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Well we are going to look at this series on possessions. It's really a, just a short three part series we began last week and I thought it's very appropriate for Chinese New Year because everywhere we go today people tell you huat ah (be prosperous), haha, or they tell you Gong Xi Fa Cai, Cai Yuan Guang Jing, Sheng Yi Xing Long and Nian Nian You Yu (Chinese New Year greetings – make a fortune, be greatly prosperous, have a prosperous business and have an abundance of wealth/possessions/items etc.). It's all about possessions, it's about money, it's about stuff of this world, but it's good for us to be reminded what Jesus had to say about money and possessions.

So we began last week and we started with Matthew six verses 19 to 21. We learnt a few things from the Lord Jesus Christ. We noticed number one treasures on earth do not last, they will be taken away from you, they may be taken away from you, very slowly, like how moth and rust will destroy. So this may be how things will deteriorate, decay; how, maybe, even if it doesn't deteriorate nor decay the value in your eyes just decreases over time, you get sick of it. So your earthly treasures do not always satisfy because they are taken away from you slowly, but it may also be taken away from you suddenly as Jesus describes how a thief would break through and steal. So the thief comes at a time you don't expect, it may be a catastrophe, it may be a stock crisis, it may be a disaster somewhere, it may be a business failure or whatever.

But the ultimate thief is of course death, everyone will be stolen or everyone will be robbed of their earthly treasures when death strikes. So Jesus says treasures on earth do not last; they are taken away from you, sometimes slowly, sometimes suddenly, but you can bet on this, it will be taken away from you, surely. Then Jesus went on to tell us treasures in heaven are the exact opposite, treasures in heaven are forever, diamonds are not forever, treasures in heaven are forever. In other words, they will be reserved they can never be taken away from you, they are secure and the satisfaction you derive from heavenly treasures never fade away; they're always satisfying, that's what heavenly treasures are like. Then Jesus gave us a third principle, He told us that your heart will follow your treasures, for where your treasure is there your heart will be also. The tempo, the time sequence is where your treasure is, your heart will follow.

So you treasure is a kind of a magnet, it leads the compass needle of your heart, if your treasures are on earth, you will pursue earthly things. This will be where you spend your energies, your time, your thinking, it will be earthbound. But if your treasures are in heaven, you'll be heaven bound in your thinking, your pursuit, your passions, your focus on God, so there is no man who can say I love the things of this world, I pursue the things of this world, I lay up treasures in this world, and I still think much about my God. You can't, for where your treasure is there your heart will be all so.

That's why so many people find it difficult to love God, serve God today, because all your treasures are heaped up here on earth. I think these are great truths, but that's not all Jesus said. Today we're going to look at verses 22 to 24 and I begin with verses 22 to 23 for you. Now, I'd like you to take a look at this verse before I say anything further. I'd like you to spend a minute looking at this verse and thinking to yourself what you can learn from these two verses. I want to do that because these are not easy verses. On the surface, they look very easy, very straightforward, but actually, to really understand them, to explain it properly it's not so straightforward, at least that's how I found it. So I like you to chew on this, like how you chew your ba kwa(pork jerky; food common during Chinese New Year), whatever, just chew on this for a while, appreciate it for a while before I would explain a little bit more. You say not fair, pastor, you've whole week to chew, that's true, I give you only one minute so, alright now what is this verse saying, what does this mean when Jesus said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, 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 in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" [Mat 6:22-23]

Now the first thing I would want to say is that Jesus highlighted two kinds of eyes: there's a healthy eye and then there's a bad eye. Now, very simply, what is eye for? For seeing things, it's an organ of sight. So Jesus is saying that there is a possibility that people can see very well, very clearly their eye is healthy and then there's a possibility that they can't see very well they can't see very clearly, their eye is bad. Very simple, can see clearly, cannot see clearly but what is it that they can see clearly and what is it that they can't see clearly?

That is where I think the context is very important. Context means the surrounding verses around these two verses. So you look at the verses before, you look at the verses after, I think it is obvious that what Jesus is speaking about in this whole segment is about money and possessions right? Don't lay up treasures on earth but lay up treasures in heaven, later on, you have read just now, you can't serve God and money. So this whole section, before and after is talking about money and possessions. So a healthy eye I think, is someone who sees clearly what heavenly treasures are and what earthly treasures are. If I may put it more clearly for you, a healthy eye represents a proper regard for heavenly treasures that they are of infinitely greater worth than earthly treasures. So Jesus is saying, if you can see if can really understand how God sees it, that earthly treasures do not last, they actually lead you away from Him and then you see that heavenly treasures are forever, they are given by the goodness of a our God and they are therefore of infinitely greater worth, you have a healthy eye.

