Where Is Your Treasure?

Well, good morning.

Good morning.

Because of those things, it is more important than ever for us to actually read the Bible itself and to hear what Jesus has to say to us about these things.

As you know, at Trinity here, we preach through sections of Scripture.

And one of the reasons we do it is because it brings us to these topics that we might feel uncomfortable choosing.

But when we get to them, we now allow God to speak into our lives as God's Word wants to.

And so we are doing that this morning.

Last week, we did the end of chapter 11 and the beginning of 12 of the book of Luke.

And so we are going to continue on.

On the road of discipleship with Jesus.

And this is what we're...

What does it mean to follow Him?

As Jesus is heading towards Jerusalem, heading towards His crucifixion and resurrection,

heading towards the accomplishment of the purpose for which He came, the salvation of the world.

He is teaching His disciples, spending this traveling journey, teaching them what does it mean to know Him and to follow Him.

And so we're going to talk this morning about our relationship to money and wealth.

I don't know if you watch the Super Bowl.

My guess is there will be one of these.

I don't know.

But the Super Bowl commercials are always a big thing.

And there's a commercial that's been out for a while by a company named ING.

And its tagline is, what's your number?

And you see a guy walking down the street and he's got this big six or seven digit orange number under his arm.

And then there's someone else.

A woman rides by on her bicycle and she's got her number on her back.

And there's one where there's a guy clipping his head and he's got a number.

And this is a gazillion because he has no idea what his number is.

And his neighbor comes up and says, how are you going to plan for that?

And the upshot of the commercial is that for you to plan for your retirement, ING can help you do that well.

And in order to do that, you have to know your number to have enough to retire.

And they want to help you to do that.

What's your number?

Underlying it is a question that we all need to ask ourselves, which is, what are we investing our lives, including our money, in?

What are we investing our lives, including our money, for?

ING says your goal should be a successful, comfortable, and financially secure retirement.

What does Jesus have to say about that question?

So let's look at this passage together.

And hopefully we'll get some answers to that question before we go.

So Luke chapter 12, it's page 818 in your Pew Bible if you're following along.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 12, starting in verse 13 and going to verse 34.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

So let's read this together and then we'll pray and then we'll continue.

And he said to them,

And he told them a parable saying,

The land of a rich man produced plentifully.

And he thought to himself,

What shall I do?

For I have nowhere to store my crops.

And he said,

I will do this.

I will tear down my barns and build larger ones.

And there I will store all my grain and my goods.

And I will say to my soul,

Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years.

Relax, eat, drink, be merry.

But God said to him,

Fool, this very night your soul is required of you.

And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?

So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God.

And he said to his disciples,

Therefore, I tell you,

Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat,

nor about your body, what will you put on.

For life is more than food and the body is more than clothing.

Consider the ravens.

They neither sow nor reap.

They have neither storehouse nor barn.

Yet God feeds them.

Of how much more value are you than the birds?

And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?

If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that,

why are you anxious about the rest?

Consider the lilies, how they grow.

They neither toil nor spin.

Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass,

which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,

how much more will he clothe you,

O you of little faith?

Do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink,

nor be worried.

For all the nations of the world seek after these things,

and your Father knows that you need them.

Instead, seek his kingdom,

and these things will be added to you.

Fear not, little flock,

for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Sell your possessions and give to the needy.

Provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old,

with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail,

where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.

For where your treasure is,

there will your heart be also.

So, let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for this word.

Lord, we thank you that you speak to us

so that we might know what it means to know you,

and we might know what it means to live in a relationship with you.

Lord, I ask this morning for your Holy Spirit to be at work in us

as we look into your word together.

Lord, may the truth of your word be plain.

Will you apply it to our lives?

Lord, will you change our hearts,

and will you move our limbs to action?

Lord, that we might be not only hearers of the word,

but doers also.

