WEBVTT 00:00:04.220 --> 00:00:06.919 Much like they always do, our worship committee 00:00:06.919 --> 00:00:10.480 finds the perfect song to encapsulate the sermon 00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:13.060 series. I am so excited to see what they cook 00:00:13.060 --> 00:00:15.839 up for next sermon series, Earth, Wind, and Fire, 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:21.149 where we're looking at the first eight. Good 00:00:21.149 --> 00:00:23.350 luck. But no, we start that after Labor Day. 00:00:23.469 --> 00:00:25.070 It'll be the first eight chapters of the book 00:00:25.070 --> 00:00:27.210 of Acts, looking at the start of the church. 00:00:27.309 --> 00:00:29.350 But for this sermon series, where we're looking 00:00:29.350 --> 00:00:31.989 at our time, our talents, and our treasures, 00:00:32.130 --> 00:00:35.530 and how we store up, we're going to be in that 00:00:35.530 --> 00:00:38.689 for the month of August. So I'm going to start 00:00:38.689 --> 00:00:42.210 super light, right? Super nice and comfortable. 00:00:42.270 --> 00:00:44.789 You all know I'm setting this up to be the exact 00:00:44.789 --> 00:00:48.189 opposite. But I'm going to start with the sermon 00:00:48.189 --> 00:00:51.310 series wrecker right now. for all of us, not 00:00:51.310 --> 00:00:54.109 just a week, but for a month. What would someone 00:00:54.109 --> 00:00:58.810 learn about your heart? Let's let that hang there 00:00:58.810 --> 00:01:01.310 for a minute. What would someone learn about 00:01:01.310 --> 00:01:05.310 your heart? You're not allowed to look to the 00:01:05.310 --> 00:01:08.670 right or to the left after I ask this question, 00:01:08.849 --> 00:01:11.890 okay? But what would someone learn about your 00:01:11.890 --> 00:01:16.909 heart if they looked at your bank statement or 00:01:16.909 --> 00:01:23.890 your Amazon order history? Just put that out 00:01:23.890 --> 00:01:27.129 there. My office is booked for the next two weeks, 00:01:27.209 --> 00:01:29.450 so if you have issues now in your marriage, deal 00:01:29.450 --> 00:01:34.109 with it. Go see a counselor. But I think as we're 00:01:34.109 --> 00:01:37.269 going to see what Jesus is going to bring us 00:01:37.269 --> 00:01:42.010 in this section of Matthew, he basically is saying, 00:01:42.090 --> 00:01:45.590 where your treasure is, your heart will be also. 00:01:46.510 --> 00:01:49.650 He's not mixing his words. This is not an allegory. 00:01:50.200 --> 00:01:52.799 This is a teaching in the Sermon on the Mount 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:56.319 where Jesus is inviting us to examine not just 00:01:56.319 --> 00:02:01.239 our behavior about money and spending and where 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:04.019 our treasures are or our talents or our tithes 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:08.159 of what we talk about in church, but the orientation 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:11.800 of the heart. A sermon, though it can be preached 00:02:11.800 --> 00:02:15.240 on behavior, I can preach on behavior every Sunday, 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:18.439 and in some ways I do, but to get to the heart 00:02:18.439 --> 00:02:22.139 of any issue we have in life. Again, there's 00:02:22.139 --> 00:02:24.199 a heart of it. It comes out of the heart. Things 00:02:24.199 --> 00:02:26.319 we say, right? Proverbs tells us, out of the 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:31.159 overflow of the mouth, the heart speaks. And 00:02:31.159 --> 00:02:32.919 so there's this understanding that the heart 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:36.389 being the center of a person. Jesus is going 00:02:36.389 --> 00:02:38.650 to go over the next four or five weeks. It's 00:02:38.650 --> 00:02:41.569 about what we worship, what we trust, what we 00:02:41.569 --> 00:02:45.469 pursue. If people just see that about our lives, 00:02:45.629 --> 00:02:48.129 it's going to tell people where our heart is. 00:02:49.650 --> 00:02:53.090 This hits home for all of us, whether you consider 00:02:53.090 --> 00:02:56.770 yourself wealthy or not. But anyone who struggles 00:02:56.770 --> 00:03:00.330 with anxiety, depression, materialism, misaligned 00:03:00.330 --> 00:03:03.919 priorities. Jesus is throwing it all there. And 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:05.659 the greatest sermon ever given by the greatest 00:03:05.659 --> 00:03:08.680 preacher to ever preach Jesus Christ, the Son 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:11.000 of God. And he's going... We're going to walk 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:13.639 through this text slowly. We're going to dive 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:15.639 in a little bit to the languages because the 00:03:15.639 --> 00:03:18.539 language helps us understand in more of a visual 00:03:18.539 --> 00:03:21.800 way. Both Hebrew and Greek are just so beautifully 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:25.479 visual to help us understand some of these words. 