When Treasures Become Thorns
Deep Discipleship • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro: I’m guessing even if are not a huge NFL fan, many of you still know that the LA Rams defeated the Cicni Bengals a few weeks ago in the Super Bow; If you are a big follower of the NFL, or a LA Rams fan, then you might even know the score 23-20.
You probably also remember that score if you are an avid sports gambler.
It was estimated that sports gamblers would spend 8 billion dollars betting on that one game. One man from Texas nicknamed “Mattress Mack” placed a 9.5 million wager on the Bengals.
That sounds nuts. And it is.
But it also is a reflection of the human heart. There is an incessant desire to get rich.
To stockpile up a lot treasure on this earth
But Jesus’s teaching runs counter to that:
In Mt 6:19-24 we get the teaching of Jesus:
A problem
A parable
A proverb
Jesus exposes that the desire to get rich, and amass wealth for ourselves is incompatible with inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven
As we look at these few verses, we can hear Jesus:
Don’t value earthly possessions to the extent that you build your life actively seeking them, instead seek a lasting and unfailing treasure.
A PROBLEM (V19-21)
A PROBLEM (V19-21)
Our text begins with Jesus giving a command. Commands are necessary when there is trouble, when there’s a problem.
The problem is with early treasures, and the potential to hoard.
Now there can multiple reasons people can be “treasure hoarders”
—For sheer self-indulgence
—For some type of status (He who dies with the most toys wins)
—For security; it adds to my net worth….no need to worry about the future
**All 3 reasons will turn our hearts to love this world more.
**Remember: Jesus wants to wean our hearts from this world more and more.
It’s like our taste buds. Over time our taste changes. When I lived here from 2003-06, I loved CiCi’s. It was $3-4 for all you can eat buffet….great for a young college student on a budget. So when we moved back into the Midlands in 2018, in the first week I said: Hey kids, let’s go to the amazing pizza place called CiCi’s.
Well the buffet was not longer under $4, and quite frankly I thought it was disgusting.
Over a decade, my taste buds had changed.
The work that Jesus desires to do by his Spirit is like that…create a new taste and appetite for something better.....
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
And it really hard to live that out if our minds are bogged down with all the “stuff”
So the problem is not possession/wealth….
We need to keep in mind that biblical wisdom teaches us that it’s wise to save for the future (Prov 6:6-8); and necessary to provide for our family (1 Tim 5:8).
The problem is twofold:
—All my earthly possessions are vulnerable (v19)
—And my heart is vulnerable to be drawn away (v21)
The solution: Store up treasure in heaven (v20)
Which can be seen as:
“compassionate use of material resources to meet others’ physical and spiritual needs”
Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 123.
Apply: To find out the treasure in our heart will take prayer, self-examination, honest evaluation:
Honest evaluation: if we are taking inventory of our stuff, and we ask: Can I legitimately use this item to bless others and further the Lord’s work in some way?
If the vast majority of the time the answer is no, then we need to consider a reinvestment strategy (giving to the church, missions, poor)
A PARABLE (v22-23)
A PARABLE (v22-23)
Now Jesus is not here talking about people with poor physical eyesight.; he is using the eye as a figure of speech, an illustration, or parable
The eye is used here as a metaphor of a person’s character—
Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,
for he shares his bread with the poor.
So the small parable tells us that a generous person has a good heart;
On the flip side, a stingy person is essentially blind—
A stingy person is ruled by greed...
Greed, it so serious that it keeps people out of the kingdom....
(not acceptable, respectable sin!)
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Our family went to Winter Jam music festival on Fri.
(Concert with Christian music artists—target aud
I’ve gone to similar events for decades now, and it’s pretty predictable that someone will give their testimony of how they used to be heavy into drugs, or a drug dealer and they Jesus saved them and transformed. Sure enough....the main speaker who shared the gospel, that was his testimony.
Later I told Emily, I’m still waiting for the speaker who will stand up someday and say....I was raised in a Christian family, and overall did not have a major streak of rebellion and was a pretty good kid....but sill my sin is so bad and I’m so desperately depraved that I know how much I need Jesus
Or,
I was not into drugs, but the most pronounced sin was greed.... I bought, I hoarded, I consumed.....I was not happy unless I had something new.
I loved my stuff; it ruled me, owned me....and kept me from the Kingdom
**What Jesus redeemed me from was greed
It may be that’s what thousands of middle and uppler middle class youth really need.
The parable shows us that a gospel transformed heart is a generous heart....
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Apply: The parable is a parable of the gospel. How do we know if the gospel has taken root? Are you generous? Do you have a generous eye? Do look for ways to help—helper or hoarder?
The cheerfulness of giving is fruit of the gospel at work.
A PROVERB (v24)
A PROVERB (v24)
Notice how Jesus has been teaching in pairs:
—Two places to store up treasure
—Two types of vision
—Concluding: two masters
This brings be back to school—college and grad school especially. It may sound like conspiracy, but I think my professors huddled together—went to lunch, and said: There is this student with the latest name Perz—let’s try and schedule all of our final exams and have all our papers do on the same day just to stress him out.
** IF we work for multiple bosses, there is going to be a conflict at some point.
Yet that illustration is still a bit too tame—b/c many get by school, or work for multiple bosses;
What does not work is idolatry.
No one can serve the Lord, and have another substitute god
“You shall have no other gods before me.
Slavery is a strong way to illustrate: IN the Greco-Roman world of slavery, it means complete ownership & full-time service….it’s whole-hearted devotion
If we love wealth, treasures, possessions, it rules us, and becomes our god.
Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.
Apply: How do I know what master I’m serving?
—Do finances stress you out, not just in a minor way, but major way? Lose sleep? Incessantly check your bank account? Or maybe you are very irresponsible with money…you max our your debt on consumer spending; no budget, no savings. It’s still slavery. Both rich and poor can be slaves to mammon.
Do you give generously and cheerfully to the church, and to the poor?
Are you a slave to upgrade culture? Do you get more worried and emotional about the stuff that you own, than God?
At the end of the day, do you feel uncomfortable with the teaching of Jesus on wealth?
Conclusion
Jesus later warns in the Parable of the Sower of how our possessions can really choke out our discipleship
Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
Our treasures can easily become thorns—and before we know it, our discipleship is absolutely gone, completely chocked out..
A lot of you appreciate and benefited from John Piper’s ministry. You may have read his books, or listened sermons over the years..
God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in him.
What is lesser know about Piper is that he made a decision deceases ago that he would receive zero royalties from his books sales. If you ever bought a Piper book, he did not receive a penny from you. And he has written over 50 books, so undoubtedly he could be a millionaire on books sales.
The reason: he knew how wealth could become his god. He knew how a treasure could become his thorn.
He says explicitly in an interview: “It’s dangerous to be rich” —then quotes Jesus: How hard it is for a Rich Man to enter the Kingdom; It’s more blessed to give than to receive.
--What a contrast with Mattress Mack who blew 9.5 millions dollars on a Cincinnati Bengals loss!
--What a contrast to even my own heart!
I love the practically of Piper: He had a plan to protect himself from the danger of wealth. Do you?
That’s the starting point:
See the danger, have a plan.
May the Lord direct our hearts to be a people who live out gospel generosity.