Well, while they're making their way out, will you turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6? Matthew chapter 6, going to read verses 19 through 21. You may notice on the front of your worship folder there are two texts listed for this morning's sermon, this one and then another in Luke chapter 12, and that's simply because I couldn't decide which text to preach from this morning, so I figured out a way to use both texts. They're parallel texts, very similar texts, but I'm going to start with the text in Matthew and then we'll move later in the sermon to Luke. So let's read the text right off the bat and then pause and pray and ask for God's help and dive in. Matthew 6, verses 19 through 21, Jesus says this: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Let's pray. Well, Father in heaven, we pause right now and ask you to open up our hearts. Will you open up our hearts to be searched now by your Word. We confess together that your Word is living, your Word is active, and your Word is sharp. And we want that sharp Word to cut us this morning because we want it to discern our thoughts and the intentions of our heart. And though that cut can sometimes hurt as our hearts are revealed, we know And so we confess together that the cut made by your word is good, because the cut is the way into the throne of our hearts. And we want to know this morning if there are any idols seated there on the throne of our hearts. And if there are, Father, we want them removed and we want them demolished, and we want you to take your proper place on the throne of our hearts. So will you please send your Holy Spirit now to illumine this word to us and apply this word to whatever area of our lives needs it to be applied. Together we say, may your kingdom come. May your kingdom come in our lives. And if there is any aspect of our life right now that is not under your rule and reign, Take it over, Father. Be our King. Be our King completely. And use this sermon now to that end, I pray. I pray this for the sake of the joy of your elect sheep and for the sake of your great name, the name in which we pray. Amen.
Well, let me remind you before we go any further that, um, We are in the midst of a sermon series called the Foundations for Our Life Together. And what that means is we're taking the fall here to rehearse what we hold dear together as a church. And this morning we come to the topic of stewardship.
And we believe at Sovereign Grace Fellowship that God wants us to think of ourselves as stewards. And in order to properly view ourselves as stewards in relation to God, we must stop doing something. In order to begin to think of ourselves as stewards, we must stop doing something. And what we must stop doing is thinking of ourselves as owners. Now admittedly, this is very difficult. At least this is very difficult for me. I've been trying to develop this frame of mind more and more in my own life, and it is hard to say and hard to believe, 'I own nothing.' But you know what? That's true. I own nothing. You Christian own nothing.
While I'm saying this, I'm thinking of an illustration at this point that's not in my manuscript. One time John Wesley was riding his horse back to his hometown after being on the preaching circuit. And someone came out on their horse rushing towards John Wesley, and he was the bearer of bad news. He told John Wesley, 'Your house has burned to the ground. All is lost.' And John Wesley's immediate response was, 'It's not my house. It's God's house, and God can do with that house whatever God pleases.' That's the frame of mind of a steward.
Because here's the truth: we own nothing; God owns everything. Listen to this text. This is Psalm 24:1. King David writes this: The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. In other words, Everything, absolutely everything belongs to the Lord. Everything on earth, including you and including me. He has claim over it all. He has claim over everything in our house, over every possession, and over every person, as well as everything in our checkbook and in our bank accounts. God owns everything. He's the owner of it all. So what does that make us? Answer: we're his stewards or his managers. Stewards don't own a thing. They manage what belongs to someone else. And a steward's job is to know what the owner wants done with his stuff so that they can do it. In other words, our job is to know what God wants done with what he's entrusted to us.
6 · The pastor declares that stewardship is fundamentally a worship issue—Jesus' teaching on money and possessions is designed to protect us from worshiping money and stuff, and since true worship of God is foundational to the church's identity, stewardship belongs in this sermon series
So if you're sitting there thinking right now, well, here comes another sermon about what to do with our money and our stuff, let me assure you, you're right. And if you're wondering why the topic of money and stuff is foundational to who we are as a church, here's my answer. This text in Matthew 6 and the text in Luke chapter 12, which we're going to look at in a moment, are ultimately about worship. Stewardship is a worship issue. Specifically, these texts are about the ways we worship with our money and with all the stuff that money can buy. In fact, these texts are intended by Jesus, I believe, to protect us from worshiping money and all the stuff that money can buy. And true worship, the worship of God, is foundational to who we are as a church. Stewardship is a worship issue.