Now, you got to follow me alright, I when I go out with my kids, sometimes they follow and sometimes they get lost, I have to constantly go back I say eh, Shawn, Matthias where are you? So today I'm going to do that alright. I know you follow me for a while; I'm going to going to look back, eh church where are you, maybe I have lost you. So I'll make sure you tag along. So this is what a healthy eye means. So what's a bad eye? Bad eye is a, is the reverse, it's the opposite, that's right it's very simple. A bad eye cannot see the true worth of heavenly treasures and therefore sees earthly treasures as ultimate. Why do you lay up treasures on earth? Because you don't think very much about heavenly treasures, you think earthly treasures are everything so that's what you live for. You see earthly treasures as ultimate and you spend your life accumulating earthly treasures. So there's a good eye; there's a bad eye. Are you following so far? Anyone of you lost? Alright, let's go to the next step. The word ‘bad’ actually is the word ‘poneros’, in the Greek it means evil, if your eye is evil. Now, this is interesting, actually, in the original Greek, that's how it reads, your eye is evil, now it can mean that it's diseased, it's faulty, it's not functioning, but the word evil or the phrase ‘evil eyes ‘is also quite interesting, because the Hebrews, the Jewish people, they have this idiom, this colloquialism that says an evil eye represents a stingy eye, just like how you would say, what, tight-fisted. What is tight-fisted? Eh, this is not Hebrew, this is English, what is tight-fisted? Stingy, you, in Chinese, shou cai ru ming (you guard your wealth as if it's your life) very tight-fisted that you won't give a single cent to those who are needy. So we say tight-fisted to mean stingy and the Jews, they use evil eye to represent stingy or greedy or selfish, it's a Hebrew idiom. Now this Hebrew idiom is derived from the Scriptures. For example, in Deuteronomy 15 verse 9, "...your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother," now unfortunately the ESV which is the version we print here paraphrase this sentence because if you go back to the original Hebrew writing which is how this Bible is written in the Old Testament Hebrew, it should read "your eye be evil on your poor brother". So if you have an evil eye that's how the Hebrews would understand it, you give him nothing you give the poor brother nothing, you are stingy, you have an evil eye, that's how it comes from.

Later on, in the Greek, it's the same. Jesus says, "Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?" [Mat 20:15] Actually in the Greek it's, "Is your eye evil?" So if you are lost, eh, eh, eh, come, come, come, are you all lost? How many of you lost? If you are lost, you don't know you’re lost, so I assume you're following me thus far. That evil eye is an idiom, to represent stinginess, greed, or covetousness, alright.

So when you come back to this, Jesus mentioning the eye is bad is saying that this person cannot see clearly the true worth of heavenly treasures and therefore he sees earthly treasures as ultimate and so these ultimate things are ultimate for him; he will not let go and this results in greed and covetousness and stinginess. Make sense so far? An evil eye is someone who is stingy, greedy, covetous, will not help, will not give because to him, earthly treasures are everything. He doesn't have a right regard to heavenly treasures.

So when we come to the Hebrew idiom ‘evil eye’ represents stingy, greedy, selfish, what is a good eye? The good eye is the reverse, which means generous, a good eye refers to generosity. Again look at the Bible, "Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares", he's not tight-fisted, "he shares his bread with the poor." [Pro 22:9] But you say pastor, the word is bountiful what, well actually in the Hebrew the word is 'towb', 't','o','w','v', that's how they pronounce it 'tow-v', which literally means to be good, fair, fine, precious.

