WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:06.500 Well, good morning everyone. Great to see you. Why don't you grab your Bible and turn to Matthew chapter 6. That's where we're going to be this morning. 00:00:08.099 --> 00:00:11.640 And thank you to everyone who's participated so far in our service. 00:00:12.419 --> 00:00:15.780 It's just great to sing God's praises together, isn't it? It's such a wonderful thing. 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:23.339 We thought about it at the end of Colossians chapter 3, about how letting the Word of Christ dwell on us richly is a wonderful thing that we do as Christians. 00:00:23.460 --> 00:00:26.120 And it's been a joy to do that this morning. 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:34.520 So with Matthew chapter 6 open in front of you to get us thinking, let me just ask somebody to put their hands up. 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:37.899 Anyone to put their hands up. Have you ever read the Sunday Times Rich List? 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:42.280 Has anyone ever read this? A few of us. Come on, don't be embarrassed. A few of us. 00:00:42.939 --> 00:00:54.180 Sunday Times Rich List. If you don't know what this is, it's the annual publication at the Sunday Times release that reports on the wealthiest people in Britain. 00:00:54.179 --> 00:01:02.840 I don't know if you knew this or not, but I found out this week that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Sunday Times Rich List. 00:01:03.619 --> 00:01:08.659 So, 1989, if math isn't your strong point like mine wasn't this week, that's your 30 years. 00:01:08.780 --> 00:01:20.819 1989, the wealthiest person in Britain, discounting the royal family, was Lord Sainsbury, who was reportedly worth, 1989 remember, a reported 2 billion pounds. 00:01:20.819 --> 00:01:23.159 It's quite good for 1989, isn't it? 00:01:23.979 --> 00:01:31.780 Compare that to 2018, the wealthiest person in Britain, Jim Radcliffe, was reportedly worth well over 21 billion pounds. 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:33.559 That's the richest person right now in Britain. 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:46.060 And even that pales into insignificance when you consider that the Walton family in America, so the guys that founded Walmart, they are reportedly worth 129 billion pounds. 00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:49.320 Now, I struggle to get my head around even how many zeros that is. 00:01:49.740 --> 00:01:52.460 I don't know about you, but that's an awful lot of zeros, isn't it? 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:55.780 129 billion pounds. 00:01:55.780 --> 00:02:01.560 Now, if you look hard enough out there, you'll see all sorts of rich lists that we have come up with. 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:08.120 You've got the richest female, you've got the richest Asian, you've got the richest sports person, and on and on it goes. 00:02:09.219 --> 00:02:13.539 And I think it's extremely revealing of what we love as a society, isn't it? 00:02:13.900 --> 00:02:16.259 I mean, we lap this stuff up. 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:21.420 The wealthiest people in our country, in our world. 00:02:21.419 --> 00:02:25.359 The richest person right now worth 129 billion pounds. 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:31.199 But let me ask you, just as we kind of start today, how you instinctively react to that figure? 00:02:33.679 --> 00:02:34.799 Does it make you angry? 00:02:36.299 --> 00:02:38.859 And you think to yourself, that's exactly what's wrong with the world today. 00:02:38.959 --> 00:02:40.219 I mean, that just represents greed. 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:42.779 That is exactly what's wrong with the world today. 00:02:42.779 --> 00:02:46.599 It was Nina Simone, the famous jazz singer, who said, 00:02:46.739 --> 00:02:48.719 Greed has driven the world crazy. 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:52.800 Maybe that's you this one, that's what you think when you see that figure. 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:56.699 Or maybe you're sitting here, and that figure actually makes you envious. 00:02:58.379 --> 00:03:02.240 And you think, life would be so much easier for me, I've only had myself a little bit of this. 00:03:02.539 --> 00:03:04.740 Even just one billion, that would be me, I'd be fine. 00:03:05.639 --> 00:03:08.060 They'd still have 128 left over to spend on themselves. 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:09.759 Even one billion would be fine for me. 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:11.360 Think of the stuff that I could do. 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:14.479 And in your mind right now, you're singing along with Abba. 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:19.639 Money, money, money, must be funny in a rich man's world. 00:03:19.780 --> 00:03:25.339 Money, money, money, always sunny in a rich man's world. 00:03:25.459 --> 00:03:26.719 Aha, aha, aha. 00:03:28.459 --> 00:03:35.019 All the things I could do if I had a little money, it's a rich man's world. 00:03:35.099 --> 00:03:38.019 Now, I'm sure there's other reactions that would have been in your minds. 00:03:38.020 --> 00:03:44.300 But where I want us to start today is whether or not you'd call yourself a Christian. 00:03:45.980 --> 00:03:51.680 However you've instinctively reacted to that figure, it reveals a lot about what's going on deep down in your heart. 00:03:54.460 --> 00:03:56.360 And the Bible talks an awful lot about money. 00:03:58.020 --> 00:04:00.439 And when it does, to be honest, it's not so much about money. 00:04:00.760 --> 00:04:02.000 It's just a presenting issue. