Where Your Treasure Is Series

I hope you are seeing that the emphasis in this talk is not to guilt you into giving, but to encourage you to give because it will enhance your ultimate joy. The sacrifice pales in comparison to the reward.

How can I become rich toward God?

• Give a bike or clothes or tuition to a poor kid.

• Give books to prisoners.

• Give your regular tithe to the church.

• Support missionaries.

• Help to feed the hungry.

• Help to clothe the poor.

• Give to support a crisis pregnancy center.

“Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality.” A. W. Tozer

Wait a minute. Isn’t it wrong to be motivated by a reward? Nope! If it were wrong, Jesus wouldn’t have given us the opportunity to be motivated this way. Reward is His idea, not ours. He wants us to be rich toward God. He wants us to store up treasure. He’s just telling us to stop storing it up in the wrong place and start storing them in the right place.

Missionary Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Gain is what Jim Elliot was thinking about! He just wanted the kind of gain that he couldn’t lose. He wanted his treasures in heaven.

All this rich fool was thinking about was the “here and now,” not the “here and after.”

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

Matthew 19:29

if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.

Matthew 10:42

George W. Truett, a well-know pastor in Texas, was invited to dinner at the home of a very wealthy Texas man. After the meal, the host led him to a place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area. Pointing to the oil wells covering the landscape, the Texan boasted, “Twenty-five years ago I had nothing. Now, as far as you can see, it’s all mine.” Looking in the opposite direction at his sprawling fields of grain, he bragged, “They’re all mine.” Then he turned east toward huge herds of cattle, and bragged, “They’re all mine.” Then pointing to the west at a beautiful forest, he said, “That, too, is all mine.” Then he paused, expecting Dr. Truett to compliment him on his great success. But Dr. Truett placed one hand on the man’s shoulder and pointed heavenward, toward the sky, and simply asked, “How much do you have in that direction?” Then the man hung his head and confessed. “I never thought of that.”

Every day is an opportunity to buy up more shares in His kingdom.

Send your assets on ahead of you.

Life Applications

1. Stop living from month to month. Attend the Money Matters class.

2. Look at your bank statement, your checkbook, your online account, and your receipts to see what your priorities really are.

3. Start praying before you purchase. “God, is this a wise use of Your money?”