Well, turn with me to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12.
We're going to continue our series in the book of Luke tonight.
We've been studying what it means to be a disciple, to be a follower of Jesus.
We're kind of going back to basics this summer in our evening series.
And to do that, to learn about what it means to be a follower of Jesus,
we've been looking at the middle section of the Gospel of Luke, chapters 9 through 19.
In this section of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem with his disciples.
He's teaching them, he's instructing them, he's doing life with them.
And Luke, as it were, takes us along for the journey,
so that we today can learn as well what it means to follow Christ,
what it means to be his disciple.
So, let's do that.
Let's jump back into the journey at Luke, chapter 12, verses 13 through 24.
Let me read this for us.
Luke 12, 13 through 34.
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.
But he said to him,
Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?
And he said to them,
Take care and be on your guard against all covetousness.
For one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
And he told them a parable saying,
The land of a rich man produced plentifully.
And he thought to himself,
What shall I do?
For I have nowhere to store my crops.
And he said,
I will do this.
I'll tear down my barns and build larger ones.
And there I will store all my grain and my goods.
And I will say to my soul,
Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years.
Relax.
Eat.
Drink.
Be merry.
But God said to him,
Fool.
This night your soul is required of you.
And the things you have prepared,
Whose will they be?
So is the one who lays up treasure for himself
And is not rich toward God.
And he said to his disciples,
Therefore I tell you,
Do not be anxious about your life,
What you will eat,
Nor about your body,
What you will put on.
For life is more than food,
And the body more than clothing.
Consider the ravens.
They neither sow nor reap.
They have neither storehouse nor barn.
And yet God feeds them.
Of how much more value are you than the birds?
And which of you by being anxious
Can add a single hour to his span of life?
If then you're not able to do as small a thing as that,
Why are you anxious about the rest?
Consider the lilies.
How they grow.
They neither toil nor spin.
Yet I tell you,
Even Solomon in all his glory
Was not arrayed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass,
Which is alive in the field today,
And tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
How much more will he clothe you?
O you of little faith.
And do not seek what you are to eat,
And what you are to drink,
Nor be worried.
For all the nations of the world
Seek after these things,
And your father knows that you need them.
Instead, seek his kingdom,
And these things will be added to you.
Fear not, little flock,
For it's your father's good pleasure
To give you the kingdom.
Sell your possessions,
And give to the needy.
Provide yourselves with money bags
That do not grow old,
With a treasure in the heavens
That does not fail,
Where no thief approaches,
And no moth destroys.
For where your treasure is,
There will your heart be also.
So, let's pray together.
Lord Jesus,
We pray that you would take these words
That you spoke so long ago,
And recorded for us,
In the gospel of Luke,
And you'd make them alive,
To us tonight again,
By your spirit we pray.
Give us hearts to hear,
Lord,
What your spirit is saying to your church.
God, we ask that we would be changed,
And we would grow,
More and more into your likeness,
As a result of attending,
To this word together.
We pray this in your name,
Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Okay,
So,
Our text tonight,
Is clearly about,
Possessions.
Right?
You see that in verse 15,
Verse 32.
This text is all about wealth,
It's about money.
And in particular,
Jesus addresses here,
I think two of the most common,
Heart attitudes that we have,
When it comes to money,
Or wealth,
Or possessions.
On the one hand,
There's what he calls,
Covetousness.
That's verse 15.
Look there,
He says,
Be on your guard,
Against all covetousness.
And then on the other hand,
There's anxiety.
In verse 22,
Jesus says,
Don't be anxious.
Two different attitudes,
That we often fall into,
When it comes to money,
Both equally problematic.
But,
You know,
Even though they're problematic,
Even though,
We sort of look at them,
We think,
Yeah,
That's kind of out of line,
With living in God's kingdom,
With living as Jesus as Lord.
There are two attitudes,
That it's so easy for us,
To slip into,
Isn't it?
And so,
Jesus helps us,
As he brings them into light,
And he shows us a better way,
To approach,
This topic of money.
Now,
Before we dive into,
Each of those heart attitudes,
And what Jesus has to say there,
And how he points us,
To a better way of living.
