God’s Treasure Chest
(Adapted from an article by Larry Libby, “Discipleship Journal” Issue 139)
SCRIPTURE READING: Malachi 3:16-17
INTRODUCTION:
While growing up, I kept a cigar box hidden away in the bottom of a drawer. That cigar box was filled with my TREASURES. These were important mementos that I considered worthy of treasuring and protecting. As I recall, I filled it with things like my baptism certificate, a silver dollar that an uncle gave me, a patch from my dad’s army uniform, my savings account pass book, a buckeye (because I was born in Ohio), report cards, my Cub-Scout Weblos patch. And, of course, the one Award I received in a school assembly: my 7th grade Perfect Attendance award. I don’t really know what became of that treasured cigar box. But those were my treasures when I was a 12-year-old boy.
Remembering how important that box of treasures was to me as a kid, I wondered: If God had a treasure chest, what would be inside that chest?
One thing is for sure. Anything in that Heavenly box of Treasures would be something God Himself had created. Everything of worth, or beauty, comes straight from God. James, the brother of Jesus, summed it up this way in James 1:16-17: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.
So, out of all His creation, what could God possibly value enough to place with his treasures?
We know that God wouldn’t place anything in His Treasure Chest because he NEEDED it to get by. God doesn’t need anything. He is utterly complete, perfect, and self-sufficient. He said as much in Psalm 50:9-12: “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills…. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.”
Fair enough. And yet… The scriptures tell us that God’s love for his redeemed sons and daughters occupies a large part of His great heart. God delights in His People. Certain things about certain ones of his kids at certain times will always bring a surge of joy to His heart. Actually, we don’t have to guess about what God treasures.
Look at Jesus’ words in John 4:23; True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God searches the entire planet looking for something of great value to Him: A WORSHIPING HEART.
1. A worshiping heart:
The same God who rules over the galaxies is searching for people who will worship Him in spirit and truth. We might wonder when and where He might begin that search. Well, it was high noon in Samaria when Jesus spoke these words to a woman of questionable character. Why would Jesus choose to speak about worship to a woman like that in a place like that. Why talk about worship out in the “bad-lands” with a woman who had never even been to the one Approved place for proper worship: the Jerusalem Temple.
If God were looking for True Worship, why wouldn’t He look at the Temple in Jerusalem only 35 miles away? After all, it was the Jewish Leaders who knew what real worship was all about, right? Well, maybe they did. But the God of the Universe was searching for True Worship from a disreputable woman who was doing her mundane, daily chores out in the blazing mid-eastern sun, all by herself. It seems crazy, but her worship mattered to God. And so does yours.
Have you ever thought about that when you are alone, doing some mundane task? In those common ordinary moments, you can, (if you are willing) give God something He will treasure forever. You can offer God something He is seeking all over the world. Lift up praise and adoration, straight from your heart, and it may very well end up in God’s treasure box.
We need to understand that what God treasures is NOT the same as what people treasure. At one point, Jesus tried to explain about the Treasures of Heaven, but the Pharisees weren’t convinced. In fact, they sneered at him.
Jesus turned to them with this piercing remark: You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight. Luke 16:15
In essence he was saying, “You think you’re the experts on God, but you guys don’t have a clue about what God values.” If they had been better students of God, they might have remembered this verse from the Prophet Isaiah, “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” Isaiah 66:2
God will always Treasure a HUMBLE HEART.
2. A humble heart:
A humble heart is one that will have proper reverence and respect for Almighty God. When we look at the very end of the Old Testament, we see a small group of people with truly HUMBLE HEARTS. They lived at a time when God had recently delivered them out of hopeless captivity in Babylon. For the first time in almost 100 years, the Jews were able to return to their own land. They even received permission to build a new temple out of the ashes of the old one. But even before the paint had time to dry, the people’s hearts began to wander. Most people had grown cynical and bored in their relationship with God. They became slipshod and careless in their worship services.
Even so, the prophet Malachi tells us there was one small group of believers who didn’t care what other people thought. They met together unofficially to praise God and share with one another. It may have been much like a small home Bible study group … like one of our Pueblo groups. We don’t know if the group included busy mothers of pre-schoolers, or farm workers gathering in an orchard, or teen-agers meeting before school.
