Undistracted Devotion

[0:00] If you would open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6, I'm going to read for you verses 19 through 24. This is the words of Jesus and he says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on 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 and steal.

[0:32] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body, so if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

[0:46] If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness? No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

[1:02] You cannot serve God and money. You know, it only takes between three and five seconds to check your phone while you're driving.

[1:15] That's all it is, three to five seconds. And so, you know, bleep, text comes in, one, two, three, four. And so what's interesting is if you're traveling at 55 miles an hour, a five second check on your phone is the equivalent of going about the length of a football field.

[1:36] And if you go the length of the football field looking at your phone, you are a distracted driver. Every year, 421,000 people are injured in a crash involving a distracted driver.

[1:54] Of those 421,000, 330,000 are injuries due to texting. That's 78%.

[2:04] One out of four accidents, car accidents in the U.S. are caused by texting while driving. This is really convicting for me because I've looked at my phone while driving.

[2:20] Distracting driving is a serious problem in the U.S. It's the cause of injuries, even death. But U.S. roadways are not the only place where distraction is causing problems.

[2:35] In the church of Jesus Christ, the church has plenty of distracted disciples. Men and women who professed faith in Christ alone but have been distracted from following Jesus wholeheartedly.

[2:53] They may be on the road of discipleship, but they've taken their eyes off of Jesus. And when you take your eyes off of Jesus, you drift. And a disciple who's adrift is in danger.

[3:07] In danger of spiritual injury to themselves, of others, and of maybe even injuring the name of Jesus himself. In this passage I just read in Matthew 6, Jesus is calling his disciples to an undistracted, wholehearted devotion to God.

[3:27] And we just spent a couple weeks in the earlier part of Matthew 6 where Jesus is warning his disciples, don't be hypocrites, don't showboat your practice of righteousness for others to see, do it for an audience of one.

[3:45] And now in this section that we turn to now, Jesus moves from talking about hypocrisy to worldliness. Worldliness is when a Christian wants to be more like the world than Christ.

[4:03] Worldliness is when a Christian is indistinguishable from someone who is not a Christian. A distracted disciple of Jesus will drift into worldliness.

[4:17] In fact, it's often worldliness that causes the drift. Jesus knew it in the first century. He knew it would be a temptation for his disciples then.

[4:28] And he knows it's a temptation for his disciples now in the 21st century. And so this morning we need to heed our king.

[4:39] And what Jesus is calling us to, you could sum it up something like this. He's saying this morning, don't be distracted disciples who blend into the world.

[4:50] No. He's saying live distinct lives out of undistracted, wholehearted hearts of devotion to God.

[5:05] We are to live distinct lives of wholehearted devotion to God. So to be distinct in this world means that we actually live for God.

[5:20] And the good news about what Jesus is saying here is he just doesn't go, okay, live for the world. I'm going up to heaven. Make the most of it. I'll see you in a couple millennia.

[5:31] He actually tells us how to be distinct in this passage. There are three things he points to.

[5:43] Three ways to live distinct lives for God alone. Three ways to be undistracted and wholehearted in our devotion to God. It's in what we treasure.

[5:54] It's in how we see. And it's in who we serve. These are the three ways Jesus calls us to live distinct lives of wholehearted devotion to God. And in each one there's a contrast.

[6:07] And that contrast brings clarity in how we live. So let's unpack these three ways Jesus calls us to be undistracted in our devotion.

[6:19] The first is in what we treasure. And we see that in verses 19 through 21. It's in what we treasure. So I'm not sure if you know this, but we're all treasure hunters.

[6:35] We're all looking for treasure. We're all hardwired to be looking for treasure. Treasure. That word, do not lay up.

[6:46] That phrase, do not lay up for yourselves treasure. And then in verse 20, but lay up for yourselves treasure. Lay up. That's actually the verbal form of the word treasure.

[6:57] And so what Jesus says, don't treasure up treasures on earth. No, treasure up treasures in heaven. That's what he's saying. We're all treasure hunters. Have you ever seen the Antique Roadshow?

