SPEAKER_01: Thanks for checking out this podcast from Carterville Christian Church.
SPEAKER_01: We're so glad you're here.
SPEAKER_01: Our hope is that through these messages you'll grow deeper in your faith and experience the life-changing hope of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Now let's jump into this week's teaching.
SPEAKER_00: Well, good morning, C3.
SPEAKER_00: Going to be with you this morning.
SPEAKER_00: I need to get this out of the way.
SPEAKER_00: I'm wearing a boot this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and this is just a painful reminder of humility, the lesson of humility that I'm that I'm still trying to learn at whatever, 36 years old.
SPEAKER_00: Thought I was 18 years old, so I decided to play barefoot soccer with our students at Move.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then my foot collided with another person's foot.
SPEAKER_00: And that 18-year-old girl was totally fine.
SPEAKER_00: She hopped up and was fine.
SPEAKER_00: That added insult to injury.
SPEAKER_00: I was not fine, um, but hopefully won't be wearing this much longer.
SPEAKER_00: But also, it's a lesson of humility to listen to your wife when she tells you to go to the doctor.
SPEAKER_00: Um, after three weeks of hearing me complain, she just said, I made you an appointment.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna go get that looked at.
SPEAKER_00: So, anyways, uh, we're jumping in this new series uh called Jesus the Financial Planner.
SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna be doing this over the next several weeks here for the month of August.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be looking at what Jesus has to say about our money.
SPEAKER_00: And what would Jesus say, like if you pulled up and you were sitting across the table from him and you laid out your whole portfolio where you spend and where you save and what you're looking for in investments in the future, all that kind of stuff, what kind of advice would he give you?
SPEAKER_00: And the thing is, Jesus has a lot to say about money.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, like some scholars, depending on how you look at it, depending on how you what you what you translate, if he's really talking about money in a couple different areas, it's anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of what of all of Jesus' words in in the four gospels are talking about money and generosity.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, about 40%, roughly around 40% of his parables have to do with money or generosity.
SPEAKER_00: And actually, one one scholar said that it's actually, he did the math, and he said it's actually about one in every 10 verses in the entire New Testament talks about our money.
SPEAKER_00: And so the truth about this whole series is really kind of like if, hey, if Jesus is talking about this this much, then we should probably have a conversation about it.
SPEAKER_00: We should probably talk about this as a church.
SPEAKER_00: We should probably pay attention to it.
SPEAKER_00: And we've been, you you've already read, you already read from Matthew chapter six, that's where we're gonna be the rest of our time this morning.
SPEAKER_00: So if you got your Bibles, open up to Matthew chapter six, that's where we're gonna find ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be walking through that here in just a little bit.
SPEAKER_00: But I love how one author said it.
SPEAKER_00: As I was studying this week, he said this way he said, Everyone is religious because everyone has something of ultimate concern.
SPEAKER_00: Everyone has something of ultimate concern.
SPEAKER_00: Put another way, everyone has something that they treasure.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is fully aware of this in Matthew chapter six, as he teaches, as Sarah's already read, this is what 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.
SPEAKER_00: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
SPEAKER_00: Now, there's a lot of things to say, but I want to just point this out.
SPEAKER_00: Do you notice what Jesus doesn't do in this text?
SPEAKER_00: What Jesus doesn't do is he does not condemn laying up treasure.
SPEAKER_00: Do you realize that?
SPEAKER_00: Like he does not condemn storing up treasure for yourselves.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, he encourages it.
SPEAKER_00: But what he's doing is he's warning us not to store up the kind of treasure that's just gonna fade away, that's ultimately not gonna be with you, that's not gonna stay with you.
SPEAKER_00: And like make sure you're storing up things that actually that actually matter, investing in stuff that actually matters and why actually there'll be some kind of a return on your investment.
SPEAKER_00: This sounds like pretty straightforward advice you would get from a financial planner.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, why are you investing?
SPEAKER_00: That that is a terrible investment.
SPEAKER_00: You're throwing away your money.
SPEAKER_00: Why would you do that?
SPEAKER_00: Why would you continue following this path?
SPEAKER_00: This is, you're gonna run out of money really quick.
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna be retired for about a year, and then you're gonna run out of money.
SPEAKER_00: That's what's gonna happen if you if you continue this thing.
SPEAKER_00: Why would you invest in things that won't last at all?
SPEAKER_00: And yet, Jesus makes an interesting statement in verse 21.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you see it, and this is kind of where I want to hunker down here for this morning.