I can read this verse as whoever has a good eye will be blessed because he shares his bread with the poor. So the good eye is a generous eye, the evil eye is a stingy eye, so far, boleh, tak boleh (meaning okay or not in Malay)? OK, very good, tak ng tak (OK or not in Cantonese dialect)? Tak, OK. So if that is so, Jesus might have referred to this Hebrew idiom during His time when He said, “So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness.” That's probably what He referred to. But why I think I highlight the word healthy is He could have said, now, this is getting complicated already alright, He could have said, your eye is good, but He didn't, He used the word healthy, you get that, the word 'good' - one of the words for the word 'good' in the Greek is the word 'agathos'. If your eye is agathos, good, but He didn't use the word agathos, He used the word 'haplous', if your eye is haplous. Now this word can refer to healthy, whole, single, but the word 'haplous' in the Greek hints of being generous so that's interesting, He could have used a simpler word 'agathos'-'good', settles the issue, but He gave another shade of, another depth of meaning when He used the word 'haplous', which means generous or hints of being generous. I don't dare to say, it means generous, but the words the family of words that are related to 'haplous' are often translated and indeed means generous. For example, remember this is what, 'haplous'. The next word you read is 'haplótes', this is related to 'haplous' and it is translated as the generosity of your contribution. So very interesting the related words referred to generous and then another word, 'haplos', so is not 'haplous', but 'haplos', "If anyone of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously," [Jas 1:5a]. So it's really interesting that when Jesus says, "If your eye be haplous", not only just good but generous, might be what He is saying. How many of you still at Orchard Road? We are out of Orchard, we are back here already, so if you have missed what I've been saying all along, it's summarized here, alright.

A healthy eye represents generosity with earthly treasures, and that's because there is a proper regard for heavenly treasures that they are of infinitely greater worth than earthly treasures. And for those taking down notes, slides, pictures, this is the picture you would want to take, just a while more, one more click alright. A healthy eye represents proper regard for heavenly treasures that they are of infinitely greater worth than earthly treasures, and this will lead to generosity with your earthly treasures.

The evil eye however is the opposite, it cannot see the true worth of heavenly treasures and therefore sees earthly treasures as ultimate, this results in greed, covetousness and stinginess. Actually, at the end of the day it's simple, it's just that the derivation is not so straightforward. There's a Hebrew idiom involved, there are some Greek and Hebrew words involved, there's this complexity and in the word 'haplótes' and whatever you have but I think this is the simple conclusion. So far okay? So if your eye is healthy if you have a proper perspective to heavenly treasures, you would see that what's important in life is not your earthly treasures, not your car not your house not your bank account, but what's up there, and if you realize that's really what's important, you will not be tight-fisted, but you'll be generous to not lay up treasures on earth but to convert them so that you can lay up treasures in heaven, make sense. But if you can't see the infinite worth of heavenly treasures, you would say, "Hey I got to gather as much earthly treasures as possible, because that's what my life is about." Then you will become stingy, greedy, covetous. Can? Good is 'agathos' or 'haplous'? Huh, huh, alright.

So now this is really important because Jesus says, "The eye is the lamp of the body." [Mat 6:22a] The eye is like the window that allows light to come into your room, right. So He's saying the way you see heavenly treasures and earthly treasures is of great importance to how you will live your life. If you can't see clearly, your life is going, going to be in a mess. If you can see clearly with regard to heavenly and earthly treasures, you will live a life full of clarity and light, so He is saying very important, so He says, number one if your eye is healthy if you have the right regard to heavenly treasures, of earthly treasures and that which leads to true generosity, your whole body will be full of light, you would live in such a clear, effective, meaningful way.

So I think Jesus is saying a proper perspective of heavenly treasures results in a rich, purposeful and significant life. Now rich doesn't mean financially rich but meaningful, alright, of eternal value. How can you live a life that is meaningful, purposeful, significant in the kingdom of God? You require, you need to have a proper perspective of the heavenly treasures. A healthy regard to heavenly treasures is a powerful motivation and enabling for godly living. I think one of the best examples is Moses. Moses, every one of you would have known Moses, he, he is the Prince of Egypt, but you know what, Moses gave up Egypt. Now Egypt is no Singapore, Singapore is very small, but actually quite insignificant in world affairs.

Egypt is the superpower of those days and Moses said, "I am not going to chase after the Empire of Egypt, I want to suffer with my Jewish people." You say why, why would he do that? Hebrews 11 [verse 26] tells you, because he had regard to the rewards of heaven, he had a right view, he has a good eye. So he says, "I don't want the, the riches of Egypt, they are nothing compared to the riches in heaven." So he lived a very rich, purposeful and significant life because he has the right perspective of heavenly treasures. So in the Bible we read of how this proper regard for eternal treasures are, is a very powerful motivation to Christian life and ministry.

