Storing Up Treasure
Matthew 6:19-24
Welcome to church.
Welcome to day 50 of the year 2023!
So – how is the new year going for you?
NOW – I want to begin our time this morning... by reading the passage of Scripture that we will unpack today. It is Matthew 6:19-24... let's take turns reading it together.
Steve:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
Body:
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Steve:
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
Body:
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!
Together:
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
- Matthew 6:19-24
Prayer
NOW WHERE – we currently are in this journey through Matthew is unpacking the Sermon that Jesus shared on the hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The greatest sermon ever preached. By the greatest preacher who ever lived!
NOW… let me remind you of the scene…
It’s 30 AD and Jesus has been: preaching, teaching and healing people for about a year.
AND SO - there is a very large group of people following after HIM, the... young/old, rich/poor, male/female,
zealots/religious leaders, educated/non-educated
skeptics/seekers
AND LISTEN – as Matthew chapter 5 opens up…
IT’S TIME - for Jesus to give His platform speech, His manifesto, if you will.
YES IT’S TIME - for Jesus to let everyone know what both He and His Kingdom are all about.
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. – Matthew 5:1,2
AGAIN– this huge crowd is made up of people coming from different places, they have different stories,
and they represent diverse ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds.
AND LISTEN - what Jesus has to say in the Sermon on the Mount (about the path to real life, and about what it means to live life in His Kingdom)...
He addresses to all of these different people.
AND B/S – the path that Jesus unveils on that hillside 2000 years ago... Was not what the people expected,
AND – it was certainly not the path that most people were on, or had ever thought about walking.
NOW JESUS – begins this sermon (Matthew 5:3-12) by talking about the character of the men and women who live in His Kingdom,
HE - says that they ARE…
The poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful,
AND… those who are persecuted for the life they live and the Lord they love…
AND – Jesus says that they will
Be blessed, Inherit the earth, be satisfied, receive mercy, see God, be comforted, experience the kingdom of heaven, be called a son of God and rejoice in their great reward in heaven.
AND THEN – in Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus talks about the kind of influence and impact that those who follow Him will have.
IN FACT - He says that they will be the ‘salt’ of the earth and the ‘light’ of the world.
AND REMEMBER B/S…
Being the ‘salt’ of the earth is about how the world is decaying and how it needs
(just like meat in the first century)
something added and applied to it in order to stop this decay.
AND LISTEN - when ‘Kingdom Living Jesus Followers’ who are full of the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) rub shoulders with this world...
Rub some: patience, peace... it helps to the decay.
GET IT?
AND being the ‘light’ of the world is about ‘the truth’ that we share and ‘The Savior’ we point.
MGCC/BS...
You ARE the salt of the earth!!!
You ARE the light of the world!!!
The Sermon On The Mount
Jesus’ Kingdom Manifesto
• Matthew 5:3-12 – this is who my people are
(The Beatitudes)
• Matthew 5:13-16 – this is the influence they will have
(salt of the earth and light of the world)
• Matthew 5:17-7:27 – this is the how they are to live out their lives
(distinct and different from both the world and from the religious leaders)
UNDERSTAND – in this 3rd section of the SM, Jesus is like, Hey, I know that the world and the religious leaders have many ideas and opinions about...
• Anger and rage and bitterness and lust and adultery and divorce (Matthew 5:21-32)
• Telling the truth and keeping your word
(Matthew 5:33-37)
• What do and how to behave when someone does you wrong or hurts you (Matthew 5:38-42)
• How to treat your enemies (Matthew 5:39-48)
• Doing things like (giving, fasting and praying) to be seen by others and to win their approval
(Matthew 6:1-18)
YEAH – the world and the religious leaders has many opinions...BUT – I say to you!
• Don’t even lust after another person in your heart
• Don’t let rage, and anger, and bitterness
• Always tell the truth... let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and yor ‘no’ be ‘no’
• Don’t look for ways to get even when someone wrongs and hurts you.
• Don’t just not hate your enemies, but actively love them.’
• Don’t look for a quick way to get out of tough marriage but fight to restore it.
UNDERSTAND – every single time in His Kingdom Manifesto, that Jesus brings up one of these difficult and relevant issues... HE - raises the bar...
YEAH – I know the world sees it and does it this way...
BUT – that is not how we do things in my kingdom.
Get It?
