Bayside Baptist Church

Jason King: This past week I was eating lunch at a sandwich shop with some of the guys who are part of our staff team, and we were all just having conversation, eating our sandwiches, and enjoying the time together when something weird happened when I swallowed a bite of my sandwich. It got stuck in my throat, and it got stuck in such a way that at first I thought it was no problem and I would just cough that up, but it didn't happen. It was stuck, and I thought, I've never choked before, but I knew exactly what was happening. Everybody at the table was talking, and then I tried to take a breath and I made this weird wheeze sound. Immediately, everybody around the table froze.

They were looking at me, and I was looking at them, and I was thinking, I sure hope they paid attention when we did training for the Heimlich maneuver. I was hoping that they would do what they needed to do. It was just this weird, surreal moment. It felt like it lasted about 10 minutes, but it probably lasted about five to 10 seconds. This piece of food, a little piece of lettuce, was stuck most of the way across my windpipe. I could get some air in, but it was not right. I don't know if you've ever experienced that, but it's quite a unique feeling. I finally was able to force enough air up to get the thing out of my throat, and it took me a little bit to walk through that.

I just remember sitting there thinking, I've never choked before, but this is what it feels like. I was looking at the table and thinking, I love you guys, but I don't know if y'all have got what it takes to get this out of me. You're totally dependent on somebody else to do that. It got me thinking this week about that experience and what we're going to talk about for the next couple of weeks here on Sundays.

For many of you, you can identify with that feeling, maybe not with food, but when it comes to the reality of money and your finances. When you think about the way that each month works, the way that your expenses are, and the way that things seem to be, you can feel that with the stress, pressure, and tension that money can bring, you can breathe just a little bit, but it's not enough to really do you any good. You might feel like you're choking when it comes to your finances right now.

Did you know that in the first two quarters of 2025, personal income has increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to record levels? Yet, we're spending more than we've ever spent before. The average credit card balance in the second quarter of 2025 was $10,951 per household. A 2025 study reported that it costs nearly $300,000 to raise a child from birth to 18 years old. The federal government says it's $320,000, and y'all know they can't count, so it costs a whole lot more than what it seems.

Forty-seven percent of Americans cited the cost of living as the biggest obstacle to saving money, and 33% of Americans said they could not cover even one month's bills if their income was lost. The average family would have to use a credit card to pay a $1,500 unexpected expense, such as a home or car repair. The number of Americans having difficulty paying their bills is 43%. The price of food is the top money issue for US adults right now, far above the price of gas and even housing.

Seventy percent of consumers in America live paycheck to paycheck, meaning there is more month than there is money each month. Nearly half of Americans, 46%, have less than $10,000 saved for retirement. Thirty-seven percent of all marital problems that often end in divorce are centered on finances. Forty-five percent of Americans keep secrets from their family with money, and 44% keep secrets from their best friends. Fifty-two percent of US adults say that they worry daily about their finances, and a large percentage lose sleep at night because of money.

The federal government is no different. As of the end of the 2025 fiscal year, the government spent $7.01 trillion, yet collected $5.23 trillion in revenue during that same time period. All of this to say that at times the reality of life is, regardless of what your circumstances are, the tension, pressure, stress, and squeeze of finances can just get to you. You can find yourself in this place where something is amiss. It's like me at the restaurant; you can breathe a little bit, but not enough to feel comfortable.

You might be tempted to think that if you just had a little bit more money, it would solve your problems, but that's not the answer. It's like the great theologian The Notorious B.I.G. once said: "Mo' money, mo' problems." That's often what happens. If you have more than the average American and you're not in those categories, you still have stress and pressure. You may have kids or grandkids jockeying for an inheritance, grown children depending on you, or people constantly wanting you to invest in the next biggest thing. There are stressors that come even if you are above average in terms of wealth. You have to figure out how to keep what you've earned, which is a whole other set of issues.

