The Sermon on the Mount

Keeping Proper Perspective

Matthew 6:19-34

In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus deals with the matter of keeping a perspective that will enable us to receive the blessings of the Beatitudes.

• Choosing your treasures (Matthew 6:19-21)
  • Caution
    • What to avoid (Matthew 6:19)
    • Why?
      • Moth and rust
        • Possessions can be destroyed/will fade away
      • Violence and thieves
        • Possessions can be stolen
  • Contrast (Matthew 6:20)
    • Treasures in heaven can’t be stolen or destroyed
  • Conclusion  (Matthew 6:21)
    • The love of money is the root of all evil (I Timothy 6:10)
      • For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
    • No man can serve two masters
      • Conflicting interests
      • Loyalty can be to only one master
      • “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)
    • Balancing Heavenly riches and earthly riches
      • Easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter Heaven (Matthew 19:24)
        • Jesus asked the rich man to give up his earthly treasures for Heavenly treasures
        • The young man valued what he had accumulated and earned over Heavenly treasures
    • When possessions become a problem
      • When they garner more attention than our relationship with the Lord
      • When they reflect our accomplishments and not His glory
• Keeping your focus (Matthew 6:22-24)
  • Good eyes
    • See clearly
    • Focus on the important
  • Bad eyes
    • Do not see clearly
    • Attention is diverted
  • Focus is important to keeping perspective
    • Look to Jesus, the author, and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)
• Hold your trust (Matthew 6:25-32)
  • In the matter of our needs (Matthew 6:25)
  • Examples of God’s faithfulness (Matthew 6:26)
  • Why we can be worry-free (Matthew 6:27-32)
• Keep committed (Matthew 6:33-34)
  • First things first
    • But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. )Matthew 6:33)
  • Don’t borrow tomorrow’s problems

We are challenged to keep our focus on God and our relationship with Him. Money and worry should not disrupt our relationship with God. God is faithful to provide for our needs and is not limited (Ephesians 3:20-21). Our focus should remain on the eternal and not the external.