Treasures in Heaven
Notes
Transcript
19 “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. 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. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Scary phrase for Americans. There are many many warnings against the pursuit of money in the Scriptures.
8 If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 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.
4 You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.
1 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days. 4 Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers who mowed your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Armies. 5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
When I think of warnings in the NT, there are very very few that are given this forcefully and graphically. There is a reason! So don’t downplay it! Now that you know what NOT TO DO, what are you TO DO?
17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, 19 storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life.
Timothy told us the same thing Jesus told us, to store up treasures for ourselves in heaven.
19 “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.
When you are told to store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, what image do you imagine? What do you think that looks like? What does it look like “to store up” treasures in heaven? (Your part) and What do those “treasures in heaven” look like? (Your reward) — To answer that, let’s look at heaven for a min.
Chapter 57 -- THE NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH
"In fact, heaven may be defined as follows: Heaven is the place where God most fully makes known his presence to bless."
Wayne Grudem — Systematic Theology, — He reminds us that God’s presence is everywhere,
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 9 If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, 10 even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night”— 12 even the darkness is not dark to you. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to you.
So if God is everywhere, then what is “different” about His presence in Heaven? Wayne Grudem describes it as the place where He most fully makes known his presence to bless. In other words, it is a spiritual realm where He has made righteous people perfect, where everyone is holy, and where everyone can experience His presence unhindered, and without fear, where His blessings flow at will. It’s a place where He freely blesses everything, the people, the angels, the trees, the buildings, the rivers, the sky, everything. Things are the way He wants them to be. Things operate the way He wants them to operate. — It’s a real place where Jesus is now
9 After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”
It is a real place in another realm that God can allow access between the two realms as He chooses, Jesus left our realm and lifted up into the air and entered the heavenly realm with His glorified body. God allowed Moses and Elijah to travel between the two realms.
1 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here. If you want, I will set up three shelters here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown and were terrified.
God allowed Stephen to see the Heavenly realm from Earth.
54 When they heard these things, they were enraged and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
God also allows Angels to travel between the realms as we saw earlier when Jesus ascended to heaven and at his tomb, but also for us even today.
2 Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.
It’s a real place, a real realm, the spiritual reality is not “less” real than the physical reality. It is “more” real. Why do I say that? Imagine looking at the other realm from each realm like Stephen, or Moses, or Elijah, or an angel…are you any less real in either realm? are your surroundings any less real in each realm? Will they merge for eternity? So what does it look like? — i want to read to you a description of heaven, but before I do, I want to tell you a story that never happened about a rich man who got to do what no one has ever done
10 He then carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 arrayed with God’s glory. Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12 The city had a massive high wall, with twelve gates. Twelve angels were at the gates; the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons were inscribed on the gates. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 The city wall had twelve foundations, and the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb were on the foundations. 15 The one who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out in a square; its length and width are the same. He measured the city with the rod at 12,000 stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall, 144 cubits according to human measurement, which the angel used. 18 The building material of its wall was jasper, and the city was pure gold clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the city wall were adorned with every kind of jewel: the first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates are twelve pearls; each individual gate was made of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass. 22 I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 Its gates will never close by day because it will never be night there. 26 They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. 27 Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life. 1 Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, 3 and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more; people will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever.
Look at this:
21 The twelve gates are twelve pearls; each individual gate was made of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.
gates are made of solid pearl, the main street is paved in gold,
18 The building material of its wall was jasper, and the city was pure gold clear as glass.
the wall is made from jasper and the whole city is made from gold. The poorest person in heaven is more wealthy than the wealthiest person on the planet. And the size is almost inconceivable
It is 1,400 miles long, 1,400 miles wide, and 1,400 miles high, and the wall is 200 feet thick. — round globe makes city look like a trapezoid
Now this city is made of gold, imagine being there. When God gave instructions to build his temple under Solomon, the entire inside of the temple and everything in it were coated in gold. when you walked in all you saw was gold, and we are told that the temple was a reflection of the real thing in heaven. Now imagine being in that city of gold. Now let’s look at Jesus’ words again.
20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.
When I asked you to think of what that treasure would look like earlier, what did you imagine? Did you imagine jewels and gold? If you did, then put yourself back int hat city, and look around, and you’ll see walls made from jewels and the road made from gold, in other words, if you imagined gold and jewels as treasure, you are going to be very disappointed in heaven because you will be given a box of rocks, literally a box of bricks and pavement. When you get to heaven, what you will consider treasure is NOT what you consider treasure now. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be...
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
What you will consider treasure when you get to heaven, will not be money and things, but will be people. Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, store up for yourselves people in heaven. How do you store up for yourselves people in heaven, by using that money to show people the love of God. If you have worldly wealth, use it to your advantage to help people and to win people to Christ. I’ll give you two examples. One way is to help people who are in need.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
21 “If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
42 And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 “ ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger and you didn’t take me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of me.’ 44 “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?’ 45 “Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
the other way is to use worldly wealth to bring people to Christ
1 Now he said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who received an accusation that his manager was squandering his possessions. 2 So he called the manager in and asked, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be my manager.’ 3 “Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig; I’m ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I’ll do so that when I’m removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ 5 “So he summoned each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first one. 6 “ ‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he said. “ ‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘sit down quickly, and write fifty.’ 7 “Next he asked another, ‘How much do you owe?’ “ ‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he said. “ ‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘and write eighty.’ 8 “The master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this age are more shrewd than the children of light in dealing with their own people. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings. 10 Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. 11 So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with what is genuine? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
The man’s ability to use money to his advantage wasn’t going to last much longer, he was going to be fired soon. Our ability to use money to our advantage isn’t going to last much longer, we are going to die soon. He used his leverage while he could, to make friends that he would still have after he lost his job, we can use wealth now to make friends that will last even after we lose our lives. We can make friends that will be there in the life to come. Jesus said
9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings.
Now they can’t allow you into heaven if you aren’t saved, but if you stretch it that far you’ve missed the point, they don’t have to be the one’s who “allow” you into heaven to “welcome you.”
This sermon has really made me sit down and give a lot of thought to how I spend money, and what I spend money on. Don’t worry, I don’t have any bad habits, but I sat down and started thinking through if I were standing in heaven today, and then was given an opportunity to come back to earth for another 40 years, how would I live? How would I dress? How would I eat? How would I save, and what would I save for? How would I give? The way I spend money now, how much is spent on needs, and how much is spent on wants? I’m about to say something that is going to sound contrary to everything I’ve just preached, but hear me out. I think you should spend your money on your needs first, and then I think you should spend the rest of your money on your wants! We all do that already, and you say, but that’s exactly what is giving me so much guilt and regret that I’m wasting money on things that won’t matter when I leave this earth. I agree, but that’s because your wants are selfish and things that are worldly, but what if we could change our wants. What if we could change what we want from worldly things to kingdom wants. What if we could change what we want from pleasure to people, and not pleasure from people, which is worldly, but the souls of men and women. If you could change what you want, to no longer be content with worldly things, to no longer be happy with those things, to change those things into a feeling of discontent instead of content, and begin to take pleasure in giving our money away instead of spending it on ourselves, THEN we could spend our money on our wants and it make an eternal difference. Because the greatest treasure we could ever have is God himself.
5 Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.
If we can learn to be satisfied with what we have, and realize that what we have is God, then we can live kingdom lives, and they won’t be miserable lives, they will be guilt free, rewarding lives. Pray to God that he will change your wants from worldly wants to kingdom wants.