WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.700 If you have a Bible with you, then please turn to Matthew chapter 6, verses 19 to 24. 00:00:06.700 --> 00:00:15.359 Matthew chapter 6, verses 19 to 24. We are still in the Sermon on the Mount. 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:17.839 This is the Word of God. 00:00:18.420 --> 00:00:27.239 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 00:00:27.579 --> 00:00:35.899 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 00:00:36.699 --> 00:00:39.079 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:42.420 The eye is the lamp of the body. 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:46.219 So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 00:00:46.539 --> 00:00:49.479 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. 00:00:49.939 --> 00:00:53.340 If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 00:00:53.840 --> 00:00:56.060 No one can serve two masters. 00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:04.180 For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. 00:01:04.180 --> 00:01:08.880 You cannot serve God and money. Amen. 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:15.099 We are making our way through the Sermon on the Mount. 00:01:15.839 --> 00:01:20.739 And it's perhaps because this is my last sermon here that Corey has given me the passage on money. 00:01:21.340 --> 00:01:24.679 Because money is awkward to talk about, isn't it? 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:28.600 It's not something we talk much about here in Scotland. 00:01:28.820 --> 00:01:29.620 I'm from Germany. 00:01:30.100 --> 00:01:32.840 In Germany we say, you don't talk about money, you have it. 00:01:33.260 --> 00:01:34.180 Or you don't have it. 00:01:34.900 --> 00:01:40.520 And it's in our Western world, which is so material, it's something we like to keep to ourselves. 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:48.599 But here in chapter 6 of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus has talked a lot about difficult things. 00:01:48.920 --> 00:02:01.679 The last things we've considered were him talking about giving and praying and fasting and saying these religious practices are not just things we do. 00:02:02.140 --> 00:02:04.159 But you have to have the right heart. 00:02:04.259 --> 00:02:06.299 You have to have the right attitude towards them. 00:02:06.299 --> 00:02:13.599 There are good things and right things to do for the right reasons, but don't do the right thing for the wrong reason, basically. 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:16.379 Don't just give to be seen by others. 00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:18.659 Don't pray to be seen by others. 00:02:18.919 --> 00:02:21.120 Don't fast to be seen by others. 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:29.960 Don't forget to be seen by others. 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:33.480 But he's telling us how to live practically as Christians. 00:02:33.480 --> 00:02:34.900 And he starts with money. 00:02:35.460 --> 00:02:38.540 And we are uncomfortable with money. 00:02:38.640 --> 00:02:39.900 But Jesus talks a lot about it. 00:02:40.020 --> 00:02:45.659 Jesus actually talks about money in 16 of his 38 parables. 00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:53.979 I don't know if you knew that. 15% of Jesus, all of Jesus' teachings are on money. So we have to 00:02:53.979 --> 00:03:00.560 talk about it. And that is reason enough, I think, to do so. So let's consider what the Bible is 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:07.919 telling us here. Verses 19 to 21, Jesus is talking about treasures. I don't think we use the word 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:14.280 treasure very much, maybe in pirate movies or something like that, but I don't really use the 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:21.560 word treasure in my day-to-day life. But it is exactly what Jesus is describing here. He says, 00:03:21.699 --> 00:03:26.139 do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break 00:03:26.139 --> 00:03:34.960 in and steal. Literally, he's saying, do not treasure treasures. And in this verse, we see that earthly 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:42.000 treasures, whatever Jesus means with that, definitely has an element of it being able to perish. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:49.500 perish. Everything that is a treasure on earth is able to perish, to be eaten, to rust, 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:57.199 to be stolen by thieves. And people back in Jesus' day, they, of course, also had belongings that they 00:03:57.199 --> 00:04:01.439 treasured, and they would sometimes put them in a box and bury them in the ground. And of course, 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:07.340 the danger then is that a war might come and eat it, or that thieves break in and steal it. 00:04:07.340 --> 00:04:14.500 And it's the same for us today, isn't it? We all have things we treasure, and we put them somewhere 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:21.000 where we know maybe a safe, where a thief can steal it. Or yesterday, I had this experience. It was the 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:25.980 first time for me. I put all my belongings in a storage unit. I don't know if you've ever done that. 00:04:26.280 --> 00:04:30.240 Very interesting experience, because they make you write down a list with everything you own and how 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:37.920 much it's worth. Don't worry, I don't have very much. It's a minister in training. But I did ask them, 00:04:38.019 --> 00:04:43.500 out of curiosity, what happens if I don't pay my monthly fee? And they say, well, at some point, 00:04:43.540 --> 00:04:51.199 we will probably just sell your stuff. So it's not secure. All our stuff, all our earthly material 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:58.819 stuff is perishable. It can go. It can be stolen. It can be sold. It can actually be destroyed. 