Mountain Life Church/Life Pack/June 17, 2012

The Safe,Enormously ProfitableInvestment

The Safe InvestmentSermon Notes

June 17, 2012

I. Advice from the World’s Greatest BrokerA. Where to invest

Earthly investments• Insecure• Temporary• Tempting• Controlling

! Heavenly investment• Secure• Eternal - You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on

ahead• Joyful• Freedom

B. Where I invest...1. Reveals my heart2. Determines who wins

II. My Desires Determine My InfluenceA. The Clear or Single Eye

B. The Bad Eye

Write any notes from the week here

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III.Two MastersA. Evidence of Two Masters

• My body is full of darkness• Anxiety

B. The Way of a Disciple• No worries!• One focus

Table TalkTeensRead Matthew 6:19-34

Question One:One’s attitude toward wealth is another barometer of righteousness. The Pharisees were intent on building great treasures on Earth.

★ Why should we store up treasures in Heaven instead of Earth?

★ What are your treasures on Earth that you are storing and how does that reveal your heart?

Question Two:Read Matthew 6:24, the Pharisees were slaves to the master of greed, and their desire for money was so great that they were failing in their service to their true master, God.

★ List some things that people tend to put more of a priority on than God.

Question Three:In Matthew 6:25-34, God has built into His creation the means by which all things are cared for. The Pharisees in their pursuit of material things had never learned to live by faith.

★ What are things that you tend to worry about, and do you have faith that God will care for you?

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Life Group Questions for June 17, 2012

“Good News” SeriesMessage = The Safe Investment

Ice  Breaker:      Tell  about  one  of  the  most  interesting  hair-­‐‑doo’s  you’ve  ever  had.

Read  Ma-hew  6:  19-­‐‑34

1. What  do  you  observe  about  this  passage?

2. Ask  the  group  to  throw  out  some  ideas  of  what  the  eye  symbolizes  in  verses  22-­‐‑23.

3. What  do  you  think  Jesus  means  that  our  body  will  be  full  of  light,  or  our  whole  body  will  be  full  of  darkness?    

4. Have  you  ever  tried  to  worship  two  gods?    Tell  what  it  was  like.

5. Randy  spoke  of  worry  and  anxiety  being  an  alarm  that  rings  inside  of  us  when  we  are  worshiping  two  gods.    Do  you  deal  with  worry  very  often?    Please  explain.

6. Based  on  this  passage,  what  does  a  disciple  of  Jesus  look  like,  or  act  like,  in  regard  to  money?    Do  you  think  you  resemble  this  description?    

7. What  do  you  think  Jesus  means  when  He  tells  us  to  seek  first  His  kingdom  and  His  righteousness  in  verse  33?  

8. Pray  for  one  another.

Table Talk

ElementaryMatthew 6: 19-34Day 1 - Read Matthew 6: 19-34. I suggest reading it in The Message version for something different. (see www.biblegateway.com for this version if you do not have it). What does this passage tells us about worry?

Day 2 - Think about "worry" for a moment. What types of things do you do when you worry? (i.e. some people bite their nails, others eat, some people become crabby, etc.) Instead of doing these types of things, catch yourself in the act of worry and instead choose to praise Him. For He cares for you and is able to supply all of your NEEDS!

Day 3 - Make a list of all the things you worry about. (Friends, grades, assignments/tasks you have to complete, money, etc.) Now make a list of all the blessings in your life. Do not just write down the obvious blessings (family, etc.), think also of the little things that are truly a blessing to you. There is an old song called "Count Your Blessings" and it goes something like this, "Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings see what God has done...!” When we take a moment to think about our blessings, we become more aware of them. God has provided for you! Compare the two lists, I'll bet if you are honest with yourself, your blessings far outweigh your worries! Thank You, Jesus, for taking care of my needs TODAY!

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Table TalkPreschool & Nursery:Read Matthew 6:19-21 with your child.

