and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Let's pray again. Lord, we just pray now that you'll please help us, Lord. Please help me to teach your word accurately and helpfully. And Lord, please work in us by your Holy Spirit to enable us to receive what your word is saying to us. We pray through Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen. Now we come now to a new section in the Sermon on the Mount. In the previous section, you'll remember that Jesus was talking about how we practice our piety. In other words, about how we go about our religious duties towards God and how we relate with God. And he said that we should practice our religious duties with a view to God's approval rather than a view to getting approval from men. We should not be like the Pharisees, like the hypocrites who are doing everything for show, for approval from people, but rather we should practice our piety as much as possible secretly with a view to God seeing what we do and God who sees what we do in secret will reward us. Now, this little section here forms something of a transition between what Jesus was saying in the last section and what he's now going to be going on to talk about in the coming section, because it has a link with what he was talking about, especially when he was talking about giving, how we should give secretly. It links up with that and relates very much to that. But he's going on then to talk about living in the world. How is a Christian to live in this world? We are living in a material world. We are still in physical bodies. We haven't yet got to glory. We still need to, many of us, we need to work if possible. We need to spend money on clothing and food. We need to have houses to live in. How can we do that in the right way without on the one hand idolising the things of this world and being greedy and on the other hand having a sort of false asceticism, which rejects the things of this world, and becoming like monks and hermits. How can we have the right attitude towards living in this material world? Well, Jesus, from here, from this little section that I read, right the way through really to the end of this chapter, is talking all about money, possessions, material things, living in this world. And clearly, Jesus is here acknowledging and recognizing and warning us about the fact that one of the greatest competitors for your heart's affection is going to be material things. Now, we live in an extremely materialistic society today. But by reading what Jesus said 2,000 years ago, we realise that materialism is nothing new. There's nothing new under the sun, is there? People have always been materialistic. People have always been greedy. We might have more with which to be greedy now than most people will have had 2,000 years ago. but the same thing continues, the same tendency towards materialism. Now, we're just today, as I say, going to be just thinking about this little section that I read, verses 19 to 21, and God willing, hopefully in future weeks we'll look at other things that Jesus says which reinforce and underline what he says in this section, in this little part that we've just read. And what is Jesus really saying in this thing overall? What he's really saying is we should live as people, remember he's talking to his disciples, he's talking to Christians, He's talking to people who've been saved, people who have eternal life. And he says, look, if you are a Christian, you should remember that this life here is extremely short in comparison with the life that you have got coming ahead of you. And what's more, you should remember that what you, the way that you handle your money and your wealth here can affect your enjoyment of the life to come. And basically we've got a choice. We can either go for the option of maximizing our comfort now, in which case we will have less of a rich enjoyment of the world to come. That's the foolish option, because we won't find any satisfaction that way anyway, and we'll be frustrated. And whatever we do accumulate in this life will be lost anyway. But that's one option. The other option, which is the option that Jesus commends, is to minimize our enjoyment of things in this world now in order to maximise our enjoyment in the world to come. And he says that's the wise option, that's the good option. Now in saying that, Jesus is not saying that material things are bad, he's not saying that it's evil to buy things, but he's saying, what's actually going to be in your, actually your best interest? What's going to help you to have the best overall outcome, if you like, is if you, if you spend less in this world and you, as it were, invest for the world to come. Now, we can divide what Jesus says into three little sections. First of all, what Jesus says negatively, do not, verse 18, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. And then positively, what Jesus says, what he commends, verse 20, store up treasures for yourselves in heaven. And then thirdly, the reason, verse 21, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So, first of all then, Jesus says, do not store up yourselves treasures on earth. Let's read now verse 19 again. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. And what Jesus is really here saying is that he's not, when he says do not store up for yourselves treasures of earth, he's not giving like an absolute blanket prohibition on buying anything in this world. But what he's saying is He's saying to his disciples, look, more really in terms of advice or in terms of what is going to be best for you, don't give yourself, don't put all your energy into accumulating things on earth. He says, look, that's a foolish thing to do. That is something which will not satisfy you. That's something which is going to leave you miserable if you devote your energy to simply accumulating things on earth. Because things on earth don't last. It says, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steel. The reality is that we are living in a fallen world. And if we're living in a fallen world that means that everything in this world is prone to destruction. And we all know this is true, don't we? You know, you buy yourself some wonderful snazzy gadget and it looks so beautiful and so nice and you're so pleased it can do all sorts of clever things. But if you only think back to the last gadget you bought a couple of years ago, you know that this one isn't going to last either. When you just think back to the last gadget you bought, how pleased you were when you bought that. but then it started to have a few problems, it started to get a few scratches and then you learned about a new gadget that came out. This one's not good anymore, I need another one. And that's what happens is now you can apply that whether it's to gadgets, electronic gadgets, or whether it's to fridges, or microwaves, or cars, whatever it is that takes your fancy, whatever it is you might set your heart