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This is a sermon based on Matthew 6:19-24 and is part of a series of messages exploring the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7.
Written Excerpts:
Introduction:
Today we are returning to our series of messages in which we have been exploring the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus. We are reviewing each of the topics that Jesus covers and trying to relate each of them to the point He made at the end of the discourse where He talked about the wise man and the foolish man. Jesus declared that we are wise if we listen and obey His words. We are foolish if we simply listen, but we do not obey His teachings. A wise man builds his house on solid rock that can withstand the storms of life, while the foolish man builds his house on sand that causes destruction when the storms of life come.
The topic that we are considering today concerns the treasures of our hearts. There is nothing more important to the security and safety of one’s spiritual house than to have one’s affections and values in harmony with God’s. As we will be noticing today, whatever you treasure and value in your heart of hearts will determine the decisions you make and directions you take in your life’s journey.
Transition:
As we discuss the passage before us today I want to talk about three subjects explained by Jesus that relate to heart treasures: Principles for Investing (vv. 19-21); The Soul of the Investor (vv. 22-23); and The Allegiance of the Investor (v. 24). With the help of the Holy Spirit I trust that our discussion of these subjects will help us adopt spiritual principles for investing in things that have eternal value.
I. Principles for Investing (vv. 19-21)
The first subject we notice in this lesson has to do with investment principles. For the sake of logical sequence, I want to focus first of all on the principle found in verse 21.
A. Our investments become our treasures.
The things in which we invest become the things that we cherish. And… the things we cherish the most will be the things in which we invest the most of our selves, our time, our talents and our resources. This is an irreducible principle. Follow anyone around for an extended period of time and you will discover what they cherish. You will learn what is important to them and what has most value to them.
We inevitably invest our time, our talents, and our resources in the things that we think are the most important. (If that’s not true, then it is only because we have not even bothered to evaluate our lives or judge what has worth and value and we are simply stumbling lazily through life day by day doing whatever comes easiest at the moment.)
Because our investments become our treasures, we must choose wisely what we will invest in. We only have two choices: earthly investments or heavenly investments.
That brings me to the second principle of investing…
B. Earthly investments will ultimately fail. (v.19)
Earthly investments will ultimately fail, says Jesus, because they are susceptible to decay, destruction and theft. It is impossible to permanently preserve material possessions, because material substance, by definition, is prone to decay and deterioration. Material possessions are at risk for being stolen by others who desire to have what we have.
C. Heavenly investments will ultimately succeed. (v. 20)
Heaven is the only place where nothing is threatened by decay, deterioration, destruction or by thieves.
Jesus is telling us that we have the opportunity to make the safest investments this world has ever heard of – in another world.
“Sigmund Freud’s favorite story was about the sailor shipwrecked on one of the South Sea Islands . He was seized by the natives, hoisted to their shoulders, carried to the village, and set on a rude throne. Little by little, he learned that it was their custom once each year to make some man a king, king for a year. He liked it until he began to wonder what happened to all the former kings. Soon he discovered that every year when his kingship was ended, the king was banished to an island, where he starved to death. The sailor did not like that, but he was smart and he was king, king for a year. So he put his carpenters to work making boats, his farmers to work transplanting fruit trees to the island, farmers growing crops, masons building houses. So when his kingship was over, he was banished, not to a barren island, but to an island of abundance. It is a good parable of life: We’re all kings here, kings for a little while, able to choose what we shall do with the stuff of life.” (Illustrations Unlimited, James S. Hewett, Editor, Chap 90, #2)
We are only on this earth for a little while. The question is, are we making any preparations for the life after this one? Are we sending any treasures ahead on to heaven? What shall we send? Silver and gold? Stocks and bonds? No, No, NO! The only “thing” I see down here on earth that I will have the opportunity to see in heaven is “people; eternal souls!”
I know of no other way to invest treasures in heaven than to help others get saved and find God and become devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
The success of my life will not be determined by how much wealth or possessions I have accumulated, but by how many people find Christ and make it to heaven through some influence I have been able to have upon them. The success of any church will not be determined by the size of the attendance, the bank accounts, or the buildings. The success of any church will be determined by how many people it has helped get to heaven.
I’m not saying it is wrong for people to save and prepare for their later years in life. And it certainly isn’t wrong to provide for the physical / material needs of our families. (Although I do believe we should clearly distinguish between our needs and our wants!)
However, I don’t understand people who claim to love the Lord and have served God many years, but when their life has ended, it becomes evident that they made no provisions for their earthly possessions to have any eternal impact after they’re gone. In other words, they left all their earthly assets for family members to fight over but did not allocate anything to help godly organizations spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
II. The Soul of the Investor (vv. 22-23)
The second subject that Jesus presents in connection to our heart treasures is related to the soul of the investor.
