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A while back, the bank phoned, and the woman at the other end said ‘Do you realise you have money in a very low-earning account?’And I said ‘Yes.’ And she said ‘We’d like to open you a better one. We just need half an hour of your time.’
And I said ‘I’m not interested right now.’ And she said ‘But why wouldn’t you?’ And I said ‘Well, I guess making money with the money I’ve got isn’t my top priority.’And there was stunned silence at the other end, because the world would say: surely you want to have as much money as you can, to spend on what you want, and save for future spending, too. Isn’t that top priority? And in Jesus’ teaching on money, as we’ll see this morning, he says: No, it’s not.

So how should we see and use our money, according to Jesus? Well, would you turn in the Bibles to page 809, which will get you to Matthew 5. And, bottom right hand corner of the page, look down to Matthew 5.1 under the heading The Sermon on the Mount:

Seeing the crowds, [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

So Jesus had a dual audience.There were his disciples (people already following Jesus) and there were the crowds - still thinking through what they thought about Jesus. And that’s the dual audience we always have here. So if you’re still just thinking through what you believe, can I say: please don’t think we’re asking you to do any giving. But we do hope Jesus’ teaching here will help you understand more what it would mean to have him as Lord. And for those who are following Jesus, can I say: I realise some of you haven’t yet decided to settle here as your church – and, again, we don’t want you to think we’re encouraging you to do any giving here until that decision is made. So let’s now turn over to Matthew 6.19, where Jesus turns to the topic of how we should see and use money. And he says:

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

He was talking in a time and place largely without banks. So if people’s income covered more than their needs, they would lay up either luxury goods like fine fabrics (which moths could destroy) or savings in gold and silver (which thieves could steal because they had holes in the ground rather than safes). Now let me say straightaway: Jesus is not against large incomes. It’s what we do with our incomes that’s the issue. Nor is he against private property or prudent saving. Nor is he against all luxuries. But, Jesus is warning us against having more luxury, over and above what we need – climbing the housing ladder or the car ladder or the phone ladder or the clothes ladder or the holiday ladder or the hobby ladder, whatever it is for you. And Jesus is warning us against holding on to everything we can, in the name of saving, when it’s because we really want it all for ourselves, to keep climbing those ladders. And Jesus says: don’t ultimately invest your money in things like that, because ultimately, they don’t last. So, Matthew 6.19-20 again:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but [instead] lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Now again, let me say straight away: Jesus is not teaching that we can earn a place in heaven by good works with money. God’s acceptance of us doesn’t come through us being good enough to earn it, but through him forgiving us all the ways we’re not good enough and never can be. So Jesus is talking to people already forgiven back into relationship with God, and assured it will continue into heaven – and says: now use your money in ways that have eternal results. And the number one eternal result we should want to see is more people with us in heaven. And the bereavements that we’re bearing as a church family right now remind us that the gospel is not just about the blessings of relationship with God in this life. It’s about eternity.

So how do people get to heaven? The answer is: through trusting in Jesus and his death for their forgiveness. So how do people come to trust in Jesus? The answer is: by hearing the gospel (or good news) about him through the witness of Christians. So what enables Christians to witness effectively? The answer is: being part of a local church family. Which means where there is a church doing that, its witness, its ministry needs paying for – as we’ve heard from Ramzi. And it means where there aren’t churches, they need planting. Which means paying for the training and sending and supporting of new pastors and evangelists, and for buildings and facilities. And if that’s overseas it may mean paying for all sorts of other things from Bible translation to the education of mission partners’ children. So the number one eternal result we should want to see is more people with us in heaven. But relieving poverty and need in Jesus’ name is another use of money with eternal results, which will receive Jesus’s ‘Well done’ when we finally meet him. So Matthew 6.20-21 again:

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.

And in the Bible, your heart is not your blood pump. Metaphorically your heart is the centre of your personality, where you decide your loves and commitments. And Jesus says (Matthew 6.21):

