Matthew 6:19-24

Opening Line:

“Last week we welcomed our 4th child and it’s becoming apparent that we need more space”

Transition:

But there’s a member of our family who does not care about space or a lack thereof… Baxter

Pivot: “Here is where I want to transition into our focus for today… and this involves a lack of space for rulers/masters in our lives.”

Main Point:

Our hearts are only big enough for one ruler. No throne-sharing in the capacity of our hearts.

Why Does it Matter?

If there’s only room for one, do you know who’s on the throne?

Power in the Text:

PRAY

Read Matthew 6:19-24

Power in the Text: Verse 24

Jesus doesn’t pull any punches. He means what he says and says what he means.

Naturally, this leads to the question: Who are we serving?

Before we can answer this, we need to consider two other questions:

Where are we storing treasures?

Treasures

Doesn’t specify whether they are good or bad - anything that we desire.

Storing up - hoarding, stockpiling as opposed to sharing/generous.

Not a knock on having things or working hard.

The idea of having security/faith in what you’ve accumulated.

Psalm 62:10 “…if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life”

Location/Nature

Earthly vs. heavenly or susceptible vs. secure

Jesus is essentially warning not to invest in the wrong things in the wrong places.

What are we focused on?

What has our attention/heart?

Regardless of what we might say, actions speak louder than words.

Because this is in the context of money/possessions, what do our bank accounts show we care about?

Like the treasures, the point is not just about avoiding bad things, but anything that we hope in other than God.

Eye = Lamp

The lamp gives light. The light is not bad, but what can be bad is our eye’s perception of the “light.”

“the light you think you have” (v.23)

Spiritual drift without reference point.

Temperature adjustment.

We have to understand this in the context of Jesus addressing the hypocrisy of the religious leaders.

They had drifted so far that they were blind (in the dark) about their godless state.

Their desires were so fixed on earthly benefits that they couldn’t even recognize the darkness they were in.

They couldn’t see their own hypocrisy.

Who are we serving?

I’m sure if you asked those religious leaders, they would say that God was their master, but again, actions speak louder than words.

Something to notice: Jesus does not say “no one should” but rather “no one can.”

Jesus’ audience understood god (idol) worship (Wealth, Fertility, etc.), we do not.

We worship the god of self.

We serve the master of identity.

What do I mean by this? Let me explain.

We live in a day and age where you can become whoever you want.

Social media persona: anti-this vs. pro-that…

Just like we can become enslaved to money, we can become enslaved to our identity.

Are you more concerned with your identity in Christ (heaven), or your identity on earth?

The Application:

“Can’t have your cake and eat it too”

We can’t follow Jesus and stay where we are.

“It’s ok to come to Jesus just as you are but it’s not ok to stay that way”

Before we came to Jesus we were understandably consumed with earthly things, problem is, we stayed that way.

Main To-Do:

This upcoming week, pay attention to where you’re spending the majority of your money.

Why Does it Matter?

Our bank account is closely tied to our heart. A good indicator of who or what is truly sitting upon the throne of our heart.

Closing:

This past July 4th, we had a memorial for my grandma who passed in April.

Many things were shared about her, but not once did anyone mention her possessions… except for one. Her Bible.

Luke in his gospel records another one of Jesus’ teachings about wealth. In the 16thverse of Chapter 12, Jesus talks about a rich fool.

Some of the greatest people I have ever had the privilege to be around and left a lasting impact were those who were rich in their relationship with God.

There are 3 options we may discover about masters/rulers of our hearts:

We can become overwhelmed and anxious with the constant pursuit of trying to appease the “earthly” ruler of our heart.

We can become bitter with the acceptance that all is vain or futile. A useless pursuit.

We can recognize that our desires for something more are there on purpose.

And if the satisfaction we seek can’t be found on earth, perhaps it’s because those desires are otherworldly.

With this, we can begin to focus our attention heavenward and understand that the ruler we need is not of this world.

Have you been trying to fill a heavenly treasury with earthly rubbish?