TREASURES IN HEAVEN

Matthew 6:19-34

Key Verse 6:33

Read verses 19-21. What do "treasures here on earth" refer to specifically? Why should we resist the urge to store up for ourselves these types of treasures? What do "treasures in heaven" refer to specifically? Why must we store up treasures in heaven?

Read verses 22-23. What does it mean that the eye is the lamp of the body? What does it mean to have good eyes? What does it mean to have bad eyes? What happens if we do not see things as God sees them?

Read verse 24. How does this verse relate to the previous verses? Who are the two masters that we must choose between? Why can't we serve two masters? 

Read verses 25-27. How is "worry" manifested in life? Why should we not worry about the things that are considered critical to life (i.e., food, drink, clothing)? How useful is worrying at changing our life? What is Jesus' point here?

Read verses 28-34. What can we learn about God who "clothes the grass of the field"? What is the root cause of worry? (30b) What are the basic things that pagans and Christians need? How do pagan's go about getting these things? How are Christians supposed to go about getting these things? What does it mean to seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness?

TREASURES IN HEAVEN

Matthew 6:19-34

Key Verse 6:33

Read verses 19-21. What do "treasures here on earth" refer to specifically? Why should we resist the urge to store up for ourselves these types of treasures? What do "treasures in heaven" refer to specifically? Why must we store up treasures in heaven?

* These refer to anything of this temporal world that we might put value on. This is intentionally a catch-all expression because many people put value on many things in this world. It is hard to categorize all the things mankind considers "treasures" but we can (and should) be specific in understanding our own tendencies.

* We are all investors. We invest our time, money and resources. We should resist the urge because all things of this world are passing away—they are losing investments. Anything that we might think is valuable in this life will soon be valueless. To buy into the things of this world is to knowingly make a losing investment and thereby disappoint Jesus our master. Our investments must stand the test of eternity!

* Treasures in heaven refer to all the glory, honor, recognition, pleasures, happiness and reward that Jesus has in store for his people. But the biggest treasure is Jesus himself and there are many passages that tell us that when we invest rightly our experience in heaven is enriched. In heaven our reward will be a deeper revelation of God himself. So treasures in heaven are the only thing worth investing in.

* We must store up treasures in heaven because we would be obeying what Jesus says here. Of course Jesus commanded this so that we would be blessed with a reward and not lose our life investment. 

Read verses 22-23. What does it mean that the eye is the lamp of the body? What does it mean to have good eyes? What does it mean to have bad eyes? What happens if we do not see things as God sees them?

* The "eye" is our spiritual life. It represents our understanding of spiritual value and our vision for the future. The "body" is our life here on earth.

* If your eyes are good it means that you can see value in the things of God. You see everything (life, opportunity, pleasure, suffering, relationships, etc.) with clarity just as God sees them. You are able to understand life without distortion, blurring or blindness. It speaks of someone who has escaped the blinding effects of Satan. 

* If we don't see things as God sees them then we are considered to be blind and in the dark. If we are spiritually in the dark then our life (whole body) will be full of darkness. If our life is full of darkness and yet we think we are full of light still then Jesus says, "how great is that darkness!"; meaning that we are blind to our blindness—doubly blind.

Read verse 24. How does this verse relate to the previous verses? Who are the two masters that we must choose between? Why can't we serve two masters? 

* This verses tells us what causes our spiritual eyes to go bad. It tells us that duplicity (trying to serve two masters) never works out and turns us away from God and into the darkness.

* The two masters are (A) Jesus (B) Mammon (translated "Money" but the meaning is much richer—wealth, material possessions, earthly goods, property).

* We can't serve two masters because we are driven to one side or the other. Serving God and serving Mammon are totally opposite pursuits and lead to totally different ways of life. To serve God is to store up for ourselves treasures in Heaven but to serve Mammon means to store up for ourselves treasures on earth. Serving Mammon leads a person on a path farther and farther away from God. Serving God leads us on a path farther and farther away from Mammon. If you are trying to serve both, it is impossible to not become bias and begin to hate the one while loving the other.

Read verses 25-27. How is "worry" manifested in life? Why should we not worry about the things that are considered critical to life (i.e., food, drink, clothing)? How useful is worrying at changing our life? What is Jesus' point here?

* Worry is manifested in the form of hundreds and thousands of thoughts in one's mind and heart. Worry is like mental congestion taking away one’s peace and serenity. It captures the mind and heart and demands full attention. One who worries is thinking, plotting, planning, mulling, figuring, interpreting, analyzing, suggesting, complaining, talking and acting on the issue that worries them. Worry is harmful to our mentality and physical body. It is a symptom that reveals a spiritual problem.

