Are We All "All-In"?

Mrs. Bertha Adams was seventy-one years old when she died alone in West Palm Beach, Florida on Easter Sunday 1976.

The coroner’s report read, “Cause of Death … malnutrition.”

After wasting away to fifty pounds she could no longer stay alive.

When the state authorities made their preliminary investigation of her home, they found a veritable “pigpen … the biggest mess you can imagine.”

One seasoned inspector declared he had never seen a dwelling in greater disarray.

Bertha had begged food at her neighbors’ doors and had gotten what clothes she had from the Salvation Army.

From all appearances she was a penniless recluse—a pitiful and forgotten widow.

However, amid the jumble of her filthy, disheveled belongings were found two keys to safe-deposit boxes at two different local banks.

The discovery was unbelievable.

The first box contained over 700 AT&T stock certificates, plus hundreds of other valuable notes, bonds, and solid financial securities, not to mention cash amounting to $200,000.

The second box had no certificates, just cash—$600,000 to be exact.

Bertha Adams was a millionaire and then some! Yet she died of starvation.

Her life is an extreme parable of the lethal dangers of materialism, which promises so much but cannot give us what we need most.

Our consumer society is constantly telling us that life at its best consists of having more and more possessions and pleasures.

As Christians, we know this is patently false, yet many struggle to maintain the balance of what the Bible teaches and what society claims.

When we lose that balance, the results are devastating.

That is a simple but profound truth that ought to help us put things in perspective concerning our priorities.

The Scripture is very clear regarding where our focus should be fixed...

Colossians 3:1–2 NASB95

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

In Matthew 6:19–24 Jesus presents us with a series of choices to help us set our minds on things above...

He helps us identify our priorities by calling them “what we treasure”,

Main Idea: Kingdom Citizens Prioritize God’s Kingdom Over Their Own.

Explain wording of main point in its relation to the Sermon on the Mount

Jesus gives us three sets of two choices that shape our lives and reveal our priorities.

If we pause long enough to think about the choices Jesus presents, one choice reflects God’s Kingdom...the other our own.

Kingdom Citizens Prioritize Heavenly Treasures Over Earthly Treasures (19-21).

The first set of choices we must make is our treasure...Jesus simplifies our decision making process.

Earthly Treasures Are Temporary (19).

Matthew 6:19 ““Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”

Jesus was speaking in terms that were highly relevant to his hearers.

He was speaking of the ultimate futility of supposing that we can somehow amass wealth and keep it safe and referred to three things—our clothing, our food supply, and our valuables.

Garments were considered a part of one’s wealth in the Middle East.

Jesus reminded his hearers that all garments will succumb to the moth, no matter how fine they are.

The word “rust” is an approximate translation of a word that means “eating” and refers better to the spoiling action of worms upon food storage.

Jesus is reminding his listeners that regardless of how vast their grain supplies, those supplies will ultimately succumb to the rats, mice, worms, and vermin.

Finally, one’s gold and silver were never safe in the ancient world.

There were no such things as banks or savings and loans.

Valuables were generally stored or buried in one’s house.

But the problem was that thieves regularly dug through the soft clay walls of homes and departed with the family wealth.

From Jesus’ point of view, the accumulation of wealth was a very precarious pursuit due to natural laws of deterioration and the fact that we live in a fallen world.

Do not store is the verb here and it is a present imperative, a word of command calling for constant vigilance.

We have to constantly be on our guard about the motivations behind our desire to amass wealth and possessions.

Was Jesus condemning all wealth?

No.

The Scriptures nowhere contain a prohibition of private property.

Nor is saving for rainy days forbidden.

In fact, it is encouraged, as in the parable of the ant in Proverbs 6:6–8.

We are to provide for our own (1 Timothy 5:8).

Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 4:3, 4 that we are not to despise the good things of life, but rather are to enjoy food and the comforts of life.

What Jesus is prohibiting is the selfish accumulation of goods.

Jesus says in Luke 12:15 “Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.””

Certainly this is a warning to those who are rich, but this teaching is not for the wealthy only.

Our text does not say, “Do not lay up for yourselves money on earth.”

Jesus says, “treasures,” and the Greek word used here is an inclusive term.

It does refer to money, but it is not confined to money.

What Jesus has in mind are people who get their entire satisfaction from things that belong to this world only.

He warns us against focusing our ambitions, interests, and hopes on the things of this life.

Even if you have not set your mind on the accumulation of great wealth, something else—for example, a home—could be a sinful treasure.

There is also the treasure of family.

Some people put family before everything.

When we give such primacy to our family, there is no time for our neighbors and our community.

If anything in this world is everything to you, it is an earthly treasure.

The reason Jesus gives for prohibiting the storing of such treasure is that it will be destroyed.

You cannot take it with you. It is temporal, not eternal.