00:05:00.219 --> 00:05:07.519 And so I think the meaning is obvious in this verse, that earthly treasures can always perish. 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:14.500 Instead, Jesus says, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, 00:05:14.500 --> 00:05:23.879 and where thieves do not break in and steal. Treasure up treasures in heaven. Great. Amen, right? 00:05:24.459 --> 00:05:31.519 But what are heavenly treasures? That is actually not an easy question to answer, especially because 00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:37.899 they seem really mysterious. Jesus himself never really defines what heavenly treasures are, 00:05:38.060 --> 00:05:42.759 but he does talk about them quite a bit. So in the Sermon on the Mount, 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:49.959 in verse 1, in chapter 6, verse 1, he says, don't practice your righteousness in front of others to 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:56.240 be seen by them, for then you will not have any reward from your Father who is in heaven. And he 00:05:56.240 --> 00:06:03.639 uses this word reward, he uses it in verse 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 16, 18, all the time, and he never really 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:09.939 explains what he means by that. He says, don't pray to be seen by others, don't give to be seen 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:16.040 by others. Don't fast to be seen by others, but do it out of love and a desire to be closer to God, 00:06:16.139 --> 00:06:24.240 and he will reward you. Sometimes I think in Christian circles we can kind of talk about this 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:30.319 like there's a heavenly currency, you know, and you wash the dishes for a friend after having a meal, 00:06:30.360 --> 00:06:36.600 and you just think, ah, I just got some cash on my heavenly bank, and maybe you pray for someone, 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:43.200 you think this is really good. I don't think this is necessarily how it works. God wants us to do the 00:06:43.200 --> 00:06:49.379 right thing for the right reasons, and he doesn't want us to do the right things for the wrong reasons. 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:55.800 So the question of what a heavenly treasure is is really difficult to answer, but we find one very 00:06:55.800 --> 00:07:03.660 explicit example in Matthew chapter 19. It's the story with a rich young ruler who says he wants to 00:07:03.660 --> 00:07:10.520 follow Jesus, and Jesus asks him if he has kept the commandments, and he says, yes, all the commandments 00:07:10.520 --> 00:07:18.580 I have kept. What do I still lack? And then Jesus says to him, if you would be perfect, go, sell what 00:07:18.580 --> 00:07:27.140 you possess, and give to the poor, and you will have, what? Treasure in heaven, and come follow me. And then 00:07:27.139 --> 00:07:33.899 the young man, he hears this, and he goes away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus 00:07:33.899 --> 00:07:40.039 then tells his disciples that only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:07:41.139 --> 00:07:46.819 He says it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the 00:07:46.819 --> 00:07:55.479 kingdom of God. Isn't that interesting? That Jesus asks the rich young ruler to sell all his possessions 00:07:55.480 --> 00:08:04.920 so he could have treasures in heaven. We have this very specific example here, that for this young man 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:10.759 selling all his possessions means treasures in heaven. Is that the same thing that it means for us? 00:08:11.480 --> 00:08:15.780 Do we now just have to sell all our possessions and we will have treasures in heaven? 00:08:16.620 --> 00:08:21.879 Probably, probably not, because actually not all of us do have so many possessions. 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:29.540 It's about something else, I think. Jesus is connecting these heavenly treasures to entering 00:08:29.540 --> 00:08:36.820 the kingdom of God. If you remember when we talked about the kingdom, there will be a kingdom after 00:08:36.820 --> 00:08:44.360 this life, but the kingdom has already started. It's already here and not yet. So there are heavenly 00:08:44.360 --> 00:08:51.720 treasures we can enjoy right now. And, you know, it still sort of probably seems quite unclear what 00:08:51.720 --> 00:09:00.259 heavenly treasure is. So Jesus, he uses metaphors. At one point, Jesus says heavenly treasure means 00:09:00.259 --> 00:09:07.200 inheriting eternal life. At another point, he says it means entering the master's joy. Another time, he says 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:13.560 it means inheriting the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. So a sort of 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:22.699 responsibility that you will have over the kingdom. So one scholar says spiritual treasure should be defined as 00:09:22.699 --> 00:09:30.299 broadly as possible as everything that the believer can take with them beyond the grave. So for example, he says 00:09:30.299 --> 00:09:38.000 holiness of character. That's a heavenly treasure. Obedience to all of God's commands. Souls won for Christ. 