Matthew 6, 19.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy,
and where thieves break in and steal.
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys,
and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The eye is the lamp of the body,
so if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
No one can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and money.
Therefore I tell you,
do not be anxious about your life,
what you will eat or what you will drink,
nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food,
and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air.
They neither sow nor reap,
nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?
And which of you, by being anxious,
can add a single hour to his span of life.
And why are you anxious about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field,
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 of the field,
which today is alive
and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
will he not much more clothe you,
O you of little faith?
Therefore do not be anxious,
saying,
What will we eat,
or what shall we drink,
or what shall we wear?
For the Gentiles seek after all these things,
and your heavenly Father knows
that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Sufficient for the day
is its own trouble.
Amen.
Well, good morning, everyone.
It's great to see Esther.
You're here somewhere.
Hi, Esther.
There you are.
Great to see you again.
Why don't we pray as we come to God's word?
Let's pray.
Father,
I pray that you would help us see yourself
and the world we live in
more and more
in terms of what's actually true.
Help us to discern
the lies of our world that we live in.
So I pray that you would open our eyes
just that bit more today
through your word.
In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
Well, if you get a pay rise
or a bonus or you earn a significant profit
on an investment
or you receive a large inheritance
or you somehow win the lottery
even though you didn't buy a ticket,
did you?
Would you see
that windfall
of getting money
as only a good thing?
It's good.
Do you struggle
with greed?
Or is that only a problem
for people who have more than you?
If we assume
that coming into money
is only a good thing,
I'm not sure how you answered
that question in your mind,
but if you're like me
and we kind of assume
that coming into money
is only a good thing
and we ourselves
don't have a problem
with money
except that we would like
a little bit more of it,
something's not adding up.
Excuse the pun.
Don't excuse it
because I said it on purpose,
but because Jesus taught
on money,
Jesus taught on money
more than sex,
heaven and hell combined.
Why?
Like he doesn't need it.
He owns heaven and earth.
What else does scripture say
about
you cannot serve God
and
your boss?
You can't serve God
and
money.
It is easier for a camel
to go through the eye
of a needle
than for a
doubting man
to enter,
a rich man
to enter the kingdom
of heaven.
The love of
is the root
of all kinds
of evil.
Some have wandered
away from the faith.
Judas
preferring
30 pieces
of silver
and eternal
shame
rather than
eternal life
with Jesus.
It's a big
topic in scripture.
Big.
Today we're
starting a
four week series
on money.
Let me just tell you
where we're headed.
So we're obviously
in Matthew 6
today and
we're going to see
how we're set
free from worry.
Isn't that good news?
Set free from worry.
Next week we're going
to look at
1 Timothy 6
and we need to
take the warnings
of why
the false promises
of money
really are
the root
of all kinds
of evils.
Not all evils
but all kinds
of evils.
Then we're going
to go to
2 Corinthians 8
and 9
and we're going
to see how
freedom in Jesus
looks like
cheerful generosity
even when we're
in hardship
ourselves.
And I'm aware
that I'm probably
pretty comfortable
whereas some
people listening
may be choosing
to skip some
meals to pay
rent.
I'm not in that
situation.
but in 2
Corinthians 8
the people
we see
there
there's
something
strangely
cheerful
about them
even in
their hardship.
And then we're
going to go to
Luke 16
and one of the
strangest of
Jesus'
parables
of the
dishonest
manager
but we're
going to see
we're called
to reckless
stewardship.
So that's
where we're
headed in
the series
but I'm
going to be
honest with
you
I don't
enjoy this
topic
as much
as I did
last week
speaking on
Abraham and
the unconditional
promises of
salvation.
there's
something about
this series
I just
don't enjoy
it as
much as
topics like
that.
So why are
we doing
this series?
Obviously I'm
involved in
the decision
making.
We've chosen
this series
as elders.
Why?
And why
now?
Well
what's
prompted
it is
over many
many months
sustained
falling short
of budget.
we're
trying to
analyse
why
and we
realise we
haven't taught
on money
for a very
long time
and that's
strange given
how I've
started this
sermon when
scripture speaks
on money
so much.
It's a
really important
area of
discipleship.
Now
why now?
Well
we're facing
some pretty
big decisions
coming up
as a
congregation
because if
we're looking
to add
more staff
and we're
not meeting
budget
we're going
to have to
make a call
there what
we're going
to do.
Our
facilities
we're
currently
really just
kicking the
maintenance
down the
road for
future
generations.
