WEBVTT 00:00:00.381 --> 00:00:01.804 For the next two Sundays. 00:00:01.804 --> 00:00:15.391 I have the privilege of speaking to you about stewardship, so I'm going to ask you to turn to Matthew, chapter 6, matthew chapter 6, and verse 19. 00:00:15.391 --> 00:00:30.794 I have two scriptures I'd like us to look at this morning, both in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 619, and we will look at a statement in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 13. 00:00:30.794 --> 00:00:36.566 Do not I looked up do not in the Greek. 00:00:36.566 --> 00:00:39.868 You know what it means Good, do not? 00:00:39.868 --> 00:00:42.906 It's pretty deep. 00:00:42.906 --> 00:01:01.511 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. 00:01:01.511 --> 00:01:14.772 For where your treasure is there, your heart will be also, for where your treasure is there, your heart will be also. 00:01:14.772 --> 00:01:16.986 Notice, your heart follows your treasure. 00:01:16.986 --> 00:01:35.730 And if you kindly move ahead, seven chapters to chapter 13 of Matthew, verse 44, one of my favorite parables, one short statement by Jesus the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up. 00:01:35.730 --> 00:01:46.254 Then, in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 00:01:46.254 --> 00:02:13.248 Father, i am asking you this morning to do a profound work in every heart and mind in this assembly, lord, we are not wanting pressure to be bare born on people so that there's some kind of legal guilt ridden response, but we want genuine heart change, and grace is the only thing that will change our hearts. 00:02:13.248 --> 00:02:30.407 So I pray for a communication this morning of grace in these texts and through these texts And, lord, i pray for transparency and openness and all the defenses that normally arise in our hearts and resist the truth of the Scripture. 00:02:30.407 --> 00:02:42.830 Lord, that this morning they would be demolished and we would receive grace to be good stewards who glorify God in how we conduct our lives. 00:02:42.830 --> 00:02:53.947 We bless you, we thank you for the weight of your presence on this word and we acknowledge it in Jesus' name and everyone said Amen. 00:02:53.947 --> 00:03:04.307 It's really a privilege to take two weeks and I could be two months, but we're not doing that unless the Lord directs that way. 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:18.844 But this topic of stewardship is so incredibly important Kingdom biblical stewardship, and the first thing everybody hears about or thinks about when I say that is I'm talking about money, which truly. 00:03:18.844 --> 00:03:21.912 I am going to talk about money this morning for a while. 00:03:21.912 --> 00:03:25.329 But stewardship is not limited to money. 00:03:25.329 --> 00:03:30.411 It's much more than money and giving, as important as that is. 00:03:30.411 --> 00:03:34.389 Stewardship is more than how you manage your money. 00:03:34.389 --> 00:03:36.907 It's your attitude towards life. 00:03:36.907 --> 00:03:56.710 At the heart of stewardship is a simple idea, and it is this God is the owner of everything and He has made me His manager, and one day He will call me to account for how I managed what He gave me. 00:03:56.710 --> 00:04:12.472 Now, this isn't a difficult concept to grasp, but when a person begins to grasp it and live as a steward of the grace of God, it is absolutely revolutionary. 00:04:12.472 --> 00:04:27.610 It changes you in every way, And the reality of it, again, is simple God is sovereign and He owns everything, and He has appointed me to manage some of it for His kingdom purpose and His glory. 00:04:27.610 --> 00:04:45.625 Now, obviously, this is where money comes in, because one of the most important aspects of being a steward is managing money in a kingdom fashion, and it doesn't matter how little you have, how much you have, whether you're wealthy or whether you're struggling. 00:04:45.625 --> 00:05:11.432 If you are a Christian, you and I are called to steward our riches for the king and his kingdom, and that stewardship, if it's properly lived out, must include must include an intentional, disciplined habit of regularly giving to the work of the gospel and meeting needs. 00:05:11.432 --> 00:05:12.925 It will include that. 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:21.408 Now someone asked me it happened not long ago Are you ever do you dislike talking about money in church? 00:05:21.408 --> 00:05:22.942 And I can say too. 00:05:22.942 --> 00:05:25.548 I said to the person without any hesitation not at all. 00:05:25.548 --> 00:05:35.343 Number one, because I'm not teaching this, because the church some of you already are tuned in or you've tuned me out, saying the church needs money and he's putting the heavy on us. 00:05:35.343 --> 00:05:37.202 That's not it at all. 00:05:37.202 --> 00:05:38.803 Well, it's partially it. 00:05:38.803 --> 00:05:42.725 We do need money, but that's not what's motivating. 00:05:42.725 --> 00:05:44.004 I'll talk about that in a minute. 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:57.430 But there's another reason why I'm not embarrassed, ashamed or in any way fluttered about talking to you about finances, and this is something maybe you're not aware of, but listen to me very carefully. 00:05:57.430 --> 00:06:09.208 The simplest reason I'm not ashamed of it is someone surmised that 15% or more of what Jesus said and taught was related to money. 