7 · The pastor defines worship as our response to what matters most to us—whatever we treasure most has our worship—and argues that God wants our hearts to treasure Him as infinitely more valuable than temporary things like money and possessions, which cannot produce ultimate satisfaction
So let's ask this question: what is worship? What is worship? Well, we can define worship without any reference to God whatsoever. We can define worship like this: worship is our response to what matters most to us. Worship is our response to what matters most to me. That is, whatever I value most, whatever I treasure most, whatever has my heart has my worship. And God wants our hearts. God wants our affections. He wants us to cherish Him above all else. He wants us to find our ultimate and eternal joy and satisfaction in Him and not in temporary, rotting, rusting things like money and possessions that do not produce ultimate and eternal joy and satisfaction. So true worship is treasuring God as infinitely more valuable than everything else. That's what true worship is— valuing or treasuring God as infinitely more valuable than everything else.
8 · The pastor clarifies that money itself is not evil (correcting a common misquotation of Scripture), but the love or worship of money leads to evil by drawing us away from God
And nothing competes with our worship of God like money and the stuff that money can buy. Now, that's not to say that money and the things that money can buy are necessarily evil. They're not. That's not what Jesus is teaching in our text. The Bible never says that money is the root of all evil. You know that that is a common misquotation of Scripture. Here's what 1 Timothy 6:10 really says: says this: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. In other words, the love of money, or we might say the worship of money, leads to all kinds of evils because It leads us away from God. But then, just a few verses later, 7 verses later, 1 Timothy 6:17 says this: God richly provides us with everything to enjoy. God is kind to us. He lavishes on us all kinds of wonderful gifts. Of His grace. All good gifts come to us from the Father of lights, James 1:17. One of the ways that we know our Father in heaven is through the lavish gifts He graces us with.
9 · The pastor argues that our sinful hearts are inclined to turn God's good gifts into idols by coveting, hoarding, and accumulating them for ourselves, making them objects of deepest desire
But we are sinners, and so our hearts are ever inclined toward idolatry. That is, we tend to place things, good things like money and possessions, on the throne of our hearts and worship there. Good gifts from God can be selfishly coveted Good gifts from God can be selfishly hoarded. Good gifts from God can be selfishly accumulated for no one but me, and so they can become the objects of my deepest desire and satisfaction. Listen to John Piper on this point. This is from his book Hunger for God. He says, the greatest adversary to love of God, love to God, or we might say worship of God, is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil but for the simple pleasures of earth, like money and everything it makes available. For when we replace, when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry or the false worship, the misplaced worship, is scarcely recognizable and almost incurable.
10 · The pastor transitions from theological groundwork to close examination of the text by reiterating that stewardship is fundamentally about worship, which is why Jesus addresses the heart directly in Matthew 6:21
And so we see that stewardship of God's good gifts is a worship issue. These texts are about worship. That's why Jesus deals directly with our hearts.
11 · The pastor expounds Matthew 6:21 (and its parallel in Luke 12:34), explaining that Jesus' statement about treasure and heart reveals this as a worship text—our hearts move toward what we cherish, and God wants our hearts to move toward Him rather than toward money and possessions
That phrase in verse 21 is what makes this a worship text. Look at it again with me. Jesus says, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. There's almost— the almost identical wording is used by Jesus in the parallel text text that we're going to jump to in a moment. Luke 12:34 says, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Our hearts move toward what we cherish, and God wants our hearts to move towards Him, not towards money, not towards stuff.