Let me just say,
If you're here,
And you're new,
To Christian things,
If you're here,
You're visiting with a friend,
Or you're just sort of,
Exploring Christianity,
Maybe you're a bit suspicious,
When it comes to talking about money,
In church.
Here I am,
I said that this whole text,
Is going to be about money,
You're here in a church,
And you're thinking,
Oh no,
I walked into one of those churches,
Where they're just going to,
Beat me over the head,
And tell me that,
I need to give them money.
You know,
And if that's you,
Maybe you're,
Maybe rightfully so,
You're a bit suspicious,
Some people have used Christianity,
In terrible ways,
To weasel people out of their money,
But,
I hope you see,
And I promise you,
Tonight,
This sermon is not going to do any of that,
And I hope you see,
That real Christianity,
Is not that,
That real Christianity,
Is not just a tool,
To sort of weasel people,
Out of their resources,
Rather,
In fact,
Jesus is addressing here,
One of those realities,
Of human life,
That we can't escape,
All of us,
In some way,
Have to deal with the issue of money,
Whether we're very well off,
Or whether we're struggling,
To make ends meet,
And the question is,
Does God make any difference,
In that?
When we approach,
Our material possessions,
Our wealth,
Our money,
Whether we have a lot,
Whether we have a little,
Does being a follower of Jesus,
Actually connect,
To this everyday feature,
Of living life?
And as we've said,
So often,
When it comes to this everyday feature,
Of living life,
We fall into one of these,
Two heart attitudes,
Think about it,
Think about covetousness,
Now,
That's not a word we use,
Much anymore,
Is it?
None of you probably woke up,
This morning and thought,
I'm experiencing some covetousness,
Right?
Probably not,
What does it even mean?
Okay,
Well,
A covetous heart,
Basically says this,
I need more,
To be happy,
I need more,
To be happy,
On the other hand,
An anxious heart,
What does an anxious heart say?
An anxious heart says,
I don't have enough,
To be safe,
To be okay,
Do you see those twin attitudes?
I need more to be happy,
That's covetousness,
I don't have enough,
To be okay,
To be safe,
That's anxiety,
That's worry,
Now I think,
That's pretty much,
How most of us feel,
At one point or another,
In our relationships,
Towards possessions,
Towards wealth,
The question is,
Is there any way out?
Because often times,
We sort of ping back and forth,
Between them,
I need more to be happy,
Uh oh,
I don't have enough,
To be okay,
Well let's look at how Jesus,
Addresses these issues,
First covetousness,
Verses 13 through 21,
So somebody in the crowd,
Sort of calls out to Jesus,
Says,
Teacher,
Tell my brother,
To divide the inheritance with me,
Okay,
Well we don't know a whole lot,
About this guy,
Or his situation,
One plausible scenario,
I guess,
Is that maybe he's a,
Maybe he's a younger brother,
Feeling like his older brother,
Hasn't given him the amount,
He deserves,
Of the family inheritance,
Uh,
Something like that,
Seems to be going on,
We can't be quite sure,
Um,
And he calls out to Jesus,
Tell my brother,
To give me what's mine,
Now,
We should say that,
Of course,
God cares,
About justice,
And fairness,
And doing right,
By one another,
But,
Jesus must perceive,
Something else going on,
In this guy's heart,
Because he doesn't say,
Yes,
Fairness,
And justice,
These are qualities,
That God admires,
Bring your brother,
And let's settle this,
What does he say?
Man,
Who made me,
A judge or arbitrator,
Over you?
He pushes back,
At this guy,
Doesn't he?
