TREASURES IN HEAVEN
Matthew 6:19-24 Eccl. 5:10-20
Introduction – Story of Rockefeller interview. I met a millionaire in Hyde Co. His automatic response to the question, “How are you,” was “If I could just make that next nickel, I believe I would be alright.”. In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what you want. The other is getting it. It doesn’t matter what we have here on earth for it will not last
I. Treasures on Earth
A. Keeping up with the Joneses
B. Worldly mindedness is Satan’s most certain means of getting hold of our souls.
C. The worldly man is wrong in his first principle, therefore everything based on that is wrong.
D. Our whole lives must be set on the foundation of God, or else we are built on shifting sand.
E. It won’t last – ILLUS 904 – Businessman was granted one wish by an angel. He wanted to see the stock prices for one in the future. The angel gave him a NY Times. He was gloating over his profound riches when he noticed his obituary on the next page. The money paled in comparison.
F. ILLUS 638 – A man does in an airport bathroom does not redecorate the walls. He is just passing through. Neither should we worry about our lives here, for we are just passing through.
G. We can lose it
II. Treasures in Heaven
A. Keeping up with Jesus ILLUS – C.S. Lewis: “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next.” “Aim at heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’. Aim at earth and you will get neither.”
B. They are greater than treasures on earth – Story of pavement in heaven.
C. It lasts forever
D. We cannot lose it
E. The eye is the lamp of the body means that we live by what we profess. It is an unhypocritical religion. To speak of heaven yet place our faith in this world is a condemnation on Chrisitianity and destroys our witness. Our “light” therefore is “darkness”.
III. Where your heart is
A. Live within your means here
B. God will not share us with the world
C. Choose this day whom you will serve, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. – Joshua ILLUS – TN farmer in Civil War refused to take sides. He wore a gray coat and blue pants. He was killed by bullets from both sides because he stood for neither.
D. Be thankful for what you’ve got because it is God’s blessing for you.
E. Stay focused on the ultimate goal – You came here with nothing, you will leave with nothing, what matters is how well you serve God while you’re here, for he is the one you will face when you leave.
F. ILLUS – (p. 421) Two men dying, one rich, one poor. One says I’m leaving home the other I’m going home.”
G. ILLUS – 7 year old Eric’s description of Heaven: “It’s a place where there is a lot of money lying around. You could just pick it up, play with it, and buy things. I think I’m going to buy a basketball, and I’m going to play basketball with my great-great grandmother.”
Conclusion – After Rockefeller’s death, a man was curious about how much he left behind. An aide to Rockefeller said, “All of it.” Living this way enables us to be happy here on earth, yet keep our everlasting treasures in Heaven.