But the Bible talks a lot about money. What we're going to see today is much more than just a talk about money and everyone feeling like the church needs more or the preacher wants more. Instead, what I hope that you'll see over the next few weeks is the reality of Scripture as it's communicated to us. There is such a significance to how you approach and handle money. It is not about how you feel or what you think, but what you do. I would go as far as to say one of the key indicators of your spiritual health is how you handle money. God intends the money that He has given to you as a resource that would grow your faith.

The difficult truth that we can be slow to accept is that you cannot fully walk in life as a disciple of Jesus Christ and ignore what God teaches us in His Word about money. What I want you to hear over these next few weeks is not that God wants something from you, that the church wants something from you, or your preacher wants something from you. What I want you to hear is the promise of God of what He wants for you if you and I will embrace what the Word speaks and teaches about money.

What God has to say from His Word about money goes much deeper than we often would like to admit. If you make a decision as an individual or a family to come under what God's Word teaches about money and to truly recognize that this is how God has intended money to be used, what you'll find is not that God takes stuff from you, but that God has blessings for you that you could not fathom without trusting Him with your finances.

There's a contentment, a joy, and a peace that comes no matter how much you have or don't have compared to other people. The Bible teaches you'll have all that you need if you and I will align and walk in the path that God has for us with money. So how do you begin to align your life with God's intentions for money? I want you to look in Matthew chapter 6, verse 19.

In this place, Jesus is teaching His disciples what it means to walk in faith. It's in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, and He is saying, "Here's what faith looks like. Here's what life looks like if you're going to be a fully devoted follower of mine." Naturally, He begins to talk about money because there is a good bit of Scripture that speaks on money. Actually, there's more on money than there is on heaven and hell combined.

There's more spoken about money than there is about prayer in the Scriptures. It's a significant issue, again, not because God wants something from you, but because He has something for you. Matthew 6:19 says, "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal." Jesus is saying very clearly: don't hoard up junk for yourselves, whether it's money, stuff, or possessions, because it's not going to last.

Think about this: would you invest in a company that you knew was closing its doors tomorrow? Would you go sink your life savings to invest in something that you know is shutting its doors and not going to be in business? No, you'd be crazy to do that. That's what Jesus is talking about here. When you and I invest in things that don't last—the things that pull for our attention and capture our hearts and minds—we miss out on what God has for us. The reality is it doesn't last.

There is nothing that you or I possess that can't be taken from us, whether it be by deterioration, wearing out, or being stolen. When you die, that deer rifle, that fishing rod, that purse, or that new iPhone isn't going with you. Somebody else is going to be using it after you're gone. Have you ever had a favorite pair of jeans or a favorite shirt that was suddenly ruined by a stain?

Several years ago, Christy and I lived in a house that was on well water. I was learning how to do the well stuff, and I'm sure it was my fault, but that water was funky sometimes. Every so often I would have a brand-new shirt and I'd pull it out of the washer or the dryer and there was just this stain on it from the water that would not come out. I tried a few times to put a vest over it and get away with it, but I eventually had to throw it away.

That's what Jesus is saying. All this stuff captures our hearts and our attention, but whether it's spaghetti, a Sharpie, or grease, stuff breaks. Your rain jacket isn't waterproof anymore, the jeans rip, and the seams start to come unraveled. Your car is going to break down and eventually wear out. Your house has to be maintained and repaired, and eventually, somebody's going to bulldoze it and build another one there. Your fishing rod is going to break. You're going to need a new purse because the handle breaks. Somebody could also steal it and then you don't have it anymore.

Jesus is saying we all have to have stuff to live, but don't put your focus or your trust in these things. Money is the same way. Some of you have experienced that a bad investment decision, an unfortunate circumstance, or getting caught up in some get-rich-quick scheme can make you lose it all just like that. Jesus says don't build your life on that. Don't put your trust in money.

Proverbs 23, verses 4 and 5 says, "Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle." Some of you are writing down that verse thinking, that's my life verse; it sprouts wings and it flies away like eagles. That's what happens often with money. Whether it's having kids, the cost of food, or losing your job, it can go quickly.

