Treasure in Heaven: Three Kingdom Priorities Your Heart Must Embrace (Matthew 6:19-24)

Enslaved to Materialism

Growing up in the 19080’s and 1990’s, I did not know the parable of the Ruch Fool, but I experienced it everywhere. After Ronald Reagan’s “trickle down” economics had some time to work, according to some, the economy exploded and it seemed like everybody and their uncle was making money. Massive shopping complexes called malls became a thing. Malls were filled with teenagers who had large amounts of cash on hand for buying the newest fashions and large pretzels.

When I would stay over at my friends house for a sleepover, we would play Nintendo or Sega game counsels into the wee hours of the morning. We no longer had to go to the arcade to drops five bucks in quarters. Nor did we have to go to the movie theater to watch new movies. We had HBO and Cinemax on our satellite T.V. channels.

As a child of the 80’s and 90’s I was taught the meaning of life was to store up treasures on earth, as many as you can. Build massive barns to keep all your stuff. I learned from friends and family to invest my time and resources into building an intimate relationship with wealth. I was taught to be a rich fool, and so were many of you.

Wealth is one of the hallmarks of living in the west. Wealth in and of itself is not bad thing, but the love of wealth will shipwreck your faith. The love of wealth enslaves you to materialism. When you set your life on living to a certain standard, you cannot conceive of living below that standard. Therefore, you work 50-60, even 80 hours a week to make sure your bank account stays plumb full and your retirement is on track. Stick to the plan and amass for yourself great wealth so you retire comfortably. That is the American dream and that is the dream we were sold growing up. The problem with dreams is they are not real, and in sixty seconds all of your wealth, and the hope you were putting into can be gone.

On Monday, August 19th, The Bayesian yacht, flying a British flag, sunk off the coast of Italy at around 5am local time when the area was hit by a tornado. Seven people perished that night. Do you know who some of them were?

Billionaire technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18 year old daughter. Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife perished that night. It took sixty seconds for the ship to sink. Everything they built their life upon was gone in sixty seconds.

Here’s the point, brothers and sisters, if you have not invested in your relationship with Christ, then when you die everything you amassed on this earth is gone. You enter eternity empty. You have nothing. All of your billions of dollars stay here, and you now have to stand before God empty handed. Jesus calls you to a different life that allows you to enter heaven with treasures and rewards that are waiting for you.

To live the good life, now you must not live as the Rich fool lived, storing up his wealth in barns, putting his happiness in earthly possessions. You must live as Jesus lives, for the Kingdom of God, storing up your treasures in heaven where God keeps them unspoiled and guarded until he brings you home. To do this you need to wake up.

You must shift your focus from earthly possessions to heavenly treasures, by prioritizing your affections, practicing contentment, and pledging allegiance, so you can align your heart with God's kingdom values and reward.

This is Jesus’ call on every disciple who desires to live the good life now. Every disciple of Jesus must possess a single minded heart united loyal love for Jesus. Jesus says, “If you love me you will obey me.” Obedience to Jesus comes from a fountain of love for him. Obedience to Jesus with your wealth will come from a love for Jesus’ attitude toward earthly wealth. Our text this morning reveals what Jesus wants you to do with your life regarding your possessions. Unlike the rich fool, Jesus wants you to prioritize your affections for him, practice contentment in him, and pledge your allegiance to him with all that you own. And he promises to make sure you have everything you need in this life, while you store up treasure in the next life.

Prioritize single minded heart united loyal affections for Christ.

Matthew 6:19–21 ESV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In this passage, Jesus warns against the accumulation of earthly treasures. When he mentions "earthly treasures," he specifically refers to clothes and precious metals. However, Jesus is not only talking about these items; he means everything we value on earth. The issue with earthly treasures is that due to the impact of sin, everything on earth deteriorates, from our relationships to our possessions to our bodies. Nothing from this earth will last forever. Everything eventually comes to an end. Clothes can be ruined by moth larvae and metals can corrode to rust, making them worthless. Furthermore, Jesus warns that what you don’t lose naturally can be stolen from you. The point is your material possessions are never safe. They are not secured and unspoiled, nor are they being kept in heaven and guarded by God, as we discussed last Sunday regarding your living hope. They are vulnerable. And if your heart prioritizes them as its main object of affections, then your love will be severely disappointed.

