INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• At some point most of us will consider taking some of the money that we have today and investing it so that it will grow for tomorrow.
• There are inherent risks when we decide to invest our money. We could easily lose all or part of our investment.
• Will Rogers was quoted as saying that he was more interested in the return OF his money than the return ON his money.
• There are many factors that go into deciding to put your money in a particular investment, but when it is all said and done, the main thing we are looking for is best return on our investment.
• Not many of us would take our money and intentionally put it into an investment that would guarantee we would lose our money. If an investment agent told us he had a hot tip on a mutual fund he would guarantee we would not get a penny of our money back. How many of us would jump on that “hot tip”?
• Even with the perils that can come with investing, a wise person will invest for the future.
• Our lives are somewhat the same. We are investing the life we have now so we can have something wonderful in the future.
• Today we are going to consider how we should invest our lives.
• Are you investing your life in a failsafe investment?
• We are going to examine some principles that will help us to be wise investors.
• SLIDE #2
SERMON
Wise investors will:
I. EXAMINE THE OPTIONS (19-21)
• If you are going to invest in the right place, you need to examine your options.
• Let’s look at verse 19 for our first option.
• SLIDE #3
• Matthew 6:19 ( ESV ) “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
• SLIDE #4
A. Investing your life in the world
• The first investment option that is mentioned is investing into the world.
• This is an option that our investment broker Jesus encourages us not to make.
• In verse 19 Jesus is telling His listeners to STOP making this kind of investment with their lives. When Jesus says “do not” He is telling them to stop making that investment now.
• When we make investments with our money, we want to put our money in something that is going to give us a good return, we should want to do the same thing with our lives.
• We have money and we can make more money, but we have only been given one life to live and we want to make sure that we make the most of the gift that we have been given.
• Jesus demonstrates that these earthly possessions offer no security, since they are subject to elements bringing about their destruction and loss:
• Lay up and treasures come from the same basic Greek term, which is also the source of our English thesaurus, a treasury of words. A literal translation of this phrase would therefore be, “do not treasure up treasures for yourselves.”
• Jesus says that treasures stored up on earth are subject to being eaten away by moths. When we think of treasures, we think of gold, silver and money, but in Jesus day clothing was a great sign of wealth.
• The wealthy would flaunt their wealth by what they wore. They would have gold threat sewn into their clothing. Most of the fine clothing made in Jesus day was made of wool which moths loved to eat. Even the wealthy had a hard time protecting their clothing from insects.
• Jesus tells us that if we put our investment into the world that our investment is subject to rust. The word we translate “rust” denotes anything that would eat away at something, or corrode it.
• In Jesus’ day, there were no banks like we have today so some would bury their money in the ground (remember the parable of the talents) and if it was left long enough it could have been lost to the elements.
• Jesus also says that if we put or investment into the world it will be subject to being stolen. In Jesus’ day houses had dirt, mud or rock walls in which thieves could dig through to steal from you if they wanted to.
• The basic message of Jesus concerning storing up our treasures on earth is that they will not last.
• Are you investing your life into the world? When you invest in the world, you cannot take that investment with you.
• Jesus gives us another investment option.
• SLIDE #5
• Matthew 6:20 ( ESV ) but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
• SLIDE #6
B. Investing your life in heaven.
• Jesus gives us a better option for investing our lives.
• Jesus encourages us in verse 20 to invest our lives in heaven.
• The investment in heaven will pay eternal dividends, not only that, you can take your investment with you!
• Jesus says that your investment in heaven will not be subject to theft, decay or destruction.
• We invest into heaven by giving our lives to Jesus and the cause of Christ. Everything that we do reflects the investment we make.
• Do you want to make an investment that will pay off forever?
• Our life is sort of like us sending up materials to heaven for our home to be built. Some of us will have mansions and some will have shacks and some, nothing and some will have no inheritance in the kingdom of God.
• Our life can be compared to what has been called one of Sigmund Freud’s favorite stories.
• It was said that one of Sigmund Freud’s favorite stories was about the sailor shipwrecked on one of the South Sea Islands. He was seized by the natives, hoisted to their shoulders, carried to the village, and set on a rude throne.
• Little by little, he learned that it was their custom once each year to make some man a king, king for a year. He liked it until he began to wonder what happened to all the former kings. Soon he discovered that every year when his kingship was ended, the king was banished to an island, where he starved to death.
• The sailor did not like that, but he was smart and he was king, king for a year. So he put his carpenters to work making boats, his farmers to work transplanting fruit trees to the island, farmers growing crops, masons building houses. So when his kingship was over, he was banished, not to a barren island, but to an island of abundance.
• It is a good parable of life: We’re all kings here, kings for a little while, able to choose what we shall do with the stuff of life.
• Are you going to end up your eternity starving to death or are you storing up treasures up in heaven?