* We should not worry about even critical needs because God wants to give them to us and he can do this easily. It is God's job to provide for us, not ours. We shouldn't try to take on such a huge job because we will be overwhelmed with it.

* Worrying is so ineffective that you can't even add one hour to your life.

* Jesus' point is that physical concerns are peripheral and are not really concerns at all because (a) we can't do anything about them (b) God wants to provide them for us. Therefore we should focus on the spiritual matters and not worry anymore about physical ones.

Read verses 28-34. What can we learn about God who "clothes the grass of the field"? What is the root cause of worry? (30b) What are the basic things that pagans and Christians need? How do pagan's go about getting these things? How are Christians supposed to go about getting these things? What does it mean to seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness?

* God provides and takes care of everything and everybody. He will be attentive to the details of our needs because he even thinks about the grass which only lives for a short time.

* The root cause of worry is unbelief—"you of little faith".

* The basic things all people need are food, drink, clothing.

* Pagans "run after all these things". They go crazy in the pursuit of basic essentials. This is maddening for many people for eventually you get tired of running after things. To those who do not tire easily of the "rat race" the concept of allowing God to provide is offensive. They would argue that "God provides for those who provide for themselves." This is of course evil rhetoric. Such people don't have time for God because they are too busy chasing after the next meal.

* Christians are supposed to be "given" these things. This denotes a lack of exertion or effort. We should therefore allow God to give us our needs and never take the provision process into our own hands.

* To seek first his kingdom and righteousness means to take all the resources that would've gone into pursuing one's physical life and redirect them to our spiritual life. It also means to focus on the only thing that's important, that is our spiritual life in the kingdom of Heaven.

TREASURES IN HEAVEN

Matthew 6:19-34

Key Verses 19:21

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This passage this morning is our fourth of six messages coming from Jesus' sermon on the mount. Today Jesus talks about material wealth. This is a critical topic because our failure or success in managing material wealth directly impacts our spiritual condition. It determines our eternal future, for Jesus will reward us according to how we have used our material wealth. May God bless us to receive one Word from this passage.

P1 Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth.

Look at verses 19-21.

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus speaks of investments. He begins by saying, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth." It's important for us to see the context to know what he's talking about.

Back at the beginning of the chapter, in verse one, Jesus said,

1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.  2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

I don't know if they actually used trumpets or not but the religious leaders loved to make sure everyone knew they were giving to others. They also loved to let everyone know when they were praying and when they were fasting too. All their acts of righteousness were done before men to be seen by them. They were looking for people to acknowledge them and to say to them, "Wow! You are awesome!" About them Jesus said,  "I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

That's it. That's the context in which Jesus says in verse 19, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth." The Pharisee's treasure was people's praise. But praise is just one type of "earthly treasure". Most treasure on earth are related to material things or other tangible rewards. There are so many different types of earthly treasure that I can't begin to list off all the things people value in this world. Some people's treasures on earth are obscure things that only they see the value of. But why are earthly treasures so bad if they are things that people value, enjoy and want? Jesus tells us in verse 19. He says, "where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal."

   It doesn't matter how much people love their earthly treasures, the fact of the matter is they will lose them eventually. Even if someone's earthly treasure last their entire lifetime, they can't take that treasure with them when they die. The commonality of all earthly treasures is their fate to eventually be destroyed. Jesus commands us, "Do not store up for yourself earthly treasures" because such treasures will not last—they will be destroyed. So what about treasures in heaven?

Look at verse 20. "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal." What is treasure in heaven? First of all, treasure in heaven is eternal life with Jesus in the kingdom of God. That is the main treasure but there are many others too. Treasure in heaven refers to the people whom we will see in heaven on account of our investment in their lives. Treasure in heaven refers to the mansions in heaven that make anything we have seen on earth look less than trash cans. Treasure in heaven refers to the crowns of glory that will be distributed in heaven. Treasure in heaven refers to the glass of water that was given in Jesus name and for which will be remembered and rewarded. Treasure in heaven refers to the position we will hold in God's kingdom according to our deeds on earth. Concerning these types of treasure Jesus tells us that moth and rust do not destroy and thieves do not break in to steal. The main point here is that these treasures are eternal and you can enjoy them and have them forever. Jesus wants us to be blessed eternally and to have great treasures forever.

But now when we look at the next verse we see Jesus making another comment about these treasures. Look at verse 21. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

The real question we need to ask ourselves is where is my heart? My heart is wherever my treasure is. Therefore, the real concern that Jesus is bringing up is how working for treasure on earth is able to steal our heart away from God and turn it towards this world. Jesus also shows us how working for treasure in heaven keeps our heart with God. For if we are living to store up treasure in heaven we have a heart that is turned towards the living God. In the next verses he goes into greater detail about this.