He challenges him,
He refuses to play,
The role of judge,
Because,
After all,
There were plenty,
Of capable judges around,
There were plenty,
Of civil courts,
Where this guy,
Could have taken his complaint,
And gotten justice,
Chances are,
This guy,
Probably just wanted,
To leverage,
Jesus's popularity,
In his favor,
Jesus was a famous,
Rabbi at this point,
So this guy,
Wants to use,
Jesus's reputation,
As a popular figure,
And teacher,
To win his case,
And it seems,
That Jesus sees,
Straight through all of this,
Right down deep,
Into the hard issue,
That's driving this guy,
Why does he care so much,
About,
What cut he gets,
Of the family inheritance,
Jesus must see,
Something deeper,
Because he turns,
And he warns them,
And says,
Be on your guard,
Against all forms,
Of covetousness,
Be on your guard,
Against the heart,
That says,
I need more,
To be happy,
Why,
For my money,
This is one of the,
Greatest lines,
That Jesus ever spoke,
I love this line,
For one's life,
Does not consist,
In the abundance,
Of his possessions,
Your life,
Does not consist,
In the abundance,
Of your possessions,
And then,
Jesus does,
What he always does,
He tells a story,
Of a rich man,
Who has so much produce,
And so much wealth,
That he has to,
Tear down his barns,
And build bigger ones,
Just to fit it all,
This guy kind of,
Has the problem,
That we all sort of,
Wish we had,
Oh no,
There aren't enough,
Digits,
In my savings account,
To fit the amount,
Of money,
That I need to put in there,
Bank of America,
Just won't let me,
Put more in there,
Okay,
I'll have to open up,
Another account,
Over at Webster Bank,
To fit the amount,
Of cash that I have,
Into my savings account,
That's what this guy,
Is dealing with,
He has enough,
To store it all up,
Take early retirement,
Relax,
Eat,
Drink,
Be merry,
He says to himself,
Obviously,
Jesus is painting,
A picture here,
Of a guy,
Who has it all,
You know,
This is the sort of,
Tech developer,
Who creates the breakthrough,
Piece of software,
Sells it for millions,
And can retire at age 30,
He's working the four hour,
Work week,
You know what I'm saying,
He's living the dream,
And you see what Jesus is doing here,
He's sort of drawing us in,
He's drawing us in,
And saying,
What if,
You had,
All the material possessions,
You could ever ask for,
What if that were you,
Your heart says,
I need more,
To be happy,
Well,
Okay,
What if you had it all,
What if you were,
Tearing down your barns,
And building them,
Bigger,
Would you be happy then,
Jesus says,
No,
Only if you're a fool,
Because one day,
You're going to die,
And probably sooner than you think,
And nothing goes with you,
That's Jesus,
That's not preacher,
Right,
I'm not,
That's what Jesus says,
You know,
It's funny,
I heard a TED talk the other day,
About people sort of looking at statistics,
And whether they think,
That those have ramifications,
On their own lives,
And it's so fascinating,
That all of us,
Are sort of ingrained optimists,
You know,
And people sort of look at studies,
And it's a,
You know,
Chances are,
That like 30% of people,
In the world are going to,
This calamity is going to happen to them,
But when you give,
When you give the people the survey,
They say like,
What are the chances you think,
You're going to die before the age of 40,
Like 0%,
Right,
I'm going to live forever,
And then they say,
No,
Like the percentage is this,
It's like this percent,
It's really high,
And then they give them the survey again,
And it says,
Okay,
Do you think you're going to live that long,
And only like 2% think,
They're actually going to like,
Live any longer,
Live any shorter,
Like it makes no difference,
Everyone thinks,
They're going to live to a ripe old age,
And be just fine,
But Jesus says,
You know what,
Whether you live to a ripe old age,
Or not,
Material life ends,
Temporal life will end,
Life the way it's going now,
Is going to end,
And the things you have prepared,
Whose will they be?
And you know,
And then Jesus says,
It's not just,
The fabulously wealthy,
Who are at danger here,
But he says,
It's all of us,
All of us are at danger,
Anyone who lays up treasure,
For himself,
And is not rich toward God,
You see,
Where is life,
And happiness,
Really to be found?
Not in getting more,
And more material possessions,
But Jesus is saying,
True life,
Is found in being rich,
Toward God,
Rich toward God,
What is Jesus saying here?
Do you remember the Cat Stevens song,
The Cats in the Cradle?
I would say I'm dating myself,
By referencing that song,
But that one predates even me,
Do you know this song,
The Cats,
Matt knows it,
Yeah,
Thanks Matt,
Matt,
You saw Bruce Springsteen,
In concert once,
Didn't you?
