Hello and goodbye. As much as money talks, we
talk about money, too. David Bazelon, writing
in the paper Economy, said, money is a dream.
It is a piece of paper on which is imprinted
an invisible ink, in invisible ink, the dream
of all the things it will buy, all the trinkets
and all the power over others. A kind of institutionalized
dream. which, along with its companion dream
of success, constitutes the main fantasy on which
our way of life has been built. Somebody has
said the reason you can't take your money with
you is because it goes before you do. Well, of
all the things said about money, it's remarkable
to consider how much the Bible has to say about
money. There are 700 direct references to money
and 2200 indirect references. Jesus may well
have said more about money than any other single
theme in his teaching. Why is that? It seems
to me the one reason is because money is the
God that destroys more lives and damns more people
than any other. In Matthew chapter 6, we have
part of a sermon that Jesus preached on a hillside
near Galilee. In it, he declares the manifesto
of his kingdom. He tells us that those who are
citizens of that spiritual realm have a different
view about life than what is customary, a distinctive
view, including their attitude about money. The
sum of what Jesus says in the text I'm about
to read is this, that money is a curse or a blessing,
depending upon one's attitude toward it. Follow
along with me as I read in Matthew chapter 6,
beginning in verse 19. The words of Jesus. Do
not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust destroy and where thieves
break in and steal. but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
destroys and where thieves do not break in or
steal. For where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also. The lamp of the body is the
eye. If therefore your eye is clear, your whole
body will be full of light. But if your eye is
bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If therefore the light that is in you is darkness,
how great! is that darkness. No one can serve
two masters, for either he will hate the one
and love the other, or he will hold to the one
and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon. Money is a curse or a blessing, depending
upon one's attitude toward it. Money itself is
amoral. It is neither good nor bad. Its moral
value is attributed to it by how it is used.
A .M. Sullivan said, there's no such thing as
dirty money. The stain is only on the hand that
holds it as the giver or taker. The particulars
about Jesus' teaching on money can be found in
the following statements. First of all, that
money presents a choice to us. Money presents
a choice. we can use it to lay up treasures for
ourselves on earth or in heaven. And the choice
that we make has eternal ramifications. What
is said here does not condemn wealth or possessions,
nor does it command poverty of Christians by
giving away everything. In fact, it indicates
in the Scriptures that God is the one who provides
us with a measure of money and of possessions
in this life, and that having provided them,
God then wants us to enjoy them. In 1 Timothy
6 we read, instruct those, that is, order those
who are rich in the present world not to be conceded
or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches,
but on God, who richly supplies us with all things
to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich
in good works, to be generous and ready to share,
storing up for themselves the treasure of a good
foundation for the future, so that they may take
hold of what is life indeed. In those verses,
the Apostle Paul tells us exactly how it is that
we lay up treasures in heaven. He says it is
to do good with our money, to be rich in good
works, to be generous and ready to share. In
doing those things, he says, we will store up
for ourselves the treasure of a good foundation
for the future. The Bible teaches us that God
intends for us to own things. In fact, it extends
to us the right of ownership. Although capitalism
does have its weaknesses, primarily because of
the greed of the human heart. It nonetheless
is based upon a sounder biblical principle than
socialism, because it is based upon the idea
of ownership, private ownership. John MacArthur
writes, both Testaments recognize the right to
material possessions, including money, land,
animals, houses, clothing, and every other thing
that is honestly acquired. God has made many
promises of material blessing to those who belong.
to and are faithful to Him. The foundational
truth that underlies the commandments not to
steal or covet is the right of personal property.
Stealing and coveting are wrong because what
is stolen or coveted rightfully belongs to someone
else. So when we talk about being generous and
ready to share and rich in good works, we're
not denying that God gives us the privilege and
the right of ownership. of our own property.