Look at verses 22-23. "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness." Jesus uses the eye as a metaphor to express the spiritual focus of our hearts.

   In Ephesians 1:18, Paul writes, "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints...."  Did you know that your heart has eyes? When you live for treasures in heaven, the eyes of your heart can see clearly the hope you have in heaven and the blessed future that you will soon experience. The light of God's wonderful hope shines clearly and brings great joy into your life. Living for treasures on earth has the exact opposite effect on heart. Treasures on earth are like mud rubbed into ones eyes which causes darkness. When we live for worldly treasures we get so wrapped up in them that we can't even consider thoughtfully how wonderful heaven is. We don't think about how we can get someone saved by helping them meet Jesus because we are too busy chasing after that next worldly object or looking for that next opportunity to taste a bit of pleasure. Living for worldly treasures turns us off to heaven and makes a slave to our perishing life here on earth.

But someone might say, "That sounds a bit too black and white. Can't I enjoy both?" Well, Jesus foresaw that line of reasoning and answered it pretty clearly.

Look at verse 24. "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

Here "Money" is capitalized. It is translated from the word Mammon. Mammon is a word we don't hear anymore but it represents material greed and the heavy pursuit of all things material. The word mammon is personified as a false god that people serve instead of serving God.

   Having much money makes it possible to live in ease and pleasure, enjoying fine food and drink, and all kinds of entertainment. If one makes money for this purpose, he serves the god of materialism, Mammon. If we love Mammon, we despise God. If we love God, we despise Mammon. We must make a clear decision to serve God, and God alone.

P2 Seek first his kingdom and righteousness (25-34).

When we want to serve God only, we must learn the spiritual secret of living in this world. We have material needs which are real and cannot be ignored. Jesus teaches us not to worry, but to seek God and to trust in God for everything.

Our great enemy is worry. Worry can grow like a cancer to consume all of our time and energy. Worry makes us waste our precious lives doing nothing. Worry comes when we see our need without seeing our God. To help us overcome the habit of worrying, Jesus teaches us faith in God. Look at verse 25. "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 important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" We must remember that our lives came from God as a gift. The great Creator God who made us continues to care for us as our loving Father. God provides for all of his creatures. Jesus gave an example from nature.

Look at verse 26. "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" The birds of the air, among all of God's creatures, symbolize freedom. Birds fly through the sky all over God's creation without worry. And God never fails to feed them. Since God feeds birds, creatures of instinct, how much more will he feed his children, who are made in his own image. By faith in God, we can be free from all worry, as free as the birds.

 Look at verse 27. "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Worrying is only wasting energy. We will live in this world as long as God allows us to. When God's time comes, we will leave this world and go to our eternal destiny. No matter how much we worry, we cannot add any time to our lives. How useless worry is!

Look at verses 28-30. "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" Even though clothing is in abundance it's amazing how we even give a minute to worrying about what we will be wearing each and everyday.

Look at verses 31-32. "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." When we see ungodly people running after the things of the world, we can easily fall into worry, thinking we must imitate them. This is exactly what Jesus warns us to avoid. When we see the pagan world running, we must not run with them, like lemmings over the cliff. We must remember that our heavenly Father loves us. We must overcome the temptation to worry by trusting in the loving provision of our God.

God knows our needs. God can supply everything that we need to bear fruit and be happy in this world. Then what must we do? Look at verse 33. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." To seek first Jesus' kingdom and righteousness is to accept Jesus as our King and to obey him in daily life. A king is different than a president. A king is a sovereign ruler. His subjects do not vote for him; they belong to him, and they serve him wholeheartedly all the time. They strive to expand the territory and greatness of his kingdom. If necessary, they lay down their lives for him. In return the king cares for them and provides for them.

To seek Jesus' kingdom, we must listen to his word and obey it. To seek Jesus' righteousness, we must grow in faith and in the image of Christ through working hard to consume God's word daily and in praying in the morning, afternoon and night. By going to the campus instead of going home after a day of hard work. It is to persistently be rejected in order to share the word of God with even one open-hearted student. It is to welcome God's sheep, even when they come at the most inconvenient time.

When we seek God's kingdom and righteousness first, God provides everything we need. God pours out his blessing on those who seek his kingdom and righteousness first.

Look at verse 34. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." When we seek God day by day, we need not worry about tomorrow. God holds all our tomorrows in his hand. All we need to do is to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.

One Word: Treasures in Heaven