[7:10] I love that show. It draws me in every time. Do you know why? Because I'm a treasure hunter. And I want to know how much this little lost photograph up in the attic is going to get for, you know, being gone for two centuries.

[7:29] Is it going to be worth five bucks or five thousand bucks? I'm a treasure hunter. And you're a treasure hunter too. That's why Antique Roadshow is so popular.

[7:41] Everyone treasures something. All seven plus billion people on the face of the planet right now are treasure hunters. They're seeking something.

[7:53] They want something. They want to treasure. We're made in God's image. We long for a treasure that's greater than us. We long for a treasure that's greater than us. God alone is the treasure of unsurpassed worth and glory.

[8:09] And that's part of His design in us. He built us for that. He created us wanting treasure. He's the treasure.

[8:19] You can call it treasure hunting or you can call it worship. Finding worth in what matters most.

[8:33] And so you can think of all our longings for pleasure, prestige, power, possessions, praise. It's all a kind of treasure hunting. It's all a kind of worth finding.

[8:46] We're hardwired for that. And so the first thing you need to know is that Jesus is putting His finger on something that we all identify. We want treasure. And then what we see in this passage is that Jesus makes a contrast between two kinds of treasures.

[9:04] Verse 19, it's the treasures that are laid up on earth. And in verse 20, it's the treasure that's laid up in heaven. Jesus says, don't store up, lay up treasures on earth.

[9:19] And then He tells you why. Why? Well, that's where moth and rust destroy. The treasures on earth are corruptible.

[9:31] They don't last. And then He says, where thieves break in and steal. That word break in is pretty interesting. It actually means dig in because in Palestine in the first century, the houses were made out of mud.

[9:44] And so if you wanted to thieve something, you just kind of dug into a house, grabbed it, and you ran. But the point is, treasures on earth are corruptible and insecure.

[9:58] And so what Jesus is saying here in verse 19 is, don't live for temporary treasures because they're temporary. They don't last.

[10:08] They're corruptible. They're insecure. Don't set your heart on the temporary stuff. And so for us, what it means is we don't live for cars because cars rust and break down.

[10:19] We don't live for houses because houses require upkeep. They've got ants. Some have mold. Some need new roofs. They take a lot. They are moving from order to disorder.

[10:30] We don't live for clothes because clothes wear out with use. They go out of fashion. And sometimes you no longer fit into them. Luke 12, 15, Jesus says, take care and be on your guard against all covetousness, all greed.

[10:51] For one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. There's this great lie out there that says your worth, treasures found in how much you got.

[11:05] And Jesus is saying, no. You don't want to accumulate stuff on earth. It's just going to fall apart or get stolen. Did you notice the emphasis on location?

[11:20] Jesus is talking about where. Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth. Where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

[11:33] Where does the corruption and stealing of one's possession take place? On earth. And so if you think that this planet in its current form is the best that it gets, you're misinformed and mistaken.

[11:48] You're being distracted from what matters most. Storing up treasures on earth is here and now thinking. It's earthly thinking.

[12:00] It's worldly thinking. It's not Christian thinking. And for those who are outside of Christ, who have not yet bowed the knee to Jesus, of course they're going to think that all that there is is here and now.

[12:13] Of course. That's all they got. That's their hope. But not us. Christians have the blood-sealed promise of eternity in heaven.

[12:27] Our future heavenly home. We're heaven bound. We're heaven bound. We are exiles and sojourners in this present world.

[12:39] We're passing through on our way to a city prepared for us by God himself. Brothers and sisters, I'm not sure if you've thought about this, what I'm about to tell you, but you need to think about it.

[12:56] The new Jerusalem's coming. And if you're redeemed, that means you have an address in the new Jerusalem. You've got a place that God has prepared for you.

[13:08] It's locked in. It's coming. There's more. Jesus is calling us out of a worldly here and now kind of thinking.

[13:20] And he's calling us to a Christian kind of thinking. A there and then heaven bound thinking. And so let's move from the temporary treasures on earth to the enduring treasures in heaven.