12 · The pastor establishes the importance of Jesus' teaching on money by citing statistical evidence: money is referred to over 800 times in the Bible (2,300+ verses), more than faith and prayer combined, and 15% of Jesus' recorded words relate to money and possessions—more than His teaching on heaven and hell combined
And so Out of love for us and out of concern that we place our affection on the one who will grant us ultimate and eternal joy and satisfaction, Jesus spoke about money more than any other single thing. Did you know that? It's amazing. The sheer volume of texts in the Bible that relate to money and possession speaks to how important this subject is to God. Money is referred to over 800 times in the Bible. That comes to over 2,300 verses on the topic. That's twice as many verses as there are on faith and prayer combined. And the Holy Spirit saw fit to make sure that out of everything that Jesus ever said and taught while he was on earth that might have been recorded for us by the biblical authors, the Holy Spirit made sure that 15% of the words of Jesus that are recorded for us in the Bible relate directly to money. And possessions. That's more than his teaching on heaven and hell combined.
13 · The pastor explains why Jesus spoke so much about money: because where our money goes reveals where our heart goes, demonstrating an undeniable link between our spiritual vitality, our worship, and our handling of money and possessions
Why? Because what our money goes after is an indication of what our heart goes after. There is an undeniable link between our spiritual vitality between our worship and how we handle and how we relate to money and possessions. Stewardship is a worship issue, and Jesus is very concerned about our worship.
14 · The pastor argues that the congregation, despite any financial hardships, is among the most prosperous people on the planet if they have cars, housing, clothing, and any savings
And we cannot overstate the importance of this text for the most prosperous Christians on on the planet, which is us. Now, I realize that you may be here this morning and not feeling very prosperous. Realize that some of us in this room are going through significant, and I mean significant, financial hardship. I know some of you are unemployed, some of you, many of you are underemployed. So I don't say any of this lightly. But if we drove here in a car this morning, and if we slept last night in a bed in a house, and if we have more than one set of clothes, and if we have even a little bit of money in the bank, then we are among the most prosperous people in the world. And listen, prosperity is fraught with danger. It's fraught with danger. Listen to our friend Charles Spurgeon on this point. He wrote this: Oh, there have been some of God's people who have been more tried by prosperity than by adversity. Of the two trials, the trial of adversity is less severe to the spiritual man than that of prosperity. It is a terrible thing to be prosperous. You had need pray to God not only to help you in your troubles, but to help you in your blessings. Mr. Whitefield, the great evangelist George Whitefield, once requested prayer for a young man who had— stop. You will think it was for a young man who had lost his father or his property. No. Here's the prayer request: 'The prayers of the congregation are desired for a young man who has become heir to an immense fortune and who feels he has need of much grace to keep him humble in the midst of riches. This is the kind of prayer that ought to be put up, for prosperity is a hard thing to bear.
15 · The pastor addresses the congregation directly as friends, warning that they live in a spiritually dangerous context where countless idols demand worship daily and they have the financial means to acquire them
Friends, we live in a dangerous time and in a dangerous place. We prayed for the persecuted church this morning. We live in a dangerous time and in a dangerous place because countless idols are demanding our worship almost every moment of every day, and we have enough money or enough plastic credit to buy them. And it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And Jesus knows we are but dust, and he knows our tendency to treasure things on earth and so point our hearts towards things not worthy of our own worship. And so he gives us help here.
16 · The pastor transitions to the main exposition by announcing that Jesus teaches how to avoid worshiping money and possessions by presenting two treasures for consideration in the text
He teaches us how to avoid being drawn into the false worship of money and stuff. And he does that by drawing our attention in our text to two treasures.
17 · The pastor expounds the entire text of Matthew 6:19-21, explaining that Jesus presents two and only two choices of treasure—earthly or heavenly—and that which treasure we choose to build up reveals what we worship
Look again with me at verses 19 through 21. Let me read them. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Here's what I think Jesus is saying here. He's saying you have two treasures to choose from. Earthly treasure or heavenly treasure. And you have two and only two choices. And whichever treasure you choose to build up is an indication of what you worship. If you mainly accumulate earthly treasure, then you probably worship money and possessions. Idols, not worthy of your worship because they cannot bring you ultimate satisfaction. But if you are marked as a person who uses his or her money and resources to store up heavenly treasure, this is an indication that your heart is aimed towards heaven where God is on the throne, the only one worthy of your worship. That's what Jesus is saying here.
