you need to guard your heart against the love of money money is not bad money is neutral you can use money to bless people but don't make money your first love [Music] [Applause] now jesus wants you to learn something today i call this the theology of money are you ready to learn the theology of money three simple truths i want you to learn this was given by jesus to his disciples are you ready so the title today is choose wisely everybody share with me choose wisely he talks about two kinds of treasures choose what kind of treasures you want number two do perspective choose your perspective number three jesus talks about two masters okay two two two life is about choices at the end of the day you gotta make a choice so he wants you to be wise so let's begin what do we mean by two treasures all right together read do not store up for yourselves tracers on earth where nor where moth and rush destroy and where tips break in and steal look at the command this is a negative present tense command meaning stop accumulating pressure for yourselves wow if you read this you will think is god against treasure is god against rich people don't jump to conclusion look at the bible what is the theology of money but here the command is very clear stop laying up pressure for yourselves what kind of treasure not as he talks about number one most will destroy it number two that word russ is from the greek word process something that will eat it away number three it can be stolen what is he talking about jesus is a master teacher he is talking about the wealth how people display wealth in his time how do they display clothing people underestimate how hard it is to make a garment in the time of jesus there's no textile machine everything is hand woven from cotton you have to make them into yarn from here you have to whip them understand so it's difficult so how do they display wealth their clothing and jesus saying that clothing most will eat it what else how do they display riches oh by their stock room lots of corn lots of wheat and jesus saying corn and wheat this should be eaten away by rats by insects what about silver and gold silver and gold can be stolen so jesus is saying listen now that's theology number one you need to know god is not against money or treasure but he wants you to choose your treasure the desire for riches is not wrong it's given by god the desire for treasure is not wrong what is jesus saying well let's find out to get there read but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven for neither moth nor us destroy and where tips do not break in or steal for where your treasure is there your heart will be also what is jesus talking about here is the command do you realize it's a command for you to lay a pressure ah what a shocking reality store up for yourselves treasures so god is not against treasure god wants you to have true treasure now every question how can i have true treasure be patient i'm gonna talk about it but right now the command is lay up for yourselves you have to lay up for yourself pleasures nothing wrong with wanting treasure what kind of treasure treasure that will last you see god loves you so much he does not want you to waste your life on things that are totally meaningless at the end of your life because you cannot bring money with you so god is saying i want you to really be rich so nothing wrong with riches and then he tells you why this is so important why treasures in heaven or where your treasure is there your heart will be also this is a thermometer and a thermostat what do i mean where people used to say well this verse simply means your heart will dictate where your treasure will be yes that's partly correct but this verse is more than that this verse is not just saying where your treasure is that's where you invest yes that's partly true however this is also saying where you put your effort and your treasure your heart will follow in other words i remember i have five wonderful children they i praise god for my wife she taught all of them to treasure each other by investing time by investing effort and because of that when you invest time and effort toward each other helping each other you begin to love each other so today my wonderful children by the grace of god they love each other we are the best of friends because we have invested time and energy toward each other where your treasure is for example you are generous in supporting ccf mission i am guaranteeing you if you put money in cc mission you want to know what's happening yes or no where your treasure is that's gonna be your money many of you may not realize this ccf has invested a lot of money in also too long time many of our people gave we build houses in the vehicle area because of the typhoon because we invested money there we like to find out what's happening where your treasure is there will your heart be also now many of you may not realize this ccf invested money to help the afghan christians get out of afghanistan yes you can club praise god do you know we gave to support a group to charter airplane chartered by those who love the lord these are ex-marine they have to go inside negotiate with the taliban to allow christians to get out but it costs a lot of money think of chartering an airplane but i praise god for ccf the board unanimously allocated money do you realize ccf is helping the ukrainian believers the wives and the children to get out of ukraine why are we doing that god owns everything so because we invested there we like to know what's happening so my my question to all of you today is this where is your money going to so jesus said where your treasure is your heart will be there you know this truth became so real years ago when somebody heard not from ccf somebody heard that i'm spending my time full time in the ministry he called me he said peter will you give me the privilege of supporting you i said why do you want to support me then he quoted this verse he said i know your ministry and the bible says where your treasure is there your heart will be i want to invest it in you so that my heart will be in the ministry i said brother i thank you but god has blessed our family where i don't need for you to support me he's not even from ccf but i praise god for his brother he knew money belongs to the lord so my friend this is the principle nothing wrong with treasure god wants you to lay up treasure what's wrong this is what's wrong the love of money is a root of all sorts of ill when you begin