Okay, thank you so much for sharing together and connecting.
It's so good to see you and to hear the laughter and the
connection that's happening there.
That's a good sign of Health among us when we're able to
laugh together when we share, I'm going to invite us into a
text this morning. It's in Matthew chapter 6.
Matthew chapter 6, beginning in verse 9, 19.
And I want you to imagine the, the crowd that was with Jesus,
most often, when Jesus was teaching.
Weider, note, given a note that there was a corralled there and
that perhaps he had gathered his disciples up close to him just
before this text, it's actually part of a larger sermon, we call
it the Sermon on the Mount and in The Sermon on the Mount, just
before his And it talks about the crowds that had been with
Jesus. Can you imagine being in a crowd
that was full of people who needed healing healing from
every disease and sickness? So it's a crowd that should have
been on the way to the hospital. Okay.
There might have been people coughing.
There might have been kids with a rash.
Running around the crowd, probably wasn't as quiet and
complacent as you all are, you know, to just to be quiet and
listen, it was probably a fairly chaotic crowd with kids running
around. I don't think there was a
children's ministry, the kids were hanging out and doing their
thing and moms were nursing and it was just all about.
Full of life in that moment as Jesus was teaching.
In fact, it says that there were people there who were suffering,
various diseases, suffering, pain, demon possession, having
seizures and the paralyzed, and he healed them.
So it was a space in which the power of God was also being
evident when Jesus was teaching. Especially if he wasn't teaching
in the synagogue, unless he was being confronted on the Sabbath
with someone who needed healing. We Jesus was teaching the, the
poor were very much present. In fact, Jesus says of his
mission. The spirit of the Lord is upon
me because he has anointed me to preach.
Good news to the Poor. When he begins his sermon, what
we call The Sermon on the Mount. He leads off and in an
acknowledgement of the poor who are present.
He says, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom
of God. Jesus is sermons, were most
often centered in announcing the reality of the kingdom of God.
But also So showing, so what? So, what shall you do?
Because the king is here, because the kingdom of God is
here, this sermon moves through a series of parts that all seem
to address the major threat to the kingdom of God.
The major threat to the kingdom of God, being present and
realized, in the lives of those who were there was
self-righteousness. Self adulation.
Self-determination. Those are the very things we are
all conditioned to pursue. and yet his sermon seems to be
designed to address them one after another, And when it comes
to the aspects of self-determination, Jesus very
quickly and rapidly gives pictures of the situation to
Treasures to focuses and to Lourdes.
That's where we're going to pick up in the sermon.
Matthew chapter 6, beginning in verse 19, Jesus says, do not
store up for yourselves, Treasures on Earth, where moths
and Vermin, destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves. Treasures, in Heaven, where
moths and Vermin. Do not destroy 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. If your eyes are healthy, your
whole body will be full of light.
But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of
Darkness. If then The Light Within You is
Darkness, how great is that Darkness?
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and
love the other or you will be devoted to the one and despise
the other. You cannot serve both God and
money. Let's pray together.
Heavenly Father, we take this word that Jesus delivered to a
crowd. And we pray that you would
deliver it again to this crowd and to each of us may you
radically reformed and rearrange how we consider money.
By helping us draw attention today to the issues of the
heart. My treasures and focuses.
And who is Lord. Of this heart.
We ask this in the name of Jesus.
Amen. So, when Jesus moves through
this, he's getting along really quickly and he identifies that
we have two Treasures before us. The reality of the treasures.
Is this that some Treasures Last Heavenly Treasures will last but
there's another kind of treasure and those Treasures.
Don't last, so some Treasures last, some Treasures don't, I
mean, you've all probably experienced this where you had a
favorite sweater and this winter, when winter came, you
went to pull it out and maybe there was a hole in it.
And you're like brats. Oh good thing.
It wasn't rats. It was moths a mod 8 my sweater
and put a hole in it. That was my favorite sweater.