AND MGCC – in our text this morning... Matthew 6:19-24
Jesus is going to teach us, that when it comes to
money and possessions,
THOSE - who follow Him and live in His Kingdom, see and do things much-much differently.
IN OTHER WORDS – they have the proper relationship with Money and Possessions (stuff, things)
Anybody getting a little nervous?
NOW – I chose the title ‘Fail-Safe Investing’ for today’s conversation... And the way I want to attack it is by answering 3 questions?
• Where’s your heart?
• How’s your vision?
• Whose your master?
OKAY – let’s do this, ‘Fail Safe Investing,’
Matthew 6:19-24
NOW – this week I started wondering about what were some of the greatest one time investments in history...
YOU KNOW – the ones that had the greatest return on investment (ROI)
SO – I started surfing the world-wide-web...
AND HERE – are three that I found pretty impressive...
Henry Flagler
(founded cities in Florida like Miami and Palm Beach)
In 1867 he invested $100,000 ($1.6 million today) to start a company called Standard Oil.
And in 1913 it was worth 75 million (1.7 billion today)
That’s 750 times more than he invested or 75,000% ROI
John Gray
In 1903 he invested $10,500 ($264,000 today) in the Ford Motor Company.
Sold his shares in 1919 for $26.5 million (1.8 billion today)
That’s 2,500 times more than he invested... 250,0000% ROI
Asa Candler
In 1891 he invested $2,300 ($58,000 today) to buy the Coco Cola Co. Sold it in 1923 for 25M (332 M today)
Worth 10,869 times more... a return of 1,086,900%
OKAY – a few more things I found interesting...
(and kind of sad and depressing in a way)
• $100 invested in Apple in 1980... $67,564 today a 67,564 ROI
• $1000 investment in Microsoft in 1986... 3.63 million a 363,000% ROI
NOW – after seeing these numbers, and thinking... man I was alive back in 1986... I though that it might be a good idea to look at just one more investor to give us some perspective on the true value of earthly investments.
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
QUESTION – have you ever heard of family members fighting over an inheritance?
LIKE – does it get any uglier than that.
THEY – should have left their estate to the church or some other Christian Organization.
Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable:
“The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
YEAH - things are looking really good for this guy...
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
QUESTION...
• Do you think that this guy believed that He was a good investor?
• What about his neighbors, and the people on the Jerusalem business channel... do you think were impressed and envied him? “What a smart and brilliant guy... such a wise investor.”
BUT UNDERSTAND B/S – God had a much different opinion about this guy... He was not impressed at all.
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” - Luke 12:13-21
UNDERSTAND B/S – the bible is not only full of spiritual truths, but it is also full of practical truths.
I MEAN – just think about how practical Jesus has already been in the Sermon on the Mount.
AND LISTEN – practically speaking we all need material things as a matter of life.
AND SO AGAIN – the question is, what kind of relationship must a Jesus follower have with money and material possessions? AND HOW – is their relationship different from those who live in the world...
AGAIN – we need money and material things, but how do we make sure that the NEED for material things does not turn into a GREED for material things.
When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat
if you have a big appetite; don’t desire his choice food,
for that food is deceptive.
Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; stop giving your attention to it. As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky. - Proverbs 23:1-5
QUESTION – would you agree that many people in our world today are consumed with possessing material things?
• What can I buy?
• What can I wear?
• What can I drive?
• Where can I live?
• How much money can I make and store up?
YEAH – there’s no doubt about it, we are living in a very consumer driven materialistic world.
AND SO - as a Kingdom Living Follower of Jesus we need to go...
Okay, I really do need material things to live
(they are not sinful in of themselves), LIKE...
• It’s okay to have stuff
• To be wise with my money
• To save and plan for the future
BUT - what is the proper and God-honoring relationship that I must have with money and stuff.
BECAUSE – I want to make sure that I own material things and that they do not own me.”
OKAY – now we are ready to dive into our first question..
I. Where’s Your Heart?
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
NOW – the words ‘stored up’ are actually the verb form of the word treasure and it is a ‘present active imperative’... SO – it could be translated ‘Stop storing up treasures on earth...
YOU SEE – storing up treasure was something that the people were already doing.
NOW – what Jesus is talking about is accumulating excess... going far beyond what we need.
NOW – we Americans are experts at accumulating stuff.
It’s called a ‘garage sale...’
Shuffling our junk from one home to another.