SPEAKER_00: He says, For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.
SPEAKER_00: And this is like this has been his MO in the Sermon on the Mount.
SPEAKER_00: This is the probably the most famous sermon that Jesus ever preaches is Matthew, is recorded right here in Matthew chapter 5, 6, and 7.
SPEAKER_00: And what's happening here is Jesus is saying, I've not come to abolish the law, but I've come to fulfill the law.
SPEAKER_00: And then he goes into this list of old laws and he says, Hey, you've heard that it was said to the people long ago, you shall not murder, and that's probably still still a good thing to do, right?
SPEAKER_00: You probably shouldn't go go kill your neighbor.
SPEAKER_00: But anyone, I tell you, anyone who is angry with a brother or sister has already committed murder in their heart.
SPEAKER_00: And you've heard that it was said to the people long ago, you shall not commit adultery.
SPEAKER_00: But I tell you, anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
SPEAKER_00: And this is the whole point of what he's trying to get at with this whole Sermon on the Mount is hey, there's a deeper issue.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord wants our heart, not just our outward actions.
SPEAKER_00: Like he wants a deeper level of commitment from us.
SPEAKER_00: And so it makes sense that he says this about our treasures as well.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I don't know about you, um, but what this means for all of us is that it doesn't exclude any of us.
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus takes this money thing and makes it about our heart, when he takes this treasure thing and makes it about our heart, it means that we're all in the bullseye of this teaching.
SPEAKER_00: That's what it means.
SPEAKER_00: It's it's applicable to every single one of us.
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know where you stand as you, as Sarah, you know, said, we're gonna start this new series called Jesus the Financial Planner.
SPEAKER_00: And as I get up and say that's what we're gonna do, and and I don't know what goes through your mind.
SPEAKER_00: For some of you, I I know some of you are thinking, oh, here we go again.
SPEAKER_00: Like this is all the church wants to talk about, you know, like they just want to, they just want my money, that's all they want.
SPEAKER_00: And and you, when's this series end?
SPEAKER_00: August?
SPEAKER_00: All right, we'll be back in September, you know, that kind of a thing.
SPEAKER_00: Like maybe that's what you're thinking, if you're honest with yourself.
SPEAKER_00: And I heard one uh professor at Ozark say this a long time ago.
SPEAKER_00: He said, when we when we ask the question, what does money have to do with theology?
SPEAKER_00: What we hope the what we hope the answer is uh not that much.
SPEAKER_00: Like we would rather God not really be interested in our money, in our possessions, in our things.
SPEAKER_00: We would rather our faith not have anything to do with our money.
SPEAKER_00: I think we would rather God not care about how generous we are with what we have freely been given.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe that's where you are, you're just kind of like frustrated that we're gonna be talking about this for the next several weeks.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe if you're honest with yourself, uh, like you might honestly just kind of, there's some of us in this room that might be on the edge of your seat a little bit.
SPEAKER_00: Because if you're honest with yourself, money is money is what consumes your mind.
SPEAKER_00: Like it's it seems to be all you think about.
SPEAKER_00: Like you're constantly worrying about it, constantly like it's consuming your thoughts and attention.
SPEAKER_00: It's definitely what you fight about the most with your spouse.
SPEAKER_00: Like maybe, maybe that's what it is for you.
SPEAKER_00: It's what you keep striving for, keep pursuing, and and deep down what you feel like if I had just a little bit more, if I had enough, it would fix all of my problems that I have that I'm facing right now.
SPEAKER_00: So you look for that promotion, that new job, a better home, a nicer car, a better interest rate, a better return on the investment, a raise, a more robust bank account.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we sit on the edge of our seat looking for the quick fix to our money issue.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe that's where you find yourself today.
SPEAKER_00: It's just an issue, it's an object of stress for you in your relationships, in your daily life.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you're sitting here this morning and you're honest with yourself and you're just kind of like like trying to evaluate, you're like, I honestly, money's not an issue.
SPEAKER_00: Like, money's not something that I struggle with.
SPEAKER_00: My like, yeah, the treasure, yeah, I'm not storing up treasures on on earth.
SPEAKER_00: But what's interesting about Jesus' statement here is when Jesus speaks of money, he almost always goes to a deeper level than surface level.
SPEAKER_00: He almost always goes deeper.