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:28.180 And to be fair, a lot of our English words just 00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:31.080 don't do it justice, what Jesus and others like 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:33.580 Paul are trying to say in the New Testament and 00:03:33.580 --> 00:03:36.319 then those that wrote in the Old. But we're going 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:37.979 to talk today about the human heart, the kingdom 00:03:37.979 --> 00:03:40.870 of God, and true stewardship. So we've got to 00:03:40.870 --> 00:03:43.289 kind of find the dichotomy, right? The blank 00:03:43.289 --> 00:03:46.770 versus blank. And that is the earthly versus 00:03:46.770 --> 00:03:49.750 the heavenly treasures. And we're going to be 00:03:49.750 --> 00:03:51.810 in chapter 6 of Matthew, the Gospel of Matthew, 00:03:51.930 --> 00:03:55.050 verses 19 to 21 to start. Again, we use the ESV, 00:03:55.110 --> 00:03:57.169 but whatever Bible you brought or you have on 00:03:57.169 --> 00:04:00.530 your app, feel free to pull it up. Obviously, 00:04:00.530 --> 00:04:02.990 if it's not the ESV, it may read a little different. 00:04:03.330 --> 00:04:07.300 But Jesus says, Do not lay up for yourselves 00:04:07.300 --> 00:04:10.319 treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:13.919 and where thieves break in and steal. But lay 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:16.500 up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither 00:04:16.500 --> 00:04:20.139 moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not 00:04:20.139 --> 00:04:23.180 break in and steal. For where your treasure is, 00:04:23.339 --> 00:04:29.060 there your heart will be also. So we start off 00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:33.860 in the Greek. Jesus uses the verb, right? Thesario. 00:04:35.379 --> 00:04:38.319 which we get the word thesaurus from, meaning 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:42.139 to amass, to store up, and to treasure. So he's 00:04:42.139 --> 00:04:45.819 going right off the bat. This is not just about 00:04:45.819 --> 00:04:50.040 gathering, but it's about gathering in devotion 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:53.819 and direction. It's storing up. It's you looking 00:04:53.819 --> 00:04:57.000 at the season of life to come and go, I think 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:01.259 I need to prep and pack for this. Okay. How many 00:05:01.259 --> 00:05:04.639 of you have regular or semi -regular like family 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:06.680 reunions or kind of that one vacation you go 00:05:06.680 --> 00:05:10.220 to every year or every other year? I know you 00:05:10.220 --> 00:05:12.060 all do it. I don't know why you're not raising 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:14.180 your hand. Okay. What are some places you go 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:17.120 every year? Like maybe you have a lake house. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.399 Go ahead. You go to Tennessee every year. Okay. 00:05:20.519 --> 00:05:23.199 So you've probably been going before you were 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:26.480 born, right? You wouldn't know you weren't there. 00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:29.040 Lisa, how long have you been going to Tennessee? 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:35.279 About five years. Okay. So the first time you 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:40.060 went, how much did you end up packing? You don't 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:42.139 even want to answer. Yeah. Mike, I'll ask you. 00:05:42.180 --> 00:05:45.540 How much did Lisa pack? All of it. All right. 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:48.100 All of it. That's a very good way to, but then 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:50.959 have you noticed that year after year, the packing 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:57.740 becomes kind of less and less? Let's try over 00:05:57.740 --> 00:06:00.430 on this side of the church. Okay, that was a 00:06:00.430 --> 00:06:02.910 backfire. I'm going to use us, right, because 00:06:02.910 --> 00:06:05.430 that's easy, and I think I get it, right? Osterhaus 00:06:05.430 --> 00:06:08.149 reunion. We've done it now six times, 18 years. 