I heard this week that the average American throws away 65 pounds of clothes each year.
Yeah, we have so much excess stuff.
IN FACT - 1 out of 10 Americans has so much stuff that they rent offsite storage units to hold it all.
There are over 50,000 storage facilities in America.
NOW – someone did the math and determined that there is 7.3 square feet of storage space for every man, women and child, which means that every person in our country can stand in a storage unit at the same time.
YEAH – we have a lot of stuff, and some of our stuff just keeps getting bigger and bigger...
1950’s AVG home size 983 square feet (3-4 people)
Today AVG home size 2310 square feet (2-3 people)
QUESTION...
Why should we stop storing up treasures on earth?
Let suggest 3 reasons.
1) Treasures on earth...do not last
HEY, IS ANYBODY: still..
• driving their first car?
• using their first cell phone?
• wearing the same shoes?
UNDERSTAND – in the first century one of the ways that people stored up wealth was by storing up clothing and precious metals.
NOW – most people only has a couple outfits.
HOWEVER - the wealthy had more, and they stored them up.
BUT – the problem was that moths could eat their stored up clothing and rust could corrode the precious metal they had stored up... and if those two did not take out their earthly treasures... then thieves could break in (dig through) and steal them.
AND LISTEN – whatever money and possessions that we somehow manage to keep in the end, it all stays behind.
We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. – 1 Timothy 6:7
NOW - I know it’s an old saying, but have you ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer?
King Tuts tomb... though he tried very hard and put all kinds of valuable stuff in his 4 chamber tomb.
He was not able to take it with him.
MGCC – treasures stored up on earth do not last.
2) Treasures on earth...are not the answer
UNDERSTAND – there is no debate that the prevailing philosophy in the good old U.S. of A. is that money is the answer to everything
AND MGCC – if we were honest most of us have felt the same way, a time or two.
IF – I just had a little more money…
IF - I just had a little more stuff…
THEN – everything would be so much better then it is right now…
IN FACT – maybe, you even feel that way now….
OR you did before I said that money is not the answer…
BUT – the truth is (money wealth and riches) are not the answer..... They don’t solve everything… not in this life, AND – especially not in the life to come…
NOW - the rich guy in Luke 12 that we read about as we began today obviously thought that money and having more of it was the answer… “I need more money…I need a bigger bank account… more investments… more stuff… and I need more room to store it all…”
YEAH - this guy was living for the day when he could sit back and say to himself;
“My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!'
(You made it, your houses are paid off, your investment portfolio is overflowing, and the gas tank in your RV is full)
20"But God said to him, `You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get it all?' 21"Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God."
UNDERSTAND – money no matter how much we have without Jesus Christ, will not do us any good in the life to come. AND LISTEN - money (despite popular opinion and cultural spin) is not the answer in this life either...
IN FACT - sometimes money even makes things worse. Don’t take my word for it…
CHECKOUT - what some of the wealthiest people of all time have said about money…
I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness” - John W. Rockefeller
The care of 200 million is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it - W.H. Vanderbilt
I was happier when I was doing a mechanic’s job - Henry Ford
Millionaires seldom smile. - Andrew Carnegie
Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep… Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands. – Ecclesiastes 5:10-12,15
3) Storing up earthly treasures can and often does lead people away from God.
Those who want to get rich (Not just those who are rich)... fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people 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. 1 Timothy 6:9,10
Treasures in heaven
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. – Matthew 6:19,20
Why? Because treasure in heaven....
• They DO last
• They ARE the answer, and
• They WILL draw You closer to God
NO we can’t take it with us, but we can send it ahead!
AMEN?!
LISTEN – Jesus is giving us the ultimate insider trading tip when it comes to investing (and He is not even a member of congress)...
Invest and value what will last forever.
Use what God has given you now, to invest in kingdom work that impacts people for eternity.
UNDERSTAND MGCC...
• when you give your offering to this church to support the ministry and work here, you are laying up treasures in heaven.
• when you pick up extra food at the grocery store for the kids at Baker Butler who need food over the weekend you are storing up treasures in heaven.
• when you sponsor a child through Compassion International or some other organization you are storing up treasures in heaven.