18 · The pastor reframes Jesus' teaching as a heart-guarding strategy against idolatrous worship, then poses the practical question of how to implement this and answers that we guard our hearts by living in such a way that we build up heavenly treasure instead of earthly treasure
Or it could be stated like this: what Jesus is doing in these verses is highlighting these two treasures, is giving us a way to guard our hearts against idolatrous worship and to turn our hearts away from idolatrous worship. Now let's ask, how do we guard our hearts in such a way that we're protected from worshiping money and stuff? How do we do that? Jesus gives the answer: we live in such a way that we build up heavenly treasure instead of earthly Treasure.
19 · The pastor highlights Jesus' pastoral kindness in the text—that Jesus not only commands what to do but also provides the reasoning behind the commands
And Jesus is so kind to us, and He's so concerned about us that He not only tells us what to do and what not to do, but He also tells us why to do it and why not to do it. He doesn't just give us the command and leave it at that. He says, do not store up for yourself treasures on earth. Why not, Jesus? Answer? Well, let's ask: is it because money and all the stuff that money can buy are evil? Is that why, Jesus? To which Jesus says, no, that's not what I'm saying.
20 · The pastor expounds Jesus' reasoning for not storing up earthly treasure: it is a bad investment strategy because earthly treasure will not last—moth, rust, and thieves will destroy it
What I'm saying is do not store up earthly treasure because earthly treasure will will not last. That's why. Bad investment strategy. Sinclair Ferguson, in his commentary on this text, says that this principle is devastatingly simple. This is devastatingly simple. Don't selfishly covet or hoard earthly treasure and value it above all else, Jesus says, because moth and rust destroy it, and thieves break in and steal it. See, it's not just that earthly treasure has the potential to be lost. Earthly treasure will indeed, most definitely, be lost. It will either leave us while we're alive, or it will leave us when we die, and there are no exceptions.
21 · The pastor expounds the positive command to store up heavenly treasure, explaining Jesus' reasoning: heavenly treasure cannot be destroyed by moth, rust, or thieves—it lasts forever
And because all earthly treasure is passing away, it can never ultimately satisfy us. And because Jesus loves us and cares for us, he says, instead, store up for yourself heavenly treasures. And when we ask, why, Jesus, why store up treasures in heaven? He says, because. Neither moth nor rust can destroy those treasures, because thieves can never break in and take it away. In other words, heavenly treasure lasts forever. Do you sense His love and concern here? He cares for us. He's concerned about our happiness. Jesus cares about our eternal Happiness.
22 · The pastor characterizes Jesus' teaching as a devastatingly simple investment command, then probes whether the congregation truly believes it is wise to invest in heavenly rather than earthly treasure, proposing that checkbooks and credit card statements reveal what we really believe
And this is devastatingly simple investment advice, or more accurately, an investment command. And so we have to pause and ask ourselves if we believe that. Do we really believe that this investment strategy is wise? Do we really believe that it's better to invest in heavenly treasure than earthly treasure? And if we ask, well, how do I know if I really believe this? I would say one of the key ways is to look at our checkbooks and our credit card statements, because they will tell us what we really believe.
23 · The pastor acknowledges the difficulty of truly grasping Jesus' investment strategy in a way that changes behavior, then provides evidence of this difficulty: the average wealthy American evangelical Christian gives only 2% of income to God's kingdom, demonstrating the gap between belief and practice
I mean, let's just be honest and admit this can be really difficult to grasp, to really grasp. And I mean grasp in such a way that it affects the way we use our money and possessions. I think this is why, because it's so hard to grasp, is why in the wider church, by God's grace, not this church but the wider church, The average wealthy American born-again evangelical Christian only invests about 2% of their income into God's kingdom. Only 2% of their income into storing up heavenly treasures.
