Sermon on the Mount -06- Knowing Where to Bank

Reading: Matt.6:19-24

Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:20 (NIV)

I.   The importance of the Right investment

     A.  The Vulnerable Bank of Entropy

           1.  Entropy — the idea that things tend to degenerate over time (moth & rust)

                 a.  Much of what we live for is temporary.

                       (1)      Temporary fun, temporary belongings, temporary relationships

                 b.  Even the things we manage to keep tend to loose their luster over time

                       (1)      The car gets rust spots, the games get boring, the honeymoon ends.

                 c.  Does anything at all really last, or is it all just “Dust in the wind?”

           2.  Even those things that last for a while can be taken away by the thieves:

                 a.  Actual burglaries, stolen health, car accidents, abusive relationships, etc.

                 b.  We are more vulnerable than we want to admit to all those external forces waiting to steal what we hold dear.

           3.  Yet we keep pouring time and resources into the Vulnerable Bank of Entropy.

                 a.  We believe “It won’t happen to us.”

                 b.  It’s the biggest bank in town and we fall for the line that everyone else must know something we don’t.

     B.  The Bank of Salvation Trust

           1.  There’s another bank in town.

                 a.  Smaller, with fewer branch offices, not quite so spiffy in appearance, with a smaller following.

           2.  This bank that makes promises that seem too good to be true: an infinite return on your investment, but only if you invest it all.

                 a.  It is suspect by those who go to the other bank; they don’t believe the claims.

           3.  The Bank of Salvation Trust has done the seemingly impossible: No risk investment, with the highest possible yield.

     C.  Setting our Hearts on God

           1.  Jesus uses financial imagery to talk about our hearts: “What are you banking on?” He asks.

           2.  Jesus says “Set your hearts on God” “bank on Him” all the other places to invest your life are just sucker schemes.

II.  Long Range Planning (Does Jesus change the subject?)

     A.  An Enlightening View

           1.  No Jesus asks us to open our eyes to the realities (not close them).

           2.  The truth about these sucker schemes becomes obvious, if we’re ready to see them for what they really are.

                 a.  Alcohol, drugs, extra-marital sex, all make promises for happiness they cannot keep.

                 b.  More belongings, more toys, more books, better cars, houses, appliances, better coffee, or insurance, or health won’t make us happy — or keep us happy for long.

                 c.  We keep looking for more, but more is never enough.

           3.  The treasure of heaven is a free gift: unconditional forgiveness of our entire debt.

                 a.  The gift is offered in exchange for trust/faith.

     B.  Considering the Wrong information

           1.  But suppose you only look at one set of data? What if you never even consider the possibilities of what Jesus offers?

           2.  “Ignorance is bliss” we say, but what happens when ignorance robs us of the truth about life? We’re left “in the dark” about why we’re here and what we’re supposed to be doing and what will make us happy.

           3.  If your vision for life is based upon the lies of the Vulnerable Bank of Entropy, you’ll die in the dark, miserable and alone.

III. Only One Bottom Line

     A.  Divided Loyalties?

           1.  Some folks want to diversify the investment of their life by making deposits in both banks.

                 a.  Sound financial advice, perhaps.

                 b.  On the other hand, why invest in a sure looser?

           2.  When it comes to ultimate loyalties (and that is what Jesus is talking about) we can have only one.

                 a.  Our life can have only one bottom line: the sum of what our life is about.

                 b.  In the final analysis, we can be devoted to either long-term, everlasting life, or the transitory, rusty and precarious things we see all around us.

           3.  What do you live for? What gives life meaning.

     B.  One Life: One Boss

           1.  It’s tough to have two supervisors, two foreman, to tell you what to do at work.

                 a.  You end up working for one or the other and creating all sorts of trouble for yourself.

                 b.  One supervisor wants one thing the other wants the opposite. You can’t please them both and please neither if you try.

           2.  Life is like that.

                 a.  Money and things lead you off in one direction. God wants you going another.

                 b.  You can only go in one direction. You can only have one boss.

The Bottom Line:

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