- Mt 6:19-24
- Jesus spoke more about money than heaven and hell combined, by some estimates
- money is greatest barometer of our spiritual condition
- our hearts gravitate to money as our security and purpose, rather than God
- Kingdom of World (possessions, hedonism) vs Kingdom of God (sacrificial, joy in God)
- My use of money determines what matters most (v 19-21)
- storing up: treasuring your treasures
- Is Jesus condemning all wealth? NO
- nothing wrong with having property or savings
- Prov 6, 8
- 1 Tim 5:8
- Is Jesus condemning all wealth? NO
- Jesus is prohibiting the greed and covetousness nature; the hoarding of possessions for self
- Lk 12:15; do not put your identity and value in possessions
- “Treasures”: money and things which are temporal; satisfaction in temporal things
- ex. house, family, career you want, spouse you want
- if anything in this world is everything to you, it is a treasure
- rewards help us strive toward the end (1 Cor)
- delayed gratification; have the Kingdom mindset
- start putting your money in the Lord’s work; there your heart will start to follow and grow
- what are you investing in right now? where is your treasure?
- ex. house, family, career you want, spouse you want
- A.W. Tozer:
- What do you value most?
- What would you most hate to lose?
- What do your thoughts run to most frequently when you have spare time to think?
- What/who brings you the most pleasure?
- storing up: treasuring your treasures
- My view of money determines what I see most (v 22-23)
- healthy eye (i.e. view of money) helps give right perspective of life; affects our actions and views
- “healthy”: singleness of gaze and devotion to God; generous
- Prov 28; Prov 23:6
- unhealthy eye = evil eye = ungenerous, selfish
- greed is a very subtle sin and once you’ve slid in, difficult to see in the darkness
- healthy eye (i.e. view of money) helps give right perspective of life; affects our actions and views
- My love of money determines who I worship (v 24)
- What/who do you worship?
- slave vs having a master; ownership is singular, you cannot have 2 owners
- we are all slaves, either to sin or to redemptive freedom of Jesus
- worship of money is worship of self
- “hate”: be less devoted to, disregard more and more
- directly contradicts with greatest command to love the Lord with all
- money is the false answer to what we long for and will be truly satisfied by
- Help! Heb 13:5-6
- the answer is greed/hoarding is more God