00:06:08.250 --> 00:06:10.910 Every three years we go. The first time we went, 00:06:10.970 --> 00:06:13.769 we followed the scut rule and packed everything, 00:06:13.970 --> 00:06:16.209 right? This last time we went a couple weeks 00:06:16.209 --> 00:06:20.670 ago, like... We forgot stuff. Like, we just took 00:06:20.670 --> 00:06:23.149 it from other family members. Because we learned 00:06:23.149 --> 00:06:25.110 over time, well, so -and -so is always going 00:06:25.110 --> 00:06:26.769 to bring it, so I don't need to. That's fine. 00:06:26.810 --> 00:06:29.329 It's very Dutch of us. And just understand that, 00:06:29.389 --> 00:06:31.569 you know, we're just going to do that. What Jesus 00:06:31.569 --> 00:06:35.029 is getting at right off the bat is when we look 00:06:35.029 --> 00:06:37.670 at things that are going on in our life, much 00:06:37.670 --> 00:06:40.509 like squirrels get nuts for the winter, we tend 00:06:40.509 --> 00:06:43.129 to do that. We look at what we think our needs 00:06:43.129 --> 00:06:45.810 are going to be, and we do what we think we're 00:06:45.810 --> 00:06:49.870 going to need. then double it, then double it. 00:06:50.050 --> 00:06:52.370 And so what he's saying and what the Greek is 00:06:52.370 --> 00:06:55.189 bringing us into is there is a devotion, there 00:06:55.189 --> 00:06:58.189 is a direction to the treasures that we are storing 00:06:58.189 --> 00:07:01.029 up. And if I'm being honest, we store up way 00:07:01.029 --> 00:07:03.870 more than what we need. And that's what Jesus 00:07:03.870 --> 00:07:06.310 is trying to get at. In the ancient world, treasures 00:07:06.310 --> 00:07:09.730 weren't locked in banks. They didn't have banks. 00:07:09.990 --> 00:07:11.990 They didn't have giant vaults where you need 00:07:11.990 --> 00:07:14.310 a retina scan or a thumbprint or a voice thing 00:07:14.310 --> 00:07:17.110 that I just made up. They didn't have any of 00:07:17.110 --> 00:07:21.290 that. Where were treasures hidden? For lunch 00:07:21.290 --> 00:07:24.629 and a conversation with Pastor Jim, where did 00:07:24.629 --> 00:07:27.629 people hide their treasures back in kind of biblical 00:07:27.629 --> 00:07:32.129 times? Hmm? The ground is one of them. Okay. 00:07:32.250 --> 00:07:36.009 That's buried. That's not kind of special to 00:07:36.009 --> 00:07:37.990 the ancient world. So we're in the parking lot, 00:07:38.089 --> 00:07:43.389 but no lunch yet. What? Caves? Sure. Okay. Now 00:07:43.389 --> 00:07:49.149 we've walked in. Huh? Jars of clay? We're getting 00:07:49.149 --> 00:07:51.430 closer. Okay. We're sitting down. You have the 00:07:51.430 --> 00:07:55.689 menu, Larry. Bring it home. Under the mattress. 00:07:55.769 --> 00:07:58.480 They didn't have mattresses. So now we're back 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:06.779 in the car. We drove separately. In the coffins 00:08:06.779 --> 00:08:10.040 of dead relatives. You're back at home. I'm back 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:12.300 at home. We never talked. Okay, and so understand, 00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:16.040 they would hide them in the walls of their house. 00:08:16.860 --> 00:08:20.199 That treasures, they were hidden in the walls. 00:08:20.339 --> 00:08:22.600 They were buried in the ground. They were tied 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:25.680 up in fabrics, but hidden in the walls. When 00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:28.600 I got that this week, when the Holy Spirit brought 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:30.540 that to me, reading some of the commentaries, 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:35.080 that spoke. That really wrecked me. That the 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:40.139 thing I treasure the most, I hide for fear of 00:08:40.139 --> 00:08:43.779 moth or rust or thieves. I hide the things that 00:08:43.779 --> 00:08:47.399 are most treasure to me. And they hid them to 00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:50.279 protect them. When Jesus says, do not lay up 00:08:50.279 --> 00:08:52.679 treasures on earth, he's not just warning about 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:56.019 wealth or the wealth decay, if you will. He's 00:08:56.019 --> 00:08:59.259 confronting a spiritual illusion that we claim 00:08:59.259 --> 00:09:02.399 over our wealth or over our treasures or over 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:06.320 our stuff. The belief that earthly things can 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:11.139 have eternal security. Though we know it. We 00:09:11.139 --> 00:09:13.419 know. We say, oh, you can't take it with you. 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:16.850 Yet we like to hoard it. We like to store up. 00:09:17.409 --> 00:09:20.629 The Heidelberg Catechism, question answer 95, 00:09:20.830 --> 00:09:25.909 defines an idol for us when it says, anything 00:09:25.909 --> 00:09:29.570 in which one places their trust instead of or 00:09:29.570 --> 00:09:34.570 alongside the only true God. Leave that up there. 