to love money more than you love god some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves i've seen many people god bless them but then their heart fell in love with money is that possible yes you see materialism greed covetousness is one of the most dangerous sin why do i say that it can happen to anybody for example in the bible has been serving god but at the end of his life having loved this present world has deserted me demas who was serving with the apostle paul fell in love with money it's like judas fell in love with money friend you need to guard your heart against the love of money money is not bad money is neutral you can use money to bless people but don't make money your first love because this sin is so subtle so dangerous you know people have come to me i've heard a lot of confessions praise god okay in sicily we're very transparent i have a lot of men i try to mentor women my wife mentor i've heard people confess adultery murder stealing but you know what i have seldom hear somebody saying peter i'm the sin of greed i am greedy i am covetous i am materialistic will you hear any christian confessing that sin yes or no my whole point is this is a sin so subtle covetousness greed the bible says greed is like idolatry so that is what's wrong if you love money you become covetous nothing wrong with money god wants you to save money are you aware of that look at the theology of money you will learn today the bible is very clear go to the ant oh sluggard imagine god is saying i want you to learn something go to the end observe her ways and be wise make wise choices which having no chief officer or ruler prepares her food in the summer gathers her provision in the harvest nothing wrong with one thing to save are we communicating in fact don't be lazy look at the arm don't be lazy work hard look prepares her food in the summer gathers her food in the harvest time so think ahead it's okay it's okay to save it's okay in fact the bible is so emphatic that you're responsible you know money is good it can be used to bless your family if anyone does not provide for his own especially those of his household he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever can you imagine if you can even provide for your own family and you keep talking about jesus god is saying something is wrong you bring shame to the cause of christ so you need to understand the theology of money money is an instrument used by god to provide needs to bless people but it can be used by satan to blind you look this is a problem not just of the rich or the poor all kinds of people are encouraged by god to do something he who steals must still no longer in other words the bible saying to the church at ephesus you guys some of you are really robbers stop stealing but you must work so it's important you work performing with his own hands what is good so that he will have something to share with one who was need so god wants you to use your money to provide for the needs of others remember don't be self-centered don't just think about yourself no what about the rich people is god telling the rich today sell everything you have would you like to know i'm going to tell you god's comment about rich everybody read now together in struck this is a command timothy you keep instructing the rich those who are rich in this present world who are rich now not to be proud or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches but on god everybody read who louder richly supplies us with all things to love their lover to enjoy are you aware god is on your side are you aware that god wants you to enjoy do you believe god has blessed us it is not a sin to enjoy his blessing yes or no all right turn to your neighbor or tell your neighbor hallelujah it's not a sin to enjoy now there are my friend you must understand the theology of money question what do you do with your money is it just to enjoy ah no this is what he's saying now instruct them number one if you want to convert your earth literature to heavenly treasure this is what you must do instruct them to do good to be rich in good works to be generous and ready to share storing up for themselves treasures you know i really praise god for many of you i've heard many of you give secretly to different people i know somebody who was hospitalized and when the report came to us we talked about among ourselves this person is very faithful he's not asking for money can we help that person would you believe it before the church can even move the d group leader already found ways to help the person because our people understand money is not just for us it is to bless others and when you bless others listen to me when you bless others that's how you have treasures in heaven how many of you have heard of the english version of the bible william tindell tindale was a man of god who was so touched by the lord to translate the bible from latin the english language in the 6th early 16th century you have to know for over a thousand years the only bible that people were reading was in latin and the english people do not know latin but this guy says how can we disciple people how can people grow spiritually if they don't have a bible they can understand however it was against the law the pope has issued a decree you cannot translate the bible in the community language you cannot allow people to read the bible it was a crime but because tindel loved the lord he understood the importance of the bible he risked his life to translate the bible directly from greek to the english language and from hebrew to the english language but because of that eventually he was captured and he was martyred you know why because it was a crime it's heresy to translate the bible to the english language before he died he shouted the prayer do you know what was his prayer it was heard by the lord and he said lord open the eyes of the king of england he prayed open the eyes of the king of england do you know two years after his death because he was hung and they burned his body two years later the king of england issued a decree that every english church must have an english bible praise god two years later and seventy years later there was a king by the name of james king james authorized the improvement of the english bible which is now called the king james bible which is the most popular english translation for around 450 years you know why there was a man called tinder but you see most of you know this story but you do not know how did