But what is said is that we are to use what God
puts into our hands wisely. We're to make the
choice, the right choice, to use our money so
that it will bring us reward in heaven. The warning
that Jesus makes here is that if we lay up treasures
for ourselves on earth, those treasures will
be lost. And it's certainly true that we cannot
take them out of this world to the next. Someone
has aptly pointed out there are no pockets in
shrouds. And so Jesus says, lay up treasures
for yourselves in heaven. Which means, says Warren
Wiersbie, to hang loose when it comes to the
material things of life. Our tendency is to hang
tight to them, but hang loose. Do not hoard or
stockpile for selfish purposes what God gives
to us. Rather choose to use it to bless others
and to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ so
that you will be rich toward God, because it
is what you give away that you send ahead. Now
in the particulars, there's a second statement
that I want to make based upon what Jesus says
in verse 21. It is this, that money follows the
heart. Don Delosier, a speaker regarding finances
and a man who ministered a number of years ago
here to our board, made the statement that verse
21 is the most profound biblical principle regarding
money. It says, where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. The point that Jesus
is making is that our heart determines where
we put our treasures. If you look to see where
your treasure is, that is where your heart is.
Money follows the heart. As a man thinks in his
heart, so is he, says Proverbs. It is the heart
that is the steering wheel of the life. And it
determines the direction of the life. Jesus taught
that there are two things that expose the direction
and the destiny of the heart. What the tongue
says and how money is used. Those two things
are the barometer of the heart telling its temperature.
Those two things expose the atlas of the heart,
what road it's traveling and where it's headed.
Out of the heart, the abundance of the heart,
the mouth speaks, said Jesus. And here he says
that it is the heart that determines where we
place our treasures, our money. And so to find
out where a person is heading, all you have to
do is follow the trail of words and money in
his life. Regarding verse 21, John MacArthur
writes, Jesus goes on to point out that a person's
most cherished possessions and his deepest motives
and desires are inseparable. They will either
both be earthly or both be heavenly. It is impossible
to have one on earth and the other in heaven.
And so the moral of this is that if the heart
is right, everything else in the life will tend
to be right. Because every problem is ultimately
a problem of the heart. Both generosity and greed
come from the heart. Well, I can almost hear
someone rationalizing that until my heart is
right, I shouldn't give. Until I get my attitude
right, I shouldn't give anything. I like what
Charles Swindoll said this last week in his program.
God loveth the cheerful giver, but he accepteth
from grumps too. The difference is that the cheerful
giver gets his reward in heaven. while the grump
gains nothing. But it's because of the heart.
So we have to ask ourselves today, where is your
heart headed? What does the management of your
money say regarding your heart? It tells the
story. There's a third particular that arises
from Jesus teaching on money. that may be summarized
in this statement that money threatens the conscience,
verses 22 and 23. The parable that Jesus tells
of the eye is a warning about the ability of
the heart to negotiate right and wrong when there
is darkness within. He says if the eye is working
properly, then one's body can move safely and
with coordination. But if the eye is not working
properly, then the whole body is threatened by
that condition. Clear or single vision, as Jesus
describes it here, enables one's life to discern
godly values and thus to keep the life on course.
But on the other hand, darkness in the conscience
or double vision, that is with an eye on earth
and an eye on heaven, endangers the soul's welfare.
Warren Worsby again writes, if our aim in life
is to get material gain, it will mean darkness
within. But if our outlook is to serve and glorify
God, there will be light within. If what should
be light is really darkness, then we are being
controlled by darkness. And outlook determines
outcome. That's a great statement. Outlook determines
outcome. The allurement of money and self -indulgence
of materialism have wrecked many promising people.
By these things, they have defiled their conscience.
They lost a clear vision of values. And in doing
so, they ruined themselves. As the apostle says
in 1 Timothy 6 again, those who want to get rich
fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish
and harmful desires, which, he says, plunge men
into ruin and destruction. For the love of money
is a root of all sorts of evil and some by longing.
have wandered away from the faith and pierced
themselves with many a pang. Proverbs 23 says,
don't weary yourself trying to get rich. Why
waste your time? For riches can disappear as
though they had the wings of a bird. We can defile
our conscience and lose the clear vision of godly
values, and then stray and make shipwreck of
our lives. Money is a useful servant, but it
is a ruinous slave master. We need to beware
lest we be caught by what we chase. There's a
final summation statement, a particular of what
Jesus taught from verse 24, that I would put
this way. Money seeks your allegiance. Jesus
personifies money here with this word mammon.
