WHAT IS MY TREASURE AND WHERE IS IT STORED?
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." |||||
What is Jesus teaching us in this text?
- We must understand that the whole of the Sermon on the Mount is teaching God's people how to live for Him in a sinful world. This sermon is addressed to the disciples of Christ. The subjects covered are the Beatitudes, Salt and Light, Anger, Lust, Divorce, Giving to the needy, the Lord's prayer, fasting, treasure in heaven, anxiety etc. These subjects are clearly for Christians, to teach them how to live in this world. This is why we were left in the world—to give light and hope in the world. The world is not our home, we are just a-passing through. We do not feel at home in this world. We are of good courage but we would rather be away from the body and present with the Lord. It is far better to depart and be with the Lord. |||||
What are TREASURES? These are what we consider to be precious and of great worth to us. Everyone has a treasure trove. |||||
THE STOREHOUSE OF OUR TREASURE "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Jewels are kept in a jewel box. The children are never allowed to play with it. The believers treasures are held secure in the heart.
"Search me O God and know my heart," the Psalmist said. If you want to know what your treasure is, then search your heart honestly. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart, and He knows what our treasure is. Is God our treasure? Is everything else as rubbish before God?
The first and great commandment according to Jesus is: "to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind." |||||
THE SUBSTANCE OF OUR TREASURE "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." There are only two kinds of treasure. Earthly and heavenly treasure.
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2 Cor 4:16-18) Youth and beauty fade away and we do not have much time to stay. We are soon left with only memories. If our treasure is in people and in the earth, it will soon be gone.
"I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man. So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. (Eccl 2:4-11). This is a graphic picture of what happens to earthly treasure. Godly people at the end of their lives look back to the grace and kindness of God and to the privilege of having served God. And even in the last days they speak of the nearness of God, and as you look at them you know where their treasure is. |||||
If our earthly treasure is all that we had, how sad it would be. While the one kind of treasure is stolen and destroyed, the other kind is secure and eternal.
May our treasure be dedicated to the glory of God and the service of God. Take my life, take my silver and my gold, take my marriage or my singleness, take my children and let them see You in me, take my house, I dedicate it for Your glory . . . |||||
We must never think that Jesus is teaching us here how to go to heaven. He is not telling us to store treasure in heaven in order to get to heaven. All our righteousness is like filthy rags. It is by grace we are saved through faith. This is the result of finding the greatest treasure and the pearl of great price. What is our treasure? May our treasure be in the triune God. May it be in the Lord Jesus and His finished work. ||||| And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
(Mark 8:34-36) ||||| But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (Phil 3:7-8) |||||
We lay up our treasure in heavenly things because we love and value the Lord and not because we are working our way to heaven. Doing this gives great joy, peace, and contentment.
As the hymn writer put it: I've found the pearl of greatest price! My heart doth sing for joy; And sing I must, for Christ is mine! Christ shall my song employ." |||||
What is your treasure, and where is your treasure?