Lamp of the Body

I am so excited about todays message. This if for a couple of reasons. 

I did not choose the topic. I committed several months ago to teaching these passages on the sermon on the mount verse by verse and the content is what it is. 

We are going to look at Jesus talking about money and I believe you are going to see this topic from a whole new perspective.

Matthew 6:19–21 (ESV)

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

Ok so far this is a very familiar passage that you would hear at any given offering talk. In fact verse 21 used to be on all of our offering envelopes. 

But I want you to see something here. He is not taking about generosity or helping others. Both very biblical ideals, and common themes when a preacher is talking about offering. But read it carefully - Jesus is talking to them about investing - and appealing to what is in it for them. 

He is saying that investing in heaven is far better than investing on earth - because on earth you can lose it. It can waste away, it can be stolen…. But if you invest into heaven - it cannot waste away or be stolen.

Don’t layup treasures on earth but DO lay up treasure in heaven. It is very interesting that Jesus is appealing to what is in our own best interest vs. the interest of others.

And notice he says where your Treasure is - there heart will be also. Not where your HEART is there will your Treasure be. But where your treasure is you heart will be. Very interesting because our rational would be to assume that we spend our money where our hearts desires are. The reality is our hearts desire follows our investing. 

We can aim our heart with our money…

Not lets jump to verse 24

Matthew 6:24 (ESV)

24 “No one can serve two masters, 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. 

Verses 19-21 & 24 are very familiar offering and money verses. And they should be. This is speaking directly to they way we deal with money. 

You will be wise to invest into heaven and not so much into earth.

And you have to choose if you are going to serve God or serve money. You can’t do both.

You either put your faith and hope in God or you put it in money.

My goal is to teach you the truth, the whole and nothing but the truth when it comes to the Word of God. 

And here is the truth - if you are not giving financially to your church you are not storing up s treasures in heaven. 

And if you’re not tithing and giving God 10% of your income - there is a very good chance your are not serving God you are serving money.

“That seems pretty harsh preacher!”

yes it is - it is a bit harsh. But it is the truth. 

So let me ask you a question - would you prefer the harsh truth from me or a comforting lie?

Listen I know someone is going to get angry with me talking like that. Just like people get mad when I bring up sex and talk straight about that. And I am not trying to make you mad - but I am trying to let you hear what you need to hear vs. what you might want to hear. 

But all of this so far is pretty standard familiar offering teaching. Most of you have heard it before and many of you have this stuff many times before. But I want you to see what Jesus says right between these two familiar passages. 

In Bible College we called this a Theological Sandwich. 

That is where the writer, in this case Matthew, gives an introduction to a thought and closing thought with a supporting idea in the middle. So lets read verse 22 - this is in the middle of the other two sedations we just read.

Matthew 6:22-23 (ESV)

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

What? I mean at first it sounds poetic. Just a nice thought - right? But what does this even mean? This is a lamp - maybe not a lamp like they would have had - but close enough. 

A lamp - any lamp is a source of light. But our eyes are not a source of light - they are a window for light. So why did Jesus say - The eye is a window for your body…? It seems like the rest of the verse would have still worked. 

The eye is the WINDOW of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness….

The reason Jesus did not say Window is because he is not talking about a physical eye. 

Eye here is a metaphor for the way we see things. 

Not the organ we see with. Your physical can only be a window - not a source of light but a way for light to get in. 

But the WAY YOU SEE can be a source of light or it can be a source of darkness. 

Once you understand that Jesus is talking about the WAY YOU SEE vs. how you see, then it starts to make sense, why these verses are between these verses about money. And takes what he is saying about money to a whole other level. 

This talk about the eye - is not just some random out of context thought misplaced between two verses about money. It is the very heart of what he is saying about money. It is not about your eye at all - it is all about how you see money. How you relate to money what you use money for.

Form verse 19 all the way to 24 is one thought - and it is all about money.

Matthew 6:19–24 (ESV)

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 

24 “No one can serve two masters, 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. 

They WAY you see money is a master over your life.

So how do you see money? I am serious how do you see it? What is money to you?

You see most people see money as a way to buy stuff. Most people don’t even care about the money - what we care about is the stuff it can buy.

Money is what it gives us:

• Food in our bellies
• A roof over our heads
• Clothes on our backs
• A vehicle to drive

How most of us see money is a means to an end. We just want the stuff.

But that is not how God sees money. 

Money is you. It is your life. You exchanged a piece of your life for the money you possess. If you get paid by the hour - then you an hour of your time is worth ______.  

Imagine how much differently you would look at stuff if you calculate the number of hours it cost to buy it. That car payment is 30 hours of your life. 

And when you see that your money is your life - then you see why God cares about your money because he cares about you. 

And he wants all of you to trust all of Him. 

Don’t lay up treasure on earth where month and rust can destroy - layup treasures in heaven.  

This is why - you cannot serve two masters. It is not about the money - it is about you. You will either hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

The way you see money is a master over your life. 

And it really is. 

And look at this last line from verse 23:

Matthew 6:23 (ESV)

…If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

How can light (any light) be darkness. Metaphor. All by it self - this makes perfect sense - but why did Jesus put this in the middle of thoughts about money? Because, if you don’t get this right about money - and money is your true master - then your life will still be full of darkness.

Remember this is right after the thoughts about fasting - where you learn to let go of the things don’t want to let go of us. If we can’t trust God with our money - do we really trust Him at all? We cannot serve two masters.

Jesus said I am the light of the world. 

John 8:12 (ESV)

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”