 Let's begin reading together here in Matthew chapter 6. I'll pick up at verse 19. We'll read to verse 24 And I'll get into our study Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 Reading to verse 24. We're looking at the subject of true riches Matthew chapter 6 19 reading to verse 24 Jesus says 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 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, Mammon is earthly wealth. You cannot serve God and earthly wealth simultaneously now Jesus has been teaching his followers and you know this because we've been looking at this some basic Disciplines of a genuine follower of God He has taught them concerning the proper attitude towards your charitable giving Towards your your prayer as well as the discipline of fasting and as we've been looking at this passage We've seen that in each of these subjects. He actually issues a warning and the warning is against hypocrisy That's because it's possible to do the right thing with the wrong motives and Many were doing their religious deeds before men in order as Jesus said that they might be seen by other people and admired by them Man cannot see the hidden motivation of a heart, but God does The Bible tells us in Hebrews 4 13 Nothing in all creation can hide from him Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done every man and every woman Will give an account of himself to the Lord the God who sees everything is the God We explain our lives to Now we can innocently reward someone with admiration when in fact they don't deserve it They may be doing something outwardly good But their hearts are not right before God as they do it, but we can't read it We can't see we don't know what's going on. They're just doing a good thing When we're up in the Middle East recently and we're up in this particular refugee camp as we went in to somebody's home One of the men of the home was not real happy because apparently he had seen some organizations coming into this particular area and Taking what are called photo opportunities photo ops and one particular woman who apparently is a well-known woman for for you know Christian activity and all had gone in and A child and there's so many small children and your heart is just Torn by them to be honest with you. They're the little babies three years old two years old You know and younger and there's just so many of these children in these camps and they've been there for so long And and so that naturally just tugs on your heart I mean if you got a heart at all it tugs on your heart when you see these babies indeed at all so this woman apparently Had taken the baby one of the children and lifted the child up and the child kissed her and She turns and said did you get that and to her? photographer and No, I didn't know that wasn't the right angle. You'll have to okay Then she starts shifting the baby to another side how about here and now she's shifting this little baby Okay, kiss me. Okay, kiss me and this guy sees it and he says I don't want any of these people in here Because they come here just for themselves. They come here just so that they can Benefit they can profit from from our sorrow from our pain And so when they saw us they weren't real happy that we were there because he actually was saying it These people take advantage of other people so that they can line their their pockets with with money from their support So what this woman was doing you might see a picture of some woman holding a small child being kissed But in reality that was staged Initially it may have been very genuine that little baby may have given her a kiss of gratitude But she took advantage of it and she began to ask no different angle. No do it this way Okay, kiss me again, and so that's the whole thing. Jesus said you can do good things in the sight of men And they may even reward you with admiration, but God sees the heart God knows why you did that and what you were expecting in return And see doing good is is really simply the lifestyle of a believer in Jesus Christ and Today because because doing good good deeds are relatively uncommon It's possible to actually be amazed when good is done. That was the the motivation behind the random acts of kindness movement that went on a few years ago because there's so many random acts of evil Let's do some random acts of kindness and and people were actually amazed by that That's why people today if if if somebody finds a purse or a wallet and it has money and they return it That's why you'll see that on the news It's actually broadcast man finds ten thousand dollars returns it to the rightful owner is headline news name today Because because this goodness doing good things isn't something that we're used to seeing anymore What we think is selfless on the part of someone else May very well be the exact opposite and ultimately God judges the motives of the person Doing the deed in 1st Corinthians 4 5 Paul said it like this He said be careful not to jump to conclusions before the Lord returns as to whether or not someone is faithful When the Lord comes he will bring our deepest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives and Then God will give to everyone whatever praise is do so Jesus is speaking here and continuing and addressing now the proper attitude towards money and He's making it clear that our attitude toward money reveals our true spiritual condition During his day there were religious leaders you read your Bible You know the name the Pharisees and the Pharisees had become known at his in his