Do you see lasting treasure and a good Father?

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.

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.

Let's pray.

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

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.

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.

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...

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.