19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal

Checked Your Investments Lately? Matt= hew 6:19-24

I’m going to ri= sk getting us started this morning by asking a question. I hope no one throws a shoe at me—or worse, given the news from this past week. Anyway, here’s the question:=

How are your investments doing? H= ave you checked them lately? Your= 401K, your portfolio of stocks and bonds, even the market value of your house or = the rate of return on your CDs. H= ave you taken notice? Maybe it= 217;s best just not to look!

But we do look—because this is something we care about. We want to know how our investment= s are doing. We wonder if there will there be enough in the children’s college funds or their parents̵= 7; retirement funds or whatever. For so many right now, it’s unemployment funds that concern them most.

We really care about = this stuff, don’t we? Sure we do. So let’s turn to the Sermon on the Mount and listen to what Jesus has to say about our investmen= ts (Matthew 6:19-24):

¹⁹"Do not store up for your= selves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in= and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where = moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ^=
21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²&q= uot;The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will = be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is th= at darkness!”

²⁴&q= uot;No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, = or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both = God and Money.”

If we listen carefull= y to what Jesus says here about our “treasures,” we might be tempted= to think that He is trying to “rub it in,”—to say, “I = told you so,” as in I told you not to put so much trust in those “ea= rthly treasures.”

So I ask you again, o= nly because it seems that this is what Jesus is asking: have you checked your investments lately? How are t= hey doing? More to the point, how= are we doing in relation to the things we treasure?

It always amazes me, whenever the topic of money comes up, to realize how much Jesus has to say about it. I challenge you to = find any subject that Jesus addresses more often than money and possessions. Jesus knows how important money is= , the way it can serve as a kind of barometer for our souls.

He points to many dif= ferent challenges for our lives and our Christian witness in the Sermon on the Mou= nt, but only when it comes to money does He warn us that it can take the place = of God. “You cannot serve = both God and Money,” He says—and that’s Money with a capital “M,” the god of Mammon.

In a former life, I w= as an Economics major at Furman= University, with a concentration in Banking and Finance. But I’ve always tried to keep money in proper perspective, as something which is neither good nor evil, but which as a tool in our hands = can become either.

The Bible teaches tha= t we all have things in our lives that need to be well-managed: time, talent, treasu= re, to name three. God’s expectation of us is that we be good stewards—good managers—of everything He places under our control.

He gives instructions= in His word so we will better understand how to manage our money in a way that honors Him. What we do with o= ur money is a strong indicator of our faith and our allegiance to God. Or it can indicate a lack of faith= and a loyalty to something other than God. Money is powerful in this way!

What I want to do this morning is to let Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount speak to some of the investment advice we often hear in the hopes that our hearts wi= ll be a bit more attuned to Jesus’ eternal perspective on our investment= s.

I. Let’s begin with this: KNOW = YOUR TIME HORIZON WHEN YOU INVEST! You’ve heard that. And it’s usually followed by= the advice that if you are going to need your money anytime in the next five ye= ars, the stock market is probably not the best place to put it—right? And some of you are thinking, R= 20;How I wish I had listened to that!”

Well, I would encoura= ge you to not worry about what you cannot change. That’s actually part of wh= at we find in Jesus’ teachings next week—so we won’t go there yet. For now, what does Jesus= say about our “time horizons?”

Basically, He tells u= s not to store up all our treasures in places where goodness knows anything can happen to them! Those weren&#= 8217;t His exact words, of course, but you get the point. He tells us to store up treasures = in heaven where they will be safe forever!&nb= sp; That’s a pretty good time horizon—forever!

Truth be told, though= , it’s a longer time horizon than some of us are willing to consider. Or it just seems so far off, we fe= el like “storing up treasure in heaven” can wait. We’ll get to that one day. But first things first. Right now, we’re here—= on earth—and we have a lot of things we want and think we need, so we= 217;re taking care of us and ours first.

I don’t talk ab= out money and giving very often. I realize how much Jesus talked about it, but people seem to get tired of hea= ring preachers talk about it—except, of course, for those who are already = good stewards. They don’t mind. But others do.

I heard about a littl= e boy who swallowed a quarter. His = mom was frantic and asked her husband what they should do. “Call the preacher,” t= he father said. “Don’= ;t you think we should call the doctor?” Mom asked. “No,” said Dad, “= ;the preacher can get money out of anyone.”

Just keep in mind tha= t when we preachers bring the subject of money up, it’s because Jesus did, a= nd the rest of the Bible does too. So, as your Pastor, I would be doing you a disservice not to talk about money.<= o:p>

Jesus told us to stor= e up our treasures in heaven. I have t= o try to help all of us understand this very basic and important spiritual instru= ction. You then have to decide what to do= with it—and that’s between you and God.

A rich man dies and g= oes to heaven. He had trusted in Jes= us as his Savior, but like so many, unfortunately, he never really did much about it. As he makes his way throu= gh the Pearly Gates, St. Peter greets him and says, “Welcome to heaven. Let me show you where you’ll = be staying.”
The rich man is excited because, as he looks around, he sees mansions stretching out in every direction. They are beautiful! They appear to be built of gold and silver and precious jewels.