You're going to get,
All my music references,
That's awesome,
Okay,
So do you remember,
Do you remember the song,
Cats in the Cradle?
Okay,
So here's the,
Here's the Cats in the Cradle,
It's a song about a dad,
And his son,
And the son,
The son,
Keeps coming up to the dad,
And asking to play together,
Dad,
Let's hang out,
Let's play together,
Let's play catch,
You know,
I want to talk to you about my girlfriend,
Blah, blah, blah, blah,
And the dad,
Keeps saying to his son,
Son,
You know what,
I'd love to do that,
But I can't,
I need to go to work,
I got to go to this meeting,
But you know,
One day,
We'll spend some time together,
One day,
I'll come and play catch with you,
Whatever,
And each verse,
The kid gets a little older and older,
And then the kicker,
At the end of the song,
Is that,
You know,
The dad is old,
And the kid has grown up,
And finally,
The dad calls his son,
And says,
Hey son,
Let's get together,
Let's spend some time together,
Let's talk,
And what happens?
The son pretty much does the same thing,
Back to the dad,
Sorry dad,
I can't today,
But another time,
I promise,
We'll do it again soon,
It's pretty heart-wrenching actually,
But you know,
I think that song points to,
A fact,
That we all get,
That what really matters in life,
Are relationships,
Right?
Who cares,
If you have tons of respect in the office,
And a billion dollars in the bank,
And three vacation homes,
If your kids won't even talk to you,
When you call them,
Wouldn't you trade all of that,
For a right relationship,
With your son,
Or with your daughter,
Or with your father,
Or with your mother,
Or with your husband,
Or your wife,
Wouldn't you trade all of that for that?
Wouldn't you rather,
Be rich toward them,
Rich in relationship with them,
Wouldn't you be rich in that way,
Than have all the wealth in the world?
And of course,
We would say,
Yes,
That's way more important,
But friends,
What if there was,
An even more important relationship,
Than those,
You see,
What if it was possible,
To be in relationship with someone,
Who knew us more intimately,
Than a husband or wife,
Could ever know us,
And who loved us,
More unconditionally,
Than any father,
Or any mother,
What if we were made,
For a relationship,
That would fill,
The deep longing of ourselves,
Soul,
That longing to be,
Happy,
And to find joy,
That lasts,
A longing that,
No amount of material possessions,
Can satisfy,
And if we're honest,
No human relationship,
Can satisfy,
Friend,
What if we were made,
For a relationship,
With God,
You see,
And Jesus is saying,
Are you rich,
Toward God,
God,
Who is the very ocean,
Of our being,
And the one,
Whose beauty will,
Ravish us,
And whose love,
Will delight us,
For worlds,
Without end,
If we're in a right,
Relationship with him,
What good is it,
To have piles of treasure,
Bulging out of barns,
To have six or seven figures,
In the bank account,
If you don't have God,
We all know,
That it's a tragedy,
To have it all,
And to be estranged,
From a child,
Or from a parent,
But friends,
Don't you see,
It's a disaster,
To have it all,
And to be estranged,
From God,
Because only he can make you happy,
With an eternal happiness,
And it makes perfect sense,
When you think about it,
Doesn't it,
A temporary thing,
Can only give you temporary happiness,
That makes total sense,
But one who is eternal,
Can give you eternal happiness,
You see,
How do you cut,
The knot,
Of covetousness,
In your heart,
How do you keep your life,
Free,
From the lie that says,
I need more,
To be happy,
Jesus is saying,
Be rich toward God,
And you'll start to feel that,
Less and less,
Be in a right relationship,
With him,
Seek him,
More than you seek,
Wealth,
And you might say,
How do I seek him,
How do we become rich,
Toward God,
How do I get this,
Eternal happiness,
Well friends,
This is the good news,
Of Christianity,
This is,
This is what it all,
Comes down to,
You see,
The gospel says,
That Jesus Christ,
Emptied himself,
Of heaven's wealth,
And became utterly poor,
So that you,
And your spiritual poverty,
Might become rich,
Through a relationship,
With him,
Our sin,
The way in which,
We've lived for ourselves,
And sought our pleasure,
In other things,
Our sin makes us,
As it were,
Poor towards God,
Bankrupt before him,
No matter how much,
Actual material money,
You have,
Or no matter how many,
Good works that you do,
All of us have sinned,
And are separated from God,
And on the cross,
Jesus takes that sin,
Takes that spiritual,
Emptiness and poverty,
From us,
And three days later,
He is raised again,
To give us his righteousness,
To give us his relational,
Wealth with the father,
How do I become rich,
Toward God,
Friends,
This is how you become,
Rich toward God,
You stop trying to seek,
Your satisfaction,
In other things,
And you find,
Your heart's rest,
In the one,
Who's taken your sin,
And given you,
God's own righteousness,
Welcomes you into a relationship,
That is rich,
And eternal,
And everlasting,
And here's why,
The financial metaphor,
Is so helpful,
When we're thinking about this,
Because you see,
Those who come to place,
Their trust in Jesus,
They're not just sort of,
Given a clean slate,
It's not as if,
They had a lot of debt,
And then their bank account,
Goes back to zero,
Right?