SPEAKER_00: An issue that isn't fixed overnight, an issue that's not fixed by trying to do it on our own or working harder or investing smarter, when Jesus speaks of money, he's talking about our hearts.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing: we are notoriously bad at evaluating what's off with our hearts.
SPEAKER_00: We're we're pretty bad at it.
SPEAKER_00: You know, like sometimes we can't see it, sometimes we're blind to what's actually deep within us, deep within the recesses of us.
SPEAKER_00: And can I just encourage you, if this is you today, if you're if you're approaching this and you're like, I don't know if this has anything to do with me, I mean, can I just encourage you to just kind of level with me today and just say, yeah, money could be an issue for me.
SPEAKER_00: If you can say that this morning, then then I think you'll you'll get something from this text.
SPEAKER_00: Money could be an issue for me, because here's what I know to be true our treasure problems are really heart problems.
SPEAKER_00: It's really heart problems.
SPEAKER_00: And as we're gonna we're gonna continue walking through Jesus' words here in Matthew chapter six, and what I think Jesus is doing as he continues teaching through Matthew chapter six is he's getting to the root issue of our treasure problems.
SPEAKER_00: Like if we have this idol of money, then it shows up and it's actually just showing, it's a sign, it's a symptom of something deeper that's going on within us.
SPEAKER_00: And so here's what I think he's doing.
SPEAKER_00: Right, he continues, and I think root issue number one is vision.
SPEAKER_00: That's what I think Jesus is getting at.
SPEAKER_00: Like if if we if our treasure problems are heart problems, maybe the heart problem is a vision problem.
SPEAKER_00: This is what he says in verse 22 the eye is the lamp of the body.
SPEAKER_00: So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
SPEAKER_00: But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
SPEAKER_00: If then the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?
SPEAKER_00: Now, this text seems weird.
SPEAKER_00: Like it seems like this does not make any sense when it comes to generosity or money or our possessions, but I think it really does.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is trying to help us understand our treasure problem might actually be, might actually start with our vision.
SPEAKER_00: Uh this is several years ago now.
SPEAKER_00: My wife and I went to have our eyes examed.
SPEAKER_00: I think after a while, you know, my wife realized I was squinting at things all the time, you know, whether that's driving at night or like just looking, just watching the TV, I was always squinting at things.
SPEAKER_00: So she was like, hey, we're gonna go do this together, you know?
SPEAKER_00: So we go in and and go to the eye doctor together and they do the you know run-of-the-mill test, you know, that you put your eyes up to something, the puff of air goes to see how quick your like reaction is, and then then they test the dilation of your eyes, and then they they they do the the classic, you know, put read the lowest line that you can read, you know, put your eye in here, read the lowest line that you can read, right?
SPEAKER_00: And my wife goes first, right?
SPEAKER_00: I'm sitting in the exam room, my wife goes first, and this eye doctor is just like ooing and awing on my wife's um like how great her eyesight is, you know.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, eagle eye over here, you know, you got better than 2020 vision, you know, like puffing her up, all this kind of stuff.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm sitting over there just like stewing, like I'm competitive by nature, you know?
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, now she's not gonna show me up.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna blow her out of the water when I get in that chair, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00: So I get up there and he says, All right, read the lowest, lowest line, and I go like two lines below it, just taking guesses at the blurry things underneath.
SPEAKER_00: And he's like, All right, flips to the next one.
SPEAKER_00: I'm still trying to read the things that are super blurry to me, like trying to one up my wife as best as I can, right?
SPEAKER_00: And we finally get done, and I step back, and I think the doctor can tell that I'm just like, I'm not hiding my pride at all at this point.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm just like, yeah, I just crushed that.
SPEAKER_00: I know I crushed that, you know, high exam right there.
SPEAKER_00: And he just goes, you know, put your eyes back in there.
SPEAKER_00: You want to see how well your wife can see?
SPEAKER_00: And I said, sure, like it can't be that much, you know, whatever.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, she probably is way blurrier than I am.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, you know.
SPEAKER_00: I so I put my eyes up there, and he goes, All right, this is what you can see clearly, and I was like, Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: And then he goes, click, click, click, click, click, click.
SPEAKER_00: And with each click, it got more and more blurry until at the end it was just one big blob of blur on the screen, right?
SPEAKER_00: And I was, you know, I was definitely humbled in that moment, right?
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, it was a lesson I needed to learn.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the thing that I think Jesus is telling us.
SPEAKER_00: When your treasure is found in the things of this world that ultimately fade, like your vision slowly starts to fade away as well.