• SLIDE #7
• 2 Corinthians 9:6 ( ESV ) The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
• SLIDE #8
• Let’s look at verse 21.
• Matthew 6:21 ( ESV ) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
• SLIDE #9
C. Your heart will follow your investment.
• The subject of where we invest our selves is important because Jesus tells us in verse 21 that where our treasure or investment is, there our heart will be also.
• Jesus is not saying that if we put our treasure in the right place our heart will then be in the right place, but that the location of our treasure indicates where our heart already is. Spiritual problems are always heart problems. Sinful acts come from a sinful heart, just as righteous acts come from a righteous heart.
• Your treasure follows your heart, if your heart is in the right place, you will place your treasure there also.
• To be focused on treasures in heaven is to pursue those goals and activities that have eternal significance and that have a relationship to God as the ultimate concern. Since one’s treasure is indicative of a person’s loyalty and inner commitment, one’s ultimate pursuit and interests provide a window to the true self (heart).
• Being able to invest your life into the kingdom of God requires that you trust God enough to let go and let God.
• SLIDE #10
Wise investors will:
II. HAVE CLEAR VISION ABOUT WHERE TO INVEST. (22-23)
• Having clarity about what you need to do is important.
• SLIDE #11
• Matthew 6:22 ( ESV ) “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
• Let’s look at the blessings of having clear vision.
• SLIDE #12
A. The blessings of clear vision.
• Jesus uses a different illustration to illustrate His point about how where you lay your treasure affects your heart. Our heart or affection is to the soul much like the eye is to the body.
• If we are going to be a good investor, we need to have a healthy eye for God.
• If we do not fix our eyes upon spiritual things, the time will soon come when we will not be able to see the spiritual things.
• SLIDE #13
• 1 Corinthians 2:14 ( ESV ) The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
• The word translated “healthy” (or clear in some trans) in verse 22 can also mean “single”. Singleness of purpose is one of the things that we benefit us spiritually and helps us to grow and mature. (USE ATHLETE TRAINING FOR THE OLYMPICS)
• The eye regulates the movement of the body, so if we want to head towards something, we need to focus our eyes on it. (DRIVING ILLUSTRATION)
• In order for our conduct to be correct, our attention must be fixed heavenward. A healthy eye will let light into the body much like a pure heart will let light into the soul.
• The thought of the power which treasures on earth has in attracting the heart forms the transition to the need of a pure steady eye fixed heavenward!
• SLIDE #14
• Matthew 6:23 ( ESV ) but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
• SLIDE #15
B. The curse of bad vision.
• If our eye is bad, however, if it is diseased or damaged, no light can enter, and the whole body will be full of darkness. If our hearts are encumbered with material concerns they become “blind” and insensitive to spiritual concerns.
• The eye is like a window which, when clear, allows light to shine through, but, when dirty, or bad, prevents light from entering.
• The implication of this verse is that if we are trying to fix our focus on two things at once, we will not get where we need to go.
• If the eye of the soul is fixed in the wrong place, the soul will follow. Being spiritually blind would be the worst thing that can happen to a person.
• If the light that we have within us is not really light, but darkness, then we will be in serious trouble!
• SLIDE #16
Wise investors will:
III. STAY DEVOTED TO THE CHOSEN PATH. (24)
• Let’s finish with verse 24
• SLIDE #16
• Matthew 6:24 ( ESV ) “No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.
• The peril of trying to serve two masters
• If your heart is not in heaven, then your treasure will not be there either.
• If our god is materialism, we will work ourselves to death to get more stuff. If our god is entertainment, then being entertained will come first.
• If Jesus is your lord, then He will take first place. I am afraid for too many of us; we are not storing up treasures in heaven. Our actions betray what we proclaim.
• Jesus tells us that we cannot serve two masters. If we are going to successfully invest our life, we must realize that we can only serve one master.
• One of the two is going to take priority.
• Whenever a person becomes a citizen of our country, they have to swear allegiance to our country. When you accept Jesus as your Lord and savior, you are swearing your allegiance to Him!
• If you try to serve in two armies at the same time who are fighting each other, you would be considered a traitor.
• Are you trying to serve two masters? You cannot do it.
CONCLUSION
• Jesus wants entire dedication of the heart to Him. From this dedicated heart, all the duties of the Christian should be performed.
• We can fully invest ourselves in Jesus because we have faith and trust that He will do what He says He will do.
• All the other gods that people serve in life do nothing but take.
• If we want to save our life, we need to give up our life into the hands of Jesus!
• Where are you investing yourself today? Is your investment going to pay eternal dividends or when it comes time to withdraw from your investment, will you find that you have been cheated?
• Today we are going to give you the opportunity to make the greatest investment you will ever make.
• Will you and are you investing your life into something that will pay eternal dividends or do we need to redirect our current portfolio to a better way?
• Are you ready to make the ultimate FAILSAFE investment!