For example, first Corinthians 15, "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord," [1Co 15:58] Why are you so diligently serving God, why are you so wholeheartedly serving God? Paul says one of the reasons besides knowing God's love for you is that you know your labor is not in vain, you will be rewarded. Sometimes you work for your boss, your boss don't reward you right? My boss don't know I work very hard, well, your heavenly boss knows everything and your labor is never in vain. And if you have respect to the rewards in heaven, it motivates you to work real hard for Him, for His glory.

Elsewhere, the Bible tells me, Luke 6 [verse 35], "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great." Why will I give to my enemy, why would I help him? Because you have a right perspective of heavenly treasures. Why would I give to the needy besides the fact that I should be compassionate and God's heart beats in me, it's knowing that your Father who sees in secret will reward you, that's a powerful motivation. I'm not saying that this is a mercenary consideration, but it is a proper respect to how God motivates us and I think this allows us to think more generously because we know we are laying up treasures in heaven.

Likewise, it may be something very simple like giving a cup of cold water to someone who needs it, you will by no means lose your reward. In fact, this will help you in evangelism, knowing that when you share the Gospel, when you reap, you gather fruit for eternal life, John 4:36. It might even help you to be able to suffer better because Jesus said, "When others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account." you can, "Rejoice and be glad," because, "your reward is great in heaven," [Mat 5:11,12] How can I live that kind of a life unless I know it's never in vain.

So again, the last verse for this part, "this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory," [2Co 4:17] So I think Jesus is spot on. He's saying that if you can have the right perspective it allows you to live a rich, purposeful significant life, get it so far, following? Okay, the opposite is also true; if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness; if you don't have a proper perspective of heavenly treasures, you will live a covetous, wasted and sin filled life. Darkness, opposite of whatever is good, you will waste your life, you'll be confused and you'll be living a life full of sin. Why, because you'll lie, cheat, steal to accumulate earthly treasures. So the Bible says, "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evils." [1Ti 6:10], and you can see this not just in adults but also in children isn't it. My sister would regularly remind me when I was younger I would cheat her of her money. Uh, she, she, she, she told me she, she remembers, I don't remember by the way, she remembers that when we, I'll, when I need money I will play cards you know, the er shi yi dian, 21 points, Cua Dai Di (a card game), whatever OK, you all don't learn this one, anyway, when we play cards and I'll play 21 games in a row and I win all 21 games. She say cannot be what are the odds that you win 21 in a row. So she said I probably have inserted some cards somewhere in my sleeve or whatever, I have no idea how I won 21 games but I, I think I remember I got quite a lot of money from her. All kinds of tricks, stickers, sell her even useless cards, just tell her it's very valuable and she will buy. I don't remember cheating her as much, although I know I probably did, how I cheated, I don't remember, but I remember how I, I, I would cheat to get money in school. Uh, I remember in primary school very young I already learnt all these things. So when I was very young, I think P1, P2 I would go to class and I will tell my classmate, there's this very nice girl, super kind, super nice, I would go to her and tell her, "My mummy, daddy didn't give me money today and I'm very hungry, can I borrow some from you?" Well day one she was very nice she gave me money, day two I said the same thing, day three I said the same thing. I tell you, I said that same thing for a whole year and every day she gave me money. By the way her name I still remember Huang Simin.

So if you're on rad, er not radio, I mean if you are on Internet or whatever, you hear, if you are Huang Simin, please give me a shout alright? I, I try to find you to repay you all the money, but I've, I've never been able to track you down, but I, I distinctly remember every day I get money from her, every day! And last time, $0.30, $0.50 a lot you know. So anyway that's that and you say why you need so much money, don't your parents give you, actually my parents give me enough but I want to buy toys mah, ha, so I want to accumulate my earthly treasures, so that's how I do it alright. I cheat, I steal, I do whatever and you guys have a good laugh, I'm sure all of you also like that one; just different patterns different styles but I'm sure you will do all kinds of evil stuff just to get money, that's how it is.

In fact that's why there are so many family feuds right, brothers sue sisters, sister sue brother, over what, money. Why do people backstab, why do people kill, why do people commit all kinds of crimes, money. Because if you think money is the ultimate thing you will live your life for money and you will be covetous, you will be filled with sin, actually at the end of the day your life will be wasted because earthly treasures do not last, it's very sad but that's how we are all so wired to think and then you begin to neglect your wife, you neglect your husband, you neglect your family, you neglect church, you neglect your own spiritual life. The scary thing is not that you will just lose your family, that's bad, but what's scary is that you may lose your soul; "the deceitfulness of riches choke the word," [Mat 13:22] There are many people who gather to hear God's Word every Sunday, but not every one really has a place in their heart for God's Word. Somehow, week after week, they hear and nothing changes in their life. You know why? Jesus actually gives you the examples, or the reasons. One, they just don't want to listen, they are here but they don't want to listen. So even though they are in church they don't benefit because their heart is hardened, like rocks, the seed cannot get in.