00:06:09.208 --> 00:06:17.012 15% 11% of His 39 parables dealt with money. 00:06:17.012 --> 00:06:20.307 But this is a statistic that I wasn't aware of. 00:06:20.307 --> 00:06:28.512 It blew my mind One out of every seven verses in Luke apparently references money. 00:06:28.512 --> 00:06:31.586 Now, i don't know if that's totally accurate, but I read that. 00:06:31.586 --> 00:06:32.870 Check it out. 00:06:32.870 --> 00:06:42.653 Maybe it's more, maybe it's less, but this particular person said one out of every seven verses in Luke's gospel reference money. 00:06:43.761 --> 00:06:51.810 Now, if that is true, we have a question we should ask at the beginning Why did Jesus talk so much about money? 00:06:51.810 --> 00:06:53.882 And here it is. 00:06:53.882 --> 00:07:08.410 As simply as I can say it, folks, the simple reality is there is a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about money and how we handle money. 00:07:08.410 --> 00:07:10.463 There is a vital connection. 00:07:10.463 --> 00:07:41.911 I mean I want to be redemptive when I say this, but if you're here this morning and you live in continually deep debt and you're not committed to regularly giving of your money to the work of God and you constantly make unwise purchases that plunge you into further and further debt, debt, you might like to think there's no connection between my spiritual life and my finances, but you are deceiving yourself. 00:07:41.911 --> 00:07:51.524 There is, but the best way I can communicate this is to take you on a quick glance through several portions of Scripture. 00:07:51.524 --> 00:07:59.033 Maybe this will affirm what we've said about how much of the teaching of Jesus was about money. 00:07:59.033 --> 00:08:06.391 A quick glance at Scripture makes it clear that there's a connection between faith and finances. 00:08:06.973 --> 00:08:15.252 Consider this John the Baptist is preaching, calling people to repentance, and the crowds say what should we do? 00:08:15.252 --> 00:08:16.514 We want to bring forth. 00:08:16.514 --> 00:08:24.951 Remember his Clarion trumpet call message Bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance. 00:08:24.951 --> 00:08:26.524 Don't just come with words. 00:08:26.524 --> 00:08:29.026 He indicted the Jewish people. 00:08:29.026 --> 00:08:32.509 Don't say to yourselves we have Abraham as our father. 00:08:32.509 --> 00:08:45.793 The acts of the spirit was cutting at racial and religious privilege And he said no, there's only one thing that will evidence that you truly repented fruit. 00:08:45.793 --> 00:08:47.645 So they said okay, what's the fruit? 00:08:47.645 --> 00:08:48.327 What do we do? 00:08:48.327 --> 00:08:50.385 And listen to what John told them to do. 00:08:50.385 --> 00:08:52.280 This is amazing, he said. 00:08:52.280 --> 00:08:56.890 Number one everyone should share clothes and food with the poor. 00:08:56.890 --> 00:09:01.609 Number two tax collectors shouldn't pocket extra money. 00:09:01.609 --> 00:09:08.370 Number three soldiers should be content with their wages. 00:09:08.370 --> 00:09:18.726 Each answer John gives to the question what should we do to three different groups deals with money and possessions. 00:09:18.726 --> 00:09:19.428 But get this. 00:09:19.428 --> 00:09:21.687 No one asked John a money question. 00:09:21.687 --> 00:09:24.629 They ask him what is the fruit of repentance? 00:09:24.629 --> 00:09:30.070 John says it's your attitude towards possessions and money. 00:09:31.355 --> 00:09:32.337 Or how about Zacchaeus? 00:09:32.337 --> 00:09:40.982 You remember him, the little Jewish guy, the tax collector of Jericho, who, as Jesus, was passing through downtown Jericho. 00:09:40.982 --> 00:09:50.653 He was small in stature, he couldn't see Jesus, so he climbed a sycamore tree and he's looking at Jesus and Jesus Christ And there's no evidence in Scripture they had met before. 00:09:50.653 --> 00:09:52.965 Perhaps they did, we don't know. 00:09:52.965 --> 00:09:59.644 But he stopped and Jesus looked up in the sycamore tree and said Zacchaeus, i'm going to eat at your house today. 00:09:59.644 --> 00:10:03.732 And Zacchaeus responds. 00:10:03.732 --> 00:10:10.097 You remember his response Because we want to ask the question was Zacchaeus transformed by Jesus? 00:10:10.097 --> 00:10:12.187 And if so, how do we know he was transformed? 00:10:12.187 --> 00:10:14.736 Listen to Zacchaeus' response to the Master. 00:10:14.736 --> 00:10:28.095 He tells the Lord, i will now give half of my possessions to the poor and if I've cheated anyone, i will make restitution fourfold to anybody that I've previously cheated. 00:10:28.095 --> 00:10:30.602 And Jesus didn't say anything to him about money. 00:10:30.602 --> 00:10:34.395 He called him and said I'm staying at your house, but he was repenting. 00:10:34.395 --> 00:10:37.446 The grace of God overwhelms Zacchaeus. 00:10:37.446 --> 00:10:42.801 And he said I'm going to show and demonstrate my repentance by what I do with my money. 00:10:45.326 --> 00:10:48.192 Fast forward a couple of years, maybe less. 00:10:48.192 --> 00:10:52.461 Peter is preaching on the day of Pentecost. 00:10:52.461 --> 00:10:55.452 3,000 Jewish people respond to the gospel. 00:10:55.452 --> 00:10:59.663 First time the gospel other than from the Lord Jesus is preached on earth. 00:10:59.663 --> 00:11:04.474 3,000 respond and they formed the first community in Jerusalem. 