Three Spiritual Examinations of the Heart: Matt 6:19-24
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If you have your Bibles with you this morning turn with me to Matthew 6: 19-24…. Over the last four years, with craziness of Covid, some of us have gotten out of the habit of physically going to our doctors to get an annual physical. We have conveniently put off that sometimes intrusive and unpleasant meetings with our physicians to make sure that our vitals are in check. Now, obviously we know there will be costly consequences to our negligence, right? Some of us may be unknowingly battling cancer, some of us may have blockages building up in our arteries that are unaware of. Others of us, may know something feels off, perhaps you’ve written off to being older, or out of shape, but in reality, you don’t know what’ is going on within. That’s why such appointments are necessary and must be scheduled.
Well, just as we need to prioritize annual physical exams, we also need to routinely set aside time to examine out spiritual wellbeing. Over the last six months, it had been brought to the elders attention that our giving was in a decline. Now, honestly, we really didn’t panic over that downward trend. In light of our economy and the cost of living we kind of expected a hesitation in giving. But we decided to ask for some data from our treasurer just to get a snap- shot of the situation. We asked him to provide us with nameless data, for we have no desire of knowing who gives what to our church, but we did want to view what is being given by the households that make up our church family. Now, I will be honest with you, what we discovered was concerning to us. I’m not going to get into all the details, but let me share just two… We found that out of the 185 households that make up our family of faith, that’s church members and regular attenders… 32 households give zero dollars to our church, and the median (explain) gift was $1912.00- less than $37 a week. Folks, that means most households that make up this local church spend much more money as a family eating out once a week, than we give to God to advance His kingdom. The majority of us spend more a month on entertainment, apps on our phones and tvs, or maybe even gym memberships that we rarely use, than we do to support the ministry of God’s church. Sadly, many of us waste and throw away more money than we invest in eternal things. Church family, our conclusion to this data is that we need to examine our hearts before the Lord and His Word! With that in mind will you read along with me Matthew 6:19-24….
The question that arrives from this text is very simple: Where is your heart? Now, by that question, I obviously don’t mean in your chest, pumping life-giving blood to every part of your body. This is not a physiology lesson. Moreover, like the text, I am also not using the word heart to refer to those you love the most. Like on social media when you post a picture of your loved one and my “whole heart.” So, what am I talking about, when I ask, where is your heart? Verse 21, answers that question for us: It’s where your treasure is! The word heart in scripture speaks in terms of the investment of your life, your motives, your attitudes, your emotions, your will, and thought patterns.
If you want to know where your heart is, think about where your mind drifts to, what you day dream about, and where your mental and physical energy is spent. If you are anything like me, if you are human, the answer to that question is probably a thing. A home, a vehicle, a retirement plan, a savings account, a new phone, computer, shoes, a new wardrobe, or maybe a dream vacation. But chances are it’s a thing. Why? Because as a society we love things, we are committed to them, and we foolishly believe that if we can just have that thing, then life will be good, there will joy, peace, there will satisfaction, contentment, our friends and family will be in awe, and there will be euphoria all around.
Church family, as the elders have mulled over the nameless data, we concluded, that we must wrestle over this topic. Not because we are we are financially concerned about paying our bills and expenses, but solely because the data shows, are hearts are not right with God! And therefore, our hearts must not be truly attached to God but to something else, some thing that we hope and long for. Listen, God, nor we as your elders, need your money. The grand story of Heritage Bible Chapel that has unfolded for the last 24 years does not hang on our individual giving records. God has faithfully provided everything we need, and I have no doubt He will continue to do so in the future. So, this two-week discussion on finances is not a gimmick or ploy to draw in more money for our church. Rather, we see a vital spiritual concern in the life of our church family that must be addressed. We need a heart check-up, and we need a routine spiritual examination of our walk with God.
Now, if you are new here or a guest today, and you are thinking… of all the days I came to church? This must be like all those churches that talk about money all the time. The sad reality is, that over the years we as your elders have intentionally chose not to emphasize the topic of money. Much like speaking about politics or religion at the extended family gathering on Thanksgiving, we’ve rarely discussed it. And may I say, we were wrong in that approach. And all though you may appreciate the fact that we avoided this conversation, we sincerely apologize that we have neglected this vital spiritual checkup. Did you know that Jesus taught much more about money than marriage, parenting, heaven, and hell. In fact, there is only one topic he spoke more of than money, and that was the Kingdom of God. Its as if the Lord knew we are going to struggle with money and the things it buys. Now, I will assure you, that we will not be like those churches who always harp on money, we are not going to talk about it every week, but I promise you, your elders, who are currently serving at this time, are not going to ignore this vital issue either. That’s why I want us to study our text this morning, for it provides us three spiritual examinations that we must prioritize, schedule, and endure on a regular basis for us to secure a healthy heart for God.
