Wealth and Worry

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Rob Konold; Matthew 6:19-34 Wealth and Worry

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You are listening to the podcast of Recast Church in Matawan, Michigan. And good morning,
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Recast. How are you all today? It's really a privilege to fill the pulpit for Don and to preach in his absence, and I'm excited to do it this morning.
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I am glad to see all of you here today. I hope you're doing well. You know, it's the habit of Christians since the first century to gather on the first day of the week,
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Sunday, to gather together and worship God. And that's what we're doing.
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We're continuing that tradition. And in the book of Hebrews, it actually talks about how important that is.
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It says, let us not forsake meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage each other and all the more as we see the day approaching.
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And that's what we want to do today is we want to encourage each other. That's part of the reason we're here. We're here to study God's word, to worship
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God and to encourage one another. And while I hope you're all doing well this morning,
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I also want to just be real about it too and recognize that life isn't easy, that we all do have struggles and challenges.
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Things just don't always go the way we planned them. Life is messy.
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And so as we gather as a body of believers today to worship God, we're not doing this as if we have it all figured out.
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Like each of us doesn't have it all figured out. Let's just admit that upfront and be honest about that.
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We have our ups and downs. And the word recast is an acronym for our core values.
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And that A in recast stands for authenticity. Authenticity is really just means being real, being who you are, not wearing masks, not pretending like everything is perfect.
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Because again, it's not. But expressing that to each other can be really hard, especially if we don't have close relationships.
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And that's what the C in recast is for, the C for community. We want to build community.
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We want to foster relationships within this church where we can be real and honest. It's kind of hard to walk up to somebody on a
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Sunday morning and just like, hey, how you doing? And then just start talking about all your problems. It's just very sometimes awkward and out of place.
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So we need to form relationships and find opportunities to be real and to share our burdens with each other.
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And at the same time, we need to be ready and willing to help and serve each other and encourage each other. That's what the body of Christ does.
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So I just want to express that this morning. We're excited you're here. We welcome you.
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And as a church, as a body of believers here, we want to share in each other's burdens and encourage each other in the faith.
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Today, we're going to be digging into a passage in the book of Matthew. And it's Jesus talking to the crowds of people surrounding him.
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And this includes his disciples and a lot of other people. And these were real people too.
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Back in the first century, people had problems just like we do. You probably knew that.
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They were real people with real problems. Just think about for a second some of the disciples. Let's think of Matthew, the tax collector.
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Jesus called Matthew to be his disciple. And Matthew was really despised socially. He took money from his fellow countrymen.
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He gave it to the Roman government, and he took a bunch for himself. And that's what tax collectors did in those days. And they were looked down upon.
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So he was like a social outcast. That's a bit of a struggle. Or we think about Thomas, who didn't believe
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Jesus rose from the dead, even though his fellow disciples told him that. He was doubting. He's known as Doubting Thomas.
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Or Peter. We know Peter over and over in the Bible. He speaks before he thinks, and he sticks his foot in his mouth.
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Boy, Peter had struggles. So even the disciples had all of their problems, right?
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And then we think of the crowds of people. Just picture Jesus speaking to the multitudes around him, and all of those people pressing in on him.
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They have diseases, and they have sick people and demon -possessed people they're bringing to him.
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So what is Jesus going to say to this crowd of people around him? What is he going to say?
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This is God in flesh. God filling the body of a man, just like you and me.
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And he's going to say words to these hurting and struggling people around him.
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How is God going to communicate with real people, like you and me? Well, that's exciting to think about, and I'm excited to dig into the
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Sermon on the Mount. And I'm going to give you a little bit of background, and eventually we're going to land in chapter 6, where we're going to read the passage as we prepare for worship this morning.
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But just a quick summary of the Sermon on the Mount. It starts in chapter 5, and Jesus says a series of blessed.
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Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek.
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He extols, or he lifts up all the people that are struggling in society around him.
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And he says they are going to inherit the kingdom of God. He takes the world's values, and he flips them upside down.
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He also goes on to say we should be salt and light. He says we should be different. As people of God's kingdom living in the world, we should look and act differently.
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He's really telling us in the Sermon on the Mount the type of people we should be. And then he goes on to talk about the
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Old Testament law. And you might expect Jesus, well, he's come to abolish the law. But no, he says, no,
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I've not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Jesus lived out the law perfectly.