00:11:04.474 --> 00:11:11.032 And what does Luke tell us was the transforming characteristic of that community? 00:11:11.032 --> 00:11:18.371 It said they sold their possessions and gave to everyone as they had need. 00:11:18.371 --> 00:11:21.798 Or fast forward again. 00:11:21.798 --> 00:11:38.554 Paul is being used by God to bring a tremendous revival to the city of Ephesus And those who respond to his message bring a cultic material given to the arts and to demonic worship and occultism. 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:50.976 And they burned them, and in modern value I am told they were worth many millions of dollars, the occultic material that they no longer knew they could hold on to as Christians. 00:11:50.976 --> 00:11:56.268 And they burned it and up in smoke went millions of dollars worth of material. 00:11:56.268 --> 00:12:11.534 Or how about going backwards when Jesus praised the poor widow woman, as he's watching them deposit their offerings in the treasury, and he says to his disciples you see that woman who just put in two coins. 00:12:11.534 --> 00:12:18.129 She gave more than anybody because they gave out of their abundance and she gave all that she had. 00:12:18.129 --> 00:12:28.333 And contrast that to the example Jesus spoke of in Luke's gospel of a rich man who just keeps getting richer. 00:12:28.354 --> 00:12:32.654 He sounds like the Donald Trump of his day And he says what shall I do? 00:12:32.654 --> 00:12:37.687 I know what I'll do I'll pull down my barns and I'll build bigger barns. 00:12:37.687 --> 00:12:55.048 And Jesus called him a fool because that very night, when he purposed to enlarge his wealth and enlarge his barns and storehouse, jesus said you fool, this night your soul is required of you. 00:12:55.048 --> 00:13:06.014 And Jesus called him a fool because he said so it is with him who is rich in the earthly sense but is not rich towards God. 00:13:06.014 --> 00:13:18.548 And finally, you know, this one is probably the most famous one A rich young man comes to Jesus and says he wants to inherit eternal life. 00:13:18.548 --> 00:13:26.048 And after giving him the law, when the man says, i have done all that, jesus took him to the 10th commandment. 00:13:26.048 --> 00:13:27.971 He didn't quote it. 00:13:27.971 --> 00:13:35.293 Jesus said sell all your possessions, give to the poor and you'll have treasure in heaven. 00:13:35.293 --> 00:13:51.455 Jesus was not making selling all your possessions a condition of salvation, but he did know that this man's God was earthly treasure, so he told him to get rid of it and invest in heavenly treasure. 00:13:51.455 --> 00:13:54.442 The man wouldn't. 00:13:54.442 --> 00:14:00.001 He walked away sad, but really. 00:14:00.123 --> 00:14:19.974 Of all the teaching of Jesus, i think that the text we read this morning in Matthew, chapter 13, one of the salient parables that Jesus gave to his disciples, i believe the parable of the hidden treasure, really summarizes what he taught about treasure and how to steward it. 00:14:19.974 --> 00:14:37.909 You know, when I was a new believer I heard so many sermons on the parable of the hidden treasure and they all, without exception, in my first three or four years of being a disciple, all of them focused on that two, those two words sell all for joy. 00:14:37.909 --> 00:14:41.174 He sold all and bought the field. 00:14:41.174 --> 00:14:48.312 And I heard sermon after sermon on selling all, the sacrifice of being a disciple. 00:14:48.312 --> 00:14:51.325 You've got to sell all if you want to follow Jesus. 00:14:51.325 --> 00:15:06.945 Then one day I was reading the parable and after hearing multitudinous sermons telling that this parable was about sacrifice, i read it carefully and realized there's no sacrifice here at all. 00:15:06.945 --> 00:15:09.831 What kind of sacrifice? 00:15:09.831 --> 00:15:15.230 Listen, here's the parable for those that didn't know it or have already forgotten the reading from 10 minutes ago. 00:15:16.100 --> 00:15:31.471 Okay, i'm walking along in the country outside of Knoxville and I find treasure hidden in a field and the fields for sale, and the treasure in that field is worth $100 million. 00:15:31.471 --> 00:15:33.715 But there's a problem. 00:15:33.715 --> 00:15:35.764 I don't have the money to buy the field. 00:15:35.764 --> 00:15:43.563 So I decide I'll sell my house, i'll sell my possessions, i'll sell my car. 00:15:43.563 --> 00:15:50.421 I've got to raise the $100,000 so I can purchase the field where I can have $100 million. 00:15:50.421 --> 00:15:54.231 That's the only way I'm going to make the purchase. 00:15:55.455 --> 00:16:08.644 Would you go to that man or me in this case and say you're sacrificing so much, i am so admiring your sacrifice, that you would give up $100,000 for $100 million? 00:16:08.644 --> 00:16:10.227 You are so sacrificial. 00:16:10.227 --> 00:16:24.701 No, this man reminds me of a quote that's attributed to I think it's Jim Elliott, who said he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. 00:16:24.701 --> 00:16:31.871 This man is not stupid. 00:16:31.871 --> 00:16:39.668 He knows and is willing to endure short-term sacrifice for long-term treasure. 00:16:39.668 --> 00:16:46.169 And that is exactly what Jesus is teaching on this portion of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6. 