In the movie, “The Pirates of the Caribbean,” Captain Jack Sparrow has a compass. It is no ordinary compass. Rather than pointing north, it points toward whatever the person holding it wants most. It might be treasure, or a person, or a location. But it only works if the person holding it knows what they want.
But Captain Jack, self-centered as he is, doesn’t really know what he wants and so the compass doesn’t always work for him. In the second “Pirates” movie, when he is trying to find the chest containing the still-beating heart of Davy Jones (which, by the way, gives a whole new meaning to “where your treasure is, there your heart will be”) Jack can’t get a heading from his compass. So he convinces Elizabeth that finding the chest will reunite her with her true love. And because her heart is more certain at that moment than his, they get their heading and continue their journey.
What if you had a compass like that this morning? Where would the needle point? What is it that you treasure most in your life? Those are the questions that Jesus is dealing with in the passage that we’ll be focusing on this morning. So go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Matthew 6 and follow along as I read beginning in verse 19:
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 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!
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.
Matthew 6:19-24 (ESV)
Last week, we began a series of five messages that focus on our kingdom stewardship by developing four foundational principles. Since we want to make sure that we continue building on a firm foundation this morning, let’s review them briefly:
Foundational principle #1:
• God owns everything
Foundational principle #2:
• God has appointed us to be stewards of what He owns
Foundational principle #3:
• We will be held accountable for our stewardship
Foundational principle #4:
• Stewardship is required in all areas of my life
We’ll evaluate these words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount using these foundational principles as our guide. Although at first glance it may appear that Jesus is making three unrelated statements, He is actually using a common Rabbinical technique of parallelism in which He is communicating the same underlying principle with three separate illustrations.
Jesus is sharing some crucial investment principles with His followers in this passage – not some hot stock tips to generate temporary wealth in the stock market, but something far more important – principles that will enable us to be rich for eternity as we invest in His kingdom.
Although on the surface Jesus seems to be dealing primarily with our financial resources, the principles that He lays out for us here deal with every area of our lives. As we saw clearly last week, our stewardship is not limited to our financial resources and possessions – it is also required of our time, our talents and of the gospel that has been entrusted to us.
Since I have accumulated some retirement savings from my previous jobs, I have a responsibility to invest those funds wisely in order to be a good steward. So although I have an accounting degree and quite a bit of knowledge in the area of finances, I use a professional financial advisor to help me invest those funds wisely because I don’t have the time to devote in order to do that effectively myself.
But in order for him to be able to invest my funds appropriately, I have to make a number of choices that impact his recommendations. I have to choose when I plan to begin to start using those funds, I have to choose the amount of risk that I am comfortable with. I have to choose how much discretion to give him in investing my money and how often we meet to discuss those investments.
Investing in God’s kingdom also requires us to make a number of choices. The passage that we’re looking at this morning deals with three of those choices that will determine just how effective that I will be in my investments there.
TO INVEST EFFECTIVELY IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN…
1. I must choose to treasure the things that God treasures
The story is told of the husband who was on a business trip and decided to buy a gift to bring home to his wife to show her how much he appreciated her.
The lady at the cosmetics counter showed him a bottle of perfume for $75, but the man thought that was a bit expensive. So the clerk pulled out a smaller bottle of the same perfume, which cost only $50. Again, the man explained that this was a bit expensive. The clerk, trying to conceal her frustration, showed him the smallest bottle available, priced at $20.
The man shook his head and said, “I think I’d like you to show me something really cheap.” So she reached under the counter and showed him a mirror.
What this man demonstrates is that what we treasure in life is demonstrated a whole lot more by our actions than our words. While he may have claimed to value his wife, his actions said otherwise.
Jesus uses an interesting play on words in verses 19 and 20. He literally says “Do not treasure for yourselves treasures on earth…but treasure for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Here Jesus is using earth and heaven to distinguish between two completely different worlds – our temporary life here on this earth where we are merely sojourners and our place of permanent citizenship – the kingdom of heaven.
The point He is making here – one that is confirmed throughout Scripture – is that we are not to treasure what the world values, but rather we are to treasure what God values. And if our treasure is truly in heaven, then we will invest our time, talents and treasure in those things that have value in that kingdom rather than in the things that have value here on earth. And what we choose to treasure will clearly demonstrate where our hearts are.