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:44.159 So people you have led to Christ. Disciples nurtured in the faith. People you have helped to disciple. 00:09:44.860 --> 00:09:52.679 In this very specific context, he says, it also means storing up treasures, which means focuses 00:09:52.679 --> 00:10:01.379 particularly on the compassionate use of material resources to meet others' physical and spiritual needs 00:10:01.379 --> 00:10:09.220 in keeping with the priorities of God's kingdom. So we see that in this specific context, it means 00:10:09.220 --> 00:10:18.759 you have to be generous. You have to give your stuff away to an extent. You also, you know, you have, 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:23.720 you need something to live, obviously. But in the next verse that I want to look with you, 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:32.820 Jesus says something really, really important. He says, for where your treasure is, there your heart 00:10:32.820 --> 00:10:39.580 will be also. It's such an important verse. For where your treasure is, your heart will be also. 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:46.100 Because we might think, what's the problem with money? What's the problem with having possessions? 00:10:47.300 --> 00:10:53.600 And Martin Luther, the German reformer, he said, whatever your heart clings to and relies upon, 00:10:53.720 --> 00:11:02.560 that is your God. So if you find out what your heart loves, if you find out what your heart clings to 00:11:02.560 --> 00:11:08.440 and relies upon, you will find out what your God is. You will find out if you are looking for heavenly 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:15.980 treasures or for earthly treasures. You know who you are. You know what you're truly worshiping if you 00:11:15.980 --> 00:11:21.860 know where your heart lies. And that sometimes requires reflection and asking yourself difficult questions. 00:11:21.860 --> 00:11:30.919 And it requires looking at your heart, at your inner being. So that the Bible, with heart, the Bible means 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:38.139 the seed of your emotions, your desires, where you make your decisions. What do you talk about when you 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:45.259 spend time with your friends and family? Is money something that you think about a lot? What keeps you up 00:11:45.259 --> 00:11:54.600 at night? Spiritual concerns or material concerns? Is Christ's undying love my true treasure, or do I 00:11:54.600 --> 00:12:01.580 actually treasure other things more? Is my money an indicator of my true treasure? Is my reputation, 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:08.819 comfort for my family, recognition, is that why I need money? Or do I live my life knowing that God's 00:12:08.820 --> 00:12:18.180 love and grace is all I need? How much money do I need? Will the answer to that always be more? I need more 00:12:18.180 --> 00:12:25.360 money? Why do I want to hold on to my wealth? Am I trying to prove something? What am I trying to prove? 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:33.300 Pride, power, prestige, selfishness, insecurity, fear. Am I a control freak when it comes to money? 00:12:33.299 --> 00:12:40.759 Or is it just normal to keep collecting money because that is what the culture tells me? 00:12:42.419 --> 00:12:48.199 Is that what God wants me to do, to flow with the culture? Or does God want me to do something very 00:12:48.199 --> 00:12:54.699 different, maybe radically different? All of these questions we need to ask ourselves to find out what 00:12:54.699 --> 00:13:01.019 is our relationship with money? Because quite often when we talk about this in church, you will think, 00:13:01.019 --> 00:13:07.519 well, this is not about me. But it is about every single one here. We all have to look at our own hearts. 00:13:09.199 --> 00:13:16.460 Your life, if you're a bit like me, you don't have much money, can still revolve around money just as much 00:13:16.460 --> 00:13:23.100 as the life of a very rich and wealthy person can revolve about money, around money. 00:13:23.100 --> 00:13:35.000 So, Jesus is giving us a little model here to look at our hearts and to find out and to actually be able 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:42.440 to keep looking to Jesus so we don't start becoming greedy. And he says it in a weird way. Actually, 00:13:42.500 --> 00:13:50.139 Jesus says in verse 22, 23, he says, the eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:56.159 your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of 00:13:56.159 --> 00:14:03.059 darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness? Why is Jesus talking about 00:14:03.059 --> 00:14:10.179 eyes all of a sudden? Why is he starting to talk about your eyes? There are three reasons, I think. 