Treasures in Heaven
T
IMMANUEL CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
07/26/2020
Treasures in Heaven
Matt 6:19-,24p — Lk 11:34-36
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Grace and peace to you in the name of God our father and the Son and The Holy Spirit. I thank God for you and your families. God is good, in times like this it is Good to know that we serve a awesome God. He goes before us and directs our paths. What a wonderful God He is. This is no time to put down your Guard, the virus is on the rise and is killing and infecting more and more people every day. There is a reason for this virus coming upon the world at this time, ultimately it is the result of sin. We must continue to pray to our Lord for a cure. We know God is able to cure any and all diseases. Don’t say to yourself I prayed to God about and I am not going to bug God by continuing to ask Him. Jesus told us in the parable of the unjust Judge to continue going back to God asking Him. God wants us to come to Him about any concern, and when he answers, you will be so excited. We must pray continually.
It is tragic how our lives turn out when we center our lives on accumulating treasures on earth. We should not put so much emphasis on building up treasures here on earth. We all like to have nice things and there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes we have to take into consideration the cost of having nice things. For example, you see something that you really want, and it is valuable, if you were to purchase it would it put your family in a hardship? are you still able to take care of your responsibilities? Will you be able to pay your debts, clothe and feed your children, and pay the rent? Would you steal to get it? What about the harm you do to the person you steal it from? If you work take care of all your needs and the needs of your family and you can safely provide something for your pleasure and even for the pleasure of your family. There is nothing wrong with that. We all like nice clothes, nice homes, nice cars, nice jewelry and Lots of money in the bank. There is nothing wrong with that. It is when you become so obsessed with gaining wealth and building yourself a treasure on earth you neglect doing what God wants you to do. In fact, at that point you are not really interested in what God wants you are interested in You. The first Illustration is the moth, this is related to those who value wearing expensive clothes made of nice material, designer clothing. Soon or later those expensive garments are going to get eaten up by moths, or dry rot they are not going to last forever they will return to dust, mildew. Become ragged.
We all like have fancy cars, trucks, nice transportation, bikes, gates we place around our homes, nice homes, swimming pools, luxurious furniture. We really become obsessed with having the best that we could buy. But after all you do to obtain it, rust comes along and destroy it. The rust is not only representative of corroding of metal, but what also is being emphasized is the decay that eats into and corrodes all perishable treasures on earth. The moth and the rust illustrate the outward and inward phases of destruction. Both moths and rust once they settle on an object, they eat their way from the exterior to the interior
The third is illustration is that of thieves. There are some places in the world where they hide their treasure underground. They bury it. They were and are very aware that thieves could come and dig it up. So, they did their best to hide their treasure. Moths and rust attack that which is perishable. Thieves seek imperishable treasures. Now these three swift, silent robbers of wealth describe the folly of amassing earthly possessions for their own sake. God wants you to build up your treasure in heaven where moths and rust can’t destroy, nor can thieves break through and steal it.
The treasure God wants us to store in heaven is equivalent to those good works of which our Lord speaks of when he said to sell your possessions and give to the poor. The character form in you by your good works follow you into the unseen world and is not subject to decay. God wants you to be rich in good works, rich in faith, and he wants you to be partakers of unsearchable riches. Where a man’s heart is so is his heart also (Matt 6:21). Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth. Laying up is not in itself sinful. If a person works and makes enough money and if treasure comes your way they are to be used not only for our profit and pleasure but also for the good of others.
Jewish people’s wealth was in Garments and gold, and Jewels ours is inland, and houses, clothes and jewelry, and cars. God wants us not to fix our hearts on earth visible treasures, which perishes. Those who do this place themselves at the mercy of things that are so insignificant as a moth, and rust and numerous thieves who are ready to break in. You build to low if you build beneath the sky. God wants you to build your treasure in Heaven.
The perishable can never be a portion of the soul’s regards. If nothing else comes against us to try to destroy us old age is like a moth which impairs us and disease is a sort of rust which lessens our enjoyment of earthly treasures., and then there is death that breaks in and steals all we have.
The parable of the single and evil eyes.
It is important for us to be able to perceive that which is before us, behind us, around us, the world we live in. Our Lord acknowledges this fact. Jesus said that the eye is the lamp of the body, the eye is not the light of the body. Have you ever really thought of just how valuable your eyes are? Your eyes are truly a marvel. Eyes that can’t see leaves every organ in the body embarrassed and unguided. If there is no light the eyes are useless. When the lights are out, and it is dark you can’t see. What good are your eyes at that point? It is through our eyes we are able to interpret the world around us. The eyes are what regulate the movement of our bodies. It has been said that a person that is blind to their other senses become keener. They would be the first to tell you that the eye is the lamp in which the light shines.
Jesus said if the eye is healthy your body will be full of light. The word Jesus used for healthy is aplous, it means single folded. An eye without complication within itself.
But if the eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness how great is the darkness? For unhealthy Jesus used the word oculist, meaning stigmatism, astigmatism is a structural defect of the eye so that the rays of light don’t converge to a point in the retina. There is a fold in the eye something is out of place, the eye is not single it.
Jesus is applying these optical defects to our spiritual vision. If the eyes of the soul are not folded over, nothing is out of place. Then everything is seen in the right perspective. When looking with good sound eyes we see clearly, so the single and persistent desire to serve and please God I everything will make our whole character pleasing to God.
Jesus used the word evil, or poneros meaning evil in influence, distempered. An evil eye is a bad eye, not merely n obliquity, but there is a squint, this type of eye sees things double, and such an eye spiritually exercises an evil influence on the one carrying it and on others. Jesus said that the evil eye causes the whole body to be full of darkness. There is no unification of life at the center, so everything is out of focus. An eye that doesn’t look straight ahead at objects doesn’t see things as they really are. So, a heart divided between heaven and earth is all dark. If we have distorted and double purposes it impairs our attitude toward God and life.
Jesus said you can not serve God and money. Amen So God doesn’t want us to store up our treasures on earth where moths and rust will corrode, and thieves will steal but focus on building your treasure in heaven Where decay can not get to it, thieves can’t steal it, Don’t try to be citizens of two worlds, you can not be citizens in heaven and citizen on earth. This is not your home, place your focus on building treasure there, by doing the work that God has prepared for you to do before the foundation of the world (Eph 2:9,10).
Now if you haven’t made the decision to Choose Christ the doors of the church are open. If you say this prayer with me, Jesus I believe you died for my sin and that God raised you from the dead, I ask you to forgive me for my sin based on your Son Jesus Christ Thank You, Lord Amen.
