Whatever It Takes – Treasure

This weekend we are wrapping up our stewardship series – Whatever It Takes. We started the year working through who we are as a church – our mission, vision, and values. And the last few weeks we’ve been talking about what it looks like for us to live faithfully  stewarding – managing and leveraging – God’s resources like our time, talent, and treasure.

So you’ve had a couple of weeks to pray and seek the counsel of others about what it would look like for you, for everyone who calls this church their home, to take your next step in doing whatever it takes to advance Christ’s kingdom in KL and the world. 

And today we’re finishing the series by looking at treasure. Bible. Matt. 6. Screen.

Text: Matt. 6 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

Jesus teaching – As desirable and valuable all the things of this world look, they have an expiration date. Treasure – different for different people – clothes, cars, house, holiday, entertainment, experiences, etc… So don’t store up stuff here on earth. Even more so, the Bible talks about how our very lives are a vapor, here and gone. Indo – Beach. No trace. Same way – Earthly treasures and our lives are here and gone. 

Foolishness of being buried with your treasure or dying after having accumulated a lot of possessions. You’re leaving it behind for others to take and enjoy or your treasure is junk to everyone else and they have to deal with your mess when you’re gone. It doesn’t make sense.

Rather…Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Alcorn – You cannot take it with you, but you can send it ahead. How exactly this works, what your rate of return or ROI is, I’m not exactly sure. For every RM10 you give, does that mean you get a big mansion or gold bar in heaven? IDK. But what I do know is that God keeps his word and he’s incredibly generous. Imperishable, heavenly treasure, whatever it is, has to be awesome – better than anything this world has to offer.

Seems like an easy choice but it isn’t always, right? Saving for retirement – If I invest small amounts of money over a long period of time, that money compounds and grows exponentially, but I need the money now. Test with Kids – You want 1 M&M now or 5 M&Ms in 5mins? How many of you took the 1? For Christians, it’s always the wiser choice to choose to invest in the eternal.

Then, v. 21 – “Where your treasure is, your heart will be.” If you treasure the things of this world, your heart will be tied to this world. Won’t invest in the eternal. But if you treasure the things of heaven, then that’s where your heart is. So it’s not tell me what you love. But I will see where your treasure is – how you actually live your life –  and then that’s where your heart will be. It can’t be both. It’s one or the other. Jesus continues…

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

IDKAY – I never know that I want something until I see it. Ever happen to you? Scrolling – Come across something – Me: Guitars. Ooh what’s that? You are so beautiful. – Grace. I like it. Quickly becomes – I want it. I need it. I love it. And I can’t be happy without it. So I got it. It was even more beautiful in person, just mesmerizing. I’d get lost staring into the wood grain. And it even smelled wonderful. And it sounded heavenly like it was made by God’s own hands. But I kept looking and found something else that was newer and had more features and more beautiful and I felt like I had to have it. I even despised the guitar I had. And if I would just stop looking, then I wouldn’t know to want it. Life would be much simpler.

What do you look at on your phone and dream of? Our eyes give perspective to what is going on in our hearts. Sunglasses – Makes everything look darker than actuality. If you’re looking and focused on the things of this world, that’s what your heart becomes attached to. 

Point – You can’t be looking at two things at the same time. Korea – M.Bar. Theme repeated in Matt. 6 – You can only treasure, be looking at and living for one thing, one purpose…Or your life will be a wreck.

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Again, you can only love one. Why money/stuff? C.S. Lewis – Prosperity knits a man to the world. He feels that he is finding his place in it, while really it is finding its place in him. Entangles your heart to this world. Money promises so much – security, freedom – but cannot really solve our deepest problems. They can’t fix broken marriages, disobedient children. I’d love to try that with one of my kids…Not enough money in the world. The secret to money and possessions – only be enjoyed if God is first and foremost your treasure. Or else you will be a slave to them. – That’s the language – Master – Serve.

Note what it does not say: Money is bad or having lots of money is bad. So if you’re here this morning and you’re rich, we’re glad you’re here. Being rich is no more sinful than being poor is. Money is neither good nor bad. Magnifies what’s already in your heart. Being rich doesn’t make you a sinner or stingy or greedy. You could be. But poor people can be stingy and greedy just the same. A poor person can love money and the things of the world just as much as the rich person. 

And your standing before God is no more affected by the fact that you have a lot of money than the person that doesn’t have as much as you. How do I know that? A person’s standing before God doesn’t depend on how much money they have. 

Certainly there are temptations and dangers that come with riches. Jesus makes that clear. But what Jesus is specifically pointing and calling out is the love of money – serving money, being devoted to money, living for money and what you think it provides for you. It’s how our hearts view/love money. Where you find your joy. 

Symptoms – boasting, worrying, comfort/pleasure, security, stinginess, greed, overspending, oversaving. People think money will provide:

-Security – Save. There is some sense in having resources to fall back on. But doesn’t shield you from hardship, suffering, or ultimately death. 

