Where Are Your Treasures? Love Gives...

WHERE ARE YOUR TREASURES?

GOD GIVES... LOVE GIVES...

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

A GIFT IS A REAL DEMONSTRATION OF WHAT LOVE REALLY IS...

I. WHAT DO I TREASURE THE MOST? MY TREASURE TROVE?

IS MY VALUE SYSTEM AND GOD'S VALUE SYSTEM THE SAME?

DEFINE:

Treasure: what you value, horde up, store up, what you hold dear, precious things,

to collect, what you value and often hide...

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

B. Do not miss the point, many years ago a man in our community had a big garden.

The Lord really blessed his sweat and the garden was bountiful. I was walking

by his house and he called me to his porch. He told me how the Lord had blessed

his garden and he had been digging his potatoes. He had a gift for me. He gave me

two bags of little potatoes about the size of two marbles. I thanked him for the

potatoes. I said: Well, I see the potatoes did not do to well this year.

He said: NO THE POTATOES DID GREAT THIS YEAR, AND HE OPENED HIS

CELLAR DOOR AND SHOWED MANY MANY BOXES OF HUGE POTATOES.

I thanked the man for the potatoes and walked home. I thought the Preacher received

the small culls that he did not want and he kept the best for himself?

I appreciated the potatoes and we ate every one of them, but many a time I have

pondered God do I give the small potatoes and keep the big ones for my self?

II. REAL LOVE GIVES THE BEST... YOU CAN GIVE...

2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not

grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7 (NLT) You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give

reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

2 Corinthians 9:7 (MSG) I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make

up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting.

God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.

A. A CHILD KNOWS LOVE GIVES...

1. Perhaps a child's gift is a DANDELION?

2. A ROCK?

3. A hand drawn picture?

B. Love gives:

While in college I read where this couple loved each other so much. After dating they

married. They were so poor that their first Christmas there would be no presents.

The man often looked into the window of a shop and dreamed of owning a gold chain

to go on his pocket watch that had been his grandfathers. But there was no way they

could afford the chain.

His wife would stand in the square of the town and peer into the window of a store and

look at this expensive beautiful pearl and gold hair pen. See loved that hair pen and thought

how pretty her long, dark hair would be with that gold/pearl pin hanging there.

On Christmas morning to their surprise there were two gifts wrapped under their

tree. The woman had a cloth wrapped around her head. The man had her open his gift,

there was the gold and pearl pin she had dreamed of owning. He pulled the cloth of her head,

and she had no hair at all? She cried.

She explained her love... She had his gift, he unwrapped his gift. There was the gold chain

for his grandfather's watch. He started crying...

They understood love as never before. He had sold his grandfather's gold pocket watch

to buy his love the gold and pearl hair pin. She had her head shaved and sold her hair to

buy the gold chain for his watch.

They both took the love gifts and placed them near their hearts. They both understood

the cost of their first Christmas gift. The other had given what they love to get THE LOVE

GIFT FOR THE OTHER.

B. I understood Love gives as a child:

One of my first loves was my Mother. I loved her dearly. I had worked and made five

dollars. I went to the WESTERN AUTO STORE and found a package of beautiful needle

point handkerchiefs. It had a little pearl necklace with them. I looked and looked and

my love wanted that for Mom. I did not have enough money. The store clerk asked me?

I said I wanted it for my Mom but I did not have enough money. The lady then marked

the little box down to $4.50 and I ran to the counter and purchased the gift for my