Sermon on the Mount
Part 5
“Treasures and Worries”
Matt. 6:19-34 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus is not teaching here against wise saving, or against having a retirement account, or to be irresponsible or apathetic about money.
He’s saying don’t put all your security eggs in the basket of earthly possessions. Earthly riches are uncertain. Here today, gone tomorrow.
Earthly assets like homes, cars, and so on, rust out and are destroyed. Thieves steal them. They are not invincible or totally secure.
Furthermore, they are not the way to life:
Luke 12:15 “And he (Jesus) said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Possessions don’t impart life, or meaning, or purpose, or deep and lasting peace.
Ecc. 5:10 “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.”
1 Tim. 6:17 “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” Set your hope in God, whose promises never fail!
Heb 13:5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” It’s fine to have money, just don’t love it to the place of idolatry.
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Jesus tells us where to place our ultimate security:
20 “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
There are earthly treasures and there are heavenly treasures. While earthly treasures can be lost or stolen, heavenly treasures are indeed invincible. They won’t rust or rot, and no thief can steal them.
So what are heavenly treasures?
Well, Christians are promised treasures in Heaven when they endure persecution.
We are promised to be rewarded by God in Heaven when we pray in secret.
We are promised rewards in heaven when we serve the Lord and His people.
Furthermore, there are several crowns that will be awarded in heaven!
The Crown of Life (James 1:12 for enduring temptation)
The Crown of Righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8 for those that love his appearing)
The Incorruptible Crown (1 Corinthians 9:25 for those that run their race well)
The Crown of Glory (1 Peter 5:4 the pastor’s crown)
The Crown of Rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 2:19 for soul winners)
These and I’m sure much, much more is in store for those who live for Jesus on earth and obey his will!
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Then the Lord tells us something so very true about human nature:
21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Whatever you treasure most has your heart, and what has your heart is what you will pursue in life.
This is why God says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…”
So the question is, “Does God have your heart? Is He your treasure?”
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So Jesus next talks about what has your eye:
22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
After speaking of the folly of living for earthly riches, and what your treasure is, Jesus addresses our focus in life.
The eye, physically speaking, is the one and only way we can perceive light.
Spiritually speaking, whatever has our eye becomes our focus in life. And it will either bring light to your soul, or plunge you into darkness.
For instance, if my life is driven by greed and lust for material things, that’s what my focus will be. That’s what I’m looking at. Scripture warns about this focus:
“But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.”—1 Tim 6:9
Notice how spiritual darkness, temptation, and destruction are the result of a wrong focus!
But if your treasure is God and you’re pursuing the things of God, you have a single, undivided eye that will fill your whole body (soul) with light and peace!
When I get up in the morning, if my eye is turned toward God’s word, and the eye of my faith is turned to Jesus, then my whole body will be filled with light!
But if on the other hand my eye is immediately turned to some secular program, or to the stock page, or to some other worldly, carnal thing, I’m not beginning my day with light!
LB “If your eye is pure, there will be sunshine in your soul. 23 But if your eye is clouded with evil thoughts and desires, you are in deep spiritual darkness. And oh, how deep that darkness can be!”
So what is your treasure today?
What has captured your heart?
What is your primary pursuit in life?
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Then Jesus wraps up His teaching on riches with an inescapable fact of life: You Cannot Serve God and Riches!
24 “You cannot serve two masters: God and money. For you will hate one and love the other, or else the other way around.”
Whatever you place above God you will one day lose or grow to hate.
You can’t serve God while living solely to chase money.
So seek first HIS kingdom!
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Then next, Jesus launches into a lengthy exhortation on the folly of Worry.
This is in total keeping with everything he has thus far said. Worry is the sole result of a wrong focus. It is one of those “dark” things that clouds the soul when our eyes get off of God.
So first He tells us what NOT to worry about:
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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?”
Most worries have to do with our life—finances, sickness, material provision, jobs, kids, marriage issues, and so on.
So Jesus says, “Don’t worry about your life!”
Life is much more than food and clothing!
He points to nature as an illustration of how the rest of God’s creation don’t worry:
26 “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
If God takes care of a sparrow, He will take care of you!
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Then he addresses the USELESSNESS of worry:
27 “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
No, but you might shave a few hours off of your life by worrying!
So since worry accomplishes NOTHING, Jesus asks a question and again points to nature for an illustration:
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither work nor spin clothing; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you, O men of little faith?”
The answer is, YES!
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek.
The Gentiles that don’t know God live, eat, and breathe to obtain material things. Their lives revolve around obtaining material things.
But Jesus calls us higher!—That we would be free of worry in order to focus on Him, His will, and the riches He gives to those that seek him!
So he assures us:
Vs. 32 “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”
Before I ask, He already knows what I need!
Instead of living only to get stuff, Jesus takes us to an infinitely superior lifestyle and purpose:
“33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Live to seek Him, know Him, follow Him, and to serve Him.
And you will discover that everything the Gentiles live to obtain is taken care of by your Heavenly Father as you seek Him first!
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Jesus concludes with one more thing we’re not to worry about—TOMORROW!
34 “So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.”
Worry about tomorrow is assuming that God is not in charge of your life and won’t be there to help you 24 hours from now, which is never true!
A bad day today is no predictor of a repeat tomorrow.
We have no idea what tomorrow holds. God can do anything in a 24 hour period. Today has enough challenges of its own!
NEXT TIME: The lost world’s favorite Bible verse.