SPEAKER_00: Like, slowly but surely.
SPEAKER_00: It's not all at once, but slowly, maybe just one click at a time.
SPEAKER_00: Like you can't see what you're supposed to see.
SPEAKER_00: You can't see the Lord rightly, and you can't see this world rightly, whenever your treasure is in things of this world.
SPEAKER_00: Like that's that's what I think he's getting at.
SPEAKER_00: Like just one click at a time, our view of God, our view of the world just starts to be twisted, and before we know it, our vision is just one giant blurry blob.
SPEAKER_00: Like that's what we see.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what I think.
SPEAKER_00: The secret is in the word that Jesus uses in this text.
SPEAKER_00: You see the word that Jesus uses in this text for good and healthy when he's talking about your eye is a word that is used meaning single-mindedness or undivided loyalty.
SPEAKER_00: It could also be translated as translated to other parts in the Bible as generous.
SPEAKER_00: So it's like Jesus is saying, if your eye is generous, your whole body will be full of light.
SPEAKER_00: But if it's stingy, man, then your whole body will be full of darkness.
SPEAKER_00: Like keep in mind, this makes sense in the ultimate umbrella of what Jesus is talking about, as he's talking about what kind of treasure we're investing in.
SPEAKER_00: Our vision may be distracted or twisted.
SPEAKER_00: And so rather than seeing the Lord as one who is worthy of our praise and as his world as a gift that he's given for us to steward, so that he may receive glory and honor, we instead start seeing ourselves as our own master, and we start seeing this world around us as just a bunch of different things that we've accrued for ourselves to use to our own advantage.
SPEAKER_00: Our vision just slowly gets twisted.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is saying, Hey, your treasure problem may be a vision problem.
SPEAKER_00: So what do we do?
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's pretty simple.
SPEAKER_00: It's just adjust your vision.
SPEAKER_00: That's what it is.
SPEAKER_00: Like change what you're focused on.
SPEAKER_00: It's interesting, Jesus uses eyes here in this metaphor when he's talking about, because oftentimes in scripture there's like these things that are almost used simultaneously, like in place of each other.
SPEAKER_00: Fix your eyes and set your minds and set your hearts.
SPEAKER_00: They're almost used interchangeably in scripture.
SPEAKER_00: So when we fix our eyes on something, we're also setting our hearts on it as well.
SPEAKER_00: And vision determines direction.
SPEAKER_00: Like, so it's true that what we focus on is what we move toward.
SPEAKER_00: That's why the writer of Hebrews says, therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let's throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let's run with perseverance the race that's marked out for us.
SPEAKER_00: Let's fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning at shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
SPEAKER_00: Consider him, look to him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
SPEAKER_00: I think the question we need to ask ourselves this morning is where is your vision?
SPEAKER_00: Like, what are you looking to?
SPEAKER_00: The writer of Hebrews is saying, fix your eyes on Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Don't turn your attention to anything else to fulfill you when it is only God who can fulfill you.
SPEAKER_00: Like, don't give anything else that seat.
SPEAKER_00: Don't give anything else that title of treasure.
SPEAKER_00: Like in comparison, he he throws everything, blows everything else out of the water.
SPEAKER_00: He's the only one who is truly important.
SPEAKER_00: And the devil will want to use whatever he can, try to bring in whatever he can to distract you from looking at Jesus, from fixing your eyes on him.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe today is a day, if you're just being honest with yourself and saying, yeah, this could be a problem.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're thinking, yeah, it's a vision problem.
SPEAKER_00: I've got my eyes on the wrong thing.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe the prayer of repentance today is just in Psalm 119.
SPEAKER_00: Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things and give me life in your ways.
SPEAKER_00: See, our treasure problem might may be a vision problem.
SPEAKER_00: But our treasure problem could also, as Jesus continues, it could be an issue of devotion.
SPEAKER_00: That's what he says in verse 24.
SPEAKER_00: Look at this.
SPEAKER_00: No one can serve two masters.
SPEAKER_00: Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
SPEAKER_00: You cannot serve God and money.
SPEAKER_00: It's interesting.
SPEAKER_00: This word that's used, uh that's translated here for money is like taken from the Aramaic word, mammon, M-A-M-M-O-N.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, mammon.
SPEAKER_00: And what what's interesting, it includes all of one's possessions, not just money.
SPEAKER_00: And what's interesting about this word is that it didn't start with like a negative connotation to it.