-Pleasure – Spend. Sure I can think of a lot of ways to use money. I think I’d have a lot of fun. But at the end of the day, after all the efforts of filling our lives – Want more. The next thing. Never satisfied. Rich people – How much is enough? A little more. Sounds like the same thing as people with less than. It’s never enough.

We often think that money is the answer to so many things but often the desire for it is what creates the issues. – “Mo money, mo problems”.

Ask: If your job gave you a bonus or someone gave you RM5,000 – Never had that happen. But let’s just say. What’s your first thought to do with that money? How many – Spend? Save? Neither are necessarily bad. Or steward/give? Does that even cross your mind?

Good stewardship of our treasure and generosity are the overflow of the heart for both the rich and the poor in response to the generosity of God towards us.

Understand: We cannot truly experience joy and be fulfilled if we live counter to the way God created us. Trinity – Self-giving love. Love that extended to us. We were created in God’s to be like him. Jesus – More blessed to give than receive. Joy – Self-giving. But then what about us? Who will take care of us? If we give our resources and ourselves away?

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Jesus gets right to the heart of things here doesn’t he? How many people here worry? About your future, your job, your kids, whether you will get married or not, will you have enough money to make it, will there be any relief from the hardships? These are worthwhile things to give our attention to. But worry, Tim Keller: Worry is believing that God will not get it right. Jesus – Worry when it comes to God’s faithfulness and provision has no place in our Christian faith. Worry is for nonbelievers because they don’t know the character of our God.

Who – Worried so much it actually changes your outcome? BJJ Comp. Test – Worry. Medical Test Results. 0. If anything it can make things worse. And oftentimes, you’re living this false reality of a million possibilities as if they’ve already happened. Well, what if this happens and then that happens? What am I going to do? Will God provide? Will he be with me? And you get so far out ahead of yourself you’re not living in reality. All hypothetical in your head. No wonder you get overwhelmed – God doesn’t equip you for something that he hasn’t called you to.

Worry is an indicator that your heart is set not on God, but on the passing things of this world. And your heart senses that vulnerability/uncertainty/unreliability/unpredictability. If you’ve put your trust in, your hope in, your joy in something in this world that is passing – money/possessions, you won’t ever have peace. But if you trust in God, you’re on a firm foundation that can’t be shaken…

Why? You are loved and valued by your Father – way more than the birds of the air or flowers of the fields. God has given us no reason to worry. He’s trustworthy. He’s faithful. And he will provide for you everything you need. (Need? – Not I need to take a Grab Plus instead of Saver/Standard. I need to stay at a 5 star hotel not a 3 or 4 star.) And he will be with you. He’s got you. Which means you can be filled with extraordinary faith to take risks in doing whatever it takes to advance Christ’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. We can lay down everything we have because God will supply everything we need. 

With our lives and everything we have, we’re called to seek first his kingdom. Is a call to live for God, to put him first. Leveraging our time, talent, and treasure for the purposes of God. Giving our first and best. 

Clear: Giving is going to cost you something. If you’re giving generously, then you’re going to live at least a step or two below the lifestyle that your peers are living. Our homes, cars, holidays, the quality of the stuff we have is going to be lower than our peers. You’re not going to be able to do or have everything they do. And that’s ok.

You don’t have to live your best life now. That’s coming in heaven. But you do need to leverage your life now. – Only have one. To leverage and invest in the eternal – So my family gives to this church generously. Which means we aren’t able to do some good things like – Our kids’ college funds. 0. It’s a good thing and we’d want to do it if we could. But there’s just not enough. And it’s ok. Our priority is God and his church and its mission first. That’s what we want to disciple our kids – we don’t live for them. Teach and model for them that the greatest joy is in following Jesus and putting him first in everything.

So let me start to get really practical and what this means for us as a church…

First, God has no needs. God is not a God of scarcity. God is rich. If I had a need…I wouldn’t ask you. He’s not in heaven worried if Timmy doesn’t tithe this month, there are going to be real problems. The mortgage for heaven is a lot. No.

But the church has real needs. And God is faithful in providing for the church through the faithfulness of his people…

Status of budget. – “In the red.” (Friend) Not sustainable like this forever. Not because of poor budgeting or stewardship of the church. I don’t think anyone would look at our budget and say it’s being mismanaged or we’re spending too much on unnecessary things. But…

Praise God our church is growing. Easter 2024 vs 2025. We don’t just care about numbers but the people the numbers represent hearing and being discipled in the gospel. And as the church is growing, needs are growing. Ministries and opportunities are growing. Faithful. And we need our giving to grow to meet those needs. We need to get to a point where we’re self-sustaining. And it’s going to take all of us being willing to do whatever it takes. 

Partner churches have been incredibly generous towards us. Aircons. 7th floor renovations. Funds we don’t have in our budget. They’re excited about what God is doing here and they’re putting their money where their mouth is – they’re with us. And as awesome as that is, we can’t let others outpace us in their willingness to do whatever it takes when it comes to our own church. We have to be leading the way ourselves for our church, for our mission here in KL. 