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:14.899 First of all, we probably don't get it as English speakers when we read the Bible, but 00:14:14.899 --> 00:14:22.419 in Jewish wisdom literature, this is a common saying. People say you have a good eye. What do 00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:29.039 they mean? They mean you're generous. I'm not exactly sure why, but it's true. For example, we see that in 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:37.159 Proverbs 22, verse 9. It says, whoever has a bountiful or a good eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread 00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:46.759 with the poor. Jesus says, you need to have a healthy eye. You need to have a good eye. You need 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:53.980 to be generous. You need to share your bread with the poor. The second reason why Jesus is saying this 00:14:53.980 --> 00:15:01.120 is actually that there is a play of words happening, which we cannot quite grasp if we don't know 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:08.519 Greek. So, the word that Jesus uses here is a word that actually doesn't mean good or healthy. It means 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:18.240 single, which is not what you would expect if you have a single eye. And the word for that is haplos, 00:15:18.299 --> 00:15:24.620 and it sounds very similar to the word haplos, which means generous. Okay, what is Jesus trying to say 00:15:24.620 --> 00:15:34.720 here? He's trying to create a double meaning. Have a healthy eye. Have a single eye. And a lot of 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:41.299 commentators, a lot of preachers will say, Jesus is trying to tell you, have a single focus. Be a 00:15:41.299 --> 00:15:49.019 single-minded person. Not simple-minded, but single-minded. And it doesn't mean we can't think about 00:15:49.019 --> 00:15:57.759 multiple things at once. It means to have a single focus. It means we should always, always, always 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:06.360 have the one single purpose of our existence in mind, which is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:13.259 And of course, that also relates to how we deal with financial things, with our money. That is actually 00:16:13.259 --> 00:16:18.819 the key to dealing with money. It's not yours. It's given to you for a purpose. 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:27.019 And you have to be careful not to lose that single focus, that single-mindedness. God gives 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:32.879 you freedom to use it as you please, and either you can use it for self-fulfillment, or you can use it 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:39.679 to advance the kingdom of God. And maybe some of you are wondering, why should I give money? Why 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:47.960 should I just give away the money that I've earned with hard work? And that is another thing that Jesus 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:53.960 is saying here. You have to keep your eye healthy. You have to look at the light. And Jesus is the light 00:16:53.960 --> 00:17:02.720 in that regard. We read about Jesus in Philippians chapter 2, that Jesus emptied Himself. Have you ever 00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:11.559 thought about that? Have you ever considered what that means? Jesus emptied Himself all of His glory. He left the 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:19.039 heavenly realms, heavenly realms, and He came to this earth, and Jesus was never rich in any material sense. 00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:27.200 Yet Jesus gave, and gave, and gave, until He didn't have anything to give, because He gave His life. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:37.559 Jesus gave everything. He embodies radical, sacrificial giving. He shows what it means to 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:44.799 selflessly give away. He emptied Himself. He left His glory. He never had anything that He called 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:51.360 His own during His time on this earth. He gave everything away. When He saw His people, 00:17:51.359 --> 00:18:00.059 lost sheep without a shepherd, fallen in sin, unable to save themselves, greedy, lustful, power-hungry, 00:18:00.439 --> 00:18:10.019 He became their greed. He became their sin. He became your sin, so that you may become free. He gave everything. 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:19.859 Am I viewing myself as a manager or trustee of what God's given me, or am I seeing myself 00:18:19.859 --> 00:18:28.779 as an owner and controller of my own stuff? Instead of asking, why should I give this away? 00:18:29.399 --> 00:18:37.459 Maybe does God want me to ask, why shouldn't I give this away? As I continue to realize that Jesus gave 00:18:37.459 --> 00:18:44.679 everything by His death on the cross to purchase me, is there maybe a new level of sacrifice I want to give 00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:53.740 and surrender to Him? Giving is not natural to most of us. It's a way of offering worship. Without generous giver, 00:18:53.820 --> 00:19:01.340 we couldn't sit in this building here tonight that, you know, needed money and resources that people have 00:19:01.340 --> 00:19:08.120 generously given. And if we don't start giving in small amounts, we will never be able to give in larger amounts, 00:19:08.119 --> 00:19:14.759 and we will never be able to give in a radical way, in a sacrificial way, like Jesus did. 