time for materialism if you looked at the Gospel of Luke chapter 16 verse 14 Luke 16 14 tells Us that the Pharisees were lovers of money and Because they loved money they used religion for personal gain So because of this Jesus confronts them he confronted them because of their religious hypocrisy and when Jesus did it He would do it openly today Somebody's sin being revealed openly Causes a lot of people to think that the person who is saying something is harsh and judgmental We'll see that clearly. I'm gonna give you a study next time. We're together out of Matthew chapter 7 concerning judging Not that you be not judged and a lot of people use that scripture and they'll say oh Don't be someone else's judge. We'll even have a tattooed on our bodies. God is my judge That ought to cause you some fear Because he is Well, we have a tendency of saying so you don't judge me. Don't be harsh Don't be critical But do you know that if John the Baptist did his ministry today? He would not be on Christian TV He wouldn't have a radio program if he actually did his ministry the way he did his ministry You wouldn't have him in your church to teach You'd say oh, he's harsh. He's judgmental. He's not kind. He's not loving. He's not gracious If Jesus in you a lot of times that people say oh Jesus well listen All you got to do is read your Bibles And when you read the Bible, you're gonna actually see that Jesus was real straightforward Jesus was confrontational sometimes because love can be Confrontational I don't like being confronted. I have to be honest with you It's not like I look forward to it. Please confront me today. I enjoy it I'm not one who does I any more than anybody else does but the fact is that Jesus was speaking in his day to the hypocrisy of the religious leaders And it was very clear that the Pharisees were lovers of money and therefore he would speak concerning them and would say some very Difficult things woe into you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrite's because you devour widows houses and for a pretense you make long prayers Therefore he said Jesus said you will receive greater condemnation. That is strong. Isn't it? That's strong You will receive greater condemnation So somebody says give me sixty five million dollars so I can buy an airplane And anybody who says that's wrong is looking at his harsh and judgmental So saying it's wrong to tell people I need sixty five million dollars for an airplane That's wrong, but a man who received sixty five million dollars so he can fly around the United States first class in his private jet He's really an ambassador of the gospel We're not thinking spiritually We've gotten caught up with the spirit of the age to the point where everything's okay and nothing's wrong Jesus would disagree with that He came in order to expose the darkness with the light of truth You see that kind of hypocrisy was not something new in Israel In the past there were times when the leaders of Israel took material advantage of the people in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel You see in chapter 34 verses 1 through 3 how Ezekiel says the word of the Lord came to me saying Son of man prophesy against the shepherds of Israel Prophecy and say to them thus says the Lord God to the shepherds Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves should not the shepherds feed the flocks You eat the fat clothe yourselves with the wool you slaughter the fatlings But you he said do not feed the flock So that's the kind of attitude that Jesus is dealing with in this portion of his message Now I want to develop a second plank for us is our foundation It's important to note that God promised to prosper the nation of Israel if they remained faithful To him because he planned to bless the nation of Israel. He also warned them He warned the nation because he planned to bless him He warned he warned them to not forget who gives them the ability to be Prosperous it was God's intent to bless them It was God's intent to prosper them But he warns them because they will become prosperous you see when you have a lot of financial need It's easy for you to be on your face before God saying you know give to me this day my daily bread God I need your help The real test of your faith isn't when you're in need because it drives you to call upon him It's when you're in plenty when you have a lot When you have so much you're not asking for your daily bread because you've got weekly monthly and yearly bread now So you don't think about it that way. You don't ask the Lord It's Americans of that way we as a people are that way. I have a headache I take an aspirin, but if I'm someplace that doesn't have any medicine like that If I don't have an aspirin to take what do I do father help me with this headache It's killing me. I go straight to prayer But as long as I have an aspirin it's usually usual for me to just take the aspirin because well, you know God provided medicine, but People today need to understand that it's God who provides them and the children of Israel We're told by God. I'm gonna bless you, but be careful in Deuteronomy 8 verses 17 and 18 God warning them said then you say in your heart my power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth You shall remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you power to get well That he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers as it is this day You need to remember and don't forget He's the one who gives you the ability to have that prosperity And so God had planned