Test Sermon SoundFaith

Introduction:

We hear much about “gold reserve” and “balance of payments.” The national gold reserve of the United States is located in Fort Knox. The problem we face is that the reserve is not adequate to meet the demands placed upon it today. The Christian, according to Scripture, is to have a “gold reserve” of sorts.

I. INJUNCTION (“Lay not up for yourselves treasure on earth …, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven”)

A. Meaning of terms

1. “Lay up”: store up or accumulate

2. “Treasure”: not confined to gold

3. “Earth”: this world and this life

4. “Heaven”: the other world and the next life

B. The two things encompassed

1. A negative prohibition

2. A positive commandment

C. The real design

1. Dealing with worldliness: an attitude and a way of life rather than a list of things

2. Has to do with the main emphasis of life

II. INSTRUCTION (“Where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal …; where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal”)

A. Good reasons are offered why we should not put our treasure upon earth

1. Worldly treasures do not last

2. They do not satisfy while they do last

3. They pale and fade—we lose interest in them as time goes by

4. They are easily stolen

B. Good reasons are given why we should build treasures in heaven

1. God reserves our heavenly treasure for us

2. There is no way that the treasure there can be tarnished

III. INTENT (“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”)

A. A truism stated

B. A danger cited: in this way, many a heart has been turned from the Lord

Conclusion:

How do we lay up treasure in heaven? By making positive use of what God has given us to the glory of God.

Charles R. Wood, Sermon Outlines on the Sermon on the Mount (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1985), 34–35.