Our Bible lesson reminds me of a folk song we use to sing in Girl Scouts when I was a teenager. Maybe you’ve heard it before - I was always surprised to discover that a lot of the folk songs we sang were popular tunes from my parent’s days.
This folk song was called “One Tin Soldier.” It talked about a two kingdoms. One lived up on top of a mountain, another lived in the valley below. The valley people had a treasure buried beneath a stone. The mountain people wanted it.
They sent a message to their valley kinsman demanding the treasure. The song tells us the reply from the valley people was, “With our brothers, we will share.”
But this wasn’t the response the mountain people wanted to hear.
Instead, they invaded the valley land and killed every living person. Through their aggression, they triumphed, and ‘won’ the buried treasure.
The song leaves us with the image of the mountain army digging up the stone and turning it over. There they found engraved words on the underside of the stone as their ‘treasure.’
“Peace On Earth,” was all it said.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;
but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Our Bible lesson this evening is a lesson Jesus gave, teaching his disciples how to be disciples. Our discipleship has been our focus for the past three weeks and will continue to be our focus for three more weeks following tonight.
Perhaps you are thinking that our focus should always and is always on discipleship, and if that is what you are thinking, you would be correct.
Yet our focus is different in some ways, because in some respects we are drawing a line in the sand, we are putting a block on our shoulder, we are asking the question, “Just how serious are you about this Christianity business?”
The words we read this evening come from a time when Jesus is speaking, but he wasn’t speaking to the crowd. He wasn’t speaking to those who said they believed in him; he wasn’t speaking to those who sought help and answers for their lives.
This wasn’t an ordinary group of people Jesus was talking to - he was talking to his disciples - his faithful followers - his closest companions.
We are surrounded by those who say they believe in Jesus. They believe Jesus to be the Son of God, they believe that salvation comes through him, but they also believe that there is little more that is really necessary on their part to do, other than believe. I would say that their faith is an empty faith. And that the assurance of their salvation is weak and easy to break. It is so easy for the troubles of life to overwhelm them and break them.
The Sermon on the Mount is not addressed to these individuals. The Sermon on the Mount is spoken to people who are bold enough and brave enough to stand up, and in a firm voice, proclaim, “I believe in Jesus! I am a Christian!”
Jesus speaks to those who have the courage to say, “Yes Lord, I want to follow you. I want to have a relationship with you. I want to be closer to you. Change my life and make me more Christ-like, more like you.”
And I ask you now which one are you? Think carefully before you choose, because there is no middle ground. You might say to me that you are somewhere in between, and I would say to you that is impossible. The line has been drawn in the sand. You are either on one side or the other. You are either on the journey of Christian discipleship, or you are not. There is no in between. So think before you choose, because the road of discipleship though infinitely and astronomically rewarding, is exceedingly more difficult, and will challenge your identity to the very core.
No other words Jesus speaks brings this home more so, than our Bible lesson this evening, for Jesus speaks, I believe, about the one thing that is the most difficult for us to deal with in our discipleship - that’s our money.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth...”
Treasures on earth - what are their value?
What is their worth, their long term yield? Jesus tells us treasure on earth is destructible. Moths and rust consume it. How many times have I heard, “That was just money waisted.” or “That was just money thrown away.” or “You might as well have just thrown that money in the fire and burned it because it’s gone.”
Money is destructible.
Earthly treasure is consumable. Maybe this has never happened to you, but it’s happened to me. We take the kids and go some place like the State Fair or Toadsuck Daze. Hours later we make our weary way back to the car to go home and as we do I take an inventory of the amount of money left in my pocket. I am always amazed to discover just how much money we have spent in such places. Where did it go? And it doesn’t have to be an outing like to fair to have the same effect. Every month at the end of the month, I wonder the same thing - where did the money go? Money is consumable.