tindel do it he needed financial support he needed the place to stay and praise god for a textile businessman by the name of humphrey monmouth humphrey monmod was the financier the backer of tinder without humphrey monmouth the bible will not be translated today but today people have not heard of hampshire monmouth but can i tell you humphry monmouth is certainly remembered by god someday when humphrey monmouth will enter heaven he will be shocked at his investment in money and he risked his own life do you know that he was also martyred one year later because they discovered he was financing the translation he was transporting the bible all over england all over through his business to his ship but you know what i guarantee you when humphrey montmot will enter heaven you know who will stand up i'm sure the angels and even jesus will give him a standing ovation jesus will say well done good and faithful servant you see that's how you convert your earthly possessions to heavenly treasures now this is very important two perspectives okay god is saying you choose wisely you want early treasures or heavenly treasures what should be your answer use your earthly treasures so that you will become heavenly treasures number two how do you choose wisely two perspectives what do we what do we mean by two perspectives well let's read the bible the eye is the lamp of the body so if your eye is clear your whole body will be full of light the analogy is our human eyes are like windows and that's where light comes in i want you to imagine you are in the room okay and it's dark what will happen to you if you are walking in a dark room will you fall down will you stumble okay what if i open the light but something's wrong with your eyes even if i open the light but if your eyes is dark you're still stumble why because you don't see and that is the point here if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness if then the light that is in you is darkness because there's no light coming in how great is the darkness no wonder i want you to learn to pray this prayer because the bible tells us there's a yes your eyes it's not just physical the heart let's read this together i pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know that what is the hope of his calling what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the same i love this prayer that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened do you know the greek word for that word enlightened that's where you have the word photo that's light that you will be illuminated ah you will see and i realize i cannot force people to have their eyes open to see the truth about jesus i need to pray for them you see the theology of money tells you that money is neutral money can be a blessing and god wants you to use your money wisely however the bible is telling me you need to have the right perspective about life about money until the eyes of the person is open he will love money and he will not trace you heavenly stuff you know why for some people that's nonsense if you look at what's happening to young people today they don't care about the future they don't think about life after death because their eyes are not open that's why i like what jesus said in luke chapter 12 jesus gives a warning about perspective he said to them beware be on your guard against every form of greed for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions god is saying open your eyes your success in life is not dependent on how much money you have what kind of clothes you wear he's saying beware now i like the word beware because beware is in the present imperative sense it's a command always beware and the root word for beware is open your eyes clearly you got to see it all the time be careful beware don't just be aware once a month beware present tense every day beware of what's going on in your heart be aware that you don't become materialistic and then the next word is be on your guard this word be on your guard has the root word of keep your eyes open also everything to do with your perspective why to guard something you open your eyes you have to be alert and god is saying you need to choose your perspective be on guard beware why because your perspective about money is crucial if you have the wrong perspective about money you're gonna behave improperly so he gave a story the amazing story of the rich farmer if you continue reading the bible he now tells the story of this amazing parable he talks about a successful farmer who became so successful that he had to expand now nothing wrong with that the bible tells us he was so successful he expanded his warehouse lots of rice lots of wheat lots of corn and then he was so successful this is what he said okay he said wow i will say to my soul you have many goods laid up for many years to come take your ease eat drink and be merry now let me ask you an honest question is this guy successful yes or no only two people believe he's successful is this guy successful of course isn't that your dream many of you are already hoping peter i really am looking forward to the day i'll retire yes or no that's why you're working so hard because you want to eat drink and retire where will you retire boracay invite me when you're in boracay but the point is this is that life no why perspective you see money is not just for your own enjoyment god gives you money to be rich in good works to bless others nothing wrong with money nothing wrong with success do you notice this guy he did not use his money to commit adultery he did not use his money to go to the casino he did not use his money to finance politicians the guy was good what was his problem this is his problem god said to him you fool this very night your soul is required of you who will now own what you have prepared so is the man who stores up treasure for himself and it's not rich oh god you see the theology of money god is saying don't be a fool what can you learn about money when you die you're gonna take it with you there was this wife her husband told her after i die i want you to put all my money in my pocket in my casket so the guy died he loves money and then everybody asks the wife did you follow his written will and there's a will put all my money in the casket the wife said of course of course how did you do it i wrote him a check friends this cove 19 tells me your money you're gonna bring with you and the bible says you fool this very night your soul is required of you do you know you have