1) You must routinely examine your eternal investments (vs 19-21).
Notice in verses 19-21 that God doesn’t give us a percentage of our income to give to God. He doesn’t say we need to tithe or give 10% to God. Now many people have tried to argue that the New Testament doesn’t promote the tithe, but rather emphasizes joyful and sacrificial giving. Now, there is a few problems with that argumentation. First of all, Jesus does speak of the tithe, and second of all, in our sinful nature we will certainly tend to lower that bar instead of raising the bar and giving out of a sacrificial heart. Rather than giving our first fruits as an act of worship to God, we will simply give a little of what is leftover in our bank accounts. Or perhaps eventually, like the data I shared with you earlier suggests, we sheepishly accept the thought that we just can’t give or shouldn’t give at all.
But pay attention to what Jesus says in these two verses, because instead of giving us a percentage, He gives us a simple principle. He says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.” The Greek here is fascinating to consider. The word store up in the GK is one word, it is thesauriszo and the word for treasures in this text is the GK word thesauros. Perhaps you can hear the English word thesaurus in both. A thesaurus is literally a treasury of words. You see, what Jesus is saying in the first line is “do not treasure up treasures for yourselves.” The word picture in the Greek is a person greedily stacking coins, one on top of another.
Now please understand Jesus isn’t saying that saving money is a sin, or that we need to give it all away. In fact, the Bible encourages us to be wise with our money, to steward it well, and that involves saving some of it. In Proverbs 6:6-8, we are actually encouraged to consider the ant as a model of a good worker. “Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise… (she) prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest.” We are biblically wise when we save for occasions when we will be unable to work. But listen, the Bible also expects us to enjoy that which God has blessed us with. 1 Timothy 6:17… The Lord “richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.” But our text today also reminds us that we are called by God to be generous and reflect His gracious nature to others. Its been often argued that babies come out of the womb with their fists clinched, and many of us never learn to open them up so that we can let our treasures go. You see, the Bible affirms good stewardship, saving money, enjoying God’s blessings, and it also calls us to give sacrificially to advance His kingdom.
Therefore, the key to really understanding what Jesus is warning us here in verse 19, are the two words “for yourselves.” When we accumulate wealth, things, and treasures for our own selfish glory then those possessions will quickly become idols. When we start piling it all up for ourselves and grow materialistic, then we violate this God-given principle. Paul said to his protégé Timothy, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” Money is not the root, it’s the love of money that is the root of all evil. Paul said bluntly in Colossians 3:5… “Covetousness is idolatry.”
Jesus teaches His followers to not greedily store up treasures for ourselves here on earth where they are so easily subject to loss. To understand this text, we need to understand that in the ancient world, wealth looked a lot different than today. There was no stock market, no 401k’s, no banks, no checking accounts, no cash, nor crypto currency. Instead, wealth was identified in literal commodities. And the three primary commodities that expressed wealth were garments, grain, and precious medal.
In the Biblical world nice clothing was a luxury. We see this in numerous Biblical stories. From Joseph being granted a coat of many colors by his father, and then Joseph latter blessing Benjamin with five changes of garments. We see it in the story of Achan, who in Joshua 7, took from the spoils of war a mantle (a fine cloak), along with gold, and he hid them in an act of great disobedience to God. Later in the book of Judges, Samson would offer thirty garments and thirty changes of clothing to anyone who could answer his riddle. You see, in their world, garments were an expression of great wealth, and even at times the most wealthy would literally weave gold itself into a garment. Now with that in mind, we can much more easily understand, Jesus’ warning concerning a small seemingly annoying insect that even a small child can crush with his fingers. Moths eat garments, that’s why they are mentioned here! And interestingly they don’t attack us to eat the clothes we are wearing do they. Most of us don’t run from a moth like we do a wasp or hornet. Instead, moths attack and slowly consume the clothes we store away.
Another way the ancient world stored wealth was in grain. Perhaps you remember the rich young fool, who said, “I will tear down my barns so that I can build bigger ones, that can hold more of my wealth.” Obviously, his wealth was measured in his grain. Now, what does that have to do with a moth, nothing really, but it does pertain to the Greek word “rust.” The word “rust” in our text literally means “eating.” I have some rust right now eating away one of my vehicles. Rust in this text refers to that which ate away at the grain. Like small mice and vermin. Again, Jesus seems to be saying if you store up all your treasure in a barn, small things will eventually find there way in and will eat away at your treasure.
