The SermonThe Sermon

on the Mounton the Mount

Matthew 6:19-34

ReviewJesus has been teaching us about the realities of the Kingdom of God.

1.) 5:2-16 The Real Christian - His character by virtue of being Born Again

2.) 5:17-48 Real Righteousness - Not a matter of mere outward action…. But God looks upon the heart.

3.) 6:1-18 Real Religion - Giving… Prayer… Fasting - It is all about God and our relationship to Him.

This morning we see Jesus begin to address a new subject - 6:19-34

Real RichesReal Riches

How We View LifeWe are accustomed to viewing life as a dichotomy - the “spiritual” and the “material”….. Or we compartmentalize it.

We view at our material possessions as something separate from our spiritual life.

But Jesus made no such division.

THE RIGHT WAY of looking at life is to understand that though we live in a material world, we are never to divorce the material aspect of life from the spiritual.

THE KEY for the believer is not to DIVORCE the material from the spiritual, rather it lies in how we VALUE material things and how we REALTE to material things.

JESUS NEVER glorified poverty and He NEVER criticized the legitimate getting of wealth.

KEY INSIGHT: God knows that we need certain things in order to live (Matt. 6:32).

In fact, He has given us “richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17).

KEY POINT: It is not wrong to possess things, but it is wrong for things to possess us.

(Luke 12:15 NKJV) And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

(Rom 14:17 NLT) For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

So in this section Jesus is NOT speaking AGAINST material things.

But He is going to point out

1.) HOW the CITIZEN of His Kingdom is to RELATE to money/possessionsdoes point

2.) Just how DESTRUCTIVE materialism can be.

ROBS us of eternal riches.

RULES our heart, mind and will.

BLINDS our spiritual vision.

BLURS our witness.

Robbed By Materialism(Mat 6:19-21 NKJV) "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; {20} "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. {21} "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

KEY INSIGHT: When a man or a woman puts earthly gain above heavenly investments we can safely say that they LOVE material things.

When you place earthly gain above heavenly investment the result can ONLY be a tragic loss.

KEY INSIGHT: You see, the treasures of this world can be used for God.

But if we gather material things for ourselves, we will lose them…. BECAUSE one day all possessions will perish and be gone forever.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the old sayings,

“You can’t take it with you.” - “It’s all gonna burn.”

An Old Testament figure named Job understood this perfectly.

(Job 1:21 NLT) He said, I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die.

KEY POINT: A saved man who has spent his life accumulating things, will discover that when he enters heaven he will have NOTHING to show for what SHOULD HAVE BEEN a lifetime of fruit for God and His Kingdom.

KEY QUESTION: What does it mean to “lay up treasures in heaven?”

It means measuring life by heaven’s value system and not by the false riches of this world.

It means to have a “light touch” on the material things of life.

Phil. 4:11-13 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. 12I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.

It means to use all that we have for the glory of God.

CRUCIAL INSIGHT: The person who places a priority on material possessions will not only lose those things in the end….. And they will also lose their heart along the way.

Instead of getting rich, they will experience spiritual poverty, and even worse than that, they will lose their freedom BECAUSE MATERIALISM

Rules Our HeartsKEY INSIGHT: The person who places a priority on material possessions will lose their freedom because they will find that material things will begin to rule their heart.

KEY OBSERVATION: Jesus said that if a man’s treasure is on earth, his heart will be ruled by those things.

(Mat 6:21 NKJV) “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

NOTE WELL: Once material things begin to enslave your heart, you become “earthbound.”

You begin to discover that all of your affections are directed towards things on earth.

You find that you progressively have no desire or love for heavenly things, heavenly treasures.

In light of what Jesus said, the SIMPLE TEST of how you relate to material things is to ask yourself a few simple questions –

What are you really into?

What do you pour yourself into?

The answer to these questions will tell you what RULES your heart, because where your treasure is tells you where where your treasure is tells you where your heart will be.your heart will be.

KEY INSIGHT: One of the PROOFS of being in the kingdom of God is that your heart is ruled, not by earthly things, but by heavenly things.

(Col 3:1-3 KJV) If (since) ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. {2} Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. {3} For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

KEY INSIGHT: The person who places a priority on material possessions will lose their freedom because they will find that material things will rule not only their heart, but will also rule their will.

(Mat 6:24 NKJV) 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.

The Bible is very clear about a couple of things.The Bible is very clear about a couple of things.

1.) 1.) We ARE going to SERVE someone or something.We ARE going to SERVE someone or something.

2.) 2.) We cannot serve two masters simultaneously. We cannot serve two masters simultaneously.

Either Jesus Christ is our Lord, or money is our lord.Either Jesus Christ is our Lord, or money is our lord.

CRUCIAL INSIGHT: It is a matter of the will!

(1 Tim 6:9 NLT) But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

KEY APPLICATION: If God grants riches, and we use them for His glory, then riches are a blessing.