Mammon is a word that likely comes from the Aramaic,
meaning money or possessions. God and mammon.
Both demand our service. But Jesus says we cannot
serve both of them. All of us must choose which
master we will serve. A master by the very definition
of the term means the one who has complete right
to control of our lives. Servants are owned.
Servants must give allegiance to their master.
Jesus calls upon us here to give God our allegiance.
But money seeks it. We sing again one of those
simple choruses that is common in our day. He
is Lord. He is Lord. He is risen from the dead.
And He is Lord. And He is. But how we manage
our money confirms or denies, at least in part,
whether we sing the truth. Some closing thoughts
regarding what Jesus says about money. First
of all, you should see your money as a stewardship
from God. God truly is the owner of your money
and mine. He is the master who gives us what
we have in our hands. We then are both responsible
for how we use it and accountable to Him. That's
why it is so important for us to have a message
like this. Because it helps prepare us for the
judgment seat of Christ. For how we have managed
our money will be examined by the Lord. We often
think of our money as ours, but in fact it is
God's. It is God's. And while you may have a
hard time giving away your money, I doubt that
you would have a hard time giving away somebody
else's. And in fact, it is. A second closing
thought is this, that you should use your money
to lay up for yourself treasures in heaven. That's
the best advice I can give you this morning regarding
money. By denying the greedy tendency of the
human heart to self -indulgence, to a materialistic
lifestyle, to overspending, to envy of others.
By making a point of giving generously to God's
kingdom work in the world, to be rich in good
works and ready to share. By looking beyond retirement
age, because after all, you may never get there,
by doing these things, you can lay up for yourself
treasures in heaven. You see, the light is going
out in here, and there is darkness. There's one
final closing statement, and it is this. You
must ask yourself, whom do I worship? The throne
that is in your heart has only one seat. Jesus
said there is not room on that throne for God
and money. You say, well, if I give my money
away, does that guarantee that I will be spiritual?
Of course not. You can give without loving God.
Friends, you can't love God without giving. God
wants us to be generous in our giving. The principle
in the Word is for 10 % of giving, of tithing.
You say, well, why does God give that as a principle?
Because 10 seems to represent the whole. The
Ten Commandments often represent the whole law.
And when we bring 10 % of our increase to the
Lord, it represents the whole. It's not that
tithing is a great place to stop, but it's a
great place to start in our giving to the Lord.
God spoke directly to the people of Israel in
the book of, how was it pronounced, Malachi?
Malachi, there we go, Malachi. And he said, bring
the whole tithe into the storehouse so that now
there may be food in my house and test me now
in this, says the Lord of Posts. If I will not
open for you the windows of heaven and pour out
for you a blessing until it overflows." Why did
God say that? Because His people were robbing
Him. He says, will a man rob God, yet you are
robbing me in tithes and offerings? You see,
we cannot love God without giving. There was
a woman who met a friend of her father's whom
she had not seen for a number of years. This
woman's father was a Christian, a devout Christian,
and had great joy in telling his old acquaintance
about her dad's trust in Christ and the way that
he had faced suffering and trials in his life
and even the prospect of death. The father's
friend, however, had chosen to live a different
kind of life. He gave himself over completely
to the earning of money and the hoarding of every
cent that he earned. He had become very wealthy,
but he didn't have the same glad anticipation
of the future as his friend had had. He put it
to his daughter in this way. Your father can
be more optimistic about heaven than I, for a
very simple reason. He is going to his treasure.
I... will be leaving mine. Ebeneezer Scrooge
in Dickens' A Christmas Carol was able to see
the error of his life in time. He was able to
see the corruption to his own soul brought about
by his attitude toward money. It was not too
late and he made the change. And died a happy
man. Jesus says a lot about money. And he knows
this, and we need to know it, that our money
represents us. And when we give our money to
God, it indicates that we're really giving ourselves
to God, all of us. May we do that freely and
as generously as grace demands that we should.
And Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit will
bring this message to our hearts and will deposit
it there, resulting in our being able to evaluate
our lives as we must as those who will give account
and help us to hear what Jesus says about money.