Well good afternoon. This afternoon we're going to be back in the sermon on the Mount. We're going to be picking up in this inaugural sermon of our Lord Jesus Christ and I'm going to be focusing us on Matthew chapter 6 verse 19 and we're going to be reading down to verse 24 so Matthew chapter 6 verse 19 to 24 here the word of the Lord do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust to 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 lamp of the body is the eye.

If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness. No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else He will be loyal to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and mammon having dealt having Let's see here. You cannot serve God and mammon will will end there And so let's just pray we'll go to the Lord and ask his blessing for this afternoon.

Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for this day. Lord, we thank you for what we've already heard, for your goodness, for your mercy upon us. Lord, thank you for saving us. And Lord, we do ask you as we go through these words, these instructions to your followers, that you would please help us to be weaned from the things of this world more and from the baubles, the trinkets that ensnare us so easily, Lord, we pray that our eyes would be refocused and that we would be looking unto you, Lord. You are our great help and our strength, and so we commit the time now to you, Lord, help me to speak your words and that your people would be benefited.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Well, we've already seen here in chapter six of Matthew that the Lord has dealt with different aspects of giving and prayer. He's also dealt with fasting. And now the Lord is really focused on another matter, which is to do with material possessions or the pursuit of wealth.

And what the Lord was doing in those first few areas, You know, you've got giving, you've got prayer, you've got fasting. The idea that he was really encouraging his subjects, his followers to focus on was living beneath God's eye. Every time he would say something to them, He would end those teachings with, and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly. That was the idea, live beneath God's eye. But in this section here, he's more focused on your eye.

Where is your eye focused? Where are you looking? And if you really evaluate the world that we live in, you know, is there a current or is there a wind that blows more powerfully in our world than the pursuit of wealth? Just think about the world that we live in and its pursuits and the things that motivate men most. You know, I was driving past a vet store, I was going to the chiropractor, and at the corner there's a veterinarian and it's got one of those digital displays up on there.

And it had a little comical display. It said, I think I've had enough, said no dog ever. Dogs don't have any way to control their appetites, but if you think about man also, right, man has an insatiable thirst as well, doesn't he? You know the Proverbs say it like this, that the eyes of men are never satisfied. Isn't that true?

And there are many societal benefits to this pursuit of wealth. We all came here today in cars. We have indoor plumbing, communications. You could list all of the benefits, surgery, but walk up and down history, and you begin to see that man is really, he is characterized by, I have to have more. It's the cause of wars.

It's what causes men to hazard their lives, to cross oceans. It's the stuff of building of empires. The lust for things can also crush men beneath debt, of course, as well. It perverts justice in the highest places. And it also, it can cloak the religious, where Jesus and Luke, he warns the Pharisees about their covetous hearts and the narrative.

Luke writes in there, he says this, now the Pharisees who are lovers of money also heard all these things and they derided him. And so it seems like no area of life escapes what the Lord is about to address. And it's not the sole domain of the rich, but also the poor have an equal, they're equally affected by this as well. It's really the controlling influence when you start to boil it down to most men's lives. It's got this death-like grip on a lot of our hearts even.

And to me, honestly, when I was reading this and preparing for it, it's perhaps the most alarming section of the whole Sermon on the Mountain, or one of them for sure. And if I'm honest, I'm probably more affected than I'd like to admit. And maybe you are too, by what we're going to be talking about here today. And so, what we're gonna do here is really, hopefully challenge ourselves not to just, not to just hear the words, but really apply them and understand what is the Lord really trying to do here? And where are our eyes really focused?

What are you looking at most ardently? What does your heart go after most fervently? And what makes this section so remarkable is that you find it right in the middle. It's the heart of the Sermon on the Mount. That's important, but what's even more astounding is this, is that no other topic in the whole Sermon on the Mount takes up as much and as many verses as this topic.

That tells you something. The Lord is talking about our relationship to our things more than he talked about any other matter here. And why do you think that is the case? You know, Martin Lloyd-Jones, he speaks of the desperate seriousness. That's what he calls this whole subject of this matter before us and we see the dangers of the world around us.

I just got back from a trip to New York what used to be the financial capital of the world, we'll see where it goes. And it's easy, it's so easy to identify the materialism on all of that. But what is the Lord Jesus doing here? He's got his small band of disciples. They're sitting on a mountainside.