And then Jesus gave a second reason, because after the seed has been sown it grows for a while, but there's a hot sun that scorches it. So because it has no deep roots, difficulties of life, turn them away. That's why God Word never really flourish in their lives. A third reason why it does not work well is because after the seed is sown there is some growth but there's too much earthly weeds and thorns that choked it. So the love for this world does not allow for the flourishing of God's Word in their hearts and they may just lose their soul that way.

So this is not just about your family, this is about your eternal life. For example, Judas Iscariot, he sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. [Mat 26:14,15] Actually, Judas sold his soul for 30 pieces of silver. Was it worth it, absolutely not. The Bible talks about how Demas who used to be with apostle Paul because he loves this present world deserted apostle Paul, deserted probably the ministry. [2Ti 4:10]

The Bible speaks of how false teachers "loved gain" [2Pe 2:15]. False teachers are people who preach under the name of Jesus Christ, under the name of the church, but they don't really serve God, they are here to feed themselves. They, they want riches, they want to cheat people of their money. Just as Paul would describe, they are actually the "enemies of the cross", "Their end is destruction," they can cheat all they want, they can drive nice cars live in big mansions, people may say, "Wah, you are so smart you can cheat people of money and be so rich." The Bible says, "Their end is destruction," You don't have to envy them, you should pity them; "their god is their belly," they don't serve Jehovah they serve their sensual lusts, "and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things." [Phi 3:18,19]

False teachers do not have the right perspective of heavenly treasures, they view earthly treasures as ultimate so they live a darkness-filled life; covetous, wasted ultimately, sin filled, doomed for destruction. So, "those who desire to be rich," if this is your goal if this is your ultimate goal of life, you want to be rich, this is what you want, you will fall into temptation, "into a snare," a trap, "into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction." [1Ti 6:9] This is not what the world teaches you, right? Singapore teaches you five Cs; America teaches you American dream; it's a nightmare not a dream. The Bible tells you, don't lay up treasures on earth but lay up treasures in heaven.

Now, we come back, line by line, Jesus is saying the eye is very important. How you see, how you view, your value system with regards to heavenly treasures and earthly treasures are is very important because it determines your life, because it's like the window into your house, it's the lamp to the body. It's very important, this perspective of treasures, very important. If you have a healthy perspective of eternal riches, you will not treat earthly treasures as ultimate, you will be generous and you will live a life that is rich, purposeful, significant, you get the logic? But if your eye is diseased, you have a bad vision, you have a wrong value system, you think the things of this earth are ultimate and the things in heaven are not worth it, then you'll be covetous, you will not be generous and ultimately your life will be wasted and filled with sin, darkness. So, "If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" [Mat 6:23b] He says, if what is supposed to be clear is no more clear, how great is the darkness. In fact, I think what this being said here is, you may not even know you are blind, you're so blinded you don't even know you are blind!

You know, of all the sins listed in the Bible, one sin that very few people admit to or realize is that of greed. Think about it, people will come to you and say, "Eh, pastor I struggle with anger", "I, I, I, I struggle with adultery", "I struggle with pride", "I struggle with gossip", but have not met anyone who came to me and say, "Pastor, I, I struggle with greed." No, very few of us say, "I struggle with covetousness." Very few, why, I think it's because we don't even know we are covetous, we don't want to admit we are covetous. We create all kinds of excuses, "Oh, this is not covetousness, this is good stewardship", "I, I'm a very good saver", "aiyah, when I die and just before I die, I'll give everything away, don't worry." We have all kinds of justifications because we don't even know how blinded we are. So I think Jesus is saying the love for earthly treasures really blinds you if you don't realize it. Okay, I've spent a long time explaining two verses that's how difficult I think these two verses are. If you can't follow me it's okay we're going to the next shop already. So OK, the next shop is verse 24 and it goes on to say, "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." [Mat 6:24]

I think what Jesus is saying here is, love for earthly treasures binds you. The first one blinds you, the second one He's saying binds you. In a sense you're bound, you cannot do what you are supposed to do, that's how money enslaves you. I'm using this imagery of slavery, because that's what is said here, "No one can serve two masters," In the Greek it's the word 'douleuo', from which you get the word 'duolos' which means slave. Sometime ago there's this ship that docked in Vivocity, it's called Duolos, some of you would be familiar, it really means slave, no man can be a slave to two masters.