00:16:46.169 --> 00:16:59.167 Jesus isn't saying When Jesus says do not lay up treasure on earth, he is not saying that you can't have a bank account or it's sinful to invest in the stock market. 00:16:59.167 --> 00:17:12.557 In fact, jesus is encouraging us to have a treasure mentality, of storing up treasures, but He is calling us to store up treasures in the right place. 00:17:12.557 --> 00:17:26.386 He doesn't say forget about treasure, but He says make sure that you are investing properly by making deposits in your heavenly account. 00:17:27.048 --> 00:17:29.273 Author Randy Alcorn said it this way. 00:17:29.273 --> 00:17:30.517 It's the best way I've heard it. 00:17:30.517 --> 00:17:33.653 I want to take it apart this morning in its two-fold manner. 00:17:33.653 --> 00:17:40.851 Number one here's what He said You can't take it with you, but you can send it ahead. 00:17:40.851 --> 00:17:49.505 You can't take it with you, but you can send it ahead. 00:17:49.505 --> 00:17:59.506 There must be in the disciple a treasure mentality that says I will have earthly treasures on earth. 00:17:59.506 --> 00:18:05.003 God will give me the stewardship of certain riches and possessions and things in time. 00:18:05.003 --> 00:18:11.185 It's not only money and possessions, it's time, it's abilities, it's talents and we can go into all that. 00:18:11.185 --> 00:18:22.433 But I have to be careful and not put my ultimate value on what I have here but make sure that I am building a good account there. 00:18:22.433 --> 00:18:31.875 And this is the mentality of the early church and it's almost gone, sadly, in the Western church today. 00:18:32.957 --> 00:18:34.799 Consider what Paul said about rich people. 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:40.016 It's not wrong to be rich, it's not sinful to be rich. 00:18:40.016 --> 00:18:42.605 There are people in the body of Christ who are rich. 00:18:42.605 --> 00:18:45.215 But look at Paul's warning in 1 Timothy 6. 00:18:45.215 --> 00:18:59.395 He says as for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 00:18:59.395 --> 00:19:06.030 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. 00:19:06.030 --> 00:19:06.511 Here. 00:19:06.511 --> 00:19:18.542 It is Thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. 00:19:18.542 --> 00:19:34.084 Notice Paul's insistence that if you're rich, make sure and invest it properly and meet needs and share with others, so that you might store up a treasure as a good foundation for the future. 00:19:34.084 --> 00:19:36.628 By the way, there's some corn coming, get ready. 00:19:36.628 --> 00:19:42.380 Those accounts in heaven are FDIC insured. 00:19:42.380 --> 00:19:49.232 This time it's the father's deposit insurance company Corporation. 00:19:49.232 --> 00:19:51.376 That was bad. 00:19:54.682 --> 00:20:03.050 Now, taking the words of Jesus, i believe Matthew 6.19, do not lay up treasures on earth, but lay up treasures in heaven, for where your treasure is there, your heart will be. 00:20:03.050 --> 00:20:14.957 Also is best described by Alcorn's little truism You can't take it with you, but you can send it ahead. 00:20:14.957 --> 00:20:20.198 Let's take some time with those this morning, because it's so critical that we have our mind. 00:20:20.198 --> 00:20:37.509 Stewardship is not just about tithing though that's an important part of it but it's about a mentality again of why I'm here and what I do with everything that's given to me and where my hope really lies and where my eyes are really glued to. 00:20:37.509 --> 00:20:41.138 First of all, he said you can't take it with you. 00:20:41.138 --> 00:20:48.156 I was going to say this, but the worldwide web destroyed my sermon example. 00:20:48.156 --> 00:20:57.017 I am so upset because I was telling the pastoral staff that I was doing this message and I said you can't take it with you. 00:20:57.397 --> 00:21:00.569 One thing you've never seen is a hearse pulling a U-Haul. 00:21:00.569 --> 00:21:13.009 Mark was online and a minute later Mark says no, i found it. 00:21:13.009 --> 00:21:13.810 There it is. 00:21:13.810 --> 00:21:22.708 The hearse looks like it from 1965, and I think that's the U-Haul that I moved to Tennessee in. 00:21:22.708 --> 00:21:25.173 So this is. 00:21:25.173 --> 00:21:29.205 The worldwide web Again destroys a good sermon example. 00:21:29.205 --> 00:21:31.911 But you don't see this too often. 00:21:31.911 --> 00:21:35.838 You don't see that regularly on the streets of Knoxville. 00:21:35.838 --> 00:21:37.268 You're not going to see it this afternoon. 00:21:37.268 --> 00:21:39.795 Hearse usually don't pull U-Hauls. 00:21:39.795 --> 00:21:40.917 Where's this guy going? 00:21:40.917 --> 00:21:41.645 You know? 00:21:41.645 --> 00:21:46.375 maybe one last stop to see his ex-wife, who knows? 00:21:49.580 --> 00:21:55.297 But Jesus' words not to store up treasure on earth are summarized by Alcorn's. 00:21:55.297 --> 00:21:56.339 You can't take it with you. 00:21:56.339 --> 00:22:02.775 It really is a summary of what Job said when he lost all of his possessions. 00:22:02.775 --> 00:22:04.137 His wife said curse God. 00:22:04.137 --> 00:22:09.074 He said naked I came into this world and naked I will leave. 