24 · The pastor diagnoses why storing up heavenly treasure is hard to believe: we see the earthly treasure subtracted from our accounts but cannot see the heavenly treasure gained
Now, why is that? Well, I think it's because it's so It's so hard for us to believe that writing a check and dropping it in the offering plate or putting it in an envelope and sending it to the Sovereign Grace Ministries Mission Fund, it's hard to believe that that is gaining for us heavenly treasure when all we see right here, right now is the earthly treasure that's subtracted from our bank account. Now, why is that so hard? Well, I think one of the main reasons is because we tend to forget that this earth is not our home. Heaven is. I don't know about you, but I forget all the time that I'm a stranger and an alien here. Hebrews 11:13. And I forget that my true citizenship is in heaven, Philippians 3:20. And so I must regularly be cultivating a heavenly-mindedness, because that heavenly-mindedness will affect whether or not I invest in rotting, rusting treasures on earth, which Jesus says is not only wrong but is just plain stupid, or in heavenly treasures, which are eternally satisfying treasures.
25 · The pastor applies the teaching by expressing his own desire for eternally satisfying heavenly treasures and desire to obey Jesus' investment strategy, then reiterates that obeying this strategy guards our hearts from false worship
And I want the eternally satisfying treasures of heaven, don't you? I want to obey Jesus' investment strategy here. And when we obey this investment strategy from Jesus, what we do is guard our hearts from false worship.
26 · The pastor transitions from Matthew 6 to Luke 12 by posing the practical question of how to store up heavenly treasure and announcing that Jesus provides a key answer to that question in Luke 12
And so our question now becomes, how? How can I store up for myself treasures in heaven? How do I do that? And that question gets answered by Jesus in our other text from Luke, chapter 12. It's answered in different ways in different texts, but this is a key answer. That Jesus gives in Luke chapter 12. So you can turn with me there, or you can look up at the screen.
27 · The pastor reads Luke 12:32-34 and immediately identifies Jesus' answer to the question of how to store up heavenly treasure: sell your possessions and give to the needy
Let me read verses 32 through 34. Luke chapter 12, verses 32 through 34. Jesus says, fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourself with money bags that do not grow old and with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches, no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. So According to Jesus, how do we provide ourselves with money bags that don't grow old and with a treasure in heaven that does not fail? Answer, verse 33: sell your possessions and give to the needy. That's the answer that Jesus gives here.
28 · The pastor acknowledges the congregation's likely discomfort with Jesus' command to sell possessions and give to the needy, admitting this is not a common practice for him either, then begins to nuance the interpretation by answering both 'yes' and 'no' to whether this is really what Jesus commands
Now, if you're anything like me, you read that and immediately the question comes to mind, Is this really a command to sell what I own and give the proceeds away? Because I'll just admit it, this is not a common practice for me. This is not one of the spiritual disciplines I normally practice. So is this what Jesus is telling us to do? Answer: yes. And no.
29 · The pastor provides the first part of his 'yes and no' answer by explaining the grammatical emphasis of Luke 12:33: the emphasis is not on selling possessions but on giving to the needy
Now, I say no because the emphasis grammatically of this command is not on selling our possessions. The emphasis is on giving to the needy. So how do we store up heavenly treasures? How do we guard our hearts from worshiping money and stuff? Answer: we give it away, and we give it to those in need.
30 · The pastor explains why Jesus mentions selling possessions if the emphasis is on giving: Jesus' original audience were mostly hand-to-mouth disciples who had no savings, so the only way they could give was to sell something
Now, I'm not going to let myself off the hook here, so let me ask this: if the emphasis of this text is not on selling our possessions like I claim, then why does Jesus even mention it at all? Well, here's my best attempt at an answer. I think in order to answer, we need to remember who the original audience was. Jesus said this to his disciples, and for the most part, these were not people who owned much, and they were certainly not people who had a lot of cash on on hand. Most of these people were living hand to mouth, and so they could not dip into their savings and give to the needy. For some of them, the only way they could give it all was to sell something off. And so Jesus says to them, do that. Sell something and give. And in saying, 'Do that,' Jesus says that giving to those in need, in particular to those in need of the gospel, is so important that if you don't have any cash on hand, you should liquidate your assets and give. That's what Jesus says to a people living hand to mouth.