00:09:35.809 --> 00:09:40.740 The trust. So when Jesus says, do not store up 00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:45.139 treasures, do not put your trust in the treasures 00:09:45.139 --> 00:09:50.019 of this world. I mean, that starts to separate 00:09:50.019 --> 00:09:52.940 some of these treasures, right? I mean, trust 00:09:52.940 --> 00:09:55.840 the money. Sure, we can do that. A lot of us 00:09:55.840 --> 00:09:58.860 do, right? We trust our day is going to go well 00:09:58.860 --> 00:10:00.639 because we start our day looking at the bank 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:04.179 account. The ledger seems good, right? And we're 00:10:04.179 --> 00:10:06.899 set. So you've just set your day to look at it 00:10:06.899 --> 00:10:10.370 financially. or maybe social media, right? We 00:10:10.370 --> 00:10:13.090 start out, we trust what social media says, says 00:10:13.090 --> 00:10:15.409 the fool, right? But we trust what social media 00:10:15.409 --> 00:10:17.110 says about the day, and that's how we're going 00:10:17.110 --> 00:10:20.950 to look at it. What Jesus is demanding of us 00:10:20.950 --> 00:10:25.049 is do not put your trust in these things. What 00:10:25.049 --> 00:10:28.470 you treasure, what you store up, you trust, you 00:10:28.470 --> 00:10:33.330 hold to. If wealth is your security, Jesus is 00:10:33.330 --> 00:10:37.289 going to tell you it has become your idol. That's 00:10:37.289 --> 00:10:39.929 why he says put your treasures in heaven. These 00:10:39.929 --> 00:10:43.009 aren't some abstract spiritual coins that Jesus 00:10:43.009 --> 00:10:45.669 is talking about. Jesus is calling us to invest 00:10:45.669 --> 00:10:50.070 in the eternal, in people, in worship, in missions, 00:10:50.149 --> 00:10:55.009 in acts of mercy. He's saying Munster Church, 00:10:55.169 --> 00:10:58.090 every dollar, every minute, every act of generosity, 00:10:58.129 --> 00:11:01.970 offer in the name of Christ and it is an investment 00:11:01.970 --> 00:11:07.250 in the kingdom. Because if it's not, then our 00:11:07.250 --> 00:11:12.029 confession tells us, if you trust it, or I love 00:11:12.029 --> 00:11:15.629 how the writer puts it, or alongside of the only 00:11:15.629 --> 00:11:19.970 true God. God needs to be the top. Everything 00:11:19.970 --> 00:11:23.590 else should be underneath it. And that's why 00:11:23.590 --> 00:11:25.710 he talks about the heart. Because what we trust 00:11:25.710 --> 00:11:29.600 in, what we focus on, The thing we give focus 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:32.000 to throughout our lives tends to be the things 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:34.659 that we are either insecure about, fearful of, 00:11:34.700 --> 00:11:36.940 or trust in the most, or D, all of the above. 00:11:37.399 --> 00:11:39.960 For he says, where your treasure is, in verse 00:11:39.960 --> 00:11:43.740 21, for where your treasure is, there your heart 00:11:43.740 --> 00:11:48.720 will be also. Jesus doesn't say, where your heart 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:52.740 is, there your treasure will follow. He reverses 00:11:52.740 --> 00:11:59.049 the logic. Why? Why does he reverse this? He's 00:11:59.049 --> 00:12:01.809 just a linguistic master, especially in the Sermon 00:12:01.809 --> 00:12:04.309 on the Mount. His teaching just breaks barriers. 00:12:04.889 --> 00:12:07.509 He turns it on itself because he understands 00:12:07.509 --> 00:12:11.950 that treasure pulls the heart along. Let me say 00:12:11.950 --> 00:12:15.389 that again. That treasure pulls the heart along. 00:12:15.830 --> 00:12:22.190 The heart follows investment. I had to stop there. 00:12:22.610 --> 00:12:27.009 I was crying like that kid because I struggle 00:12:27.009 --> 00:12:30.860 with that. The heart follows what it invests 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:33.879 in. Where am I investing my time, my talents, 00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:36.539 and my treasures? Because that shows that where 00:12:36.539 --> 00:12:40.919 my heart is invested, my heart should be invested 00:12:40.919 --> 00:12:44.639 first and foremost in Christ. Second should be 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:48.820 this group right here. Right? Third should be 00:12:48.820 --> 00:12:53.220 the rest of you. Yet there are times that goes 00:12:53.220 --> 00:12:55.320 cattywampus because there's other things that 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:58.059 come in. You know, trying to be the best, I don't 00:12:58.059 --> 00:13:01.159 know, the best Munster manager that the town 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:03.460 of Munster's ever seen. I'm not, so that's really 00:13:03.460 --> 00:13:05.799 a fool's errand, but understand that where we 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:11.039 invest is where your heart goes. I don't do a 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:13.100 lot of investing, but I'm sure there's not a 00:13:13.100 --> 00:13:15.759 lot of people that go, sure, I'll just go invest 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:19.000 over there, it seems good. No, when you invest 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:22.039 in stuff, you want to be... focused on it. You 00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:24.360 want to have studied it. You want to understand 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:26.779 