Depending on the age/understanding of your child, talk about heaven and how Jesus wants us to be with Him because He loves us.

• What are treasures?• What should we treasure?• Who helps us build treasures in heaven?

Bible Verse: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

Prayer: Father, we may never have much in the way of earthly treasure, but help us to be faithful each day in building up treasures in heaven. Amen.

Activity: Take time with your child this week to help them bless someone, a family member or neighbor. Explain how sharing and being generous can fill their heart with treasure in fulfillment of Jesus’ wishes.

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Personal Devotion PagesThe following pages are designed to help you enjoy a regular time alone with God. We have divided up the curriculum to help us grow wherever we are at in our relationship with God and in our knowledge of His Kingdom.

LEVELS: Since we are a Colorado church, we use skiing imagery to communicate the different levels of intensity and time involved in relating to God.

BEGINNER: If you are new in your relationship with God, we encourage you to try the exercises under this symbol:

INTERMEDIATE: If you have walked with God for some time and would like a little more challenge and more time involvement, try the exercises under this symbol:

ADVANCED: These exercises are for people who have walked with God for some time and display maturity in their relationship with Him.

These exercises provide a practical way to encounter God and His truth on a regular basis. There are no rules here. Please don’t hurry through the process. Slow meditation and memorization seems to soak in better than cramming.

Enjoy!

Day OneThis  week,  we  will  provide  some  questions  from  Randy  Alcorn’s  book,  The  Treasure  Principle  for  you  to  ask  God.    Take  your  time  and  answer  transparently.1. Time  and  again  in  Your  Word,  Lord,  You  make  a  direct  

connection  between  experiencing  grace  and  expressing  grace  through  giving.    Grace  is  Your  lightning,  and  giving  is  our  thunder  in  response.    So  here’s  my  question:    Has  the  degree  of  my  giving  suggested  that  I  have  recognized  and  embraced  the  full  extent  of  Your  grace  in  my  life?    Or  does  it  suggest  I  need  to  recognize  and  respond  to  Your  grace  in  deeper  and  more  heartfelt  ways?

See  that  you  also  excel  in  this  grace  of  giving…  For  you  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  he  became  poor,  so  that  you  through  his  poverty  might  become  rich.  (2  Corinthians  8:7,  9)

Memorize  Ma-hew  6:  19-­‐‑21.    Read  2  Corinthians  9:15  and  Romans  8:32.      

Memorize  Ma-hew  6:  19-­‐‑24.      Read  2  Corinthians  9:15  and  Romans  8:32.    

Memorize  Ma-hew  6:  19-­‐‑25.  Read  2  Corinthians  9:15  and  Romans  8:32.    See  also  Acts  17:26  and  Ephesians  2:10.

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

~Matthew 6:25, NAS95

Jesus uses the major part of the Sermon on the Mount to talk about the disciple and money. Jesus tells His disciples not to store up treasure on earth, but rather in heaven. If we begin to be greedy, it greatly affects our influence and witness. The Teacher seems to think that the Love of Money is a huge temptation for anyone! Then Jesus draws the line in the sand. You can’t be my worshiper and a worshiper of money. No can do!

Then Jesus gives the evidence of worshiping money: anxiety. Most folks don’t realize that anxiety is also called, worry. Anxiety is the first cousin of FEAR. When we walk with any other god, we walk in fear.

John tells us, There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). Paul tells us, For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and discipline (2 Timothy 1:7)

The loving Father does not bring fear with Him when He enters relationship with us. When I worship Him, and worship Him alone, He brings courage, faith, and confidence!

Take some time to ask the Lord if you honestly deal with fear on a daily basis. Ask a trusted friend or confidant to tell you if they see fear, worry, or fret in you. Then, instead of dealing with the fear, take time to repent for loving another god. Once you kick out the other god, fear will have no hand hold or foot hold in your life.

