2023.11.26.Sermon Notes. Sunday after Thanksgiving – Where’s your heart?
William Akehurst, HSWC
BIG IDEA: We just celebrated Thanksgiving, and the very next day, people are fighting each other for the sales on Black Friday. What happened? Where is your heart? What treasures are you seeking? Where are you storing your treasure? What are you storing in heaven?
Scriptures: Matthew 6:19-21, 1 Timothy 6:6-10, Matthew 19:20-24, Luke 12:16-21, John 3:16, Philippians 3:18-21, Matthew 13:44, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Mark 12:41-44, 1 Corinthians 3:9-16,
1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Colossians 3:17, 1 Corinthians 1:31, Matthew 6:33, 1 Peter 1:3-5
LAY UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN
Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- WHERE YOU STORE YOUR TREASURE IS WHERE YOUR HEART IS.
BE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
1 Timothy 6:6-10
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
MONEY OF ITSELF IS NOT EVIL, WE NEED IT TO BUY FOOD AND CLOTHING AND SHELTER, BUT WHEN IT GREED KICKS IN, THEN BAD THINGS CAN HAPPEN.
WHERE IS THE HEART THAT IS CONSUMED BY WEALTH?
Matthew 19:20-24
20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
THE SELFISH GREED FOR WEALTH
Luke 12:16-21
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.
17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’
18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Illus.
A rich man died and his will said that he wanted to be buried with all his money.
The undertaker stuffed as much money as he could in the casket, but he couldn’t shut the lid. So, he removed all the money and put it in the bank and wrote the dead rich man a check and laid it in the casket.
How does one lay up treasures of heaven?
1. You must be a citizen of that country.
a. You must be born again of the kingdom of heaven.
b. A citizen of heaven, saved by grace through the shed blood of JESUS.
2. Be a joyful giver.
3. Use the Talents that GOD has given you.
a. Money
b. Hospitality
c. Compassion
d. Gifts that GOD has given you.
4. Glorify GOD in everything that you do.
5. Share Christ with others so that they would have a place reserved for them, stored up, in heaven.
YOU MUST BE A CITIZEN OF HEAVEN
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Philippians 3:18-21 (NLT)
18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.
19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.
20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
Matthew 13:44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
BE A JOYFUL, CHEERFUL GIVER
2 Corinthians 9:7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
GIVING FROM THE ABUNDANCE, OR FROM THE HEART
Mark 12:41-44
41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much.
42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.
43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
USE THE TALENTS THAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU.
1 Corinthians 3:9-16
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.
14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
GLORIFY GOD IN ALL YOU DO
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
1 Corinthians 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
1 Peter 1:3-5 (NLT)
The Hope of Eternal Life
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
HOW DOES A BELIEVER STORE UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN?
BY LIVING UPON THIS EARTH AND GLORIFYING GOD WHILE HELPING, GIVING AND SHARING THE LOVE OF CHRIST THAT WHICH CARRIES ETERNAL REWARD IN HEAVEN. BUT THERE IS ONE THING MORE...
If you get anything from me today, get this...
<<< EVERY LIFE YOU LEAD TO CHRIST IS A TREASURE STORED UP IN HEAVEN ! >>>
Think about it…
Let’s Pray,
FATHER,
We are thankful for YOUR great love and mercy towards us. Let us never take that for granted. Check and Search our hearts and show us that the true treasure is only in YOU. Teach us to seek YOU first in all things, and to give YOU glory in everything we do. Help us to live our lives as pleasing to YOU, that what we do here would be for eternal reward. As we think of storing up treasures in heaven, we are reminded that we are to share YOUR truths with others. So that others may come to know YOUR SALVATION through JESUS, and that their lives would be stored up in Heaven too. LORD teach us YOUR thoughts and ways by the Power of YOUR PRESENCE, in JESUS Name, Amen.
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing.
Bill