• when you donate money for water purifications systems, which we have done about 8 times, you are storing up treasures in heaven
• when you drop a few dollars into our compassion bucket, you are storing up treasures in heaven
• when you buy every high schooler that rides the bus you drive a heart-shaped box of chocolates on Valentines so that they know that are loved, you are storing up treasures in heaven
• when you: buy some food for a homeless person, loan someone your vehicle so they can get to work, open your home so someone can have a roof over their head, donate money so someone can go on a mission trip,
OKAY HERE’S THE DEAL...
When we have a Kingdom mindset about money and possessions we will always be looking to get more stuff, and save more stuff so we have more stuff to give away.
GET IT?
QUESTION – how much should we give?
“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.”
– CS Lewis
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21
SO B/S – where is your heart?
YEAH – that truth may make us a little uncomfortable...
BUT – it is still the truth.
UNDERSTAND – wherever you are heavenly invested is an indication of where you true affections lie.
AGAIN...
• where is your heart?
• what is your relationship with money and possessions?
• are you storing up treasures and resources on this earth for yourself or are you storing up treasures in heaven
AND HEY – one more very important thing before we move on to the next question...
You can only store up treasures for yourself in heaven if you are actually going there.
II. How’s Your Vision?
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! - Matthew 6:22,23
NOW – I have always found this passage a little confusing and hard to understand... AND – this week I figured out why?
BECAUSE – I had forgotten one of the key principles in correctly understanding Scripture...
Context is.... KING!
QUESTION – so what is the context of Matthew 6:22,23?
WELL – in the proceeding verses Jesus is talking about what? money and possessions...
AND - in the verse that follows Matthew 6:24, which we will get to in just a moment what is Jesus taking about? Money and possessions.
THEN – what is the context for Matthew 6:22,23? Money and possessions. Jesus is on the same topic.
OKAY... so here is the The bottom line of what Jesus is saying in these two verses, HE IS SAYING - that if we do not have the right relationship with money and possessions... it’s a vision problem.
A Vision problem that is causing us to not see clearly what really matters and is lasting.
(like spiritual cataracts)
Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, - Deuteronomy 9:15
The right perspective...
And what is the right perspective? THAT - none of your stuff is yours...
NOW - somewhere along the way Christians have bought into the lie that only 10% of what they have belongs to God…YOU KNOW - bring God 10% and then the rest is yours to do whatever you want… That’s just not true. It’s a lie
The earth and everything on it belong to the LORD. The world and its people belong to him. - Psalm 24:1
AND – here’s the deal.
When we have the right perspective it will lead to the right use of our money and possessions.
AND MGCC – we see this perfectly illustrated in Acts ch 4.
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. – Acts 4:32-35
SO MGCC – how’s your vision?
Is your eye good?
Do you have the right perspective about your money and possessions?
Which has led you to...
Or is your vision towards your money and possessions more like this...
Final question...
III. Whose Is Your Master?
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Matthew 6:24
No one can do what?
UNDERSTAND – Jesus is saying that you cannot have both Him and money as your God?
QUESTION...How do you know when money and possessions have become your God?
UNDERSTAND… money has become our God when we look to it…
• As our source of security
• As our source of satisfaction
• As our source of significance
In other words we know that money has become our God when we look to it... to do for us the very things that God wants to do for us.
We cannot serve both God and money.
NOW - in Matthew 19... we meet a guy who thought that he could, but who found out that, this is not how things work in Jesus’ Kingdom.
A man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
In other words money and possessions had become His God, and He had to make a choice.
Many believe we can have to best of both worlds – wealth and worship. Jesus says that is simply not possible. One of the two will dominate our time and attention. Eventually both masters will demand our attention at the same time. Then our true love will be obvious. – Mark Moore
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life... – Matthew 19:16-28
MGCC – it’s 2/19/2023
• Where’s your heart?
• How’s your vision?
• Whose your master?
Command those who are rich in this present world
not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. - 1 Timothy 6:17-19
UNDERSTAND B/S... REAL LIFE – is not about getting…
IT’S – about giving.
‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” – Acts 20:35
AND LISTEN SINCE – giving leads to real life...
It’s okay to want to have a lot of money...
BECAUSE – then you will have a lot more to give away and advance the kingdom of God. UNDERSTAND - the power to do good with money is unbelievable.
Money Can…
• feed the hungry, give hope to the hopeless.
• clothe the naked, release the prisoner
• provide homes for orphans
• sponsor a child in another country
• build churches that change lives, heal communities and take the Gospel throughout the world
• provide housing for the homeless.
• AND – money can equip and empower people to do the work of God in this world