Or maybe you've had the experience of having something
that was really important to you.
Like your favorite mug, it was a treasure.
It broke. Are you lost it?
I know you all. Love your born for more mugs and
you lost it. Those are Treasures.
That can be lost. But there's another kind of
Treasure of Jesus says that can be retained that will last
forever. It's those values than that.
He speaking of that speak to these Treasures, these Treasures
of friendship or character of good works or of the Eternal
relationship with God. These are Treasures that last.
And then there's a second reality of the treasures and
that is that the heart gravitates to your treasure.
The heart is pulled in by the force field of your Treasures.
Jesus is speaking here against the self-determination that
says, I am The Master and Commander of my heart.
And he says, no your Treasures exert a gravitational pull.
On your heart Jesus was familiar with the matters of the heart
throughout the Old Testament. We are told to guard our heart
for from your heart flows, everything the heart was this
picture and metaphor for the sense of will Plus affections.
And he says the heart. Gravitates to your Treasures.
Did any of you all see that terrible film called The Glass
Onion. I'm not Flex.
Did you see it? I mean, did you feel sick at the
end? Did you feel sick about the kind
of relationships that were being expressed among one who has
billions of dollars? In the picture millionaire miles
Braun gathers his closest friends for a weekend and it
turns into a true murder mystery experience.
Fascinating thing watching that film for the therapist, in the
world, the therapists to the Rich and Famous, they watched
the film and were like it rings. True.
Kyle Cockrell is a clay cockerell, this is a writer and
therapists and and this is what he writes.
He says you watch the film and maybe you wanted to be rich.
But trust me, I will never buy a lottery ticket.
Because I don't want that kind of wealth, nor do I want.
What goes with it. He goes on to say that the real
issues for the very rich are well, pictured in that film.
He says everything is about going bigger.
Go bigger. But there's always less
satisfaction. Imagine having everything and
not being able to enjoy it. He says, the film correctly
shows that all relationships are tainted by the power imbalance
created by great wealth. All their relationships are
tainted by great wealth. He goes on to say, then that
every interaction becomes tainted with an ask.
A fear that someone's going to ask.
And then finally, he says, they all become isolated because
wealth, corrupts people because it robs us of our true treasure.
Friendship. How many of you want to be rich?
Okay. There's a few of you are honest.
We do, we want a little bit more and the danger Jesus says, is
that that's the gravitational pull.
Of wealth. And what we set is our
Treasures. And he's warning us, I had no
way what this sermon series or this sermon itself to somehow
be. Something that's against the
rich. Most of us in University are
already in some realm of being rich.
You are in the 1% of the world, getting to study here.
It might not feel that way University is hopefully just a
season of transitional poverty. That's how they write about it
transitional poverty. I had money and then I didn't
the money came in, and the money went out.
I got a bill, it was called student fees.
I had never seen so much money in my account and then it went
out. But Jesus is clear that even in
the setting of the work, we do, even in the setting of the
desire to actually build wealth, he puts a check on it.
And which he wants us to know. Clearly.
It doesn't last. so do you have a true treasure that last The
true treasure. That last is actually pursued by
what you focus on. That's why Jesus goes to speak
about the eyes next. Notice what he said, the eye is
the lamp of the body, if the eyes are healthy, your whole
body will be full of light, but if your eyes are unhealthy, your
whole body will be full of Darkness.
If then The Light Within You, is Darkness, how great is that
Darkness? I imagine that.
It's Jesus said this, he almost said it.
With a sense of Of grief. For on many occasions.
When Jesus saw the true situation of people he was
filled. It says like he's moved in his
guts with compassion for people and he's like, oh how great is
the darkness of someone whose eyes don't see properly?
And what he's talking about? Here is a metaphor for Focus so
if your focus is on that which only brings Darkness, then your
whole body will be full of Of Darkness, your whole life, but
if your eyes are focused on what will actually bring light and
life and love and goodness than your body, your life is going to
be filled with that as well. Two principles to realities.