to bless the nation of Israel But he also warned them and said to them don't fall into the trap of thinking you get it for yourself by your own power His concern then as it is now is that we have a proper attitude towards the material things Again, why is that? It's because possessions have a way of turning our hearts away from the Lord It's because having riches has obvious advantages and they can become a snare Luke 12 15 Jesus said beware Don't be greedy for what you don't have real life is not measured by how much we own and So the Lord speaks about this and encourages us in that matter Paul was writing concerning the same sub subject in 1st Timothy 6 and he said in verses 6 through 10 Godliness with contentment is great gain for we brought nothing into the world at certain we can carry nothing out Having food and clothing with these we shall be content But those who desire to be rich those who strategize literally literally Strategize to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and harmful lusts Which drown men in destruction and perdition He goes on to say for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil for which some have strayed from the faith And their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows now notice He didn't say money is the root of all kinds of evil. He said it's the love of money That is the root of all kinds of evil money in and of itself isn't condemned It's our attitude towards it that we were warned about You see some today would argue that Jesus taught that being wealthy is in and of itself evil It's interesting that when our society rages against wealth it selects About who is being condemned its selections processes interesting to me You know, we all heard it were Americans when people are raging against the wealthy corporate greed Those pharmaceuticals those oil companies You know that it's it's this This attitude we hate the banks You know and you hear that you see that everyone in this in this in the sanctuary today Has heard that it's on the news fairly often if you watch the news at all It's in conversation. If you listen those one percenters and this and that always condemning people. It's interesting to me How selective we are in terms of our outrage corporate greed is evil But we never have you maybe you have I haven't but have you ever read anything where they're raging against? Athletes or entertainers for being rich. I just haven't seen that perhaps you have you know I live a cloistered existence. I am you know I live under a rock, you know You know all of you know Katy Perry not as her personal friend or perhaps you are her personal friend say hi for me, but Katy Perry Katy Perry made a hundred and thirty five million dollars from June 2014 to June 2015 a Hundred and thirty five million dollars. I'll say that again Everybody knows that that moral light Howard Stern Makes a lot of money Howard Stern's net worth is five hundred and eighty million dollars his salary is 95 million dollars a year He makes 15 million dollars a year to be a judge on America's Got Talent I've never heard anybody say anything about Katy Perry I've never heard him say anything about Paul McCartney or Howard Turner any of these rich people You know Floyd Mayweather Floyd Mayweather made three hundred million dollars this year Now nobody's gonna tell him he shouldn't have it. He beat him up, but There's no protests over that. Why are we so selective? Why do we think entertainers and athletes deserve the amount of money they make and and oh no Why because they entertain us? That's why because we like their music we like to watch their fights or we watch them on the field and Because we think that they're giving us something of value and don't realize that the people who are or CEOs over these major Corporations in many ways are providing thousands and thousands and thousands of jobs. We don't think that way at all Because they're very selective in our outrage It's true greed is evil condemned throughout scripture, but so is envy So is envy Now here's the question did Jesus teach that rich people automatically do not go to heaven because they're rich The answers no Various saints in scripture were wealthy and loved the Lord deeply just read your Bible. Job was very wealthy Abraham Very wealthy King David and King Solomon very wealthy the New Testament Joseph of Arimathea is described as a wealthy man Nicodemus is a wealthy man Zacchaeus wealthy men all of them are examples in scripture of believers in God You see the true danger of wealth is not possessing it the true danger of wealth is it possessing us One time there was a rich young ruler who approached Jesus and he asked him a question he said Good teacher. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus looking at him loved him and said Well, you know the commandments and he begins to list some of the commandments that pertain to his relationships with humanity and Once he listed a few of these commandments the young man looks at him and says all of these commands I have kept from my youth up. What do I yet still lack? There's an emptiness in me. I'm already doing those things Who do I lack Jesus looking at him loves him and says to him go and sell all that you possess give to the poor Pick up your cross and come and follow me. You will have riches in heaven The Bible says that that didn't set well with this young man young man went away sorrowful Mark chapter 10 verses 23 through 25 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God and the disciples were astonished