kind of what you think you can understand about 00:13:26.779 --> 00:13:30.039 the stock or whatever options you have at work. 00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:34.759 What we focus on, what we invest. Why? Because 00:13:34.759 --> 00:13:38.960 treasure pulls the heart. We understand in our 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:41.779 theology that our heart is not just an emotion, 00:13:41.940 --> 00:13:45.360 but as the core of our being, our will, our desire, 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:48.519 our mind, our affections, Proverbs tells us. 00:13:49.129 --> 00:13:51.610 If your treasure is in retirement, your status, 00:13:51.690 --> 00:13:54.509 your lifestyle, then your heart will always serve 00:13:54.509 --> 00:13:57.669 those masters first. But if your treasures are 00:13:57.669 --> 00:14:00.889 in God's kingdom, your heart will beat for Christ. 00:14:03.269 --> 00:14:06.029 You might be known as a wise investor. You might 00:14:06.029 --> 00:14:07.950 go, oh, so -and -so did real well with their 00:14:07.950 --> 00:14:11.730 money. That's not on happenstance. That's not 00:14:11.730 --> 00:14:14.009 because you put it in a mayonnaise jar and buried 00:14:14.009 --> 00:14:17.730 it. It's because you took time and effort. You 00:14:17.730 --> 00:14:20.269 probably trusted someone maybe with your money 00:14:20.269 --> 00:14:23.889 to make more money and all of those things. Jesus 00:14:23.889 --> 00:14:26.750 is saying, that should be your heart to me first. 00:14:27.909 --> 00:14:30.149 One of the great Protestant reformers, John Calvin, 00:14:30.289 --> 00:14:32.990 writes this. And again, John doesn't really mix 00:14:32.990 --> 00:14:36.129 his words. A human heart is a perpetual factory 00:14:36.129 --> 00:14:41.730 of idols. This was the truth then. How much more 00:14:41.730 --> 00:14:43.610 of it is the truth now when we have the whole 00:14:43.610 --> 00:14:47.440 world at our fingertips? We have to understand 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:51.440 this about ourselves, that your heart is a perpetual 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:56.080 factory of idols. What does that mean? The things 00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:58.980 you lean into, the things you focused on, the 00:14:58.980 --> 00:15:02.539 things you invest in, those can become idols 00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:07.080 like that. John Calvin knew it back then. He 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:10.059 knew what you fund, you feed. What you treasure, 00:15:10.279 --> 00:15:15.480 you trust. Let me say that again. What you fund, 00:15:16.059 --> 00:15:21.120 You feed what you treasure, you trust. So he 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:23.679 goes from two of the kind of main parts of the 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:28.340 body, the heart and the eyes. He says the eyes. 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:30.940 He talks about the eye in many different ways 00:15:30.940 --> 00:15:33.139 in the Sermon on the Mount. But in verse 22 and 00:15:33.139 --> 00:15:36.919 23, Jesus writes this, the eye is a lamp of the 00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:40.000 body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.399 will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:45.179 your whole body will be full of darkness. If 00:15:45.179 --> 00:15:48.279 then the light in you is darkness, how great 00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:53.840 is the darkness. To me, this section feels a 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:56.820 little strange. The eye is the lamp of the body. 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:00.460 If the eye is healthy, your whole body will be 00:16:00.460 --> 00:16:05.190 full of light. The word healthy, hapilos. Here, 00:16:05.210 --> 00:16:08.470 it's a loaded word. It doesn't mean clear. It 00:16:08.470 --> 00:16:11.669 means single -minded, generous, and undivided. 00:16:11.690 --> 00:16:15.190 The opposite of it is proneros, which is just 00:16:15.190 --> 00:16:20.129 bad. It means evil, stingy, or greedy. So put 00:16:20.129 --> 00:16:24.730 that up there on here. If the whole body were 00:16:24.730 --> 00:16:28.169 clear, it means if your body is single -minded, 00:16:28.250 --> 00:16:33.320 generous, undividing, or you're... Evil, stingy, 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:36.700 or greedy. In Jewish thought, to have a bad eye, 00:16:36.980 --> 00:16:42.259 rayen rahaya, meant you were stingy. A good eye, 00:16:42.460 --> 00:16:47.159 rayen tova, meant you were generous. Jesus is 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:50.419 saying, the way you see the world through the 00:16:50.419 --> 00:16:53.600 eyes of generosity or greed affects the whole 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:58.080 spiritual life. Let me say that again. Through 