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And then he goes on to express what the law really means. He says, you know, you've heard about don't murder, right?
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And he says, well, you shouldn't even hate. If you just hate somebody, you're guilty of murder. And then he takes adultery, and he says, if you've just thought lustful thoughts, you're guilty of adultery.
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I mean, he takes the law up to a whole new level. And if you think about it, he's really getting at the heart.
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He's getting at the heart of the listeners that day. He's talking about what is going on on the inside.
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Jesus cares about your heart. In chapter 6, Jesus goes on to talk about giving and tithing.
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And that's not the sermon today. Don't worry. I'm not going to talk about your wallet. But there is a reluctance, right, to talk about giving and tithing.
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And we're afraid of preachers trying to tell us to give money to things. But the truth is
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Jesus' teaching on money is so interesting. He says, don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.
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Give in secret. Don't do it in a showy way. Again, he's saying, where is your heart in giving?
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Why are you giving? Are you just giving to show off and to get attention? No, it should be secret and private.
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He talks about prayer much in the same way. He says, your prayer shouldn't be public and showy to get attention for yourself.
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No, it's, what are you praying for? He says, go in your closet and pray in private and talk to God.
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He's talking about your heart. He wants to know where your heart is. And then he goes on to explain about fasting.
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And who here fasted today? Well, at any rate, fasting is not a diet.
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Sometimes I think we get a little confused. We're not talking about a diet plan. Fasting is very different. It's about getting our eyes off of ourself and off of food and focusing on God, right?
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And it can be a great thing. And I'd encourage you to dig into that and think about fasting. But it's not a diet plan.
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It's again, getting at the heart. He says, when you fast, don't let everybody know you're doing it. It should be a private thing that it's about your heart getting right with God.
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And so as Jesus continues to focus on the heart, we come to the passage today that I'm going to read, and it's
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Matthew chapter six, verses 19 to 34. And I encourage you to turn to that passage now as we read it together.
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Jesus addresses two very relevant issues in our lives. It's the two issues of wealth and worry.
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And Jesus is again, getting at where your heart is. Where are your desires? So as I read this out loud,
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I'd encourage you to follow along Matthew chapter six, verses 19 to 34. And as I read, I just want you to listen for how is
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Jesus getting at the heart? How is he speaking to their hearts and their heart's desires?
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So let's read that now as we prepare for worship. Matthew chapter six, verses 19 to 34. 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.
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For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body.
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So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
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If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness?
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No one can serve two masters for he will either hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
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You cannot serve God and money. Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about what you will eat or what you will drink nor about your body, what you will put on.
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Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air.
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They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly
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Father feeds them. Are you not more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
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And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.
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They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
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But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown in the oven, will he not much more clothe you?
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Oh, you of little faith. Therefore, do not be anxious saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear?
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For the Gentiles seek after all of these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
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But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.
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Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
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Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Let's pray now as Dave and the worship team come to lead us.
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Heavenly Father, I just thank you for your word. The words here of Jesus written down for us to listen to, to consider, and to apply.
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And I just pray, Father, that as we come to worship you now, that even though we do have many struggles and burdens and trials that we're going through individually, that we would just submit them to you in worship now.
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Father, we need you. Lord, we recognize that we cannot do this on our own. Father, we recognize that you are
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God. We are not. You are holy and perfect and righteous and glorious,
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God. And we just want to lift you high today and praise your name, Father.
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And I just pray right now as we, again, have heard your word preached, your word read, and we will soon hear it preached,
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Lord, help us to now worship you in spirit and truth. And we pray this in the powerful name of Jesus Christ.
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Amen. Thank you, Dave and the worship team. I just appreciate your service this morning in leading us in worship.
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And I know you're not doing it just to get attention and that sort of thing. So I just appreciate your heart in that.
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I hope you guys enjoyed just worshiping God together. What a great set of songs and words and lyrics.
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As we come to the message today and the passage we just read in Matthew chapter six, I want to start with a question.
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Why is wealth attractive? Why is wealth attractive? I remember at a young age,
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I grew up in the church and being told over and over, don't chase after money. Money is not something to pursue and try to gain.
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And I remember getting that instruction early on. And yet here I am all these years later, and I still find myself at times tempted and lured by trying to chase after wealth.
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So I just want to think about that for a second. And I have a few reasons. I'd like to know if any of these resonate with you.