He's already told them that they're believers. Blessed are the poor in spirit. For yours is the kingdom of heaven. He's speaking to believers. And I think this is the thing here, we've got a message of danger to Christian people to really consider.

And the big risk that we always experience in this life is that we set our sights too low and the things of this world begin to cloy and to distract and to take us away. And so the Lord starts off in verse 19 and we'll start there in this new section. He says, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. And you'll remember the first temptation. It was right in the midst of paradise when the devil, he approached Eve and he came to her.

And what did she see when he started pointing out to her the fruit? Do you remember that it looked good for food, that it was pleasant to the eye, and it was desirable to make one wise? The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. And since that time, ever since, the whole story of man is falling prey, falling victim to these fake trees of life. If I can just get this, I will be happy.

And I want to ask you today, do you feel that pull yourself? I know I feel it very, very strongly. And I think part of the reason is here we are, we're physical beings, and we live in a physical world, And we're constantly facing physical dangers, physical threats, and the temptation would be to look for some sort of anchor, something that's secure, that our physical mind, bodies, all of this, can feel some level of security. And this is really the temptation to seek in the creature what can only be found in the creator. Lasting peace, true joy, true security.

And a lot of people, you know, if you go back and you look even, for example, the Middle Ages and even in some people today, they take a very, I would say, monastic or maybe pietistic view of money or living in this world. They see money and wealth in and of itself as evil, but that's not really the teaching of Jesus at all. And so what you can do is you can separate yourself from that. You live in a six by six square area with a bed and a lamp and that's all you've got. But that's not what the Lord is recommending here at all.

In fact, we need to think in more broad terms than just money. But if you want to look at even the biblical narrative, some of the Lord's best men, men like Abraham or men like Boaz, and you could list many others, they've been rich men. And so it's not so much that the Lord is talking about wealth being bad in and of itself, but the Lord is He's addressing what is our attitude? Toward our possessions The big question is what is the relationship or your relationship to your stuff? And to really think about that.

I think that's what the Lord is asking us here. You know, your stuff, your home, or your career, or your stocks, or your wealth, whatever those baubles and trinkets are, and men have different baubles and trinkets than women have But all of us have these what you call creature comforts or things that we we need to acquire to feel at peace What is your relationship to those things? They're not bad by themselves but what is your relationship to them? Because these are the things that control men. And so we need to really wrestle with these things here.

Is the Lord telling us here, don't save money? I don't think so. Is he telling us to ignore the ant in Proverbs that prepares for the future? I don't think so. Is he telling us to ignore the ant in Proverbs that prepares for the future?

I don't think so. Is he encouraging that monastic form of life or some sort of ascetic type of living? I don't think that's what he's after, but he's really after the heart. And when you look at chapter six, chapter six of the Sermon on the Mount, it really addresses the snares that men face that drain the life, that drain power, that drain the spirituality from men. And he's already dealt with things like fake giving, fake praying, fake fasting.

And now he's going to uncover another fake tree of life, this counterfeit that promises things. And here's probably the area where men's hearts are most prone to wander and so we should pay attention and the Lord says this in verse 20 speaking of another kind of wealth he's dealt with the negative right he said to them do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. And now he says this, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. And So we've already said that I don't think earthly treasures are in and of themselves bad. But on the other hand, neither are they secure.

They're not durable, are they? Like think of everything you have. None of that is durable at the end of the day. And so where are you going to place your most treasured aspects of who you are, your heart? Where are you gonna really place that?

Is it gonna be in things or is it gonna be in something that is durable, which is heaven, whose guardian is God himself? And that's what Jesus here is recommending. He's telling us as his people where we should lay up our treasures. This isn't about doing good works to earn your salvation. The more treasure you've got in heaven, the better you're going to be when Christ comes back.

That's not so much what he's saying, but it's all a matter really of focus and the folly of placing your hope and your happiness in anything but God. You remember how many times the Old Testament talks about how vain it is to trust in a horse in the day of battle? You need the horse. A horse is a good thing, but it shouldn't be your ultimate trust. And so he's really going after that here.