at his words But Jesus answered again and said to them children how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God You see the young man made a choice to reject Jesus and to trust in earthly wealth The Bible does not condemn wealth in and of itself The Bible warns against loving and trusting wealth Wealth can produce a false security while leaving us spiritually empty Ecclesiastes 6 verse 7 all the labor of man is for his mouth and yet his soul is not satisfied So in this passage Jesus is addressing our proper master passion And he does it by contrasting the passion for wealth with passion for God He begins by stating a simple fact Earthly wealth is not permanent. It can be lost in an instant Your investments Your stock real estate It can all go south in a heartbeat that that you invested in Doesn't necessarily have a guarantee of Return and it certainly isn't a guarantee that it's going to permanently be there. I know a guy Who on some of you men might appreciate this illustration? Some of you women hopefully will too But it's kind of like a masculine illustration if you don't mind. I Know of a guy. I know a guy who owned a 66 427 Cobra the real thing not a Mustang cobra the real cobra for 27 Those things are over a million dollars. He owned two of them And he wouldn't let me drive one. No, he owned he owned two of them And he did the work restoration in great condition took it for a ride for 27 cobra took it for a ride and A car out of nowhere came and hit him and totaled the entire vehicle totaled it this classic vehicle and The insurance didn't want to give to him the full value Because they didn't realize or they were avoiding or whatever reason when they first began to negotiate the replacement because The value of the car was well over a million dollars and in one instant His car was gone and it was irreparable. They can't fix it. It was totaled He understands this message He understands that you can have something that the world places a tremendous value on over a million American dollars worth of value and in the blink of an eye It's gone and that's all the Lord is trying to teach us Realize that he's saying you need to understand that and so Jesus is speaking about eternal things So that's your introduction verse 19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy where thieves break in and steal 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 heart where your treasure is there your heart will be also When he says lay up for yourself do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth lay up Do not treasure up treasure for yourself is what he's saying. Do not treasure up treasure for yourself In other words, don't hoard. Don't be selfish. Do not be greedy You see in Proverbs 11 24 there is one who scatters yet increases more There's one who withholds more than is right and it leads to poverty So Jesus is speaking concerning these these things don't lay up for yourself treasures Now notice with me as he's speaking about this He speaks about the fact that moth and rust destroys and thieves can actually break in and steal those things that you're treasuring during his day the rich Might sew their clothes with gold thread to make it expensive as well as to store their wealth The best clothes were made of wool and was susceptible to being consumed by moths because you could have some gold or silver and all and You are afraid that a thief would break into your house and steal it very often What they would do is they would put the gold or the silver They're valuables and they would put them in a vase and they would go into their yard They would dig a hole and they would bury their things there because thieves can break in and steal And so Jesus is simply talking about the fact that the things that you considered to be Measurements of wealth your your land and and cattle your gold silver your expensive clothing. He's saying all of that can be Lost in an instant Now I need to say this Jesus is not saying that we should avoid making responsible plans for our future He's not against that Because scripture makes it clear that wisdom instructs us to have a proper goal for our lives We should invest wisely in our businesses or in children's education a possible retirement We ought to do that Proverbs 13 22 says a good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children But a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous We ought to make the proper kinds of plans for the future in the event that something occurs and and Finances are needed when my father went home to be with the Lord Back in 2001 When the dust settled And we began to look into what my father had Prepared for his for his wife We discovered my dad hadn't prepared anything my dad had a ten thousand dollar life insurance policy and that was it and In order for my mom to continue to survive as she did for a number of years We had to sell the home In order that she would have some kind of financial stability My dad was a great man in every way in one way My dad didn't really plan wisely and that was in the taking care of the future having insurance and being prepared For such a thing that happened So Jesus is insane to us not to be Investing in things that there's a wisdom in doing again because a good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children A good man leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren What Jesus is saying is do not live a greedy materialistic and covetous life Proverbs 23 4 and 5 do not wear yourself out to get rich have the wisdom