For your glory, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So, in this passage,

Jesus gives us both warnings

about how we ought not to relate to our possessions and our money,

and then he gives us a new way to live,

a different direction to go in how we think about this.

So, that's how we're going to look at it.

The warnings are in verses 13 through 30.

The new way is in 30 to 34.

So, we're going to look at this in

and work our way through this passage together.

So, first, Jesus' warnings to us

to avoid greedy and grasping hearts.

In the setup of this story,

Jesus is publicly teaching,

and there's a voice from the crowd.

It's fascinating.

This is a completely anonymous guy who says,

Hey, Jesus, will you tell my brother

that he needs to give me my share?

And it's not even clear whether it's his share

or whether this guy is just wanting more than he actually deserves.

But whatever the request is,

this guy is looking for Jesus

to give this public intervention about it,

about money.

And, you know, it's so interesting to think

that we wouldn't ever be the kind of grasping person

who would put someone on the spot

in a public forum

to adjudicate for us

against someone else

in matters of money.

We would like to think

that we're generally generous people,

that we would actually think

that, you know,

we wouldn't put someone

in this position.

If you were here last week,

you heard Pastor Greg mention briefly

in his sermon

as the passage last week

talked on generosity.

That our culture has a problem

and that our human hearts

have a problem with thinking

that we're more generous

than we think we are.

So, as Greg reported,

I'm just going to report these again

so you can remember them.

70% of millennials say

that they're very or somewhat generous

in 2016.

But the same survey said

that 84% of them

reported giving away

$50 or less

during that same year

that they were being very generous.

Another way to think about it

is that America is perhaps

the wealthiest nation in the world

and yet Americans today

give away broadly

3% of our income.

Not only is that not a lot

on an absolute standard,

but it was less than

what people were giving away

during the Great Depression

when people were in serious need.

I bring these up

just to say that

in our human hearts,

it's easy for us to think

that we're going to be okay

about money

and we don't need to hear

a warning about being greedy,

but in fact,

we often do.

Pastor Orly,

it is remarkable

how many stories I hear

about how many families

squabble and fight

about inheritances

and how much money they get.

That's just an anecdotal observation.

Many of you are not there yet.

Bob's nodding.

He's a lawyer.

He gets it.

But when you get there,

you feel the pull on your heart

in ways that you never knew

would be there.

And Jesus says,

beware,

beware of the impulse

of your heart

to be greedy.

And he gives two reasons.

And the first one,

he tells us in verse 15

and then he gives us

a parable to illustrate it.

The first reason why

we ought not to be greedy

is because life is not found

in things that are temporal

and passing.

That's what he says

at the end of verse 15

and then he goes on

and tells this story,

this well-known story

about a rich man,

a rich man whose land

has produced for him

an abundant crop

and he doesn't have

the resources to,

he doesn't have

the buildings

to store all of these goods.

And if you're a businessman

sitting out there,

you might be thinking,

what's wrong with that?

His business is expanding.

He's just increasing

his operations

so that he can continue

to grow.

And at one level,

that's right.

Because in the sense that

there is no condemnation

of this man

having gotten this wealth

in an ill-gotten way.

He didn't do this deceitfully

or manipulatively.

He simply was prosperous.

But you see that

as the story goes on,

this man's heart

in relationship

to his possessions

was not right.

You see,

if you look in verses

17 through 19,

the personal pronouns,

I, me, and myself,

or self,

are used 12 times.

And at the end,

you see what his goal is.

Soul, you now have

all that you need.

Eat, drink,

and be merry,

and relax.

The underlying message

of this man's heart was,

when you have enough,

now you have security.

Now you have comfort.

Now you have satisfaction.

Now you have peace.

It was not in the having

of these things,

but in the way

that he valued them

that was his downfall,

says one commentator.

And God intervenes

at the end of the story

and says,

Fool,

tonight your life

is taken from you.

You've gathered

all this stuff

for what?

Because now you

have died.

And who's,

who will get

all this stuff?