But - If we WILL to get rich….. DESIRE to be rich, and live with that outlook, we will pay a great price for those riches.

That price is our mind and will being enslaved to material things.

1.) MATERIALISM ROBS us of eternal riches.

2.) MATERIALISM RULES our heart, mind and will

Blinded By Materialism(Mat 6:22-23 NKJV) "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. {23} "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!

KEY INSIGHT: KEY INSIGHT: A preoccupation with material things has a destructive effect upon our SPIRITUAL VISION.

Listen to these words of William Barclay concerning these verses.

“The idea behind this passage is one of childlike simplicity. The eye is regarded as the window by which the light gets into the whole body. The color and state of a window decide what light gets into a room. If the window is clear, clean, and undistorted, the light will come flooding into the room, and will illuminate every corner of it.

“If the glass of the window is colored or frosted, distorted, dirty, or obscure, the light will be hindered, and the room will not be lit up … So, says Jesus, the light which gets into any man’s heart and soul and being, depends on the spiritual state of the eye through which it has to pass, for the eye is the window of the whole body.”

KEY POINT: KEY POINT: So this is the point -

Do you have clear spiritual vision?

Do you see spiritual things clearly?

Or is your vision of God and His will for your life clouded by “near-sightedness” brought on by an unhealthy preoccupation with “things”?

Lest any of us feel that this would never happen to us, let’s remember the words of Jesus to some 1st century Christians.

(Rev 3:17 NKJV) "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'; and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, BLIND, and naked;

KEY INSIGHT #1 – Materialism BLINDED them to their spiritual condition….. And it will blind us to ours

When material things take that place of importance

You can begin to assume that the abundance of what you have is the mark of God’s approval on your life – that you MUST be O.K. spiritually.

KEY INSIGHT #2 – Materialism BLINDS you to the needs of others.

NOTE WELL: The word SINGLE in the KJV is translated in other places as GENEROUS.

The “Single eye,” the “good eye” means the “generous eye”.

KEY QUESTION: How can you tell whether riches have clouded your spiritual vision? ...

The answer is - How generous you are with the things that you possess

KEY CONNECTION: The single eye can be related to the single heart!

When the glory of God is my single ambition I find that I become generous with my possessions in regards to God’s Kingdom.

KEY INSIGHT #3 – Materialism BLINDS you to the ETERNAL perspective.

You have no vision for eternal rewards because you are too focused on present possessions.

The here and now is all that you can see.

Since that is all you can see you do NOT make decisions concerning your material things based upon any eternal merit.

1.) MATERIALISM ROBS us of eternal riches.

2.) MATERIALISM RULES our heart, mind and will

3.) MATERIALISM BLINDS our spiritual vision

Burdened By Materialism

(Mat 6:25-33 NKJV) "Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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 and the body more than clothing? {26} "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? {27} "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? {28} "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; {29} "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these

KEY INSIGHT: Materialism not only cheapens our riches, it will also cheapen us!

It cheapens the quality of our life by becoming a BURDEN to us.

KEY INSIGHT: The person who pursues money thinks that riches will solve his problems, when in reality, riches will create more problems!

1.) Material wealth gives a dangerous, false sense of security, which is deadly!

2.) When we are caught up in materialism we start to become worried and anxious, which is unspiritual.

Jesus makes a great observation -

All of nature depends on God, and God never fails.

Only mortal man depends on money, and money always fails.

KEY OBSERVATION: Jesus said that worry is sinful.

We may dignify worry by calling it “concern”— but the results are still the same.

Instead of our riches carrying us along, we become burdened by them!

KEY INSIGHT: The Greek word translated take no thought literally means “to be drawn in different directions.”

Worry pulls us apart….

Man is pulled apart because he tries to live his life by depending on material wealth.

1.) MATERIALISM ROBS us of eternal riches.

2.) MATERIALISM RULES our heart, mind and will

3.) MATERIALISM BLINDS our spiritual vision

4.) MATERIALISM BURDENS our lives

Blurred By Materialism{30} "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? {31} "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?’ or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' {32} "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. {33} "But YOU seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

KEY INSIGHT: To worry about material things is to live like the heathen!

Thus it BLURS the witness of those who profess that this world is not their home, and that the eternal is superior to the temporal.

KEY APPLICATION: If we put God’s will and God’s righteousness before the pursuit of material things, He PROMISES that He will take care of everything else.

What a testimony it is to the world when a Christian dares to practice Matthew 6:33!

What a tragedy it is when so many of us fail to practice it.

1.) MATERIALISM ROBS us of eternal riches.

2.) MATERIALISM RULES our heart, mind and will

3.) MATERIALISM BLINDS our spiritual vision

4.) MATERIALISM BURDENS our lives

5.) MATERIALISM BLURS our witness