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I visited Holy Trinity Gateshead the other day – as Ramzi mentioned, that’s one of the churches we’ve planted in my time here. And Tess and I had the privilege of being able to give significantly to that. And I’m always moved when I visit them and think, ‘Under God, I was part of this building being here – and more importantly, of this church family being here.’ And my heart has always been in helping them as a visiting minister, and praying for them and encouraging them – because I sunk a fair piece of treasure there. And the same goes for here. Tess and I give to JPC, and that’s part of why our hearts are in JPC. So it may be that you’re kind of settled here (or even well settled here) but haven’t yet felt your heart is in JPC enough to start giving to what’s going on here. Well, I think Matthew 6.21 would say: don’t wait to feel any different. Start to give and your heart will be more in what you’re giving to:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Let me say a few things to those who do need to start giving. One thing is that elsewhere in the New Testament we’re encouraged to give according to our income – according to what we can afford. Now for some of us, our income is predictable: we know now what it’ll be for 2024, so we can plan to give a percentage of that to God’s work here and worldwide. For others, our income isn’t predictable, but maybe we can at least guesstimate a minimum 2024 income now, plan to give a percentage of that, but then revise it upwards if we can later in the year. Another thing is that elsewhere in the New Testament we’re encouraged to give regularly. So Ramzi’s plea to consider that isn’t just because the finance team know it’s good for planning, but because God knows it’s good for us, spiritually. Another thing to say is that you may feel you’ve nothing to give from: you may be living on a loan and/or in debt. If you feel that’s serious and need help, we run the Christians Against Poverty or (CAP) money management course, and our sister church St Joseph’s has a CAP Debt Centre for advice. But even with loans and/or debts that you’re managing OK, you may feel you’ve nothing to give from. In which case, why not look for a few luxuries you could stop in order to start giving something – even just cutting out take away coffees? And I’d say to all of us who need and want to start giving: just start somewhere, however small – £5 a month, £50 a month, whatever small is for you. Start somewhere, and the Lord will lead you in time to the right level for you.

Then to those of us like Tess and I who need to continue giving, just to underline what Ramzi said: If we can move to more regular giving, that would be good for church – and, as I’ve said, good for us spiritually. If we can increase our giving, that’s a privilege. But if circumstances mean you really need to decrease giving for now, please don’t think of that as a spiritual step back. If you’re saying ‘I wish I could give like before, but just can’t right now.’ the Lord can tell there’s a spiritually healthy heart behind that. So Jesus has taught us how to use our money. And so we can do that, he now teaches us how to see our money. Matthew 6.22:

The eye is the lamp of the body.

That means the eye enables the body to see its way, just like your headlamp does when you drive your car. But just like Jesus uses the heart metaphorically, he uses the eye metaphorically to get at the same kind of thing. So your metaphorical heart is where you decide your loves and commitments. Your metaphorical eye is your outlook, the priorities and values you see life with. Read on (Matthew 6.22-23):

…So, if your [metaphorical] eye [your outlook] is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye [your outlook] is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

So Jesus is asking us: how do you see your money? Do you see it, as the world does, as something to get as much as you can have, and then hold on to – because that’s what’ll bring you joy? If so, says Jesus, your eye is bad. And that’ll skew your priorities and values. Or, says Jesus, do you see your money as a gift from God to be used for God – of course, for meeting your needs and your dependants’ needs – but then for prioritising those things with eternal results, knowing that’s what will bring you real joy.

An example of that is from the trip we made as a family two summers ago to visit our mission partners the Potters in Mozambique. We’ve personally supported Joe and Sarah and their boys through theological training, language training, and finally to getting out to Mozambique. And for me, I think the highlight of that trip was hearing Joe preaching in Portuguese (the national language) in their local church, and reflecting on the long road to him getting there, and the privilege of being involved by giving. We did also have an amazing time at the coast with them, including a day’s boat trip with whale-watching and snorkelling. But the real joy was seeing where our giving (and the giving of many of you) has got them to in God’s purposes. Is that how you see things? Because underneath how we use our money is how we see it. And underneath how we see it is who we belong to. Look at Matthew 6.24 to end:

No one can serve [as in belong to] two masters, [remember: the picture is of slavery in Jesus’ day – where you belonged totally and exclusively to one master. So…] for 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 God and money.

So Jesus has asked us how we see our money. And now he goes underneath that to ask us who we belong to: God or money? And we might be shocked at the thought that we could belong to money and what it can buy. But it’s true. A couple at my last church came to faith as rich people, with a lovely house, with lovely everything – so lovely that they hardly had people around in case it got unlovelied. But the Lord was at work, and one day to our delight and horror, they offered us the use of their house for a CYFA social. So delight at their willingness.
Horror at what CYFA might do to it – with the best care in the world. In the event, their lovely dining room table got a massive scratch. So we went round to apologise. And they said, ‘Don’t apologise. Giving the house for CYFA was our most important step since becoming Christians. Because until now, though we hadn’t realised it, the house had possessed us. And now we finally possess the house.’ And what was true of the house also became true of their money. They began to give it to pay for ministry.

So how do we know we belong to God and not to money? One clear way is to look at our giving. Because if we can give money away for God’s purposes, it shows that we belong to God, and that he’s put us back in control of money – so that it belongs to us, rather than us to it. But if we can’t give money away for God’s purposes (not because of circumstances, but because we don’t want to) then we need to go back to square one and ask: who do we belong to in the first place?