Every one of us is a steward called to leverage our treasure for advancing Christ’s kingdom. Not just for the rich and those who have extra. It’s for everyone who calls themselves a follower of Jesus. 

But what if…

-I don’t trust you the pastor or the church – The pastor is trying to take my money. I promise I’m not. We’re happy to share our budget with you – see how little we spend on pastoral salary. But if you’re not in a place where you feel like you can trust and give to this church joyfully, then give it somewhere else for now, another church. But don’t use that as an excuse not to give at all. And after 6-12 months, if you still don’t feel like you can’t trust this church, we want to help you find another church family where you can fully engage with them. We don’t want generosity from you. We want generosity for you.

-I’ll give later when I have more to give cause I don’t have a lot to give right now…It won’t make a difference. Listen, it’s not about how much you give. It’s about what represents generosity for you. For some it’ll be a lot and for others it’ll be less. But it’s the same faithfulness and stewardship. 

-I’m a student. I don’t really have a job or make money. My old checkbook – Parents would give me RM100 and I would write a check to the church for a minimum of RM10. Records. Giving is still a discipline you want to start now no matter how small. You have to start somewhere. Giving is a reflection of you putting God first and you want to engrain that into every area of your life.

(-)Parents, you need to disciple your kids in this. A lot of the reason many people grow up with an unhealthy and worldly mindset about money is because we weren’t taught it. And the church is committed to coming alongside you to do that. My kids $-10/10/80. Give. Save. Spend – Choose to give/save more. Yes, they give “their money” even though our family has already given generously. Save – Wise. Spend – Further help them in their stewardship, use of money. All little spenders. Great thing is – We as parents still get to choose what they get to spend their money on.

-I have kids to provide for, aging parents, other responsibilities – I understand. “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Trust again and again. It’ll stretch you financially and your faith to give to God, but my family has done this for almost 20yrs and God has been faithful. He’s been more generous towards us as we’ve put him first so we can continue to give generously and have our needs taken care of.

-I don’t know where to start…I’ve never really given or thought about it. A couple thoughts to get you going…

-Leftovers – Often how people approach giving. If there’s anything left over after all the things I need to take care of, then I’ll give. Gross. Right off the top – We give to God first. 

-A good starting place is 10%. Not the max – I’m giving 10% so I’m good. God is getting his part and the rest is for me. My family tries, percentage wise, to give more each year. To grow in generosity.

–Start now. There will always be reasons to put it off. It’s never convenient to give. So start now. Just do it. When it comes to giving and generosity, stewarding our treasure and leveraging it for God, you have to be led by your convictions not your circumstances. 

-Retire early. Not necessarily bad. But don’t kill yourself to make all this money…You overwork yourself – probably missing out of valuable time with family and doing ministry you can’t get back. Making money that you’re too old to enjoy when you do finally get to retire. Obedience to Jesus now is better than leisure in this life.

Warning: Just because you’re doing well financially doesn’t mean God is blessing you…Blessing – Not just being successful in this life. How we usually measure. Blessing – Grows you closer to and more like God.

Now, I’m not judging anyone here but usually if you are asking these what if questions, you’re looking for a way not to give rather than a way to give. Your motives may already be at the wrong starting place. 

Dependence on God to provide – Two places: Prayer and money.

Prayer – You understand how you’re not in control and dependant on God you are for everything. (Grace when I’m sick.)

Money – One of the most tangible places we can become self-sufficient and not feel needy for God. Closing savings account.

For the most joyful and fulfilled life, what you need is not more money, or experiences, or more stuff, you need more of Jesus. He’s all you need. There’s nothing you can add to Jesus that can increase your joy. And in living for him, you find joy because you’re living out your purpose. 

Our ability to be generous back to God is a barometer of our righteousness (doesn’t make us righteous, shows it) – our reflection of who Jesus is and his righteousness working in us.

CARD – Fill in these blanks…Time. Talent. Treasure. Not turning in. Just for you. Good discussion in community group and with other believers.

Jesus and his mission – the only thing worth giving your life to, your time, talent, and treasure – to advance Christ’s kingdom. For others to hear the gospel and be discipled. For churches to be planted and nations reached for Christ.

But it’ll only be worth it if you treasure Jesus for who he is and what he’s done for you on the cross for your salvation. Not what he can do for you or give you. Jesus is the greatest treasure and in him we have everything. Ps. 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Quality and quantity.

God, our Father, loves us and will take care of all our needs. Look at the generosity of God to us in giving us his son, Jesus, and with him he gives us all things! Forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and a heavenly inheritance as sons and daughters. Not because we deserved it. No, we deserved death. But Jesus, though he was rich, made himself poor for our sake to make us his treasure, his joy. That by his poverty we might become rich, he lovingly and willingly laid down his life for us. And so we give our lives for him because he’s worthy.

Jesus is calling you to lay down your life so that you can find true life and joy in him. Parable – Treasure in field. FREE GIFT – Paid the cost with his life.