And then,
Okay,
You're on your own from there,
No,
What the gospel says is that,
Jesus not only pays your debt,
But he fills your account,
With the riches of heaven,
That you are made eternally,
Spiritually,
Wealthy with God,
That there's nothing,
That hinders you,
From a relationship with him,
What does it feel like,
To be rich,
Toward God,
To be in that kind of relationship,
With him,
Jesus actually shows us,
In the next section,
Of our passage,
And here,
He actually confronts,
The other heart attitude,
That often comes after us,
When it comes to our material possessions,
And that heart attitude,
Is anxiety,
It's worry,
When our hearts say,
I don't have enough,
To be safe,
This is verses,
22 through 34,
Now I think most of us,
Have felt anxious,
When it comes to money,
You know,
Will I have enough to,
Fill in the blank,
Right?
Will I have enough,
To make rent this month,
Pay for college,
Get groceries for my family,
Pay off my creditors,
Will I have enough money,
To retire,
Will I have enough money,
To care for my aging parents,
And how does Jesus,
Address our anxiety,
Well,
He does something at first,
He tells us something at first,
That seems a bit unhelpful,
Rather than give his disciples,
A quick seminar,
On financial stewardship,
And money management,
So they'll stop worrying,
About their money,
And know how to deal with it,
He tells them instead,
To look at the birds,
And look at the grass,
Now there's lots,
That the Bible has to say,
About financial stewardship,
Good money management,
But you know,
The reality is friends,
Is that's not going to,
Cure your anxiety,
Come look at the birds,
Jesus says,
Look at a raven,
With his jet black feathers,
And beak,
And eyes,
With his annoying,
Little squawk,
That raven's never put in,
A day at the office,
It's never farmed a field,
Doesn't have a bank account,
Or a 401k,
And yet God takes care,
Of that little bird,
And just think,
You,
Created in God's own image,
Purchased with the blood,
Of his own son,
Glorious,
Loved,
You,
Are you,
Not of more value,
Than the birds,
Will not God,
Take care of you,
Now bring your,
Now bring your eyes down,
From the treetops,
And look out at the grass,
At the fields,
See all those wild flowers,
Out there,
You see the lilies,
Opening up,
White as a cloud,
That little speck of sun,
In the middle,
Turning their faces down,
Ever so gently,
They have never,
Sewed a single piece,
Of clothing in their life,
They've never gone shopping,
And yet there they are,
Dressed more,
Beautifully,
Than the ancient,
Kings and queens,
In their glory,
More glorious,
Than Solomon,
And this is grass,
That we're talking about,
Farmers in the first century,
Used to burn grass,
As fuel,
In their ovens,
It was,
It was fuel for your stove,
And yet God,
Arrayed it in glory,
Just think of what God,
Intends to do with you,
If he'll take a common field,
And make it look like royalty,
What does he have in store,
For you friends,
Created in his own image,
Bought with the blood,
Of his own son,
Oh you of little faith,
Jesus says,
Will God not take care of you,
You see Jesus is telling,
His followers,
That your job,
Is to be,
Who he created you,
And redeemed you to be,
And he'll take care of the rest,
Ravens are created,
To squawk and fly,
Lilies are created,
To grow and bloom,
And God provides all that they need,
And you,
Are created and redeemed,
To seek his kingdom,
And to live under his loving lordship,
At home,
At work,
In your relationships,
To use your gifts,
And your talents,
And your time,
And your energy,
To serve others,
And to praise his name,
And because God is your loving father,
Through Jesus,
He will take care of the rest,
He will provide all you need,
There might be times of hardship,
There might be times when you're not sure,
How the rent's going to get paid,
Or whether the job offer,
Will ever come through,
Jesus is not saying,
That you're going to have nothing,
But health and wealth in this life,
No,
But he is saying,
That he'll make sure,
You have what you need,
When you need it,
To do his will,
And to glorify his name,
What does it mean,
To seek his kingdom,
If that's what we are created,
And redeemed to do,
Or as Jesus says elsewhere,
In Matthew 6,
In the sermon on the mount,
To seek first the kingdom of God,
Does it mean that we should all quit our jobs,
And stop working,
Become hermits,
Stare at birds,
Look at lilies,
No, right?
