The Treasure Test — Open Hands, Week 2

Detailed Sermon Outline

Primary Text: Matthew 6:19-24, Luke 12:13-21

Supporting Texts: Proverbs 23:4-5, Ecclesiastes 5:10, 1 Timothy 6:9-10

Big Idea: We must choose what we treasure; possessions can become idols that block our relationship with God.

Target Length: 35-40 minutes

Introduction

Jesus tells a parable. A rich man's land produces an abundant harvest. He thinks to himself, 'I have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.' But God says to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

Jesus then says, 'This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.' The parable cuts through our fantasies about security. Money can't provide it. Possessions can't guarantee it. And the attempt to find security in them actually separates us from what truly matters.

Today, we're exploring what Jesus calls 'the treasure test.'

I. Treasures on Earth vs. Heaven (Matthew 6:19-24, Matthew 6:33)

Jesus lays out two options: 'Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.'

He's not saying possessions are wrong. He's saying they're unreliable. They decay. They can be taken. They don't endure. So why is your heart set on them? Why structure your life around accumulating things that won't last?

The test is this: Where is your treasure? Where is your deepest concern? Where do your resources, your time, your energy flow? Because—and Jesus says this clearly—'where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.' Your treasure determines your trajectory.

When treasure is money and possessions, the heart follows into anxiety and greed.

When treasure is God, the heart follows into trust and generosity.

You become what you love.

Jesus offers an alternative: 'Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.' Security isn't found by pursuing security. It's found by pursuing God. Trust that He provides.

II. The Idol of Accumulation (Luke 12:13-21, Ecclesiastes 5:10)

A man in the crowd asks Jesus to settle a dispute about an inheritance. Jesus refuses. But He uses it as a launching point: 'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.' Then He tells the parable of the rich fool—the man who tears down his barns to build bigger ones, thinking he's secured his future.

What makes this man a fool? Not that he's wealthy. But that he thinks wealth is the point. That accumulation equals security. That more is always better. Ecclesiastes says it plainly: 'Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.'

This is the poverty of accumulation. No amount is ever enough. You earn more, then you want more. You achieve security, then you fear losing it. You're on a treadmill that never stops. The rich fool built bigger barns not because he was satisfied, but because satisfaction felt out of reach.

Greed isn't just wanting lots. Greed is the belief that 'more' is the answer to 'enough.'

Greed makes an idol of possessions. We worship at the altar of accumulation.

And it costs us: our peace, our generosity, our freedom.

The rich fool died before he could enjoy any of it. He had stored up possessions but was poor toward God. The test revealed where his heart was.

III. Choosing Generously (Matthew 6:24, Luke 12:33-34, 1 Timothy 6:17-19)

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.' This isn't judgment. It's fact. Money demands allegiance. If you give it that, God doesn't get it.

Jesus' alternative is radical. He tells the wealthy: 'Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.'

Now, this doesn't mean everyone must take poverty vows. But it does mean being willing. Being loose with possessions. Letting them flow through your hands toward need.

The treasure test asks: What would you be willing to give up? For what purpose would you spend your resources?

If you won't give to help others, your treasure is possessions, not God.

If you can give freely, knowing it all belongs to God, you pass the test.

Paul tells Timothy, '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... Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.' This is the antidote to greed: generosity. It rewires your heart.

Conclusion & Appeal

Jesus gives us a test. What is your treasure? Not theoretically, but practically. Where does your money go? What would it cost you to be generous? If you can't imagine giving significantly to help others, that's a sign. Your treasure is in the wrong place.

This week, take the treasure test. Look at your spending over the last month. What does it reveal about what you treasure? Where is your heart? And then make one deliberate choice toward generosity. Not because you have to. But because you're choosing to treasure God and His kingdom over accumulation.

'Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.' What will you choose to treasure?

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