00:22:09.074 --> 00:22:11.479 The reality is no one takes it with you. 00:22:11.479 --> 00:22:25.307 You know, i heard that when John D Rockefeller died one of the wealthiest men ever to have lived his accountant was asked how much money John D Rockefeller left behind and his accountant simply said all of it. 00:22:30.074 --> 00:22:36.327 Now, jesus, when he says don't lay up treasures on earth, is not trying to deprive us in this life. 00:22:36.327 --> 00:22:39.675 As I stand before you this morning, i'm a blessed man. 00:22:39.675 --> 00:22:42.428 God's given me much I am thankful for. 00:22:42.428 --> 00:22:45.534 Jesus isn't saying you can't own anything. 00:22:45.534 --> 00:22:57.095 He's not saying you can't have a bank account or a stock market portfolio, but he does want us to remember the reality that we came into this world with nothing and we will leave. 00:22:57.095 --> 00:23:08.319 And what Jesus wants us to remember always about earthly treasure is it gets old, it is corruptible, it is subject to theft and it loses its luster. 00:23:09.166 --> 00:23:11.451 How many remember how you feel when you get the new car? 00:23:11.451 --> 00:23:32.310 Remember that new car smell and you get in it for the first time and everything's new and the seats are pristine and there's no cracks in the dashboard and the wheel doesn't look like grease got on it, as mine presently does, and it's new and it's shiny and it has that smell. 00:23:32.310 --> 00:23:36.146 And you have that moment where you know it's going to be new forever. 00:23:36.146 --> 00:23:48.530 But in a few years the seats are cracking, the dashboard's cracking, the body is nicked, it begins to get old and you start having that feeling again. 00:23:48.530 --> 00:23:51.276 Maybe it's time for a new car. 00:23:51.276 --> 00:24:10.249 So Jesus is wisely pastoring us and by telling us not to lay up treasures on earth, not to ultimately place our value on things on earth, and one reason simply is they are temporal, they rot, they wear out, they can be stolen. 00:24:10.249 --> 00:24:20.672 And besides all that, jesus is inferring something we all have learned, i hope, and that is nothing on earth will ultimately satisfy. 00:24:20.672 --> 00:24:23.107 It all leaves us wanting more. 00:24:23.400 --> 00:24:32.228 How many of you guys, when you brought the new computer home, unwisely told your wife I will never need another computer? 00:24:32.228 --> 00:24:37.510 I remember when I announced to my wife I've got one meg of memory. 00:24:37.510 --> 00:24:41.507 No human being will ever need more than one meg of memory. 00:24:41.507 --> 00:24:52.405 And then we had the joke because every month when the Macworld arrives in my house, my wife would hand it to me and say let the coveting begin. 00:24:52.405 --> 00:24:57.162 There's a side of Shelly. 00:24:57.162 --> 00:25:02.381 Most of you don't know, but I did. 00:25:02.381 --> 00:25:04.006 I remember what was it. 00:25:04.006 --> 00:25:05.068 What was the first? 00:25:05.068 --> 00:25:14.365 It was a 128K and then 256, and then we had a half a meg and then we had the one meg machine and you'll never run out. 00:25:14.365 --> 00:25:18.566 And now many of you have one gig and you're not doing well. 00:25:18.566 --> 00:25:23.887 That was my particular loss, but it doesn't matter. 00:25:24.039 --> 00:25:37.273 And Jesus is telling us something that we need to know, and it's this He is reminding us that everyone that ever lived and ever will live has treasure. 00:25:37.273 --> 00:25:49.009 Every human being has something they place ultimate value on, and in his negative admonition don't lay up treasures on earth. 00:25:49.009 --> 00:25:56.692 Jesus is warning us not to let our value, our treasure, be in anything earthly. 00:25:56.692 --> 00:25:59.866 This pertains to more than just money. 00:25:59.866 --> 00:26:09.192 A woman who makes her looks her ultimate treasure will find out in time it may not last. 00:26:09.192 --> 00:26:29.968 A person who places ultimate value on what people think of them may for a time be sufficiently satisfied that every man and woman likes them, but eventually it will come all crashing down when the opinion of the crowd about them changes, and it will. 00:26:29.968 --> 00:26:34.465 So here's what Jesus is doing. 00:26:34.465 --> 00:26:37.208 He's the ultimate investment advisor. 00:26:37.208 --> 00:26:40.769 He's giving us wise investment advice. 00:26:40.769 --> 00:26:46.767 Here it is Don't allow earthly treasures to define you. 00:26:46.767 --> 00:27:05.866 He is telling us that the place where we choose to store up what we value most really demonstrates what our values are deep down. 00:27:05.866 --> 00:27:24.211 So our Lord says you can enjoy earthly treasure I will bless you with it but don't put your value, don't let the value of who you are, be determined by anything on earth. 00:27:24.211 --> 00:27:26.606 And here's how you avoid that. 00:27:26.606 --> 00:27:32.368 You can't take it with you, but you can send it ahead. 00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:38.425 One author gave an example that I thought was cool. 00:27:38.425 --> 00:27:53.403 Say you're alive at the end of the Civil War and you're a northerner who's been living in the South And while you've been living in the South during the war, you have accumulated lots of Confederate money. 00:27:53.403 --> 00:28:04.349 But you know that very shortly the war is over, the North will have one and your Confederate money will be utterly useless. 00:28:04.349 --> 00:28:06.103 What should you do? 00:28:06.103 --> 00:28:22.070 If you're smart, you'll cash in your Confederate money, keeping only what you need to survive for a short time, and put your money in US currency, which is about to have great value. 