Some of you today can have two employers right, some of you can have two employers because your employers don't demand everything of you, but in those days, slaves have to do everything for the master, they are absolutely owned by the master.

So Jesus is saying something very simple - no one can have two masters, no one can serve two masters, your masters are absolutely dominating, they dominate your whole life. A young girl asked her dad, 'Dad, how come you cannot have more than one wife?" The father replied, "Because no man can serve two masters." You just can't, alright. Jesus says, "You cannot serve God and money." You can't. Notice the word is 'cannot', He did not say you 'must not'. What's the difference you say? 'Must not' means you can, but you shouldn't. Jesus didn't say you must not as if you can; Jesus says you absolutely cannot. An African proverb says if a man tries to walk on two roads he would eventually split his pants. You can't serve two masters; you can't serve God and money.

Now, by the way, I think this is this is clarity for us: you cannot have a gospel that tells you how to get rich here and still call that the Gospel, it is not the Gospel. So people today talk about the prosperity gospel or the health and wealth gospel. That is not the Gospel of God, because you cannot love money and love God. You cannot serve money and serve God at the same time, you can’t mix the two together.

By the way, I think this is probably what we don't believe the most because many of us, we think we can, isn't it? You think you can. You think you're probably a good Christian, you know in your heart, you're living for money, at least some. You have a dream: get this house, get this condo, get this car, get this bank account number, you say this is my dream, but I also want to be a Christian, I also want to love God, so God, I do 50% money, 50% you, can or not? That's how we think. You know what Jesus says? You can't. Actually, you are just serving one master. Though you pretend to be serving another master. I think wat Jesus is saying here is so confrontational. It's not as if you can, I think for me when I hear, when I read this, it's not as if I can read these verses and say, "Yah let's carry on life as per normal. I can accommodate both God and money." You can't. It's confrontational! You got to make a choice: Am I going to serve money or am I going to serve God because I can't serve both and I can't pretend that I can do so; you can't. The reality is you can't! So you today are confronted, we today are confronted, I've got to make a choice.

Let’s be clear, Jesus is not against possessions. Jesus is not against working hard.  It's not about what you do, but it's why you do what you do. Who are you serving at the end of the day? It is your choice, so many of us we limp along in our Christian life. Why? Because there really, we wonder why is it that I'm not growing? Why is it that my life is not changed? Why is it that I'm not having the joy and passion that the Bible speaks about? That I hear other Christians speak about?  Because you made a choice: not to make a choice and practically day by day, if you do not choose God, I can be sure you're serving money. That's why there's no real progress or change within. Ok I think I've belaboured this be enough, the point is you got to make a choice alright?

So in this section I think we learnt a few things. Treasures on earth do not last; treasures in heaven are forever; your heart follows your treasures, it's like a magnet that sucks your direction of life. It's dangerous if you're not careful, because treasures on earth can blind you, and treasures on earth definitely bind you if you do not choose correctly. These are theological reasonings Jesus gave us in a short segment of verses, but it's extremely profound and very challenging, but I know these are things you know in your head, but your heart still says, "Jason, I know what you are saying, I think it makes sense, but I still love the things of this world. How?" Well, you're not the first to say that. John Stott, he also explains it this way, "Worldly ambition has a strong fascination for us. The spell of materialism is very hard to break." It’s like a spell. Wake up! Still cannot wake up. It’s a very strong spell.

I really think that besides knowing the truths in the head, it's very important that our heart is filled with the right love, because right now, most of us, we love stuff. We love possessions, we love money. There's only one way you can really purge that out, and that principle is given in first John 2:15 that says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. “Now you say how does this work? It's very simple. This is your heart and every one of us, our heart is big enough to only contain one. There's only room for one, it's either God or money, you can't have both. But this is the principle: if you love the world, you will push the love of God out, but if you know deeply the love of God, the love of God will push the love for the world out. So how can I have a heart that does not love the world? Nature doesn't like vacuum; you can’t just say I don’t love, I don’t love, I don't love; no you got to replace it with a supreme love and the replacement of the supreme love is seen in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When you know how much your Father loves you by giving you His Only Son to die and pay for your sins.