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:11.360 The Bible wants to go, God's word, into our hearts and ask ourselves, what are you worshipping? 00:04:12.699 --> 00:04:13.759 What are you worshipping? 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:15.020 What are you living for? 00:04:15.460 --> 00:04:16.579 What are you trusting in? 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:20.759 What's the thing if you thought, if only I could get blank, then my life would be complete? 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:24.600 What is that thing that you're living for and trusting in? 00:04:26.339 --> 00:04:30.319 I'm sure it won't surprise you to hear me say that that's exactly what Jesus is interested in. 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:33.759 As we encounter him here in Matthew chapter 6. 00:04:34.259 --> 00:04:35.659 He's interested in our hearts. 00:04:36.459 --> 00:04:39.420 Whoever you are here this morning, he's interested in your heart. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.259 Now, if you've got your wallet there, I brought mine up here. 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:44.319 Or if you've got a coin in your pockets. 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:48.100 Just, or even if you haven't got it, just picture it in your head. 00:04:48.139 --> 00:04:48.899 Just lift it. 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:50.379 Or put it in front of you. 00:04:50.459 --> 00:04:51.300 Picture it in front of you. 00:04:52.699 --> 00:04:53.539 Picture it in front of you. 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:56.879 This thing that we do, this thing that we have called money. 00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:00.719 Well, the word in Greek, it's kind of wider than that. 00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:01.500 It's kind of possessions. 00:05:01.699 --> 00:05:02.339 It's our stuff. 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:03.420 Picture it in your mind. 00:05:04.379 --> 00:05:09.279 Because what we're going to do over the next few weeks, before we have a break and build up for Easter, 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:12.339 is we're going to think about this thing that we call money. 00:05:13.740 --> 00:05:16.300 And we're going to sit at the feet of Jesus Christ. 00:05:16.300 --> 00:05:24.400 And we're going to allow him to teach us about how we should think and use and spend and relate to our money. 00:05:25.840 --> 00:05:29.520 And what we're going to find is that his words to us are both challenging. 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:31.240 I mean, there's a sting to his words. 00:05:31.340 --> 00:05:33.620 There's a sobering reality to what he says. 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:39.800 But actually, Jesus gives us a much better way than the world offers us. 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:40.740 A much better way. 00:05:41.960 --> 00:05:45.139 And to be honest, even as Christians, sometimes we don't really know what to do with money, do we? 00:05:45.139 --> 00:05:47.120 We don't really know what to do, what to think about it. 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:48.300 How much should I use? 00:05:48.379 --> 00:05:49.459 How much should I give? 00:05:49.539 --> 00:05:50.399 How much should I keep? 00:05:50.699 --> 00:05:52.759 And they are good and they're right questions to be asking. 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:59.180 But what we'll see today is that Jesus, first and foremost, when it comes to this area of money, 00:05:59.240 --> 00:06:02.699 he asks us a devastatingly simple question, and it's this. 00:06:04.019 --> 00:06:05.019 Where is your treasure? 00:06:07.339 --> 00:06:08.319 Where is your treasure? 00:06:09.919 --> 00:06:11.060 What are you living for? 00:06:11.939 --> 00:06:13.579 What in your mind have you got it? 00:06:13.579 --> 00:06:14.699 It would make you. 00:06:15.859 --> 00:06:16.719 Where is your treasure? 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:25.039 Now, I haven't counted, but somebody was telling me this week that Jesus says more in the Gospels 00:06:25.039 --> 00:06:28.379 about money than he does about any other subject. 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:32.699 As I say, I haven't counted, but that sounds about right from what I understand of the Gospels. 00:06:32.799 --> 00:06:35.699 It says more about money than he does about anything else. 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:38.120 Now, we do well to wrestle with the why of that. 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:40.340 Why does he say that? 00:06:42.019 --> 00:06:50.340 Well, come with me to Matthew chapter 6, if you've got your Bibles there, and come with me to what the Penguin Book of Historic Speech is. 00:06:50.379 --> 00:06:51.980 I know you've all got it on your bookshelves. 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:55.780 It calls the world's most influential speech. 00:06:55.779 --> 00:06:59.099 Matthew chapter 5 to chapter 7. 00:06:59.159 --> 00:07:02.000 What we understand, what we call the Sermon on the Mount. 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:03.419 That's where we're going to be today. 00:07:05.059 --> 00:07:13.500 And in the Sermon on the Mount, beginning at Matthew chapter 5, Jesus outlines the kind of lives that are to mark the people that follow him. 00:07:13.500 --> 00:07:29.399 So that's all those who have been so radically and holistically transformed by the free and the lavish and the saving grace of God that people have encountered in Jesus Christ. 00:07:29.819 --> 00:07:31.439 So this is the Sermon on the Mount. 