Introduction
We see the evidence everywhere.
It’s seen in a bike no longer ridden...
a washer or dryer no longer functioning...
a table or chair with a busted leg...
a television that stopped working...
How many of you have something you once valued now stored in your garage, shop, attic, or basement? Items you spent money on that are now useless and without any real value?
Many of us have experienced it. We purchase an item and eventually that item ends up condemned to the land of broken things. Time and age caught up with it. If that wasn’t bad enough, we also have to worry about people robbing us of what still has value. Have you ever been robbed?
Illustration:
At college, I worked as the assistant manager at our campus bookstore. I came to work one morning to open the store for business. I unlocked the doors, turned on the lights, and the first thing I noticed was the glittering of what I thought was Christmas tinsel at the back of the store. It was around Christmas time and I thought someone had left a mess. I also noticed the store was colder than usual. I walked to the back of the store to clean up the tinsel and discovered it wasn’t tinsel at all. It was broken glass. It took me a minute to process the implications. I thought that someone had gotten the riding mower too close and it had thrown a rock through the window and shattered it. But that didn’t make any sensen. It was the middle of winter. There was a foot of snow on the ground.
It was then the thought materialized. We’ve been robbed! I knew what thieves would take first. I headed straight to our display shelf with laptop computers. They were gone. Little bits of plastic remained where the security locks had been ripped from the computers. If you’ve been there, you probably know the feelings. I was scared and angry.
I immediately called 911 and they told me to take an inventory of the missing items. In the final analysis, we were missing 4 laptop computers, several books, some bottles of soda, and a Sam’s Club bulk tube of beef jerky. (I guess thieves build up big appetites.)
Main Idea (Common Ground)
This world brings with it constant loss. How many of us have ever had something we valued broken, lost, or stolen? The world is ruled by the Law of Loss.
We see this law at work everywhere.
The stocks we trusted as we put our money in for retirement decline sharply in value.
Real Estate values go south and the house we thought would be a good investment gets foreclosed on. We are told that social security needs to be fixed or it will not be around.
For many people without retirement that’s a scary prospect.
Key Question
Are we stuck in a world that’s in the grip of the Law of loss? What if we could find something permanent?
Turn with me to Matthew 6:19-24. It has been the theme verse of our series of messages on stewardship. These are the words of Jesus. Listen to what Jesus says.
Text:
Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 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. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Jesus talks about treasure. Things we might value. Things we deeply desire. What we seek to possess above anything else.
It’s more than we collect. One of my daughters collects state spoons. My wife collects cookie jars. I collect electronics. They all collect dust. It’s more than that; it’s what we want to hold onto for the long haul.
Jesus makes the point that on earth, the things we try to store up and protect are vulnerable to the law of loss. Actually he goes a step further. He suggests that sooner or later treasures stored on earth will either be un-repairable, lost, or stolen. Someone else will enjoy the value of our item (for the short term) or the item will lose value altogether.
The treasures on Earth that are stored do not have any permanent value. We’ve seen it.
Illustration
A few weeks ago, I was driving home on the interstate and saw a pickup truck pulling a trailer with the rusted out shell of an old car on it. All I know was that the car on that trailer was an antique. It was covered in rust from bumper to bumper. But I could tell from the smile on the truck drivers face and the way the car was strapped down that someone had purchased that rusted out shell in order to restore it. I’d love to see it when it is remade.
Then I had two thoughts pop into my mind at the same time. One thought was that car was new at one time. It was probably someone’s baby. At one time someone else other than than truck driver probably LOVED that car. The other thought was this. Even after that car is fully restored, someday it will be covered in rust again.
Moths eating, rust destroying, thieves stealing.
Jesus point is that treasures stored on Earth cannot be made safe. Do NOT store up for your selves treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal.
Fixing our affections are earthly things will lead to a shattered heart and broken lives.
And Jesus warns, “Don’t put your heart there!” It’s only temporary. Instead Jesus encourages his listeners to store up treasures in heaven. Why? Because treasure in heaven is not under the Law of loss. Treasure in heaven does NOT lose its value. It does not get lost. It does not get broken or rust with age. Moths do not eat at it. Treasure in heaven cannot be stolen. Treasure in heaven is safe. When we store up treasure in heaven we do not have to endure the heartache of loss.
Verse 21 again. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
So far this is pie in the sky. Storing treasure in heaven? How do we do that?
Humorous Illustration:
I’m reminded of a story about a greedy old man who gained his wealth by cheating and lying. There wasn’t a person he wouldn’t step on to make money. Well one day he reads a church sign that says, "Be careful of wealth, you can’t take it with you." Well, he decides to prove those Christians wrong. So he tells his wife he is going to store a suitcase of money in the attic. "If there’s a heaven," he says, "I’ll reach and grab that suitcase on the way up." The day soon comes that the old man dies. His wife, remembering her husband’s suitcase, heads to the attic and discovers the suitcase right where he had left it. She heads down the attic stairs muttering, "I told him he couldn’t take it with him unless he put it in the basement."
We can’t take it with us. So if we can’t take it with us, how do we send our treasures there. I’ve been around town and I’ve never seen God’s Great Bank building. Is there a form I can fill out to do a direct deposit?
What if the treasures we store in heaven are different?
Take a look at what Jesus says.