And this is really the fight, isn't it? To keep, as you get things in this world, to keep them out of your heart while still seeing them as a blessing. This is the battle of the ages. This is, I think, why the Lord is spending so much time on this matter because those things have a tendency to creep in and take over the throne of your heart and my heart. And so be careful, be careful of your attitude.

Ask yourself, am I absorbed? Am I preoccupied? Am I consumed with the fleeting comforts of this life, the promises of security that they offer? I was battling with this all week, just asking myself these questions. You know, have I started this race with great zeal, only to have my affections dulled over time because of the world?

It's another good question to ask yourself, because we need to take heed of spending our existence just kind of scraping together, you know, things that you hope to find rest in, things that you hope to find your joy in. It's really an enforced poverty. This is where Demas fell. This is where Asaph's feet nearly slipped as he looked over the edge. This is what caused Lot to pitch his tent towards Sodom, the well-watered plains of Sodom, and all that it looked to have in terms of its promises, only that we all know the story and the end state, but it was the pursuit of wealth as an end in and of itself.

And that's what we need to really concern ourselves with here. And so what God has done is He's assigned us really this formidable task. He's calling us to overcome the world while still being in the world. We're still physical beings living in a physical world, what he's telling us that by faith our primary focus should be the things that are eternal and spiritual. This is really what he's after.

And so in these verses here we meet, in verses 19 and 20, we meet the moth. And the picture here is, you know, garments back in the days of Christ. They're not like you go to Walmart or somewhere else, you can buy a t-shirt for $7. You know, it wasn't like that at all. But your garments were really almost among your top and maybe most prized possessions in those days.

You didn't have a whole wardrobe full of clothes to pick from. You might have a couple for the average person. And you can remember Joseph's coat and the row that that started, or how Aiken went after the Babylonish garment. These were treasured, treasured items. And so the picture the Lord is saying here is here you are maybe getting ready for an event.

You're opening up your closet so to speak, pulling out this cherished, most cherished clothing only to find it. You hold it up and it's been devoured. It's in rags or it's got holes all over the place because quietly moths were eating it away. We meet rust, and this idea of rust, you know, eating away, it's, that's the verb, it's eating away precious coins maybe of tin or brass or copper, which were common coins back then. Even silver, it tarnishes.

And gold, you know gold, we can never get 100%. It's always got alloy in it. Even when you buy a gold coin, it's 99.99, four nines. But there's alloy in it. And that alloy over time can change the color of gold.

In other words, nothing retains its beauty forever. It's as though the Lord is saying to his people, as my followers and subjects, don't condemn yourselves to a life of emptiness. Your wealth can decline, your portfolio can evaporate, the best physique will give way to age, the most beautiful face is going to fade. These are things that don't last. Nothing in this world lasts is kind of what he's saying.

And Solomon himself he came to understand this. Remember his frustration? You can almost taste his frustration when you read the book of Ecclesiastes. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. But one of the things he says is that he who loves silver will never be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance with increase.

How much is enough? If you ask a rich man how much is enough, he's gonna want more. But if you ask a poor man how much is he's still gonna want more. Very contentment is one of the most rare things you can find in this world. And you know, speaking of treasures, we also meet with thieves, don't we?

In this section here. And just a few weeks ago, we were greeted with those headlines, France's most embarrassing moment, which is saying a lot for the last decade or so, where they had the crown jewels stolen out of the Louvre in Paris. Here you are four minutes, 102 million dollars worth of jewelry taken in broad daylight. And it was just eight pieces, Beautiful pieces, going back to Napoleon and all of that. Totally, just demolished.

Thieves break in and steal. And there's lessons here in this whole thing. You know, as an aside, I think one of the lessons going a little bit off the topic, but DEI is bad. And what I mean by that is they had just hired a woman to be the chief of security as part of Emmanuel Macron's feminization initiative to make 30% of the workforce female. And I asked AI, I went on AI and I'm not exaggerating, I typed in, why did security run away when the thieves came in through the window?

And it says this, Loov's security personnel didn't exactly run away, but rather evacuated the area to call for help. That was the answer. And so AI is getting pretty politically correct. But the point here is that All goods on earth are perishable. The most valuable items on earth can go away in a moment, four minutes in this case.