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Why is wealth attractive? Number one, I'm going to throw out is security. Is it security that you're after?
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Wealth can provide us a sense of security. We feel safer knowing that we can pay the bills, knowing that we have a little money set aside for this or that.
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It gives us a chance to feel more secure. And maybe that's why wealth is attractive to you.
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Or it's worth. When you have money, you have a little bit of value to you.
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You feel like I've accomplished something. Maybe pride sneaks into your heart and you feel like, man, I've got it made.
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And so maybe that's why it's attractive for you. Or perhaps a third thing, maybe power or control.
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Maybe you want to be able to control and influence things in life. And maybe wealth is that tool that gives you that level of control.
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Maybe it's respect you want. You want wealth so that you can be respected and admired by others.
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You don't have to be like the Joneses. You are the Joneses. Or perhaps it's pleasure and happiness.
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We just want to be able to buy whatever we want. We think that'll make us happy, right? And we're chasing self -fulfillment and self -pleasure and that sort of thing.
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Well, wealth can appeal for a variety of reasons. I'm trying to be honest about that, but I have to tell you, if you haven't already figured this out, wealth is a terrible idol.
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It's a terrible idol. It will not deliver in the long run. Moth and rust corrode.
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Thieves break in and steal. Bottom line, stuff doesn't last, okay? Maybe you've already figured that out. I'm just repeating that for you.
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Everything breaks down over time. I remember 1996, I bought a new
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Honda Accord. It was really nice and shiny and I really liked it. And then
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I hit a deer several years later and then salt started to corrode some things.
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And by the end of that 18 years of life on that car, that hood was rusted out completely. And that was kind of my visual reminder.
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Stuff doesn't last. It just doesn't. Nothing does. Wealth doesn't make you happy either.
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And I think often we buy things with the idea that, wow,
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I really want this and you're happy for a little bit. But isn't it interesting how quickly fashions change, how quickly they come out with a new iPhone or whatever?
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Stuff just doesn't last. It doesn't bring us long lasting pleasure. And how about security?
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You can buy security, can't you? You can pay for insurance against theft and loss.
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You can hire a bodyguard. You could buy anti -theft alarms on all of your stuff.
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But here's the point. There is risk in life. You cannot escape it. There is always risk.
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And I've got to tell you something. This may come as a shocker, but 100 % of us are going to die someday.
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And there's nothing you can do to guard against that risk. It's a little depressing, but it's real.
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Death is the enemy and it's coming. Not good odds, 100 % chance. So what should we do?
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Verse 20, and I want to tie into what Jesus says here. He says in verse 20, store up for yourselves treasure in heaven.
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Now the question is, what does that mean? And we're going to dig into that in a little bit. But first of all, He doesn't give any examples in the text about what treasure in heaven is, but He does contrast it with treasure on earth.
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And then He follows it up in verse 21. Notice what He says about that. He addresses the heart. Remember that from the intro.
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He says, for where your treasure is, that's where your heart is also. By the way, the heart, it's not this thumping thing in our chest that they're talking about here.
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They're talking about your inner person, your desires. It's what you value. It's what's inside of you, right?
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That's your heart. And what you treasure, where you put your treasure, that's where your heart is.
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I think it's interesting, a side note here is He doesn't say don't have any treasure. He doesn't say don't just stuff your emotions down and your desires and passions.
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Try not to have any desires, just squelch it all. That's not what He's saying. In fact,
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God gave us emotions, desires, passions in life, right? And it is the misplaced desires that are the problem.
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It's so easy to be lured and attracted to the wrong things, and we tend to chase those wrong things and make them idols.
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And that is sin. So God help us in that and give us the right desires.
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And that's the point of the passage, to try to direct our desires in the right direction. Jesus is instructing us on where we should set our affections, our desires, which is essentially our heart.
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And He's saying we should set our affections and our desires on the things in heaven. And the more you act that out, the more it affects your desires.
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It's a circular thing. The more you invest your treasures there, take action there, the more your heart will follow.
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So there's a connection. Let's talk more practically now. How do you actually store up treasure in heaven?
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How do we do that? I think one good example is money.
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That's what Jesus is talking about in this passage. We could also talk about many other things that God has given us, right?
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Like time and other resources and talents and skills and abilities that God's given us.
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There's many things we could talk about here at this time, but let's talk about money for a second.