00:07:31.779 --> 00:07:37.160 And structurally, right at the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, comes verse 9 of chapter 6. 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:38.600 This is how Matthew's put it together. 00:07:38.600 --> 00:07:41.819 Verse 9 of chapter 6, the heart of the Sermon on the Mount. 00:07:41.819 --> 00:07:46.180 And you'll see that Jesus is teaching his followers how to pray. 00:07:47.879 --> 00:07:49.500 And he urges them, do you see what he does? 00:07:49.579 --> 00:07:53.000 To pray to God as their Father. 00:07:54.659 --> 00:07:57.060 Father, Pater, that's the Greek word, or Abba. 00:07:57.899 --> 00:08:02.319 Okay, if I was being cheesy, I would say this is the Abba that we need to sing along with, but I won't say that. 00:08:02.539 --> 00:08:03.819 This is what Jesus does. 00:08:04.500 --> 00:08:06.659 He says, he is your Father. 00:08:06.659 --> 00:08:10.219 That is a great privilege that's right at the heart of the Christian life and the faith. 00:08:10.220 --> 00:08:13.020 We can get to call our Creator God. 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:23.660 This holy God who our sin had separated us from, that Jesus died in our place on the cross to redeem us, to bring us in, to be adopted as sons and daughters of the living God. 00:08:23.860 --> 00:08:25.980 The privilege is that we get to call him Father. 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:33.060 And we get to pray to him as Father, knowing that he knows and he cares and he loves for us. 00:08:33.059 --> 00:08:42.979 But the thing is that Jesus knows that that privilege, he knows us well enough to know that there's things in our lives that are going to get in the way of us enjoying that privilege. 00:08:44.659 --> 00:08:51.879 And are going to potentially suck the life out of the fire that should be in that relationship. 00:08:52.119 --> 00:08:53.259 Cause it to grow cold. 00:08:53.479 --> 00:08:54.699 Cause the fire to go out. 00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:56.219 Cause us to get distracted. 00:08:56.220 --> 00:09:01.840 And Jesus loves us enough to tell us that there's things in our lives that are going to do that. 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:02.840 Could do that. 00:09:03.300 --> 00:09:06.519 And you'll see in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses this phrase, do not. 00:09:06.660 --> 00:09:08.300 We read two of them there just a moment ago. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:09.080 Do not. 00:09:09.940 --> 00:09:10.940 Don't do this. 00:09:11.060 --> 00:09:12.040 Don't do this. 00:09:13.540 --> 00:09:15.940 And you'll see one of them, verse 19, is money. 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:17.440 It's possessions. 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:18.180 It's stuff. 00:09:18.179 --> 00:09:30.879 And so Jesus warns his followers that a wrong attitude to money can be a hindrance, can quench, can crush that authentic relationship that we have with our heavenly father. 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:33.519 And that is the most important thing in our lives. 00:09:34.219 --> 00:09:39.639 The most important thing in life is where you stand in relation to God, your creator. 00:09:41.620 --> 00:09:43.620 You see, Jesus isn't getting on our case. 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:44.959 Jesus isn't killing our joy. 00:09:45.099 --> 00:09:47.120 Jesus isn't trying to take us on a guilt trip. 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:55.019 Jesus, remember this is the most loving person that has ever walked this earth, says, I want to love you by telling you about this stuff. 00:09:55.980 --> 00:10:02.560 Because I want you to know what you have in me, this relationship that you have with your heavenly father. 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:04.480 And so we'll jump in then. 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:06.779 Jesus says, where is your treasure? 00:10:06.899 --> 00:10:09.039 We'll jump in at verse 19 of chapter 6. 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:14.399 And Jesus, this Sermon on the Mount, we're reading that this crowd have come to Jesus. 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:16.100 Jesus is teaching them from the mountain. 00:10:16.259 --> 00:10:22.240 And he's essentially asking them three diagnostic questions that get right to the heart of where their hearts are. 00:10:22.980 --> 00:10:29.519 And these are the three questions that we're going to ask ourselves this morning as we think about our attitudes in our hearts towards money. 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:30.399 Here's the first one. 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:31.759 Are you spending rightly? 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:34.319 Are you spending rightly? 00:10:34.419 --> 00:10:35.860 Verses 19 to 21. 00:10:35.860 --> 00:10:45.500 Because when you stop and think about what Jesus is saying here, essentially what he's saying, and hear me right, is spend, spend, spend. 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:46.700 Right? 00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:48.460 Spend, spend, spend. 00:10:48.560 --> 00:10:52.379 To which the people on Wall Street would give a massive whoop. 00:10:52.500 --> 00:10:54.039 MasterCard would say, sign him up. 00:10:54.060 --> 00:10:56.060 Because Jesus says, spend, spend, spend. 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:58.340 But here's the truth that Jesus is hitting at. 00:10:58.340 --> 00:11:05.940 Whatever we have, whether in our eyes, your eyes, that is a lot or not a lot, Jesus says you're all spending it somewhere. 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:08.000 You're spending it somewhere. 