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:28.461 Now, if you understand that little parable, you understand who the disciple is in this world. 00:28:28.461 --> 00:28:35.584 Because, as a believer, you and I have knowledge of something the rest of the world doesn't know. 00:28:35.584 --> 00:28:40.230 Number one, the world is going to end and everything in it. 00:28:40.230 --> 00:28:42.965 Number two, the kingdom of God wins. 00:28:42.965 --> 00:28:51.952 And because you know that, you know that earthly treasures at the end of history will be worthless. 00:28:51.952 --> 00:28:54.468 One of two things will happen to make them worthless. 00:28:54.468 --> 00:28:58.932 Number one, you will die or, number two, the Lord will return. 00:28:58.932 --> 00:29:03.444 But either way, all of our earthly treasures will be worthless. 00:29:06.700 --> 00:29:07.782 You know what Jesus is doing. 00:29:07.782 --> 00:29:11.571 He's acting as the ultimate market timer. 00:29:11.571 --> 00:29:13.328 Anybody know what a market timer is. 00:29:13.328 --> 00:29:22.453 A market timer is a person who can read the stock market and know and foresee a downturn coming. 00:29:22.453 --> 00:29:32.488 Sometimes they predict upturns, but often they see a downturn coming, so they advise people to switch their investments in lieu of the downturn. 00:29:32.488 --> 00:29:46.030 So Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 and other portions knowing what is coming, he instructs us to transfer funds from earth to heaven. 00:29:46.030 --> 00:29:48.548 He's the ultimate market timer. 00:29:48.548 --> 00:29:56.780 And, by the way, jesus is very bearish when it comes to earthly treasure and very bullish when it comes to heavenly treasure. 00:29:56.780 --> 00:30:14.686 So he says here's what you do Store up treasures in your heavenly account by learning to manage properly your earthly account. 00:30:14.686 --> 00:30:16.886 You know financial planners. 00:30:16.886 --> 00:30:27.614 If you go to them, will tell you if you're going to invest or think three months or three years ahead, think thirty years ahead. 00:30:31.384 --> 00:30:33.152 But Jesus has some more profound question. 00:30:33.152 --> 00:30:38.891 I want to ask it to you this morning What will your investment be like thirty million years from now? 00:30:38.891 --> 00:31:03.513 Say I said to you this morning I'll give you a thousand dollars today to enjoy and spend on anything you want, or you can defer the gratification of the thousand and I'll give you in one year ten million dollars and then every year after that I'll give you ten million more. 00:31:03.513 --> 00:31:15.934 How many of you would take the thousand today, or how many of you would delay gratification in the moment in lieu of what you're about to inherit in the future? 00:31:15.934 --> 00:31:19.553 You would be foolish to take the thousand. 00:31:19.553 --> 00:31:24.757 It is worth it to delay gratification so that you can receive the riches. 00:31:24.757 --> 00:31:37.894 Yet that is exactly what we do as Christians whenever we grab on to earthly things that can only satisfy for a moment and forgo something far more valuable in the future. 00:31:37.894 --> 00:31:48.535 So here's the question How do we store up treasures in heaven? 00:31:48.535 --> 00:32:01.068 One of the most important ways is by making regular deposits in our heavenly bank account, which is FDIC. 00:32:01.068 --> 00:32:16.548 In short, god has ordained the system of giving as the main means of making regular deposits, and this makes sense. 00:32:16.627 --> 00:32:19.188 Another parable Suppose you're living. 00:32:19.188 --> 00:32:37.916 Your home is in France, but you're living in the United States for three months and you're having to live in a hotel And you are told that when you get on the plane to return to France, you can't take anything with you, but you can send money ahead to your French bank account. 00:32:37.916 --> 00:32:50.335 How many of you would spend money while you're in the US on expensive furniture and expensive wall hangings and all kinds of decorations? 00:32:50.335 --> 00:33:05.866 No, if you were smart, you'd be sending money ahead to your French bank account and living wisely in the hotel because you can't purchase anything that you can take with you on the flight home. 00:33:05.866 --> 00:33:20.607 Now, the apostles who wrote the New Testament had this mentality When they thought about money and they talked to the churches about money they weren't talking about. 00:33:20.607 --> 00:33:22.092 We need money in the church. 00:33:22.092 --> 00:33:23.435 You need to respond. 00:33:23.435 --> 00:33:26.772 They were concerned with something much more important. 00:33:28.105 --> 00:33:35.198 For instance, paul is in jail in Rome and one church sends him offerings the Philippian church. 00:33:35.198 --> 00:33:41.751 We find this in the fourth chapter of the book of Philippians And Paul praises the Philippians. 00:33:41.751 --> 00:33:44.832 He says you guys sent more than once. 00:33:44.832 --> 00:33:52.289 You sent, i'm paraphrasing you sent a love gift to me when I was in prison And Paul is ecstatic about the gift. 00:33:52.289 --> 00:33:53.030 But get this. 00:33:53.030 --> 00:33:55.717 He doesn't say I am so needy. 00:33:55.717 --> 00:33:57.308 Oh, you met my need. 00:33:57.308 --> 00:34:04.357 He's not like a grimy, you know self-willed TV evangelist who just wants more from people. 