“Questions of the heart”
Matthew 6:19-24
Ten Percent Of Apple Computer For $800
I’d like to begin this morning with a story.
It involves these men [photo of Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs].
You probably recognize them: Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, Ronald G. Wayne
Most people Know the 2 Steves as the founders of Apple
who is third is Ronald G. Wayne?
Ronald Wayne was the third co-founder of Apple, with a ten percent ownership stake.
Remember that figure: ten percent.
How wealthy is Ronald Wayne? Not at all:
he sold his ten percent stake in Apple for $800
Would you be willing to pay $800 for ten percent of Apple Computer today?
Apple today is worth about $800 Billion dollars.
And so that ten percent stake in 1976 would today be worth about $80 Billion dollars.
Ronald ended up trading 80 Billion dollars for $800:
He got his $800, but he missed
Here’s the math: 80000000000 - 800 = 79,999,999,200.00
He made a bad trade
Jesus warns us of the same thing today: Don’t make a bad trade:
Don’t trade the reward of heaven for the treasure of earth (X2)
I have 3 questions today that should help us focus on our heavenly treasure
Where are your heart and treasure? Matt. 6:19-21 (ESV)
“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.”
Here we have the treasures of heaven, and also the treasures of earth:
And a choice must be made between them
Heaven’s treasure last forever and are secure, and we receive them when we die.
Earth’s treasure are perishable, unsecure and we leave them when we die.
Heavenly treasure is the obvious choice:
We want heavenly treasure
But earthly treasure tries to steal our heart’s attention
Jesus says it’s hard for a rich person to enter God’s Kingdom:
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:25
So what is the problem?
The problem is not having stuff, the problem is when stuff has us. (X2)
The DANGER is that we begin to worship the gift instead of the giver of the gift
What has your attention?
What is it your mind is drawn to in you alone time?
Where does your heart wander?
Is it somewhere Godly and Holy?
Or is lustful and covetousness?
2 Corinthians 10:5b “....take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
This world is not going to last:
The world and everything in it will one day burn up
It will be destroyed,
For the Christian this world is temporary
You can’t hold onto the things of this world
Things of this world won’t last and you can’t take them with you:
But these temporary things can steal our heart
They can distract us from our heavenly treasure
There is salvation or security in the things of this world.
We are the wealthiest people in the history of the world:
We have more than we need
If we are healthy and willing to work we have a good chance of living like kings
And instead of being humble and thankful to God for his wealth
We always want more, newer, better, bigger and nicer…..
Do not worship the false god of materialism
Do not bow down to the Idols of this world.
Wealth and possessions are stealing the hearts of America:
We are in an economic boom right now, incomes are up, the stock market is up
Church giving is down, there is money for ourselves, but not for God
We live in a land where people spend $50,000 on a car
But never point it in the direction of the Lord’s house
Don Williams in “One Good Well” sings
“Don’t it seem kinda funny that people with a lot of money only hunger for more? You’d think they’d learn that money can burn, it’s love that keeps the wolf from the door.”
Understand that our heart needs to be focused on God, and our treasure is in heaven
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1
Jesus is saying that your heart will always follow your treasure,
make sure your heart is following the right thing
What are you looking at?
“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!” Matthew 6:22-23 (ESV)
Our eyes steer the direction of our lives:
So pay attention to what you are paying attention to!
If we are mesmerized by the things of this world:
We are going to be blind to the things of heaven
This world will become more important than heaven
Look to the things of God, don’t be distracted by the world
Are you serving God or money? Matt. 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.”
Bob Dillon wrote a song “You Gotta Serve Somebody”:
“You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
Indeed you're gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody”
You are going to serve somebody:
Is it going to be the Devil?
Is it going to be the Lord?
You are going to serve somebody,
Who is it going to be?
When Jesus said “You cannot serve two masters”
It reminded me of Joshua in the Old Testament
Who at the end of his life took a stand for the Lord
And challenged his generation to take a stand
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
Who we serve determines our eternal reward of punishment (X2)
Review:
Understand that our heart needs to be focused on God, and our treasure is in heaven
Look to the things of God, don’t be distracted by the world
Choose right now that you will serve God, that your heart will be set on things above.
Invitation:
Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones told a story of a farmer who one day reported to his wife with great joy that his best cow had given birth to twin calves, on red and one whit.
He said, “You know, I have been led of the Lord to dedicate one of the calves to Him. We will raise them together. Then when the time comes to sell them, we will keep the proceeds that come from on calf and we will give the proceeds that come from the other to the Lord’s work.”
His wife asked which calf he was going to dedicate to the Lord, but he answered that there was no need to decide that then. “We will treat them both in the same way,” he said, “and when the time comes we will sell them as I have said.”
Several months later the man entered the kitchen looking very sad and miserable. When his wife asked what was troubling him he said, “I have bad news for you. The Lord’s calf is dead.”
“But,” his wife remonstrated, “you had not yet decided which was to be the Lord’s calf.: “Oh, yes,” he said. “I had always determined that it was to be the white one, and it is the white calf that has died.” (Boice, Sermon on the Mount page 251)
James Boice writes:
“It is always the Lord’s calf that dies -
unless we are absolutely clear about our service to Him.”
Have you decided that God will come first?
Does your life reflect that God comes before everything else?
Or maybe today is the day you say
“I need to make some changes, and I’m going to make them.”
Heaven is so much better than Earth….
"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Corinthians 2:9
The truth is:
What the world offers doesn’t last,
doesn’t satisfy and only makes us hungry for more.
Jesus loved us so much that He died on the cross for our sins
But what Jesus offers really satisfies and lasts forever.
Jesus told this parable to get our attention focused on being Rich towards God:
“ And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:15-21
I lost my wallet a few weeks ago:
Cash, cards, ID, Kroger points all gone..
Tuesday I went to the BMV to get license plates for my truck
I brought the required paperwork
Waited while the clerk tallied the bill
Print this, sign that, check check.
Ok. No problem.
Now you owe this amount of money.
I reached for my NEW WALLET, to get my debit card
No Debit card, thus no license plates
I had to leave and come back with the money.
I couldn't pay, I didn’t have enough cash on me to pay
I THOUGHT I HAD ENOUGH, BUT I WAS WRONG….
I left frustrated and empty handed
That is like those who try to Enter heaven without Jesus:
They can’t pay their own way
They are short,
Salvation is bought with the blood of Jesus,
No amount of money can buy that
Will be sent away empty handed
But for those what have believed in Jesus:
Have accepted God’s gift of salvation
They have a wonderful reward….
Those in love with the treasures of the world will miss their heavenly reward
You can’t serve Two masters:
Who are you serving?
Will you accept Jesus as your LORD and SAVIOR?
Choose right now who you will serve
If you have a decision to make,
Come now as we sing the Hymn of decision “Turn your eyes upon Jesus”
Sources:
James M. Boice “Sermon on the Mount”
John Stott “Sermon on the Mount”
College Press “Matthew” commentary
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/distractions-tom-fuller-sermon-on-jesus-ministry-139329?ref=SermonSerps
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/100109/perseverance-in-faith-by-alan-perkins?ref=TextIllustrationSerps