It doesn't matter

to you, does it?

Because you don't

get any of it.

And you have said,

this is what my life

is about.

So Jesus finishes

this parable

in verse 21.

So is the one

who lays up

treasure for himself.

That is,

that one is a fool

who will recognize

that the transience

of life means

that the possessions

that they have

cannot be the substance,

the goal

of meaningful investment

in their lives.

And Jesus points ahead

to what we'll see

at the end

of this section

when he says,

and is not rich

towards God.

Jesus is tipping

his hand saying,

that's where we're going.

There's a different

kind of riches.

There's a different

kind of investment.

There's a different

kind of goal

for you.

Being rich

towards God.

Jesus then continues.

If the first one is,

you ought not to

fall prey

to greed

because

when you are greedy,

you're setting

your hearts on things

that will never be able

to do what you think

it will.

Your possessions

are passing.

Your money is fleeting.

Your life is eternal.

The second one

is he says,

don't spend your life

grasping

for material possessions.

And I'm using

grasping as a word

you see in your text.

The word is seek.

That's,

and I'm translating

that grasping

because I think

this seeking

has this all-consuming

sort of fixation,

obsessive

approach

to gaining

these things

when Jesus uses us

in this section.

And then he walks

through this passage

which you probably

hear all the echoes

of it.

It's very similar

to part of what

Jesus does in Matthew

in the Sermon on the Mount.

It's a little different

and so I want to let

the way that

Luke records it

to speak as it does.

He walks through

and he reveals

our heart attitudes

towards

are we those

who are grasping?

He says,

don't be those

who are grasping

but instead

recognize who God

is for you.

How does he do that?

Well,

look with me

in verse 21.

Don't be anxious

about your life,

what you will eat,

about your body,

what you will put on.

Now look,

here's what I want to say.

How many of you,

when you think

about anxiety,

think about those

particular categories.

Do I have enough food?

Do I have clothes to wear?

Some of you,

that's real.

For some of you,

that's true

and that is a concern

that you have today

that is real.

For many of us,

the anxieties

that we have

don't even touch

on these most basic

of human needs,

do they?

Our anxieties

about things

that are much less

basic to human life.

But Jesus says,

don't be anxious

even about the most

basic of things

in life.

Now,

he's not saying,

let's clarify this,

we need to make sure

we clear the decks

a little bit.

He's not saying,

don't be thoughtfully

responsible

before God

about these things.

There is,

throughout Scripture,

a clear picture

of stewardship

and responsibility

of working hard

and of providing

for others.

There's all sorts

of things

that are in there

that we need

to make sure

that we don't neglect

when we read

a passage like this.

But the passage here

is talking about

our heart.

Are you consumed

with fear today

that you won't have

what you think

you need?

Are you dominated

and controlled

by the uncertainty

that is

filling your life today

because of those things?

Jesus says,

look,

your life

is more

than those things.

And then he gives

an example

of the ravens.

And the ravens

were sort of like

seagulls

or like common pigeons.

They were flying rats

with wings, right?

They were the lowest

of the low.

And what Jesus

is saying,

he uses these

very common,

even detested animals

to say,

if God provides

for even them,

don't you think

he will care for you?

And then he goes on

and he's piling on

these rhetorical questions.

Can you add anything

to your life,

to your lifespan?

Can you live

just a little bit longer

by being anxious?

And of course,

that's ridiculous.

Today we know

anxiety is one of the reasons

why we live shorter lives,

right?

It causes hypertension,

it causes stress,

it drives us

in extremes

to suicide.

Anxiety is a terrible thing

in our lives

and we know that.

And Jesus is saying,

yeah,

and well,

how good is it?

How much profit

do you have

in being anxious?

He says,

if you can't even

add one little moment

to your life

by being anxious,

why do you think

it's worth being anxious

about these other things?

And then he turns

and he says,

consider,

consider the flowers

of the field,

the lilies.

They don't work,

they simply are.