00:34:04.357 --> 00:34:05.353 You know what he says. 00:34:05.353 --> 00:34:11.137 He says I am glad, but I'm not glad about you meeting my needs. 00:34:11.137 --> 00:34:17.835 I am excited about the fact that there's profit that's going to increase to your account. 00:34:17.835 --> 00:34:20.927 That's what excites me. 00:34:24.045 --> 00:34:29.514 And if you're a Christian in this room this morning, every one of us has a heavenly account. 00:34:29.514 --> 00:34:45.295 So the question is are you making regular deposits into your heavenly account so you are laying in store a good foundation for the future? 00:34:45.295 --> 00:34:49.086 Now, you won't do this. 00:34:49.086 --> 00:35:03.137 You will not do this unless you're convinced of several things, but one of them is very important, and that is your heavenly home, is your real home. 00:35:05.864 --> 00:35:34.315 One of the things we've lost in the church, i think totally is the whole idea of being a stranger, an alien, an exile, as the New Testament uses freely to describe Christians, men and women who are passing through this life, who aren't looking at this life as a place where we settle down and try to amass as much as we can, but we are men and women who move through life as exiles and strangers and pilgrims, and we have our eye on our real home. 00:35:34.315 --> 00:35:39.615 We're like Abraham who is looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. 00:35:39.615 --> 00:35:42.552 I appreciate living in the United States. 00:35:42.552 --> 00:35:43.990 I love living in Knoxville. 00:35:43.990 --> 00:35:44.949 I have a nice home. 00:35:44.949 --> 00:35:45.987 God's blessed me. 00:35:46.347 --> 00:35:48.414 But this is not my reality. 00:35:48.414 --> 00:35:55.648 There's something else I'm looking for, and everything I do in this life should reflect on where I'm going. 00:35:55.648 --> 00:36:03.690 It's more than heaven as a place I mean biblically. 00:36:03.690 --> 00:36:18.813 It's much more than that, but it's real and you won't make regular deposits into your heavenly account if you're not convinced that they are being held in deposit for a rich reward. 00:36:18.813 --> 00:36:23.835 Now some of us, when it comes to reward, get sheepish and think it doesn't matter. 00:36:23.835 --> 00:36:26.867 I'm saved, i'm going to heaven, that's all that matters. 00:36:26.867 --> 00:36:27.670 But that's not true. 00:36:27.730 --> 00:37:05.436 Biblically, jesus, in many of His parables, makes it clear that faithful living, where I'm investing what God has given me in the kingdom, the parable of the talents, the parable of the workers, many of these parables all reflect the idea that there are levels of reward and that Christians who are faithful remember what Jesus said to the rich young ruler go tell all your possessions, give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. 00:37:05.436 --> 00:37:22.012 In fact, god is so fastidious about this that He tells us that the smallest acts of kindness God is keeping a record of, to reward those who do it. 00:37:22.012 --> 00:37:37.034 Jesus said if anyone gives even a cup of water to one of these little ones because he's my disciple, i tell you the truth he will certainly not lose his reward. 00:37:37.034 --> 00:37:51.036 In Luke, jesus says it this way if you're not trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? 00:37:51.036 --> 00:38:02.175 and this text, along with many others, makes it clear that we, how we handle earthly treasure, determines the depth of our heavenly treasure. 00:38:02.175 --> 00:38:17.251 If you handle treasure on earth faithfully, christ says in Luke 16, god will give you the true riches, eternal riches. 00:38:17.251 --> 00:38:26.697 Now remember something else your heart follows your treasure. 00:38:26.697 --> 00:38:34.592 So if you want a heart for God, make sure you're putting your treasure not an earthly treasure, but in heavenly currency. 00:38:34.592 --> 00:38:43.831 And, by the way, god isn't looking for donors who un-cheerfully put the money in the plate and say okay, i did my duty. 00:38:43.831 --> 00:38:44.673 Glory to God. 00:38:44.673 --> 00:38:46.489 God isn't looking for donors. 00:38:46.489 --> 00:38:54.295 He's looking for men and women who are immersed in a kingdom lifestyle of giving and depositing in their account for the future. 00:38:57.764 --> 00:39:04.226 Not to say it's wrong to spend money on yourself, it is not To take care of our basic needs. 00:39:04.226 --> 00:39:05.945 Everybody in this room has to do that. 00:39:05.945 --> 00:39:15.242 But after that, are you and I wise stewards who are making regular deposits in our heavenly accounts? 00:39:15.242 --> 00:39:27.327 The question, even greater than depositing in our accounts, is are we living this life as pilgrims with an eye towards eternity? 00:39:27.327 --> 00:39:32.827 I want you to take your pulse right now. 00:39:32.827 --> 00:39:35.144 I mean why you sit there. 00:39:35.144 --> 00:39:56.208 I want you to ask yourself this question Do I have the eternal view of life or am I limited to the earthly view And I want to say unabashedly that if you're not committed to regular giving to the kingdom of God, you can say that you have an eye on eternity. 00:39:56.208 --> 00:40:06.485 But it is doubtful, because the man or woman who does will constantly, regularly and committedly be laying up in store for the future. 