Father, thank You that fear is an alarm system set up inside of me to tell me when I am worshiping another. Help me to be sensitive to that fear alarm and to cast down my idols.

Day Five

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Day Five1. If  I  don’t  release  my  resources  now  for  Your  kingdom  causes,  

will  I  be  in  danger  of  becoming  more  wrapped  up  in  earthly,  rather  than  heavenly,  treasure?    By  postponing  giving,  will  my  heart  become  hardened  to  Your  promptings  to  give?    Will  I  then  leave  myself  unprepared  for  eternity?

Command  those  who  are  rich  in  this  present  world  not  to  be  arrogant  nor  to  put  their  hope  in  wealth,  which  is  so  uncertain,  but  to  put  their  hope  in  God,  who  richly  provides  us  with  everything  for  our  enjoyment.    Command  them  to  do  good,  to  be  rich  in  good  deeds,  and  to  be  generous  and  willing  to  share.    In  this  way,  they  will  lay  up  treasure  for  themselves  as  a  firm  foundation  for  the  coming  age  so  that  they  may  take  hold  of  the  life  that  is  truly  life.    (1  Timothy  6:17-­‐‑19)

See  also  Maahew  6:12  and  Hebrews  3:15.

2. Please  show  me,  Jesus:    How  can  I  beaer  communicate  with  and  pray  with  my  spouse  and  children  so  we  can  walk  together  down  this  exhilarating  road  of  giving?    Help  us,  Lord,  to  both  lead  and  encourage  one  another,  without  leaving  each  other  behind.

A  prudent  wife  is  from  the  Lord.    (Proverbs  19:14)

See  also  2  Corinthians  9:7  and  Ephesians  5:22,  25.

What  am  I  doing  –  and  what  should  I  be  doing  –  to  train  my  children  to  be  regular,  joyful,  and  generous  givers?

Train  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  turn  from  it.    (Proverbs  22:6)

See  also  1  Corinthians  11:1  and  16:2.

3. Finish  your  Bible  memorization  today.

Day OneDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

~Matthew 6:19, NAS95

The New American Standard Version is quoted above because it literally translates Jesus’ words about storing treasures. Note that Jesus used these words, Do not store up for yourselves... For yourselves tells us that Jesus is NOT telling us to store for someone else, but for ourselves! Jesus goes on record as being for rewards and openly states that He is not against storing up treasurers. In His profound wisdom, Jesus lets us in on a stock tip. He tells us that where we invest is extremely important.

However, Jesus’ statement goes against conventional wisdom and human nature. He’s asking us to invest our money into the invisible. For Jesus, heaven will be a much longer ride than our stint here on earth and so we should invest our money into heaven rather than into this present life.

Jesus points out that storing up earthly treasures is an insecure investment. We buy a new car, and sooner rather than later, the new wears off and we’re no longer excited about it. A new cell phone is exciting only until technology brings out a new one with more bells and whistles. Suddenly our once awesome cell phone becomes obsolete.

As I write this devotional, a wild forest fire rages near Fort Collins, taking with it homes, ranches, and lots of earthly treasure. Nothing more starkly illustrates Jesus’ point. Stuff on this earth doesn’t last.

Jesus’ investment proposal is based on giving selflessly to others and to the needy. As we give to others, we invest for ourselves in heaven. The question is this: Do I believe it? If so, I must put my money where my mouth is.

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Day Two1. Father,  could  it  be  that  You  have  raised  me  up  –  with  the  

financial  assets  You’ve  entrusted  to  me  –  for  just  such  a  time  as  this?    Is  it  more  than  a  coincidence  that  you  have  entrusted  me  with  such  resources  just  at  that  point  in  history  when  an  unparalleled  number  of  people  have  such  great  needs  and  there  are  unprecedented  means  and  opportunities  to  help  them?

“And  who  knows  whether  you  have  not  come  to  the  kingdom  for  such  a  time  as  this?”  (Esther  4:14,  ESV)

See  also  Acts  17:26  and  Ephesians  2:10.

