WHAT KIND OF TREASURE ARE YOU LAYING UP?
Matthew 6:19-21
19 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.
****We come to know truth not only reason, but still more so through our hearts. The heart has its reasons that reason does not know. B. Pascal.
Are you looking for treasure?
Psalms 84;14 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly
I. Here are some of the most important treasures we should search for in life. Proverbs 15:6 (KJV) In the house of the righteous is much treasure: .........
II. The treasure to have joy and gladness in life. Psalms 64:10 The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.
A. Joy is the byproduct of obedience.
B. Where then is real joy found? -- the answer is simple, in Christ alone.
III. The treasure of full supply. Psalms 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
A. Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
IV. The treasure of having God helping us out of our troubles. Psalms 37:39-40 But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble. 40 And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
A. If you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles in the backside, you wouldn't be able to sit down for two weeks. (Some humor but some truth also.)
V. The treasure of success. Psalms 92:12-13 (KJV) 12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
A. Success is getting what you want out of life without violating the rights of others.
1. The conditions of success are always easy -- we have to toil awhile, endure awhile, believe awhile.
2. George MacDonald said, "In whatever man does without God, he must fail miserably or succeed more miserably"
3. Someone once asked Paul Harvey, the journalist and radio commentator, to reveal the secret of his success. "I get up when I fall down," said Harvey.
VI. The treasure of answered prayer. Psalms 34:17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
A. "Bestow upon me, O Lord my God, understanding to know thee, diligence to seek thee, wisdom to find thee, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace thee." Thomas Aquinas.
VII. The treasure of treasure itself. Proverbs 15:6 (KJV) In the house of the righteous is much treasure: ..............
VIII. The treasure of God" protection..............Psalms 91 and Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
IX. The treasure of blessings and favor with God. ......... Psalms 5:12 (KJV) For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
X. Where is all the treasure found? Matthew 6:19-21 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.
A. The body of David Livingstone was buried in England where he was born, but his heart was buried in the Africa he loved. At the foot of a tall tree in a small African village the natives dug a hole and placed in it the heart of this man who they loved and respected. If your heart were to be buried in the place you loved most during life, where would it be? In your pocketbook? In an appropriate space down at the office? Where is your heart?