[13:37] And we see that in verse 20. It's a contrast. It's a contrast. And Jesus is trying to bring clarity here. He's saying in verse 20, he says, But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

[13:50] Why, Jesus? And he goes on. Where neither moth nor rust destroys. And where thieves do not break in and steal. Remember, the treasures on earth, they're corruptible and that they're insecure.

[14:01] And what Jesus is saying, treasures in heaven are incorruptible. There are no moths. There's no rust. It's secure.

[14:13] There are no thieves breaking in and stealing. It's a better place. And so what Jesus is saying is, live for what endures.

[14:23] Live for what's going to last. Live for the eternal. You're heaven bound. Live for what's heavenly. We live first and foremost for what matters most according to what God says.

[14:38] Not the world. And what matters most is that which is incorruptible and secure. So what are that kind of stuff? God himself, his word, and the souls of men and women.

[14:50] Those are the things that are eternal. Everything else is passing away. Let me just remind you what 2 Peter 3 talks about. 2 Peter 3 talks about that the earth in its present groaning condition will one day be wiped clean.

[15:05] Burned up. In order that God will recreate a new heavens and a new earth that we can populate with God himself. That's what's coming.

[15:17] We're heaven bound. The difference between heaven and earth is this. The things of earth are here and now and passing away, but they are seen. And the things of heaven are there and then and enduring forever, but right now they go unseen.

[15:37] One is a life of sight. One is a life of faith. One is a life of faith. We live by faith. For what matters most.

[15:49] Now does that mean we renounce all material goods? No, it doesn't. But it does mean we renounce materialism. That false belief that our life depends on our possessions.

[16:03] It's that Luke 12.15 Jesus thing that he was warning us about. We view our present earthly possessions in light of eternity.

[16:15] In light of leveraging those for treasuring things up in heaven. We can't bring any of our stuff with us, so let me just remind you again that Jesus is locating all these enduring treasures in heaven.

[16:37] There is a guy, his name is Randy Alcorn, and he heads up this ministry called Eternal Perspectives Ministry, and he's got this illustration that he uses. It's called the dot and the line. And so when he talks about the dot, he's referring to your 70 to 80 years on earth.

[16:52] It's a little dot. And some people who think that all their life is is a dot, they're going to live for the dot. But what our Bibles teach us and what Alcorn brings out is that from that dot is a line with an arrow on the edge that is pointing to eternity.

[17:12] That's the line. And what Jesus is telling us here is, don't live for the dot, live for the line. And so now what we do is we leverage our dot in light of eternity.

[17:25] We live for the line. We live for what is enduring. We live for what matters most. And Jesus locates it in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, where thieves do not break in and steal.

[17:40] He says, it's where, it's where, it's where. Where is your heart? Where have you set your heart?

[17:51] For where your treasure is, think heaven or earth. Think heaven or earth. Where is your treasure? For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

[18:03] And when Jesus talks about his heart, he's talking about that part of you that controls everything in your life. That's what you're living for. That's the summary in verse 24.

[18:15] Excuse me, in verse 21. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If you think that treasure is just here and now, you have an earth-bound heart.

[18:28] But if you realize that the real treasure is there and then, you have a heaven-bound, God-pleasing heart.

[18:40] We steward what we have in light of the line. So now you may be asking yourself a question like this.

[18:52] Okay, I get distracted. I get distracted by stuff. What do I do? Where do I go? How do you move an earth-bound heart to a heaven-bound heart?

[19:07] How does that work? Well, it's by faith refocusing your heart on what matters most. Some of you may be wondering right now, well, what's the stuff, what are the treasures that I need to store up for heaven?

[19:24] I'm not going to address that this morning. Here's what I'm going to address. I'm going to address heaven. Because what I tend to think is that we are not thinking enough about it.

[19:36] So let me ask you a diagnostic question. How great is your longing for your heavenly home? How much do you want it?

[19:46] What comes into your mind when you think about heaven? And if you're answering something like this, well, I can't really imagine it. I've kind of got a blank slate. I've got maybe some angels.