As Peter and the rich man walk along the streets of gold, they come to a ve= ry ornate home. They pause to ad= mire it, and the rich man asks, “Who gets to live here?” Saint Peter replies, “That’s for your groundskeeper. He was a godly man who loved Jesus = and served Him all his life. This= is his reward.”

They continue to stroll past other mansions, until they stop in front of an= other large one that seems to be made of emeralds and rubies. The rich man asks Peter, “Is = this mine?”

“No,” Pet= er says, “I stopped here because this one belongs to your maid. You didn’= ;t pay her much, but she managed to raise five children and still give her tithe to the Lord each week.”

”I had no idea,” he says. They continue walking until they come to a different section of hous= es. These aren’t as nice as the o= thers. They stop in front of a very = modest little shack.

The rich man is hesit= ant to ask, but finally says, “And whose is that?” Peter responds, = 220;It’s yours!” The rich man pr= otests. “There must be some mis= take. I had a much finer house than that= on earth.”

But Peter says, ̶= 0;No, and believe me, you’re not the first to react that way; but there’s been no mistake--we did the best we could with what little you sent ahead!&= #8221;

When you consider wha= t you have done so far in life with the money and possessions God has entrusted to you, what does it say about your “time horizon.” Is it only short term—strict= ly here and now--or does it take eternity into account? Are you storing up any treasure in heaven—any eternal treasure at all?&= nbsp; Jesus says our time horizon matters.

II. Well, let’s move to a second investment principal: KNOW WHAT YOU’RE INVESTING IN. Warren Buffet, the famous investor= , says he never puts money into a business he doesn’t understand. He avoided the “dot.com bubb= le” because technology is beyond his realm of understanding. Even Warren Buffet hasn’t bee= n doing so well lately, though—I don’t think anybody understands this present mess!

Except…the Lord does. And maybe we can hear w= hat He has to say about our money better when we’re in a financial crisis—that’s the way it is with so many other things He tells = us. We don’t listen too well unt= il we desperately need His help—right?

Jesus is pointing out= the obvious when He says, “…where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (v. 21) Then He talks about our eyes—remember?—the way we see things. He says our eyes can fill our bodi= es with either light or darkness, and Jesus tells us this while talking about = our possessions.

I wonder if we still = have the ability to see what Jesus is getting at here? Could it be that in our affluence, we’ve been blinded to deeper spiritual realities? Have we have bought into the world’s dark lie that the hunger in our souls can be filled if we sim= ply buy enough stuff?

Listen, materialism w= ill never satisfy our deepest hungers. All it does is create addictions.&n= bsp; Materialism is an addiction! The more we consume, the more we want. Jesus is warning us that if we liv= e like this for long, we’ll no longer be able to see straight!

A man was concerned a= bout his friend who kept buying up land. Finally he said to him, “You’ve got so much land already—far more than you’ll ever use. How much more land do you intend to buy?” “Oh, not mu= ch more really,” he says. = “I just want to be sure I have all the land that’s adjacent to mine.” You see where th= at leads.

Jesus is warning us t= hat our eyes are not able to focus in two opposite directions. We have to choose—light or darkness, God’s way or the world’s, eternal treasures or just a= ll this earthly stuff. Are you following this—can you see this?

When we check our investments, friends, is there much indication that we are focused on the things of God and His eternity, or have we allowed the trinkets of this wor= ld to grab all our attention—and money?

This is what Jesus is trying to get us to see. He w= ants us know what we’re investing in--because He knows us so well. “Look where your treasure is,” He tells us, “there’s your heart!”<= /span>

III. Well, let’s finish with just= one last bit of investment advice: KNOW WHAT YOUR GOALS ARE. In other words, what are you seeki= ng to accomplish through your investing? What will success look like for you?

I don’t want yo= u to misunderstand what I’m saying. I hope you are saving and investing a portion of your income each mo= nth; and I hope you have worthy goals, like buying a house, sending kids to coll= ege, and funding your retirement.

But here is what we n= eed to take away from this portion of Jesus’ sermon. Because He loves us so, Jesus doesn’t want us to overlook the most important goal of all: eternity.

Sure, as the experts = warn us, we may spend twenty or more years in retirement, and we don’t wan= t to outlive our money! Saving for retirement is a worthy goal.

Jesus just wants us to understand that there is a higher goal, a worthier goal than anything havin= g to do with life on Planet Earth. Store up treasure in heaven, He tells us, treasure that can never be affected by moths, rust, or thieves, nor by economic downturns, stock market crashes, or even Bernie Madoff! What we i= nvest in God’s Kingdom is safe for all eternity. The dividends are secure!

Why is there so much = about money and how we manage it in the Bible? Because our Maker knows there is no truer indicator of what our goals are than what we do with our money, our treasure. ‘No one,̶= 1; Jesus said, “can serve two Masters…You cannot serve both God and Money.”

So, by all means, kno= w what your goals are. Know what suc= cess looks like in your life. When= you check your check book or view your account on-line, ask yourself who’s getting served, who’s being honored by what you do with your money. Are you including God in your goal= s--is eternity part of your investment plan?

Friends, it isn’= ;t the preacher saying this—it’s Jesus. It’s the Lord. But is He our Lord? IS HE??? Well…let’s check our investments…and see!