Matthew chapter 6, and I want to read verses 19 to 34. This next section I've entitled, Wise Investing. There'll be five parts. And I want to keep visiting in this series the foundational challenge that we have of covetousness from our own hearts and then anxiousness in the living out of our lives. The covetousness and anxiousness, I'll be revisiting that back and forth, but our Lord wants us to respond to the call to maturity The call to give, to pray, to fast, as we've been learning, all this is now moving us toward wise investing. Matthew 6, verses 19 to 34. This is God's holy word. Jesus says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, 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 either he will 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. Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life. Just take that one statement. Don't be anxious about your life. what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on, is not life more than food in the body, more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life. Think of that one. Anxiousness takes away from your life. Verse 28. And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field. How they grow, they neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 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? Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. sufficient for the day is its own trouble. If we would just meditate on Scripture and pray Scripture, think of how much more at peace we would be and at rest. Let's pray. Lord, we're humbled. We're humbled by this picture again that you've painted for us. of how You despise covetous hearts and anxiousness. Lord, help us, Lord. We want to grow and mature and honor You. Glorify Your name. It's in Your name we pray. Amen. As I mentioned covetousness, that of course comes from the word covet. What does it mean to covet? To covet is to have an inordinate or excessive affection or desire for wealth and or possessions, things. What does the word anxious mean? It means a mental distress or an uneasiness because of fear in life. Basic definitions, and what I want us to see is that when we get things out of balance and we unwisely invest in earthly things, what ends up following thereafter is an anxious life. A stressed out life. A life gripped by fear and not trusting God. That's why it's on the heels of giving praying and fasting. It's not by mistake that it follows right there. Right on the heels of all that, he goes, therefore, do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves rake in the steel. Because if you're clinging to earthly things and investing in things that don't matter in eternity, The result will be an anxious life. And that's an epidemic in evangelicalism today. People are stressed about everything, wound tight, instead of resting in God's sovereignty and his will for your life. Remember, the 10th commandment says this. You shall not covet your neighbor's house You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female servants, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. Because what drives off in this covetous life is lusting for all that he just mentioned. Now you might say, well, I'm not concerned about anybody's ox. Yeah, but you write lust after his car. I'm not concerned about his donkey. Yeah, but you want his house. And you're not happy until you get all that you want. And again, I'm not against ambition and hard work. But what Jesus is saying is here is what's driving you? What treasures are you pursuing? The greatest treasure we all hopefully agree on is Jesus Christ. But when I started thinking about the greatest earthly treasure, I have to say my Bible. I remember my dear friend Jim Elliffe, who we're gonna have here this fall, Lord willing, I love him. He's just a great brother. We've often talked about the Bible being our greatest treasure. How it's so easy to ignore your Bible. But really what causes you to ignore your Bible reading is your enemy. Remember that. And often it's the things of the world that pull us away from simplicity and purity of devotion. to reading the scriptures. Anyway, when I was sick with COVID two weeks, two, three weeks ago, Jim said, Jerry, how is your Bible reading? And before I could say something, I was going to tell him I hadn't read my Bible in a couple of days and I was all distraught. I mean, again, I give all glory to God, but for me to miss my Bible reading for a day or two is really problematic. And so what happened is he said, well, when I had COVID, he said, the brain fog was so bad, I couldn't read one Bible verse for two plus weeks. I lamented that and I was thankful. Then I said, well, Jim, I write with you. I said, I've had a tough time. I've read my Bible more than you. when you had COVID, but the greatest treasure, besides Jesus Christ, is having God's word in our own language. And when it ceases to be your greatest treasure, problems kick in, anxiousness goes into high gear, and then we have huge issues in our lives. Fight for time in God's word. Pray for each other. One of the greatest prayers you can pray for someone, another believer is pray that they would love God's word more each day. Read it more meditatively and pray through it and trust God to speak to them through it. We need God's grace. Now this next section then, verses 19 to 34, really could be called Do Not Be Anxious or The Cure for Anxiousness in Our Life. So the cure is the same as it was for hypocrisy in giving, praying, and fasting. And that is, here's the cure. The cure is this, knowing that God our Father knows, sees, and understands our life. Remember at the end of each of those previous things, the fasting, notice verse three and four of Matthew 6. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. So what's the cure for being stressed out or anxious or turning from covetousness to trusting God? It's knowing that God sees you. He knows you. He understands you. How about in the section on prayer where he says, But when you pray, verse six, Matthew six, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will war you. See, again, the emphasis is upon God seeing, God knowing us, God understanding our current life situation. And then, of course, in the area of fasting, But when you fast, verse 17, know in your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your Father who is in secret, only by Him, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. God sees everything in our lives. He knows our words before we speak them. It says that in Matthew 6. God is in control, He's sovereign over history. over our individual lives. There's nothing we can hide from God. We need to load our thinking with this, because when we think this way, then we see the root problem behind all anxiety then, is this next section, verses 19 and following through 24, and that is the first problem we face, which we'll see this morning, verses 19 to 21, is having mixed up priorities. And then in verses 23 to 23, Dealing with greed. What flows out of what I'll be talking about today is the battle with greed. What is greed? Greed is basically covetousness. Again, remember, covetousness is an inordinate affection or desire for wealth and or possessions. In other words, that's the same definition for greed. Never satisfied. Mixed up priorities. All flowing from a heart problem. Remember, what he's saying here is this. At the end of verse 24, you cannot serve God and money. Mammon, it's a term from ancient Near East that means basically money. Greed, and then spiritual adultery follows. Notice the language again in verse 24 at the beginning. No one can serve two masters, for either he will 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. In other words, watch out. The world's going to keep telling you to do whatever it takes to accumulate things and not make the most important things which drive you. Remember in James, warns of spiritual adultery. In James 4, in verse 4, look what it says here. He says, you adulterous people, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world, whoever wants the affirmation of the world, makes himself an enemy of God. This is why it also says in 1 John 2, Verses 15 and following, notice here, similar language. This is all helpful, plays into the whole thinking of spiritual adultery. Verse 15 of 1 John 2, it says, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires are lusts of the flesh, the desires are lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life. is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its lusts or desires. But whoever does the will of God abides forever. So anxiety needs to be attacked. Because we fall easily into mixed up priorities spiritually, we end up drifting from God in our walk if we're not fighting the good fight of faith, and then greed drives us. Covetousness. And then a life just dominated by anxiousness. And unhappiness. An inner shame of sadness. The spiritual maturity is what we're called to for the glory of God. Turn with me to Luke 12 for a second. Luke 12. This is helpful. Again, it shows us then the problem of anxiety needs to be addressed. Luke 12. I wanna read just three verses. Verse 15, Jesus says in the parable of the rich fool, take care and be on your guard against all covetousness. For one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Then notice verse 18. And he said, I will do this, this rich fool. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. Then verse 21. Verse 20, but God says to him, fool, this night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure for himself not God, not for the glory of God, not for investment in eternity, not for the good of the church, not for the good of his family, not for the glory of God, but for himself and is not rich toward God. So this is just, this new section here is on wise investing. It's gonna challenge us to be wise investors and run from covetousness. Now there's three points I want us to see in this next section here. Verses 19 to 21 today. First of all, we must know where not to invest. Verse 20, we must know where to invest. And then verse 21, we must know where our heart is in the whole picture. Let me read it again, verses 19 to 21. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But, instead, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, for 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." It's very humbling. Now in this passage then, we see the reality of the individual with mixed up spiritual priorities. We see from the outset of this text in verses 19 and 34, the real culprit behind all of this is anxiety from having, this anxiety comes from having an earthly perspective upon all of our life investment. Investment of our time, our talents, our energy, our money. All these things come into play that produce this problematic anxiety. In other words, we need to ask ourselves, Lord, evaluate, allow me to open up my spiritual portfolio. And ask yourself when doing so whether or not you'll expect a return on your investment. If you were to ask right now to actually, actually you were told a couple days ago to come here and to come ready to open up your spiritual portfolio. Well, we can look at your spiritual investments. How would you feel when we began to look at each page of your portfolio? the priority of your time, the priority of your money management, the plans you might have for a future, to see an inheritance given to your children's children. Money management, time management, spiritual prioritizing. See, what happens is mixed up priorities is the culprit behind this, and it produces, again, this anxiousness there. So could our spiritual portfolio