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:01.139 eyes of generosity or greed, that affects your 00:17:01.139 --> 00:17:04.579 whole spiritual life. The way you see the world, 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:07.460 do you see the world as generous or do you see 00:17:07.460 --> 00:17:12.960 the world as greedy? As we start this conversation 00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:16.059 for the next month, that's the start. How do 00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:18.539 you see the world? Because if you see the world 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:21.579 that way, my guess is you see yourself that way. 00:17:23.420 --> 00:17:25.839 If you look at people as burdens rather than 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:29.220 souls. if you see money as yours rather than 00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:34.480 God's, your whole life will be dark. This is 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:37.839 why we serve them. If the way we see the world 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:42.220 is the way that we serve, we serve one way or 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:44.880 the other. We either serve others or we serve 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:49.519 ourselves. Verse 24. No one can serve two masters, 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:52.519 for either he will hate the one and love the 00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:55.980 other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise 00:17:55.980 --> 00:18:01.960 the other. You cannot serve God and money. Remember, 00:18:02.059 --> 00:18:04.759 what does he say? Is money the root of all evils? 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:11.160 No, what is? The investment, the focus, the attention 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:15.640 on money is the root of all evil. You cannot 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:18.319 serve God and money. So he's cutting it right 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:22.250 down the middle. Jesus ends with a choice. You 00:18:22.250 --> 00:18:27.130 cannot serve God or mammon. You're going, that 00:18:27.130 --> 00:18:29.410 doesn't say mammon. It says money. The word mammon 00:18:29.410 --> 00:18:34.730 is not just money. It's wealth personified. It 00:18:34.730 --> 00:18:38.829 became kind of an idol, a rival God. And Jesus 00:18:38.829 --> 00:18:41.390 doesn't say you shouldn't serve both. He says 00:18:41.390 --> 00:18:46.329 you can't. Done. You can't do it. Well, I think 00:18:46.329 --> 00:18:49.150 I, no, you can't. Well, what if I pray? Nope, 00:18:49.230 --> 00:18:52.910 you can't. He cuts it. The reformers were clear. 00:18:53.009 --> 00:18:55.630 True faith produces a what? Life of obedience. 00:18:56.109 --> 00:18:59.369 You're not saved by stewardship, but stewardship 00:18:59.369 --> 00:19:07.230 reveals what you believe. How you steward your 00:19:07.230 --> 00:19:10.329 gifts, your time, your talents, your wealth, 00:19:10.509 --> 00:19:15.890 tells people what you believe. Sit with that 00:19:15.890 --> 00:19:20.440 for about five seconds. True faith produces a 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:23.539 life of obedience. What Jesus is saying right 00:19:23.539 --> 00:19:27.299 off the bat, you're not saved by stewardship, 00:19:27.460 --> 00:19:31.359 but stewardship does reveal what you believe. 00:19:33.220 --> 00:19:35.019 So when I thought about that, okay, how do I 00:19:35.019 --> 00:19:36.859 land the plane today, knowing that we're going 00:19:36.859 --> 00:19:38.640 to just pick it up next week and do this for 00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:41.380 the next couple weeks? At the end of the day, 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:42.859 what I'm going to do is I'm going to call out 00:19:42.859 --> 00:19:46.970 our comfort. Because really, If we're being honest, 00:19:47.170 --> 00:19:50.670 we all want to live a comfortable life. And that 00:19:50.670 --> 00:19:53.769 can mean a variety of things for you. Your comfort 00:19:53.769 --> 00:19:55.829 could be, you could take it this way to lifestyle 00:19:55.829 --> 00:19:58.369 and actual comfort, like you just want everything 00:19:58.369 --> 00:20:00.950 to be a nice sweatshirt. Or you could be comforted 00:20:00.950 --> 00:20:03.170 as, I don't want to worry about things, so I'm 00:20:03.170 --> 00:20:04.789 going to do the things so I don't have to worry 00:20:04.789 --> 00:20:07.049 about the things, or whatever, or somewhere in 00:20:07.049 --> 00:20:11.359 between. Your comfort... shouldn't be about things. 