to show restraint Casper to glance at riches and they're gone For they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle Ecclesiastes 510 whoever loves money never has money enough Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income This too is meaningless the rich man has asked how much is enough in his answer a little bit more The eyes of men are never satisfied So Jesus is speaking of priorities and that's why he says in verse 20 lay up for yourself treasures in heaven Where neither moth nor rust can destroy set your eyes he's saying on eternity Because heavenly security is the only absolute security in verse 21 He says to us where your treasure is there your heart will be also Your greatest desires your deepest motives cannot be separated You see if your treasure is in the right place your heart will be also So make sure that your heart and your treasure are lined up Somebody said a Christianity that does not affect our money and possessions Is questionable now in verse 22 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? So the eye when he speaks of the eye that speaks of spiritual priorities If your eye is good that word good speaks of being clear healthy or focused It speaks of a singleness of vision. It speaks of devotion to God If you have a singleness of vision a devotion to God, that's a good thing Because the result will be having God's light to lead us through darkness Someone said life can be like a tightrope You do not want to be unable to focus on the wire as you walk And so if I'm going to have a good eye eye with spiritual priorities properly I need to understand that it is God who lights my path Jesus spoke in John 8 12 and said I'm the light of the world who follows me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life and So we follow the path that is Illuminated by the word of God and by the spirit of God as we follow Jesus Christ and he said if your eye is good But he also speaks about your eye being bad that word bad speaks of diseased Unfocused and the point he's making very simply is this materialism produces spiritual blindness Materialism produces spiritual blindness what you cannot serve God and wealth Simultaneously he'll get to that in just a moment In Proverbs 28 22 it says a man with an evil eye hastens after riches and does not consider that poverty will come upon him now What we worship? We end up serving That's why Jesus said in verse 24. No one can serve two masters You're gonna hate one and love the other or you're gonna cling to one and despise the other But you cannot serve both of them simultaneously You need to labor for the food that doesn't perish you need to labor for the food that endures into eternal life And so it's simply a call and boy by the way and when I say simply I realize that it's not simple But it's simply a call for us to set our priorities properly That's what we are as Christians right and when we have proper priorities That's what we are as believers as we we seek first the kingdom even as he's going to say in just a moment That's what it's all about Christianity anything less than that is not real If we're not seeking the Lord with all of our heart and even as he commanded us pursue me daily Then there's something questionable about my walk with the Lord if other things are always getting in the way between my walk With God and and maybe it's my car. Maybe it's my job. Maybe it's my education Maybe it's even relationship something that I'm pouring my treasure and time into and and I'm keeping from the Lord those things that really belong to him Then my eye is not really focused. I'm really not seeing God clearly At all and therefore I'm trying to serve two masters and I can't do that I'm gonna have to make a choice and so Jesus is really calling us to make him a choice Because he said you cannot serve God in mammon. You cannot serve God in earthly wealth Therefore verse 25 I say to you Do not worry about your life What you will eat what you will drink nor about your body What you will put on is not life more than food and the body more than clothing look at the birds of the air Well, they neither so nor reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly father feeds them Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cuba to a stature. So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow they neither toil nor spin and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these now If God so close the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow was thrown into the oven Will he not much more clothes you oh you of little faith Therefore do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear? For after all these things that the Gentiles seek For your heavenly father knows That you need all these things that seek first the kingdom of God in its righteousness and all these things Shall be added unto you Be an overly concerned for the outward you deny his ability to provide for his children If you're constantly worrying about your finances in reality you're trusting in your money And so he says in verse 25 do not worry constantly about your life and its material needs Do not worry. That is repeated three times in this short passage. He says do not worry in verse 25 verse 31 and verse 34 if God our father Provides for animals Will he not provide for us in our time of need and so he speaks concerning The birds of the air notice verse 26. He feeds the birds Cares for the lilies of the field in Job 3841 God asked Job What who provides food for the raven when its young