A Treasure That Triumphs

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

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

This TREASURE that is within us will be the TREASURE that helps us TRIUMPH as we enter into Heaven someday.

III. Now in closing let’s look at Verse 10,

“Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”

This all kind of goes back to the beginning of the Chapter. I think Paul wanted the life of Jesus to be seen in him. And the only way that this could happen is if he also carried in his body, HIS EARTHEN VESSEL, the dying of the Lord Jesus.

I want to say something here. I believe that there are things that we can LEARN ONLY by going through SUFFERING and TRIALS.

People sometimes don’t understand why they have to go through things that can HURT SO BAD. Both PHYSICALLY and SPIRITUALLY. But there are things that we will only learn through HARD TIMES.

ILLUS: I have walked with several people through their journey to death. From their diagnosis all the way to the end. My dad. Brother Rob Shatwell. Sister Shelia Hurd. Several others but Brother Mike Bence is one that I will never forget. I was with him when the doctor came into the room, looked at him and said, “You have cancer all over your body. Cancer in your head, your chest and your leg. You don’t have long to live.”

Really bad bedside manner. Mike didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to say. Finally Mike asked, “How long do I have?” The doctor said, “two, maybe three months”. And he was right. He died about three months later.

But I remember driving Mike home that day. He said, “I don’t want to hurt. I don’t want to be in misery.” He was very nervous and scared as I think all of us would be. So he moved to his sister and brother-in-laws house to die. Hospice was called in. And I went by many times to see Mike in his last few days. He got to where he couldn’t eat or drink. The cancer RAVAGED his body. He suffered more than anyone I’ve ever known. But what I noticed as time went on, was the CALM that came over him. There was no CRYING. No SCREAMING at GOD or COMPLAINING. As time grew shorter Mike grew more and more PEACEFUL until he just went to SLEEP and awoke in Heaven.

Can I say this? ONLY GOD. ONLY GOD. It HAD TO BE from the TREASURE that was inside of his BROKEN EARTHLY VESSEL. I know Mike learned so much that last three months but I also learned so much watching him. I’LL NEVER FORGET IT. Mike BORE in his body the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he TRIUMPHED because of the TREASURE that was within his BROKEN, CANCER RIDDEN, EARTHLY VESSEL.

And I believe, that’s what Paul was saying when he said,

“bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus”

In closing, the SUFFERING and DEATH of Jesus Christ of Nazareth is a BIBLICAL and HISTORICAL FACT. But it can become VERY REAL in your life today.