#1 New Series: "Rules For The Redeemed"
"THE MONEY RULE!"
TEXT: Matt.
6:19-24
INTRO: Jesus spoke
37 parables that we have recorded in the Bible, of these, 17 or almost half of
them were about money and possessions and the use of material things. Why so much attention by Jesus about
money issues? There is nothing that
impacts and touches our lives more in every way than material "STUFF" ... money
affects every area of our life! It
is no wonder Jesus spent a great deal of time and teaching on this
subject.
The really valuable things in life
however cannot be bought, but do require our time and energy to achieve them.
An old saying goes like this: “MONEY WILL BUY
A DOG, BUT ONLY LOVE WILL MAKE HIM WAG HIS TAIL!” Fortunately money has little to do with
happiness and fulfillment, which is why the poor sometimes find greater joy in
life, and why the rich can be lonely and empty!
While we affirm this great truth, I
wonder how many of us really practice what we believe ... does your lifestyle
put a greater emphasis on spiritual realities or on the physical realities?
Are you so busy making a living
on earth that you are not storing up any treasure in heaven? How available are you for ministry or for
building relationships?
In these 2 chapters of Matthew’s Gospel
Jesus speaks on several subjects ... all relating to "RULES FOR THE REDEEMED." They
are:
1. The Money
Rule
2. The Worry
Rule
3. The Judgment
Rule
4. The Prayer
Rule
5. The Golden
Rule
6. The Fruitful
Rule
These will be the studies we will
conduct over the next 6 messages; first we look at the "Money
Rule."
PROP. SENT: The Bible teaches us to be careful to
store up treasures of a spiritual nature while we are busy living life on earth
... there is more than just the material realm to invest in. There is a worse poverty than that of
money, it is spiritual poverty!
I. SECURITY MOTIVATED Matt. 6:19-21
A. Investments
Matt.
6:19-21
1. Jesus is not teaching against
making wise investments materially, it is good to plan for a financial future,
what Jesus is teaching against is the absence of making spiritual investments
and focusing life toward material investments alone!
2. Why do people make material
investments? To secure their future!
a. This being so, if we are
willing to work hard to secure a temporal future for some 20-3O years tops, what
about the eternal future where we will live forever!?
b. It would take a nut to spend
all their money on an investment that would return very low yields for only a
short time when they could have much more of a return for a longer period of
time in something else!
c. If we are really security
conscience we should be thinking about our long term
security!
3. Putting all our energy into
material investments may take care of the here and now, but we may be
sacrificing an important future blessing!
ILLUS: The
butterfly “Maculinea arion” has a unique relationship with a special ant. The eggs are laid on a leafy plant, and
after hatching and eating for several weeks it drops to the ground. In order to complete its lifecycle it
must meet the right type of ant. When such meetings occur, the caterpillar
is stroked by the ants’ antennae causing a special gland on its 10th segment
that secretes a sweet substance the ants just love. Once the ants get the sweet substance
they hurry to get help and take and carry the caterpillar to their underground
home, where they spend their lives milking it all the time like we do cows.
The ants spend a great deal of
energy and time taking care of the caterpillar ... the story might be happy if
ended there, but tragically, the caterpillar at this stage of the cycle loves to
eat ant larvae, so while the adult ants benefit from the sweet milk of this
caterpillar, it is eating away the ants’ future ... they are left with no future
generation and the ants’ investment to this caterpillar costs them their future,
though they enjoy a pleasant present life! After winter, the caterpillar emerges as
a butterfly and flies away leaving behind some very poor ants, and starts the
cycle all over again! – Source Unknown
4. For whom energy and resources are
spent only on the things of this world they will discover that while life in the
here and now might have seemed pleasant eternity will be rather
poor!
5. We should be careful to take
inventory of how we invest, and in what we invest!
a. Don't forget to secure the
long range future!
b. Be wise in
investments.
B. "Interest"
Matt.
6:21
1. How do you know if you are not
investing enough or wisely?
a. Where is your
heart?
b. Jesus clearly identifies a
marker for us to know if we are on the proper track with material things ...
where is our heart, our desires?
2. Does spiritual things take a back
seat to material things?
3. Are you so busy making a living
that you are not building a life?
4. Do you find that the things of God
take a low priority to other things in life?
5. What are you passionate
about?
6. All investments yield interest ...
including spiritual ones, they yield the highest interest rates and a guarantee
that even the FDIC can't match!
ILLUS: A wealthy
woman reached heaven and was taken to her "mansion" ... it was just a plain
house. Across the street from her
house was a beautiful mansion more wonderful than any on earth. She protested the plain house of hers by
asking, "Whose fine mansion across the street is that?" The answer shocked her, "that is your
earthly gardener’s home here in heaven." She continued, "How is it that he gets a
house so much grandeur than mine, he was just a gardener?" The response was instructive, "The houses
up here are built from the materials that were sent up here during your lifetime
on earth, we do not choose them, and we build them with what you sent up as
spiritual material! You were so
busy building on earth that you made very few investments up
here!" – Source Unknown
7. It is quite interesting that these
verses say to lay up this treasure "FOR YOURSELF."
a. Self interest is not
condemned here ... it is encouraged, this is something you can do for yourself
to help insure your future!
b. This is not a works for
salvation passage, but it does demonstrate the importance of how we handle the
physical realm and its impact on the spiritual
realities!
