Building Eternal Riches: The Pursuit of Treasures in Heaven

Speaker 1: 0:05

So I have to admit that it took me a while to figure out what I was going to be talking about today, as in Friday, this is when the Lord finally told me what message I was supposed to be giving. So I've had two crammed notes in between, friday night and last night and this morning. So I should be good, I should have enough notes and the message that the Lord gave me. Interestingly, seeing how God works throughout the week, every day he gave me something different, but by the end of that day and I was like, oh, that's what I'm going to talk about. But by the end of that day I was like, no, I don't feel all right. But once I actually did get that message, I was able to combine everything that he showed me during the week. He was giving me one little piece every day, and so he gave me the full thing on Friday, and this is what we got.

Speaker 1: 1:06

So we're going to be talking about Matthew 6, 19 through 21. And this is the message about treasures in heaven. So this reads do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rest destroy and where thieves break and instill, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rest destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is there your heart will be also. So our focus for this week is going to be on the treasures in heaven, and I got three main focal points that we are going to try to cover and try to hit. The first one is what are they? What are the treasures in heaven? The second one is how do we get those treasures, how do we store them up? And the third one is are all the treasures the same? Are there differences or the different levels of treasures? So those are the things that we want to look at and the first thing whenever, what's the first thing that pops to mind? Whenever I say treasure, what's the first thing? Any of you think of? Gold, gold, what did I say? What did you say? Pirates? So those are all correct. Because what does all that lead back to? Like gold, money, our first thought whenever we talk about treasures is financial money, some sort of something that provides us financial stability. That's what we think of when we think of treasures. However, that's not what the Bible is truly talking about when it talks about treasures. Yes, the money and all that is included that is involved. It does include money, but that's not it. It goes beyond that. But for us, we often think of those financial aspects of it and don't go any further. So pages are even up here, right. So what's a little story? So Thursday night I said is when I got the message.

Speaker 1: 3:20

Well, it kind of came indirectly from Page, because Page wanted me to talk about tidying and I'm like I do not want to talk about tidying. Who wants to hear me talk about tidying? Nobody. Like I'm not talking about tidying. Tiding when you give your, you're giving me 10% whenever you give money to the church. That is tidying. I'm like I do not want to talk about tidying. So, in an indirect way, page is getting her wish but I'm only going to talk about for a little bit and this isn't about this, isn't hey, give your money to the church thing. What I'm talking about is just tidying is a part of what this is building up treasures in heaven. We're not going to. Okay, yes, so you tie and you give money to the church.

Speaker 1: 4:12

There's two types of tidying. There's tidying and there's generous gifts. So tidying would technically be your 10% that you give to the church, which I don't want to get into this. I think there's a lot more room in that. It's not. We don't live in a legalistic covenant right now, so the 10% is more give what you can. But there's also generous gifts and that goes beyond that. So generous gifts would be like if you give to a charity, if you give to some sort of cause, whatever else, you would give money to, like we do the shoeboxes. That would be a charity gift. That goes beyond the title. So both of these are an aspect of treasures in heaven. But when we get to heaven, we're not going to have financial treasures given back to us.

Speaker 1: 5:08

So I only talk about this whole concept of finances and charity and charitable gifts, because that is the theme that is often used throughout the Bible. So as we move on, we will see that, even though money is talked about, that's not the focus of the discussion. The true focus is more on relationships, more on sacrifices, on serving money, on doing things for other people, more than it is about the finances, and it's also about the fruits of the spirit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. It's about those things. It's about living those aspects in your life and even though that may show itself through finances, through giving. That's not what it's about.

Speaker 1: 6:09

So my first example of this is the story of the rich young man, and this is Matthew 19, 20 through 22. And this is just the second half of that actual story. The first half is there was a rich young man who came to Jesus, asked Jesus hey, what do I need to do to have eternal life? Long story short. Jesus says follow the commandments. The young man is like and that's where we're getting at and that's where we're starting at. And the young man replies the young man said to him all these I have kept. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him if you would be perfect, go sell what you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me.