We're going
to have to
make some
hard calls
soon.
and why
now?
It's
July and
every year
we raise
for our
mission
partners in
August so
this is a
great time
to think
about this
topic.
That's what's
prompted this
series.
But look
whatever
regardless of
the elders
motives
regardless of
how pure
our motives
are you can
be sure of
God's goal
in this
series.
remember
Jesus he
praises the
woman who
gives two
small copper
coins saying
she gave
more than
all the
others who
gave in
their surplus.
He cares
about our
heart.
This series
is about
our heart.
As we go
through this
series I'd
like us to
have a
really broad
definition of
generosity.
Yes that
includes
donations.
It includes
giving to
missionaries as
a church.
But it
might also
include
supporting that
compassion
child, giving
to Fred
Hollows,
cancer
council, I
don't know.
There's so many
ways we can
relieve suffering
in the world.
God's
food.
It's that
spontaneous
eating a
meal with a
homeless person
on the
street.
It's the
cost of
making a
meal for
someone in
the church.
That costs
money.
It costs
money to
drive it to
them.
It costs
your time.
Giving
people lifts
to
appointments to
church, the
cost of
hospitality, people
in your home,
they're using
your electricity.
Do you
charge them
when they
leave?
No.
Generosity is
huge.
Choosing to
forego shifts
at work so
that you can
give your
time to
whatever God
is calling
you to.
Providing
for your
family's needs,
aging parents,
whatever.
I just have
a broad view
of generosity
as we go
through this
series.
Well, in
the Christmas
holidays,
before we
decided to
do this
series, I
read this
book for
myself, for
my own
heart and
mind,
Beyond
Greed.
The author
actually didn't
even like the
title.
The publishers
made him
change it.
He wanted
to say how
to get
really rich.
for some
reason they
wouldn't let
him call it
that.
Now, I
was at
another
Christian
family's
home and
I was
reading their
bookshelf.
I'm like,
what am I
going to
read in
this holiday
period?
What my
thoughts were
fixated on
was whether
we needed to
buy a new
car as a
family because
I was getting
all these
notifications on
my phone of
all these car
crashes in
the holidays.
That was
terrifying me.
Is that
right,
English?
I think it
is.
I was
afraid.
I was
researching,
like, our
car is 10
years old,
has safety
features changed?
And so as I
went through all
the titles on
their bookshelf,
I thought,
well, I want
to know if my
motives are pure
as I'm weighing
up this decision.
Not that my
motives are ever
pure, but
anyway.
So that's why I
read it.
And let me,
here's one
thing Brian
Rosner says.
Imagine the
response of
disbelief in the
local church.
If it were
revealed that the
vast majority of
its members were
secretly worshipping
other gods.
money is right, the
unthinkable may not
be so far from the
truth.
The section in this
book that loosened
my grip on just
the need to
upgrade our car, to
actually just look at
the objective facts
for their own
merits.
The truth that this
book really helped
me in that holiday
period was the
obvious.
I was fearing for
my family's safety.
I was afraid for
my family's
tomorrow.
I wanted
security.
But who do I put
my confidence in for
my family's
tomorrow?
Because if I
trust in what money
can buy for my
family's security,
it's idolatry.
It's an attack on
God's exclusive
rights to our
trust and our
confidence as our
creator and our
sustainer.
Here in Matthew 6,
we're shown where
true security is
found.
Where we can sleep
easy at night.
So let's get into
Matthew 6.
Like the rest of the
Sermon on the Mount,
that's where we are.
We're in the Sermon
on the Mount.
And like the rest of
the sermon, this area
of discipleship, it
exposes our
attitudes and how
desperately we need
Jesus to change
us.
He's already made the
staggering promise at
the start of the
sermon.
Blessed are the
meek.
Not the
economically strong.
Blessed are the
meek, the gentle,
the servant-hearted.
For they shall
inherit the earth.
Like if you believe
that, if you believe
you're inheriting the
earth one day, you
believe you're filthy
rich.
So, church, let's
start thinking about
raising money in
August for our
mission partners.
Let's start putting
aside what can we
give to support our
mission partners.
I suspect, given the
crunch of the cost of
living, if we get
anywhere near previous
totals, that's going
to be a greater
display of giving
this year.
Now, as I issue
that challenge, let's
start thinking about
that.
What comes into your
mind?
What comes into my
mind is, what will my
family live on next
month?