At the beginning of verse 22, Jesus makes a definitive statement, “The light of the body is the eye.”
A. The “eye” of the body is equivalent to the soul.
(A. Clarke) “…the eye is to the body what the sun is to the universe in the day time, or a lamp…to a [dark room].”
(Wm. Barclay) “The eye is regarded as the window by which the light gets into the whole body. The state of the “window” decides what light gets into a room.”
It seems to me that both of these writers are speaking about the soul of a person that defines what kind of person he /she truly is. The soul determines one’s character and one’s perspective on life.
So…
B. When the eye is “single.”
(Clarke) “Single” – means simple, uncompounded.
(Barclay) “Single” – used many times in scripture to mean generous or generosity.
When the “window” (soul) of a man is generous, it certainly “colors” everything that he sees. It impacts every area of life because that is who he really is on the inside. When the soul is generous, the whole body (life) is generous.
But, on the other hand…
C. When the eye is “evil.”
(Clarke) “Evil” – means diseased or defective.
(Barclay) “Evil” – grudging, ungenerous. Used in Septuagint to translate passages in Deut. where God warns the Jews against being ungenerous (stingy) when lending to a fellow Jew just because it was getting close to the seventh year when debts were canceled. It also appears in Proverbs “Do not eat the bread of a man who has an evil eye.” (Prov. 23:6)
When the “window” (soul) of a man is stingy, that also affects the way he looks at every circumstance in life. When the eye is evil (stingy) the whole body (life) is stingy.
The soul of the investor, according to Jesus, will determine whether he/she is likely to invest in earthly treasure or heavenly treasure. The “generous eye” gives cheerfully because he / she gives to God and is laying up treasures in heaven. But, the “stingy eye” hoards and grabs for himself / herself because earthly possessions and earthly treasures have highest priority.
III. The Allegiance of the Investor (v. 24)
We come now to the last verse of our lesson today and we discover that every one of us must decide who or what will become our master, owner, or God.
A. It’s impossible to be a slave to two owners.
In his commentary, Craig Keener states, “Two masters rarely shared slaves, but when they did it always led to divided interests.” (IVP Bible Background Commentary)
B. We must choose to be owned by God or by material possessions.
If we cannot serve, or be a slave to, two owners, then we must choose which one it is going to be; God or “mammon.”
“Mammon” – a word that basically means “material possessions” or “riches.” (Wm. Barclay; Adam Clarke)
(Wm. Barclay) It comes from a root word that means to entrust for safe keeping and referred to the wealth that one would entrust to a banker or safe deposit of some kind.... However, the meaning evolved ‘til it came to mean that in which one puts his trust.
So, Jesus is telling us that it is impossible to share our trust between God and material wealth or possessions. We will inevitably cling to one and reject the other. We will eventually come to trust in one and not the other.
C. Our choice will determine who will be our (g)God.
“The story is told of Rose Greenhow, a Confederate spy during the Civil War, who tried to evade capture and the loss of her fortune by sewing the gold she had gained into the seams of her dress. But the ship she boarded sank, and the weight of the gold made it impossible for the life preserver to support her. She sank to the bottom with all her wealth. Dr. Pierce Harris, who told the story, pointed out that death did to her what it does to all of us, because we “cannot take it with us” when we die. But sometimes, we might add, it takes us with it!” (Illustrations Unlimited, James S. Hewett, Editor, Chap 90, #3)
In this brief little story the gold that Rose Greenhow hoped to take with her ended up taking her where it went – a watery grave.
Jesus said you cannot be a slave to two different owners, but if you try it, one owner will eventually win and you will come to despise the other. The more we serve God, the more we will grow to repudiate this world and its idols. And, the more we serve riches or possessions, the more we will despise God and the things that have eternal worth.
Conclusion:
As we bring this message to a close I remind you that the truths we have discussed in this message are very sobering. We’re talking about being a disciple of Jesus Christ. We’re talking about living a life that reflects the values and principles of our Lord and Master.
The way we act in response to the principles we’ve covered today will determine whether our lives on earth will end up having any eternal significance or not. Our personal response to the teachings of Christ will either produce eternal treasures in heaven, or it will provide the fuel for the fire that will renovate this world.
I want to close by singing a song that asks a very important question. “Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid? (p. 475)
Dear friends, it is not possible for any of us to properly understand the importance of heavenly investing until we have made a complete commitment of ourselves to the Lord. We must sacrifice our selves and dedicate ourselves to Him before we can follow His teaching on investing in heavenly treasures.
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