Yesterday, Yvonne and I were out running errands and we ran across ANOTHER storage unit facility being built – my understanding is that if you have money to invest, that it is as close to a sure thing as you can get – why? Because as Americans, we have accumulated so much stuff that we are unwilling to get rid of, we need to rent space outside of our home to keep it, just in case we might need it in the future – at the same time, there was a garage sale in Woodforest, where people dragged all of their random things (furniture, clothing and other gadgets) out onto their driveway, hoping to get pennies on the dollar for something that at some point was a must-have - There is a TV show that is in its 15^th season called “Hoarders” – this show is a docu-series that pairs people that have difficulty parting with their stuff with a psychologist that helps them organize their thoughts and lives – Hoarding has now been classified as a mental disorder, with connection to depression, anxiety and ADHD – is it fair to say that we have a problem? 

Randy Alcorn puts it this way: “Many Christians dread the thought of leaving this world. Why? Because so many have stored up their treasures on earth, not in heaven. Each day brings us closer to death. If your treasures are on earth, that means each day brings you closer to losing your treasures.”

We are working our way through the SOM – Jesus has spent Matthew 5 and now chapter 6 in defining what it looks like to live in the Kingdom of God -  He has contrasted two thought processes, two life pursuits – One is motivated by self-preservation or self-gratification, the other by self-sacrifice – In chapter 5, “You have heard it said…, but I say to you…”, and in chapter 6, he has been very clear that it’s not just WHAT you do but WHY you do it – So far in chapter 6, he has addressed the counter-cultural view of giving, prayer and fasting, that they should be practiced not in a public way, but in secret so you do not get glory from them – Today, he will contrast the ideas of Earthly treasure vs. Heavenly treasure – Matthew 6:19-24

V19-20 - First thing we examine is the storing of treasure – two questions: what is treasure? And, is it wrong to store or collect it? First, TREASURE – define this morning-whatever holds the highest place in your heart, that is what you treasure – in the church, we use another word: “worship.”

In preparing this week, found myself wanting to take stock in the things that hold the highest place in my heart – How did I get there? Here are three “tests” to take: Time spent, money spent, energy spent – or, even better, Non-negotiables – some of the things on my list (no order):

• Job/Career
• Sports 
• Family 
• Binge-watching TV
• Books (more bought than read)
• Shoes (recently started accumulating shoes, specifically Nikes)
• Screen Time (News Apps, Sports Apps, Social Media, Games)
• Time with Jesus

A couple of things  – not THAT we store – it’s WHERE we store – two places – EARTH and HEAVEN – one  bad, one good – one loses value, gets eaten, destroyed or stolen and one secure and safe – so, storing on EARTH is worthless and HEAVEN is what matters.

What Jesus is NOT saying – Not saying having possessions is bad  - LOVE or WORSHIP of possessions is bad – WHO they benefit called into question - MATERIALISM, or the worship of stuff – richest country on planet – if you have roof over head, food, transportation – top 1% in the world –pursuit of the “American Dream” – make as much as you can (free enterprise), nice house, nice car, wife, 2.5 kids, nicer house, lots of stuff – you deserve it!

 Two dreams: American Dream vs. God’s Dream –look similar, but very different – how do we differentiate?

American Dream (Earth) – work hard, high achievement, status, success based on comparison – The one with the most is the best – a pursuit of happiness at ALL COST

God’s Dream (Heaven) – less about how you benefit,  more about how use what he has given you for His glory – NOT ABOUT YOU  - (James 1:17) Anything you have – skillset, physical attribute, financial provision – all given by God

He has blessed so you can be a blessing – always looking for opportunities to marry what he has given you with his purposes – leaving a LEGACY – Colossians 3:1-3

Tim Keller puts it this way: “A counterfeit God is anything so central and essential to your life, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living.  It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical acclaim, or saving “face” and social standing.  It can be a romantic relationship, peer approval, a competence and skill, secure and comfortable circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great political or social cause, your morality and virtue, or even success in Christian ministry.  When your meaning in life is to fix someone else’s life, we may call it “co-dependency,” but it really is idolatry.  An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I will feel my life has meaning, then I will know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.”

V21- What you treasure guides heart – heart equals worldview -  if you treasure financial success, your heart, or motivation,  will be financially driven – treasure kids, motivation will be about them (spoiled rotten) – job, title, promo, motivation look like workaholism – treasure hobby (golf, exercise, reading, etc), motivation do that as much as possible – again, none is necessarily wrong – two dreams – American dream and God’s dream – what has God placed in your care to manage and what are you doing with it? God doesn’t want your actions, he wants your heart, because when he has your heart, your actions will follow. Proverbs 4:23

V22-23- What Jesus is saying, in effect, is that materialism is so consuming that we are often blind to it - underscores connection between eye and heart – healthy eye illuminates, brings light – unhealthy eye brings darkness –

Eyes fixed on “American Dream,” all about ME, all-consuming- Jesus has addressed this over and over throughout SOM – leads to spiritual blindness – Seek reputation, financial status, to become great in man’s eyes, you will lose - Eyes fixed on God’s Dream – who can I bless? How can I use what has been given to me to be a blessing? Great in God’s eyes looks different.

V24 – Now Jesus is getting to the heart of it: Money is a cruel god because it over-promises and under-delivers – And, the love of money stands in direct opposition to God – 1 Timothy 6:6-10 -  Important to note: You DON’T have a generosity problem – Joby Martin puts it this way: “Everyone is generous. The problem is most of us are generous to ourselves.” The love of money causes us to hold on the best for us and the leftovers for God or anyone else – In short, it is living with a divided heart - James 1:8 – double-minded is unstable - Why does he contrast God and money? Money and possessions cloud our eyesight – can’t have it both ways

Matthew 19:16-22 – Rich Young Ruler – Not willing to give it away – money ultimately had control of his heart –  What is the antidote for the love of money? GIVE IT AWAY – This is where the cynic comes out in everyone – Why should I give away something I’ve worked hard to gain? Because, God owns it all, and he has given you anything you have on loan to steward for his purposes and his glory – 

So important to me that you know: this is not between you and me, but between you and Jesus – He is clear in this passage today that when you place value on holding and hoarding your resources, you are ultimately showing what you worship – and, He is inviting you into a better life, where you are storing treasure not on Earth, but on the Eternal.

We have many initiatives at Restoration that are changing lives – People’s lives are being transformed through Regen, Reengage, students, YA, Bible studies and discipleship groups – We support 12 partner ministries, all having an impact both locally and globally – in addition, we have at least 2 people identified to plant churches over the next 24 months – we are also having conversations about adding a Spanish service to impact the large population of Spanish-speaking people in the area – all of these initiatives are fueled by the generosity of the people of Restoration – The call today is to examine WHAT you treasure and WHERE you are STORING – HEAVEN or EARTH – Your Kingdom or God’s? Ask God to open your eyes to where your heart is divided, and ask him to help you reorient yourself around his heart – God wants to free your heart from the hold of possessions, status, and anything else that would stand in the way of HIS dream for your life – HIS Kingdom come, HIS will be done.