The third prized commodity of the ancient world was precious metal. And without banks and safes, they had to hide and secure such treasure in places that were hard to find, so that thieves would not steal them. Normally they would hide their precious metal in their home or bury them in a field. The words “break in” in the GK are literally “dig through.” So, thieves would literally dig through the mud walls of a home or the dig up the ground to seek and steal treasure.
Jesus’ point is clear, if you hoard your treasures, you will certainly lose it for it is temporary, unsafe, and insecure. And yet, we as a culture, are so hard of hearing this message are we not? Oh, how we love to store up our treasures in the here and now, that so quickly lose all their value. Let’s be honest, the stuff that we think we cannot live without, so quickly turns to junk. For example: can you remember the Christmas presence you got two years ago? Some of us may even struggle to remember what we unwrapped just a few months ago. And some of us, no matter how worthless this stuff becomes in time, we will struggle to let go of it. And so, we as a culture actually create and rent spaces for the sole purpose of storing up our stuff. I’m amused by these storage facilities, especially the ones that offer climate control, like I’m worried about my stuff being too cold or hot. Now, I understand maybe there are somethings that extreme temperatures may effect, but come on!!! These rental facilities stand as a sad reminder that we have more than we need, and we cling to our stuff as treasure rather than display a heart of generosity. Sadly, those rental facilities pop up faster in New England, than new churches in the south. Yet, interestingly, are they both not houses of worship.
Ss followers of Christ, we should aim to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Please understand, when our possessions, and money are used to serve others and further God’s kingdom, they build up eternal and heavenly resources. Resources that are completely free from theft and destruction. Indeed, they are far more secure than all the gold that is supposedly stored in Fort Knox, for such treasure is completely and absolutely secured in the hands of God. Oh, my friend, you were not created for just the here and now, yet for some reason we foolishly live and manage our wealth as if we were. And the proof of this is how we fail to find long lasting satisfaction in things we purchase which do not last!
Jesus hammers home his point in verse 21… “for where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.” Don’t miss what the Lord is saying here, He is warning us that our most cherished possessions and our deepest motives and desires are inseparable. They will either both be secured in heaven or insecure on earth.
Jesus is saying that the manner in which we manage our money and possessions reveals the true nature of our heart. He’s arguing that a person who is right with God will be generous and joyfully sacrificial in giving to the Lord’s work. And by the same token, He’s arguing that a person who is greedy, covetous, stingy, and self-indulgent has good reason to question their relationship with God. Where is your treasure? Do you treasure Christ and His kingdom more than anything else? The way we answer those questions is by examining how we spend and invest our money. If you want to see your treasure, look over your bank account and credit card statements. And then if you have the church app and give online, check out your giving record. How do they line up, what does that data reveal? Who or what does it say you treasure?
2) You must routinely examine your spiritual vision (vs. 22-23).
Verses 22 and 23 simply expand on the previous verses. You may wonder, what does an eye, light, and darkness have to do with our hearts and our finances? Hopefully I will be able to explain it for you. First of all, we have to understand that the eye is an illustration of the heart. They are synonymous, for both the words heart and eyes speak of the inner person. Just consider how the references to our eyes and heart are one in the same in Psalm 119.
“I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commandments” (v. 10)
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law” (v. 18)
“Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain” (v. 36)
“Turn my eyes from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.” (v. 37)
The Bible argues that we live our life from the inside out. That what we think, say, and do always flows out from our hearts, and here in verses 22-23, Jesus says that the body finds its direction in life through the eyes. Therefore, a person with good or clear sight walks in the light. You see, a healthy eye gives direction to all of life. Ambition to serve God throws wonderful light on everything, while ambition to serve oneself plunges everything into darkness. It creates the utter darkness pride, self-indulgence, while it crushes generosity.
The Greek again is noteworthy. The word “clear” in the original language can mean single. I fact if you are using a King James Version Bible this morning, you can see it uses the word single instead of clear. Therefore, an eye that is clear represents a heart that is singular in focus and devotion. Now furthermore, there are a few words in the Greek language that interestingly very closely related to the word used for “clear” or “single.” And those just happen to the Greek words for liberality and generosity. The implication here, is that if our eye and heart is singular and clearly focused on God, then we will naturally live generous lives and our lives will be flooded with spiritual light and understanding.
Conversely, if our eyes are bad. If they are diseased or damaged to where no light may enter, then the whole body will be full of darkness. Listen, when our eyes are divided over many things, when they long for more and more and more and more they inevitably become blind to everything godly and spiritual. You see, the bad eye keeps the light of God, wonderful and powerful understanding light, from entering the heart and soul of man.