SPEAKER_00: It was actually like meant whenever somebody would entrust something to somebody else.
SPEAKER_00: That's that's how it was used.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna entrust this deposit to a banker to guard something for me, to guard something that's valuable for me.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: And what it did over time, what it what it ended up being, it it morphed into something, rather than something that you entrusted to somebody to keep safe, and it morphed into something that you placed your trust in.
SPEAKER_00: And that's whenever Mammon got a capital M at the beginning of it.
SPEAKER_00: And it turned into no less than an idol by itself.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing, this is this is what we're talking about, is idolatry here.
SPEAKER_00: And Tim Keller, I love how Tim Keller defines idolatry.
SPEAKER_00: He says it's whenever we take a good thing and it becomes a God thing in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Whenever we take one of the one of the blessings that our God has given us, and then we elevate it to the status of God Himself, it has become an idol in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what this is what Jesus is getting at.
SPEAKER_00: You cannot serve God and money.
SPEAKER_00: You cannot serve God and mammon.
SPEAKER_00: It's interesting because, you know, in our day and age, you know, anybody, uh everybody can work multiple part-time jobs if they want to.
SPEAKER_00: You can serve multiple masters, you know.
SPEAKER_00: I can be working part-time here, part-time part-time there, right?
SPEAKER_00: We can we can serve multiple masters.
SPEAKER_00: That was not the case when we're talking about Jesus' day.
SPEAKER_00: Like no one could serve two masters because it it assumed undivided loyalty and allegiance.
SPEAKER_00: Like no one could serve two masters.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus says, You will either hate the one or love the other, be devoted to the one or despise the other.
SPEAKER_00: And these are not necessarily literal, they're comparative.
SPEAKER_00: Because what he's getting at is, hey, one of the two is going to take priority over the other.
SPEAKER_00: Like eventually, the rubber's gonna meet the road, and you're gonna have to choose between one.
SPEAKER_00: And so many times I think sometimes in our in our culture specifically, we we think we can have the best of both worlds.
SPEAKER_00: We can still like hoard things and and store up treasure for ourselves here, and also have God as our treasure as well.
SPEAKER_00: And what Jesus is saying is it's impossible.
SPEAKER_00: You cannot do this, you cannot serve both God and money.
SPEAKER_00: Eventually, both of those masters will demand your attention and your true devotion and your allegiance, and the one that you choose will determine who your actual master is in that moment.
SPEAKER_00: Like you won't be able to choose both.
SPEAKER_00: I was convicted by this quote that I read while studying.
SPEAKER_00: See, we pious, he said, we piously affirm that we have chosen to serve God and not mammon, not money, but in our daily life, it is mammon that sets our priorities and determines our choices.
SPEAKER_00: I read a story about John Wesley who went to visit this plantation of this big, this huge plantation, this plantation owner, they got on horseback and they started going around and seeing everything, and they, you know, ride acres upon acres upon acres of this plantation, and they're going, they only saw a fraction of it, didn't even see half of it, just saw a little bit of it.
SPEAKER_00: And after hours of touring this plantation, they come back, and the plantation owner was was eager, and he said, Mr.
SPEAKER_00: Wesley, what do you think?
SPEAKER_00: And Wesley replied, I think you're gonna have a hard time leaving all of this.
SPEAKER_00: Question, do you have something like that in your life?
SPEAKER_00: Something like that in your life, like we all we all do, something that we value so much that it's gonna, you're gonna have a harder time parting with it than you would like to admit.
SPEAKER_00: Like the the mammon in your life has has got a capital M on it now.
SPEAKER_00: And what Jesus is saying, hey, you you can't you can't serve two masters.
SPEAKER_00: And honestly, like our heart issue may be an maybe an issue of devotion.
SPEAKER_00: And so what do we do?
SPEAKER_00: We we change our devotion, like we reorient this devotion.
SPEAKER_00: I've said it before here, but Chad Ragsdow said it this way he said, Hey, don't see your money as an object of worship, something to be lifted high on on the altar of what you worship.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, see it as an opportunity to worship, the one who has provided all of that.
SPEAKER_00: Because everything that I do with my money, everything we do with our money is a reflection of who our real master is.
SPEAKER_00: Everything we do, every investment that we make, every time that we give, every time that we care for somebody in need, like it's all it is a reflection of who our true master is.
SPEAKER_00: I read a story about uh a slave in Maryland, his name was Jacob, and he had a cruel and um just like terrible man who was his master named Saunders.
