tonight, if you would please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6, verses 19 through 24. Matthew 6, 19 through 24. And as you're turning there, just a little bit of context. This is a very familiar passage. Most of you probably recognize this is in the Sermon on the Mount. Just a little big picture of where we're reading tonight, Jesus has just formerly been speaking of more outward issues of religion, such as prayer and fasting. And now he moves to the more inward motives of the heart, to the very heart issue of our relationship with him. So follow along with me as we now read God's wholly inspired and inerrant word from Matthew chapter 6, verses 19 through 24. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness? No one can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of God endures forever. Please pray with me. O Lord, we do pray that you would take your truth this evening and that you would apply it to our hearts. We pray that you would truly captivate our hearts, that you would sit upon the throne as our most valued possession. For Lord, to know you is to know life eternal. We pray that you would use the remainder of this hour to make us more like Christ Jesus. And we pray that you would do all of this to the glory of your name. Amen. Robert Arendelle, after this morning's sermon, he ended asking a question. And it was a really perfect question, even though he didn't know this. Laying out the introduction to this message here, Whenever he concluded, he asked, so where is your heart this morning? What is your greatest desire? What is the very thing that gives meaning to your life? What is the very kernel of significance that you cling to? This is the very issue that Jesus drives at. in this passage. In the passage of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gets to the very heart of this issue by setting up three contrasting illustrations. Tonight we'll subdivide our text into three main points. We see in verses 19 through 21, Jesus distinguishes our treasure. In verses 22 through 23, where He directs our gaze, Finally, in verse 24, where he determines our master. But first, we see Jesus distinguishing our treasure by setting up a contrast between earthly and heavenly treasures. Now look with me again in verses 19 through 21. 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 destroy and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." And the first reality that we meet with in this passage is the fleeting nature of earthly treasures. And it's important for us to notice that he begins this passage with a negative command, a negative imperative. He says, do not lay up treasures on the earth. What Jesus is about to tell us is more than just a suggestion for good living. This is a command. This is an imperative. Then he highlights the fleeting nature of the things of the earth in the following ways. First, he shows us that these things are easily destroyed. Our earthly treasures can all be eventually destroyed by something as insignificant as a moth or rust. He says, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. That a moth can destroy these things emphasizes the feeble nature of these treasures. That also, he says that they can be easily taken. The earthly treasures ever lay prey to being carried away by someone who would covet the very things that we work for so long to obtain. I mean, this futility was also observed by Solomon in Ecclesiastes 5, 15, when he says, as man came from his mother's womb, so shall he return again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hands. Naked we came into the world, and naked we shall return. We cannot, for all of our strivings, take the very things that we treasure the most if they are earthly. So in the light of the fleeting and temporal nature of such treasures. Jesus commands us not to store up for ourselves treasures such as these. But at this point we need to be careful. What is Jesus calling our treasure? Is it something as simple as just the things that we own, the things that we possess? I don't think that we can draw that conclusion. In verse 21 he says, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And this implies that our treasure is more than that. In fact, these are more than just treasures, possessions, ideas, desires that we own. They're treasures, possessions, and desires that own us. They're things that captivate our hearts, things that drive us. So it's not as simple as the watch on my wrist or the clothes on my back. But Jesus sets this contrast in verse 20 as He calls our attention to the permanent nature of heavenly treasures. And we see in verse 20, So we first have this negative imperative, this negative command, do not lay up treasures on earth. And now He's telling us, lay up treasures in heaven. Indeed, this contrast is absolute. It's black and white. While earthly treasures are subject to decay or being taken from us against our will, heavenly treasures are not subject to decay. No one can take them from us. Luke's gospel records it this way in chapter 12, verses 32 through 34. He says, Fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow old. with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." William Hendrickson, when he commented on this passage, he describes heavenly treasure in the following way. He says that heavenly treasures, that they are moth-proof, rust-proof, burglar-proof, or in other words, that they endure forever in all their sparkling luster, as the irremovable possession of the children of the Heavenly Father is the teaching of scripture throughout. For it tells us about a faithfulness that will never be removed, a life that will never end, a spring of water that will never cease to bubble up within the one who drinks of it, a gift that will never be lost, a hand out of which the good shepherd sheep will never be snatched, a chain that can never be broken, A love from which we can never be separated. A calling that will never be revoked. A foundation that can never be destroyed. An inheritance that will never fade out. This is the very essence of heavenly treasure. This is the essence of a life lived in faith in the finished work of Christ. Verse 21 again tells us where our treasure is, there your heart will be also. So as we begin, Jesus, right at the forefront, drives to the very most inward place of the heart and confronts us and asks us, where is your heart? What is your treasure? Because as we'll see, he will have all of our heart or he will have none of our heart. Now, with that said, you may be saying, well, this is fair and well. I mean, I can clearly see the surpassing nature of heavenly treasure in contrast with earthly treasure. I mean, if you were to ask me, do I want a treasure that is going to break down and I need something new to replace it in 10 years versus something that will never grow old, never lose its luster, and will be for me an enjoyment for all eternity, I mean, clearly, you're going to pick the one that lasts forever. But what does this mean? What does this look like? I think as Jesus follows, He begins to answer this very question. He begins by directing our gaze. In verses 22-23, read this with me again. He says, the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then, the light in you is darkness, How great is the darkness. I mean, having dealt with the treasure of the heart, he now directs his attention to the eye, to the mind. We can see here that Jesus sets up yet another contrast. Yet this time the contrast is between a good eye, an