Where Is Your Treasure?

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

Life here on earth is NOT all there is. This is a biblical truth that we all need to hear. You were made to last forever.

 

Because this life is preparation for the next, you must live with eternity in the FOREFRONT of your mind – not the BACK of your mind.

 

Jesus zeroes in on this topic in Matthew 6:19-24. The bottom line of this passage: If your life on earth is wrapped up in money and possessions, you’ll be penniless in eternity.

 

Warren Wiersbe suggests that in these verses, Jesus gives us 3 warnings about money and material possessions:

 

Warning #1: Money and possessions can enslave your HEART (vs. 19-21). Jesus warns us not to chase after temporary, earthly things, but to store up treasure in heaven (v. 20). In Wiersbe’s words, we need “to ‘hang loose’ when it comes to the material things of life … measuring life by the true riches of the kingdom and not by the false riches of this world.” Only what we do for Christ’s kingdom and the glory of God will last in eternity.

 

But being rewarded isn’t the main reason to store up treasures in heaven. Jesus tells us in verse 21, “For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Heavenly rewards are wonderful. But the main reason Jesus wants you to store up treasure in heaven is because He wants your heart. And He knows that your heart will follow your treasure.

 

Warning #2: Money and possessions can enslave your MIND (vs. 22-23). Jesus uses our eyes to make an analogy: “If your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness” (v. 23). When we’re focused on money, it’s like going through life with blinders on. We can’t see or pursue what is good because we’re blind to it. As Wiersbe puts it: “If the eye is properly focused on the light, the body can function properly in its movements. But if the eye is out of focus and seeing double, it results in unsteady movements. It is most difficult to make progress while trying to look in two directions at the same time.”

 

Warning #3: Money and possessions can enslave your WILL (v. 24). You can have two supervisors, but you can’t have two masters. You can have two bosses, but you can’t have two lords. As Jesus says in verse 24, “You cannot serve both God and money.” If you love your money, you will hate it when the Holy Spirit tells you to give it away. But if you love God with all your heart, you will hate it when you see yourself holding your possessions too tightly.

 

Now, it’s important to understand that the Word of God doesn’t condemn wealth or glorify poverty. Money, wealth and material possessions are neutral. What matters is what part they play in your life. A wise man once said, “It’s fine to have possessions – as long as your possessions don’t have you.”

 

If you invest your time, talent and financial treasure in kingdom work, you will have treasure in heaven. Missionary Jim Elliot hit the nail on the head when he said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services at 9am: at 17746 George Blvd., or at 9 a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Treasures in Heaven

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

In India, monkeys are considered sacred. Most people refuse to kill them, so as you might guess, in certain parts of India monkeys are running loose all over the place. That presents a problem for the farmers who grow crops that monkeys happen to like—crops like bananas.

So, years ago, a certain farmer came up with an ingenious way to capture monkeys without killing them. The farmer drills a hole into a coconut and places a banana inside it. Then he ties the other end of the coconut to a tree. Before long a monkey will come by, smell the banana, and reach into the coconut for an easy meal. But with his fist clenched around the banana, he can’t fit it back through the hole of the coconut. And even when the farmer walks up to the monkey to grab him, the monkey refuses to let go of it.

Silly monkey! At any moment he could be free by simply letting go of the banana. But he is imprisoned by his own greed. You and I are a lot like monkeys aren’t we? We like to hold on to our stuff, and we don’t like to let go of it, even when it imprisons us. If you’re a monkey lover, you’d probably love to somehow get that dumb Indian monkey to understand that if he’d just let go of the banana, he could be free. Unfortunately, you don’t speak monkey. But Jesus does speak human. And in the Sermon on the Mount, His words can get us dumb humans to understand that we’re only hurting ourselves when we cling to the stuff inside our coconuts. Jesus lovingly urges us to let it go.

In Matthew 6:19, Jesus tells His followers, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” Jesus is reminding us that all the stuff we own is temporary. And because it’s temporary, its ability to bring us pleasure is temporary. As theologian William Barclay put it: “All purely physical pleasures have a way of wearing out. At each successive enjoyment of them the thrill becomes less thrilling. It requires more of them to produce the same effect. They are like a drug which loses its initial potency and which becomes increasingly less effective. A man is a foolish man who finds his pleasures in things which are bound to offer diminishing returns.”

So, storing up treasures on earth is a really bad idea. And in verse 20, Jesus tells us where we should store up treasures: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” But what does it mean to store up treasures in heaven? Well, it doesn’t just mean to do good stuff here on earth for God so that God will do good stuff for you one day in heaven. And it doesn’t just mean to use your stuff here on earth for God so that He’ll give you better stuff in heaven.