My brother-in-law, Matthew, was a young talented IT tech who worked for the city of Mankato right out of school. At twenty-two years old he was making good money and working up the ladder in a promising career. He was literally enjoying the desires of his heart storing up treasures on earth.

In March of 2005, he was diagnosed with sarcoma, a somewhat rare soft tissue cancer. The cancer was aggressive. He unfortunately passed away four months after he was diagnosed.

It was not long before Matt was limited to his home. I can remember sitting in his newly built house, on his newly bought couch, watching his new big screen T.V. We were chatting about some of the amenities of his home, when he looked at me and said, with a bit of surreal sarcasm, “Are you in the market for a new home? I can get you a real deal.” At that moment, both of us realized that none of his possessions really mattered. He would’ve given all of his material possessions away if it meant he could live.

Matt was a parable for me. He showed me that Jesus’ words are true. What good does it do us to gain the whole world and lose our soul? Jesus offers you a vision of living where you gain the world and keep your soul, but it requires prioritizing your hearts affections away from this world toward his kingdom. In other words, Christ demands that he become your treasure.

What does it mean to treasure Christ?

Jesus says, Matthew 6:21

Matthew 6:21 ESV

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

Your treasure has something to do with your heart. Your heart, says the Bible, is the well spring of life (Proverbs 4:23). It is the center of your will and affections. To treasure something is to value it, or prize it above all other things. Consider the parable of the treasure in the field.

Jesus says,

Matthew 13:44 ESV

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The man found a treasure in a field that valued and prized so much that he joyfully sold all of his earthly possessions so he could buy the field and have the treasure. The treasure in the field moved the man to sacrifice all he possesses in this life, and he did it with joy. Why? Because the joy of the treasure he found far surpassed the sacrifice.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus is the treasure. He is the highest prize your heart can value. Just as the treasure in the field was worth everything to the man, being with Jesus and living in his kingdom is worth everything to us; so much so we joyfully sing let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body they may kill; God’s truth abidith still. His kingdom is forever (Martin Luther, A Mighty Fortress is our God).

Jesus is worth your greatest affection. Pay attention to your affections. Charles Spurgeon is spot on when he warned,

Whatever a man depends upon, whatever rules his mind, whatever governs his affections, whatever is the chief object of his delight, is his god.

The Root That Bears Wormwood, Volume 12, Sermon #723 - Deuteronomy 29:18

Charles Spurgeon

How are your affections stirred toward Christ?

First, you must receive Jesus as your Lord, Savior, and Treasure. That is the nature of salvation. John says

John 1:12 ESV

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

To receive Jesus is to believe upon Jesus. You must believe you are a sinner. You must believe your sin is worthy of God’s eternal judgement, and that if you die in your sin He will condemn you to hell. You must believe that God has given his Son Jesus Christ as an atonement sacrifice for your sin. You must believe that Jesus is fully God and fully man, that he lived a perfect life upholding God’s law, and that he died on the cross as a substitute in the place of sinners. You must believe that God accepted his sacrifice and raised him from the dead after three days in the grave. You must believe that Jesus ascended into heaven and poured out his Spirit to all who confess with their mouth what they believe in their heart; that the risen Jesus is Lord and Savior.

To receive Jesus you must repent of your sin, confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and by faith follow him. And one way you will know your faith is real is by your affections for Jesus. Children of God who have received Jesus, show genuine saving faith by their deep affections for Jesus. In his book, What Is Saving Faith? Reflections on Receiving Christ as a Treasure, John Piper says that saving faith, many would say, is receiving Christ as loved, receiving Christ as enjoyed, receiving Christ as treasured.” Your affections for Jesus reveal your faith in Jesus. Which means Jesus is your treasure, Jesus is whom you depend on. Jesus is the one who rules your mind. Jesus governs your affections. Jesus is the object of your delight. Jesus is your God. Therefore, Jesus is your heart’s priority, and your affections are aimed at joyfully advancing his kingdom by letting go of your earthly gains.