eye that is healthy in verse 22, and an eye that is bad in verse 23. He begins by saying that the eye is the lamp of the body. Calvin puts it this way. He says, neither the hands nor the feet nor the belly serves to direct men in walking, but only the eye is sufficient to guide all of the members. If the hands and the feet are foolishly and improperly directed, the blame of the mistake ought to be charged to the eyes, which do not perform their duty. The eye then, in this passage, is to be understood as the instrument by which we make use of the light around us. It is how we move around with proficiency, with precision. So the contrast follows between this healthy eye in verse 22 and the eye that is bad in verse 23. And Jesus tells us that with a healthy eye, our whole body will be full of light. And the Greek word used here for healthy is not the most common word to express this idea. It actually, this particular word only finds one other mention in the New Testament. The idea here is that of healthy, sincere, good, plain, one. It's an idea of unity. So, the idea of this verse then is that the believer is to have an undistracted gaze. That the believer should have his gaze fixed on eternity. The believer should have his gaze fixed on heaven. Fixed on the matters of the eternal kingdom of God, where true and everlasting treasures reside. The one who has a healthy eye, their whole body will be full of light. That is, that this spiritual eye will itself be illumined by the very Word of God. It will serve as a guide to the believer as he seeks to navigate the turbulent storms of life. It will direct him or her in the ways of righteousness. But this cannot be said about the person with a bad eye. In fact, we see the complete opposite, don't we? Look with me again in verse 23. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness? The contrast here is made explicitly clear. And that we see the word translated here as bad is also the word used for evil in Greek. As a matter of fact, if you look up with me in verse 13 of chapter 6, you'll see Jesus uses this very word as he's teaching his disciples how they ought to pray, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And so it would follow that it is also bad, it is evil, to view the fleeting pleasures of this life with equal value and importance with the eternal everlasting treasure and worth of the kingdom of God, to place our goals and our wants before the very will and word of God. Again, it is not bad to have possessions, but it is bad for our possessions to own us. But while the believer is portrayed here as having an eye fixed on eternity, the unbeliever is portrayed as having a distracted gaze. This person is one that strives and goes all out and labors to satisfy the yearnings of the flesh. This person's vision is clouded over by the passions of this world. Indeed, they may feel as if they are on top of the world and everything is going their way. Yet, our Lord Jesus says that this person in reality is stumbling about in the darkness. If this is the light in you, how great is that darkness. But Jesus tells us in Luke's Gospel, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself daily, take up his cross, and follow me. Thirdly and finally, Jesus concludes by determining our master. Verse 24 says, no one can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. No one can. It's a very interesting statement that I think that we can blow past too quickly. Often we fall into the trap of deceiving ourselves, thinking as regenerate Christians, we can surely hold on to a little of both worlds. But Jesus says no one can. It is extremely difficult to hold that balance, but it's an impossible balance to hold. So don't fool yourself into thinking that there are exceptions to this rule. Don't think that you can keep one eye in eternity and one eye on the world. This evening, Christ would have our undistracted gaze, a gaze that is singular in vision and a heart that holds Him as its highest treasure and a will that sees Him as its only master. This is a one-way street, in other words, He's telling us that we have two options and we will necessarily pick one or the other. We cannot choose both. You will either love God and hate the world or you will be devoted to the world and despise God. You cannot serve God and money. Now money is not, the word is actually mammon. You can't just, it's not just money in particular. It's anything, again, that you would hold as your highest treasure, anything that you would cherish as the greatest possession in this life. But what does this mean for us? How are we to store up treasures in heaven? First, I think that we can take away from this that we need to remind ourselves of the reality of the things around us. They are passing away. Jesus is not telling us that it is bad or wrong for us to have or even desire things here upon the earth. But He is telling us that these things must not be the most valuable possession that we own. Second, we can see the urgency to illumine our eyes with the Word of God. Psalm 119, 105 says, Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. The world will introduce many struggles, pains, concerns, and temptations, and all of these must be viewed through the lens of Scripture. And third, as we are constantly checking our heart to assure that He is our most prized possession, and as we continue to illumine our path, the path of our feet with the truth of God's Word, let us examine our will and strive to bring an undersubmission to the will of God the Father. John 4.34 says that Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. I mean, it's Jesus as our model. We also strive to hold God's will and his work as our highest aim. To see other people come to know him as we see others stumbling about in the darkness. Do we not have a heart for these people? Do we not try to reach out to these people, labor before the Lord in prayer, that He would accomplish His work in their hearts as He has in our own? But we will not be perfect in this regard. And that's not the point of this passage. We are to strive daily to be like this. But before the day has ended, before we put our heads down on our pillows tonight, we will have fallen short of the standard that Christ puts before us. Instead, we need to be careful to remember that Christ is not calling us to a life of perfect works, but a life of faith lived in his perfect work, that he accomplished this very thing for us. As we heard this morning of the Day of Atonement, and we rejoice in the sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, Let us put our faith in His finished work as we strive to be more and more like Christ, and we strive to have Him as our most valued possession. For as we continue to do this, we will see increasingly more how He is our everlasting treasure. Amen. Please pray with me. Dear Lord, we thank You for the sufficiency of your word. We thank you, O Lord, our God, that you are a rock, that you are sufficient, that you call us not to work for a good standing with you, but, O Lord, that you call us to have faith in the standing that we have through Christ. Help us, Lord Jesus, to be more like you this day, but to see you more as our everlasting treasure, our most valued possession. Help us, O Lord, as we strive to keep our eyes on you and you alone in the turbulent storms of life. Help us, O Lord, to bring our will in submission under yours as we study your word and strive to be students of it. For we pray all of this in the name of Christ. Amen.