They do what God

designed them to do.

They don't toil

nor spin,

they don't labor,

they don't create

their own clothing

and yet God

has clothed them

in a splendor

that is more majestic

than even Solomon.

I was trying to think,

is there today

an analogy

to who Solomon is?

I'm sure there probably

is in the fashion world

but I'm just too ignorant

to know it.

But someone who is,

you know,

Lady Gaga,

right,

who is displayed

in the most amazing

and without,

golly,

that was an off-the-cuff

illustration

that really went badly,

didn't it?

anyway,

the people

who have

the brightest,

the most abundant

of the glorious

clothing in the world.

God gives

to this lily

more

than the greatest

human being

has achieved

on their own.

and they're passing.

The lilies

are here today

and gone tomorrow.

You're living

in the image

of God.

Don't you think

God

will care

for you?

And then

as we're working

through the passage,

verse 30,

he says,

for all the nations

of the world,

and when he uses

that phrase,

he means

all the people

who don't know

the God of the universe,

the God of the Bible,

the way you do,

and all the nations

of the world

seek after these things.

That is,

they grasp

and strive

and are consumed

by getting

these things.

And your heavenly

Father knows

that you need them.

And this is where

he turns

and he points

you to God.

He points us

to God.

He says,

don't you know

the God

who made the universe

is a heavenly Father

who knows

what you need.

Every parent

thinks about this.

How do I provide

for my kids

the things

that they need?

Every parent

cares about that.

Whether they're able

to do what they want

to do or not,

every parent

knows this.

Jesus says,

you have a heavenly Father

and he knows

what you need.

He cares about you

more than the natural world.

Jesus says,

an anxious heart

is consumed

by worry,

not consumed

by trusting

God.

Now,

just stop

and think.

how do we know

if we are anxious?

How do we know

if we are worried?

Maybe it's not that hard.

Maybe you're already thinking

and the wheels are spinning.

But what if you lost

X tomorrow?

I saw last week

there was this fire

in the Newark

airport terminal.

17 cars

just burned

to ashes.

Can you imagine

coming back from a trip?

I was walking through this.

Coming back from a trip,

you know,

I've got a plan.

I've probably got

a pretty tight schedule.

I know where I'm going.

You come back.

You go to the parking lot

and there is your car,

a hunk of molten metal

and plastic.

Don't be anxious,

Jesus says.

What if you saw a need

that you could

actually meet?

You could loan your van

to the youth group

for a trip to Monadnock

later this year.

You have an old,

you have a piece of furniture

that you could give

to someone

who doesn't have a bed.

Would you do it?

Would you do it

if it was your bed

and you had to pull out

the old rusty one

from the closet

and put that back

in your bedroom?

The fact is

that we have,

we live in a culture

that has become

very comfortable

with a lot

of material possessions.

Our standard of living

is high

and our cost of living

is high

and yet

in the eyes of the world

we are wealthy.

and God wants

our hearts

to not be consumed

with accumulating,

gathering,

and collecting

and keeping

these things.

He wants us

to be people

who are glad givers

not tight-fisted

graspers.

Here's another diagnostic.

What do you spend

your time doing?

What do you spend

your things,

what do you spend

your time praying about?

What do you talk about

with your friends?

Do you see anxiety

filling those spaces

in your life?

Anxiety about material things.

Jesus says

this is a heart

orientation

towards our

physical belongings

that is not good.

We are putting

our hope

in something

that cannot deliver

to give us life.

We are finding

our present lives

consumed

with anxiety

and worry

about having

or not having

these things.

And I know that

for some of us here

in this room,

we've had a lot

for a long time

and it's easy

for us to get comfortable.

I know that

for some of you,

you've actually lived

in a lot of need

and you've faced times

where you don't know

where the next meal

comes from

or where the roof

is over your head

or what clothes

you will have to wear.

But as I read

through this,

we can have

grasping anxious hearts

whether we have

a lot

or a little.