be truly set Would it truly speak to those who opened it up? Would it truly say that I have a spiritual heart? priority in that See heart religion then is evidenced by the ways and the places where we spend our money Heart religion true Christianity true true investing wise investing comes down to this a How are you investing in the places where you spend your money? Now there's, again, three verses. In these three verses, our Lord instructs us that the way to receive a 100% return upon all of our investing is by knowing where to invest, where not to invest, and where our heart is in the whole process. But remember, in Jeremiah 17, this is a warning. Remember Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Jeremiah 17. In Jeremiah 17, notice, he says in verse 9, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who could understand it? So we have the danger of remaining sin, The danger that we could be duped and deceived by our thinking unbiblically about why is investing, and we could actually think our portfolio is fine because of church attendance, a ministry that you do. Maybe that's how you measure your spiritual investment in your portfolio. But what about your time with God? What about your time praying for others? Is there a priority there that could jump out at us, or does your heart tell you you're a spiritual giant? You know, a lot of people think more highly of themselves than they ought to spiritually. Now, if you're a believer, if you're a believer here this morning, you've repented and believed the gospel, and you're a child of God. God looks at you and is pleased with you. Amen. But if truth be known, practically living, are you happy where you are in your walk with God? That's the challenge. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. Start investing in what really matters because otherwise moth and rust will destroy it. Thieves will break in and steal. Randy Alcorn, in his book, The Treasure Principle, said this, Why store up for yourselves, ourselves, treasures on earth? Because, why not to? Because they're bad? No. But because they won't last. That's why. Our investment in earthly things will last a short while before moth gets it, rust gets it, thieves break in, and steal. Don't lay up. It's a Greek imperative. It's a command. Don't do this investment program. It's a foolish investment program. Don't invest purely in earthly things that are not going to last. Now here's the question. All treasures, should all treasures be cast aside? No, only earthly treasures, why? Because you can be sure to receive a 0% return in your investment, unearthly investments, while such investments can be summarized as being those things that will perish because of the following three things. Moths, remember moths still eat clothing. Anybody experience that? They still do it, if you don't watch it. Rust, it really means in the Greek, this word for rust means, it's called an eating, eating, E-A-T-I-N-G. It's an eating. The New Testament use refers to food alone, however, the word can refer to corrosion of metals. Thus, here it has a double meaning. That is, rust represents an eating away of food stored in barns like grain and corn, which rats, mice, worms, and insects would have eaten. And do today when people don't cover their feed for their animals. Remember again, our Lord is addressing an agrarian culture. Let me go back to Luke 13. Notice again in verses 13 and following. Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, tell me brother to divide the inheritance with me. Tell my brother to divide the inheritance. But he said, verse 14, He said to him, man, who made me a judge or arbiter over you? And he said to him, take care and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. And he told them a parable saying, the land of a rich man produced plenty, plentifully, and he thought to himself, what shall I do? For I have nowhere to store my crops. And he said, I will do this, I will tear down the barns and build bigger ones. larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. But I will say, and I will say to my soul, soul, you have ample goods laid up for yourselves for years. Relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God says to him, fool, this night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich. toward God. Again, this is the context in which Jesus is talking. This agrarian culture, it can refer to corrupted treasures, again, that people will collect that will ultimately corrode. What do you have sitting around the house that needs to be thrown out? It's a picture. It's a reminder. It's a great challenge. Do we have clothes that we can give away? I need to go through my clothes. My wife tells me all the time. This is going to push me to do that, I think. It's a reminder here again of also that thieves can break in and steal. And it literally means a digging through. where thieves do not break in, do not dig in, in the Greek here, in those days they had mud brick walls in the first century homes. And it was not uncommon for a thief to dig through the walls of homes and then steal the less corruptible things a family might own. It's interesting. My father-in-law died recently and we were in Jonesville for a couple days for the funeral. And I was with someone in town, I can't remember who I was talking to, a friend of the family. And I said, isn't that odd? The family dollar store here, why does this have a ton, or the dollar store, the yellow sign, why is it, a light yellow and then a dark yellow on the building. They said, well, what happened was recently, in the middle of the night, someone backed in some heavy equipment and busted a hole in the dollar store and went in and robbed the store. Brought out a bunch of stuff. It's probably about maybe as big as from the top of the cross to the bottom and to the stained glass to the stained glass. Big hole. And he said, yeah, now what's left is, he said, they had to repair it and it's got this two-tone look. But it's the same idea, breaking through a mud brick wall and then stealing in people's homes. You get the idea. Again, this is the picture that he wants to remind us here, that don't invest in things that can be easily grabbed. An eternity that will last only in this life. I mean, think about this. It tells us in Deuteronomy 8 that God gives us the ability to make money. Tells us in 1 Samuel 2.7, in essence, pretty much the same. That God is the author of our ability to make money. I'm thankful for Cal and Johnson to give a little money for retirement. Again, that's an important laying up investment for the future. Are we investing wisely? Look at this here. 2 Corinthians chapter 12. 