I'm saving for, this
isn't me, this might
be you, I'm saving for a
house deposit.
That's taking money
out of retirement
savings.
I don't have income
coming in.
Even though we want
to support our
missionaries, we care
about that.
Worry and anxiety can
have a vice-like grip
on us.
Because the worries of
tomorrow fill our mind.
If you think Jesus'
main message here is
give more money, give
more away, you've
missed it.
It's not what he's
saying.
Jesus wants to
transform how we look
at the world.
Can I repeat that?
He is not saying
give more away.
He's aiming for
something much deeper.
He wants us to
change how we see
the world.
We see that in
verses 19 to 24, if
you've got your
Bibles open.
He presents a
mutually exclusive
choice.
Here's our choice.
You can either have
treasure on earth or in
heaven.
Your eyes will be
filled with darkness
or light.
You'll be devoted to
money or God.
He sets these
mutually exclusive
choices.
choice.
Quite frankly, I
suspect we think we
can mix those.
I suspect we think
we're quite good at
balancing these two
things.
He's saying you
can't.
You can't serve
both.
It's like you're
trying to, your
operating system is
both Android and
Apple.
You can't.
It can't be both.
Now what is this
mutually exclusive
choice he's
presenting?
What does laying
up treasures in
heaven mean?
Like, don't you
find that a bit
abstract?
What is that?
Laying up
treasures.
Like, I know what a
new car looks like.
What is that?
What are you
offering?
What are you
saying?
And then he's
got this picture of
the eyes, the lamp
of the body.
What's that doing
there?
What's it saying?
Should we just skip
that because it's too
hard?
What is this choice?
I could spend a bunch of
words trying to explain
this choice.
I'm going to choose to
tell, try and
illustrate it.
Tim grew up in
Newcastle.
He went to
Meriwether High.
And soon after
finishing high school,
he started his own
business, a security
software.
And it was going
pretty well.
And he met Lucy at
church.
They've got two young
children.
And at first, Lucy
loved the fact that
Tim's software business
was going gangbusters.
Like, they could
purchase their house
outright.
She loved it.
At first.
Because then she grew
very tired of how much
time Tim was spending
on his business.
He was burning the
candle at both ends.
He was getting to
church every other week
and every other day,
they ate dinner.
The family ate dinner
without Tim with them.
Now, at 38, Tim had
pain in his chest, went
to ED.
Cardiologist warns
him, you've got to
slow down.
And he did.
For a little while.
But then he had this
opportunity to expand
his business overseas.
And Lucy, he's just
telling Lucy, look,
six more months.
We'll expand the
business.
We'll have the rest of
our lives to slow
down.
More time with the
kids.
And then,
again, Lucy goes to
bed on her own and
Tim is downstairs in
the office.
She got up and Tim's
not next to her.
She went downstairs
and finds Tim cold
lying on the floor.
Where your treasure is,
there your heart is
also.
A major promise of
money is safety for
your future.
Tim's
that you can control
your uncontrollable
world.
You can pay for
health care.
You can give your
kids the best
childhood.
You can put away for
a rainy day.
But Tim wasn't in
control.
This false promise
had made him
sacrifice his family,
his health,
his life on the
altar of always
needing more.
His eyes were focused
on what money could
provide for his
future.
That's what his eyes
were locked onto.
Even when Lucy's
begging him,
even though a
cardiologist is telling
him, you've got to
sleep.
His eyes are focused
on that.
Where you set your
eyes is a moral
choice.
Your eyes,
they indicate your
attention, right?
After church, when
you're talking to
someone, you're
having a conversation
and their eyes are
just wandering off.
How do you feel?
Not valued.
Because they indicate
where your attention
is, your goal.
It's a moral choice
where you set your
eyes.
The word healthy
in the Greek has a
double meaning.
If your eyes are
healthy, the double
meaning is if they're
singular, if they're
focused on one goal
and they're generous
towards that.
If someone is just,
you're in a conversation
and their eyes are
locked on you, not in a
creepy way, but in a
very active, I'm
listening to you, I'm
generously giving all
of myself to you.
That's the meaning
here.
It's singular focus.
Jesus is saying, if
your eye has a
singular focus on
heavenly treasure,
you're letting light
in.
You're seeing where
you're going.
If not, he's
warning us, you're
blind.
You don't know where
you're going.