00:20:11.539 --> 00:20:14.740 The comfort should be about the gospel. The comfort 00:20:14.740 --> 00:20:17.039 should be about what you believe because that 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:23.420 comfort helps in times of need. When I sat with 00:20:23.420 --> 00:20:26.740 the Den Hartogs this week, man, we talked about 00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:30.579 money and finances for two hours. Absolutely 00:20:30.579 --> 00:20:34.559 not. They talked about the love they had from 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:41.240 a husband, from a father. When I ask them to 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:43.660 reflect, whenever I sit with people who lost 00:20:43.660 --> 00:20:46.680 someone, I ask three questions. I said, what 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:48.859 was something that the person did that make you 00:20:48.859 --> 00:20:52.220 laugh or think? How did they show you that they 00:20:52.220 --> 00:20:55.460 loved you? And what about them pointed to Jesus? 00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:58.940 It usually brings about a good conversation. 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:04.460 At no point was money brought up on Thursday. 00:21:05.910 --> 00:21:07.950 Because in the end, when we're talking about 00:21:07.950 --> 00:21:12.250 life and death, your comfort can't be in money. 00:21:12.390 --> 00:21:14.809 Yeah, it might be legacy. You might have done 00:21:14.809 --> 00:21:17.490 investing well and retirement well or life insurance 00:21:17.490 --> 00:21:20.950 well, and the next generation might feel a little 00:21:20.950 --> 00:21:23.730 lighter financially. And that's fantastic. Legacy 00:21:23.730 --> 00:21:26.109 money, great. That's why we call it a legacy 00:21:26.109 --> 00:21:28.950 account here. Because the money that is in our 00:21:28.950 --> 00:21:30.849 legacy account, whether it goes to a building 00:21:30.849 --> 00:21:34.089 or not, is not necessarily just for us in 2025. 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:38.940 It's for the 61 kids we have under the age of 00:21:38.940 --> 00:21:42.380 six that this could be their church for the next 00:21:42.380 --> 00:21:46.779 60 years. That's what legacy money is. You might 00:21:46.779 --> 00:21:48.700 have that with your finances and your family. 00:21:48.839 --> 00:21:53.420 Fantastic. Great. But you know what? When I sit 00:21:53.420 --> 00:21:55.279 with families who lost a loved one, especially 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:59.799 one suddenly, it's never a fight for how much 00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:04.259 did they leave me. It's more, wow, I'm really 00:22:04.259 --> 00:22:07.589 going to miss. this about them. I'm really going 00:22:07.589 --> 00:22:10.650 to miss that they taught me what hard work was 00:22:10.650 --> 00:22:12.730 or I'm really going to miss, you know, one of 00:22:12.730 --> 00:22:14.329 the things from Marty, I'm really going to miss 00:22:14.329 --> 00:22:17.210 that they always invited everyone to the cottage 00:22:17.210 --> 00:22:20.210 in Michigan because he wanted that vacation to 00:22:20.210 --> 00:22:23.509 be everyone's vacation. Sure, we could talk about 00:22:23.509 --> 00:22:25.910 the money of that and all that. But the friends, 00:22:25.970 --> 00:22:29.450 when it comes to the end, if that's what you're 00:22:29.450 --> 00:22:32.250 defined by, that's what people are going to talk 00:22:32.250 --> 00:22:37.410 about. I don't know about you, but when people 00:22:37.410 --> 00:22:39.930 are asked, when their pastor, whoever it is, 00:22:39.990 --> 00:22:43.190 is going to ask them those three questions, what 00:22:43.190 --> 00:22:47.549 was something they did to make you laugh? I'm 00:22:47.549 --> 00:22:51.470 sure for some of us it's going to be easy. Some 00:22:51.470 --> 00:22:54.009 of the things that made you think, those could 00:22:54.009 --> 00:22:57.190 be some pretty profound things. It could just 00:22:57.190 --> 00:22:59.089 be look both ways before you cross the street. 00:22:59.640 --> 00:23:01.599 It could be as simple as that. It could be as 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:05.940 profound as my pa using every aspect of the game 00:23:05.940 --> 00:23:11.240 of golf to teach me about dating. Just going 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:14.140 to leave that there. Most of it was appropriate. 00:23:15.599 --> 00:23:20.079 But understand, when that third question comes, 00:23:20.299 --> 00:23:24.440 what did that person show you about Jesus? Man, 00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:28.539 I hope your families have a lot to say. I really 00:23:28.539 --> 00:23:31.440 hope they go, wow, it was this or this, this. 00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:33.440 They brought me to church even when I didn't 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:37.440 want to go. Or they made me go to Sunday school 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:39.779 or Lighthouse. Or they put me in cadets even 00:23:39.779 --> 00:23:41.900 though I was nervous about it or whatever it 00:23:41.900 --> 00:23:44.579 was. Or my dad, instead of working overtime, 00:23:44.900 --> 00:23:47.480 my dad actually