And God instead

points us

to something else.

He points us

as disciples,

as followers of Him

to a new way

in the end

of this passage.

And He's already

pointed towards it twice,

being rich towards God

and knowing

a heavenly Father

who knows what we need.

But starting

in verse 30,

we see Him turn.

Verse 31 actually

is where we see

Him really turn the corner.

He says,

there is a new way

for followers of Jesus

to live.

He says,

instead,

seek His kingdom,

that is God's kingdom,

and all these things

will be added to you.

What does it mean

to seek God's kingdom?

Remember,

I told you earlier,

seeking in this passage

is being used for the,

what are the things

that dominate your attention?

What are the things

that drive you?

What are the things

that absorb you?

What are your obsessions?

He says,

I want you to be obsessed

with the kingdom of God.

What does that mean?

The kingdom of God

is the extent

of God's effective rule

and reign in this world.

Right?

God is the sovereign

over all things,

but His kingdom,

when Jesus came,

He said,

the kingdom of God

is near.

What He was saying was,

God is about to do

a new thing

to impress His will

and to begin to build

a kingdom

where what God values

and what God says

is right and wrong

and good and bad

happen

and that God's kingdom

is presented

as a picture

of a place

of flourishing

and a place

of joy

and a place

of abundance

and a place

of provision.

A place where God

is in the center

of the world again.

And Jesus says,

this is worth

our hearts

being consumed by.

The nations seek

after these things,

but you have something

better to seek for.

God and His kingdom.

This is what you can

set your heart on.

This is what you can

invest your life on.

And you're going to

invest your life

in something

that will not fade

and therefore

is not disappointing.

When He says

in verse 34

or verse 33,

provide for yourself

money bags

that don't grow old

and with a treasure

in heaven

that does not fail

where no thief

approaches

and no moth destroys.

He's saying

all of your physical

belongings

and all of your

possessions

will pass away.

But when you invest

in God's kingdom,

you're investing

in things

that will last

forever.

How do we do this?

What does it look like

to seek God's kingdom?

Well,

that's a very broad question,

but Jesus has very specific

applications here.

Verse 33,

sell your possessions

and give to the poor.

Okay.

Now next week,

I expect you all

to come in

having one pair of clothing,

one car,

one house,

and nothing else

because that's,

no,

I don't actually think

that's what Jesus is saying.

As often,

Jesus says things

in very black and white nature

in order for us

to feel the impact

of what he is saying.

The reason why I say that

is not just because

I don't want to feel

the sting of this command,

but the reason is because

you see it,

even in this passage,

the man with his barns

was not criticized

for being a wealthy man.

He's being criticized

for making his life

be in his wealth.

Okay.

And we also see it

throughout Scripture.

Right.

If you look,

you know,

this is the book of Luke,

the gospel according to Luke.

Luke then went on

and wrote a sequel

about how the early church

lived out these things.

And part of what you see

in the early church

is people actually owned things.

They had homes

that hosted churches.

They had belongings

that they could give.

Ananias and Sapphira

were not condemned

for having land

that they hadn't sold yet.

They were condemned

for lying about

how they did it.

And so,

this is,

well,

it's not,

the ideal of God's kingdom

isn't communism

and everything

being owned communally,

but what it is

is generosity

and a freedom

and a sense of stewardship

that all that we have

has come from God

and God has given to us

not for simply

our own sake

but for the sake

that we may bless others

in the name of Christ

and build his kingdom

by the way

that we do that.

This is what God

wants us to think about.

He wants us to think about

all the things

that I have.

Am I thinking about

how can I bless

others with them

or am I simply thinking about

how can I be more comfortable,

more secure,

more important,

find more meaning

in the things

that I have?

To invest in God's kingdom

in the age of the church

is to invest

in the gospel ministry

of word and deed

to proclaim Jesus Christ

and to then live out

the ethics

that Jesus Christ

commands us to

in the world

as we await

Jesus coming back.