[19:58] It's pretty. Well, you know what you need? You need some biblical intel. It's really hard to want to go somewhere that you know nothing about.

[20:13] But when you start to think about what's waiting for you, your heart lines up with that and so will your life. So do you know how I want to help you?

[20:28] This week, sometime when you're by yourself and with your Bible, open your Bible to Revelation chapter 21. That chapter talks about the New Jerusalem.

[20:41] And it is breathtaking. It's breathtaking in its size. If you drop the New Jerusalem in the middle of America, do you know what kind of footprint it would have? It would go from Green Bay to Helena, Montana, down to, what is that place in Texas called?

[20:57] El Paso in Texas to Baton Rouge. That's the footprint of the New Jerusalem. It is breathtakingly huge. And then you start thinking about what it's made of.

[21:10] It's breathtaking in its beauty. But you know what's most breathtaking at all about the New Jerusalem? It's who's there. Who lights up the place.

[21:21] Look at Revelation 21. Start marinating your imagination with a vision for heaven.

[21:32] And you're going to find yourself lighting up with that of what matters most. It will inform what you start to treasure. Don't buy the bill of goods of this world.

[21:47] The world's going to say, hey, it's all about here and now. It's about accumulating stuff. And Jesus says, no. Christian, you're heaven bound. You've got something coming that is far more glorious and lasting.

[22:00] So the first way we're distinct is what we treasure. We treasure heaven and the things of heaven.

[22:15] That sets us apart. And so when we talk about an undistracted, wholehearted devotion to God, we are looking heavenward.

[22:26] We're aimed that way. The second way we live distinct lives is how we see. Have you ever been to an eye doctor and you sit in the chair and the eye doctor brings that thing down and kind of click, click, click, how you can see now, click, click, click?

[22:46] He's focusing your eyes. And then there's this other test in which he's looking for cloudiness in your eyes. It's called glaucoma. And so the task of the eye doctor is so that you can see clearly with a sharp focus.

[23:03] In verses 22 and 23, Jesus uses physical sight as a metaphor for spiritual sight.

[23:18] Spiritual sight is living by faith in God's word. That's spiritual sight. On this planet, at this time, we live by faith.

[23:29] Our sight is informed by Bible. Paul calls it in 1 Corinthians 2 spiritual understanding. We comprehend the things of God that are physically unseen but revealed in the Bible, and the Holy Spirit enables us to do that.

[23:46] So when you read something like this, the eye is the lamp of the body, so if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

[23:56] But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness? When you read that, can we all agree that Jesus isn't just giving some tips in terms of your physical eye care?

[24:09] Can we agree to that? He's getting at something more significant. He's a good teacher. And so what he's doing is he's using something we can all identify with, physical sight, and he's making a spiritual point.

[24:24] So Jesus says the eye is the lamp of the body. All that he's saying is that your physical sight informs your life. It gives direction to you.

[24:38] Now just think about this. Just think about how dependent your life is on your physical sight. Imagine just you can no longer see.

[24:48] It happens right now. You're blind. You're in darkness. Could you imagine what it would be like trying just to get out of this building? How difficult that would be? Living in darkness?

[24:59] But to have sight is to live in the light. The contrast Jesus is making is between spiritual sight and spiritual blindness.

[25:15] Notice his if-then logic. If your eye is healthy, then your whole body will be full of light. And that sounds really good. Then he says, but if your eye is bad, then your whole body will be full of darkness.

[25:28] And whatever that means, it doesn't sound good. So I want to help you see the contrast a little bit more by helping you understand what he means by an healthy eye and a bad eye.

[25:40] That word healthy you read in verse 22, if your eye is healthy, is a really interesting Greek word. It actually means singular.

[25:51] And so it's a clear and focused sight, which means healthy. And so what Jesus is saying is, if your eye, if your spiritual sight, is healthy, clear, and focused, then your whole body, your entire life, will be full of light, radiant with life.

[26:13] That's what Jesus is saying here. In other words, if you're seeing things with spiritual clarity, you will experience God's blessing. You're going to be living by faith. It just evidences the spiritual birth which God has wrought in you by his spirit and enabling you to see things as God sees things.