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:11.660 The only question is, where is that somewhere? 00:11:13.899 --> 00:11:15.879 And there's only two options, says Jesus. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:23.320 You're either spending it with this earth in mind, or you're spending it with heaven in mind. 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:26.780 There's only two places you can be spending the money. 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:29.260 You're spending it on earth, or you're spending it in heaven. 00:11:29.460 --> 00:11:33.020 And here's the reality trick that Jesus drops in at this point. 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:41.600 That if you're spending it, if you're using your stuff, if you're pouring out your energies into accumulating more things down here, 00:11:43.340 --> 00:11:49.820 then know that moth and rust will ultimately destroy everything that you've invested in. 00:11:49.820 --> 00:11:53.060 That's the warning, the loving warning that Jesus makes. 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:58.360 Now, I wonder if you've ever had any encounters with moths over the years in your lifetime. 00:11:59.160 --> 00:12:00.180 You ever experienced moths? 00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:03.900 See how he's picked his image as well here? 00:12:03.960 --> 00:12:09.240 I remember the first day of work as a lawyer that I ever had years ago. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:11.379 And I bought myself a navy suit. 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:13.460 I thought it was the bee's knees. 00:12:14.340 --> 00:12:14.480 Right? 00:12:14.540 --> 00:12:18.220 As a student, I'd been wearing hoodies all my life and trackies for the last five years. 00:12:18.220 --> 00:12:19.760 All of a sudden, I think I'm James Bond. 00:12:19.880 --> 00:12:21.020 I'm strolling into the office. 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:23.000 Love this navy suit that I bought. 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:27.520 And one summer, I left it at Alex's parents' house. 00:12:29.020 --> 00:12:30.660 And we left it for three, four months. 00:12:30.740 --> 00:12:32.820 We came back and I put the suit on again. 00:12:33.660 --> 00:12:36.440 And all of a sudden, I noticed it felt quite breezy down below. 00:12:38.260 --> 00:12:45.100 And I looked down and sure enough, the moths had chewed a massive patch in the one place where you don't want a patch on a suit. 00:12:48.020 --> 00:12:49.540 And the suit was completely ruined. 00:12:49.640 --> 00:12:50.379 I couldn't wear it again. 00:12:50.420 --> 00:12:51.020 I had to bin it. 00:12:51.340 --> 00:12:52.900 The whole thing just ruined. 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:55.000 And that's exactly what Jesus is saying, isn't he? 00:12:55.000 --> 00:13:00.700 If you're spending yourself on things down here, moth and rust will take it. 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:01.980 They will take it. 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:05.379 And thieves will break in and steal. 00:13:05.500 --> 00:13:06.679 This is the other thing that he says. 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:12.799 And I presume this is him talking about the suddenness of things being taken from you. 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:19.379 Now, I remember that genuinely, the first day that I walked into my job as a lawyer, I remember it well. 00:13:19.479 --> 00:13:23.639 The date was the 14th of, sorry, Monday the 15th of September 2008. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:26.439 And do you know why I remember that date? 00:13:27.019 --> 00:13:28.379 Some of you might remember that date. 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:31.320 Because that was the day that Lehman Brothers went under. 00:13:32.799 --> 00:13:33.960 It was my first day of work. 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:34.960 I walked in and this has happened. 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:36.179 I thought, this is the working world. 00:13:36.259 --> 00:13:36.919 This is what happened. 00:13:37.100 --> 00:13:41.320 The first day, arguably, you could say, of the credit crunch that happened in 2008. 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:43.879 And so I'm watching this. 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:47.899 And I'm watching, literally, stock markets collapse in front of me. 00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:50.960 And I'm watching people lose their jobs round about me. 00:13:51.259 --> 00:13:56.500 And I'm watching lives, things that have been built, mortgages that have been taken out, bills that need to be... 00:13:56.500 --> 00:13:58.519 And people's lives are collapsing all around. 00:14:00.620 --> 00:14:03.200 And I think that's what Jesus is talking about here, isn't it? 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:07.759 That how fragile is our economy? 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:12.159 How fragile are the things of earth to build your lives upon? 00:14:12.440 --> 00:14:15.120 And how suddenly things can change in an instant. 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:18.759 And if you've invested yourself in things on earth... 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:21.799 Friends, Jesus says that's a very dangerous place to be. 00:14:22.700 --> 00:14:24.500 To paraphrase Shakespeare, 00:14:24.500 --> 00:14:28.759 What will I win if I sell eternity to get a toy? 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:32.080 Jesus says you'll win nothing. 00:14:34.340 --> 00:14:37.159 When it comes to your money, and this is true, isn't it? 