But Jesus says there's a better way. If you invest in all this stuff that goes away, deteriorates, or can be stolen, when it's gone, you have nothing. He says in Matthew 6:20: "Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal." He doesn't mean there is an investment bank in heaven. He's saying you and I need to filter the resources we have through the lens of what's most important to God.

Now I know you went to work, made a wise investment decision, or sold something and made money, but the reality is that God has provided it all. God has given you the ability and the opportunity to go to work and earn the resources that you have. When Jesus says store up your treasures in heaven, He's saying that you hold your resources loosely and you make them available for what God desires you to do. It means you allow God's Word to shape how you approach money.

You still need somewhere to live, something to wear, and something to eat, but instead of fitting God into the equation if or when you have something left over, it means that you start with God and His Word as a filter through which you understand your finances. That is how you make a budget and spend the money that you have. I get it; you may be thinking that sounds all well and good and you'd love to do that one day, but right now you have a whole lot more month than money.

Maybe you're already struggling. Maybe you feel like you're already deep in debt, have too much overhead, or have too long of a list of stuff that's broken to even consider asking God what to do with your money. Yet Jesus talked about money more than any other topic. Some estimates are that up to 15% of all that is recorded of His words in the Bible is on money.

In Luke 16, Jesus says that managing God's money and stewardship of the resources that God has given to us is a prerequisite for being used by God for greater things. I'm not asking for something from you. The church is not asking for something from you. This is not a fundraising series; it's a discipleship series. The Scriptures teach us that the way we handle our finances is not so much a test, but an accurate reflection of what we really believe.

That's why the way we handle money is so significant. Jesus says store up your treasures in heaven, which is going to endure. Jesus is saying this is the path to spiritual growth. Then He tells us in verse 21 why it's so significant that you and I have a godly, faithful, heavenly perspective toward the resources He's given us: "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."

Now, I want you to read these words closely because it's tempting to think it's really counterintuitive. Most of the time what we say is that the heart is what counts, and the money I have or how I spend it is going to follow my heart. But Jesus flips this and says if you want to see where your heart is and where you are in relation to the Lord in your spiritual walk, go and check the list of receipts and how you spent your money. You look at the list of your expenses and you will see that where your money has gone represents the things that you really care about the most.

I would say to you that there is nothing more spiritual than how you approach the money that God has given you. It is what I would call the spiritual barometer of your life. I've got a barometer right here. This barometer tells you what the barometric pressure is in the atmosphere. One of the things that is important about a barometer is it tells you the exact pressure in that moment, but based upon whether it's rising or falling, it tells you what's coming in the future.

Fellas, this is why you check it before you go fishing or hunting. It's why if you've had a surgery or an injury from the past, you know that the barometer is changing because you feel it. The barometer gives you a reading in this moment, but it also forecasts what's to come. You can tell by which direction the barometer is going what type of weather pattern is coming next.

Money and how you use your money is an indication not only of what's going on in your life right now, but it also gives a picture of where you're headed. Money is your spiritual barometer. The way you handle your money actually gives a better picture than anything else of where you are spiritually, and it tells what's coming in your future. There is no better picture into our lives and our hearts than where our resources go.

That's hard for us to accept because some of you are wishing I hadn't talked about this today. Some of us are thinking we are so overloaded with debt, bills, and medical stuff. Some of you are thinking the church is asking for money again. But I want you to see these are not my words; these are Jesus' words. God is presenting clearly to us through His Word that He wants something not from you, but for you.

God owns it all. Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it." Everything includes everything. The world and all the people belong to Him. The Bible actually says that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. If you're a little skeptical or uncomfortable because we're talking about money, I get it. There are probably some churches and some preachers out there that are taking advantage of people, but that's not this house and that's not me.

We are simply talking about what God's Word says for us and what God wants for you. When you and I understand the reality that everything we have is from God and we recognize the depth of God's love for us, this is not a demand from the Lord. It's an invitation to experience His power, His presence, and His blessing in your life. But the only way that you can experience this is to invite Him into your finances. If you're investing your money in things that don't matter, Jesus is saying that is where your heart is. On the other side, if you're investing your money in the kingdom of heaven and using those resources to spread the name of Jesus...