[26:39] And what you're going to see are things like this. You're going to start seeing what matters most to God. You're going to start having a clear and focused vision on what matters most.

[26:50] And when we think like that, it's all about God's name. It's all about his glory. It's all about his word. It's all about the salvation of men and women in Christ alone.

[27:05] It's a life of faith. Spiritual sightedness is grounded in faith in God. So when we talk about clear and focused sight, where clarity is an undistracted sight, unobscured sight, focused.

[27:24] It's a singular aim. It's like a hunting rifle scope. You've got an all-consuming point of focus. And that's what Jesus is getting at here.

[27:37] Spiritual sight that is clear and focused on what matters most, and that is God himself. So you can ask it this way. What are you living for?

[27:47] What is occupying the central vision of your life? The word bad in Greek literally means evil. It's talking about spiritual blindness.

[28:00] And spiritual blindness describes people who have yet to be born again. Back in 1 Corinthians 2, Paul describes those who are not Christians as unable to accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to them.

[28:15] They're not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. A non-Christian doesn't have the Spirit of God indwelling them to give them spiritual understanding, what Jesus is calling spiritual sight here.

[28:28] And the root of spiritual blindness is unbelief. Unbelief blinds your spiritual sight, and as a result, a non-Christian walks in darkness.

[28:43] And they're in grave danger. It's scary to think about walking in darkness, right? But it's even more grave than that, because what Paul says, not only are they walking in darkness, they are perishing.

[28:56] Listen to how he says it. We learn from 2 Corinthians 4 that the God of this world, the devil, has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.

[29:11] Spiritual blindness is evidence of spiritual deadness, and according to the Bible, the only thing that cures spiritual deadness is life in Christ imparted by the Holy Spirit.

[29:23] And so when someone is spiritually blind, do you know what they need? New life. New life. New life in Christ alone. The regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

[29:34] Birthing someone into spiritual existence. Created a new creation. With new eyes. To be able to see that which matters most.

[29:49] God's cure for spiritual blindness is spiritual life in Christ alone. So when we preach the gospel, we preach the gospel realizing there must be an accompanying work of the Holy Spirit to regenerate people.

[30:06] Now, when Jesus talks about someone's sight, their eye is bad, he really means it's bad. It's not good.

[30:19] Their whole life is full of darkness. They don't get it. Now, what happens when a Christian buys into worldliness?

[30:31] When that happens, worldliness is like spiritual glaucoma to a Christian. It clouds a Christian's ability to see with clarity and focus.

[30:42] It obstructs a Christian from seeing that which has an eternal weight of glory. And so what worldliness does is I forget that there's a line.

[30:52] I just think that it's my little dot life. That that's all that there is. Worldliness keeps us from seeing the eternal weightiness of things.

[31:07] Keeps us from seeing that God is the unrivaled treasure of all. Did you notice those last words of Jesus?

[31:19] If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness? It's one thing to realize that you're blind. It's another thing to not realize you're blind but actually think you can see.

[31:32] That's what Jesus is talking about. How great is that darkness? When someone who's spiritually blind thinks that they can see but they really can't, how great is that darkness? That's what he's getting at.

[31:45] There is this ancient Greek proverb. It's called the fox and the hedgehog. The fox knows many things but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

[32:00] What happens is that people start living for everything that they can. They're just trying to make sense of the world.

[32:12] It's one thing after the next. That's fox living. What a hedgehog does is they live for one thing. One great all-encompassing vision for all things.

[32:25] That's hedgehog vision. That's what we're being called to here. A vision, a unifying vision for all things.

[32:37] And you know what unites all things? God's glory over all. In these two verses, Jesus is providing us with another way to live distinct for God.

[32:49] To have a clear and focused spiritual sight. Your whole life will be radiant. You're going to light up the darkness around you. People will notice. You'll be distinct.

[33:01] But what you need for healthy spiritual sight is spiritual life. And so if you are aware that you're walking in darkness, do you know what you need? You need to turn to Jesus.