2. Is  my  life  revolving  around  you?    Open  my  eyes,  Father.    What  am  I  holding  on  to  that’s  robbing  me  of  present  joy  and  future  reward?    What  am  I  guarding  and  keeping  for  myself  that’s  preventing  me  from  having  to  depend  wholeheartedly  on  You?    Since  money  and  things  have  mass,  and  mass  exerts  gravity,  and  gravity  holds  us  in  orbit,  what  can  I  give  away  that  will  bring  me  greater  freedom?    Which  of  “my”  assets  can  I  give  to  You,  so  that  You  will  be  my  center  of  gravity?

“No  servant  can  serve  two  masters.    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  both  God  and  Money.”    (Luke  16:13)

See  also  Psalm  42:  1-­‐‑2  and  Maahew  5:6.

3. Continue  memorizing  and  meditating  on  the  scriptures  for  this  week.

Day FourThe eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

~Matthew 6:22-24, NAS95

When my desires (my eye) are pure and focused on Him, He illuminates my whole body. No wonder he called us The Light of the World! When Jesus is the desire of my life, and all other desires pale in comparison to Him, that is when I am truly illuminated. I am illuminated with a clear capacity to hear His voice and to be led by His Spirit. I am illuminated to influence others, not because it’s some chore I have to work up, but because I am a living, breathing light bulb of Holy Spirit power.

This section in the Sermon on the Mount is about money. Jesus seems to think, even in a society that is not even close to as materialistic as ours is today, that people have a tendency to worship money.

He calls us out on this. He says we cannot worship two masters. We’re hard wired to worship only one God, and we simply cannot worship both God and money. If money is simply a tool to use to glorify God, then our whole body is illuminated, but if money becomes my provider, my solution, and my salvation, then I have... Well, Jesus tells us in the next verse... I get anxious and worried!

Worry is a built-in alarm system in every person. Worry is the evidence that I have another god... My eye is not clear, my treasure is invested in moths and rust. When I trust in Him, I have a natural tendency not to worry!

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Day TwoBut store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

~Matthew 6:20, 21, NAS95

The mark of a great teacher is this: they can communicate profound and even complicated truths in a simple, understandable way. I have had my share of teachers and professors who do just the opposite. Because of their lofty knowledge, they tend to take a simple truth and complicate it.

In verse 21, Jesus says something that slays me with it’s depth and leaves me with no defense because of its simplicity. My heart will always go where my treasure is stored. My passion will follow my treasure.

I saw this first hand when my son played hockey one season when he was young. I got to know some great people who were especially passionate about hockey. They invested large amounts of time, treasure, and energy into their sons’ love for hockey. One blue collar dad told me that he spent $18,000/year for his sons to play hockey, so he was therefore not able to tithe. His entire garage was converted to a training room for his hockey playing sons, and his afternoons, all of them, were spent in training his boys or their teams.

His heart followed his treasure. I will always put my money where my heart is, and vice versa. The condition of my heart is not seen in my church attendance or in the worn pages of my Bible. The condition of my heart is best seen in my bank ledger.

Based on where I invest my treasure, what do I value above all things? Am I investing in eternity or in moths and rust?

Day Four1. Lord,  I’ve  sometimes  wondered  why  You’re  not  blessing  me  

more  financially.    Could  it  be  that  I’ve  been  spending  money  on  myself  first,  rather  than  giving  You  the  first-­‐‑fruits  of  what  You’ve  provided?

