Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:19-24)

Matthew 6:19–24 KJV 1900

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Introduction

There are three different statements that we are going to look at this morning from Jesus’ sermon.

Each of these could stand alone, but they all promote the same general lesson, so we are going to try to present them all together.

Jesus is building off of what He has just finished teaching His listeners.

He has been hammering a specific point home.

When it comes to religious activity, we must have the right motivation.

Do we do what we do in our religious exercises for the praise and reward of men?

Or, do we do it for the rewards that only God can give?

Having the right investment strategy for life is of utmost importance.

It not only applies to our religious expressions.

It applies to the entirety of our lives.

Location of our life storage

Jesus’ disciples will all have to make a decision regarding where they will invest their limited resources in laying up treasures.

Though we don’t all get the same number of years, we all get the amount of time within the years of our life.

Every day you get 24 hours

Every week you get 7 days.

This is the same for everyone.

We all have to decide how we will spend these moments that we are given.

A 2017 study found the following statistics to be true about how we spend the average lifespan of 79 years.

33 years in bed

13 years at work

11 years looking at a screen

4.5 years eating

3 years on vacation

1 year exercising

1 year romance

1 year socialising

-1 year in school

This leaves about 8 years for all of the other activities of life.

These are pretty sobering numbers.

It gives weight to the oft-repeated quote...

Only one life it will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.

Men have always struggled with the idea of leaving a legacy.

We want to invest our lives in something that will outlive us.

Too often, though, we don’t think far enough in the future.

We think if we leave something for the next generation, then we’ve done our job.

Jesus tells His disciples not to think about leaving a legacy that will last for 20-50 years after we are gone.

Jesus tells His disciples to invest in something that will last forever.

Anything that we can produce on earth will be subject to the effects of the curse.

Rust, rot, atrophy, corruption, and theft will eat away at our life’s work.

All of the things that we were so passionate about, that this world offers, will not last.

We should want to find a better investment.

If you had a choice between investing in something permanent or temporary, which would you choose?

Which would you choose if you were sick and I offered you a choice between medicines

One would make you better for 1 year.

The other would make you better for ever.

What about if I offered you the choice between a car that would run well for 3 months vs one that would run well forever?

It should be a no-brainer for people with limited time to invest.

We should be most interested in laying up treasures that will last than we are in laying up treasures that fade.

Unfortunately, this is often not the case.

It’s too easy to be focused on the temporary treasures that the world offers.

We need to adjust our Life focus

In this next section, we see Jesus further emphasizing the importance of focusing our lives on the right priorities.

The illustration sounds weird.

It’s really not complicated.

If I could explain verse 22-23 it would be like this.

The eye is a picture of our life’s focus.

Whatever we focus on will dictate who we are.

If our eye is working the way it should, the we will be focused on a singular mission,

This will settle and organize all of life’s responsibilities.

We will be able to live a purposeful life.

We can clearly see what we were meant to invest our lives in.

If our eye is evil or fragmented, like a person who has an astigmatism, then we find it difficult to focus on any one thing.

This leads to a constant upheaval in a person’s priorities.

They are unstable and constantly over-promising and under-performing in whatever shiny object has caught their eye for the moment.

Rather than purpose, their life is full of distractions, whims, and “phases.”

Now, just having a focused purpose, is not enough.

What happens when someone has a focused eye, but rather than letting in light, they are focused on letting in darkness?

Jesus says “how great is that darkness!”

This is a dangerous position to be in.

We have many examples to look at of people who were singularly focused, but they were not focused on their God-given purpose.

Politicians

Businessmen

Celebrities

Athletes

These people, with great focus, throw themselves into their mission.

And yet, not a day goes by where you can’t go online and read about some super successful person whose life is unfulfilling.

The treasures of the world are fleeting.

They can only satisfy us for so long before we realize how vapid they really are.

We all have a limited amount of focusing ability in our lives.

The difference between what God offers us and what the world offers us is as dramatic as the difference between light and darkness.

Some people are focused on God’s purpose for their lives.

Some people are focused only what the world can offer.

Some people, most people, are torn between what God offers and what the world offers.

It is to these people that Jesus addresses His next statement.

Not only do we have limited time and focus, but we also have limited loyalty.