The prophet doesn’t describe the people, but he does describe what they did: Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His name. Malachi 3:16
Now, I think this is amazing. God evidently commanded some heavenly scribe to write down the names of that little group of folks who took the time to meet together and give Honor to Him. How much did He value them? Just listen to what He said: They will be mine,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘In the day when I make up my treasured possession.’ Malachi 3:17
It sounds like God tucked that list of names into His Eternal Treasure Box. Can you imagine that? Wouldn’t it be amazing … and humbling … to get to Heaven and discover that YOUR name is tucked away with His treasures? All because you had a Humble Heart that gave reverence and respect to God.
A person with that kind of heart will naturally want to obey God’s commands. Jesus put it bluntly to his disciples: “If you love me you will obey what I command.” John 14:15 God does more than demand obedience. God puts great value on AN OBEDIENT HEART.
3. An obedient heart:
If we think we can fool God by showing up in Church, singing a few songs, and listening to a sermon, we’re just fooling ourselves. Churches are full of people who think they can live any way they please all week, show up at church on Sunday, and then go their merry way without giving God another thought … and that somehow, God will be impressed.
The first KING of Israel made that same mistake. Over and over he disobeyed God. One time he disobeyed in a particularly obvious way. God had clearly commanded that his army was to take no spoils from the Pagan Tribes they defeated. But, just like many politicians, Saul wanted to please the masses more than he wanted to do the right thing. So he took some of the best livestock and a few other valuables and handed them out to his constituents.
When Saul heard that the Prophet Samuel was coming to see him, he had a brilliant idea. He made sure that when Samuel arrived, Saul was looking extremely religious. In fact, he was in the middle of offering sacrifices to God. After all, how could Samuel condemn him if he was leading a religious service?
It didn’t work for Saul any more than it will work for any of us. God will recognize a proud, disobedient heart, even if that person is sitting in the middle of the Church. Listen to what Samuel, the final Judge of Israel … said to Saul, the First King of Israel: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” 1 Sam.15:22
What we learn here is that the Lord treasures those who simply obey. We may not always see the logic in God’s commands. We may not find His commands easy to obey. In fact, sometimes obedience will cost us some pleasure. Sometimes obedience means real sacrifice. But think about it this way. When we trust Him enough to obey, we’ve joined company with the angels in Heaven who constantly obey the merest thought of God.
A day is coming when obedience will no longer be an issue with you and me. We will be transformed as we draw in the sweet air of heaven into immortal lungs. When that day comes, obedience will be the beat of our hearts. Obedience will no longer be a choice. It will be as natural as breathing.
Today, however, obedience is still a choice. Today we can choose to follow God’s commands out of a simple desire to please our heavenly Father. I know how precious it was when our young daughters obeyed us willingly … out of a pure desire to please their parents. You and I can do that for our Heavenly Father now … in this narrow window of time between eternities. We can choose to obey His every command, not just because we ought to, but because we want to bring Him pleasure.
The Lord does not take your acts of obedience for granted. He considers your acts of obedience to be gifts to Him. In fact, He slips them into his treasure box.
Most of us enjoy giving our children gifts. It’s always fun to watch kids ripping open birthday or Christmas gifts. But some gifts are harder to give than others. Susan and I found it hard to pay off school bills when our daughters graduated from college, but we wanted to give them the gift of graduating debt free. That gift cost us something, but at the same time we were glad we could do it.
Consider a gift you could give to God that might cost you something. Have you ever found it difficult to offer praise and thanksgiving to the Lord? In the grip of fear or sorrow or despair, have you ever felt that praising God was more than you could do? The writer of Hebrews urges, Let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His name. Heb.13:15
4. A Sacrifice of Praise:
When a loved one dies, or a child is seriously ill, or a job is lost, or you suffer a big disappointment, it is hard to give praise to God. How do you sing praise songs with a lump in your throat? How do you lift your heart when it feels like lead? How do you praise the Lord in the midst of disappointment or grief?
Praising God when you don’t feel like it is a true sacrifice of praise. Believe me, your voice will never sound out of tune to God when you are offering a sacrifice of praise. God will never forget the worship and praise that comes from a heart filled with pain. Giving thanks to God in the midst of tears is a treasure above all treasures.
CONCLUSION:
Are you aware of how crazy in love with you God is? His treasure box is filled with those times when you worship him in truth with a humble heart. He treasures every single time to make the hard choice to obey Him simply because you want to please Him. And He will never, never forget the times when you offer the sacrifice of praise from a hurting heart.
What have you given God lately that he can lovingly place in his treasure box? What will you offer to Him today?