SPEAKER_00: Jacob was a devout believer, and so he had he had made it his his ambition every day.
SPEAKER_00: He would he would stop what he was doing three times a day and he would kneel down and pray.
SPEAKER_00: And so he would kneel down and pray, and then one day Saunders was always always agitated by this.
SPEAKER_00: And Saunders came up and one day held a gun to Jacob's head as he knelt praying in his field and demanded that he get up.
SPEAKER_00: And Jacob quietly finished his prayer, and then he rose to his feet and he he invited Saunders to pull the trigger and he said, Your loss will be my gain.
SPEAKER_00: You see, I have two masters, Master Jesus in heaven and Master Saunders on earth, and I have a soul and I have a body.
SPEAKER_00: My body belongs to Master Saunders, my soul belongs to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And he's it what happened now actually was that his his master Saunders stopped messing with him.
SPEAKER_00: He was so taken back, so shaken by Jacob's lack of fear that he never touched him again.
SPEAKER_00: And while Jacob said that he had two masters, I think it was pretty clear that he only had one.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what Jesus is getting at.
SPEAKER_00: Hey, you cannot serve two masters.
SPEAKER_00: Like eventually the rubber's gonna meet the road, and you're gonna have to give your undivided loyal loyalty and allegiance to one who is who is your master.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe today is the day, like so many times I think in our culture we feel like we can give a little here and a little there and a little there and a little here, and we can have multiple, multiple masters that we're serving.
SPEAKER_00: And we kind of delegate our devotion around.
SPEAKER_00: And what Jesus is getting at is hey, this that's not that's not in the game plan.
SPEAKER_00: That's not possible.
SPEAKER_00: Either it's all or nothing.
SPEAKER_00: Like you give, give everything, and maybe today is the day that you give your complete devotion to the Lord and let Him be your treasure above all else.
SPEAKER_00: See, our treasure problem might be it might be a devotion problem.
SPEAKER_00: But it could also be I think I think the last one that Jesus says here is that our our treasure problem could be an issue of control.
SPEAKER_00: It could be an issue of control.
SPEAKER_00: This is what he says in this pretty famous chunk of scripture right here in Matthew chapter 6, verses 25 to 34.
SPEAKER_00: This is what it says.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body what you will put on.
SPEAKER_00: Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
SPEAKER_00: Look at the birds of the air.
SPEAKER_00: They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them.
SPEAKER_00: Are you not of more value than they?
SPEAKER_00: And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?
SPEAKER_00: And why are you anxious about clothing?
SPEAKER_00: Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin.
SPEAKER_00: Yet I tell you, even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.
SPEAKER_00: But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear?
SPEAKER_00: For the Gentiles seek after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
SPEAKER_00: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
SPEAKER_00: Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
SPEAKER_00: There's a ton that I can say about this passage.
SPEAKER_00: What's really interesting to me, what sticks out the most, I think, to me, is that this is the only time in the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus uses the word anxious or or worry.
SPEAKER_00: This is the only time that that Jesus mentions this, and it's directly correlated, related to our possessions, to actually the kind of possessions that we need.
SPEAKER_00: Like he says, like food and water and clothing.
SPEAKER_00: That's what he's getting at here.
SPEAKER_00: It's interesting.
SPEAKER_00: The American Psychological Association did a study a couple years ago to find out the most common stressors of different age brackets.
SPEAKER_00: Like the most common stressors, and what they found is that all of the age brackets, 18 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 to 64, and 65 plus, they all had the same stressors.
SPEAKER_00: Money and the economy.
SPEAKER_00: And like those are the top stressors.
SPEAKER_00: And it's not surprising to us.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think if we took a poll in here, it'd probably come come up with the same results.
SPEAKER_00: That the res like the top stressors for many of us are money or the economy.
SPEAKER_00: But what if the deeper issue was more than just money?
SPEAKER_00: Like, what if money was just an idol that's showing itself on the surface and and pointing to something that's that's deeper?
SPEAKER_00: See, Tim Keller points out how we often are superficial when it comes to identifying our idols.
SPEAKER_00: Like there's often something much deeper, and specifically our money and possessions can easily just be a surface idol of something deeper going on.
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what Jesus is going getting at as he uses this word anxiety in our text.
SPEAKER_00: There's a deeper issue going on because we get anxious about money because ultimately we want control over our lives.
SPEAKER_00: So we stress out and worry about the things that we have and worry about how we're gonna get more.
