Text: 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 mammon.”
We have gone from giving, praying, and fasting, to Jesus talking about the Kingdom and treasures. In this passage, Jesus challenges us with the question, “Where is your treasure?” He then helps us find the answer by giving four tests. We will look at each one over the next four days. Hang in there with me, don’t tune me out because of the topic – after all, it is Jesus who is speaking – not me.
The first test that Jesus gives us in Matthew 6: 19 -20 can be called the Durability Test. Jesus said, “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.” The first test asks the question, “How long will it last?” Verse 19 is a negative command: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” And in verse 20 we see the positive: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…”
The first word that leaps out at us in these verses is the word “treasures.” Jesus did not say, “money” because while everyone does not have a lot of cash, we all have things that we treasure. Our treasure may be a home, a car, a computer, our clothes, or even a position that we hold or seek after. While Jesus is not saying that it is wrong to have treasures, He is telling us that our focus should be on laying up treasures in heaven, not on earth.
The first life-skill that Jesus wants us to develop is to stop living just for today. This command is in the present tense. It literally means to “stop storing up.” We’re to stop doing something that by nature we’ve been doing for most of our lives. Jesus knows that our natural, inborn desire is to accumulate things.
That doesn’t mean that we can’t have material possessions, or own property, or save for the future. The key lies in the little phrase, “for yourselves.” Jesus is forbidding the selfish, self-centered accumulating of goods as the major end of life. Stay with me here -
Two things happen to the things we own.
- First, they decay. In ancient times, wealth was measured in part by clothing. Garments represented a considerable investment. The best clothes were made of wool. No matter how beautiful the clothing, moths would often attack and chew right through the garments. Coupled with the attack of the killer moths, rust would corrode and consume things of value.
- Second, our possessions can disappear. Valuables were often buried out in the field or hidden in a brick wall. Back then, thieves would literally break into the walls and dig up the yard as they searched for valuables.
If you try to store your wealth, the moths will find it, or rust will consume it. If you try to hide it for yourself, thieves can steal it. Jesus is saying that earthly wealth is very insecure. It either decays over time, or it disappears altogether. Earthly treasures are fleeting and futile but heavenly treasures are secure. In 1 Peter 1:4, Peter writes “And into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -- kept in heaven for you.”
Treasures that we send on ahead are mothproof, rustproof, and burglarproof. 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.”
The issue is not whether we will store up wealth. That’s a given. The only question is where we will do our banking. Since earthly treasures are unstable and insecure, Jesus challenges us to make long-term investments that are permanent and guaranteed. Deposits made in the First National Bank of Heaven will not decay or disappear. They are protected and insured by God Himself.
That leads to a question: How do we make deposits on earth that yield dividends in heaven?
Let me answer that in just one sentence: You store up treasures in heaven by investing your money in that which lasts for eternity.
I know of two things that will last forever:
- · The Word of God
- · People
Friends, everything else will decay or disappear. Cars, boats, homes, clothes, jobs, salaries, vacations, books, and buildings will all pass away. They wear out, rust out, blow up, or fall apart. Nothing that is material lasts forever. That’s the way God set it up. 1 John 2:17: “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
I love what Jim Eliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”
Since only the Word of God and people last forever, we need to develop a long-term view. When we give of our financial resources to people in need, we are making a difference. The ultimate investment you can make is to give financially to help communicate the Word of God to people.
No man can serve two masters, but all must choose between God and
Gold!
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