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Notice what it says in verses 12, 2 Corinthians 12, 14. Basically it's the passage, I guess I have the wrong text here. It's the passage that says, 2 Corinthians 12 14. He says, here for the third time, I am ready to come to you and I will not be a burden for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents but parents for their children. See, there's that understanding, a basic understanding, and a good man does that. In Proverbs 13, Proverbs 13, 22. Proverbs 13, 22, we read this. A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous. So you see it had this interaction. God enables us to be, to create wealth. God calls us to not be covetous, but he calls us to invest in that which really matters. He's not against life insurance policies. He's not against wise investing through stockbrokers and wealth managers. He's not against any of that. But at the end of the day, the reminder is this, Figure out nowhere not to invest. You don't invest in that which is gonna be eaten away and easily destroyed and stolen. It's a powerful reminder. And how about this in 1 Timothy chapter five. This one reminds us again of the importance of money management and it says in verse eight of chapter five of 1 Timothy. but if anyone does not provide for his relatives and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Again, just this reminder, we're not to invest. Don't invest in things that are unnecessary. Don't invest, be dominated in your portfolio about nothing but material possessions, it's all what drives you. But he's telling us here to invest in that which will last for eternity. So we have to literally take out and evaluate ourself. You know, this time of year I'm starting to fix and do my taxes. I'm not real thrilled about that every year. I got to do it by this time, as we all do. Again, but in that time I always am faced with how I manage money during the year. When I look at the numbers and crunch the numbers, well, how could I have changed and mismanaged and handled this better? And to the glory of God, what ends up happening is, I either am encouraged that God is teaching me how to give more, how to grow more, how to meet needs, and how to better manage our day-to-day income. But again, a reminder here, are we accumulating lots of unnecessary things? Are we accumulating lots of things that we can't part from easily? What should we have a struggle with giving away? Think about it. Something that will last. valuably for quite some time to the glory of God, to the fruit of the kingdom of God. So it's having to do with the issue then of knowing how to invest and how to manage your money because naked we came, says Job 1, 21, came into this world, naked we leave. In fact, we're reminded of this in 1 Timothy chapter 6. Notice the language, verse 7 and following. For we brought nothing into the world, we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation. There's the covetousness. And then they fall into a snare into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." That's a frightening statement, isn't it? The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. That's a frightening phrase also. They've done it to themselves. They've pierced themselves with many pangs. It just doesn't sound good. All kinds of evil. Man, the problem isn't money. The problem is what we allow money to do to us. Again, is it wrong to be a rich man? No. If you're not a godly man, and you have access to large sums of money, and God's not your all in all, and He's not the priority of your life, then that stuff will suffocate you, and you'll be living constantly in fear of losing it, and the stress of all that, the anxiousness of potential. They say when people work hard to finally get wealth and they're very wealthy, all of a sudden, now they're stressed out. Not so much about not having enough, because they have that. Now it's losing it. It's a powerful reminder. Pierce themselves. They did it to themselves. Why? They didn't lay up treasures in heaven. They didn't invest in eternity. Again, I'm not talking about it's bad to save for the future, no. I'm not saying that at all. I'm not saying it's bad to have a portfolio in which you're investing wisely and building an inheritance for your family. I'm not saying that at all. But it's a reminder and a warning that unless we're giving from the top of the heap and we're thinking through to give joyfully, hilariously, sacrificially, for God's eyes alone, for the glory of God, what ends up happening is we get suffocated by our ambition to such a point that where it dominates all of our thinking. And we can't sleep at night. We have stomach problems. and other stressful things that grab people. Secondly, so we have to know where not to invest. Secondly, know where to invest. He tells us, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Invest in those things that have eternal significance. Be rich toward God. I know that sounds simplistic. I'm not trying to make it