on obtaining, the truth is, for children, you know, it might be a toy that you would really love to get a hold of. And you know, perhaps you can remember, you know, coming up to Christmas, you saying to your mum or your dad, oh please can I have this toy, please can I have this thing, and oh I'd really like to have this thing, and you look at it in the catalogues or you see adverts for it on TV and you think, oh that looks so good. And maybe you get it for Christmas, you say, on Christmas Day you say, whoopee! My back's been made! But then on Boxing Day, a wheel comes off, and then from then on it's downhill, isn't it? And then, when it comes down to your birthday, you think, oh, I'm not interested in it anymore. But what I really want is this, and you see this next thing that's come up. Yeah? Now you see, whether you're a child or whether you're a grown-up, we all experience the same thing, don't we? that things just don't last in this world. And if they don't break, somebody else may well steal it from you. That's what happens. And even if things don't physically break or get destroyed, the invisible moths and the invisible rust attack, insofar as whatever we try to give our attention to, whatever we look to to give us happiness, we find that it does not satisfy. Now some people, they're not interested in money. They're not interested in what money can buy. They think, oh they realise, well that's a silly thing to be preoccupied with. But what they're interested in is being famous or being successful in their job. Or maybe they are academically minded and what they're interested in is becoming some world expert in some field of study. Maybe they would love to become some eminent doctor or some eminent physicist or something like that. But the truth is that whatever you set your heart on obtaining, as it were, the invisible moths, the invisible rust will attack those things. and will stop you from having any real satisfaction from those things. Whatever you turn to in this world, you will find yourself miserable and dissatisfied. If you've looked to something in this world to give you your happiness, whatever it is you've turned to, you will find that thing will disappoint you. Jesus said, when Jesus did the great miracle of feeding the 5,000, it's recorded in John's Gospel, that people, after he'd performed this miracle, Jesus went round the lake, oh sorry, he walked across the lake on the water, and the other people went round the lake and they came and found him, and they'd come because they wanted more bread. And Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw the miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. And then he said, do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of God, the Son of Man, will give you. He said, do not work for food that spoils. If you set your heart on anything in this world, and if you live to accumulate, whether it be material things, whether it be non-material things like status or position, you will find yourself dissatisfied. Those things will be taken from you. And ultimately, Ultimately, of course, all of us will die and whatever we had in this life will be taken from us. Our possessions will be taken from us. If you've been living to be some great intellect, what you'll find is as you grow old, your intellect will fade and you'll find that In fact, this thing that you live for is taken away from you. And you may well find yourself to be maybe suffering from some sort of dementia in an old people's home waiting to die. So Jesus says, do not store up yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. Speaking to Christians, speaking to believers. Now I said earlier that I would just demonstrate that Jesus is not saying, when by saying this he's not giving some sort of command that is literally to be followed that a Christian should never ever ever buy anything. Now that would be a false view and I just probably ought to just show you how it's false by just turning your attention to 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 1 page 1848 if you want to follow. The Spirit clearly says that in the last days, later times, some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything God created is good, And nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. You see, Jesus is not saying by this that material things are evil. That's a mistake that some Christians have made. And you might have heard of how the monks, for instance, used to take this vow of poverty, chastity and obedience. They would say, we're going to beat Paul, we're going to renounce this world. Now, Paul says that he prophesied that this teaching would come. And he says that this teaching that says that material things are evil and bad and we should not enjoy any material things, that teaching is actually teaching that has come from demons. And it comes through hypocritical liars. And that teaching is false, because the truth is that everything that God created is good. Nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. If you say that material things are bad and corrupt, what you're saying is that God is bad, because God has made material things. And we're actually insulting God, our Creator, if we treat material things as bad. Jesus is not saying that material things are bad. And again, 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 17, Paul speaks to those who are rich in this world. He says, command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant, nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. You see, God has given us everything for our enjoyment. He's richly provided us with things for our enjoyment. There's nothing wrong with enjoying God's creation. And those who are rich, they have been richly provided with things to enjoy by God. And that's His bountiful kindness to them. Paul then goes on to say, verse 18, He's not saying the rich person should feel guilty for being rich. He's not saying that it's sinful to be rich. He's not saying that they should never enjoy material things in this world, but he's saying use your riches to do good to other people. Don't just enjoy things for yourself in a selfish way, but yes, by all means enjoy things that you've been bound to be provided by God, but also out of your wealth and out of your abundance, give to others, that they too may enjoy good things. So we see that the teaching of Jesus is not that we should have a very negative view of material things, that we should spurn material things, we should never ever spend any money on anything at all. But he's rather saying, look, let your focus not be on this world. Don't be consumed by greed. The great danger is that rather than thinking, rather than spending money on things for the service of God and to enable us to do good to other people, rather, the danger is very often that what motivates us is greed. Love of this world. whereby, you know, what John speaks about in his first letter, he talks about the love of this world and he describes it in this way, as the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does. That's the danger. If we are, if our working and then our spending of money is motivated by worldliness, by cravings of sinful man, by the lust of the eyes, so you can then boast about what you own, or so you can feel smug about what you've got, or so you can satisfy your desire to bring pleasure to your eyes, then it's become sinful. But material things in and of themselves are not sinful. That's the distinction that we need to make. As Christians, what we should do is do all that we do for the glory of God. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 31, so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. As believers, we are stewards of what God has given to us. See, we hold what we have on trust. And we need to ask ourselves about everything that we do, everything we do with what we've been entrusted with, am I using this time or am I using this money or this energy that I've got in the way that Jesus would want me to use it. And we need to ask ourselves, if Jesus was to come back right now, maybe if you're at a shop or something like that, or maybe you're browsing the internet looking at different products you think you might buy, if Jesus was to come back right now, would I feel ashamed of what I'm doing? Am I acting in a good conscience? Am I seeking to honour and glorify Him? Or am I simply seeking to satisfy my own greed and my own worldly desires? So Jesus negatively says, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But then he says positively, verse 20, use what you've got to store up treasure in heaven. Verse 20, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. Now, this of course raises immediately the question, what does Jesus mean by storing up treasure in heaven? How does a person store up treasure in heaven? Well, I think it's quite clear from what Jesus says here and in other places, that the way that we store up treasure in heaven is by giving money that we have or possessions that we have a way to those who need them. Whether it be giving it to the Lord's work in terms of church and gospel ministry or whether it be through giving to the poor. I think we can establish that first of all from what Jesus said. Remember when Jesus was talking about giving to the poor and doing so secretly? He said in verse 2, sorry, verse 3 of chapter 6, but when you give to the needy, do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret, then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. So, we see that Jesus is saying you give secretly and with love, with the right motivation, and there'll be a reward from God. And I would suggest to you that when Jesus speaks about treasure in heaven, he's talking about that reward which God will give us. And then also, in Luke's gospel, and chapter 16, And you might remember Jesus told this parable of the shrewd manager who, he's not commending the man's dishonesty. He could see there was a situation that was coming up. He could see that he was about to lose his job. And so what he did was he went round all the people that owed money to his master and he said to them, Ok, you are my master. X amount of money will make it a small amount of money. Now that's dishonest. Jesus is not commending the man for that at all. But what Jesus points out is that this man was shrewd. He could see that his current position was coming to an end and so he made sure that he had lots of friends for himself. Because after he lost his job, He'd go round, he'd be able to go knock on the door of any one of these former creditors of his master, and they'd say, hey, come in, hey, you're the guy that cuts my master, you know, you're the one who reduced the debt I owed to that guy. So he could be sure that they'd have him in and they'd give him a meal. And so he could see that his currency position was coming to an end, so he arranged things so that he'd have lots of friends for the new situation that's coming up. Now Jesus says, now the people of the world, they can see what's happening, they can make a shrewd decision, they can see that their current position is coming to an end, and they make arrangements for the next position. But he said the sons of the kingdom are often very foolish. They don't realise that their life in this world is coming to an end. They make no provision for the life that's to come. He said you should learn a lesson from this shrewd man, from this dishonest man. And then he said in verse 9 of Luke 16, he says, I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you'll be welcomed into eternal dwellings. So he's saying, look, give your money that you've got now to the poor, to other poor believers, or give it for gospel work so that missionaries or pastors can preach the gospel to other people, and then what will happen is that when your money runs out, when you die and you go to heaven, there'll be all these people waiting to meet you in heaven. wanting as it were to shake you by the hand and say thank you so much for being so generous with your money. You see, you could be just a foolish person who makes no provision for the future and just clings on to your money and you just enjoy what you've got in this life. Well, you have a pleasant life in this life, but that's all. Or you could be the other person who says, no, what I'll do is I'll cut down as much as I can, not that I think that material things are bad, not at all, I enjoy this life, but I'll cut down my present enjoyment of material things as much as I possibly can, I'll give as much as I can away, and then that way, when I die, I'll have lots and lots of friends who will welcome me into heaven. And this interpretation also is tied up with what we just read from 1 Timothy. Remember what Paul said there about the rich? He says about them being rich in good deeds and being generous and willing to share. He says in this way, again tying up with what Jesus said, in this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age. Same thing again, see? As you give your money away, So you're building up a big treasure store for you, yourself, in the life to come. And the great thing is then, so if we take that as what Jesus is meaning here about storing up your treasures in heaven, what Jesus is saying is, that in this treasure that you store up in heaven, by giving money away, he says, in this treasure, the moth and rust do not destroy. These do not break in and steal. Because spiritual treasure is imperishable. You're going to be as excited about what you have in heaven in a thousand years time, in a million years time, as you were the first day you entered heaven. You'll never get bored. Whereas the toys that you have in this life, or the gadgets you have in this life, or the possessions you have in this life, you get tired of them, you get bored with them, they break, they spoil, they don't satisfy.