no guarantee that you will be here next sunday theology of money tells me life is uncertain that's the theology of money you cannot take it with you but you can be rich toward god and the bible says don't be a fool choose wisely number one what will you choose what kind of treasures do you want to have nothing wrong with treasure i suggest let us choose heavenly treasure amen number two perspective what kind of perspective do you have is it man centered is it secular centered or is it biblical centered i suggest learn to study the bible and pray that god will open your eyes and lastly you have to choose your master let's read this together the bible says no one can serve two masters the bible is not saying it is hard the bible is not saying it is difficult to serve two masters the bible says no one can serve two masters meaning is impossible either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other everybody read you cannot serve god and wealth now maybe your god is not money i don't know what is your god but all of us have something that we place over and above god whatever that is that you place over and above god it can be your family it can be your career it can be your prestige it can be your name your reputation whatever that is while the context deals with money whatever is your god provided it is not god you are doomed to be disappointed it's an illusion because there's only one god the king of kings no wonder after this verse you know the next verse after this god wants you to choose the right master the right god why because automatically look at the consequence everybody read for this reason this after saying you cannot serve god and wealth for this reason i say to you do not be worried about your life as to what you shall eat drink or clot in other words if your god is the god of the bible god is saying stop worrying grammatically it says stop worrying do not be worried food clothing shelter i realize many of our filipino brothers they live hand to mouth the reality many of us are struggling financially but god is saying put god first notice your god is not just our master our god is our everybody read heavenly father do you know god is your heavenly father yes or no you see you will not stop worrying until you trust him but you cannot trust him if you don't know him and that's the problem today many christians have not come to a point of knowing that god is their heavenly father let me close with the true story of bill bright bill bryce has influenced many lives rick warren asked bill bright how come god is using you so mightily how come god has used you mightily do you realize campus crusade for christ is in 190 countries today campus crusade for christ formerly called ccc has over 20 000 full-time staff amazing ministry in fact they can trace over 130 million people who have really come to know jesus by praying that amazing simple prayer and the jesus film the most successful film in the history of humanity over 3 billion have watched jesus film it was a project of dr bill bright with a budget of 6 million only it is translated to different languages the first foreign language translated was in tagalog so bill bright was used mightily so they asked him what is your secret do you want to know his answer this is his answer i believe it was in 1951 when i made a contract with god she built bright and his wife made a contract with god would you like to know what is that contract it is really making a declaration that his master is going to be gone let me read for you the contract this is from his authorized biography this is the contract let's read this together together from this day lord we surrender and relinquish all our past present and future rights and material possessions to you as an act of the will by faith we choose to become your band slaves and do whatever you want us to do go wherever you want us to go say whatever you want us to say no matter what it costs for the rest of our lives with your help we will never again seek the praise or applause of men or the material wealth of this world 1951 he and his wife signed that contract with god surrendering everything do you realize couple of years before he died he received an award the 10 pelton award 1 million and people ask him what did you do with the money you know what he said that was decided years ago in 1951 i surrendered everything to the lord so when he received the one million dollar there's no struggle because he gave everything to the lord and bill brad is very strategic that he does not just give money to any charitable institution he gives money to ministry that will disciple transform people for the glory of god my friend have you made the most important decision of your life according to dr bill bright that is the most important decision of their lives husband and wife when they surrendered everything to the lord have you surrendered everything is really jesus your master yes or no i want to give you a chance as we close in prayer that today you will make a choice you know the bible tells us in the book of jasmine this is something that i want you to consider right now choose today whom you will serve the truth is you are always serving something either money your family your career but you are choosing you need to choose who will be your master for me and my house as for me and my house we will serve the lord you see many years ago my wife and i made a commitment i made a personal commitment i will do what god wants me to do i'll go where he wants me to go that was my commitment with god and god never forgot my commitment that's why when he called me to start ccf yes but have you met jesus your master do you know he's your heavenly father let's bow our heads and pray if you have not made this choice to surrender your all to the lord god is saying today you make a choice be wise because life is short but you can only protect yourself when you really make the most important decision surrender everything to the lord if god has been speaking to you or you want to reaffirm that commitment or this your first time i want to pray for you lord i thank you you are an amazing father you promise to provide for all our needs food clothing shelter provided we seek first your kingdom and your righteousness i now pray we will seek first your kingdom your agenda and your righteousness and help us experience day by day your blessing day by day your faithfulness in jesus name we all pray amen and amen god bless you [Music] [Music] so [Music] you