ones cry to God and wander about for lack of food? God is saying I take care of them. Here's one of the lessons that you learn as a Christian It's one of those lessons that God will teach every one of us and he intends to and I and I'll say it like this I use an illustration When our fellowship first began Did our first Sunday morning? We had a group of 25 30 people adults and we had about 10 15 children. I Was seated in a front room These people were seated around Gave the study Isaiah 43 18 and 19 Concluded the study by saying God bless you if you want to be here next week. I'll be here and someone asks Just wondering are you not receiving an offering and? I said no, we're not May we ask why you're not I? Said we're not even a Recognized church here in the state of California. I Said if somebody were to give a gift it isn't tax deductible. You have to be incorporated. We're not incorporated I don't even know if we're going to be here next week What if we want to supply for you? What if we want to provide for you? I? Said I appreciate that But I don't require that What if we want to I said listen if you want to give an offering You see that pot hanging there by that macramé next to the fireplace Put something in that and if you want to give something towards my family See my son Joseph who is now 34 my son Joseph was three months old at that time And I had David and I had Corinne we had yet to become pregnant with Anna I Said if you want to provide for my family I Said Designate a gift in that direction if you'd like it's not tax deductible But anything that goes into that that is not earmarked for us is going to go towards The procedure for incorporation it would cost at that time through a lawyer $1,500 to incorporate So our first offering was like three hundred and eighty dollars $280 came in for the incorporation $100 came in to supply our needs. I didn't have a full-time job and I Had three children in a house payment We lived and have always lived fairly modestly And so my total Needs were fifteen hundred dollars a month to survive So I now got a hundred dollars towards that fifteen hundred dollars somebody in the church said I'll give you some work so you can provide for the family and I started working as a gardener and started making Some money, but it wasn't enough to pay our bills Combined with the income from the church and my part-time job. It wasn't enough to pay But we were trying to be as faithful as we could and so I can remember coming in and seeing my wife Maria She had spread out the bills in front of her and she's seated there at the at the kitchen table. I Sat across from her and I said what's wrong She says we're not going to make our bills this month. We don't have the money and I said You know, honey. I said I'm doing the best that I can to provide for this family I'm out pounding the street trying to find full-time job that can pay me enough to take care of my family I'm doing the best I can I said because I am doing that. I'll tell you this I Believe that I'm not just I'm not just waiting around for for God to bring ravens and bread to feed me I'm out there doing what I'm supposed to do my God shall supply I know my God will and as I was talking as the Lord is my witness as I was talking to Marie the Mailman came came and and dropped off the mail and I heard him walk up the steps And I heard the sound of the mailbox and and I walked over to it We're in the midst of the conversation about God providing and and I pulled out the envelopes and I walked back and I put Them down in front of me and and it was kind of quiet at the table and there was one unmarked It didn't have a return address and I opened it up and as I opened it up and pulled out its contents I looked at it and it was a cashier's check for $200 and I put it in front of my wife And I said my God shall supply My God shall supply. I never forgot my My God shall supply God has taught us that from the very beginning From the very I could tell you a lot of stories I won't because people people not all people are kind and sometimes they think all you're just trying to grease the wheel So you can receive an offering so we'll give if you think that way. You don't know me and you don't know this church I'm telling you what God has done, and I'm telling you that the Lord provides And he doesn't provide just for me. He'll provide for you, too. Why because you're his child too. He loves you That's what I'm telling you in an age of cynicism in an age when people look at ministers like me and say, oh, you're just trying No, I'm not my God shall supply. He always has and he always will I don't look to man I look to God and I'm just encouraging you to do the same and Jesus warns us and Jesus says Materialism is a bad eye. You're not focused on the things That that matter you're focusing on the things that don't what am I going to eat? What am I going to drink? What am I going to put on it sounds like an American commercial doesn't it? Eat this drink this and wear this Isn't that the substance of our commercials today? Absolutely. Go home watch TV You got to drive this car. You've got to eat at this particular place. You got to wear these clothes You got to drink this substance. That is what makes up life and that's all Jesus is saying you get caught up with all The outer appearances and you're not trusting God who will supply your need not your greed your need My God shall supply all my need There are things that I think I need that I don't There are things that I don't think I need that I do and my God is