Treasure Island

Intro

Raise your hand if you need a Bible. I want to challenge you, as much as you can, bring a Pen, Bible, and Journal (PB&J). I want you to write stuff down. If you don’t own a Bible, let me know and I can get you one. If you don’t have one with you today, raise your hand and a leader will hand you one.

We are in a new semester. Last semester, we went through the sermon on the mount. But we didn’t finish it yet. So we are going back into the sermon on the mount.

Just as a quick refresher, there were to themes throughout the sermon on the mount that Jesus focused on.

The first was this idea of “Upside down thinking”. How we naturally are prone to think one way, but Jesus comes with this radical upside down thinking that we don’t naturally lean towards.

The second was how everyone around us cares about our actions, but Jesus cares about the heart. He often would raise the bar by looking at our motives behind actions, even quote unquote “good” actions.

So, let’s jump into it. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew, chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6 verse 19.

As you are turning there, I want to remind you of a mini theme that Jesus has been talking about for the past several sections. Jesus keeps talking about getting a reward here on earth. About how if we do this to be recognized by others and not God, that is our reward. But if we do things for God, we will have an eternal reward. He brings this idea of earthly and heavenly rewards to a head in verse nineteen.

Matthew 6:19–24 ““Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, 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. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “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.”

There are two main points I want you to get from this passage.

1. Where your treasure is, where you invest you money, time, and resources, it will affect your heart.

If we read verses 19 and 20 again, it says “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

Growing up, I remember hearing this and someone compared it to eating candy verses eating a steak. As a kid, I was thinking “But I don’t like steak. And I love candy.” So that illustration landed a little flat. But then, something happened that would bring this illustration to life.

I had a friend who lived in the middle of no where, and his parents had a building not connected to the house. So we took it over and had a sleep over. And we got a bunch of snacks and candy and soda. It was so much fun. We were up all night playing video games, playing pool, ping pong, mafia, it was so much fun… Until it wasn’t.

See, they had dinner before I got there. I hadn’t eaten yet, and there was only the snacks. So I ate all the junk food. Then I had to leave for my friends high school graduation.

Let me tell you, between the lack of sleep, the lack of real food, and the high concentration of ale8s, Doritos, and zebra cakes, I wasn’t feeling so hot. By the time the hour and a half to two hour graduation ceremony was over, sitting in bleachers for that long, I felt like someone put me in a dry and set it on a heavy load. Boy was I in a rough state.

Is Jesus saying that you cannot have anything here on earth? No. It’s fine to have things here on earth, just like it’s fine to have a soda and candy.

But Jesus is saying that it can’t be your treasure. It can’t be the thing you hold on to, the thing that sustains you.

If you do, it will fail you. It can be stolen, it can fade away. Even if it doesn’t, it will not satisfy you.

And it’s not just your money and possessions, it’s your time, your resources. If you invest in things here on earth, it will fail you and fade away.

Instead, you need to invest in eternal things. Your relationship with God. Building up His kingdom. Sharing the gospel. Those are the things that will last. Those are the things that will satisfy you. Sustain you.

The key word is treasure. What is your treasure? Video games? Friends? People’s opinion? Money? What do you value most?

You see, where you invest your time, resources, and money into, that affects your heart. Verse twenty one says “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

If I saw where you money went, what you spent your time doing, where your other resources are spent, what would I say was #1 in your life?

That leads into the second thing I want you to get from this passage.

2. What you choose to focus on, what you choose to look at, will affect your heart.

Jesus is talking about treasure, but then it seems like he changes topics by talking about the eye. Look at it in verse twenty two.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, 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.”

It’s like, sweet Jesus, you can are visual care and proper lighting.

Whom do you serve?

Where are you investing?

If we were to follow your time, money, and resources, what would we say you value most?

If we were to see through your eye, the average week, what would we say you value most?

There is only one #1 spot. Super Bowls don’t end in ties. There can only be one.

You might be saying, “But I just don’t have a desire for God.”

If you want that to change, tithe. Where your money goes, your heart will go. You start caring more about things you give money to, things you invest in.

Put your time in. Spend time with God in His word, in prayer. Spend time with his people. Spend time looking for kingdom opportunities.

Invest your resources. You may not have money, but you do have possessions. Are they yours? Or are they God’s that he has give you to be a steward of?

What are you looking at. It doesn’t even have to be anything bad, but do you mindlessly scroll tiktok or youtube? All your free time is dedicated to video games? Or are you looking for kingdom opportunities?

Something will be #1 in your life. What do you want it to be?

Faith is not #1 in my life. My kids aren’t #1 in my life. My job isn’t. Friends aren’t. Reputation isn’t. God is.

What is #1 in your life?

No one can serve two masters, for ether 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.

What does it mean to serve money?