[33:14] You need to turn to Him. He will give you the light of life. He'll give you eyes to see. And so if you are seeing with some kind of difficulty that Jesus is the only way for you, but you're seeing it, you go to Him.

[33:31] You put your faith in Him. You trust in Him alone. And He's going to give you life. He's going to light you up. He's going to give you eyes to see. What if you're sitting there and it's like, okay, I got glaucoma.

[33:43] All right. All right, I'm distracted. I don't see things clearly. I lose sight of heaven. Do you know what you need to do? You need to repent. You need to turn from it and turn to Christ.

[33:55] You need to acknowledge the fact, oh, Lord, I have been setting my eyes on things that are passing, and I have not been setting my things that are eternal. God, will you forgive me for that?

[34:06] And will you change me? Will you help me to have an all-encompassing hedgehog vision for all things, namely your glory? Will you do that in me? And then we all need corrective spiritual lenses, don't we?

[34:21] Even if we get the glaucoma out, we all have a tendency to see things here and now. So here's what we've got to do. Every morning, it's like, okay, I'm putting on my spiritual lenses.

[34:34] Okay, I'm going to walk through life like this. I've got my biblical corrective lenses on, and I can see clearly now. We all need to be living through the lens of Scripture.

[34:46] It's corrective for us. We'll continue to see what matters most. So the second way we live distinct lives for God is in how we see.

[35:00] We're to see clearly and focused on what matters most. The third way we live distinct lives for God is that we serve God alone.

[35:12] It's in verse 24. We serve God alone. 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.

[35:23] You cannot serve God and money. The contrast Jesus is making is one of slavery between two masters. And the background, of course, is first century slavery, which had a lot in common but had some distinctions from the slavery that plagued our nation.

[35:43] The point that Jesus is making here is one of ability. He's not arguing along the lines of permission. He's not saying, no, you are not allowed to serve two masters.

[35:55] And then at the end of verse 24, no, you're not allowed to serve God and money. He's not making an argument of permission. He's making an argument of ability.

[36:07] You are unable to serve two masters. You can't. It's impossible because of the nature of slavery. You have one master.

[36:19] Exclusive devotion to that master. It will control your entire life. Is it true that God forbids us from worshiping other gods? Yes, it is. But what Jesus is talking about here is not permission.

[36:31] He's talking about ability. You can't serve both. Well, you may be sitting there and saying, well, you know what? I've got two jobs.

[36:42] I've got two employers, and I can please them both just fine. Thank you. Thank you. Well, I appreciate your thought. But Jesus isn't talking about 21st century American employment.

[36:56] He's talking about 1st century slavery. Let me put it this way. Does your current employer legally own you? No, though it may feel like it.

[37:10] Does your employer require your exclusive devotion 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year? No. Does your employer legally require your absolute exclusive devotion over all other relationships?

[37:25] No. That's the difference between being an employee and being a slave. Employers do not own employees. 1st century masters own their slaves.

[37:36] This is about ownership. Who owns you? Who owns you? In very stark language, slavery language, Jesus is calling us as his disciples to a wholehearted and exclusive servanthood of God.

[37:53] God owns you. He owns you by virtue of creating you. He's your creator.

[38:04] He gives you your next breath. But if you're a Christian, you're doubly owned. You've been bought by his blood. You're owned twice by God. He's your master.

[38:18] Jesus is making it clear. Christian, you cannot serve God and money. You can only serve one or the other, but you certainly cannot serve both.

[38:29] Because if you're trying to serve both, you're not serving one. You can only have one master. Who's your master? Over the years, I've interacted with a lot of people, especially young people.

[38:45] And when I've called them to a wholehearted, exclusive devotion to Christ, some have responded, you know what, I just want to go to school. I want to get good grades. I want to get a good job so I can make a lot of money.

[38:58] They're actually thinking that money is going to give them what they really want. Like money's a God. You cannot serve God and money.

[39:09] It's about ownership. Now, just a point of clarification, money itself is not evil. 1 Timothy 6, Paul makes it clear that money isn't the root of all evil.

