth. If your heart is focused heavenward then your treasure will be in heaven. This heart should be typical of a believer.
A healthy heart is like a good eye, it understands what true treasure is, the treasure of heaven.
2. There is the bad heart. It is just like a bad eye. A bad eye is not able to focus on the treasure of heaven, not able to focus on the things of God. A bad eye is blind and in darkness. So it is with the heart. A heart that does not focus on Spiritual things is blind and in darkness. This heart is typical of a lost person.
Jesus said “When the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness”, the light is who you are following, there are only two lights, the light of the world, which is Jesus, then we have the light of darkness, which is a false light, which is really no light at all, it is in effect following satan. God says you are either with Him or you are against Him. There is no middle ground.
III. A choice: which master will we choose.
Vs. 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
A choice has to be made, either serve God or serve the world. We must choose one, because if you try to serve both, when one calls you will have to leave one to serve the other. You must cleave to one, which means you despise the other.
There are only two treasures, the earth and its treasures or God and His treasures. Physical material things or spiritual and eternal things. Every person without exception has committed themselves to one of the two treasures, mammon or God.
So many look at wealth as a blessing of God, a sign that they are godly. But the Bible says different.
1 Timothy 6:5-11 “and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”
Conclusion
Where is your treasure being stored up, do you have more earthly toys and possessions than you have spiritual, eternal, heavenward treasures. Where your heart is, your focus, that is where you treasure will be.
I pray that we would have a life with eternal purposes, not earthly.
(Thanks sermoncentral contributor, Preacher’s outline and sermon bible)