00:40:06.485 --> 00:40:08.965 I don't have any problems saying that. 00:40:08.965 --> 00:40:14.467 I don't feel ashamed about it because I'm the lead elder in the church and we're talking about money. 00:40:14.467 --> 00:40:15.963 This is biblical. 00:40:15.963 --> 00:40:18.166 This is discipleship 101. 00:40:18.166 --> 00:40:20.442 This brings glory to God. 00:40:30.960 --> 00:40:43.269 Next week I'll talk more basic about in the final message, about how God has designed giving as a major means of making regular deposits in our heavenly account. 00:40:43.269 --> 00:40:52.291 But for this morning, the question I want you to remain with where is your focus? 00:40:52.291 --> 00:40:56.429 Is it on the eternal view of why you're here? 00:40:56.429 --> 00:40:58.826 You know I'm going to be 59 this month. 00:40:58.826 --> 00:40:59.768 I can't believe it. 00:40:59.880 --> 00:41:01.344 I was so bummed out yesterday. 00:41:01.344 --> 00:41:08.610 I was, i was thinking about it And I'm told that there's people near 60, they start going through this. 00:41:08.610 --> 00:41:11.585 So those of you who've passed over give me some encouraging words. 00:41:11.585 --> 00:41:24.505 The thing that blew my mind is and you guys who are almost 60, say what I heard you don't know any. 00:41:24.505 --> 00:41:27.666 We're going to lay hands on Pat suddenly. 00:41:27.666 --> 00:41:29.902 But how many of you? 00:41:29.902 --> 00:41:32.268 you know, i feel 18. 00:41:32.268 --> 00:41:34.724 I still think 18. 00:41:34.724 --> 00:41:38.666 But my body's telling me I'm almost 60. 00:41:38.666 --> 00:41:43.349 And the thing that blew my mind yesterday is I can't believe, how did I get here? 00:41:43.349 --> 00:41:46.266 I remember my school days. 00:41:46.266 --> 00:41:52.943 I was thinking about events that happened in my life when I was in my teens and now I'm almost 60. 00:41:52.943 --> 00:41:55.081 I'm sorry. 00:41:55.081 --> 00:42:04.951 I'm not wanting sympathy, i'm trying to make a point that no person in this room under 30 will agree with. 00:42:06.300 --> 00:42:10.467 And it goes so fast and it's almost over. 00:42:10.467 --> 00:42:21.722 And I know that our brother Dan was not expecting to leave this world And most of us aren't. 00:42:21.722 --> 00:42:23.023 And yet it goes. 00:42:23.023 --> 00:42:25.369 And that's where Scripture says life is a vapor. 00:42:25.369 --> 00:42:30.405 It's like the morning dew it's here and it's gone. 00:42:30.405 --> 00:42:41.592 That's why Jesus' words, as I close, are so salient, so important, so pastoral. 00:42:41.592 --> 00:42:44.608 Do not store up treasure on earth. 00:42:44.608 --> 00:42:55.344 Don't be defined by any earthly value, whether it be money or looks or popularity or identity, in the things of this world. 00:42:55.344 --> 00:43:05.168 Find your value in heavenly treasure and who Christ is and that you are regularly building, an account that you know will wait for you. 00:43:05.168 --> 00:43:09.135 And whether you live 40 years, 80 years or the Lord comes tomorrow. 00:43:09.135 --> 00:43:16.606 You know that one day you will receive that account and enter the eternal riches of God. 00:43:25.079 --> 00:43:32.257 Stand with me. 00:43:32.257 --> 00:43:35.751 I'd like you to do something, rather than call you down to the front, just where you're standing. 00:43:35.751 --> 00:43:49.929 How many of you would honestly say, as I close in prayer this morning, i'm not a good steward and I really need to become a good steward And I've heard this word and I want to change my stewarding. 00:43:49.929 --> 00:43:56.492 I want to live as a steward, as a man or a woman who manages what I've been given by God. 00:43:56.492 --> 00:44:01.929 How many of you, just where you're standing, would raise your hands this morning and say That's me. 00:44:01.929 --> 00:44:04.974 Would you Look at that? 00:44:04.974 --> 00:44:07.039 Don't be ashamed, keep it up. 00:44:07.039 --> 00:44:11.726 Keep your hand up While I'm praying. 00:44:11.726 --> 00:44:16.663 I want our prayer team to come down and I'm going to pray for everybody holding up their hands. 00:44:16.663 --> 00:44:18.690 And I'm not holding up my hand to identify with you. 00:44:18.690 --> 00:44:20.686 I'm holding up my hand to be with you. 00:44:22.019 --> 00:44:49.293 I was convicted in preparing this whole week that I need to be a better steward of the riches of God, and you see, every hand that's raised in this room and there are many And I pray, father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, that you would convict us and you would give us faith, true faith, to obey you and not continue in poor stewardship habits. 00:44:49.293 --> 00:45:03.168 Lord, i pray that everyone whose hand is raised, regardless of how much they have or how little they have, would be committed to regularly and faithfully giving of their finances to the work of God and to the kingdom of God. 00:45:03.168 --> 00:45:08.092 Lord, you know what needs to be changed in every person whose hand is raised. 00:45:08.092 --> 00:45:13.311 I ask you not only to convict us, but change us at heart level this morning. 00:45:13.311 --> 00:45:23.547 Change us by your grace so we are good stewards of all that you give us, so we are regularly depositing into our heavenly account. 00:45:23.547 --> 00:45:28.663 Father, teach us what stewardship consists of. 00:45:28.663 --> 00:45:35.327 In the name of Jesus, amen.