31 · The pastor applies the exegesis to answer the guarding question: we guard our hearts from idolatrous worship of money by giving repeatedly and generously, and Jesus makes clear in Luke 12 that He means self-sacrificial giving—the kind that costs us something significant
And so when we ask, how do we guard our hearts from going after money and stuff and so worshiping at that throne as we gather and hoard more and more? How do we guard from false worship and instead store up treasures in heaven? Answer: we give, give, give, give. That's how we store up heavenly treasure. And Jesus makes it clear here that he means give self-sacrificially.
32 · The pastor explains why Jesus specifies 'sell your possessions and give' rather than leaving self-sacrificial giving vaguely defined: because we would rationalize away the sacrifice and define it on our own comfortable terms
Jesus does not say to us very generically, guard your hearts from idolatrous worship of money by giving self-sacrificially. He does not simply say that. You know why? Because if he left it to people like us to define what self-sacrificial giving is, guess what we do? I know what my temptation would be. My temptation would be to tack a pretty wide definition on sacrificial giving. Lord, if I give this much, I'm sacrificing a lot of entertainment this month. This is self-sacrificial giving. So instead of placing that temptation before us, Jesus says, here's what I mean by self-sacrificial giving. If you don't have any cash on hand, sell something in order to give to the advance of the gospel, in order to give to those who need me, the Savior. In order to give to those who need food and clothing and shelter.
33 · The pastor applies Jesus' radical call to self-sacrificial giving, acknowledging that some in the congregation can barely pay their bills and might feel threatened by this teaching
Now, that kind of call highlights where our treasure is, doesn't it? That gets right to the heart of where our treasure is. And that kind of call can feel threatening. I mean, you might be sitting there thinking, man, I can barely 'pay my bills. In fact, this month I can't pay all my bills, and you're telling me that Jesus says give anyway, that I should sell something in order to be able to give.' And in reply, I simply say, 'That's the plain teaching of this text. I know of no other way to interpret this text. And let me confess, it's uncomfortable for me too. But in order to protect our worship, Jesus makes a radical call here. True worship is important enough to warrant such a radical call.
34 · The pastor applies the teaching in the opposite direction, arguing that Jesus' call to self-sacrificial giving may be even more threatening to the financially comfortable than to those in hardship
Now, This kind of call is not only threatening to those of us feeling a financial crunch. In fact, I would venture to say that this call might possibly feel even more threatening to those of us who are comfortable financially right now or experiencing financial success. Folks who are walking through a season of trial related to finances, my guess is that you have either realized or are in the process of realizing that all that matters is Jesus anyway. And you, for you, self-sacrificial giving is your only choice. You have no choice but to give self-sacrificially. But for those of us experiencing financial blessing Jesus, and to a lesser authority, Charles Spurgeon, say beware of prosperity. And for those of us experiencing financial success, giving needs to be pretty significant before it meets Jesus' definition of self-sacrificial giving, doesn't it? We, the prosperous ones, are in even greater danger of idolatry.
35 · The pastor redirects from the threatening feeling of Jesus' radical call by clarifying Jesus' intent: protection, not threat
But Jesus does not intend for us to mainly feel threatened by this. He's saying these things in order to protect us. If we feel threatened What we're feeling is wrong, and it just might be an indication that our heart is going after the wrong treasure. If we're feeling threatened, then you know what we need to do? We need to go back to verse 32 of Luke chapter 12.