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Jesus also teaches the parable of the talents. There's a story of giving talents.
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And the question is, how are you using those talents that God has given you? Are you investing in God's kingdom, in eternal things?
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This can mean giving to a church. This can mean giving to ministries that are expanding God's kingdom. Those are very practical ways.
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It can also mean giving to those in need. James, Jesus' brother, said true religion is this, to take care of orphans and widows in their distress.
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And orphans and widows in society were those who could not take care of themselves. So if we look around and we see those who cannot care for themselves are needy, and we give to that, that is also investing in eternal things.
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And I think I would argue that that is actually some primary reasons why we even have wealth.
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And God gives us income and we should take care of those around us, our immediate family.
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We should also be looking for taking care of those in need. So my question to you this morning is, are you giving?
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Are you investing in eternal things? And this isn't a legalistic thing.
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I'm not saying that you have to give a certain amount to earn favor with God. We are saved by grace alone through faith in what
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Jesus has done for us on the cross. That is clear. You can't earn your salvation.
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Don't misunderstand that. But once you are saved, then yes, God does call us to give.
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According to Paul in the New Testament, 2 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 6 talks about an attitude that we should have in giving.
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It should be a joy. We should be joyful givers. What God gives to us, we should be gladly turning around and extending those gifts to others.
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And that is storing up treasure in heaven. The passage clearly tells us that the more we give for eternal purposes, the more our hearts will be focused on that instead of on worldly gain.
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It says, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Verses 22 and 23 go on to another contrast.
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So first contrast we just talked about was, where is your treasure? Heaven or earth, right?
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The second contrast is good eyes versus bad eyes. Good eyes versus bad eyes.
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Now I have to tell you that when I read this, I get a little bit concerned because I don't have the greatest vision.
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I wear glasses and without glasses, I am legally blind. 2500,
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I think is the number of vision. I don't know if you guys, anyone probably doesn't have worse vision than that.
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I doubt it. But this is not talking about how clear your vision is. That's not what this passage is talking about.
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It's talking rather about something different. It's picturing the eye as a lamp that illuminates the inner life.
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The eye lights the inner life and provides light into that.
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So if your eye is good, it's a conduit shining and allowing
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God's goodness to fill your heart, the light of God's treasure. So the eye illuminates the inner life and influences your heart.
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In the case of the bad eye, this is referencing moral evil. The bad eye is focused on doing wrong things, evil pursuits.
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The bad eye is focused on what we can get here and now in this world, material gain, power, pleasure, et cetera.
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And the end result of that is it fills the heart with darkness. So the point of this eye contrast in verses 22 and 23 is what we allow our eyes to feast on, to focus on, determines what influences pour into our lives on the inside.
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So the focus of our eyes influences our hearts and passions. Again, Jesus is connecting into that heart.
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And by the way, this is the reason why it matters what you look at. It just does.
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It influences you. You know, movies, TV, videos, images of all kinds.
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I mean, we can pretend this stuff doesn't affect us, but the passage says that it does. The light of your eyes illuminates your life.
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And you can't spend countless hours filling your minds with suggestive material, inappropriate humor, pornographic images, and not end up negatively impacted by those things.
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Okay? Those patterns and habits influence us. And they really set a course for our lives.
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Verse 24 begins the third contrast. And this is the contrast of masters. You can't serve two masters.
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And the word for serve here is dulio, indicating that a slave, the work of a slave, not the work of an employee.
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So you can be an employee of two employers, right? But you cannot be the slave of two people at the same time.
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And while we may not be real comfortable with this term slave, like, I don't like that term, the truth is it accurately describes our condition.
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We are the slave of something. It's just a question of what you're going to be a slave to.
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By the way, the terms hate and love in this section, in this passage here in verse 24 and following, is talking about not an extreme emotion.
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You hear the word love and hate, and you think a singular, like, emotion that I might have, but it's really talking more about a course of life or a pattern of life.
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Like, think of it this way. Which one will you love? Meaning, which one will you be devoted to and follow and serve with a glad heart?
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And which one are you going to hate? Which one are you going to turn from and abandon and forsake?
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Is it going to be God or is it going to be money? So you can't go 50 -50 here. You can't go even 30 -70.
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You can't do it. This passage is saying that you will be the slave of one or the other.
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Which one is going to captivate your heart? I remember a young coworker of mine, this was several years back, who...