Limitations on service

As a general rule, no man can serve two masters.

This applies to everything.

Have you ever worked in a situation where there was not a clear chain of command?

You have different people jockeying for authority.

One person tells you one thing.

Another person tells you something else.

This never works well.

We all must live under authority.

Sometimes we don’t get to pick our authority.

Sometimes it is absolutely our choice who we submit to.

When given the chance, we need to submit to the better authority.

In this case, specifically, Jesus tells His disciples that they cannot serve God and mammon.

There is a big part of me that wants to look at this portion by itself, in it’s own message.

For the sake of time and completing the thought of the passage, I will try to be succinct.

God vs Mammon is an interesting contrast.

God is obviously a personality.

He has thought, emotions, and actions.

He is a conscious being that enters into relationships with other personalities.

Mammon has none of these things.

Mammon is an Aramaic word that means wealth or money.

Money is not a personality, and yet Jesus refers to it as a rival lord to God.

Mammon is a rival to God because it pretends to be capable of offering all of the things that God offers.

Purpose, satisfaction, fulfilment, and joy.

If you have wealth, you can have these things.

And, here’s the kicker, if you have the money you can have all of these things without the sacrifice that a relationship with God would require.

I mean, just think about all of the fun things that God tells you you can’t have.

He sure seems like the biggest fun-sucker that ever existed.

Mammon, though, is all about giving you what you want.

So many people are out there looking for ways to acquire the most mammon with the least amount of effort.

Satisfaction without sacrifice is at the foundation of what mammon offers.

Very few are able to truly acquire mammon without sacrifice.

Instead, millions and millions of people quickly find that the cost of wealth requires significant levels of sacrifice.

Money is cold and lifeless, but it exacts a demanding cost from those that seek it.

Isn’t it amazing that, in order to acquire mammon, so many are required to forego the exact sources of fulfillment that God designed for us to enjoy.

Family

Rest

Church

You simply do not have the capacity to give 100% of your loyalty to everyone.

Every time you say yes to something, you are saying no to something else.

You can not deceive yourself into thinking that by saying yes to mammon you are also saying yes to your other responsibilities.

Your family cares more about you than your money.

God cares more about you than your money.

What good is all your money if you lose your health in pursuing it?

Here is something interesting to consider.

Mammon is only an imitator.

It is promoted as the source of fulfillment in life.

Instead, if it becomes lord, it will take from us the things that really matter.

The more devoted you are to mammon, the less you will have.

With God, the opposite is true.

God genuinely is the source of lasting fulfillment in life.

If we will allow Him to be Lord of our life, we will find that He grants us the things that really matter.

The more devoted you are to God, the more you will have.

We have limited time, focus, and loyalties in this life, Jesus wants His disciples to invest their lives well.

Invest in things that will last.

Invest in things that will bring light.

Invest in things that will fulfill.

Application

As disciples of Jesus, the focus of our life, the investments that we make, should probably look different than people who are not seeking to follow Jesus.

I do not want to belittle or demonize the things that you enjoy about life.

There is nothing wrong with finding enjoyment in the things of this life.

If you like hunting, fishing, cars, gaming, or working, that’s great.

Just make sure you keep these things in their proper place.

Even money, when it isn’t our Lord, can be pretty helpful.

These are not the things that give our life purpose of fulfilment.

These are the limited offerings of the world.

They will only ever mimic the real enjoyment and satisfaction that Jesus offers us.

Jesus is telling His disciples to focus their lives on investments that will last and fulfill better than what the world can offer.

In short, that is the gospel.

Invest your life in the gospel of Jesus.

Whether you are a parent, white collar, blue collar, first responder, minister, retired, it doesn’t matter.

Make your life about more than temporary thrills and things.

Invest your life in introducing others to the gospel.

Invest your life in applying the gospel fully to yourself.

You will find riches you never imagined.

All that Jesus is telling us to do, is something that He has already demonstrated for us.

2 Corinthians 8:9 “9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”

He already paved the way for us.

He already set the example.

He will hold our hands and lead us through this journey if we will let Him.

That’s what it means to be a disciple.

You follow your master down the path that He is an expert in.

You don’t have to figure it out for yourself.

You just need to trust your master.