Since that is the case, then the question we must ask is this: What does God treasure? Obviously we don’t have time to discuss a complete answer to that question this morning, but let’s focus on two of the most significant:
• People
Four times in Exodus and Deuteronomy, God refers to His people as a “treasured possession”, culminating with this verse near the end of Deuteronomy:
And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments,
Deuteronomy 26:18 (ESV)
God values people. He values them so much that He sent His Son to this earth to die on a cross to provide eternal life. Jesus described just how much God treasures people in this familiar verse from His conversation with Nicodemus:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 (ESV)
When Jesus uses the term “world” in that passage, He is not speaking of the physical sphere on which we live, but rather the people who inhabit the earth. God treasures every single life so much that He was willing to put His money where His mouth was, so to speak, by sending His very own Son to this earth to provide the possibility of eternal life for every person.
Let’s look briefly at the second thing that God treasures and then we’ll take both elements together and see if we can’t draw some practical applications.
• The eternal
As Paul writes to Timothy, he provides us with some good insight into God’s heart in this area:
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 (ESV)
The principle here is clear. Because God treasures the eternal much more that the temporal, we are to focus our lives on those things that will make a difference for eternity, not just invest in those things that will bring temporary pleasure. And when we do that, the irony is that God actually gives us the ability to enjoy the temporary treasures which He has entrusted to us much more than if we treasured those things in the first place.
So when I combine the idea that God treasures people with the idea that He also values the eternal, I can rightly conclude that if I am to treasure the things God treasures, I must invest all that God has entrusted to me in developing the lives of people in a way that will equip them for eternity. While that might mean I begin by meeting their physical needs, my long term goal must be to do all that I can to help them become a mature disciple of Jesus.
This first principle is embodied in our church’s mission statement:
To develop mature disciples who follow, serve and proclaim Jesus as Messiah.
2. I must choose to focus on the things on which God focuses
For much of my life, I had bad eyes. Because of the shape of my eyes I was unable to focus on any object that was more than a few inches away. But then I had LASIK surgery where a doctor used a laser to reshape my eye to enable me to be able to see clearly objects that are both nearby and far away. So because my eyes were transformed from “bad” to “healthy”, I am now able to focus my eyes properly.
Here in this passage, Jesus is making the point that we all need spiritual LASIK. The key here is to understand what Jesus meant when He said, “if your eye is healthy…” The word translated “healthy” in the ESV is rendered “good”, “clear” or “single” in some other translations.
It is a Greek word that is hard to translate into English with just one word. The word literally means “without folds” and its most basic meaning is “single” or “simple”. Jesus is contrasting that here with a “bad” eye. In Jewish literature, the idea of a bad or evil eye is often associated with stinginess. We see this in a couple of places in the Proverbs, including this verse:
Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;
do not desire his delicacies,
Proverbs 23:6 (ESV)
If you read this verse in your ESV Bible you will notice a footnote that indicates that in Hebrew, the word “stingy” is literally “whose eye is evil.” So when Jesus refers to a “healthy” eye, he may be speaking of one who is generous as opposed to stingy. But my sense here is that there is a broader point that Jesus is making – one that seems to fit in with the overall theme of the Sermon on the Mount.
Obviously Jesus is using the eye here in a figurative sense. He is dealing with our spiritual eyesight rather than our physical eyesight. And in the spiritual realm our eyes can either be used to see and to focus on that which is bad – those things that are opposed to the kingdom of heaven - or we can use them to see and to focus on that which is healthy – those things that advance the kingdom of heaven.
We’ve already seen that principle confirmed as Jesus taught about prayer, and especially when He taught about asking, seeking and knocking. You’ll remember that we determined that those three activities were all to be focused on God and on His kingdom rather than our selfish needs and desires.
If I have a “bad” eye, then I will view life as an opportunity to invest in those things that bring me comfort and pleasure. But if I have a “healthy” spiritual eye I will view life as an opportunity to invest in what God focuses on – His kingdom.
Here’s how Paul summarized this principle:
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (ESV)
3. I must choose to serve God as He wants me to serve
A Mormon acquaintance once pushed Mark Twain into an argument on the issue of polygamy. After long and tedious expositions justifying the practice, the Mormon demanded that Twain cite any passage of scripture expressly forbidding polygamy.
“Nothing easier," Twain replied. "No man can serve two masters.”
I’m not sure that is exactly what Jesus had in mind here with this third illustration of how we are to invest in the kingdom of heaven.
Although most of us are very familiar with these words of Jesus, I’m not sure how deeply we’ve considered the seriousness of what He says here. This is not a suggestion. Jesus does not say, “You should not serve God and money.” It’s actually not even a command. He does not say. “You must not serve God and money.” What Jesus is describing here is an impossibility. “You cannot serve God and money.”