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:21.239 The third reason why I think Jesus is using this saying with the eye being the lamp of the body 00:19:21.239 --> 00:19:29.679 is because it is the entry to our hearts. He already mentioned the heart, and that your heart is where 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:39.060 your treasures are, that it's a place of your emotional decisions, of your desires. It's really 00:19:39.060 --> 00:19:45.720 where your inner life happens. And Jesus is making a connection here, and He says, your eyes have 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:51.640 something to do with that. And we see that throughout the Bible, don't we? For example, Genesis chapter 3, 00:19:51.640 --> 00:20:01.700 Eve sees the fruit on the tree, and then she desires it. It often begins with seeing that we start having 00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:08.460 desires. It begins with seeing rich people that we suddenly want to be like them, living in comfort, 00:20:08.580 --> 00:20:16.620 living in luxury, just enjoying that sort of life. When we see something, it just becomes so much more real. 00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:22.219 And that's why Jesus wants us to be filled with light, to look at what is good, what is wholesome, 00:20:22.459 --> 00:20:32.719 what is uplifting, to look at Him alone. In Hebrews 12, we read about that, that we are supposed to look 00:20:32.719 --> 00:20:39.279 to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, 00:20:39.859 --> 00:20:44.939 despising the shame, and who is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. And I think 00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:52.860 there's really a key element to this, looking at Jesus, not just when it comes to money, but actually 00:20:52.860 --> 00:20:59.380 in general. We live in a time where everything is visual, where there's screens everywhere. We 00:20:59.380 --> 00:21:05.820 perceive so much more with our eyes than we hear with our ears. And I think there's such a true 00:21:05.820 --> 00:21:13.180 principle in all of this. Some of you don't like Lord of the Rings illustration, I hear, which is strange. 00:21:13.180 --> 00:21:21.640 So I'll give you an illustration from The Hobbit. In the last movie, there is this dragon, Smaug, 00:21:21.820 --> 00:21:25.779 and he lives in the Lonely Mountain. You don't have to know any of the plot for this, it doesn't matter. 00:21:26.539 --> 00:21:33.080 And he has this treasure that gets stolen, so he comes to the nearest town and completely destroys it. 00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:40.899 And there's this tower, and there's a man and his son on the tower, and they have this certain arrow 00:21:40.899 --> 00:21:48.179 that you need to kill the dragon, okay? And the bow that they need is destroyed, so they kind of 00:21:48.179 --> 00:21:55.179 spontaneously improvise a bow. And then the father, he uses his son to look at him, 00:21:55.180 --> 00:22:03.060 and he puts his arrow on his shoulder to aim at the dragon. And he says to his son, look at me, 00:22:04.120 --> 00:22:09.480 look at me. And he uses his son's shoulder to aim for the dragon who comes behind the son. 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:18.779 And the dragon, you know, he's angry, he's making a lot of noises, he's spitting fire everywhere. And 00:22:18.779 --> 00:22:26.839 the son, in fear, turns around. And what does the father do? He says, no, look at me. You look at me. 00:22:27.639 --> 00:22:32.599 So the son does, and the father, he fires the arrow straight into the heart of the dragon, of course. 00:22:33.139 --> 00:22:40.720 The movie ends well. But what's the point? The point is that as sons and daughters of the highest one, 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:48.220 we can look at him in full trust that he has defeated all darkness. We don't have to turn around 00:22:48.220 --> 00:22:54.100 to look at the dragon, to look at the darkness. We look at him who fills us with light. 00:22:56.539 --> 00:23:06.500 In all regards. And let's look at the last verse, verse 24. Is money your master? Is money your 00:23:06.500 --> 00:23:13.200 master? That's my question tonight. Are you being controlled by your possessions, by what you have 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:21.279 materially? Tim Keller says, money is a surface idol that functions as a deep idol. It's how we justify 00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:29.440 ourselves, prove our worth, and try to control the world. Isn't that interesting? Money is very special 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:36.740 in that. It's different to other sins in a way, because money actually allows us to pursue all the 00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:47.000 things that we want. Happiness, freedom, wealth, comfort, control. And in this verse, Jesus is saying to us, 00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:56.599 you cannot serve two masters. Money is a slave master. He says you cannot be a servant to both God and money. 