“Is  it  a  time  for  you  yourselves  to  be  living  in  your  paneled  houses,  while  this  house  remains  a  ruin?”  Now  this  is  what  the  Lord  Almighty  says:    “Give  careful  thought  to  your  ways.    You  have  planted  much,  but  have  harvested  liale.    You  eat,  but  never  have  enough.    You  drink,  but  never  have  your  fill.    You  put  on  clothes,  but  are  not  warm.    You  earn  wages,  only  to  put  them  in  a  purse  with  holes  in  it.” This  is  what  the  Lord  Almighty  says:    Give  careful  thought  to  your  ways.    Go  up  into  the  mountains  and  bring  down  timber  and  build  the  house,  so  that  I  may  take  pleasure  in  it  and  be  honored,”  says  the  Lord.    “You  expected  much,  but  see,  it  turned  out  to  be  liale.    What  you  brought  home,  I  blew  away.    Why?”      declares  the  Lord  Almighty.    “Because  of  my  house,  which  remains  a  ruin,  while  each  of  you  is  busy  with  his  own  house.    Therefore,  because  of  you,  the  heavens  have  withheld  their  dew  and  the  earth  its  crops.    I  called  for  a  drought  on  the  fields  and  the  mountains,  on  the  grain,  the  new  wine,  the  oil  and  whatever  the  ground  produces,  on  men  and  caale,  and  on  the  labor  of  your  hands.”    (Haggai  1:4-­‐‑11)

See  also  Malachi  3:8-­‐‑11  and  Luke  6:38.

2. Continue  meditating  on  and  memorizing  the  scripture  for  this  week.

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Day Three Day Three1. Lord,  am  I  honoring  You  as  owner  and  CEO/CFO  of  the  assets  

You’ve  entrusted  to  my  care?    Or  am  I  treating  You  as  a  mere  financial  consultant,  to  whom  I  pay  a  fee  (2  percent,  10  percent,  or…)?    Have  I  been  acting  as  if  I  own  the  store  and  You  work  for  me,  rather  than  recognizing  that  You  own  it  and  I  work  for  You?

“The  land  is  mine  and  you  are  but  aliens  and  my  tenants.”    (Leviticus  25:23)

See  also  Deuteronomy  10:14  and  1  Chronicles  29:  11-­‐‑12.

2. Where  in  my  community  –  or  in  the  whole  world  –  do  You  want  me  to  go,  to  see  and  participate  in  meeting  physical  and  spiritual  needs  through  Christ-­‐‑centered  ministries?    A  soup  kitchen?    The  inner  city?    Prison  ministry?    Pro-­‐‑life  work?    Is  a  short-­‐‑term  mission  trip  or  long-­‐‑term  service  overseas  part  of  Your  exciting  plan  for  me  and  my  family?

“[Josiah]  defended  the  cause  of  the  poor  and  needy,  and  so  all  went  well.    Is  that  not  what  it  means  to  know  me?”    (Jeremiah  22:16)

See  also  Proverbs  28:27  and  Romans  10:13-­‐‑15.

See  also  2  Corinthians  8:14  and  Acts  11:29.

3. Continue  meditating  on  and  memorizing  the  scripture  for  this  week.

...for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.

~Matthew 6:21, 22, NAS95

Can you translate for me, Jesus? I mean, first you’re talking about investment ideas and now you’re talking about my eye being the light of my body?

In college, I read this passage wondering just what Jesus meant to say. Is He telling me that if I get a speck in my eye, it makes problems for my whole body? If my eyesight degenerates, does it affect my whole body? Nothing seemed to make sense.

For most of us, we don’t take the time to read the CONTEXT of a verse that perplexes us. Context is the best explainer of Biblical meaning.

In this passage, the meaning of the eye is directly related to my treasure and my heart because of the preceding verses. Therefore, the eye is a metaphor for desires and passions. Jesus implies that when we see something we desire with our eye, it is directly connected to our heart. If the desires of my heart are clear (the Greek word means, single), then my whole body is illuminated. When the desires of my heart are polluted, then my whole body is full of darkness, confusion, maybe even full of fear.

I will tend to invest my treasure into what I’m passionate about, the things I desire greatly. God desires to be my consuming desire.

David says it best: One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple. Psalms 27:4, NAS95.

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