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:39.919 Either it's leaving you or you're leaving it. 00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:42.139 So only two possible outcomes. 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:46.059 But Jesus says, listen to me, to this crowd. 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:48.019 Lovingly, he says, listen to me. 00:14:48.299 --> 00:14:50.980 I want you to spend with heaven in mind. 00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:54.279 I want you to spend and invest in eternity. 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:56.879 I want you to make deposits in my kingdom. 00:15:00.200 --> 00:15:04.300 And so the question then becomes, what does it mean to spend with heaven in mind? 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:12.480 Well, we're going to come back to this in a couple of weeks' time and think about a parable that Jesus told in Matthew 25 that talks about this exact thing. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:18.480 But in the meantime, to see how he's urging his followers to use their money and to think kingdom. 00:15:19.560 --> 00:15:19.720 Right? 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:20.480 Think kingdom. 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:24.759 Think about how you can use your stuff to love people. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:27.840 How you can invest it in caring for God's people. 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:29.159 How you can love your neighbor. 00:15:29.300 --> 00:15:35.879 How you can use it for the furtherance of the gospel all around the world and in our city as well. 00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:38.879 So that many more people will come to know Jesus for themselves. 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:40.259 He's saying here, isn't he? 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:40.899 Use it. 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:43.159 Store it in heaven. 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:44.779 Use it for my kingdom. 00:15:47.340 --> 00:15:50.320 Randy Alcorn in his great little book, The Treasure Principle. 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:52.220 And if you want to borrow it, I've got it in my office afterwards. 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:53.120 He puts it like this. 00:15:53.860 --> 00:15:56.820 When it comes to our money, we can't take it with us. 00:15:57.039 --> 00:15:58.740 But we can send it on ahead. 00:15:58.740 --> 00:16:11.779 And Jesus invites us, as we think about this whole area of money, of stepping out in faith and building our life, surrendering them to his will and surrendering them to his kingdom. 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:16.639 He invites us, do you see, to believe the promise of verse 33. 00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:20.960 That we can seek first the kingdom of God. 00:16:21.620 --> 00:16:23.960 That we can seek first his righteousness. 00:16:24.299 --> 00:16:28.340 All the while knowing that our heavenly father will provide for all of our needs. 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:30.299 All of our needs. 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:32.500 In a world of worry. 00:16:34.340 --> 00:16:37.120 Friends, those should be such refreshing words to hear. 00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:40.480 That our father has got this one. 00:16:41.220 --> 00:16:46.860 And that we can step out in faith and surrender our lives to his will and live for his kingdom. 00:16:47.019 --> 00:16:49.899 Because that investment, says Jesus, what a wonderful promise. 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:53.840 Unlike an earthly one, that promise is totally secure. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:57.480 That investment is in the best place possible. 00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:00.500 And it's in the place that's beyond our wildest dreams. 00:17:02.539 --> 00:17:09.240 And so Jesus says, while you're here, as my people, and how different we should be to the world on this one. 00:17:09.740 --> 00:17:11.299 As my people invest there. 00:17:11.299 --> 00:17:17.819 And I'm assuming to eliminate any tokenistic gestures that people in the crowd might be thinking. 00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:20.279 As if they can fob God off by giving him a few quid. 00:17:20.500 --> 00:17:22.659 Jesus says, remember, this isn't a wallet thing. 00:17:22.779 --> 00:17:23.859 Simply a wallet thing. 00:17:25.099 --> 00:17:26.779 Because this is God we're talking about, right? 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:28.000 He's not short on stuff. 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:31.899 He says, this is a heart thing. 00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:32.960 Where is your heart? 00:17:33.139 --> 00:17:34.099 Have I got your heart? 00:17:34.579 --> 00:17:35.500 Do I own you? 00:17:35.579 --> 00:17:36.379 Do I have you? 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:37.480 Are you sitting at my feet? 00:17:37.539 --> 00:17:38.319 Are you right here? 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:40.599 Where is your treasure? 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:43.420 Where is your treasure? 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:45.860 Because where your treasure is, that's where your heart will be. 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:52.259 It reminded me of the famous quote by John Rockefeller, America's first billionaire, 00:17:52.259 --> 00:17:55.799 who was asked once by a reporter how much money is enough. 