The Joy of Discovering Hidden Treasure – 3

The Joy of Discovering Hidden Treasure – 3

Subject – My Heart Always Goes Where I Put God’s Money

By Rick Welborne

Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)
¹⁹  "Do not 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 moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
²¹  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

--If you were to go to Cairo, Egypt, and find your way down one of their allies you would find an overgrown graveyard for American missionaries. You would find a name…William Borden 1887-1913.

--Borden was a Yale graduate and heir to great wealth. He rejected a life of ease in order to take the gospel to Muslims. He even refused to buy himself a car and gave away hundreds of thousands of dollars to missions.

--After only four months on the mission’s field in Egypt he contracted meningitis and died at the age of 25. As you dust off the epitaph, after talking about his love and sacrifice for the Muslim people the inscription said:

Epitaph for William Borden – Apart from faith in Christ, there is no explanation for such a life. 

--If you leave the graveyard you can drive to an Egyptian Museum where King Tut was buried. He died at the age of 17. He was buried with solid gold chariots and thousands of golden artifacts. 

--His gold coffin was buried within gold tombs within gold tombs. Ancient Egyptians believed that you could take your earthly treasures with you into the afterlife. 

--But all the treasures that were intended for King Tuts enjoyment in the afterlife stayed right there where they were buried for more than 3000 years until Howard Carter discovered them in 1922. 

--What a contrast of two graves. Borden’s grave was obscure, dusty, and hidden off a back street littered with garbage. Tut’s grave glittered with unimaginable wealth. Yet, where are these two men now?

--One who lived in opulence (luxury) and called himself a king now lives in eternity without Christ. The other lived modestly in service to the true King of kings, is enjoying his everlasting reward in Jesus’ presence.

--Tut’s life was tragic because he discovered too late that you can’t take it with you. Borden’s life was one of triumph because instead of leaving his treasures, he sent them on ahead. 

1. Our Eternal Rewards 

--If you think Heaven is just a place where you sit on a cloud and strum a harp for eternity, you will probably dread going there. Maybe laying on the cloud and sleeping for about a hundred years would be good. So tired.

--But on the other hand, if you read the Word and believe it, Heaven will be an exciting place of worship, of relief from pain and sorrow, of receiving rewards for our faithfulness, and most of all, seeing Jesus. Wow!

--Think about this; Jesus notices everything we do in His Name. God keeps very good records of all we do.

Matthew 10:42 (NIV)
⁴²  And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

Malachi 3:16 (NIV)
¹⁶ …A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored His name. 

--Try to imagine this…someone in Heaven has the responsibility to record the things you do here on earth to be a blessing. That bike you gave, the extra money you gave a waitress, money to missionaries, all recorded.

Luke 16:9-10 (NLT2)
⁹  Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.
¹⁰  “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. 

--This blows my mind…the people I help on this earth through random acts of kindness or through my mission’s giving will welcome me into their homes in Heaven. They will be my friends for eternity. Wow!

--Yes, we will celebrate and worship Jesus as our eternal reward but we will also have fellowship with those we have blessed financially and those we have led to the Lord. Heaven will be so exciting.

2. Store Up for Yourselves Treasures in Heaven.

Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)
¹⁹  "Do not 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 moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
²¹  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

--You cannot understand what Jesus is trying to say in this passage as long as you think it is wrong to value treasure in Heaven. You must believe it is right to do what Jesus tells you to do…Store up for yourselves…

--People often say that they believe it is wrong or ungodly for us to want rewards even if it is in Heaven. The Word is filled with promises about rewards for those who are faithful to God. 

Alcorn – If it were wrong to want rewards, Christ wouldn’t offer rewards as motivation. Rewards are God’s idea, not ours. Love for God, love for people, and compassion for the poor are all vitally important. But these motives for giving are in no way contrary to the fact that God calls us to be motivated by rewards. 

--Sometimes we want to give to people who can give us something back. If we give to those who can’t reward us, Christ guarantees He will personally reward us with treasures waiting on us in Heaven. Verses please!

Luke 14:12-14 (NLT2)
¹²  Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward.
¹³  Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.
¹⁴  Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”

--I believe this includes helping those who are poor but also those who are poor spiritually, giving to missions.

3. Our Hearts in the Right Place.

--God promises us wonderful rewards in Heaven and on the New Earth free from the curse…no more tears, sorrow, pain, or even death. We will be with the One Who gave Himself for us!

--Even though this is absolutely true, many Christians dread the thought of leaving this world. Why? We have stored up so many treasures here on this earth. Each day brings us closer to death and closer to losing our…

--I remember my father-in-law sitting on our porch out in the country and saying something, in light of this sermon, that was powerful and sobering. “Why would you want to ever leave this and go to Heaven?”

--How tightly are we hanging on to the things, the treasures, of this world? How many treasures are we laying up in Heaven by our extreme generosity? Why is that important? It shows us where our hearts are.

Matthew 6:21 (NIV) ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

Alcorn – My heart always goes where I put God’s money.

--Yes, Pastor Rick, my heart goes toward the 10% (tithe) I give and the amount I give to missions. Please, let me remind you a couple of verses from last week. All your money is God’s money.

Psalm 24:1 (NLT2) ¹ The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. 

Haggai 2:8 (NIV) ⁸ 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty.

--What we do with our money doesn’t simply indicate where our hearts are, according to Jesus, it determines where our hearts go. Our hearts follow our treasure…show me your financial records and I can show you where your heart is. 

--Imagine you invest in or buy shares in GMC or Ford, what happens? You suddenly develop an interest in what happens with those companies. If you hear their names on the news, you perk up.

--On the other hand, let’s say you are investing in Impact Africa or Missionary Ann Steward through your mission’s giving, and you hear about those countries you pay attention. Where your treasure is your heart goes...

--As surely as the compass needle follows north, your heart follows your treasure. This is such a remarkable truth. If I want my heart somewhere, all I need to do is put my money there. 

--People say they want more of a heart for missions and seeing the lost come to Christ. Jesus says the easy solution is to put your money (your treasure) into missions and your heart will follow.

--If you want your heart to gravitate toward eternal things, then, reallocate some of your money, a bunch of it, from temporal things to eternal things and your heart will follow your investment. Souls are eternal investments.

Matthew 13:44 (NIV)
⁴⁴  "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 

--In his joy he got rid of all his worldly wealth and treasures to gain a better eternal treasure. God is looking for disciples who for the sake of eternal treasures are investing their money, time, and prayers where they matter…

Hebrews 11:24-26 (NIV)
²⁴  By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
²⁵  He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.
²⁶  He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

--If we believe each places us closer to the time we leave all our treasures behind, we will be miserable. If we believe each day we live moves us closer to our eternal reward and treasure, we will have joy.

Alcorn – My heart always goes where I put God’s money.