36 · The pastor rereads Luke 12:32 and announces a four-point exposition of this single verse, framing the four reasons as characteristics of God that demonstrate He is the greatest treasure and the only one worthy of worship, making self-sacrificial giving reasonable rather than threatening
Let me read it again. Jesus says, fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to I will give you the kingdom. That sentence is absolutely packed with meaning and glorious truth. We need not fear Jesus' radical call to self-sacrificial giving. Why? Well, let me give you 4 reasons why from this one sentence. These are really 4 characteristics of God himself, and in highlighting these characteristics of God Jesus is saying to us He is the greatest treasure in the universe, and He is the only one worthy of our worship. These are 4 reasons why God is worthy of our worship, and if we understand these things to be true about God, then self-sacrificial giving makes perfect sense.
37 · The pastor pauses to acknowledge that the four points he's about to make deserve fuller treatment than time allows, encouraging the congregation to take notes and meditate on these truths during the week ahead
So let's look at each one, and let me just say we're going to be necessarily brief, painfully brief, because these 4 points are worthy of their own sermon. So I encourage you to jot these down and then go back and meditate on these truths in the coming week.
38 · The pastor expounds the first characteristic of God from Luke 12:32: God is our Shepherd
First, God is worthy of our worship, and self-sacrificial giving is not threatening. The reason for that, the reason it's not to be feared, is because God is our Shepherd. God is our Shepherd. Jesus says, 'Fear not, little flock.' In other words, we are the sheep and God is the great Shepherd. And Psalm 23:1 tells us just what that means, and many of us can quote it from memory: The Lord is my Shepherd, You finish it. I shall not want. That's what it means to have God as our shepherd. We will never, ever lack anything we really need. We will never know want. And if that's true, we are free to give self-sacrificially and so store up treasures in heaven and so protect our heart from worshiping at the altar of money and possessions. God is our shepherd. We will never want. We will never lack what we really need. There will always be enough. God promises it.
39 · The pastor expounds the second characteristic of God from Luke 12:32: God is our Father
Another reason why God is worthy of our worship and why the call to self-sacrificial giving should not feel like a threat is because God is is also our Father. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. In other words, God does not merely tend to us and care for us like a shepherd does his sheep. He tends to us and cares for us and makes sure that we have everything we need from a fatherly affection and from a fatherly inclination to bless his children. We will never want because God is our Father. And because he's our Father, he knows his sons and daughters intimately, and he knows everything we need, and he cares enough about us to make sure that we have it. God is our Father.
40 · The pastor expounds the third characteristic of God from Luke 12:32: God is our King
And God is worthy of our worship and calls us not to fear self-sacrificial giving because he is our King. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. God has a kingdom to give because he's a King. He's the King of Kings. And so not only is he able to protect us as our shepherd and to lovingly provide for us as our Father, he does it from a position of power and wealth. All power and all wealth are his as the King of the universe, and so he can indeed meet all our needs, and he does indeed have the resources to provide everything we need. Need. God is our King, and so he has everything necessary to keep his promise that we will never want.
41 · The pastor expounds the fourth characteristic of God from Luke 12:32: God is generous beyond comprehension
And finally, God is worthy of our worship, and we can give self-sacrificially without fear because our King, our Father, our Shepherd is generous beyond comprehension. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. God never says to us, earn my kingdom. God never says to us, buy my kingdom. God says to us, I give you my kingdom. I freely give you my kingdom. I give you my kingdom for free.
42 · The pastor expounds God's generosity by citing Romans 8:32—the proof of God's generosity is that He gave His own Son to be slaughtered for our sin
In Romans 8:32, the Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse of this remarkable generosity. He writes this: He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Do you want to know just how generous our King is? Our King is so generous that he gave up his Son to be slaughtered for our sin. Our King sent his only Begotten, beloved Son to this earth in order to live a perfect life on our behalf and in order to die a sacrificial death on our behalf. He generously sent His Son to bear the punishment for sin that we deserve. And Jesus is so generous that He came and lived and suffered and died willingly for for us. That was the greatest expression of generosity ever committed. And so giving us the Kingdom, which Paul says here is all things— if you're wondering what is the heavenly treasure, it's everything. And giving us everything, giving us all things is easy for our generous God who's already done the hard thing by generously giving us His Son.