00:17:55.799 --> 00:17:59.039 And he famously said, just a little bit more. 00:18:00.159 --> 00:18:01.079 Just a little bit more. 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:06.579 And so into our money obsessed world, Jesus asks his followers, where is your treasure? 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:08.059 Where is your treasure? 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:09.419 Are you spending it rightly? 00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:11.759 And secondly, are you seeing clearly? 00:18:13.619 --> 00:18:16.319 So Jesus gets this and follow with the imagery here. 00:18:16.619 --> 00:18:19.779 There's a master of telling stories and using imagery, isn't he, Jesus? 00:18:19.779 --> 00:18:28.119 He gets the people in this crowd to picture their lives as a room and to picture their eye as the lamp that gives light to that room. 00:18:29.799 --> 00:18:35.619 And when you consider that light throughout scripture, throughout God's word, it kind of represents the knowledge of God. 00:18:36.819 --> 00:18:44.700 You can see that he's urging them to let this word be the thing that floods and lights up their lives. 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:46.160 This is what he's calling them to do. 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:47.740 He says, are you listening to me? 00:18:47.740 --> 00:18:50.539 Are you seeing the world like I'm telling you to see it? 00:18:50.620 --> 00:18:51.420 Do you get it? 00:18:52.140 --> 00:18:53.000 Do you get it? 00:18:54.420 --> 00:18:58.779 For if you do get it, then your whole life will be full of light. 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:07.079 In fact, the word for healthy there or good, it carries the word, it carries, sorry, connotations of the idea of single-mindedness. 00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:15.500 And again, you see the call of Jesus, not to go half in with him, but to follow him with the entirety of our lives. 00:19:15.500 --> 00:19:21.559 Jesus is asking the people in this crowd who are claiming to follow him, do you see the world like I'm telling you to see the world? 00:19:21.819 --> 00:19:23.180 Do you understand it like that? 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:24.420 Do you trust my words? 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:34.299 And it was Archbishop William Temple who once described the British society like a shop window where the price tags had been switched around. 00:19:34.299 --> 00:19:43.059 So the things of no worth were considered expensive and the things of great worth were considered cheap. 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:46.259 And I think there's a lot of truth in that. 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:49.500 Truth in that, isn't there? 00:19:49.539 --> 00:19:50.539 Think about your eyes. 00:19:51.019 --> 00:19:53.079 Think about your eyes, the gateway to your heart. 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:54.859 Let me ask you this morning, what are you letting in? 00:19:56.680 --> 00:19:57.539 What are you letting in? 00:19:57.539 --> 00:20:06.180 And I was reading this week that experts reckon that 20 billion pounds this year will be spent in the UK on advertising alone. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:08.139 20 billion pounds on advertising. 00:20:08.819 --> 00:20:13.180 Television, billboards, social media, Facebook, sports events, you name it. 00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:20.859 Advertisers, companies, spending money with the express aim of convincing us that their product is a must-have for our lives. 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:24.539 And so we're inundated, are we not, as we live our lives in this world? 00:20:24.539 --> 00:20:28.940 We're inundated with images and offers as we go about our daily lives. 00:20:29.059 --> 00:20:30.159 I don't know if you found this. 00:20:30.500 --> 00:20:31.339 I haven't got it on me. 00:20:31.619 --> 00:20:35.899 My iPhone now tells me how much time I've spent on my iPhone every day. 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:40.980 And it always happens on a Sunday morning when I'm having my quiet time preparing for church. 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:41.899 And it's like, oh, whoops. 00:20:43.339 --> 00:20:47.240 This morning, two hours, 11 minutes on average I spend on my phone every day. 00:20:48.659 --> 00:20:50.000 Now that's not just making calls. 00:20:50.099 --> 00:20:51.180 That's not just text. 00:20:51.180 --> 00:20:54.420 That's on a variety of things, Twitter, all these things. 00:20:54.560 --> 00:20:56.860 Just images pouring into my mind. 00:20:57.680 --> 00:20:58.900 Pouring into my mind. 00:20:58.980 --> 00:21:00.220 Emails, checking them. 00:21:00.340 --> 00:21:01.980 Things, images always going in. 00:21:03.100 --> 00:21:11.700 I was so impacted by this thought this week that I hit the unsubscribe button to all of my unnecessary emails. 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:13.779 I didn't even know this button existed. 00:21:13.900 --> 00:21:14.400 Did you know it? 00:21:14.560 --> 00:21:14.960 Unsubscribe. 00:21:15.080 --> 00:21:16.000 I didn't even know you could do that. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:21.779 So, Topman, Thomas Cook, Manchester City, Groupon. 00:21:21.839 --> 00:21:23.660 I do not need to know about another DFS. 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:24.180 Say ho. 00:21:26.059 --> 00:21:27.880 But honestly, I could see it in my heart. 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:34.299 All that was happening was that it was breeding in me an unhealthy discontentment. 00:21:34.940 --> 00:21:37.720 And it was breeding in me almost a sense of entitlement. 