Of course not,
Jesus created us,
To work,
Right?
If you're able to work,
You should find work to do,
And more often than not,
God will use your work,
As the means,
Whereby he meets your needs,
So what does it mean,
To seek first the kingdom?
Okay,
Well think about work,
For a second,
Just as an example,
Imagine you're trying to decide,
Between two jobs,
One of them pays a lot of money,
And the other doesn't pay as much,
But it does more good for others,
Given the gifts and talents,
And desires that God's given you,
Which one will you choose?
Of course it's going to be tempting,
To just immediately choose the one,
That pays more,
Right?
You'll presumably have less anxiety,
About money,
Check,
You might even be more respected socially,
Because you'll be able to buy,
More expensive things,
Check,
Great,
Decision made,
Now there's nothing wrong,
With making a lot of money,
That might be the right decision to make,
However,
If you're seeking to live your life,
Under the lordship of Christ,
To seek his kingdom,
And his reign,
And glory,
You're going to stop,
And you're going to pray,
And you're going to discern,
And you're going to seek counsel,
With other brothers and sisters in Christ,
Because,
You just might take the job,
That has less pay,
But does more good,
Why?
Because your father knows what you need,
And he's not,
Stingily holding on,
To the kingdom,
Waiting for you to measure up,
It's his good pleasure,
To give you the kingdom,
Jesus says,
And if he's giving you the kingdom,
What else do you need?
So Jesus shows us,
Two unhealthy heart attitudes,
To money,
Covetousness,
And anxiety,
And he shows us,
That if we're rich toward God,
If we know God as our father,
Through Jesus Christ,
Then we can actually be free,
From both,
To seek his kingdom,
But what's the positive vision here,
For disciples?
He's shown us what not to do,
Don't be covetous,
Don't be anxious,
What should we do,
Briefly?
Look at verse 33,
Here's Jesus' program,
For your money,
Sell your possessions,
And give to the needy,
Exercise,
Jesus says,
Radical,
Strategic,
Generosity,
Instead of thinking,
That you need more to be happy,
Or worrying that you don't have enough,
To be safe,
You can see your wealth,
No matter how much you have,
As a means,
Whereby you can,
Do good for other people,
Especially those in need,
And doesn't this make sense,
As followers of Jesus?
Didn't Jesus see us,
In our need,
And come to us,
With radical,
Undeserved generosity,
And give his own life,
For you and me?
How could we not,
In gratitude,
Then turn to others,
And give,
And meet those needs,
Even when it's costly?
Now you have to remember,
That in the first century,
Most of your material,
Worth,
And wealth,
Sort of,
Existed in the form,
Of stuff,
Right?
So when Jesus says,
Sell your possessions,
I don't think he means,
Sell all your possessions,
I think he means,
Convert some of your wealth,
That exists in the form,
Of flocks and chickens,
Convert that into some sort,
Of transferable medium,
And then give it away,
To those in need,
Now for most of us today,
We don't have that same problem,
Our material wealth,
Comes to us in the form,
Of a paycheck every month,
That's probably direct deposited,
Into our bank account,
Right?