What does it mean to store up treasures in heaven? It means to invest everything you have—your time, talents and treasures—in God’s kingdom work. (I like to call them the three T’s.) Many Christians throw something into the offering box and think that’s good enough for God. Others are scared to give God a whole 10% tithe, so they offer God some of their time and talent instead. But Jesus calls us to give all three T’s to invest everything we have in God’s kingdom work. Our cars are to be available for kingdom work. Our homes are to be available for kingdom work. Our clothes and our food and our toys are to be available for kingdom work. Even our weekends are to be available for God’s kingdom work.

In verse 21, Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be with you.” In other words, our money goes where our heart goes. We spend our money on what we care most about and prioritize. There’s nothing wrong with owning nice things—as long as those nice things don’t own US. There are umpteen different things that you could do with your time and your talents. Where you choose to use your three T’s reveals where your heart is. Honestly, Jesus doesn’t need your money. He doesn’t need your talents. And He doesn’t need your time. But He wants it … because He wants your heart. Jesus asks each of us in verses 19-21, “Where is your treasure?”

So, in a nutshell, Jesus is saying: “If your eyes are focused on material things, and your thoughts are focused on material things, and your heart finds its joy and purpose in material things—then money is your god. And if money is your god, you’re just like a monkey whose hand is stuck in a coconut. As you selfishly cling to the stuff of this world, you’ll end up losing everything that really matters. Only what you release to God and use for His kingdom work will last.”

You’ve got a clear choice. Serve God or serve money? Jesus asks, “Who are you serving?”

I hope and pray that God will always find us on duty—investing our time, talents and treasures in God’s kingdom work. Loving people. Serving those in need. And the greatest work of all—leading people into a saving relationship with Christ.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

The Dangers of Greed

“For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”

- 1 Timothy 6:7

Jesus had gotten pretty popular, to say the least. In verse 1 of Luke 12, we’re told that there were so many thousands of people listening to Jesus that they “were trampling one another.” And the crowd has been packed in like sardines for a while when a man spoke to Jesus in verse 13: “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Notice that he didn’t ask Jesus a question – he simply blurted out an order. Jesus’ answer was simple and curt: “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” (v. 14). And with that, Jesus was all done addressing their dispute. Why? Chances are Jesus didn’t get involved with these two brothers, at least in part, because there was no point. As Bible scholar Warren Wiersbe explains, “He knew that no answer he gave would solve the real problem, which was covetousness in the hearts of the two brothers…. As long as both men were greedy, no settlement would be satisfactory. Their greatest need was to have their hearts changed.”

So, Jesus followed his rebuke with a warning, which appears to have been meant both for the two brothers and for the rest of the crowd: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (v. 15). Jesus looked at these two greedy brothers, and he could perceive what most of the crowd could not. Their greed was consuming them and placing them on the slippery slope to Hell—an eternity separated from God.

Here’s a quick definition of greed: an unquenchable thirst for getting more and more of something we think we need in order to be truly satisfied. May people are greedy for money. Many others are greedy for things that money can buy. Still others are greedy for position or power. Regardless of what someone’s greed is targeting, greed is toxic. It can destroy our life here on earth and can even send negative ripples into eternity. I’d like to share with you four dangers of greed that God’s Word reveals.

1) Greed subtly replaces God on the throne of our lives with something else. Sadly, without even realizing it, when we become consumed by greed for money and material possessions, we gradually replace God on the throne of our hearts. Our hearts no longer beat for God; they beat for stuff. Our hearts no longer stay focused on God; they stay focused on stuff. Our hearts’ number-one goal is no longer to bring glory and honor to God, but to bring more money into our bank accounts and more stuff into our homes.

2) Greed is a root of all kinds of evil. As Paul warns us in 1Timothy 9-10, “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” The road to wealth is paved with many traps. There are many temptations that, if we give in, will lead us to do foolish and harmful things. Money, and even wealth, can be a wonderful tool when we submit it to the lordship of Christ and place it in God’s hands to do God’s work. But money makes a terrible God.

3) Greed takes our focus off others and puts it on ourselves. We are called to humbly consider others better than ourselves. We are called to love our neighbors. But in the rat race of trying to get richer and richer, our greed takes our focus off others and puts it on ourselves. When money stops being a godly tool and starts becoming the object of our affections, it’s gotta go.

4) Greed here on earth will leave you flat broke in heaven. According to 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, one day every believer and follower of Jesus Christ will stand before God, and our entire lives will be passed through a fire. That fire will test the quality of everything we did here on earth. The only things in our lives that will pass through the flames and come out on the other side are the things we did for Jesus Christ. If you trust in Christ, you will make it to heaven. But will you have something to show for your life here on earth? If we allow greed to take root in our lives, not only will we not be able to take our earthly riches with us, we won’t have any riches awaiting us in heaven.

As Christians, we should view our money and earthly possessions as a gift from God intended to meet our basic needs. We should use them as a tool to love God and people. If we use what we’ve been given wisely, we can look forward to our ultimate reward in eternity, when we hear those six most beautiful words in the universe: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Dane Davis is the Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville, California. For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.