How much frustration would we all avoid if we really believed what Jesus is saying here and then lived our lives in accordance with those words? This is not a new problem at all. In fact, we find throughout the Bible that the greatest obstacle to man’s relationship with God is his attempt to serve God while still hanging on to something else. For Israel, it was often trying to worship God while still thinking they could hold on to the Gods of the people whose land they had conquered or made political alliances with.
But in many ways, we’re no different at all. We invest all our time, talent and treasure trying to achieve the “American Dream” and then we just add on God as an appendage and ask Him to bless our efforts.
In the New American Commentary, I’m afraid Craig Blomberg does a pretty good job of describing the typical Christian in the United States in the 21st century:
We try so hard to create heaven on earth and to throw in Christianity when convenient as another small addition to the so-called good life.
If you’ve ever tried to straddle a fence for any period of time, you know just how uncomfortable that is. The only way to ultimately be comfortable is to choose one side or the other and get off the fence. But far too many of us, and I include myself in that group far too often, are stuck on the fence. We want to be Christ followers, but we also want to hang on to the things of the world. But Jesus said that’s impossible. We have to make a choice and get off the fence and choose one side or the other.
The words of Jesus to the church in Laodicea are relevant to us here:
I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:15-16 (ESV)
If I want to be effective in investing in the kingdom of heaven, I have to make three important choices:
1. I must choose to treasure the things that God treasures – developing people so they are prepared for eternity.
2. I must choose to focus on the things on which God focuses
3. I must choose to serve God as He wants me to serve
I want to close this morning by making this even more practical. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 25 and follow along as I read the Parable of the Talents beginning in verse 14:
For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25:14-30 (ESV)
SOME KINGDOM INVESTMENT PRINCIPLES
Obviously a detailed exposition of this passage would require at least a whole other sermon, maybe even several. But let me just close with three crucial principles that we can use to guide us as we invest in the kingdom of heaven:
1. All we have been given is to be invested for the benefit of the kingdom of heaven
As we saw last week, the talents all belonged to the master and were to be invested for his benefit. When God entrusts us with time, talents, treasure and the gospel, He expects us to invest those things in a way that will benefit His kingdom – not ourselves.
We do that, as we saw earlier, by investing our lives in the lives of other people and helping them to develop into mature disciples of Jesus. So the question we must always ask is this: Is my use of my time, my talents and my treasure advancing the kingdom of heaven or am I just using those thing selfishly for my benefit?
Once again, balance is appropriate here. God does provide us with the resources to meet our own needs, and often even our desires.
2. Investing in the kingdom involves risk
The third servant in the parable was afraid of His master so he just buried His talent in the ground rather than attempt to invest it for his master.
The first thing we see here is that his unwillingness to take a risk stemmed from an incorrect view of his master. If we view God as a harsh taskmaster rather than a loving Father, we’re not likely to take the risk that is needed to invest in the kingdom.
Since investing in the kingdom of heaven means investing in the lives of other sinful human beings, there is always a risk that those investments won’t pay off. There is no guarantee that our investment of time, talent and treasure and our stewardship of the gospel will have positive, lasting results. In fact, more often than not, we don’t see a return on our investment.
There is a sense in which I really envy a lot of you who have jobs where you end up with a finished product or service where you can see the results of your work. But investing in the lives of people by being a pastor or a teacher isn’t like that at all. Those of us who engage in that type of work never get to see a finished product so we never really know whether the risk of our investment has paid off. But that is OK because of the third and final principle we’ll draw from this parable…
3. We are accountable for our faithfulness, not for results
In the parable, the master never praised the servants for their results – he praised them because they were faithful with that with which they had been entrusted. And the third servant was not punished for his lack of results, but rather for his lack of faithfulness.
Although I am obviously concerned with the faithfulness of my financial advisor, I tend to be even more concerned with results. I evaluate whether it is worth paying him a fee based on whether he can earn a rate of return that is better than what I could do on my own.
Here on this earth, that is usually how we measure success – we look at results. If you doubt that just ask Mike Stoops. But the good news for us as followers of Jesus Christ is that God determines success completely differently. And knowing that God is focused on our faithfulness rather than our results really frees us up to take the risks that ore needed to invest in the kingdom of heaven.
Where is your needle pointing this morning? What do you treasure most? Are you being a good steward of your time, talents and treasure and investing in the kingdom of heaven? Or are you focusing on earthly treasure that will one day pass away?
Randy Alcorn summarizes our passage very well with what he calls the treasure principle:
You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.