signed up to be a cadet leader 00:23:47.480 --> 00:23:51.299 so we could do cadets together. I know we need 00:23:51.299 --> 00:23:54.339 one more, and that's not why I said that. Because 00:23:54.339 --> 00:23:56.480 the investment in your son in cadets or your 00:23:56.480 --> 00:23:58.759 daughter in gems or being on the worship team 00:23:58.759 --> 00:24:02.359 or whatever it is, that investment is far greater 00:24:02.359 --> 00:24:06.240 to the kingdom of God than working those extra 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:10.319 shifts or making sure you got that bonus. And 00:24:10.319 --> 00:24:12.319 I'm not saying working extra shifts and bonus 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:14.859 are bad or evil, but if that's what you're defined 00:24:14.859 --> 00:24:17.759 by, if that's all you're going to give your family 00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:22.119 to talk about when you're gone, let me just say 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:25.160 as a pastor, That's a really disappointing conversation 00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:29.220 with your family. I don't mean to come heavy 00:24:29.220 --> 00:24:32.019 -handed on that, but friends, when Jesus talks 00:24:32.019 --> 00:24:33.460 about it for the next couple weeks, it's not 00:24:33.460 --> 00:24:37.720 going to get easier. There's a reason why Jesus' 00:24:38.059 --> 00:24:42.660 Sermon on the Mount almost initially talks about 00:24:42.660 --> 00:24:47.599 idols and money, because he knows us. It's the 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:50.279 same reason why the very first commandment is 00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:55.029 you shall have... No other gods. He didn't say 00:24:55.029 --> 00:24:56.930 that because he goes, I don't worship. That's 00:24:56.930 --> 00:25:02.289 going to be easy for the human race. No. As Moses 00:25:02.289 --> 00:25:06.109 was going and getting the law, the Israelites, 00:25:06.170 --> 00:25:09.549 who God delivered from Egypt in fantastically 00:25:09.549 --> 00:25:13.549 awesome ways, already starting to worship something 00:25:13.549 --> 00:25:18.670 else. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone 00:25:18.670 --> 00:25:23.490 to leave the God I love. But here's my heart. 00:25:23.849 --> 00:25:28.369 Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts 00:25:28.369 --> 00:25:33.730 above. I'm going to end with this. Heidelberg 00:25:33.730 --> 00:25:35.990 Catechism. I'll get it right one day. Question 00:25:35.990 --> 00:25:40.049 and answer one. Munster Church. Friends of Munster 00:25:40.049 --> 00:25:42.650 Church. Guests today. What is your only comfort 00:25:42.650 --> 00:25:47.589 in life and in death? That I belong. body and 00:25:47.589 --> 00:25:51.309 soul, in life and in death, not to money, not 00:25:51.309 --> 00:25:55.789 to mammon, but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:25:56.630 --> 00:25:59.630 So, Munster Church, as we start this discussion, 00:25:59.829 --> 00:26:02.670 where's your treasure? Do your spending habits 00:26:02.670 --> 00:26:05.910 reflect a heart tethered to Christ or a heart 00:26:05.910 --> 00:26:09.529 of self -serving? Do you give joyfully, regularly, 00:26:09.670 --> 00:26:12.210 and sacrificially, however you give, whatever 00:26:12.210 --> 00:26:15.099 you give? Are you investing in the things that 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:18.720 moth and rust will destroy or the things that 00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:22.819 last in eternity? Friends, hear me. This is my 00:26:22.819 --> 00:26:25.680 heart. This series is not about guilting you 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:30.099 into giving. It's about freeing your heart. Because 00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:33.200 when we store up treasures in heaven, we experience 00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:38.759 the joy of heaven now. Why? Because Christ is 00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:43.200 our greatest treasure. It's not just about what 00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:47.240 we treasure, but who. Jesus doesn't tell us to 00:26:47.240 --> 00:26:50.880 give. He gave everything. He didn't store up 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:54.960 riches. He emptied himself. He became poor so 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:58.579 we could become rich. He gave his life as a ransom. 00:26:58.859 --> 00:27:04.579 Our treasure exchanged for his grace. The gospel 00:27:04.579 --> 00:27:07.660 is not a call to give more money. It's a call 00:27:07.660 --> 00:27:10.680 to see Christ as your treasure. So let's start 00:27:10.680 --> 00:27:14.859 this journey now, there. Not with guilt, but 00:27:14.859 --> 00:27:17.759 with gratitude. Because friends, we have a generous 00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:21.740 king. So let us be kingdom investors today.