This is what God's

called us to.

So I want to get

really practical

for a few minutes.

I want you to think about

how you can invest

some of the places

where,

because you might be

sitting there thinking,

I don't know

how to do that.

I don't know

where to go.

I get lots of stuff

in the mail.

I don't know how much

of that is kingdom oriented.

What do I do?

I want to give you

some places

for you to consider

where you could

ask the Lord,

Lord,

do you want me

to become more generous?

Do you want me

to give more

in these areas?

Before I get into

some of the details,

I want to say this.

The giving that Jesus

calls us to here

is not merely

financial giving.

I gave some examples

earlier.

Your homes,

your cars,

your time,

your hospitality.

There are lots of

other ways

that you can invest

your possessions

of your life

and your time

in the kingdom.

But I'm going to talk

specifically about money

today

and how you can

invest finances.

First thing I'm going

to say,

and this is with

a great disclaimer,

is you can give

to your local church.

Now,

having said that,

look,

the kingdom of God

is larger than

any local church

and I hope

that you

who have been

coming here

for a while

know that our heart

is not simply

to build a bigger

barn here

so that we can have

more stuff here

for our own comfort

and welfare.

Right?

I hope that

you would remember

how often we pray

for the flourishing

of other churches

in the city.

How we pray

for the gospel ministry

here and around

the world.

If you're new here,

I hope you'll stick

around long enough

to hopefully find

that this is true

and if it's not,

please come tell me

so we can fix that

because that would be

terrible if that were true.

But the church,

globally and locally,

is God's central means

of building His kingdom

and giving to the church

is a good thing.

And we are on the brink

as a church

of investing a lot

of money

in expanding

our base of operations

here on this little

postage stamp

with a building campaign.

You guys know,

if you haven't heard it

in three weeks,

we will have a launch,

you will hear

all sorts of details,

plan to be here

on the 24th

to be able to hear

about all the details

of what that looks like.

But our heart

is not to build

a bigger barn

so that people will think

we're an impressive church.

Our heart is to build

a base of a church

so that we can continue

and expand the ministries

that we are doing already

of gospel preaching,

of gospel ministry

to the city.

So if you want to think

about giving to our church

the building campaign,

consider how you might

be able to be

sacrificially a part of that.

But consider some

other options too.

Consider the DBF fund

that Nick mentioned

earlier in our service.

Consider the campus ministers

in our midst

who raise support

for their salary

and who raise money

for their operation costs.

Consider the poverty

of the gospel

on university campuses

and how few voices

there are there

and invest in those.

Consider investing

in Bridges of Hope,

the coalition of churches

that we're a part of

that's seeking to,

in Christ's name,

do good to the city,

that runs a mentoring program

and is seeking to launch

a prison re-entry program

in other ways.

Consider something like

the 180 Center.

If you don't know

the 180 Center,

it's over on Grand Avenue.

They do a great work

doing addiction,

treatment,

recovery,

job training.

They run a lot

of different things.

If you're looking

for a place

in the city to give to

that's doing great ministry

in Christ's name,

consider them.

Not only consider

the needs of the city,

consider the needs

of the world.

If you haven't been here

on a Sunday

when Hanum Asad

has come and talked

about his ministry

called Christian Mission

to Gaza,

and the ministry

that he is having

to Palestinian Christians

and the ministry

of the gospel

to Gaza,

which you can imagine

is an incredibly fraught

and very difficult ministry.

Not only is he doing

ministry there

where there are lots

of needs

because the Christians

get it from both sides

in that political conflict,

but then his base

of operations,

which is in Jordan,

has been ministering

to refugees

from Syria

and from Iraq

for quite a while now.

There are great opportunities

to think about giving

to his ministry

and to the things

that they're doing there.

And if for whatever reason

Hana and his ministry

isn't something

that you want to give to,

there are great organizations.

World Vision does wonderful

world relief,

particularly in light

of natural and human disasters.