With your affections prioritized toward Jesus, you are now in a position to practice single minded heart united loyal contentment in Christ.

Practice single minded heart united contentment in Christ

Matthew 6:22–23 ESV

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Jesus says your eye is the lamp to your body. Last week we learned that the eye is so connected to the heart that what you turn your eyes to inflames the heart. In this case, the eye either enlightens or darkens your heart. If your eye is good, your heart is full of light. If your eye is bad, your heart is full of a great darkness. What does Jesus mean “full of darkness”?

There is some ambiguity in verses 22-23. The ESV translates the text,

Matthew 6:22–23 (ESV)

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

The ESV translates the big idea of an eye full of light. Its healthy. It does the same for the word bad if it is full of darkness. The HCSB translates the word healthy as “good,” which is the original meaning, and accepts the same translation as the EVS for bad. The King James Version uses the word “single” for the word good, which is one of its meanings, which I think means a single focus. This rendering can be a bit confusing for most English readers. The KJV translates the word “bad” as evil, which is the original meaning of the word.

All the different interpretations of the word "evil" in the text are technically correct. The term "evil" can also refer to negative qualities such as jealousy, envy, and selfishness. When someone's eye is "evil," it means they have an unhealthy and covetous attitude towards wealth. Will Metzger rightly says

Coveting is something we do with our hearts, not our hands or feet.

Will Metzger

Coveting in your heart happens when your affections are drawn to what you desperately want, but do not have. It’s shows up in treasuring your neighbors house, or your neighbors wife, or his earthly possessions. Coveting in your heart says to Jesus, “You are not my highest treasure. Your are not sufficient, or you can’t supply all my needs according to the richness of your grace.” Coveting tells God that your single minded heart united contentment is in this fallen world. Therefore, I must cling to my wealth and possessions because they provide my rest.

Timothy Keller gets to the heart of coveting when he asks,

What is coveting? Coveting is not loving and resting so much in God that you can be content. You’re not content. God is not enough. If you can’t love him enough to be content with what you are and what you have, that’s coveting. That’s the essence of sin.

Timothy Keller

Practicing a single minded heart united contentment for God’s kingdom forsakes coveting this worlds possession with being content in Christ and the promises of his future kingdom. Practicing contentment in Christ is letting his light fill the eyes of your heart; a light that reveals truth, clarifies the way into the presence of the Father, and warms your heart with affections for eternal life.

Practicing single minded heart united loyal contentment for Jesus fights the dark unbelief of coveting by believing that Christ is enough. If Christ is enough then his comfort and provision transcends all of your earthly circumstances. You have no reason, then, to fear or be anxious about tomorrow-what you will eat or what you will wear. Jesus will be enough.

Paul speaks to this when he says

Philippians 4:11–13 ESV

11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

D.A. Carson makes a wonderful point.

Paul is content in both circumstances because his contentment is utterly independent of circumstances.

D. A. Carson

What he means is because Paul’s contentment is in Christ he can be truly content when his hungry or full, rich or poor, free or imprisoned, comfortable or uncomfortable. Paul has no need to be anxious about this life. He practices a single minded heart united loyal contentment in Jesus.

One final thought. Just like the word practice has an active component to it, so does the word learned. Paul learned to be content, which means Jesus put him in situations to practice contentment. For example, he was in a Roman prison when he wrote this letter to the Philippians. He never lost his joy, he never played the victim for being unjustly imprisoned, and he kept preaching the gospel. His single minded heart united loyal contentment in Christ even led to some of the imperial guard being saved. Contentment in Christ bears the fruit of salvation.

What would it look like for FBCL to practice a single minded heart united loyal contentment for Jesus?