Now, again the Greek is intriguing to consider, for the Greek word for bad usually means evil, again the King James Version uses that vocabulary here. And in the Old Testament, you will occasionally see and read the Hebrew expression an “evil eye.” An insightful example is Prov. 28:22… “A man with an evil eye hurries after wealth And does not know that want will come upon him.” Listen, the bad and evil eye is always selfish, self-indulgent, greedy, and materialistic. They are spiritually blinded by the desires of their heart. And yet because such a person has no ability to recognize true light, they think have light, when they do not. Their light, their understanding, their justification, their reasoning is really nothing but darkness! Ad because they are so self-deceived… Jesus adds the phrase, “how great is the darkness!”
Church family, when was the last time you had your spiritual eyes checked? When was the last time you considered what draws and captures the attention of your eyes. Listen, we spend far too much time looking at and focusing on the wrong things. We spend too much time scrolling through Facebook and Instagram, shopping on Amazon, and the internet. And every time we find ourselves there, we can easily feed the jealousy, greed, and lust that lingers in our hearts. Oh, how we can easily find ourselves in the dark! Remember, the Bible calls us to flee temptation. Therefore, we must limit our screen time. We must be careful to where we allow our eyes to gaze upon, and we must be careful to guard our children’s eyes and hearts as well.
At the same time, we must be intentional to set our eyes more on Christ. HEBREWS 12:2 reminds us to fix “our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” That’s where we need to focus our attention, on the one who came to earth to die for our sin, so that we might live for Him. The 19th century English theologian Charles Bridges once wrote, “Is it asked, “What will most effectually turn my eyes from vanity?” Not the seclusion of contemplative retirement. Not the relinquishment of our lawful connection with the world. [It is rather] the transcendent beauty of Jesus unveiled to our eyes, and fixing our hearts unto Him.” If Christ, and His gospel haven’t captured your hearts affection and your eyes attention, then you must discipline yourself to look to Him more often. To fix your eyes upon Him in the morning when you wake by studying His Word and prayer, by joining brothers and sisters in Bible studies, and holding each other accountable. Oh, that we would see His glory, and that it would capture our hearts and our eyes in way that all other gain is seen as mere loss. Folks, that doesn’t happen if you simply show up here on Sunday morning, and neglect the Word throughout the week. You have to fix your eyes up Him.
3) You must routinely examine your heart’s devotion (v. 24).
In verse 24, our Lord gives us an absolute statement: “No one can serve two masters.” The words “no one” demonstrates that there is no individual who has lived or who will ever live that can equally divide his heart between God and riches. It can’t be done! Though certainly many try. There are many who come to church week after week, they arrive here to worship every Sunday, but God is rarely to never on their radar Monday through Friday. They ultimately don’t live for Jesus; they’ve just sprinkled a little of Christ into their week and will call upon Him if things get too hard or difficult. You cannot serve two masters, Jesus says, “for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
The word “masters” in this verse is often translated as “lord,” and refers to a slave owner. This is clearly not a reference to an employer. I know some of you may work two jobs and have two bosses and somehow manage to make it all work, but that is not what Jesus is referring to here. The idea is of masters and slaves.
Here’s the uncomfortable reality of our hearts that this verse expresses: Every one of us is a slave to something that has mastery over our hearts. We have a master, one master, a slave owner, who has total and complete control over us. Listen, for a slave there is no such thing as a partial or part-time obligation to his master. That reality does not exist. Instead, we owe full allegiance to a full-time master. We are owned, totally controlled by, and obligated to serve our master. Therefore, there is nothing left for another lord to consume.
Now, I realize that many of us here, have done everything we can do, to compartmentalize our lives. In fact, some of you have a work personality, that is radically different from the person that comes home at the end of the day, who may also be different from the person you are when you walk through these doors. There is the work you, the home you, the church you, the date night you, the Friday night and Saturday you, there is the ball games on you, the shopping you (ladies I’ve seen some of you in action: laser focused on mission.) Sadly, it’s like we have numerous spilt personalists, like we have all gone insane, and yet Jesus gives a good dose of reality with these words: you cannot serve two masters and fully and faithfully be the obedient slave of each. Folks the insanity of our lives reveals whom and what we devoted ourselves to. It reveals our master and the object of our worship and affection. And either we worship and serve the Lord resulting in joy, hope, and peace, or we worship another master resulting in chaos, frustration, and heartache.