An old miser called his doctor, lawyer, and minister to his deathbed. “They say you can’t take it with you,” the dying man said. “But I’m going to try. I have three envelopes with $30,000 cash in each one. I want each of you to take an envelope, and as they lower my casket, throw in the envelopes!” Each man tossed in his envelope as requested. But on the way home the minister confessed, “I needed the money for the church, so I took out $10,000 and threw only $20,000 into the grave.” The doctor said, “I, too, must confess. I’m building a clinic. So I took $20,000 and threw in only $10,000.” The lawyer said, “Gentlemen, I’m ashamed of you. I threw in a personal check for the full amount.”

The old miser’s material fixation produced a futile scheme to take his wealth with him, but the scheme did not even survive his burial because of the materialism of his three friends.

None of us will take anything with us!

None of our earthly treasures go with us.

We would be wise to remember that Jesus’ words of prohibition are a command, not an option.

Heavenly Treasures Are Eternal (20)

Matthew 6:20 ““But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;”

It is important that we not misunderstand what Jesus is saying here.

He does not mean that one can earn his own salvation...justification by faith alone.

What Jesus is saying is that what we store up should have heavenly qualities because those are the only things that have eternal value.

How do we know what has heavenly value?

Read the Scripture...and see what God values...

Nothing will destroy it—not moth or rust or thieves.

The question we should ask ourselves about our present pursuits is, how important will they be 100 million trillion years from now?

When we’re living in the Millennial Kingdom, how important will our house be? How important will our promotion be? How important will our fame be? Are we making the right investments now in our lives?

What’s the balance?...1 Timothy 6:17–19 gives insight into that balance...

1 Timothy 6:17–19 NASB95

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

Our Treasures Reveal Our Heart (21)

Matthew 6:21 “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

We need to understand the term “heart”...

The Bible uses it for the whole inner man, the core of our total being, the wellspring of all we do.

This means that Christ is telling us that where our treasure is, our whole being is there also...

Not only will our affections focus on our treasure, our minds, our wills are all entwined with it.

What that means is, that whatever happens to our treasure happens to us.

It is natural and right for our jobs, our education, or our home to occupy a large place in our thoughts, but Jesus warns against a total earthbound absorption with them.

Realizing that where our treasure is, there is our heart also, we would do well to ask ourselves:

What occupies our thoughts when we have nothing else to do?

What occupies our daydreams? Is it our investments, our position?

If so, those are the things we treasure, and that is where our hearts really are.

Similarly, what is it that we fret about most?

Is it our home or perhaps our clothing?

If so, then we know where our treasure lies.

Apart from our loved ones, what or whom do we most dread losing?

What are the things that we measure others by?

This question reveals much about us because we measure other people by that which we treasure.

Do we measure others by their clothing? By their education? By their homes? By their athletic prowess?

Do we measure others by their success in the business world?

If so, we know where our treasure lies.

What is it that we know we cannot be happy without?

Jesus’ words provide us with a profound truth that cannot be ignored...our treasures and our heart cannot be separated!

That which occupies our heart is what we pursue...we prioritize our lives around getting it and maintaining it...whatever “it” may be.

Jesus wants the “it” of our treasure to be God and His Kingdom...to have our whole being completely invested in the kingdom work...

Our view of our possessions ought to be that what we have has simply been entrusted to us to manage for God’s glory...we are stewards.

Our money, our intellects, our education, our homes, our position, our personalities, our families, are to be used in the service of God.

We are not to hold tightly to what he have in this world.

Whatever possessions and privileges we possess are not to be our focus.

They do not govern our lives...we govern them.

Kingdom Citizens Prioritize Generosity Over Stinginess (22-23).

The modern church today is plagued with preachers and teachers who teach a prosperity gospel entrenched in materialism and all believers would be wise to hear the message Jesus speaks.

Jesus expands his point here with the use of two metaphors...vision and the slave master.

Verses 22-23 speak of two kinds of vision...one clear, the other dark.

Verse 24 speaks of the possibility of two masters...God and money.

Those with clear vision strive to be generous (22).

Matthew 6:22 ““The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.”

The eye is pictured as the window through which light comes into the body.

If a window is clean and the glass is clear, the light that comes in will properly light every part of the room.

If the window is dirty, or if the glass is uneven or tinted or discolored, the light will be hindered, and the room will not receive the full benefit of the light.

The amount and quality of the light that comes into a room depends on the condition of the window through which it comes.

So it is with the eye.

The condition of the eye determines the quality of the light that enters the body.

Jesus is saying that the light that comes into a man’s soul depends on the spiritual condition of the eye (heart) though which it has to pass because the eye is the window of the body.

But there is a more specific and deeper meaning to the two words “clear” (NASB) and “bad.”

Clear can mean single...single-minded...

