Friends, let us pray. Our Lord, today we're examining
our wealth, irrespective of how much or how little
we might think it is. You have certainly blessed
us with much in this country, but we do not want
your blessings to take us away from the one who
has provided the blessing, you. We are certainly
mindful of the attractiveness of wealth for the
here and now. We thank you that your holy scriptures
have been written to teach us, rebuke us, correct
us and to train us in righteousness. May you,
through your written holy word and through your
powerful Holy Spirit, do the work in us that
needs to be done so that we stand in awe of the
one who blesses rather than pursue the blessings
themselves. In Jesus' name, amen. Up front, I
need to remind us all, including myself, that
nothing I have is from me. Ultimately, everything
is his, the Lord's. We are just using his stuff,
Psalm 24 .1. And so either the Lord has enabled
me to obtain the wealth I have today, Deuteronomy
8 .18, or he has simply provided it. And yes,
the writer of Ecclesiastes is also right. One
of our Bible readings today that Craig read to
us. Everyone, we're told, everyone who comes
naked from their mother's womb, I guess you did.
And as everyone comes, so we depart. We came
with nothing and we'll leave with nothing. And
so we just use his stuff or produce things as
he allows for the 80 odd years that most people
live and then leave with nothing, just as we
came. So that is the end of the story. No. Habakkuk
2 .4 and Hebrews 11 .6 It is impossible for anyone
to live in this fallen world to please God unless
we live by faith. And so today all we are really
looking at is how one lives by faith with respect
to wealth. And I balk at saying our wealth. as
it is all his. Always was and always will be.
We're simply his stewards of it, hopefully his
faithful stewards for a while. And the reason
we are looking at wealth today, or money, mammon,
income, riches, treasures, whatever you want
to call it, is that Jesus talks about it in these
six verses we are now up to. But how are God's
people to think and act faithfully about the
wealth he has given us? Well, today in Matthew
6, Jesus reminds us, mentions at least three
things that need to shape how we see wealth.
And the first is this, God's people need to have
hearts for heaven. I'll repeat that, God's people
need to have hearts for heaven. In verses 19
to 21, we're told by Jesus, he says, do not store
up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths
and vermin destroy and where thieves break in
and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures
in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy
and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Where your treasure is, there your heart will
be also. Now, Jesus is not against having any
treasures here on earth. No, he's not saying
that. If he were, we would need to sell everything
we have. Car, house, phone, the lot. And in Kansas,
Australia, we would also be goners as we have
a lot of stuff. He's simply saying don't store
them up on earth. And why? Well, there are two
reasons here, and the first is pretty obvious.
They won't last. They won't last. They simply
don't last. And he mentions things here that
we have probably been on the receiving end of.
He mentions how moths and silverfish and cockroaches
and mice and rats get into them. And sadly, some
of us have been on the end of a thief pinching
our car or having our house robbed or might have
been even bigger than that. Perhaps you've had
a lot of money stolen from you. And all of these
things, bugs or burglars, at least serve as a
reminder that treasures on earth do not last.
They come and go just as we come and go. Now,
I am not a self -funded retiree, even though
I might look like a retiree. But I've seen what
coronavirus can do. Yes, treasures can come and
go on earth, so do not store them up here. You'll
end up being very disappointed if you do so.
Ask anyone who's gone through a messy divorce.
or a bankruptcy, and if you can, ask anyone who
has died. And they'll tell you the same thing.
Riches on earth don't last. And they don't last
for a variety of reasons. And even if they do
last for a while, death will bring an end to
that one too. But there is another reason given
here, and it's all to do with one's heart. And
it's found in verse 21. Jesus says, That where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
And so Jesus in one sense wants to eliminate
any heartache from you because he tells you where
to store up your riches that will last. And where?
In heaven. That's where. And he alludes to nothing
being able to destroy riches that are stored
in heaven. Nothing. And so all of this makes
one think much bigger than just the here and
now. It causes us to think about where we are
storing our treasures, and rightly so. Like,
are we storing up things here on earth? Or are
we storing up things in heaven? Because where
we store them not only shows where our heart
lies, but also fertilises, feeds our heart. That
is why we always want more. We're never quite
satisfied. Our heart needs feeding, and the food
it really likes isn't just ice cream. It's treasures.
And all of this brings us back to the original
point I made. God's people need to have hearts
for heaven, not for treasures. Because this fallen
earth, not just its treasures, will not last.
So Jesus says and says clearly here, don't, yes,
do not, is what he says, waste your time storing,
gathering, amassing, securing things on for here,
on earth. It will end up in heartache. Instead,
be focused on heaven, invest in it, it will last.
And it is where one's heart should be and will
be if you place your treasures there. Now it's
pretty hard to invest in heaven, you might be
thinking. Like, how does one do that? How does
one buy stocks and shares in heaven? How does
one store up wealth in heaven? Like, how? Well,
this brings us to the second point of today's
sermon and to these quite odd verses in... verse
22 and 23. And I've summed up the second point
as this. God's people need to have eyes to see
the kingdom. Yes, God's people need to have eyes
to see the kingdom. And when you have such eyes,
eyes that see the kingdom God is building, in
the number of people entering it, and in you
and everyone growing in it, you will invest whatever
comes your way, as much as you can. In this church
that he's building. You will. And why? Because
your eyes are healthy. Your eyes might not have
20 vision. Mine don't anymore. But they can see
the light of the kingdom and therefore live for
it. Please look at verses 22 to 23. Verse 22,
Jesus says, the eye is the lamp of the body.