sound simplistic, but be rich toward God. Give to the glory of God. Ask yourself, what drives me? What's my motive? You must know where to invest. One man said this, he said, the verse about laying up treasures in heaven is not a commandment, an appeal to sanctify common sense, or better, a challenge to the faith of those who profess to believe in heavenly realities. Clearly, if earthly treasures are corruptible and insecure, we will do better to employ our time securing heavenly treasure. Is saving wrong? No. Should we never make provisions for the future? Of course. Does the teaching of Jesus open the way to irresponsibility? Where do common sense and prudence end and treasure hoarding and greed begin? Did our Creator not teach the squirrels, in Proverbs 10, 14, to hoard their nuts for wintertime? The diligent man will get precious wealth, asserts Solomon, Proverbs 12, 27. A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. The soul of the diligent is richly supplied. We cannot and must not say that prosperity is any more evil than prudence, nor may we damn the possession of wealth. Again, Randy Alcorn in his book, The Treasure Principle, says this, so then what are these treasures in heaven? He said, first of all, it's power. Then possessions. Then pleasures. These are what should drive us. Go with me to Luke 19 for just a moment. Luke 19. In Luke 19, notice how this works. First of all, power. Power. This is an interesting portion of scripture. Luke 19, 15 and following it says, Jesus says about the parable of the 10 minas investing. He says, when he returned, having received the kingdom, He ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him that he might know what they had gained by doing business when he was gone. The first came to him and said, Lord, your mina has made 10 minas. And he said to him, well done, good and faithful servant, because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over 10 cities. And the second came and said, Lord, your mina has made five minas. And he said to him, and you are to be over five cities. Then another came and said, Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief. For I was afraid of you because you were a severe man. You take what you did not deposit and you reap what you did not sow. He said to him, I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant. You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank And at my coming, I might have collected it with interest. And he said to those who stood by, take the mina from him, give it to the one who has 10 minas. And they said to him, Lord, he has 10 minas. I tell you that everyone who has more will be given, but the one who has not even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who do not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me." It's a frightening picture, but really it's a reference early on in verse 17 or so. He talks about you'll be over ten cities. What's he talking about? He's talking about the new heavens and the new earth. The stewardship, he's talking about power. What are these treasures? Right now, as we manage what God gives us, again, it's building a power in the kingdom to come. through the authority of God's blessing and the stewardship of our management for the glory of God. Secondly, it's dealing with the issue of possessions. Notice in Matthew 19, the rich young ruler. Notice here in Matthew 19, verse 21. The young man, that's the rich young ruler, said to Jesus, all these things I have kept, what do I still lack? And Jesus said, if you would be perfect, Go sell what you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me." So it has to do with possessions, this treasure principle, this treasure in heaven. Are we laboring now so that the future and the new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells, are we laboring in that way to bring a great return to the kingdom of God? A great investment, a wise investment, and then are we with our possessions doing the same thing here with the rich young ruler? And then lastly, pleasures forevermore. In Psalm 16, verse 11, it says, you made known to me the path of life, and in your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. So again, as we invest in eternity, we're seeing again, the future solidified, practically speaking. We're seeing the possessions that God has blessed us with prosper. And then he's given us pleasures forevermore, beginning now and eternity. And then in verse 29, at the end of this section of the Rikshaan Ruler, he says this. And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands for my name's sake, listen to this, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life, but many who are first will be last and the last first. In other words, what's gonna happen is those who invest in eternity receive a hundred times as much in heaven, a 10,000% return. It's wise to invest in that which is not passing away, to invest in eternity. That's what he's called us to. What a powerful reminder. Furthermore, these treasures, I think, are threefold in our mission. First of all is this. Here's a treasure that you can get your hands around and it could bring back great returns. First of all this, exalt Jesus Christ in your life. Exalt Jesus Christ. For me to live is Christ, Philippians 1.21, and to die is gain. Christ who is your life, Colossians 3 and verse 4. Invest in our Lord Jesus Christ. Exalt Jesus Christ. Secondly, edify the saints of God in the here and now. Edify them, encourage, in other words, build up, equip, Invest in eternity. Build up the people. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5. 5.11 says this. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up just as you are doing. He tells the leaders of the church in Ephesians 4.12, equip the saints for the work of ministry. These are treasures. The investment of time, of talent, of spiritual gifts in the kingdom of God are what bring a great return from such treasures. Exalt Christ. Edify the saints of God. But also this. Evangelize the lost. I appreciate what Tyler was sharing today, his report, how we want to gain people, we want to attract people, if God can use the website, great, use our lives most importantly, our families, absolutely, we want to be praying toward that end. But how about this, for a third E, exalt Christ, edify the saints, but also evangelize the lost. How about this? Titus 3.14. Titus 3.14 we read, and let our people learn to devote themselves to good works so as to help cases of urgent need and not be unfruitful. A great passage, wow. Being fruitful. Deliberate. Not just saying, well, I was there at church and everything seemed to be okay. Are you ministering to anybody? Are you thinking of others? Are you praying for others? Are you investing in eternity? Are you laying up treasures in heaven? Here's some practical ways to invest. How about in benevolence to the needy? We've supported the Christian food mission for years. There's a worthy ministry, Robert Smith started. To give from the top of the heap, to give sacrificially, joyfully. How about this, Proverbs 19.17. This is a very challenging passage. Proverbs 19.17. Here it is. 19.17. Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord. Think about that. And he will repay him for his deeds. So there's that good works driven from a love for Jesus Christ, to exalt Christ, to edify the people of God, to point them to opportunities to minister, to equip the saints, and the result is blessing. His deeds are paid back for the glory of God. Generosity begins to dominate the church. We could do this by supporting missions, both home and abroad. We could do this by investing in literature. How important is literature? I read something yesterday in a book written by Joel Beeke. He was big on literature, we all know that. And he just talked about how a man One of the ways you can love your wife better is by recommending pithy books and booklets that will help her grow spiritually. He said investing in that. He said also, wives need to make sure they let their husbands buy as many books as they want. I don't know about that interpretation. But the point is, literature, missions home and foreign, benevolent ministries locally, Are we spending our money for heavenly ends? There was an opportunity to give last night for the young people's trip to the Ark in Kentucky. It's a worthy investment, solidifying a worldview that we adhere to here. Whatever, a gift of $5, $10 would do something. Investment in the kingdom of God in such ways that are worthwhile and bring back a return. Or not temporary, but bring back a return. Lives are changed. I think of the people that impacted my life early on in my Christian life. People spent time with me, loved me, prayed for me, prayed over me, gave me opportunities to minister. I remember when I was asked in John MacArthur's church by one of the elders there, Roy McAtee, if I'd be willing to help in the children's department. I was touched. I said, I don't know if I could do that. I want to, but how do you work with children? He said, I'll put you under a man to train you. And they did, and that opened the door a couple other doors, and all of a sudden, ultimately led to my calling to preach. Specific opportunities, actual investments, maintaining spiritual priorities. Thirdly, no where our heart is. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also." John Piper, when Minnesota was dealing with the whole issue of the lottery, whether he should have a lottery in Minnesota where his church is to this day, but he's no longer the pastor. He said, this is part of an article he wrote, where he said, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Jesus was right. He said, but let me make this statement about lotteries and gambling, Christians. He said, it is wrong to endorse and support an institution that is bound to confirm people in their weaknesses and cultivate in others the greed that only lies latent without this outlet. will hook most people, those people who need just the opposite, namely encouragement and guidance in fiscal diligence and responsibility. They're the ones who will be hooked into the lottery and destroyed. Just one little practical area. What do we do with that? Well, where is our heart in all this? Jesus knew the hearts of men. He knew what was in man, John 2, 24 and 25. The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. It shows our hearts. It reveals who we really are. Again, back to Jeremiah 17. The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. Who could understand it? Again, a powerful reminder. The unsaved man, what can he do? His heart deceives him. But the Christian can be watchful. and constant, like Solomon said here in Proverbs 4.23, watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flows the springs of life. A Christian can lay up treasures in heaven. A Christian can invest in eternity. He can watch over his heart. But what about the unsaved man? He needs the gospel. He needs to be evangelized. He needs a new heart. As Christians, we have new hearts. It says Ezekiel 36, 26, 27. Here's an interesting reminder. If we don't watch it, our heads will grow faster than our hearts for the kingdom works. Books are important and helpful, but they must work us toward heart service to the kingdom of God. Where is your heart this morning? Are you desirous of investing in eternity? What is the state of your being as I speak to you? Is it wandering from heavenly priorities? What would your spiritual portfolio look like if opened up right now? What adjustments would you make? We're not talking about working your way to heaven. We believe in salvation by grace through faith. But