Storing Up Treasure

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...