We will focus on something. Everyone worships.
Something. The second reality is this that
watch you focus on can have a dramatic impact on the condition
of your heart? What you focus on?
Can have a dramatic impact? On your heart.
I had a fellow friend and student here share with me that
he had been listening to music. In another language that his
first language and it was a whole genre of breakup songs.
And he's like, you know, after a lot of listening to that, I felt
sort of low heavy-hearted, right?
What we focus on has a dramatic impact on the condition of our
heart. And if the pursuit of wealth is
simply for the pursuit of wealth, it will focus our life
and create Darkness as what Jesus is saying.
It is good to be good at business.
I'm thankful for accountants I'm thankful for entrepreneurs, I'm
thankful for people who do their work.
Well, The Proverbs are full of Direction on Building Wealth
slowly. But the idea is that as you
build the wealth slowly, you also build the character
required to Bear the weight of the responsibility that
accompanies it. you'll find that within the scripture, but if
your focus Is simply on the wealth, it will hollow out your
life, it will create Darkness inside and Jesus actually treats
it more serious than that. He says it creates evil.
In US. This is the wisdom from Heaven
that are the Earthly wisdom that James speaks of, and James 3.
That Earthly wisdom that is full of envy and selfish ambition.
And there he says, you will find a heart that is filled with
every kind of disorder. In the Hebrew tradition to look
with an evil eye. Was actually look with an
envious. An envious.
I cannot rejoice in others successes.
An envious I says, well, I didn't I get that.
I'm entitled to that. I'm better than them.
An envious eye moves quickly, to actually say, well, what can I
do to eliminate the competition? Like Cain did of Abel.
He eliminated him. As he was competing for the
favor of God. How messed up is that?
And then he speaks of to Lourdes.
Two Treasures to focus has to Lourdes.
Notice what he says, no one can serve serve two masters either
you will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted
to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and
money. To Lourdes but you can only
serve one. You will either hate one and
love the other, you'll be devoted to one or you'll despise
the other two realities of lordship.
The first reality of lordship is this You can't serve two
masters. Now, this is difficult to us
because we're used to having two or three jobs, right?
And we're like, I have two or three bosses in my life.
Some of you have one job in your life.
I've got three bosses. It's a terrible way to live.
But Jesus is trying to say here that in his use of the word
Master. It's actually the word Lord
lordship. You can only have one Lord in
your life. The second reality of lordship
is this in a world where money or the word that Jesus used
madman in a world where Mammon seeks to rule.
Jesus offers another way. Mammon money will always seek to
rule your life whether by giving you plenty or by keeping you
from having a locked, how many of times have you said, well, I
can't do that because I don't have any Money.
Oh, money is your master. You can't do something because
you don't have money. We default to that so quickly
under the guise of, just being realistic, credit cards really
mess with the realities debit cards due to apps on your phone
to, as well, because we don't experience the pain of actually
pulling out that 20 and seeing it.
Disappear. So quickly.
From our hands to there's and then we eat the meal and were
like, where did it go? But Jesus speaks here of monies,
lordship money. Seeks to be lured, the stuff of
Earth seeks to be Lord in our lives.
Now, this is strange because God created us for for
relationships. A relationship with God with
self with people and with the stuff of Earth, but the stuff of
Earth competes for our Allegiance for our affections.
And not only that most of the stuff of Earth and the services
of Earth have now been commodified.
They no longer operate in the realm of relationships.
So often they operate in the realm of commodification and
simple, transactions and money. For some of you money provided a
lift for your family, out of the poverty created, by not being in
the right, family group or the right situation, the right
tribe. And so the commodification
actually provided a way out for you.
And that now you weren't caught in a classism Or a cast.
Money provided a lift. But the danger for most of us is
that money seeks to become Lord in our lives.
By ruling us telling us what we can and can't do rather than
actually centering our life with God and our life with others.