In the New Testament we are repeatedly reminded that Christ is lord, and we as Christians are to be His bondslaves. We began our teaching time with a reading from Romans 6:16-22. In that passage, the apostle Paul told us that before we were saved by faith, we were enslaved to our sin which had complete mastery over us. But when we put our faith in Christ, things radically changed. For we become slaves to God and of righteousness. Like Jesus, Paul said there are only two masters: sin and the Lord. There is the master of sin, a harsh and brutal ruler who will take far more away from you than it will ever give you. It will promise you freedom, joy, peace, and hope but sin will faithfully rob you of all such things. Romans 6 said that slavery of sin grants only three things: lawlessness which is simply chaos, shame, and ultimately death. Listen, to his words… “For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness… For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death” (Romans 6:19-21). Chaos, shame, and death: that’s the fruit of being a slave to sin. If those are the realities that shape your life: hold on because there is good news! You don’t have to be a slave to sin and therefore you don’t have to have your life shaped by lawlessness, shame, and death. By God’s grace there is another option on the table. Listen to verses 16-18 of Romans 6… “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Listen, you can obey the Lord by first believing in Him and repenting of your sins. In the New Testament the call of the gospel was a call to obedience: Repent and Believe! You see unbelief is a sin in itself, in fact it is the ultimate sin that leads to lawlessness, shame, and death.
But through faith in Christ, you can receive and grow in righteousness, sanctification, and life. Paul sums up that teaching well with a verse many of us know by heart Romans 6:23… “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Folks, who is your lord? Is it sin and self, or is it Christ Jesus? Those are essentially the only two options. If you are here today, and your saying to yourself, Pastor Kevin, “I’m not sure?” But in your heart you know your life is full of pain, confusion, chaos, and shame. You can feel the great darkness that has plagued you and kept you from experiencing the warmth of God’s light. If that is you, please come find me after the service or talk to one of our elders. If you are not sure who they are, go to the welcome center in the foyer after the service and we would to introduce you to one of our leaders who can encourage you, share the truth of Scripture with you, point you to Christ, and answer your questions. Or maybe you just need someone to pray for you. We would love nothing more than make ourselves available to you. There is no reason to leave here in doubt without first seeking help.
Listen, we cannot claim Christ as lord if the allegiance of our heart is anything or anyone else. For when we clearly know God’s will for our life but resist obeying it, we give undeniable evidence that we are devoted to something else. Church family, you can no more serve two masters at the same time than you can move in two directions at the same time. With our actions we prove that we either hate the one and love the other, or cling to one and despise the other. And please don’t miss Jesus’ last line which is similar to Romans six, but adapted to the context of our text. The Lord says, “You cannot serve God and wealth.” The word wealth here in the GK is the word mammon. It’s a word that referred to property, possessions, and money. And notice how Jesus personifies it as a god, as a master seeking to enslave and to rule over a person’s life in competition with the one true God.
John Calvin once wrote, “Where riches hold dominion of the heart, God has lost His authority.” You see our treasure is either on earth or in heaven, our spiritual life is either full of light or full of darkness, and our master is either God, or the sinful pursuit of personal gain and wealth. Calvin along with Jesus is fundamentally saying there are only two masters and two ways to live: One commands you to live by faith and the other demands that you walk by sight. One calls you to be humble, the others fuels pride. One sets its mind on the things above and the other fills its mind with the things below. One calls us to love and enjoy the light, while the other only offers darkness. One calls us to look forward and invest in the unseen and the eternal, while the other consumes itself with the things that can be temporally seen and experienced.
One of my favorite hymns is old Irish tune entitled Be Thou My Vision. If often said, that I would love to have it sung at my funeral. One of its verses speaks well to the theme of this sermon. It reads “Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise Thou mine inheritance, now and always Thou and Thou only first in my heart High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art.”
Is He your king, your master? Is He your inheritance? Your treasure? Or do you seek riches, vanity, and praise? The Word of God has humbly reminded us that the clear answer to that question is discovered in how we manage our wealth and possessions. Do we cling to them, or do we joyfully give and entrust them to the Lord so that His kingdom can advance, and His message of salvation be shared with those who have yet to hear the good news.
Church family: examine your heart? Examine the evidence of your investments. Consider that which captures the focus of your eyes and attention. Survey your life and ask yourself the question: whom are you serving with your energy, time, and yes money? Where do you store your treasure, where do you cast your eyes, and whom are you serving? The financial records of our church from last year, insist that we all ask these hard questions of ourselves. Again, I want to assure you, that I’m not up here begging you for your money. We haven’t experienced a need here that God hasn’t bountifully met, and I believe He will continue to do so. My concern, as your pastor, as one of the elders, and as a shepherd, is your heart. Is it right with God? Is there light? Joy? Peace? Hope? And Grace abounding within? Is there a growing selfless nature about you, or are you trapped in a dark, cold, selfish, self-seeking trap of sin and materialism? Pray with me.