SPEAKER_00: We stress about stress about making more and getting more and spending more so that we can control certain outcomes in our lives, so we can live in a certain place, so we can experience certain things.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it's the other side of the spectrum, and we we don't spend anything at all because we're just gonna hoard everything that we have and hold it close to our chest so that we can have some semblance of control over our own lives here.
SPEAKER_00: And in doing so, what we're actually doing is we're we're turning to our money, our possessions, our treasure, to hopefully bring us some sense of security and control.
SPEAKER_00: There's a quote that I read this week while studying that was both interesting and convicting for me, is what it said.
SPEAKER_00: Wealth can isolate us from the challenges that others face, and money can create opportunities for those who possess it that are unavailable to those without it.
SPEAKER_00: And then they said, in other words, money is a very appealing alternative to trusting God.
SPEAKER_00: Did you hear that?
SPEAKER_00: Money is a very appealing alternative to trusting God.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing, I think I think the reason behind Jesus saying do not be anxious in our text is because he's helped trying to help us realize hey, your anxiety is revealing a deeper level of lack of trust in God to provide what you need.
SPEAKER_00: Like it's ultimately that's what it's doing.
SPEAKER_00: It's showing you, if you're anxious about these things, it's showing you like you don't really trust that God has you in mind or that He really is able to provide for you.
SPEAKER_00: So what do we do?
SPEAKER_00: That we we release our control.
SPEAKER_00: We release our control.
SPEAKER_00: And some of us here need to realize that we have like too tight of a grip on the things of this world.
SPEAKER_00: We have too tight of a grip on the things of this world, and what actually is happening, and you don't realize it, is that the things of this world have too tight of a grip on you and they're strangling you and forcing you into submission.
SPEAKER_00: Now, quick note about this: there's nothing in Jesus' words in this verse, in these verses 25 to 34, nothing in these words that excludes the importance of thoughtful planning, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Like there's there's nothing in these in these words that say, so you know, just just trust, everything will be fine.
SPEAKER_00: You don't need to worry about anything or or do anything.
SPEAKER_00: But he but there is something, the verb translated here for worry or anxious, it means to be apprehensive, have anxiety, to be anxious, to be unduly concerned, is what he's saying.
SPEAKER_00: Like, and here's the thing, if we are overly concerned about the material things that we need, it shows that we don't have, it shows that we have just a very small idea of who our God is and what he's capable of.
SPEAKER_00: I've been reminded of uh of a passage in Psalm chapter 37.
SPEAKER_00: Oftentimes, I don't think it's a coincidence, it's been like three or four different conversations I've had with people over the last six weeks.
SPEAKER_00: Psalm 37, the Psalm of David, and he says, I have been young and I have been old.
SPEAKER_00: And yet I've never seen the righteous forsaken.
SPEAKER_00: I've never seen his children begging for bread.
SPEAKER_00: Church, we have a small picture of our God if we think that he won't provide for us.
SPEAKER_00: See, here's the thing.
SPEAKER_00: You hear Jesus' words in this section?
SPEAKER_00: Do you hear how many times he says it?
SPEAKER_00: He says, Are you of not much more value than they?
SPEAKER_00: He says, Will he not much more clothe you, oh you of little faith?
SPEAKER_00: And he says, Your heavenly father knows that you need all these things.
SPEAKER_00: Like ultimately releasing control is an act of trust in the one who's actually in control and who actually can provide for you.
SPEAKER_00: Like giving it all to him.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe your treasure problem is a vision problem, maybe it's a devotion problem, maybe it's a control problem.
SPEAKER_00: Like you're stressed and worried and toiling and and trying to gather all that you can to give you some sense of security, and you just need to release it and let the Lord provide for you.
SPEAKER_00: See, here's the truth.
SPEAKER_00: Like deep, these all of these different idols are deep level heart idols.
SPEAKER_00: Like there's a deeper issue going on.
SPEAKER_00: And what we know to be true is that, hey, deep level idols of our heart, they cannot be uprooted by you and I just trying harder.
SPEAKER_00: Like this change in our heart can't be can't happen by just a concerted effort on our part.
SPEAKER_00: It can't happen by us just kind of coming to this resolve.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna let this drive me anymore, or I'm not gonna let that call the shots, I'm gonna stop and I'm gonna change.
SPEAKER_00: No, our treasure problems are heart problems, and the only way a heart is changed is when it's surrendered to the one who can change it.