ILLUS: "How we
use our money demonstrates the reality of our love for God. In some ways it proves our love more
conclusively than depth of knowledge, length of prayers, or prominence of
service. These things can be
feigned, but the use of possessions shows us up for what we actually
are!" – Charles Caidwell Ryrie "Balancing the Christian
life"
II. SINGLE MINDED
Matt. 6:22-24
A. Illumination Matt.
6:22-23
1. The point of this part of the
passage deals with the ancient custom of viewing the eyes as the source of light
for the body; the ancients believed that if the eyes were good the body was
bathed in light that brought healing to the body. If the eyes were not good the whole body
was plunged into darkness and disease resulted. Jesus picks up on this and uses the point
metaphorically to say that if our EYES are on spiritual dynamics our whole
physical existence will be whole and balanced, if not we are plunged into
spiritual darkness as a result and are not likely to be healthy
spiritually!
a. This is a powerful statement
by Jesus on the issue of materialism!
b. Jesus is saying that those
who do not discipline their lives to include an emphasis on using material
things to build the kingdom of God they are not likely to be spiritually healthy
or able to be spiritually perceptive!
c. They are "blinded"
spiritually if they are not laying up treasures in
heaven!
d. It affects the whole of our
lives, and the perceptions we have!
2. Our ability to see “clearly” is
deeply affected by what we have our "eyes" focused on!
a. It is tragic when Christians
take pride in their earthy possessions and have little spiritual riches to show
for it!
b. To gain the world and lose
one’s soul is a great poverty!
ILLUS: In A.D.
1260 St. Thomas Aquinas visited Pope Innocent IV. The Pope showed him all the wealth of the
Catholic Church, its gold and silver. He showed him the magnificent jeweled
buildings and artifacts and while touring the Pope remarked, "So you see, good
Thomas, unlike the first Pope, Peter, I cannot say, ‘silver and gold have I
none.’ Thomas agreed with the Pope,
but then added, “And neither can you say, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ of
c. The church’s finest
testimonies are not its buildings and possessions ... and that is also true of
the believer!
3. This world's stuff offers no
lasting benefit to our eternal existence except for when it is used in a way
that builds spiritual dynamics in people's lives!
ILLUS: For
instance, money will buy a bed, but not sleep; books, but not brains; food, but
not an appetite; a house, but not a home; medicine, but not health; amusement
but not happiness; finery, but not beauty; a crucifix, but not a
Savior! – Source Unknown
4. It is important that we see
clearly!
B. Illusion!
Matt.
6:24
1. Jesus' final point about the money
rule is very important; those who believe it is possible to serve both Christ
and money are told that it is not possible!
2. It is not possible to be a slave
for God and also for money!
a. This is not a prohibition
against becoming rich and successful by this world's
standards...
b. But it is a prohibition
against selling your soul to get rich ... or an inordinate emphasis on material
things!
3. Money makes a great servant but
a terrible master!
4. Those that have pursued material
things or power at the expense of their soul have discovered the illusion that
riches offer as happiness:
ILLUS: In the
June 14, 1968 issue of "LIFE MAGAZINE" a picture appeared of young David Kennedy
sitting outside the White House looking back at it. The picture had been taken years before
by his Aunt Jacqueline and was inscribed with the words from his famous Uncle
the president, John Kennedy with these words, "A future president inspects his
property." David Kennedy had
status, wealth, fame; and a possible future position of power. Yet in 1984 at the age of 28 he was found
dead by his own hand, he had not found peace or value in life! The illusion of this world's goods had
taken its toll on a bright young man's life! – Source Unknown
5. If only David Kennedy had had the
teaching and opportunity to discover the eternal investments that yield so much
pleasure and satisfaction! The
pressures of living up to the material pressures were too much! Those “THINGS” were a hard task
master!
ILLUS: 0. J.
Simpson gave an interesting interview to a reporter from "PEOPLE MAGAZINE" in
one of its 1978 issues. He said
about money and material things; "I sit in my house in
6. Sometimes we tell ourselves how
wonderful life would be if we were only rich!
a. Yet, many who are rich are
very miserable!
b. With riches come new
temptations!
c. Riches can demand a great
deal of time and energy ... thus taking away from other spiritual
ventures.
d. Don't buy an illusion when
you can have the real thing!
7. It’s nice to have social security
... but how is your spiritual security?
8. What are you really serving? ...
What takes your time and talents, what demands your resources and efforts the
most? What master are you
serving!
9. Jesus warns his followers to beware
of the MONEY RULE for the
redeemed!
10.
Master it, don't be mastered by it!
CONCLUSION:
What are the most
important things in your life? This
is answered by the investments or our time, talents, and resources. Where your passion exists is where your
investments go. Is Christianity
more a hobby tacked onto your life or is it the consuming passion of your life?
The dividends both here and in
eternity will reflect the extent of the investments we make in this life! INVEST
WISELY!