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I was on a business trip, and I was having a conversation with this individual, and they just talked very honestly about their upbringing, and they just said,
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I didn't have much. We couldn't afford things. And he said, he had now graduated college, he had a job and a good income, and he just said, you know what?
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I just want to make a lot of money. I want to have all that stuff I never had. I just want to accumulate stuff and have the things
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I missed out on. And all I could think about was just where does all that end?
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Where does that lead? If you chase after a ton of money and making a lot and having and inquiring a lot of wealth, it just leads to emptiness.
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You could work your whole life and accumulate all the stuff that you want, and then you can turn around and realize that all that stuff is meaningless and worthless compared to relationships in your life, for example.
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And you realize, you know what? I'm going to die soon. And where is the eternal benefit in all of this?
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Sometimes you leave behind a bunch of money and it can turn into more of a problem than a benefit as others squabble over the things you've accumulated in your life.
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Money is a terrible master. It pushes and drives you to work and strive and strain and try to get ahead and chase after some monetary goal.
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And in the end, what happens? You lose it all anyways. And where's the eternal benefit?
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How have you gained anything? So what have we learned from Jesus about wealth?
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A quick summary would be this, where is your treasure? We know that whatever we invest in, that's going to dictate where our heart goes.
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So where is your treasure? Secondly, where are your eyes? What are you looking at? What are you chasing after?
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What are you feasting on? Because we know that's going to affect our desires and our heart. And the third thing is, where is your master?
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Who is your master? Is it God or money? So I want to move on to the passage starting in verse 25, where it shifts now to the topic of worry.
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And I think there's a connection here. The translation ESV says, therefore, and that is a carryover word that means there's a connection here.
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And I would submit to you that wealth, when we make it a God in our lives, it doesn't rescue us from anything.
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It's a terrible God, and it doesn't solve the problems in our life. And instead, it leads us into worry.
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It potentially leads us to a life of worry even more. So I want to do a quick survey here. This is informal, not scientific, but we are going to do a quick survey.
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So my question for you this morning is, are you worrying about something right now?
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Is there something that's bothering you and keeping you up at night? Is there something that you would say, yes, I honestly,
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I am worried. I'm anxious about this. So quick show of hands, if you're willing, raise them up.
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Are you worried about something? Raise them high. This is informal survey. I won't write anything down. Okay. Thank you very much.
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So I think it was maybe close to half of us were worried about something.
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And that's honest truth. I appreciate that. I did look up some statistics. And so I have a couple of things to read to you here.
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The Anxiety and Depression Association of America, that's the ADAA, stated that roughly 40 million
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Americans, that's 18 % of the population, struggles with some type of anxiety disorder.
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That's a diagnosed anxiety issue. That is the most common thing diagnosed that people are struggling with.
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The American Psychiatric Association reported 40 % of Americans are becoming more anxious all the time.
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Their anxiety is growing. Wow. That's pretty sobering.
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So worry and anxiety are a problem. Jesus was addressing them back in the first century in Palestine.
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And back then, I think, people worried about, probably very many of the people didn't know where their next meal was coming from.
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And they had to provide for their daily needs, right? This was a matter of survival. And I think about what life was like back then.
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I am not a historian, but I do know that down through the ages, there have been all kinds of problems that have affected people.
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And we can think about just the risks of famine, and starvation, and wars, and all kinds of disasters that strike.
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There's a lot of reasons to be anxious, right? All down through the ages. But people back then in Palestine, they were struggling with anxiety.
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And here we are today, as according to the survey we just did, still struggling with anxiety. And what's common from back then to now?
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It's that we're all humans. We are people. And we have some of the same struggles that we had back then.
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We have relationships. We have hopes. We have dreams. We have struggles.
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We have temptations. You know, all the technology in the world doesn't seem to help this anxiety problem.
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Isn't that interesting? We have so much today, don't we? That we've accumulated as a culture and as a society.
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We have doctors, and we have technology. We have psychiatrists.
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We have all sorts of things to help us. And yet we still struggle with anxiety.
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I think, you know, I just want to say this really quickly. I think it really boils down to this. With all of the information, with everything we have in technology today that has the potential to, we think, rescue us and save us.
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No, it doesn't. It bombards us with information. And we as humans are still people.
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God made us just the way we are. And we have limitations. Like, I can only be in one spot at a time.