How often have you said? I can't be generous because I
don't have a lot of Money. Oh, all the the questions and
thoughts about how I operate my life.
In regards to money. Can't actually be activated in
my life because I don't have a lot someday when I win the
lottery, I will Help out. Really, you think you will?
Are you helping today? If you're not helping today, you
probably won't. Because you're not building the
character and life, that's ruled by.
Jesus Christ is Lord. You're letting money be your
lord. But the good news of lordship is
that in a world where money seeks to rule, Jesus offers
another way. He's the Lord.
If the Lord Jesus Christ sets your focus, your heart will be
drawn to Heavenly treasures. And you will be Filled.
With light and love and goodness.
But if Your lord is money. And it sets your focus, your
heart will be drawn to Earthly treasures, and will be filled
with darkness and Evil. And envy and the high cost of
greed. Jesus, preached this message as
good news to the poor, and the rich.
It's good news for the poor because there are Heavenly
Treasures. That money can't buy and some of
them are available now. It's good news to the rich.
There are Heavenly Treasures that are available now and money
can't buy them. Money can't buy you love.
So what are you to do? How can you actually move
forward in examining the condition of your heart and your
relationship with money. Going to give you three quick
Solutions. They're actually processes.
But the first one is this you need to open an HSA.
An HSA a Heavenly savings account.
You need to open it. You need to start a life with
Christ Jesus and let him bring the healing and he's opening
that account and HSA in your name and he's filling it with
Grace and then your life of response to Grace means that
your behavior and life begins to change your values, begin to
change once I wanted a Jaguar but now I'm very happy with a
defit. That's true, actually.
It's really true. So let God open an HSA and your
name and fill it. One of the ways you can see if
you're living into your HSA, is if you track your spending, I
know all of you, thought I was going to say, start a budget but
the beginning to actually budgeting is to track your
spending. And there's an app for that more
than one track, your spending and see what you're spending
says about your values and about what you're doing with it.
Second thing to do, it's Jesus can heal your eyes but he's
going to take some time to do it.
So take us up. Take a Sabbath break.
Throughout the scripture, got invited Israel into the gift of
the Sabbath as a day of rest of reconnection and reflection.
Take a Sabbath day where you quit living like a slave, who
has to work seven days a week. Take a Sabbath as one of his
children. Take a Sabbath.
So you can break from the slavish.
Nice. That our bosses and minor Lords
in this world seek to give us and then, finally, Jesus really
is available to liberate us. From the domination of Mammon of
money. So surrender.
Surrender. It's surrendering to him.
He gets to fill your life. I mean, among the disciples,
there were some of them who had plenty, they had jobs and when
confronted with the impossibility of being perfect
before Christ and And feeling like Jesus.
Haven't we done enough? Yet?
They said we've left everything to follow you.
And Jesus promised them. that there were gains to be had in
this world and in eternity, So surrender.
The surrender says it's 100% yours.
Surrender says, I'm 100% yours. This is what breaks the ties of
mammoth. We have to do it every day.
There's bills to be paid. There's a sense of expectation
that some of you carry with your own family about the
expectations of your future, They're very closely tied to
money and Mammon. Jesus offers you a freedom from
that. Jesus offers you a movement into
genuine life so that not just your life as redeemed, but so is
theirs. For they're brought into the
reality of the Kingdom. And the reality of the kingdom
is one of abundance, not just scarcity.
This is the grace that we need. Heavenly Father, we set our
lives before you and we set our hearts.
We pray that you would help us to do life with you to do
business with you to move into this sense.
Of rest. And of Grace that comes only
through surrender to you. Lord you know that our ties to
money are very emotional. That questions and issues of
spending and saving and what we've done with it and
extravagance. Generosity.
Or just getting by, all of these are emotional triggers and our
life. Where we need your healing, we
need your grace. We need your wisdom.
So come Lord, Jesus.