Pharaoh's riches, where are they today? If you go to Constantinople, one of the, maybe the greatest city of the last 2, 000 years, riches gone. If you go to Fort Knox, it's debatable, but where's the gold? Where are all these things? They're all fleeting.

This is the whole challenge. And so Jesus is telling us here, don't be governed by what you have, but rather govern these things and use them. Use your wealth, your possessions, all these things in such a way that you're laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven. So use your possessions in such a way as you're laying up treasures in heaven. Simple thing, you've got a house.

Hospitality is a simple thing. You've got a vehicle, you're generous, you're able to give somebody a lift or whatever. But it's not saying don't have a car, don't have a house. But use the things you have for the glory of God and for the advancing of his kingdom. And always remember that while the treasures on earth, they're subject to all these things, treasures in heaven are immune from moth, from rust, from thieves, all these types of things.

And so the question to ask yourself is are you preoccupied with heaven's treasury or is it earth's Treasury that is the predominant thing in your life and in my life in my life as well because you know think about it that illness Can come and take away health can't it very easily you can have sudden reversals in your life You didn't anticipate There can be a financial collapse or war can break out. There's deception. You fall prey to a scam and you lose certain amount of money. But none of these things can touch treasures in heaven. And so that's the place of ultimate security where heaven's gold is totally unalloyed.

There's no alloy at all. The treasures are durable and they're eternal. And the Lord, he hits it home so strongly. One of the most beautiful statements maybe in all of scripture, but also very challenging for where your treasure is. There your heart will be also that's verse 21.

And so the heart is is always Christ's great preoccupation. And here's a law I think he's laying down very very simply here is that whatever we make our treasure gains possession of our heart. So what you make your treasure will become the possession of your heart. That's what you will focus on. It's just the way that you are made as a human being Luther said it like this what a man loves that is his God for he carries it in his heart he goes about with it night and day he sleeps and wakes with it be it what it may wealth or pelf which is dishonest money pleasure or renown And I wonder if this will prick your conscience as much as it did mine.

Jameson Fawcett Brown, he said it like this, many flatter themselves that all is right between them and God, while their closest attention, anxiety, zeal and time, are exhausted upon these earthly pursuits. Just think about that. And so Christ, he's really interested in your heart but he doesn't stop at your heart. He goes to the eyes next. And the eye is really the window by which your soul looks out and guides your whole body.

That's the way God has made our eyes. In verse 22, verse 23, look what he says. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness. And I want to ask the children for a second here, have you ever seen a chameleon? You know a chameleon, those creatures that can change color? But one of the most amazing things about a chameleon isn't so much its skin, but its eyes. And if you look at a chameleon, its eyes can track two objects at the same time.

It can look here and there at the same time. It can scan maybe above for any prey, but at the same time, it's looking at, am I gonna be eaten by something else or whatever it is? But you're made differently. You can't do that. Your two eyes work together.

And what you have, one eye picking up and another eye picking up, are slightly different images. But it's called eye teaming, or binocular vision, bino, two eyes are working together, teaming up to focus on a particular thing. And the brain takes in these two separate images that you're looking at, and right now I'm looking at this camera, and it fuses them into a complete image, a 3D image that allows me to gauge the depth. I can see how far it is away from me. That's what your eyes are doing when they're working together.

It's a process called fusion that allows for that. And eyes that don't work together Make you unsteady if any of you are seeing double right now seek immediate help It's not something to be proud of you need some help because it's a difficulty you're gonna keep you off balance And Jesus is saying kind of the same thing here, is that your eyes should be single, it should be focused. Think of a tightrope walker. You know what they do? To make themselves steady as they're going along.

They don't look at the rope, but they have a horizon, something on the horizon on the distance that they're fully focused on, and that's guiding them as they make their way across the rope. It's kind of the same idea here, as in the physical, so in the spiritual. Where is your focus? And you can try this, by the way, the next time if you're a young one, you're crossing a creek or something like that on a log, if you focus somewhere in the distance instead of looking at your feet, you're going to be able to do it much more easily and with less tripping or risk of falling. And so that's what Jesus is saying, if your eye is good, if your eye is single, if you're not looking two ways, if you fix your gaze on the thing that you should be fixed on, your whole body will be full of light.

That's what he wants us to do. And so he's speaking here of this singular loyalty, this singular focus, this singular purpose that he wants.