Speaker 1: 6:57

When the young man heard this, he went away, sorrowful, for he had great possessions. So the man walked away, sorrowful because he was told to sell all this worldly stuff, all this stuff that he has spent a lifetime acquiring, that made him like an important person on this world. But in the eyes of Jesus, the eyes of God, that stuff is meaningless. It's not about voting up our treasures here on earth Because, if you notice, jesus said if you go and sell all your stuff, then you will receive treasures in heaven. So it's not about the stuff you acquire while you're on earth, it's about that generosity, because Jesus said to sell it and give it to the poor. So it's the act of helping, the act of servanthood, giving those finances, anything, that property, whatever happens to be giving it to the poor, it's that act that is building up the treasure in heaven. It's not the finances that we acquire, thank you. And that kind of leads into our next verse, versus, which is kind of like an opposite, but it's similar.

Speaker 1: 8:17

And this is the story of the widow's offering. And this is Mark 12, 41 through 44. And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. And this is Jesus. So Jesus sat down opposite the treasury Putting into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums and a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box, for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. So again, this is talking about money. But this isn't about the money. This is the fact that everybody who was putting in offerings before her, they were putting in a small portion of what they had, so it didn't really affect them in their lives.

Speaker 1: 9:28

With this widow, all she had was these two copper pennies, or at least two copper coins that added up to the pennies, and she put both of them into the offering, which means she had no money to go get food for her. If she had any kids or anybody else, she was giving everything that she had to God. Now we are going to have to read into that. I mean, I am reading a little bit into that text by saying that, because we don't know if she did anything else. Maybe she just gave him money and then that was it. But the fact that she was giving everything she had financially means that she was putting all her trust into God. So that means it's not that big of a leap to say that she was also trusting in God and other things, as in God would provide her food to eat, that God would provide her shelter, that God would provide her daily bread, meaning that she needed to survive. She was trusting in God, and that's what faith is. She had faith in God that he was going to provide for her and she was not putting her trust into her money, into her finances, into her worldly possessions. So again, this may be about money, but it's not about money. It is about your heart, about your view of God and what he does for you and putting that trust in him that he will provide for you. So I'm really going to rug on my notes here because I don't know what I really said. I think I covered everything.

Speaker 1: 11:06

So we'll go on to the next one, which is this is another parable of a rich man, but this one is a parable. So this one is an actual story. But this is Luke 12, 16 through 21. And that's reads. And he told them a parable saying the land of a rich man produced plentiful wood. And he thought to himself what shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops? And he said I will do this. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul. You have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him cool, this night, your soul is required of you. And that saying this night, your soul is required of you, that means that in that night this man is going to die. So, with that in mind, it continues on. And the things you have prepared, who's will they be? So is the one who lays up treasures for himself and is not rich toward God. So again, this is another parable saying the same thing.

Speaker 1: 12:22

In this parable, this man, this rich man, he went after the things of the world. He had a great crop and so, instead of sharing that crop, giving the extra to the poor, giving away the extra stuff that he didn't need, he decided to build bigger barns of store and keep it for himself. So he's being selfish, he wanted to keep that to himself. And in doing that, he went even a step further and was like oh, now I have all this stuff, why do I need to work? Let's just kick back, relax and enjoy life. But that's when God comes in and is like no, this night you're going to die, so okay. So if he's going to die, he spent all this time, building up all these treasures on earth, has all this wealth, able to retire, not have to work. But what happens? He dies. So now, what happens to all that stuff? What happens to all these large barns full of grain and all this other stuff? What doesn't really matter to the man. He's dead. So it's just going to get divided up among other people and sold off. And that's the point. You can store up treasures on earth, but when you die they're going to get you nothing. They're going to be meaningless, pointless. You can't take it with you. But if you would give to the poor, if you do those charitable acts, give those charitable gifts, do your tithing, even though Paige is here now, if you do those kind of things, then you are storing up treasures in heaven. And when you die, after storing up treasures in heaven, then you will have those treasures in heaven. But okay, not yet.

Speaker 1: 14:13

I got two more scriptures that I pulled from that I just want to read. They're both from 1 Timothy. The first one is 1 Timothy 6, 9 through 10. And this reads but those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. And then, a little bit later, on same chapter, 1st Timothy 6, 17-19,.

Speaker 1: 14:57

This reads as for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasures for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of what of that which is truly life. So, again, this is telling us the same thing. There are a lot more scriptures in the Bible that are saying this, and I could have pulled out a lot more, actually deleted some because I thought it was way too long. But this is saying the same thing. This is saying that to be good, that's part of the fruits of the Spirit, goodness. To be rich in good works, to do good things, to do good deeds, to be generous, ready to share Again, this is highlighting the fruits of the Spirit.