There's a cartoon
where an elderly man
is on his deathbed
and he's holding his
elderly wife's hand
and he's staring in
her eyes and the
caption reads, I
wish I accumulated
more stuff.
And no one ever says
that.
No one gets to the
end of their life and
says that.
Which is why whoever
made that cartoon made
it.
And yet how many of
us live with that
goal?
It's darkness.
It's not seeing life
and reality for what it
is.
The false promise of
money has the power to
waste our entire
lives.
Jesus is saying we
have a mutually
exclusive choice.
Will you put your
confidence in money
for your security for
tomorrow?
If you do, it will
fill you with worry.
Worry that you can't
provide three meals on
the table.
Worry you can't break
into the housing market.
Worry that you can't
afford mortgage
repayments.
Worry that you won't
have enough for
retirement.
There will never be
enough.
And that's why, look
how much time Jesus
spends on setting us
free from that.
Verses 25 to 34.
He understands us.
He knows where we
live.
He sets us free from the
false promise of
security that money can
give us.
It just can't.
It can't give us security
for tomorrow.
Now he sets us free not
by laying down a law
going, be more generous.
He sets us free by going,
look, look, fill your eyes
with light.
Look where your real
security is.
Look who's really in
control.
Is not life more than
food?
And the body more than
clothing?
Like if we buy into our
consumerism culture, it
actually shrinks our view
of what makes life
precious.
It shrinks our souls when
we're made to be
captivated by greater
things.
We're going to share a
meal after church and I'm
sure you brought wonderful
things to share but quite
frankly it's a pretty
simple meal.
But isn't the meal much
more than the food?
To share it as the people
of God in peace and
fellowship with God and
one another, the community,
the worshipping community,
doesn't that fill your
soul?
Jesus, if you focus on
earthly treasure, it
actually shrinks our idea of
what's precious in life.
And then verse 26, a fat
magpie gets another worm from
your garden and what does it
do?
It says to itself, what
shall I do?
I know I'll tear down my
nest and I'll build a bigger
nest to store all these worms
for tomorrow.
No, it gobbles it down.
In the next morning, our
heavenly father gives it
another one to feed its
young.
Jesus sees this world, he's
just taking for granted that
our father is involved, even
with birds and a worm.
This world is not just
material ingredients.
It's not this closed
environment where God is far
off.
Our creator is in complete
control.
He is intimately involved, even
insignificant details like birds
will never see.
Child of God, aren't you much
more valuable than a magpie in
your father's eyes?
You are, if you are.
And the glory that fashion claims
to clothe us with, it can't even
compare to flowers, the beauty of
flowers, the same flowers that God
sovereignly gives to those flowers
that we put in the green bin when
they're done.
Child of God, don't you know that
you are eternal?
The day before a wedding I
conducted, my dry cleaners lost my
suit.
And the worry that flooded me, it
just consumed my attention the rest
of that afternoon and evening when
I should have been focused on the
ceremony and going over the
sermon again.
I could have trusted as I walked
into my house and saw the gardens,
my front garden, I could have seen
those flowers and just trusted God
will, he knows I need a suit.
He knows I can't turn up in board
shorts.
I could have accepted the fact that I
already had one.
It just didn't fit me quite as well.
But instead, I spent hours worrying
about it.
Oh, you of little faith.
My worry is acting like someone who
doesn't believe in God, as if he's not
sovereign, as if he's not involved, as
if he's not good, as if he's not my
heavenly father.
Jesus understands how powerful this worry
for tomorrow is.
If you look at verse 34, he personifies
tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
I've always been troubled, not troubled,
but confused what that means.
But someone helped me this week.
It's saying tomorrow doesn't want to be
relieved.
It wants to keep worrying.
It is this powerful force that wants you
to keep focusing on tomorrow.
You can throw reason after reason at it.
It doesn't want to be relieved.
It's powerful.
He knows where we live.
He knows, he's lived in this fallen and
cursed world.
Like, each day has enough trouble of its
own.
We shouldn't expect ease and comfort.
Not yet.
It's coming.
Just not yet.
But how do you face those troubles?
You've got the option of, I'm just going to
think about all the possibilities of
tomorrow and it will crush me.
Some possibilities are kind of real.
Others we just, our imagination creates
these worries and it crushes me.
And I look to money to secure, to meet
those needs for tomorrow and I never have
enough.
Or I can just look at reality and see
everything around me that God is involved,
he's sovereign, he's good, he's my father.
He's going to give me all I need for today.
Where's my security for tomorrow?