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I can only really think about one thing at a time. You multitaskers out there, good luck. But I really am kind of a singular thought type person.
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And honestly, we're just very limited people. So we're bombarded with all this information. And yet all we can do is just act in one point in time.
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We can't solve it all. We can't fix it all. We can't do anything about all those things. And so I think that sometimes technology makes our anxiety even worse.
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So let's dig in. And at this point, I just want to turn to scripture. What does Jesus say about this anxiety problem?
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Let's read. Jesus tells us in verse 25 that we should not be anxious about our life, what we will eat or drink, or about our bodies, what we will wear.
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And he immediately follows this with a statement, is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
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And the answer is obvious. It's yes, of course. So then he gives us an object lesson.
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And Jesus is very good, I think, at pointing to things around them and using those things as an object lesson.
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And he says, look at the birds. I can just picture some birds maybe floating around.
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They're outside and there's some birds flying around. And Jesus says, look at the birds. What does he say about them?
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They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet God still feeds them, doesn't he?
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Are you not much more valuable than they? And birds do build nests. They catch bugs.
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They feed their young. They're beautiful and amazing, especially if you're a birder, if you're into bird watching.
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I'm not particularly, but I do think they're pretty neat creatures that God has made. But they are not farmers.
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Birds are not farmers. They don't sow crops. They don't gather. They don't build barns and they don't store in barns.
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By the way, if you're into barns, Mike Pryan can really build a barn. I could not believe he is very capable of building barns.
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But birds don't build barns, okay? They don't. And yet God provides for them.
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Next in verse 27, Jesus says, asks if by being anxious, you can add just one hour to your life.
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Again, the answer is obviously no. The truth is, I mean, honestly, anxiety is probably going to reduce your lifespan, if anything, right?
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It certainly doesn't increase the quality of your life either. So Jesus then asks, why are you anxious about clothing?
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And I suspect some of the listeners there in Galilee had struggles just to provide clothing for their bodies, just getting sandals on their feet and clothes on the back.
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I mean, there were some probably very basic needs that they needed to meet. And then I imagine there were probably some there who had wealth, who had plenty, and they were more concerned about how nice their clothes were.
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Either way, Jesus says, don't worry so much about what you will wear.
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And then he points to the grass of the field and he says, look at this, look at these wildflowers over here.
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Even Solomon, the wisest, most wealthy king in Jewish history, he didn't even compare with these wildflowers over here, which
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God clothed. And then he ends that with saying, oh, you of little faith.
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And that's something that Jesus repeated to his disciples on more than one occasion, oh, you of little faith. And I find that strangely encouraging.
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He doesn't say zero faith. He says, you of little faith. Do you have little faith?
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Is that how you describe yourself? That's not that different from the crowd around Jesus that day.
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But if you have a little faith, that's something that God can grow. Jesus wants us to grow in faith.
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In fact, that's why we're here today, to hear God's word, to meet together and encourage each other, and to grow in faith.
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That's what God wants to do. He wants to take the little faith that he's given you and grow it. By the way,
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I just wanted to take another side note. As I was writing this sermon and thinking about food and clothing and needs, I was walking past my fridge in my house, and I thought, man,
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I've got food. I'm not hurting for food. And I thought about my closet. I have clothes in my closet.
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How does this relate to me? How does this relate to us, if we have those basic needs?
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The truth is, many of us struggle with anxiety, even though we have those basic needs met.
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As I mentioned earlier, we had an unofficial survey here. Close to half of us are worried about things.
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Something is keeping us up at night, is bothering us, and something is causing us worry.
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And God is telling us to not worry about those things. And I want to point to a couple other passages in the
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Bible. This is not isolated. In Peter, Peter the apostle of Jesus said later on in 1
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Peter 5, he says, do not be anxious about anything. I'm sorry. He says, cast your anxiety on him, on the
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Lord, because he cares for you. And Paul in his letter says, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
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And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
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So the clear instruction here is to turn all of these requests, all of these needs, all these anxieties over to the
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Lord, the creator, the almighty God. And we need to do that over and over. It has to be a daily practice of turning these anxieties over, because they creep back in, don't they?
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I don't know if you're like me, but you have a worry and you turn it over to God and then it sneaks in the next day.
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And it's just, it's a constant need in our lives to turn over to God, all of our issues and problems in prayer and allow his peace to replace the worry in our life.