SPEAKER_00: When it is completely surrendered and laid before the God of all creation, who has the power to change our hearts, and when we believe in faith in the truth of the gospel of what he has done.
SPEAKER_00: That's the only way our hearts can be changed.
SPEAKER_00: It opens us up for the Lord having his way in us, and that seems to be what Jesus is getting at in Matthew chapter 6.
SPEAKER_00: Did you see it in verse 33?
SPEAKER_00: He says, Hey, listen, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: All these other things will be taken care of, all these other things will be added to you as well.
SPEAKER_00: You seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
SPEAKER_00: Let like look to the king as your treasure and seek his kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: Like, do you see the correlation?
SPEAKER_00: Adjust your vision so you can see the Lord rightly and see this world that he has created rightly, as a as a means of for you to steward for his glory, not for you just to use to your own advantage.
SPEAKER_00: And and man, change your devotion so you won't be like caught between a decision of Am I gonna serve money?
SPEAKER_00: Am I gonna serve this master of money, or am I gonna serve the Lord?
SPEAKER_00: Change your devotion and be all in undivided loyalty and complete allegiance to the one who is worthy of it.
SPEAKER_00: And hey, release your control.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord will provide for you.
SPEAKER_00: Like he's he's not going to abandon you.
SPEAKER_00: You can trust him, you can rely on him.
SPEAKER_00: We started by saying everyone's religious because everyone has something of ultimate concern.
SPEAKER_00: What is what's your ultimate concern?
SPEAKER_00: What occupies your imagination?
SPEAKER_00: What do you daydream about?
SPEAKER_00: What motivates your actions?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus warns us don't give, don't give the title of treasure to anything or anyone else that is unworthy of it.
SPEAKER_00: It only belongs to God Himself.
SPEAKER_00: May He be our treasure.
SPEAKER_00: Like the treasure that will not diminish, that will not fade, that will not be eaten away, is the King and His kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: This is what we invest in.
SPEAKER_00: Let him be your vision and your aim.
SPEAKER_00: Let him be the object of your devotion and your loyalty.
SPEAKER_00: Let him have control over your life where you can find rest in his provision.
SPEAKER_00: May your king be your treasure.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe this morning is the day you need to repent and come back to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Like if you're just honest with yourself, you're just like, yeah, my vision's been off.
SPEAKER_00: I've been seeking the things that will fade away.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe I've been devoted to the treasures of this earth.
SPEAKER_00: Or I've been anxious and worried about my life, and I don't realize that like this is bubbled over so much that I'm just ultimately not trusting in the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Like I'm just not trusting that He is in control and He can provide.
SPEAKER_00: Man, we would, if that's you this morning, we would love to pray with you this morning.
SPEAKER_00: There's gonna be some people on the back, some people up front.
SPEAKER_00: We'd love to pray with you.
SPEAKER_00: Love to pray with you about this.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe today you heard Mark talk about our God who, even while we were still in our sin, died for us.
SPEAKER_00: Like that's that's how much he values you.
SPEAKER_00: That's that's the length he went to to be in a relationship with you.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe you're just ready to say, I want him to be my treasure.
SPEAKER_00: I want to be all in with Jesus today.
SPEAKER_00: And we would love to have a conversation with you about what it looks like to surrender your life and completely submit to him.
SPEAKER_00: We've got everything you need to be baptized into him today if that's if that's a decision you need to make.
SPEAKER_00: But church, may our king, may our king, king Jesus, be our treasure above everything else.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray this morning.
SPEAKER_00: God, we love you.
SPEAKER_00: We're we're thankful for the truth of your word.
SPEAKER_00: We're thankful for the way that you love us, the way you care about us, the way you provide for us.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we we repent this morning of the times when we have strayed from you, we have looked to other things to give us a sense of security or comfort or control.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, help us to lean on you and to trust in you above all else.
SPEAKER_00: Help our treasure to be you and you alone.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, this morning, as we as we respond and singing to you, Lord, help us to sing with full assurance, knowing that you are you are our treasure.
SPEAKER_00: You're the only one worth seeking.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we pray that you would just be glorified in this moment and in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: As we submit them to you.
SPEAKER_00: We love you.
SPEAKER_00: Powerful name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Thanks again for listening to the Carterville Christian Church podcast.
SPEAKER_01: Our prayer is that today's message has encouraged you and drawn you closer to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: To learn more or get connected with our church family, visit Carterville Christian.com.
SPEAKER_01: We'd love to walk alongside you in your journey of faith.