00:23:56.680 --> 00:24:03.140 You can't serve money as well as God, because they're complete opposites of each other. God is a God of 00:24:03.140 --> 00:24:11.000 generosity, who gives and gives and gives and gives. And God is a master who asks you to be generous 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:18.640 towards others as well. God is a God who gives himself away. And money is a slave master that will 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:25.460 always leave you unsatisfied and hungry for more. It'll make you greedy. It'll make you thirsty, 00:24:25.860 --> 00:24:33.100 a thirst that you cannot quench. You will always want more and will never be satisfied. If you 00:24:33.099 --> 00:24:37.619 make five figures a year, you'll hang out with people who make six figures a year, and you think, 00:24:37.699 --> 00:24:41.419 oh, but they have more. And the people who make six figures a year, they hang out with people who 00:24:41.419 --> 00:24:46.799 make seven figures a year, and they say, oh, but I want more. And that goes all the way up until 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:53.059 you're friends with Elon Musk, and he's not even satisfied with the world anymore and says, we have 00:24:53.059 --> 00:25:01.159 to go to Mars. It makes you greedy. You want more and more and more. How do we determine if money is 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:08.840 our master? Does the thought of sacrificial generosity make me feel anxious? Does giving 00:25:08.840 --> 00:25:17.759 make me feel anxious? Am I living to hear others say of me, you are a great success? Or am I living 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:24.140 to have God say of me, well done, my good and faithful servant? Here is a little test for you to see if 00:25:24.140 --> 00:25:33.180 money is your master. When you meet people who are clearly richer than you, sorry, first the other 00:25:33.180 --> 00:25:40.259 one. If you meet people who are clearly poorer than you, okay, do you feel superior to them? Do you think, 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:45.940 oh, okay, they're nice, but they are so poor, and they don't have anything. Clearly, they are not 00:25:45.940 --> 00:25:52.980 responsible, and I'm better than them, right? I'm superior to them. If that's the case, then money is 00:25:52.980 --> 00:25:59.279 your master. If you meet people who are richer than you, the same thing applies. Are you jealous? 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:10.220 Do you resent them? Are you saying, oh, they're so rich, that's sinful? Are you saying, they don't 00:26:10.220 --> 00:26:13.740 actually know what to do with all their money? I mean, they just live in a completely different 00:26:13.740 --> 00:26:19.220 world. They don't know what it's like to be me. If you're thinking that, then money is your master. 00:26:19.220 --> 00:26:31.039 What's your reaction? We are all striving to be more like Jesus, right? What did Jesus do? He visited 00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:38.819 the rich. He went to Zacchaeus' house, and he was completely unimpressed by his earthly possessions, 00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:45.799 so much so that he changed his mind, and Jesus spent time with the poorest of people, 00:26:46.439 --> 00:26:54.480 and he could relate to them, and he could love them. We want to be able to say, Jesus died for the rich 00:26:54.480 --> 00:27:02.220 as well as the poor, and therefore, we can love all of them alike. It doesn't matter whether you're rich 00:27:02.220 --> 00:27:09.660 or whether you're poor. It doesn't matter where you are. We want to look at Jesus and treat people 00:27:09.660 --> 00:27:17.620 the way he treated them, and we want to be able to say, money is not my master. If you feel anxious 00:27:17.620 --> 00:27:25.539 about giving, if you think that the number, the 10 percent of your salary is too big of a number to 00:27:25.539 --> 00:27:32.079 give, then go and pray about it. Go and look at Jesus and what he's done for you. Ask God to grant 00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:40.279 you a heart that is joyful in giving. If you are the opposite, and you think it's never enough, 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:49.500 what I give is never enough, then just think about what God, what God ever say to you when you stand 00:27:49.500 --> 00:27:54.799 before his judgment seat, you blew it. You sold those shares, and you gave them to feed the hungry, 00:27:54.919 --> 00:28:01.659 and evangelize the lost, and then two years, two years later, the stock market peaked. Do you think 00:28:01.660 --> 00:28:07.740 God would say that, or would he say, well done, my good and faithful servant? God wants you to be 00:28:07.740 --> 00:28:15.100 generous. God wants you to give yourself away, just like Jesus gave himself away. Be generous. Be joyful 00:28:15.100 --> 00:28:23.480 givers. Don't serve two masters, but serve like the one true master who gave himself away. Let us pray. 00:28:23.480 --> 00:28:32.940 Father, we give thanks for your goodness towards us. We give thanks for your generosity, for all your 00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:39.079 good gifts. We give thanks for the money and the resources that we have, and we ask that you would 00:28:39.079 --> 00:28:46.319 grant us a heart that just pursues the will of your kingdom, that pursues gospel work, that we would 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:54.939 become generous givers, giving away to those who need it, giving away so that the gospel would shine, and I 00:28:54.939 --> 00:29:01.159 just pray that for everyone who's here in this room, that you would give us the grace to consider 00:29:01.159 --> 00:29:08.559 how we are to deal with the things, the earthly treasures you give us, so we may achieve heavenly 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:10.799 treasures. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.