Matthew 6:22-23
22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 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!
Seems like a strange transition there doesn’t it? Jesus is talking about treasure and where the heart is. Then it almost seems like he jumps. He starts talking about they eye. It’s strange. It doesn’t seem to fit the context. But what if Jesus is making a point about what we see? He’s talking about the eye. And it seems to me that what we are able to see is often what we desire.
Point: The eye is the gateway to the heart
Observation: Material wealth can be enticing because that treasure in tangible. We can see it; touch it; even use it It can even provide a temporary "high" of happiness. But what we often miss when material wealth is present is that it is temporary. Money and luxery items, cars and houses, are still under the law of loss.
And In Jesus own words, in the context of treasure, he contrasts light and darkness. Light and darkness are different. They are so different they cannot share the same space. And he says, “If what we have your eye on is good (heavenly) things, our whole body will be full of light. If what we have your eye on is bad (material wealth) things, our whole body will be full of darkness.” Those who think they can store treasure on earth where the Law of Loss rules will miss the light of Jesus and the hope of the eternal reward. They are fixated on the temporary; what they can see, touch, and taste.
Those who choose to be ruled by material wealth will be full of darkness. They will be ruled by greed, pride, and selfish ambition. And these ambitions will overwhelm those who store their treasure in the wrong place. How many people’s lives are broken when these actions become the mark of their behavior?
Illustration:
I’ve seen it. Sadly, one of the most common times I’ve seen this behavior is after a funeral. The family begins to squabble over who gets what and how much. And they miss the plain fact that what they are fighting for is only temporary. They too will die one day and when that happens what they have grasped for will soon rust, or become moth eaten, or end up as someone else’s possession.
Jesus warns in the next verse
Matthew 6:24
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.
It’s a choice of masters.
Illustration:
A football team cannot have two head coaches. A system with two head coaches is a system primed for conflict. Players will not know who is in charge and they will naturally gravitate to the one they like better. The team will be divided. Instead, there is one head coach; he is the one who makes the final decisions. The one who wants to store up treasure in heaven cannot serve the master of material possessions. You cannot serve God and money.
In the text, the word the NIV translates "money" literally means material wealth. In Jesus time material wealth was often measured in the number of clothes you had in your possession, the amount of food you had, and the size and location of your house. Some things change. Some things stay the same, eh? And Jesus breaks down his message about treasure this way.
He says, “Stewardship is ultimately about Lordship.”
Observation: Stewardship is not a matter of the amount we give, but what we desire in our heart.
Folks, the treasure we desire will eventually rule our hearts. And Jesus wants our hearts aimed toward heaven and his light instead of the bottomless pit of darkness of greed, pride, and selfish ambitions. Jesus doesn’t want us to store things where the Law of Loss is in play.
So what do we do? How do we go about storing up treasure in heaven?
Let me offer some practical steps.
I. We store up treasure in heaven by giving generously.
Proverbs 11:24-25 (NIV)
24 One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25 A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
In order to store up treasure in heaven, what we have should be shared freely and abundently. That seems backwards doesn’t it? Giving away in order to save just doesn’t seem right. In the world’s economy of loss it’s the case, but not in the heavenly economy. The refreshing comes from God’s heavenly, eternal holding and not from earthly holdings where the law of loss is in place. So we give generously in order to store up treasure in heaven.
But be warned. Jesus himself tells us that there is a cost to giving for self-promotion. God jealously guards his glory. Ultimately, he will not allow others steal it away.
II. We store up treasure in heaven by giving quietly
Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV)
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. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Jesus seems to expect that people will give to the needy. He uses the word “When.” But there are those who get man’s temporary reward, on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal; and those who receive God’s reward, in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and thieves do not break in and steal. It depends on how the gift is given. Quietly or with pomp and circumstance.
Illustration:
There is a reason that politicians have photographers around when they give donations or help out in service. They want to be seen as generous and helpful. It is to build their credibility. Their hope is that through being SEEN as generous that they will stay in power. Self promotion and the desire for power often go hand in hand. But in God’s economy we store up permanent treasure in heaven by giving quietly.
III. We also store up treasure in heaven through giving mercy
Jesus in the context of this passage about treasure first talks about prayer. And he concludes his section about prayer by saying
Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)
14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
We have received mercy from God. We are stewards of that mercy. It is something we can and should share abundantly and freely. Our debt has been cancelled; we don’t owe it; since we are free from our debt, we have room to cancel the debts that others owe to us.
Listen to what Jesus says in Luke 6
Luke 6:37-38 (NIV)
37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Treasure in heaven. What God wants us to make room for in our hearts isn’t things and power and self glory. Those things fade away with time. What God wants in our hearts is that which can be given away freely. It’s all in what we desire.
I want to conclude today with a clip from Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest
In this scene Jack Sparrow (Captain Jack Sparrow) let’s Elizabeth Swann use his magic compass. The compass he explains will point the direction to the holders greatest desire.
Conclusion
Pirates Movie Clip
(1 Hour 17 Minutes into movie)
Invitation
So we are left to examine our lives. Where does the compass point in our life? What is it we treasure the most? What is our greatest desire? More important, where is it being stored? It doesn’t have to be subject to the law of loss? Your treasure can be safeguarded in heaven. God can and will store your treasure for safekeeping with him.
