08/23/2026
Our guest speaker/minister today was Matthew Oakes from Brandenburg, KY. We are extremely blessed that he chose to drive almost 1-1/2 hours to bring us his message this week and next Sunday.
Scripture: Matthew 6:19-24
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
This may not represent his message word for word, but his sermon was so good that I felt the need to take notes. I was sorry we did not record it.
Matthew’s message was about making choices. All choices have an affect on our lives. Some choices are out of habit. Like, going to church on Sunday is a habit for Christians. He said he chose this message after mowing his lawn and listing to a podcast. He quoted Bob Marley, “Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” He said that a light spent in pursuit of money will always leave you empty. He referenced A Christmas Carol and the Scrooge. We cannot serve two masters, both God and money. We have to make a choice daily. He said sometimes well intended Christians have one foot spiritual and one foot physical. We love to experience everything worldly Monday through Saturday and then come to church on Sunday. He even said Christians want “Just enough Jesus to get us into Heaven. We want just enough to slide in at the end to squeak by!”
He referenced Revelations chapter 3 luke warm Christians. He said God said he does not want luke warm Christians. You have to be either in or out. Jesus does not want us in the middle. We cannot act like fools all week and then think it is ok on Sunday.
Where your treasures are is where your heart is. The eye is the lamb of the body. He said somewhere in there Jesus was talking about being generous, but he did not know how to describe that analogy. He thinks God meant that the difference in the two visions in the light and dark is you can see your life through the lens of the world, or you can view your life through the spiritual lens. Things you spend your time doing is where your heart is. Your heart is either worldly or spiritually focused. Do not store up treasures on earth. Everything in this world is temporary.
He said he heard once that one who dies with most toys wins. He said he has never seen a hearse go by with a U-Haul or a luggage rack with all your worldly things attached. Store up for yourself treasures in Heaven. God’s concern is the content of your heart.
He talked about loving your neighbor. You cannot love your neighbor until you love yourself. God loves us so much that he gave his only son that we may be forgiven. Accept that forgiveness and love ourselves. He referenced God choosing King David the younger son over his two older brothers who had proven themselves in battles. Don’t be fooled in the outward appearance. God worries about the heart not the outward appearance. Sometimes what people value is only where their attention is and sometimes it is not the heart.
Have you heard that money is the root of all evil. He said 1st Timothy 6:10 states that for the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Money itself is not evil. God knows we need money to survive and live. It is what you do with the money that makes the difference. You get wrapped up in the things money can do and not see God. No one can serve two masters. A divided heart has to pick a side. You cannot serve both God and money. The word money you can substitute anything that takes your attention away from Christ. He referenced his love of old classic cars. You make the choice!
With faith in God, all the worldly things will be given to us that we need. We are only in this world temporarily and this world was never meant to last. We need to choose our relationship with God first.
He then said that worrying steals your peace. We have very little control over what happens and sometimes we cannot change the outcome. Worrying is the Devil’s work!
Final comments was a vision he sees of Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount not yelling, just talking to the people with his message. He said sometimes churches put off their ministry to others waiting for the right time. When the building is ready and all the work done. Don’t wait until everything in the church is done to start telling people about Jesus. You are a disciple of God and are responsible for your own ministry.
Great sermon. If you want to hear Matthew Oakes, please join us at Port Royal Methodist church next Sunday at 10:45am. We only get him for two weeks, but his message was speaking to every member today. We were all tempted to give him a standing ovation! He did get some heartfelt AMENS!