Compassion International.

If you're a family,

if you want to engage

in an ongoing process

of investing in a child

somewhere in the world

where they will be ministered to

by a church

and where they will be supported

so they can get food

and clothing

and grow up

and get an education,

wonderful opportunities.

Personal ministry.

What about your everyday life?

Are you thinking about

how you can be generous

in your everyday life?

Now, if you're considering,

if you work in downtown New Haven

and you are exposed

to homelessness,

I think I mentioned this before.

Greg has written

a really great pamphlet

that's on the back table

that gives some really great wisdom

about how to actually

be most helpful.

Homelessness in America

and panhandling,

it's a complicated issue.

What God wants for you

is to have a generous heart.

And then we also want

to give you some instruction

on how you might do that best

to be truly helpful.

So pick up that flyer

as you cultivate that heart.

If you aren't on it,

consider being a part

of the have need email list

that Michelle has.

When people in our church

have needs

and there are things like,

I need a bed,

I'm moving in a new house,

I have nothing.

These are the kinds of things

that go out on that list.

Consider being on that list

so you know the needs

so that you can respond to them.

Here's a very practical thing.

If you don't know

how to budget your money

in order to be able

to take some of your money

and give it away

because you never know

how much you have

and how much you spend

and how much you need,

well maybe that would be

a first step.

We as a church leadership

would love to help you.

At our last congregational meeting,

someone stood up and said,

I would be willing

to help you take steps

in learning how to get a handle

on your finances

so that you can be generous,

so that you can give,

so that you can be not consumed

by these things.

So if you are in that need,

please let us know.

Write it in a prayer card.

Please talk to the staff

or the elders.

We would love to direct you

in that.

I actually heard a story

of a family in our church

that is purposefully eating

an extremely inexpensive meal

once a week

rather than the normal meal

that they eat.

They eat something

that will cost like less than $2.

So they can take

what they would normally budget

for that,

take the rest of the money,

and give it

in a particular way.

If you are a family,

maybe you would want to consider

something like that.

That money could be set aside

for a compassion child.

It could be set aside

for the mentoring program

at Bridges of Hope.

You could do all sorts

of things with it.

These are the ways

that we work

into our everyday lives,

patterns of generosity,

patterns of sacrificial living,

patterns of thinking

what we have

is not simply for ourselves,

but it is to bless others.

Jesus finishes this passage

with a diagnostic

that is always striking

when we read it properly.

Verse 34,

for where your treasure is,

there will your heart be also.

Humanly, we always want

to read this as,

well, where your heart is,

there will be your treasure also.

The things that you love,

those are the things

you give to.

But Jesus is not saying that.

Jesus is actually saying,

use this as a final diagnostic.

Where do you spend your stuff?

Your money, your time,

your resources, your possessions.

Where do you spend those things?

Those are the things you value.

And allow that to be

a diagnostic tool for you

to see whether your heart

is right towards God.

whether you are actually

seeking God's kingdom

and sacrificially

and generously giving

for the work of God's gospel

and God's church

and the expansion of His kingdom.

Or whether you are

consumed by anxiety

and find yourself

with a grasping heart.

Amen.

Amen.

The reason why we can do this

is in verse 32.

It's the very core of this

and we could spend lots more time

but I just want to say,

why can we do this?

Because friends,

you have a heavenly Father

in the heavens

who knows your need.

Verse 32 says that

it's not just His duty

but it is His delight

to give you His kingdom.

When you are seeking

after something,

you're not seeking it

hoping you might get it.

You are seeking after it

when the God of the universe

is saying to you,

yes, it is my pleasure

and my joy

to give this thing to you.

As you set your heart on it,

I will meet you in that

and I will give it to you.

And friends,

we know this

because of the gospel.

We know this

because when we were still

enemies of God,

when we were still dead

in our sins and trespasses,

God loved us

and He sent us His Son.