Not in the form,
Of crops or chickens,
So we don't necessarily,
Have to do a lot of selling,
In order to give,
But what we can do,
Is we can say,
You know,
I'm going to dedicate,
A certain amount,
Every week,
Or every month,
To do good,
To others,
I'm going to give,
Strategically,
To help those in need,
Whether it's,
Syrian refugees,
Fleeing from their country,
In fear,
Whether it's,
Children and families,
In countries stricken,
By poverty and hunger,
Whether it's,
Young women,
Caught in human trafficking,
Or whether it's,
Much more close to home,
Fellow church members,
My family in Christ,
People right here,
In my spiritual family,
Who,
Have just real practical needs,
That I can meet,
By setting aside,
Part of what God's given me,
To bless them,
And help them,
And here's,
What's very interesting,
Jesus says,
That when you do that,
When you live that way,
You become more,
And more rich toward God,
Treasure in heavens,
Is how he puts it,
Treasure in the heavens,
Now I don't think,
That Jesus is talking about,
A growing pile,
Of gold coins,
That's waiting for you,
In the new heavens,
And new earth,
As if you're sort of,
Playing some kind of,
Version of super Mario brothers,
And the coins,
Keep sort of getting rung up,
To the score bar above,
Right?
Jesus is using,
Imagery here,
Something concrete,
Something tangible,
And I think he's saying,
Something parallel here,
To what he's saying,
In verse 21,
Both of these are sort of,
The conclusions,
Of the two halves,
Of our passage,
Right?
He's talking about,
Being rich,
Toward God,
An ever growing,
Relationship with God,
That will continue,
Into eternity,
Full of satisfaction,
And joy,
Radical generosity,
Puts God first,
And foremost,
Foremost in our lives,
And if our treasure,
Is in God,
In that way,
Then that's more,
And more,
Where our hearts,
Will live,
As we exercise,
Generosity,
Our hearts actually,
Become less prone,
To covet,
And less prone,
To worry,
And more,
Expanded,
To love,
And know,
The God,
Who made us,
And loves us,
In other words,
Radical generosity,
Is one of the means,
The Holy Spirit,
Uses to increase,
Our trust,
And love,
And joy,
In God,
That continues,
From this moment,
All the way,
Into eternity,
And when the kingdom,
Comes in fullness,
Jesus is saying,
We won't be disappointed,
Because every effort,
We make,
To open up our hands,
To other people,
In this life,
In generosity,
For God's sake,
Jesus is saying,
You are going to be met,
By all the more,
Of the soul,
Satisfying,
Love of God,
One hundred fold,
In the world to come,
Friends,
The reality is,
No one,
In heaven,
In the new heavens,
In the new earth,
Will wish,
That they had given less,
In heaven,
Everyone,
Will wish,
That they had given more,
You see,
So friends,
Tonight,
If you're struggling,
With covetousness,
If you think,
I need more,
To be happy,
If you're worrying,
I don't have enough,
To be safe,
Friends,
Come,
In,
Or realize,
In a fresh way,
This relationship,
That Jesus invites us into,
As his disciples,
To walk,
With God,
As our father,
To be rich,
Toward God,
And to realize,
That he'll meet,
All of our needs,
And in the kingdom,
We'll enjoy him forever,
Let's pray together,
God,
We ask that you would take,
The words of this text,
Lord,
The truths of this passage,
And you'd help them,
To be lived out in our lives,
Lord,
Help us to be a church,
To be a people,
Who exercise radical generosity,
God,
Give us eyes to see,
Ways in which we can do,
Strategic good for others,
Lord,
Help us not to be careless,
In how we go about our days,
And how we use our time,
But Lord,
Help us to be generous,
And help us to be,
Lord,
Even radical in that generosity,
Lord,
And help it,
God,
We pray,
Would you use it,
Lord,
To expand our hearts,
To know you more,
And love you more,
And God,
To see your kingdom come,
More and more,
We ask in Jesus name,
Amen.