Earthly treasure is stealable. We see it all the time. A few weeks ago I watched one of those documentaries where a man married a woman, convinced her to have all of her property assets either placed jointly in his name or named him as beneficiary, and then he took her on a trip to Egypt where he poisoned her and killed her.
Her life was gone, and he had everything she owned.
Money is stealable, even to the point of taking our life with it.
Do not pursuit these kinds of savings, Jesus tell us, rather... “store up for yourselves treasures in heave, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Treasure in heaven is eternal. Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
Someday we will all leave this earth. You’ve heard of long term investment? Well investment in heaven is eternal investment. Even after we have gone our earthly investments are passed on to another our heavenly investments continue to compound interest.
Treasure in heaven is eternal.
Treasure in heaven is self-sustaining. We are currently experiencing an recession in our market economy. We witness investment accounts and their yield getting smaller. But not so what we invest in heaven. We always have a high return when we invest in God’s kingdom, because we receive a triple blessing. When we invest our time, our service, our money, and our energy into God’s kingdom, often someone else’s life is touched by our generosity. God is also glorified, because we give of ourselves because of what God first gave to us. But we also find that what we give away comes back and touches our own lives as well. It doesn’t come back to us in the same form in which we sent it away. But our lives are changed from the experience, all the same. Treasure in heaven is self-sustaining.
Treasure in heaven can never be taken away. Everything we can lay our hands on is perishable. We can work to get ahead. We can strive to raise our families in the greatest of ideals. We can attempt to be very frugal and careful with our possessions. But everything we have can be laid waste in a second.
But what we invest in God’s kingdom with an earnest and faithful heart can never be taken away. What is given to God is eternal.
These are the words of committed discipleship Jesus speaks to his disciples:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;
but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Listen to those last words very carefully. I think we tend to hear them in the reverse order.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
not
For where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.”
Its not a matter of the heart. Its not a matter of desire. Earlier I spoke of people who believe in Jesus and find salvation in him, but I indicated they were outside this intimate group of disciples. It’s not because of lack of desire on their part.
To love Jesus is a decision of the heart. To be a disciple is not a decision of the heart. It’s a decision of will and courage. We must make a decision and effort to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. Why? Because it requires sacrifice in the manner in which Jesus sacrificed himself for us, and sacrifice is not easy.
Check your “bank account” - both your earthly one and your heavenly one. If Jesus were to examine those accounts, what would he say about our treasure? Where would he say our treasure lays? What have we stored up?
Jesus tells us in our Bible lesson, "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 unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.”
I’m not sure who said it, but a modern expression claims the eyes are a window into the soul. Ancient understanding, however, viewed the eyes more like a flashlight. Wherever your attention is directed, whatever you are focused on, whatever you are pursuing, then that is what you shine upon. That is what you reflect upon. That is what stands out before you.
I believe Jesus is asking us to examine our accounts to see if our light that shines is healthy or unhealthy.
Emmet Fox puts it this way:
“The eye symbolized our spiritual perception. Whatever we give our attention to, is the thing that governs our life. If we do not direct our attention consistently to anything in particular - and many people do not - then nothing in particular will come into our life except uncertainty and suspense. If we direct our attention to the worldly pursuits which is in its nature continually shifting and changing, we are bound to have unhappiness, poverty, and ill-health; whereas, if we direct our attention to God; if the Glory of God comes first with us, and to express God’s Will becomes the rule of our life, then our eye is single and our whole body, our embodiment, will be full of light.”
Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters: for either we will hate the one and love the other, or else we will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money...But seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
Emmet remarks, “Many Christians have accepted these facts theoretically, but have been less than halfhearted when it came to their practical application. Laying up treasures in heaven, rather than storing them on earth does not mean laissez faire (in other words, it is not enough just to say, “I will not be driven by money.” It’s not enough to say, “I will not let credit card debt rule my life.”); it means intensified activity in spiritual matters distinct from material ones. Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and all needful things will be found to follow upon that. If you are very worried, confused, or very much discouraged, that is the time to read the Bible and pray gently but persistently, until something happens; either something within yourself or something in the outer picture.”