[39:23] It's the love of money that is the root of all evil. And so you see the issue of evilness comes from our hearts. We make money into a God. What we love most rules us for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

[39:40] And money is one of the great idols of our day. Many people think that money provides security. That money provides prestige, freedom, pleasure, opens doors, people listen, there's power and happiness.

[40:01] Those who think like this are at best spiritually short-sighted and at worst spiritually blind. Money, at best, provides temporary security.

[40:17] Prestige. Temporary freedom. Temporary pleasure and power. Why? Because money is both corruptible and insecure. Insecure. Insecure. If you're invested in the market, there are circumstances beyond your control that can eat up your money.

[40:33] You can lose your fortune in a New York minute. It just goes like that. Insecure. Not to mention the threat of someone breaking into your accounts and stealing your money with a different ID.

[40:48] We all know this. But I just need to say it. People who live for money don't actually own their money. Their money owns them. Money is unable to provide what only God can.

[41:01] And Jesus' point here is that you would be a fool to wholeheartedly and exclusively serve money. It's a lousy God. Money's not alive.

[41:12] God is. In fact, Jesus is alive right now and reigning. Money's not all wise. God is. And he gives wisdom to those who ask. Money's not ruling over all creation right now.

[41:22] God is. And he is for your good, brother and sister in Christ. Money wasn't nailed to the cross. There wasn't a bunch of Benjamin Franklins nailed to the cross for your salvation. Jesus was.

[41:35] His blood shed. That's the only thing that could have saved you. And now you have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading kept for you in heaven.

[41:47] Money cannot cover your sins and regrets. Only the blood of Jesus can forgive you. Only the blood of Jesus allows you to say, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Money can't love.

[42:00] God is the one who loves. Money cannot clean your conscience. God can. Money isn't going to solve your marriage problems. But you know what God can do? He can change your marriage by changing you.

[42:12] Money isn't going to make your kids love you. But God can do a work in you that will be a game changer in your family. Money doesn't make you holy. You can't buy into Christ's likeness. That is something that God does by His Holy Spirit.

[42:27] Money isn't in and of itself going to cause God's name to be exalted among the nations. We can't buy people into the new Jerusalem with money. It's about God in a movement of His Spirit within His people working powerfully to proclaim the glorious name of Jesus.

[42:49] And we get to be part of populating the new Jerusalem full of worshipers of our great God. So this morning Jesus is calling us to ante up.

[43:01] You need to decide who your master is. You're going to serve money? Or are you going to serve the living God? What do I do if I know I'm living, loving money more than God?

[43:17] Will you repent? You confess it. God, I've been loving money more than you. I hate to say it, but it's true. God, forgive me. And He does. Change me. And He will.

[43:28] You know what He's going to do? You know what He's going to do in you? He's going to do something like this. He is going to work in your heart in such a way that He's going to grow in you a vision for His unsurpassed worth.

[43:42] He's going to cultivate in you a love for Him that is going to crowd out all other loves for things that don't last. That's what He's going to do. He's going to say, I want your heart in all of it.

[43:54] And I'll do a work, a steady work by my Spirit. A good book to read besides your Bible is this book, Desiring God by John Piper.

[44:04] That will get you thinking. What do I do with my money? Don't worship it. Remember, it's not your money.

[44:17] God is your master. It's His money. He's entrusted it to you. So three, ask God how to use it for His glory. Okay, we've looked at three ways Jesus calls us to live a distinct life this morning.

[44:31] It's in what we treasure. You're heaven bound, brothers and sisters. It's in how we see. We need a single, all encompassing, healthy vision for the things that matter most.

[44:44] And it's in who we serve. We serve God alone. And it's not because He purchased, just purchased with His, it's that. He's wonderful to serve.

[44:58] We've got a wonderful master. There's no better one. He's great. Let's pray. God in heaven, thank you so much. God, we want to be people who are living distinct lives of wholehearted devotion to you.

[45:13] Will you bring it about by your spirit? Amen.