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So then what should we do? We pray, we turn those concerns over to God, and then what? We do nothing, right?
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We just be lazy? Nope. We should be diligent. And I just want to point back to the birds.
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Jesus pointed to the birds, right? And he said they don't build barns and they don't sow crops and store it, but guess what they do?
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They have to get up and hunt for food and find it, right? And work diligently.
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Even the birds are diligent, right? So this is not a passage about laziness. It is good and right to work diligently.
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And the New Testament instructs us over and over to be diligent, to provide for our families and for others in need.
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So as we wrap up today, and conclude this message about wealth and worry, I started off the sermon by talking about the heart and how this passage gets at the heart of everything.
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And I believe that Jesus' teaching about wealth and worry is really pointed at our hearts.
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He wants worshipers of God, true worshipers, not fakers, not imitators.
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He cares about where our heart is. He wants you to choose him as master over wealth.
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The way to do that is by investing in his kingdom, by giving generously, by focusing our eyes on what is right.
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And there are so many potential distractions out there, so many. I've only really touched on a little bit here in the area of wealth and worry, but we can turn to so many things to try to find our happiness, pleasure, relationships, ourselves, just pleasing ourselves, autonomy, drugs.
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There's a million things we could list that can steal our attention, steal the focus and the priority in our lives.
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So I'd encourage you to talk to God this week and ask him to reveal the idols in your heart. You know, what is making you most happy?
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There's a danger that whatever steals your desires for happiness and joy, whatever you're chasing there can become an idol in your life and can become your
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God. You need to turn from that and you need to confess that and turn back to God and make him number one.
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Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. That's the primary conclusion of this passage.
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Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. And God will take care of all these other things in your life.
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He knows what you need. He knows the needs that you have in your life. So you might say this morning, that's easier said than done, and I agree with you.
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The truth is, none of us can live out the Christian life in our own power.
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But the good news is that God made a way for us to live like this, by trusting in him instead of worrying, by putting him first instead of chasing wealth.
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But it's his power working in us. We really need God to do this in us. We have to start by inviting him into our life, by placing him on the throne of our life and giving him control.
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So if you haven't done that this morning, I would encourage you to do that. It's a matter of admitting to God that I need you.
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I need you more than anything else. I have sin, I'm weak, I'm hopeless without you, and I need a savior.
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That's what we need to do, and that's what it means to be a Christian, to turn to Christ. You know, if Jesus is your savior this morning, and if you're trusting in him, then
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I encourage you to join in communion. We're going to take communion here in just a moment, and this is a weekly habit that we have as a church body, and we do this to remember what
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Christ has done for us. And it's a reminder of the real sacrifice that Christ made for us.
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The cracker represents his body, the juice represents his blood. You know, Jesus allowed himself to be broken, to be whipped, to be crucified and killed for us, and he bled and died so we could live.
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He bled and died so we could come alive spiritually and have a relationship with God eternally.
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This is the amazing truth that we celebrate every week. And so as we come to communion, if you're a believer and if you've put your faith and trust in God, I would just encourage you to, on your own time, as Dave comes here in a moment to lead us in a song of worship, to just slip out of your seat and come and take the elements at your own pace.
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This is what we do each week. And just thank God for what he's done for you. Celebrate what he's done for you and worship him.
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This is really an act of worship that we do together as a body of believers. So let me pray now and close the service as Dave comes.
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Heavenly Father, I just feel overwhelmed really by your words to us,
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God. I can't even live this out. I can't come close to it. And I need you,
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God, to live in a way that's pleasing to you. And I just submit myself right now to you and ask that you would strengthen me for this task.
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And Father, I thank you for what you've done through Jesus Christ by dying on the cross for us.
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You've paid the price. And no matter how many times we turn from you, Lord, you forgive us and you welcome us back, just like that prodigal son running back to his father's arms.
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And I thank you, Father, for your love for us, for the way you sacrificed yourself for us.
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Father, thank you for making a way that we can be whole and right and restored to you.
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Thank you for being our God. Lord, you are a good God, unlike wealth. Lord, you are a good
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God, and you offer eternal riches and eternal treasures. Lord, you offer an eternity with you.
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And I am just so thankful for that. Thank you for what you've done to make that available to each of us today.
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Lord, and help us to just submit our worries and our fears to you and turn to you with our whole heart.