This is the loving heart

of our Heavenly Father

who at great cost,

at infinite cost to Himself,

sacrificed up Jesus.

Jesus willingly goes to the cross

in love so that we might know Him.

if you are ever afraid

that God doesn't know your need,

if you are ever afraid

that God isn't willing to help you,

if you are ever afraid

that God is unable

to solve your situation

or to take care of you,

look at the cross of Jesus Christ

and be reminded

that God has done that for you.

And if God did not spare His Son

but gave Him up for us all,

how much more will He give you

all things?

As the Apostle Paul says

in Romans chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

He loves you

and He will take care of you.

and He calls you

and me as followers of Him

to have a generous

and sacrificial heart

because He is a generous

and sacrificial God.

Let's pray.

Lord, thank You for this word.

Lord, I pray that it would

not simply blow through

our lives

in these few minutes.

But Lord, I pray that this word

would reside in our hearts.

Lord, that You would allow it

to shape us and mold us.

Lord, help us to see

when we are afraid

that You won't care for us.

Help us to see

when we become grasping

or when we set our hearts

on the things

that are passing away.

Lord, help us to see Your kingdom.

Remind us of the way

that You have met us

most importantly

by the sending of Your Son.

And Lord, we pray

that You would change our hearts

and that You would change

our relationship

to our money

and our things.

Lord, that we might be

truly followers of You

and that You might use us,

Lord, to build Your kingdom here.

Lord, we pray this

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, friends, as we close,

it's a fitting ending

for us to come

to the Lord's table

because what we do

when we take the bread

and drink the cup

is we are reminded

of God and His character.

God who has acted

in such a way in history

so that He might save us.

And so,

this is what we commemorate.

This is what we celebrate.

As we come to this,

we are reminded

both of the weightiness

of our sin,

that it took the death

of God's very own Son

to be our redemption

and to be our Savior,

but it is also

a place of joy

where we see

how much God

has set His love

on us

and what He has done

for us in Christ.

And in light of

what we've talked about

this morning,

I hope and pray

that you will

not only take this in

as a reminder

of salvation

for those who put

their faith in Christ

and of the joy of that,

but also

that you would allow it

to sink in

and reflect a little

on what we've talked about,

about the state

of your heart

and are you responding

to the gospel,

being generous

and sacrificial people

towards others.

So,

I'd like to ask you

to reflect on that.

As always,

we invite all

who have placed

their faith

and trust

in Jesus Christ

as their Lord and Savior

to partake with us

in this.

But if you're here

and you're visiting

or you're checking out

Christianity

or this is something new,

my hope and prayer

is that you would,

rather than taking

these elements,

which is meant to be

an expression of faith,

you can look at the,

there are a couple prayers

in the bulletin

you could consider praying,

but think about

what it is that God,

what these elements represent

and reflect on God's love

that He has shown for you

and the invitation

that this is

for you to come

and put your faith

and trust in Him

as you do it.

Those who are serving

want to come forward

and that would be great.

As we will pass this out,

what we'll do

is we'll pass out

the crackers

and you can hold on to it

and then we'll eat it together

and then we'll pass out

the cups

and do the same.

Don't you guys

want to come over here?

The Apostle Paul,

as he wrote about this,

wrote this,

for I received from the Lord

what I delivered to you

that the Lord Jesus

on the night

when He was betrayed

took bread

and when He had given thanks

He broke it

and said,

this is my body

which is for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way also

He took the cup

after supper

saying,

this cup is a new covenant

in my blood.

Do this as often

as you drink of it

in remembrance of me.

For as often

as you eat this bread

and drink this cup

you proclaim the Lord's death

until He comes.

and that's what we're doing

this morning.

Suzanne,

can I ask you to

pray for the bread please?

Dear God,

thank you for

the sacrifice

of your son Jesus.

Thank you for

dying on the cross

for our sins.

And let us take this time

to

remember

the blood that was shed

for us.

Thank you for