going to supply my need and So all the worry he's saying that man can have over those things It's it's a heart of materialism and a denial of the heart of God who wants to take care of you What am I to do? He says seek ye first the kingdom of God in his righteousness and all these things he said shall be added unto you Worry is the opposite of contentment and worry works to undermine our faith Worry robs us of the joy that we have in Christ and in our anxiety We will deny his ability to provide what am I to do? Seek to live out and give out the gospel of Jesus Christ That reveals an eternal framework and that's what we as Christians do When you give your gifts to the Lord you're giving him first to him We give to God because he first gave to us We give to God because my wallet and my heart have a chain My wallet and my heart are chained together God is not raising money when I give to him. He's raising a son a son after his own heart Because he is a heart has the heart of one who gives Now when Paul was speaking concerning This issue in Philippians 4 15 through 17 He said to the church of Philippite to the Philippians He said you Philippians know in the early days of your Acquaintance with the gospel when I set out from Macedonia not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you only For even when I was in Thessalonica you sent me aid again and again when I was in need Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account because as you give your Your treasures are in heaven and that shows that you really believe that there is a heaven that you're going to So when you generous towards the Lord you will always be providing for you Proverbs 3 9 and 10 says honor the Lord with your wealth with the first roots of your crops Then your barns will be filled to overflowing your vats will brim over with new wine Jesus and Luke 6 38 said give it will be given to you good measure Press down shaken together running over will be poured into your lap for he said with a measure you use it will be measured to you And again in Philippians 4 19 my God shall supply all your need According to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus So that's what Jesus is teaching us don't worry about tomorrow tomorrow worries about its own Things sufficient for the day as its own trouble rest your heart on the Lord daily and seek the kingdom of God daily and When you do that, you know that God is taking care of you Now all of us in this room know the name Bill Gates Bill Gates At one point. I don't know where he's at now, but at one point his value in terms of currency American currency was $81 billion see those numbers a number billion. I don't understand that is so beyond me I don't get it, but his value his personal worth was estimated at $81 billion and and that's that's a considerable sum of money and all There was a man though by the name of John Rockefeller John D Rockefeller John D Rockefeller was a faithful member of the Erie Street Baptist Mission Church where he taught Sunday school He served there as a trustee a clerk and an occasional janitor His Christian faith was a guiding force throughout his life Rockefeller believed it to be the source of his success He said God gave me money, and he didn't apologize for it. He felt at ease and righteous Following John Wesley's dictum Gain all you can save all you can and give all you can His estimated net worth in today's currency about three hundred and forty billion dollars John D Rockefeller But when Rockefeller died a Man was curious about how much he left behind determined to find out He set up an appointment with one of Rockefeller's highest aides, and he asked this question How much did Rockefeller leave behind and the eight answered? all of it you ever see a hearse with a trailer Towing it to the graveyard You leave it all behind. What is Jesus teaching us treasures in heaven? Treasures in heaven. It's all going to burn The only thing that lasts is what you've invested in the kingdom of God When you're generous to the Lord and the things of God it breaks the heart of greed and materialism and it really really shows That you understand the economy of God God moves He also uses that what you give him to move further and That's why we were able to have VBS And we had over 800 children in this place every day So I over a hundred children gave their heart to Jesus Christ this last week through VBS Because 300 of you 300 of you volunteered to come and care for other people's children all week Hundreds of kids and we were able to put that on and we did it for free There are churches today that are charging the children to come we don't the gospel of Christ is given to them for free Because we received it ourselves for free. That's why we have Guatemala missions. Amen that's why we have 20 young people going to Guatemala and Part of the way they're able to go there this week to go and miss and minister missions high school is what people say That that we have no hope the youth is is is not not really That goodness and that we got 20 high schoolers going to Guatemala to take the gospel and a minister and and part of the way They were able to do that is some of you love tamales And you bought a ton of them and we were able to send 20 high schoolers to Guatemala to take the gospel of Jesus Christ That's what we do See so there's much that goes on through the giving the generous giving of those in this fellowship who see the eternity and That's what Jesus is simply saying Look out and see Eternities before you invest in this kingdom