The Wisest Investments

Last week, we talked about what we wrap our hopes around. This week, we turn our attention to another foundational question:

What are the wisest investments we can make for the future?

Not just financial—but spiritual, relational, and eternal investments.

Let’s read Matthew 6:19–24

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

Matthew chapters 5-7 is what’s referred to as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is addressing different groups of people: His own disciples, those considering His words, and the religious Pharisees and Sadducees who were always looking to find fault with His teaching. Throughout this sermon, Jesus is revealing the truth about God, His Kingdom, His priorities, values, and ethics.

Jesus corrects distorted ideas about:

? What it means to be truly blessed

? What true righteousness looks like

? How to think about your enemies

? The purpose of prayer and fasting

In Matthew 6:19–24, Jesus gives us heaven’s perspective on treasure—because what we treasure reveals the direction, health, and allegiance of our hearts. Where we invest our time, money, and mental energy, reveals what’s most important to us and in this passage, Jesus is pointing to:

? Two Treasures - competing for your heart

? Two Visions - that Shape your life

? Two Masters - that demand your loyalty

Let’s look at the:

1. Two Treasures What are the two treasures?

Jesus begins with an imperative:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…”

Stop treasuring the treasure you have on earth (speaks of an obsession with/of hoarding it to use for yourself to the neglect of others). We all have the tendency to look to material possessions to do the things that only God can really do. What do you think that may be? Give us a sense of worth, safety, comfort, joy?

But the treasures we have here are temporary, fragile, and unstable. Moth, decay, loss, and even theft are inevitable. In fact, you may have read about the very professional bank robbers who stole at least 30 million Euros from security boxes in a bank vault in Germany this past week. Some people have lost their life savings and the bank insurance cant even cover the losses. Even the best investments on earth will eventually fail us because we can’t take them with us into the next life. Also, in reality, we are only stewards of what we have, not owners.

On the other hand, what Jesus referred to as heavenly treasure is:

? Eternal

? Secure

? Untouched by decay

? Guaranteed to pay eternal dividends by God Himself

Heavenly treasure includes everything that believers can take with them beyond the grave, the testimony of their lives, faithfulness to God, people who have come to Christ, and disciples nurtured in the faith.

Jesus is not condemning people who are rich, have possessions or wealth, who make sound financial investments — He is confronting our priorities.

In verse 21, He tells us why this matters:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt 6:21).

Wherever my heart is / is where my treasure is/ because my heart has an inseparable attachment to my investment. Though the context here is in regards to materialism, it can easily be attached to other things like beauty, intellect, reputation, skills, dreams, work, ministry, people. At the Friday night prayer meeting, we were discussing how we as Christians say that God is first, then family, church, and work. However, often our calendar, our thoughts, our decisions tell a different story. (I am talking about myself.) Where your heart is will determine your true priorities - where and why you invest in what you treasure.

First, the Scripture is clear that we should value our relationship with God first and foremost and prioritize that relationship. When we honor God’s Word in our lives, and are filled with His life, we will take care of our total being, we will invest in our spouse, family, His church, our neighbors, our community. We honor God when we use our resources to provide for and care for people’s needs as He tells us to do in Proverbs 3:9: