What a Heart that Stewards Wealth looks like!

Matthew 6:19-24

I want to talk to you today about what it means to be a good steward of the wealth that God has given us.

Your HEART will reveal where your treasure is located. (19-21)

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, (19a)

EP - Central command from Jesus.

Store means to “gather” or “reserve”.

Treasures means “wealth” or “property” “Material Possessions”.

So, Jesus is specifically speaking about the material things on earth…

where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. (19b)

Jesus describes what these earthly treasures are.. temporary!

Moth - was universally known as a destructive force… Cloth

Rust - decay… Precious metals…

Thieves break in - mud-brick walls where people would literally dig-in (its going to be someone else's one day…

IL - One day someone else will drive the car that you own… one day someone else will live in the house that you own… one day someone else will have the job that you have… The material things that you have today cannot be taken with you when you leave this world… there are no handbags on a hearse.

There is a foolish treasure that will last maybe a lifetime…

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. (20)

Jesus is ok with Christians being treasure hunters!

Col 3:23-24 Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.

Heb 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

1 Corinthians 3:12–15 “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

2 John 8 “Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.”

Mark 9:41 “For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.”

Revelation 22:12 Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work.

The treasure that God wants you to invest in is the kind of treasure that cannot fade, cannot rust or decay, cannot be stolen… it is eternal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (21)

The heart stands for the person’s seat of emotions as well as their intellect. Do you want to know where your heart is? Follow what you treasure.

Jesus had such a way of exposing what the human heart really desired.

Mark 10:17–22 “And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”

Its not that Jesus doesn’t want us to have material things, property, money, or other things of value… Its that Jesus doesn't want those things to have us. Jesus loves us and knows that if something other than Him has our hearts, then like the rich young ruler… sorrow will be our fortune.

“The issue here is bigger than whether or not you live luxuriously. Rather, the question is, do you trust in money more than you trust in God to provide? Or put differently, is money the middle man or the main man?”- Douglas O’Donnell

“Whatever treasures we store up here on earth will remain on earth when we leave. Whatever treasures we store up in heaven will be waiting for us when we arrive.

Your VISION will reveal where your path is going. (22-23)

The eye is the lamp of the body. 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. so if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness.

The eye enables the body to find its way. Jesus is using an illustration to say the heart that trusts in God will lead the whole person down the path of righteousness, they will be heavenly minded… The person who trusts in the things of the world will live a life in darkness, like a blind man, there is no light to show the way..

“it seems that Jesus was saying that a proper view of possessions is basic to Kingdom values. An evil and covetous eye will hoard earthly possessions only to see them decay. A good and generous eye will store up treasures in heaven that will never decay.”

Notice how Jesus says that one of the smallest organs can have such an impact on a persons whole body!

James 3:1–5 “1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!”

James 3:6–10 “6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”

What you fix your gaze on… or what you are fixated on will guide your whole body in that direction.

Money, possessions are not evil in themselves nor are they wrong to have… Several of Jesus’ early followers were very wealthy…

The struggle that we face is keeping those things in their proper place

You will only live for a higher purpose when you look up and see a higher purpose. Jesus paid for you to have a higher purpose!

Your God requires whole-hearted single-focused DEVOTION. (24)

Matthew 6:24 “24 “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.”

Serve is literally “be a slave of”

Money - Greek word - Mammon- means possessions

Idolatry

Where is your heart? Where is your gaze? Who do you serve?

Our hearts are idol factories….

We can take good gifts from God that are meant to be enjoyed and honoring to the Lord and make them the god of our life.

The seat to the throne in our hearts is constantly at competition with Jesus and the world

What sits on the throne of throne of our hearts will be evident in our treasures, in our gaze, and in our actions.

Idol of comfort sits on your heart then you will do anything to avoid discomfort and and put parameters around your heart to keep it enthroned.

Idol of relationships. Relationships are good and given to us by God… but they make crummy gods. Your spouse cannot give you what your heart desperately needs, your kids, your friends…

Idol of dreams and aspirations. The thought of the life that we wish we had. The drive for success is not a bad things, but when it becomes a god things… it ruins everything,. this idol will lead you to forsake others to get your dreams, to sacrifice whatever so that you could get the life you always wanted… but you will never arrive, you will never be content… you will utter to yourself “If only i could get _______ then my life will be ______…

The idol that Jesus is directly speaking to is wealth.

1 Timothy 6:3–10 “3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

Money is not the issue that Paul or Jesus are addressing… Love is. Loyalty is on the mind.

The Love of Money is the root of all evil. The Love of money is not an overspending problem, it is a contentment problem, an identity problem, and fundamentally a worship problem.

The love of money replaces love of God in your heart and places you at the center of the world. The love of self.

“There is only one rule for the truly self-oriented human being: “I will have what I will have””. When you are the center, you will be the ultimate consumer. You will have ravenous, insatiable hunger. You will always be on the lookout for the next pleasure. You will be constantly moaning, “If only I had _______.” The fact that you don’t have everything you want will be the biggest grief of your life. when you love you, you’ll love money because it makes you feel better about you. when you love you, you’ll love money because it alters how others look at you. When you love you, you’ll love money because it can help you depend only on you. When you love you, you’ll love money because it keeps you from having to say no to you” - Paul David Tripp.

Where is your heart, where is your vision, Who do you love?

Confederate Money - Randy Alcorn

Imagine that you’re alive at the end of the Civil War. You’re living in the south, but your a northerner. you plan to move home as soon as the war’s over… you hva eso much confederate money…. you know the North is going to win… what do you do with your confederate money???? If your’e smart, there is only one answer…. cash it all in for U.S. Currency and keep only enough to get you back home…

The Christian who accumulates land and houses and bank accounts but doesn’t invest inn eternity isn't depicted by Jesus in his sermon as unrighteous, greedy, or selfish- though he may be those. Rather, he is depicted as shortsighted. Blind. and Foolish. Foolish on the grandest scale, like the Rich young ruler…

Invitation.

If you want to be a good steward of earthly treasure then keep earthly treasure out of your heart. Keep your vision on Jesus. And Love God with a whole-hearted, single-minded devotion.