I believe we would be a joy-filled people who always prayed for the best for each other. I think we would have an unbreakable unity. All of our goals and ministry outreach would be approached with the confidence that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Our affections for each other would feel a lot like our affections for Jesus. Our love for Jesus and each other would grow in knowledge and every kind of discernment. We would all approve things that are superior and would strive to help each other remain pure and blameless until Jesus returns. And we would be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

Then, we would free ourselves from the love of money. We would almost seem reckless with our wealth as we joyfully advanced the kingdom of God by making much of Jesus; by being content in Jesus. Our discussion about Litchfield Christian School would not revolve around how will we pay for it, but what are we going to do to get as many lost children and families to the school as soon as possible. What sacrifices with my time, talent, and treasure can I make to joyfully advance the kingdom of God at L.C.S?

Pledge single minded heart united loyal allegiance to Christ’s kingdom

Matthew 6:24 ESV

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

The eye is so connected to your heart that it stands as a metaphor for the heart. If your eyes are dark, your heart is dark. If your heart is dark it does not have the light of Christ. It is filled with unbelief. Your master is not Jesus, it is money. When you master is money, you turn away from Jesus.

John Piper made me aware of a terrifying illustration of the consequence of money being your master with the story of the rich young ruler. The rich young ruler asks Jesus, “What good must I do to have eternal life? (Matthew 19:16) After a bit of discussion in verses 17-20, Jesus finally says,

Matthew 19:21 ESV

21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Jesus say to the young man, “Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth. Give all you possessions away and store up treasure in heaven. Follow me. I will be your treasure.” Jesus is the treasure. The young man is looking at the person all of heaven and earth will treasure. How does this young man respond?

Matthew 19:22 ESV

22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

He turned away from Jesus. Why would you do such a foolish thing? Because he had great possessions. Money was his master. The master of money required the rich young ruler to lay up treasures on earth. The Master of Money blinded his heart with unbelief, and it demanded all of his worship. To what end? Paul says,

1 Timothy 6:10 CSB

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

The end of your life after serving the idol of money is a shipped wrecked faith filled with grief and regret.

You cannot simultaneously build your own kingdom and God's kingdom. Both kingdoms require your single minded heart united loyal priority, practice and pledge. He makes this clear by giving two reasons why it won’t work. You will either love one and despise the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. Your heart is only fitted for one Master, one King, one God. There is no room for plurality. Either Jesus is master over you, and the sole object of your affections, or you money is your master and robs Jesus of your sole affections. The love of money treasures money, and where your treasure is, there your heart will be. The love of money will turn your heart away from Jesus. Do not let money master you. You must pledge your single minded heart united loyal love to Jesus if you want to live in His kingdom.

Prioritize your affections for Jesus by starting your day with prayer and bible reading.

Set the tone for your day making Jesus the first person you enjoy. By enjoying Jesus first, you set the tone for all of your relationships with family, friends, and co-workers. By stirring your love for him first, he empowers you to love your neighbor.

Practice single minded heart united contentment in Christ by seeking opportunities to serve people, especially those who demand a lot of care and attention.

They will suck every bit of life out of you, and then you will see the well of life Jesus provides for you. That is what scares me and excites me about starting a school and biblical counseling ministry. We will be working with messy complex brokenness that comes with poverty, addiction, and broken family dynamics. I do not have it in me to love these people with any depth. But Christ in me, prioritizing my affections, and empowering me to practice selfless service with integrity, changes everything. He compels me to invite those who have nothing, who have no ability to repay me, to my house, my church, my network of support, my family, to enjoy the blessings my Father has bestowed on me.

Pledge single minded heart united allegiance to God’s kingdom by sacrificing your time, talent, and treasure to the mission of FBCL.

Put the mission of Christ’s kingdom first, which often translates to putting our church community first. Make the ministry of FBCL a nonnegotiable commitment. Look for opportunities to serve. Jump at opportunities to serve. Have an open mind about how God can use you in the ministry at FBCL. Forsake complaining about the problems and seek to be a solution.

The rich fool pledged his allegiance to his own kingdom and he lost everything. Jesus promises when you pledge allegiance to his kingdom you gain heaven and earth for all eternity. Brothers and sisters, let’s not be a church filled with rich fools. Let’s be disciples of Jesus who have a single minded heart united loyal love for him that works itself out by prioritizing our affections for him, practicing contentment in him, and pledging our allegiance to his kingdom above all earthly kingdoms.