43 · The pastor concludes the exposition of Luke 12:32 by emphasizing that God's generosity is so profound that giving brings Him pleasure—it makes God happy to give us everything we need, which is the capstone demonstration of His generous character
Our God is a generous God, and He is generous beyond comprehension. In fact, He's so generous that it brings Him pleasure to give us all things. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. It brings God pleasure to give us everything we need. It makes God happy to do that.
44 · The pastor synthesizes the four characteristics of God (Shepherd, Father, King, generous) and argues that when we truly consider these truths, they should free us to give generously, free us from idolatrous bondage to earthly treasure, and free us to worship God who alone is worthy
Now, when we consider this, that our God is a joyfully generous Shepherd and Father and King whose happy inclination is to give us everything we need and who is powerful enough to to do it, when we consider this, it should free us to give. It should free us from idolatrous bondage to earthly treasure. It should free us to store up treasure in heaven. It should free us to worship the only Shepherd and Father and King who is truly worthy of our worship.
45 · The pastor applies the exposition by calling the congregation to do the heart work Jesus requires without fear: examine giving to determine if it's self-sacrificial, look at checkbooks and credit card statements to assess whether they're storing up earthly or heavenly treasure, and make necessary adjustments in faith, trusting God to meet all needs
So we can do the heart work that Jesus is calling us to do in these verses without fear. We can consider our giving, and we can ask whether or not it's self-sacrificial. And we can look at our checkbooks and our credit card statements and ask, am I storing up treasure on earth or treasure in heaven? And we can, in faith and by grace, make the adjustments necessary, trusting God to meet all our needs.
46 · The pastor transitions to the conclusion by introducing Psalm 73 as the basis for a closing song response
Now, here's how I want to close this morning. I'm gonna risk the distraction. I know it's a distraction, but stick with me here while the worship team comes, because they're gonna lead us in a response. And that response is based on Psalm 73, and I want to take us there very, very briefly. And the reason I want to I want to go to Psalm 73 is because of verse 3 of Psalm 73. Here's what Asaph, the author of the psalm, writes. He says this: I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. In other words, prosperity became a snare for him. He longed to store up for himself earthly earthly treasure.
47 · The pastor expounds Psalm 73:17, explaining that when Asaph entered God's sanctuary and saw God (the glad and generous Shepherd, Father, King), he realized earthly treasures are temporary and rotting—not worth storing up or worshiping
But then we read on and we come to verse 17 where he says this: I went into the sanctuary of God, then I discerned their end. In other words, once he saw our glad and generous Shepherd, Father, and King, he realized that earthly treasures are temporary. They're rusting and rotting, and so they are not worth storing up. They're not worthy of our worship.
48 · The pastor expounds Psalm 73:23-26, quoting Asaph's conclusion that God is continually with him as Shepherd and Father, will receive him to glory as King, and is the only treasure in heaven or earth that he desires—his portion forever
And he comes to this conclusion beginning in verse 23. He says this: I am continually with you. You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel. God is a shepherd and a father. Afterward, you will receive me to glory. The king will open up the heavenly storehouses and give freely. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. God is greater treasure than anything on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
49 · The pastor concludes by transitioning to congregational singing of John Bloom's musical setting of Psalm 73:23-26, framing the song as a prayer that they would know God alone is their portion and eternally satisfying treasure
Over a decade ago now, John Bloom set those verses to music. We haven't sung the song in a while, but we're gonna sing it together as a prayer. Prayer— sing it as a prayer that we would really know that earth has nothing that's ultimately worthy of our desire, of our worship. But God alone is our portion. He alone is our reward, our eternally satisfying treasure. And as we sing, let's examine our hearts and ask God God, give us insight and guard us from idolatrous worship. Let's stand and sing.