The Gospel of the Kingdom - Matthew - Treasures - Part 3

 

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. 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. We looked at that yesterday. Today, consider the second test that Jesus gives – the Heart Test in Matthew 6:21 – “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The second test asks the question, “Where are you investing your time and money?”

To put it plainly, Jesus is saying that your heart follows your money. That’s not the way most of us think. We tend to think our money follows our heart -- if our heart is right, we will spend our money wisely.

But Jesus tells us that’s not the way it works because your heart always follows your treasure. Whatever you invest your time and money in will become very important to you. Too many of us spend all that we have on the things of this world and then we wonder why we have trouble concentrating on the things of God. 

Our problem is that we’ve invested everything down here and hardly anything up there! Our money has kept our heart tied to the earth. You’ll never be able to get your heart focused on heaven as long as your attention is on material things.

 Now, I’m not suggesting that you have to sell your things to be a fully committed follower of Christ. What I am saying is this. Your heart will always follow your money. Your heart will be wrapped up in what you treasure. Possessions can very easily become the center of our life.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.