If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will
be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy,
your whole body will be full of darkness. If
then the light within you is darkness, how great
is that darkness? The Holy Scriptures have much
to say about darkness and light and about getting
out of one's darkness and seeing the light. And
darkness is usually portrayed, as it is here,
as one of evil everywhere. Whereas light is portrayed,
as it is here, as one of good. And so good that
it can change one's whole life. And not only
are God's people described as the light of the
world, Matthew 5 .14, in this very sermon of
Jesus, but the very coming of Jesus is also described
as the light source. A light that has now dawned,
Christmas, Isaiah 9 .2. And how we, God's people
who have now seen him as the light, have placed
our trust in him. And are described elsewhere
as children of light, having come out of the
darkness of our sins, Ephesians 5 .8. And therefore
not wanting to have anything to do anymore with
the deeds of darkness. Yes, the Holy Scriptures,
such as in Colossians 1 .12, talk about this
kingdom that God is building, a kingdom that
will never be shaken, will last forever. And
it is described as a kingdom of what? It is described
as a kingdom of light. And Jesus has only just
said early in this chapter to pray daily for
this kingdom. to come and so we are to have eyes
that see it eyes and a heart that will invest
in it are you investing in such a kingdom are
your eyes 2020 for the kingdom a kingdom of light
are your eyes healthy or or are your eyes 20
20 for the world A world of darkness. Are your
eyes therefore unhealthy? Yes, what does your
heart want to see? God and his kingdom in all
its glory? If so, invest in it. Give your all
to it. Or does your heart want to see a new flat
screen television on your wall at home? What
is it that your heart wants to ultimately see?
People in the kingdom or TV on the wall? And
this brings us to the third and final point for
today, and it starts getting quite practical
now, and Jesus is much more direct. I've titled
this last point as this, God's people need to
serve him alone. If you want to keep having a
heart that sees the kingdom he is building all
to it, one must keep serving him alone. Please
look at verse 24. Bing. Verse 24. Jesus says
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. We see here
that there is nothing wrong with having money,
just as there is nothing wrong with having treasures.
But what matters is whom you serve and where
you store one's treasures. And just as you should
not store treasures on both earth and heaven,
have it quid both ways, so too you cannot serve
both God and money. Not long after I turned to
Christ in 1988, I still remember having a conversation
with a friend of mine, a fellow believer. And
at the time I thought I could serve both God
and money. Not that I set out to do that, but
when push came to shove, that is exactly what
I was doing, trying to serve God and money. You
could say that I had one eye closed for the kingdom.
Yes, I probably had one eye set on the world
and one eye set on the kingdom. I was a bit divided.
And my friend said something to me like, the
last two things God will convert in you, Trevor,
are probably your hip pocket and your right foot.
He knew my nickname was Rev Trev. because of
my love for V8s and for motorbikes. Yes, I was
a real rev head. But he also knew what many people
struggled with, their love of stuff. And he was
right. You could say that God is still working
on my right foot. And I am probably not listening
to him as much as I should. But many years ago
he helped me to realise that I needed to serve
him and him alone with the wealth that we've
been given with my hip pocket. And very fortunately
I have a believing wife and that makes it so
much easier to do so. Now in saying this, this
is not just about one's wealth. It's actually
about something much deeper, about having the
right heart, and write eyes that only God can
give you. And give you he will as one turns back
to him through his son, the one who says these
very words that we're looking at today. Yes,
he will give you eyes to see. By removing the
veil that one naturally has, a veil that the
evil one obviously does not want removed. Compare
the end of 2 Corinthians 3 and the start of 2
Corinthians 4. So that one is able to now see
the kingdom. See, spiritually see the kingdom.
And here Jesus can give you a new heart to give
you the desire you need to have to follow through
on what you now truly see. This is not just about
getting right with what you do with your money.
It certainly includes it. Hence why Jesus talks
about treasures. But it's much deeper than that.
Treasures can include one's income, one's pension,
soon beyond that, job seeker, job keeper payments,
Centrelink gifts, investments, superannuation,
gifts from deceased estates, tax returns, solar
rebates. are basically today's practical examples
of the treasures that Jesus mentions here. And
he mentions treasures to help us better understand
the tension one has when living by faith, as
we live still in the world. And it's a world
that seeks our attention, that is, our heart
and our eyes. And a world that is led by the
evil one, who is one of darkness and one... That
veil to remain. Once our flesh, therefore, to
win. So, do we live by faith or do we live by
sight? For example, does the way we use our wealth
show that we actually live by faith? Does it?
Because that's what matters. For example, does
the way we use our wealth show that we have a
heart for and eyes to see the kingdom that God
is building? Do we at least tithe, at least give
10 % of all forms of wealth that come our way?
That is, do we at least tithe back to God for
the kingdom work he is doing in reaching others
with the gospel of Jesus and in growing you?
and in growing us and growing them to be a follower,
a disciple of Jesus. Yes, is your heart set on
heaven? And so that is what we ultimately invest
in. Yes, do we see the kingdom, the kingdom to
come? And so there is no longer any darkness
in our body. Also, do we serve him alone with
everything he has given us? We might serve him
with the talent he's given us and the time he's
given us, but do we also serve him with the treasure
he's given us? Yes, do we serve him and him alone?
Because one cannot, cannot serve both God and
money. Yes, these words of Jesus certainly leave
us pondering those sorts of questions. May you,
may I, show in the days ahead that we live by
faith, with our time, with our talent and our
treasure. And so may these words of Jesus either
teach us, rebuke us, correct us or train us to
righteously walk by faith. Friends, let's pray.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread
and forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven
our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one, the one of
darkness. In Jesus' name, and God's people said,
Amen. Thank you all.