Every choice we make, every dollar we spend, save, or give means favoring one supreme goal over another. The choice is not whether we shall serve, but what or whom we shall serve. Our station in life, the amount of or lack of wealth that we have does not alter the fact that we do, indeed, choose. Poor people can idolize what they don not have, as easily as wealthier people can worship with the dollars they spend.
Now I have to tell you, I don’t understand a lot of investment language. Understanding numbers, money, and financial matters are not one of my strengths. Did you know there are websites developed just for people like me? One of those places is InvestorGuide University and listen to what they share about Investing Basics:
The idea behind investing is that money is put to use in such a way that it is likely to turn into more. The value of whatever security the money was used to buy increases during the period of ownership. There is a penalty for not investing money, for the value of non-invested money gradually decreases. Money that is not invested is becoming worth less and less as time passes.
Another spectacular benefit associated with investment is compounding. Interest is added to the principal, causing the investment to grow. In this way, the investment value increases exponentially. Many people believe that long-term financial planning is only important for the wealthy, or best left to professionals, but in reality, there are many steps that the average investor can take to solidify his or her future. an investor’s net worth will serve as a jumping off point to begin thinking about the future.
Net worth is simply the sum of an investor’s assets minus the sum of his or her debts. The goal of financial planning is simply to increase our net worth.
These words obviously speak to accumulating worldly treasure. But I ask you to hear them again, only listening to them this time as an investor in the Kingdom of God.
The idea behind investing is that money is put to use in such a way that it is likely to turn into more glory for God. The value of whatever security the money was used to buy, be it the lives of children or youth, first time decisions for Christ, helping to feed the hungry and house the homeless, increases during the period of stewardship. There is a penalty for not investing money, for the value of non-invested money gradually decreases. Money that is not invested is becoming worth less and less as time passes.
Another spectacular benefit associated with investment is compounding. Interest, in the form of the Holy Spirit, is added to the principal, causing the investment to grow. In this way, the value given to our investment by God increases exponentially, as God uses our investment to work in the lives of others.
Many people believe that long-term heavenly planning is only important for the spiritually wealthy, or best left to professionals, but in reality, there are many steps that the average investor can take to solidify his or her future. An investor’s net worth serves as a jumping off point to begin thinking about the future.
What is our net worth? Net worth is simply the sum of an investor’s assets minus the sum of his or her debts. No matter what our assets may be, our debt is too great. But our debt was paid by Christ Jesus. His investment is in us. It is through the power of Jesus, and by following the example and teachings of Jesus that we are able to store up treasures in heaven, at all. The goal of spiritual planning is simply to increase our net worth through Jesus Christ.
This week in Memphis, I heard the story of Rev. Sharon Brown. When Sharon was a little girl, she got a dollar each week for her allowance. She heard a message one Sunday that inspired her to send 10 cents to Bolivia to support mission work there. Years and years later, she had the opportunity to go to Bolivia and visit that mission field. One woman shared with her one evening as the group was sharing what a difference the mission support meant for their lives, that the woman whose 10 cents had been sent to her years ago, is the one who led her to Christ.
Now I ask you, which sounds more fulfilling to you?
1. Investing in money market accounts, or investing in the life of a teenager to give him or her the firm foundation of Christ in his or her life when tough decisions and choices come his or her way?
2. Purchasing stocks and bonds, purchasing a bigger home or nicer car, or purchasing Sunday school material for children so that they can learn the stories of the Bible and learn of God’s love for them?
3. Giving your money to Uncle Sam, or giving someone new to Conway and invitation to find a new beginning here?
4. Helping your Wallstreet Portfolio to grow, or helping to grow new and healthy lives for Christ through mission support around the world.
“You cannot serve both God and money.”
An ancient follower of God, Joshua put it this way: “Choose today who you will serve. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Who will you serve?
Who will you serve?
In the name of Jesus, Amen.