When you know the deep unchanging stunning love of God, your heart rejoices; it's assured; it's thrilled with His love, then the Bible says you will love God. We love Him because He first loved us, and so it is this love from God that begets this love for God that pushes out the love for this world. This is what we often will quote here as "the expulsive power of a new affection." When you have a love for God that is rooted in the Gospel, that is found in the Scriptures, that is made alive to you by the work of the Holy Spirit, it pushes out the love for this world. So let me ask you, are you a Christian? How do you know if I'm a Christian? Is it because I come to church? No. Is it because I do this (crossing oneself with the hand)? No, by the way that is not even Christian. Is it because I have a Christian name? No. How do you know I am a Christian?  How can I know if I'm a Christian? Let me ask you, do you really love God more day by day? And how do you know that? Do I love the world less as the days go by, because the love of the Father will push out the love for the world. That's how you know.

And if you today are struggling with covetous, worldliness, greed, I say, the best way to deal with it is to go to the Gospel. The best way to deal, to get rid of covetous, and stinginess and so on is not to say ‘Get Out’, but to fill up with the love of God. Lord, when I read the Bible, show me Your love, tell me the Gospel. Pray, “Lord let this not just be something I know intellectually but let this be something I experience in my heart that I will be rooted and established in this love, that as Paul prayed I will know the greatness of Your love: the height the depth the breadth of Your love. Let me know it really." And when you gather in your Christian communities, in your care groups, your discipleship groups, let this be your goal: to exhort to provoke one another to love and good works; basically fill this tank with the love of God found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I think that's how there can be any true freedom from the love of this world.

So gong xi fa cai (meaning make a fortune)? No cannot. So in this new year, while the world is saying gong xi fa cai, shen yi xin long (wishing a prosperous business) and everything related to material stuff, I’m not saying that they are wicked to say that alright, no you can't blame them because many of them do not know God, right? That's what they live for. But if you know God, remind yourself of the heavenly truths Jesus has given you and I pray that the Gospel will go deeper and deeper into your soul that we will be a generous people to lay up treasures in heaven to glorify His Name, alright? Thank you for listening and I know it's tough for a Chinese New Year sermon. But I hope you will really have true wealth up there. Let's bow for a word of prayer together.

You know the Word of God can sound nice, encouraging. But it's really quite pointless unless we choose to obey, isn't it? So this morning I want to ask you if you would consider what Jesus said and to examine your life in the light of it. I'm not against hard work. I'm not against you having things. God in His goodness can choose to give all these things to us, but my question to you is why and what's driving you today. I hope we will pray that God will give us all good eyesight. An eyesight that allows us to have a proper respect to heavenly treasures, so that we will not grovel for earthly treasures, so that we may live a life that is rich and purposeful and significant for the kingdom.

I pray this church will be a Gospel-centered church, where we are assured of the Father's love; thrilled and excited and grateful to want to serve Him because of the Father's love; that we would demonstrate this love with real practical deeds of love of giving to the poor, helping the needy, advancing the Gospel and His Kingdom through our material possessions.

If your eye is on the treasures above, your whole body will be full of light. I pray we will walk in such splendor and light. Maybe this morning you're here with us and you say, "Wah Christianity is so difficult, it's all about, I give, I give, I give, I give, no, no, no, no, you've got it all wrong. We give because He has first given to us. Christianity is first about God giving His Son to die and pay for your sins. Actually, Christianity is about believing, believing, receiving, receiving and, and even when we give, it's first because God has given to us.

So this morning I want to say this is not a sermon about you giving but it's about God giving. He has given His Son for you. Would you receive His gift? Would you repent of your sin and believe in Jesus Christ? I pray this morning, you have true riches in heaven through repentance and faith in Christ. So Father we thank you for this morning, it's a tough message because I think we are in varying degrees of materialism. It has cast a spell over us and we pray that the love of the Gospel can dispel this ‘clutch’ over us. May we today set our eyes on things above. Set our affections on things above, because of the Gospel, help us to truly live free for Your Kingdom. Bless those who are here today who do not know Jesus as yet, in Your mercy draw them to repentance and faith. Thank You for this time, we ask and pray all this in Jesus' Name, amen.

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