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:41.860 That as I was looking at this stuff, I was thinking, do you know what? 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:43.960 Maybe I do need that. 00:21:44.460 --> 00:21:45.700 Do you know, I've had a hard week at work. 00:21:45.779 --> 00:21:47.640 Maybe that would be a great way to treat myself. 00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:48.579 I deserve that. 00:21:51.460 --> 00:21:53.740 And Jesus would say, you fool. 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:57.079 So, friends, let me ask you, what are you letting in? 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:58.400 What are you letting in? 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:09.599 And positively, let me ask you, is the light that Jesus is talking about here, is the knowledge of God, is God's words, the thing that we're allowing to light up our lives? 00:22:10.859 --> 00:22:16.220 Are we letting it be the thing that shapes our view of understanding the world in which we live? 00:22:16.380 --> 00:22:17.700 We can call that worldview. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:20.279 Is the word of God shaping our minds? 00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:34.379 And are we allowing God's spirit, as he works in our lives, as he brings this word to bear in our lives, are we allowing Jesus to be the true treasure of our lives? 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:37.480 Because that's the ultimate treasure of the Christian life, isn't it? 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:38.240 It's not stuff. 00:22:38.339 --> 00:22:38.980 It's not a place. 00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:39.559 It's him. 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:43.859 And so are you growing in your affections for the Lord Jesus? 00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:46.440 Are you growing in your love for him? 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:51.380 I was so impacted by our series recently in Colossians that we finished last week. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:52.420 What did Paul write? 00:22:53.799 --> 00:23:00.480 In Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 00:23:02.220 --> 00:23:02.980 It's him. 00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:05.340 Is he the treasure of our lives? 00:23:05.380 --> 00:23:06.360 This is what he's asking. 00:23:07.700 --> 00:23:12.440 And so into our advert saturated world, Jesus asks, where is your treasure? 00:23:12.580 --> 00:23:14.240 Are you seeing clearly? 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:17.200 And thirdly and finally, are you serving fully? 00:23:18.859 --> 00:23:23.900 And what he says at verse 24, I mean, really, this is the bit of no nonsense teaching that he's been building up to. 00:23:25.140 --> 00:23:33.240 He says categorically to this crowd, to the people who would follow after him, you can only serve two masters. 00:23:34.980 --> 00:23:37.779 And feel the weight of what he's saying here. 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:40.240 You cannot serve God and money. 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:47.400 Now, when Jesus talks about masters, we've got to remember that he's speaking into a first century context. 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:50.299 Many people in this day are slaves. 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:51.839 We thought about that a few weeks ago. 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:58.620 So this isn't like our modern day kind of employment where it is possible to kind of have two part time jobs and have two masters. 00:23:58.940 --> 00:24:04.400 He's speaking to people who know what it is to have one master and to have one person calling the shots in your life. 00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:08.560 Only one person can tell you what to do. 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:12.360 And so they get the logic of what Jesus is saying here. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:14.960 Of course, you can only serve one master. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:20.340 Jesus says, you're serving me or you're serving money. 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:21.100 Which one is it? 00:24:21.099 --> 00:24:36.059 You know, it's often said that the easiest way to catch a monkey is to, just picture it in your mind, is to put a bit of banana in a jar and to put a very small hole in the top of the jar. 00:24:37.500 --> 00:24:43.959 And what will happen after a while is that the monkey will come along and put their hand into the jar and pick up the piece of banana. 00:24:43.960 --> 00:24:49.759 But because its hand is grass around the bit of banana, it can't get its hand back out. 00:24:50.620 --> 00:24:56.900 And if the jar is heavy enough, that monkey is absolutely trapped because it views a bit of banana as a possession. 00:24:57.960 --> 00:25:02.299 And it cannot fathom that it cannot get its hand out and have the banana. 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:06.620 And this is, apparently they invented this hundreds of years ago. 00:25:06.680 --> 00:25:08.079 This is the easiest way to catch a monkey. 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:10.319 But it's exactly what Jesus is saying, isn't it? 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:13.960 That we cannot serve God and money. 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:15.039 You just cannot work. 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:18.399 That they cannot share the steering wheel of your life. 00:25:20.139 --> 00:25:22.480 They cannot room together in the human heart. 