God works through the word, which is a treasure and a gift to us, to expose our hearts, sharper than any two-edged sword, to bring us to ask these questions and to say, I need to make some adjustments in my portfolio. I need to go see Cal this week. Thankfully, Cal could give you counsel not just about money, but about Christ. It reminds us, again, of the present controversy that pressures us in our culture away from kingdom investing. Our society is telling us to do everything but invest in things that will last. John Calvin made an interesting statement here. He said, if honor is rated the highest good by you, then ambition must take complete charge of a man. If money is rated as your highest good, then greed will take over the kingdom of your life. If pleasure is your highest good, then men will certainly degenerate into sheer self-indulgence. What is the highest good? Investing in that which really matters. Eternity. Laying up treasures in heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy, where a thief cannot break in and steal. But investing in eternity because Where our heart is is the key. He says, for where your heart is, there you will be also. Spurgeon said this, the heart must and will go in the direction of that which it counts precious and nowhere else. Let me say it again. The heart must and will go in the direction of that which it counts precious. Does your heart count precious Christ's call to lay up treasures in heaven? Pray for me that my heart will be dominated by that thinking. I want to lay up treasures in heaven like I hope you do too. J.C. Ryle asked these two questions about this section of Matthew where he said, What do you love most? And secondly, what are your chiefest affections upon the things of earth and upon the things of heaven? What are they? Then it says in Proverbs 23, seven, for as a man thinks within himself, so is he. What then is the source of man's anxiety? Covetous heart. Often a covetous heart. The desire for things that will easily corrupt and bring a 0% return on his investment. That is typically what dominates someone's source of anxiety. We all know that's true. Adjustments have to be made. Portfolios have to be restructured. Revisited, it's good. In Mark 4, 18, we read this. And others are the ones on whom the seed was sown among the thorns. These are the ones who have heard the word, watch, Jesus says, they're the ones who have heard the word and the worries of this world. Anxiousness. Stressful anxiousness. The worries of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things that enter in and they end up choking the Word and they become unfruitful in their lives. I mean, just let me say this again. Mark 4. Mark 4, 18. It's the purpose of parables, verse 18. Talks about the rocky ground, believer, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy, and then they have no root in themselves, verse 17, 417 of Mark, but endure for a while. Then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the Word, but the cares of the world." The cares of the world. Whether I can eat, what am I going to eat or drink, or what kind of clothes I'm going to wear, the cares of the world. But your Father knows you need them, Jesus said earlier on. But it's those things. Making the mortgage payment. Maybe you bit off more than you could chew. Your mortgage is more than you can handle. I don't know. Whatever you're, you have to evaluate your portfolio. Maybe two car payments is completely over the top and need to be reevaluated. Maybe there's no money being invested and no giving in church. Maybe you need to begin by giving from the top of the heap to the church. All I know is this, wise investment is what we're called to, and we have to manage God's money as wise stewards so that when He comes back, we can show that we have a return on our investment. Again, back to the passage here. The carers, they hear the word, the carers of the world, The deceitfulness of riches, it's a mist. You might have a great investment today and look fantastic, and then we may go to war in Ukraine and you lose everything. cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in. And as they enter in, what do they do? They say, come on, let's get after a guy. No. Think of the picture. These things that should never be invested in end up choking. Think of a picture of a man being choked out. It's choking the word out of him. Choke the word, and what's the result? An unfruitful Christian life. We're not talking about, oh, maybe you're not saved. I don't know your heart, but what I can say is this. An unproductive, unfruitful Christian life is a dishonor to God. You may be saved, but it's a dishonor to God. He wants us to go forward ministering in His name for the glory of God. That's the calling. Close with Colossians 3, 1-6. I'm sorry, Colossians 3, 1-6. If then you have been raised with Christ, and we have as believers, Seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life? Appears then you also will appear with him in glory put to death therefore What is earthly in you put it away put away sexual immorality? impurity passion evil desire covetousness Which is idolatry on account of these things the wrath of God is coming This is God's Holy Word. May he help us this price Lord, we pray for tender hearts for those who have not yet trusted you as their Lord and Savior. They would see the word could be choked. It could be choked out of them. Lord, I pray they would see the beauty of the treasure that your word is and that you are to your church. Thank you, Lord. We pray that you would open eyes and ears and hearts, Lord, to see the beauty of investing in eternity. Thank you, Lord, for who you are, for your calling upon our lives. Help us to run from covetousness and anxiousness and to rest in what you've done for us. It's in your name we pray. Amen.