Speaker 1: 16:00

And when you do that, if you live your life according to the fruits of the Spirit, when you have a generous heart, when you live as a servant, then you'll be storing up treasures in heaven. Why? To set forth a good foundation for you in the future. Well, what future are you talking about? The future after this one? Your everlasting future? The future once you get to heaven. There you will have treasures. But then that really leads to the question well, what are the treasures going to look like when we get there? What are these treasures? I mean, yes, okay, now we know how to get those treasures. We know, kind of you know, what we need to do on this earth to get those treasures, but what's it going to look like once we get there? Well, the truth is we don't know, but we know that they're going to come in the form of rewards and in the form of crowns.

Speaker 1: 16:55

Now, I have actually talked about this on the podcast already, so I'm not going to go too deep into it and that I'm probably running low on time. I really have no idea, but I want to ignore you. But I got two passages that are going to highlight these rewards. The first one is Matthew 5, 11 through 12. It says Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you, falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. So here it's talking about having rewards that are great in heaven. So there's only some sort of great rewards. There are other pastors that just talk about just receiving rewards.

Speaker 1: 17:42

But then I have the opposite in Matthew 6, 1, which reads beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your father, who is in heaven. So you can either have a great reward or no reward, depending on how you live your life. Because I quoted in this first part Matthew 5, 11 and 12. Well, if I went up to Matthew 5, 10, it also talks about a reward, and on that one that was the last of the Beatitudes and that one is Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness's sake, for they will receive the kingdom of heaven. So that one is OK. Now, if you are persecuted for righteousness, you will receive a reward. But here in Matthew 6, 1, if you are practicing your righteousness in a place where you're seen by others. You get no reward. So you're doing the same thing, but the difference is how you're doing it.

Speaker 1: 18:52

So in Matthew 6-1, you're doing it out in public. You're standing up, you're like, oh, look at me and look what I'm doing. I am doing good things for the Lord and you're pointing to yourself, trying to be pious and all kind of big words. But it's not about that. It's about doing the stuff in secret, and that's what servanthood is. It's not about, like I said, it's not about the show of it. It's about doing those things. That's I mean. In my opinion, the best good deed is a good deed that nobody knows you did and that you will take it to your grave and nobody will know that you did this good thing or that good thing. That is what the Lord likes. It's about going into that secret room or that room in your inner house and praying there where nobody can see you, and what you do in secret, the Lord will bless. That's what it's about. It's not about the public display of it.

Speaker 1: 19:57

So wrapping this up, because I know we're getting short on time, so what are we supposed to take from all of this? So the first thing I said we're going to talk about is what are these treasures of heaven? And we talked about money, but again, it's not about the money, it's the way you interact with other people. Yes, it may include money, but it's not about the money, it's about the interaction. It's about the fruits of the spirit, it's about your servanthood, your servant spirit. It's about that kind of stuff and what they're going to end up being when we get to heaven. They're going to come in the form of rewards and crowds and again, I didn't get too much into that because that would be way too much to cover. So how do we get them?

Speaker 1: 20:47

Again, it's through acts of good service, acts of deeds, through kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, all the fruits of the spirit, through reclaiming the good news of Jesus. I mean, if we are going out in public and we are sharing Jesus with others, we are doing God's good work. And it may not have to be big and bold, it's just you could be done through your daily life, just the way you act, just the way you live. You can do that right where you worked. I mean, you don't have to do anything big and crazy in order to make this. And then the last thing is are they all the same? And the answer is no.

Speaker 1: 21:30

Like we kind of pointed out, there are different levels of rewards, different levels of crowds and, depending on how you lived your life on this earth, the more good deeds you do, the more you live your life according to the way Jesus or God is calling you to. If you're living your life righteously, which is living right in the eyes of God, or if you're living your life faithfully, which is trusting in God, that no matter what happens in life good, bad, ugly, no matter what happens you trust that God is going to take care of you and provide for you and that, even if it costs you your life, you are doing what you think God's will is for you in your life. It's through those actions that we will receive different levels of rewards and financial help. Any questions? Any questions? Okay, that's all I got, thank you.