Book Study · Week 5 of 6

Treasure and Worry

Matthew 6:19-34

Trust over anxiety

Main Point

Worry is just misplaced worship — redirecting your trust from God to circumstances.

Application Ideas

What are you most worried about? Surrender it in prayer daily this week. What 'treasure' competes with God for your heart?

Discussion Questions

What does 'where your treasure is, there your heart will be also' mean practically? How do the birds and flowers teach us about trust?

Detailed Sermon Outline

Primary Text: Matthew 6:19-34

Supporting Texts: 1 Timothy 6:7-10, Proverbs 23:4-5, Psalm 37:4-5, Luke 12:13-21

Big Idea: Where you invest your resources and affections—your treasure—determines what captures your heart. The antidote to worry is trusting God's provision and prioritizing his kingdom.

Target Length: 35-40 minutes

Introduction

Jesus tells us not to worry about what we'll eat, drink, or wear. And our immediate response is: Easy for you to say, Jesus. You don't have bills to pay. You don't have a mortgage. You don't have health insurance worries.

But Jesus isn't ignoring real needs. He's addressing something deeper. He's asking: What's driving your anxiety? And the answer is often: Where your treasure is, your heart follows.

If your treasure is stuff, security, status, then you'll be anxious whenever those things seem threatened. But if your treasure is God's kingdom, that changes everything.

I. Where Your Treasure Is, Your Heart Follows (Matthew 6:19-23)

'Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.' Jesus isn't against provision. He's against false security.

Material wealth is temporary. Markets crash, possessions decay, thieves steal. Building your security on earthly treasure is building on sand.

This isn't about living in poverty. It's about not being ruled by possessions or the pursuit of them.
Jesus invites us to store up 'treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.'

Heavenly treasure—kindness, generosity, integrity, love—never depreciates. These things build character and kingdom.

'For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.' If you invest in people, your heart will follow. If you invest in God's work, your heart will grow. But if you invest only in accumulation, your heart becomes anxious and tight.

II. The Single Eye and Undivided Loyalty (Matthew 6:22-23)

'The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.'

The 'eye' represents focus, intention. A single eye means singular devotion. It means you're not looking in multiple directions trying to grab multiple treasures.

An unhealthy eye—divided loyalties, grasping at multiple treasures—leaves you in darkness. You don't know what you actually value.
A healthy eye—focused on God's kingdom—fills your whole being with light. Everything else makes sense in that context.

This is why Jesus says, '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.'

Money itself isn't evil. But if money is your master, it will demand your constant loyalty. God allows divided attention, but money doesn't. You have to choose.

III. Seeking First the Kingdom (Matthew 6:25-34)

'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?'

This isn't magical thinking. Jesus isn't saying 'ignore real needs.' He's saying: Look at the birds. They don't hoard. They don't obsess. And your Father feeds them.

The birds aren't irresponsible. They do what birds do—they forage, they work. But they don't worry.
We're more valuable than birds, yet we worry far more. Why? Because we're trying to create security through accumulation instead of trust.

'Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.' This is the antidote to anxiety: reordered priorities.

When you prioritize God's kingdom—justice, mercy, love, integrity—you're freed from the anxiety of trying to secure everything yourself. God's economy works differently than the world's. But it works.

'Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Present-moment trust. That's the call. Not denial of the future, but refusal to carry tomorrow's weight today.

Conclusion & Appeal

Jesus understands that anxiety flows from misplaced treasure. We're anxious because we've placed our security in the wrong things. Things that can be taken away.

The invitation is to shift your treasure. To invest in what lasts. To trust a God who cares more about you than you care about yourself.

So what treasure are you holding most tightly? What are you most worried about losing? Maybe that's the thing Jesus is asking you to release. Your true security is found only in him.