30th November 2025 - Trevor Saggers

Friends, let us pray. Our Lord, today we're examining

our wealth, irrespective of how much or how little

we might think it is. You have certainly blessed

us with much in this country, but we do not want

your blessings to take us away from the one who

has provided the blessing, you. We are certainly

mindful of the attractiveness of wealth for the

here and now. We thank you that your holy scriptures

have been written to teach us, rebuke us, correct

us and to train us in righteousness. May you,

through your written holy word and through your

powerful Holy Spirit, do the work in us that

needs to be done so that we stand in awe of the

one who blesses rather than pursue the blessings

themselves. In Jesus' name, amen. Up front, I

need to remind us all, including myself, that

nothing I have is from me. Ultimately, everything

is his, the Lord's. We are just using his stuff,

Psalm 24 .1. And so either the Lord has enabled

me to obtain the wealth I have today, Deuteronomy

8 .18, or he has simply provided it. And yes,

the writer of Ecclesiastes is also right. One

of our Bible readings today that Craig read to

us. Everyone, we're told, everyone who comes

naked from their mother's womb, I guess you did.

And as everyone comes, so we depart. We came

with nothing and we'll leave with nothing. And

so we just use his stuff or produce things as

he allows for the 80 odd years that most people

live and then leave with nothing, just as we

came. So that is the end of the story. No. Habakkuk

2 .4 and Hebrews 11 .6 It is impossible for anyone

to live in this fallen world to please God unless

we live by faith. And so today all we are really

looking at is how one lives by faith with respect

to wealth. And I balk at saying our wealth. as

it is all his. Always was and always will be.

We're simply his stewards of it, hopefully his

faithful stewards for a while. And the reason

we are looking at wealth today, or money, mammon,

income, riches, treasures, whatever you want

to call it, is that Jesus talks about it in these

six verses we are now up to. But how are God's

people to think and act faithfully about the

wealth he has given us? Well, today in Matthew

6, Jesus reminds us, mentions at least three

things that need to shape how we see wealth.

And the first is this, God's people need to have

hearts for heaven. I'll repeat that, God's people

need to have hearts for heaven. In verses 19

to 21, we're told by Jesus, he 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.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will

be also. Now, Jesus is not against having any

treasures here on earth. No, he's not saying

that. If he were, we would need to sell everything

we have. Car, house, phone, the lot. And in Kansas,

Australia, we would also be goners as we have

a lot of stuff. He's simply saying don't store

them up on earth. And why? Well, there are two

reasons here, and the first is pretty obvious.

They won't last. They won't last. They simply

don't last. And he mentions things here that

we have probably been on the receiving end of.

He mentions how moths and silverfish and cockroaches

and mice and rats get into them. And sadly, some

of us have been on the end of a thief pinching

our car or having our house robbed or might have

been even bigger than that. Perhaps you've had

a lot of money stolen from you. And all of these

things, bugs or burglars, at least serve as a

reminder that treasures on earth do not last.

They come and go just as we come and go. Now,

I am not a self -funded retiree, even though

I might look like a retiree. But I've seen what

coronavirus can do. Yes, treasures can come and

go on earth, so do not store them up here. You'll

end up being very disappointed if you do so.

Ask anyone who's gone through a messy divorce.

or a bankruptcy, and if you can, ask anyone who

has died. And they'll tell you the same thing.

Riches on earth don't last. And they don't last

for a variety of reasons. And even if they do

last for a while, death will bring an end to

that one too. But there is another reason given

here, and it's all to do with one's heart. And

it's found in verse 21. Jesus says, That where

your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And so Jesus in one sense wants to eliminate

any heartache from you because he tells you where

to store up your riches that will last. And where?

In heaven. That's where. And he alludes to nothing

being able to destroy riches that are stored

in heaven. Nothing. And so all of this makes

one think much bigger than just the here and

now. It causes us to think about where we are

storing our treasures, and rightly so. Like,

are we storing up things here on earth? Or are

we storing up things in heaven? Because where

we store them not only shows where our heart

lies, but also fertilises, feeds our heart. That

is why we always want more. We're never quite

satisfied. Our heart needs feeding, and the food

it really likes isn't just ice cream. It's treasures.

And all of this brings us back to the original

point I made. God's people need to have hearts

for heaven, not for treasures. Because this fallen

earth, not just its treasures, will not last.

So Jesus says and says clearly here, don't, yes,

do not, is what he says, waste your time storing,

gathering, amassing, securing things on for here,

on earth. It will end up in heartache. Instead,

be focused on heaven, invest in it, it will last.

And it is where one's heart should be and will

be if you place your treasures there. Now it's

pretty hard to invest in heaven, you might be

thinking. Like, how does one do that? How does

one buy stocks and shares in heaven? How does

one store up wealth in heaven? Like, how? Well,

this brings us to the second point of today's

sermon and to these quite odd verses in... verse

22 and 23. And I've summed up the second point

as this. God's people need to have eyes to see

the kingdom. Yes, God's people need to have eyes

to see the kingdom. And when you have such eyes,

eyes that see the kingdom God is building, in

the number of people entering it, and in you

and everyone growing in it, you will invest whatever

comes your way, as much as you can. In this church

that he's building. You will. And why? Because

your eyes are healthy. Your eyes might not have

20 vision. Mine don't anymore. But they can see

the light of the kingdom and therefore live for

it. Please look at verses 22 to 23. Verse 22,

Jesus says, 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? The Holy Scriptures have much