I know he will be there tomorrow.
He will be just as involved tomorrow.
He'll be just as sovereign tomorrow.
He'll be just as good.
He'll still be my father tomorrow.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
His mercies never come to an end.
They are new every morning.
We've got to think that way.
Every morning.
I'm relying on my father today.
I'll wake up tomorrow and I'll ask him for help again.
Great is your faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion, says my soul.
Therefore, I will hope in him.
Jesus died for our idolatry.
Remember what idolatry is.
It's something good and putting our faith in a created thing.
Rather than in our creator.
He died to set us free from the fear of tomorrow.
What a gift that is.
He died so that we can know the father is working all his heavenly control.
Having us in his heart.
And he rose again to make our future big and sure.
And our present struggles small.
Transient.
He says we will inherit the earth.
Wow.
I like John Piper's quote.
Knowing all that God promises to be for us in Christ.
Both now and for endless ages to come.
With ever increasing joy.
Frees us from the compulsion that we must avoid pain.
And maximize comfort in this world.
It frees us from that.
He died to let us.
To enable us.
To lay up treasures for ourselves.
I love the little detail that.
Don't lay up treasure for yourselves on earth.
Lay up treasure for yourselves.
In heaven.
He wants us to be greedy for things that last.
Now I think this whole passage only makes sense if you're seeking this heavenly treasure.
It only makes sense.
If you think God is promising here to maintain your idea of a comfortable lifestyle.
It just.
Our experience knows.
That's not true.
It only makes sense.
I shudder at the thought of false teachers.
Who manipulate people.
And give false promises.
That if you give to God.
He will give you lots of money now.
Like.
And they're filling their own pockets.
They're using God.
To get money from people.
I don't want to be them.
On the last day.
So what does it mean?
That's not what it means to lay up treasures in heaven.
What does it mean?
I think that's answered by verse 33.
Seek first.
Set your eyes on the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
If that's the treasure you love.
He says your eyes will be filled with light.
We will see our father is involved and provide all we need.
Set your eyes on heavenly treasure.
Get rich on what lasts.
God will take care of what you need.
I want to give an example of what this looks like.
My desire for the gospel to go out to the ends of the earth.
It's in me now because of the gospel.
Because I love the fact Jesus died and he's worthy to be known.
Isn't he?
That desire is there now.
But to be honest it's weak.
It's not as...
That desire in me is not as strong as it should be.
And it's very inconsistent.
Here's what I found.
When I give to missionaries I care about.
And I care about the mission field that they're working towards.
That monetary investment.
It makes me start caring about those missionaries.
When they send a newsletter.
I'm invested now.
I actually want to read it.
And it motivates me then to pray for them.
In other words, it was the act of giving money that is now motivating me to learn to care about the mission field as God cares about it.
God's heart for mission.
I'm starting bit by bit to share his heart.
But it's more than that.
And my soul gets satisfied in a very strange way.
Because my concerns don't decrease.
They get bigger.
I'm now involved in something that's way bigger than my own little world.
And I'm increasingly aware that the missionaries are actually dependent on God.
And the more I'm learning that, the more that feeds my soul in depending on God in my life.
I get more lasting treasure though.
Because I get stronger friendships with these missionaries.
I get stronger friendships across the church.
And then I get more treasure.
Because I know that God, with the very funds he gave me in the first place,
he uses those to get the reward of people.
Everlasting people who are going to stand before that throne on the last day
and they're going to join that chorus who are singing the praises of God's grace.
And God used me.
In a very small way, he used me.
With the funds he gave me in the first place.
Treasure after treasure.
Now and when Jesus comes back.
You can set your eyes on that.
Or you could spend that same money buying a little bit bigger TV,
a little bit clearer TV,
that will distract you from the worries of tomorrow.
Which treasure do you want?
Will you pray with me?
Let's pray.
Father, thank you for
knowing us.
That you see the fear that grips us.
And thank you that you don't just come down heavy on our fear,
but you come and meet us and are sufficient for our fear through Jesus.
Knowing now that you are involved and sovereign and good father.
Lord, I pray as a church that you would help us to increasingly see you that way
and see our world that way.
Lord, I pray this so that you would set us free to invest in things that are going to last.
Lord, forgive us for the times we have wasted.
Forgive us more than that for the confidence we place in what we can amass for ourselves.
Thank you for your forgiveness.
Lord, I pray that you would help us see you as our involved father more.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.