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:23.460 You can have two friends. 00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:24.500 You can have two hobbies. 00:25:24.599 --> 00:25:26.659 But Jesus is saying you cannot have two masters. 00:25:28.659 --> 00:25:30.259 Again, it's another call from Jesus. 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:37.339 Do you see to his followers to die to self, to put agendas aside, to take up our cross and to follow him. 00:25:37.339 --> 00:25:43.139 For that absolute devotion, for that total allegiance, for that complete surrender to his will. 00:25:43.199 --> 00:25:46.659 And of course we've just been singing that he surrendered himself completely to the Father's will. 00:25:48.099 --> 00:25:51.159 And he caused all those who would follow in his footsteps to do exactly the same. 00:25:53.159 --> 00:25:58.599 And so he asks us this morning, as those who would follow him, where is your treasure? 00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:00.980 Where is your treasure? 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:10.140 I was telling you at the start, just as we close, that the 30th birthday of the Sunday Times Rich List. 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:13.360 I don't know if you can call it a birthday, but 30th anniversary. 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:21.799 And to mark this occasion, the paper ran an article with Robert Watts, who's the kind of compiler of this list. 00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:23.559 He's been doing it for 30 years. 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:28.940 And they asked him to go and interview somebody about how the Rich List has impacted them over the years. 00:26:30.039 --> 00:26:34.740 And so they interviewed one person about how it's impacted them over the years. 00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:37.319 And they said this, you see, I'm in my 50s now. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:41.639 And at my age, you tend to accept what you are in life and what you aren't. 00:26:42.200 --> 00:26:44.740 And I've now accepted that I will never be rich. 00:26:44.740 --> 00:26:53.220 Now, it might greatly surprise you to learn that those words are from the lips of a property tycoon down in London, 00:26:53.539 --> 00:27:01.559 whose identity was kept hidden in the article, but who did say that he was estimated to be worth in the region of 200 million pounds. 00:27:04.059 --> 00:27:05.859 Do you see the deceitfulness of riches? 00:27:07.220 --> 00:27:12.299 This is what Jesus is lovingly warning his followers to be on the lookout for. 00:27:12.299 --> 00:27:16.619 This stuff that could get in the way of choking that relationship with our heavenly Father. 00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:19.899 And Jesus would say to this individual, 00:27:20.879 --> 00:27:25.940 you invest in earth, moth and rust will destroy it. 00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:28.960 And thieves will break in and steal it. 00:27:30.579 --> 00:27:33.899 And so he asked all of us this morning, when it comes to money, where is your treasure? 00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:36.500 Are you spending rightly? 00:27:37.619 --> 00:27:39.000 Are you seeing clearly? 00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:41.159 And are you serving fully? 00:27:42.299 --> 00:27:49.200 You know, we're going to, after we've had communion together and celebrated what Jesus has done on the cross for us, 00:27:49.220 --> 00:27:53.579 and look forward to his return, we're going to finish our service by singing one of my favorite hymns, 00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:56.000 this old Irish hymn called Be Thou My Vision. 00:27:56.119 --> 00:27:58.940 And it's a wonderful prayer for that single-mindedness. 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:02.039 And I don't know if you've ever thought about the last verse, but it goes like this. 00:28:02.039 --> 00:28:06.579 Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise. 00:28:07.180 --> 00:28:11.159 Thou, so you, are my inheritance now and always. 00:28:11.779 --> 00:28:14.119 Thou and thou only, first in my heart. 00:28:14.659 --> 00:28:17.420 High King of heaven, my treasure thou art. 00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:23.159 Let's make that our prayer as we head into this week, that Jesus would be the treasure of our heart. 00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:27.040 So let's, just before I pray, why don't we just take about 30 seconds of quiet, 00:28:27.800 --> 00:28:31.540 and let's maybe just respond to the Lord as we've heard him speak in his word this morning. 00:28:31.539 --> 00:28:42.659 And so Father, I ask that you would help us this week 00:28:42.659 --> 00:28:50.180 to base our lives not on the fleeting values of this world, 00:28:51.180 --> 00:28:54.619 but on the eternal riches of your kingdom. 00:28:56.059 --> 00:28:59.159 And I pray that your spirit would be at work in our lives this week, 00:28:59.160 --> 00:29:08.860 and he would help us understand and grasp and savor the all-surpassing beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:14.180 And may everything that we have, Lord, everything that you've given us to steward for your glory, 00:29:14.320 --> 00:29:16.540 may it be of worship to you. 00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:20.140 So Father, thank you for your great love for us. 00:29:20.620 --> 00:29:26.779 And I ask, Lord, that you would help us now as we turn to focus our minds in living for you, 00:29:26.840 --> 00:29:27.640 that you would help us. 00:29:27.640 --> 00:29:29.259 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:29:29.759 --> 00:29:30.140 Amen.