Clear can also mean mean “generous,”

The Greek word translated “clear” was often used to mean generous in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (for example, Proverbs 11:25: “A generous man will prosper”).

The word carries the same meaning in the New Testament.

For example, in James 1:5 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

Same Greek word...translated generously in James 1:5 and clear in Matt 6:22.

The same idea is seen in Romans 12:8, 2 Corinthians 8:2, 9:11, 13...translated as “liberality”

Jesus is talking about us having a single minded vision for the kingdom that focuses on being generous with all our treasures.

Remember… “treasures” does not just include our money...time...talents...etc. are included...

The implications are far reaching...

Those with clouded vision are stingy (23).

Matthew 6:23 ““But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

In contrast then, the phrase “bad” eye or “diseased” (NET), “evil”(KJV) refers to an ungenerous spirit.

Proverbs 28:22 “A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth And does not know that want will come upon him.”

Proverbs 23:6 “Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies;” (literally, “a man who has an evil eye”).

Consider also Deuteronomy 15:9 ““Beware that there is no base thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the Lord against you, and it will be a sin in you.” (literal translation: “Beware that you do not harbor an unlawful thought in your heart … and your eye become evil [ungenerous] toward your brother who is in need”

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good [generous], your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad [ungenerous], your whole body will be full of darkness.”

I think that is fitting within the context, because this text is framed on both sides with warnings against selfish materialism.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.”

“No one can serve two masters.… You cannot serve both God and Money.”

The believer who has a generous spirit, has a clear vision for the kingdom...the believer with a clouded vision has difficulty letting go of the “treasures” for use in the Kingdom.

Kingdom Citizens Prioritize God Over Money (24)

Matthew 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

Jesus begins to explain that even before we decide where we lay up our treasures and which of the two visions we set our eyes upon is an even more critical choice of who is our master...

Money is non-moral.

There is no inherent evil in it and no inherent good.

Where the problem lies is what we do with it.

We can use it to invest in earthly possessions or can we use it to invest in heavenly riches...

How much or how little we have does not matter.

A store clerk making minimum wage may be miserly and covetous,

while a wealthy stockbroker making six figures may be generous.

Notice what Jesus says...

Love and hate are common Jewish idioms...comparative terms...EXPLAIN

Jesus’ meaning is clear—you will always prefer one master over the other. (Cf. Luke 14:26 where the same language is used concerning one’s family and Christ.)

In the case of the opposing masters of God and wealth (Mammon), we will always prefer one over the other.

Both these masters make total demands on us.

Worldly things demand our entire devotion, but so does God.

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

God wants our heart...all of who we are!

Yet, how easily we fall to compromise...we want to walk the fence.

When we do this, we become like the Assyrians: 2 Kings 17:41

2 Kings 17:41 NASB95

So while these nations feared the Lord, they also served their idols; their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so they do to this day.

We are sometimes like that.

In the final analysis there is nothing so insulting to God as to say we are serving him but then to show by our lives that we are serving some other master.

All other masters are idols!

What is the first commandment...no other gods before Me!

Lesson For Life: We All Need to Be All-In!

Jesus' message is clear...our choices reveal our heart which reveals our Master...

there is no room in the kingdom for us to serve two masters…

Let’s not be like the Assyrians who “feared God while also serving our idols.”

In light of what Jesus says here about the connection between our treasures and our heart...

(GRACIOUSLY TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET)

The heart of the church is often reflected by how they use the earthly treasures to invest in God’s kingdom...

Ministry should drive the budget, instead of the budget driving the ministry.

The Elders understand the importance of maintaining strong and ethical financial practices and wise planning

and at the same time we are in constant prayer and evaluation of how God wants us to invest in His Kingdom.

(please pray for us)...we want to have a clear vision for building God’s kingdom...

The present challenge we face is how to keep ministry driving the budget, instead of the budget driving the ministry...

How does God want us to be continually investing in building lives to know and live for Jesus Christ?

Sometimes we need to invest treasures of money to update our campus to be more effective and useful to minister to others...(use prep kitchen as an example...)

Sometimes we need to invest treasures of money and time into events that minister to others and bring the gospel to them, creating opportunities for all of us to reach out in various ways..

Without the generosity of God’s people, whose heart is set on building His kingdom, ministry efforts become difficult and sometimes even disbanded or discontinued or not even started...being generous with our time, our talents, and our treasures...

We cannot outgive God...in treasures, in time, in efforts, in any way...

So we ask that each of us prayerfully consider how we can cultivate a heart that desires to be invested in and consistently stay invested in His work?

Let me also remind us that investing in God’s work not only takes financial investment, it takes time investments, talents investments...

God graciously provides us all with a measure of all those...time, talents and treasures...

Where is our heart?

Is the light within us still light, or has it become darkness?

And which master do we serve—God or Money?

What next steps do each of us need to take to communicate we are ALL IN?