to say about darkness and light and about getting

out of one's darkness and seeing the light. And

darkness is usually portrayed, as it is here,

as one of evil everywhere. Whereas light is portrayed,

as it is here, as one of good. And so good that

it can change one's whole life. And not only

are God's people described as the light of the

world, Matthew 5 .14, in this very sermon of

Jesus, but the very coming of Jesus is also described

as the light source. A light that has now dawned,

Christmas, Isaiah 9 .2. And how we, God's people

who have now seen him as the light, have placed

our trust in him. And are described elsewhere

as children of light, having come out of the

darkness of our sins, Ephesians 5 .8. And therefore

not wanting to have anything to do anymore with

the deeds of darkness. Yes, the Holy Scriptures,

such as in Colossians 1 .12, talk about this

kingdom that God is building, a kingdom that

will never be shaken, will last forever. And

it is described as a kingdom of what? It is described

as a kingdom of light. And Jesus has only just

said early in this chapter to pray daily for

this kingdom. to come and so we are to have eyes

that see it eyes and a heart that will invest

in it are you investing in such a kingdom are

your eyes 2020 for the kingdom a kingdom of light

are your eyes healthy or or are your eyes 20

20 for the world A world of darkness. Are your

eyes therefore unhealthy? Yes, what does your

heart want to see? God and his kingdom in all

its glory? If so, invest in it. Give your all

to it. Or does your heart want to see a new flat

screen television on your wall at home? What

is it that your heart wants to ultimately see?

People in the kingdom or TV on the wall? And

this brings us to the third and final point for

today, and it starts getting quite practical

now, and Jesus is much more direct. I've titled

this last point as this, God's people need to

serve him alone. If you want to keep having a

heart that sees the kingdom he is building all

to it, one must keep serving him alone. Please

look at verse 24. Bing. Verse 24. Jesus says

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. We see here

that there is nothing wrong with having money,

just as there is nothing wrong with having treasures.

But what matters is whom you serve and where

you store one's treasures. And just as you should

not store treasures on both earth and heaven,

have it quid both ways, so too you cannot serve

both God and money. Not long after I turned to

Christ in 1988, I still remember having a conversation

with a friend of mine, a fellow believer. And

at the time I thought I could serve both God

and money. Not that I set out to do that, but

when push came to shove, that is exactly what

I was doing, trying to serve God and money. You

could say that I had one eye closed for the kingdom.

Yes, I probably had one eye set on the world

and one eye set on the kingdom. I was a bit divided.

And my friend said something to me like, the

last two things God will convert in you, Trevor,

are probably your hip pocket and your right foot.

He knew my nickname was Rev Trev. because of

my love for V8s and for motorbikes. Yes, I was

a real rev head. But he also knew what many people

struggled with, their love of stuff. And he was

right. You could say that God is still working

on my right foot. And I am probably not listening

to him as much as I should. But many years ago

he helped me to realise that I needed to serve

him and him alone with the wealth that we've

been given with my hip pocket. And very fortunately

I have a believing wife and that makes it so

much easier to do so. Now in saying this, this

is not just about one's wealth. It's actually

about something much deeper, about having the

right heart, and write eyes that only God can

give you. And give you he will as one turns back

to him through his son, the one who says these

very words that we're looking at today. Yes,

he will give you eyes to see. By removing the

veil that one naturally has, a veil that the

evil one obviously does not want removed. Compare

the end of 2 Corinthians 3 and the start of 2

Corinthians 4. So that one is able to now see

the kingdom. See, spiritually see the kingdom.

And here Jesus can give you a new heart to give

you the desire you need to have to follow through

on what you now truly see. This is not just about

getting right with what you do with your money.

It certainly includes it. Hence why Jesus talks

about treasures. But it's much deeper than that.

Treasures can include one's income, one's pension,

soon beyond that, job seeker, job keeper payments,

Centrelink gifts, investments, superannuation,

gifts from deceased estates, tax returns, solar

rebates. are basically today's practical examples

of the treasures that Jesus mentions here. And

he mentions treasures to help us better understand

the tension one has when living by faith, as

we live still in the world. And it's a world

that seeks our attention, that is, our heart

and our eyes. And a world that is led by the

evil one, who is one of darkness and one... That

veil to remain. Once our flesh, therefore, to

win. So, do we live by faith or do we live by

sight? For example, does the way we use our wealth

show that we actually live by faith? Does it?

Because that's what matters. For example, does

the way we use our wealth show that we have a

heart for and eyes to see the kingdom that God

is building? Do we at least tithe, at least give

10 % of all forms of wealth that come our way?

That is, do we at least tithe back to God for

the kingdom work he is doing in reaching others

with the gospel of Jesus and in growing you?

and in growing us and growing them to be a follower,

a disciple of Jesus. Yes, is your heart set on

heaven? And so that is what we ultimately invest

in. Yes, do we see the kingdom, the kingdom to

come? And so there is no longer any darkness

in our body. Also, do we serve him alone with

everything he has given us? We might serve him

with the talent he's given us and the time he's

given us, but do we also serve him with the treasure

he's given us? Yes, do we serve him and him alone?

Because one cannot, cannot serve both God and

money. Yes, these words of Jesus certainly leave

us pondering those sorts of questions. May you,

may I, show in the days ahead that we live by

faith, with our time, with our talent and our

treasure. And so may these words of Jesus either

teach us, rebuke us, correct us or train us to

righteously walk by faith. Friends, let's pray.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth

as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread

and forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven

our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one, the one of

darkness. In Jesus' name, and God's people said,

Amen. Thank you all.