Where Is Your Treasure?

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1 Where Is Your Treasure? The majority of people in this world will never have any great wealth during their lifetimes. They will never have luxurious homes, or any great material possessions. In fact, the greatest percentage of this world s population lives in abject poverty. For them, life itself is a daily struggle just to survive. For most people, all that they can hope for, or aspire to, is just to eke out an existence with a place to live and food on the table and very little left for anything else. There are those who waste their lives looking for some get rich quick scheme, or those who gamble and play the lottery, or those that are always looking for that next investment that will catapult them into the world of the rich and famous. An entire lifetime can be wasted in pursuit of temporal things that do not last and can only bring at best a temporary and fleeting pleasure. All that we can accumulate and possess in this life will be left behind when our lives are over. All of those things have no value or worth when we are no longer around to enjoy them! What does a person truly have to show after a lifetime in pursuit of material wealth and gain nothing. James 4: Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow, let us go to such and such a city, spend a year there, and trade, and make a profit, 14 when you do not know of tomorrow. For what is your life? For it is a vapor that appears for a little, and then disappears 15 instead of your saying, If the Master desires, we shall live and do this or that. 16 But now you boast in your proud speeches. All such boasting is wicked. 17 To him, then, who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. We have but a very short time on this earth a very, very short time to make use of what YHVH offers to us and to take advantage of His gift. It is up to each one of us how we spend the time we have here and what our attention and effort is focused on. We are here for a reason and it is not to see how much we can accumulate and possess in this world! What things of this world are equal in value, to eternal life with YHVH and His Son? King David s son, Solomon, was blessed beyond measure. He had everything that he could possibly want and more. It was a very prosperous time for Israel and Solomon enjoyed the richest blessings of that time in history. Not only did Solomon have great wealth and material possessions, he also was given great wisdom. Solomon was wiser than all men. Solomon had it all, yet he realized that there are things that are of far greater value.

2 1 Kings 4:31 31 For he was wiser than all men, than ythan the E rahite, and man, and alkol, and Darda, the sons of Ma ol. And his name was in all the nations round about. Solomon possessed such great wisdom and understanding, that all of the learned and great and educated men came to see him to increase their own knowledge! 1 Kings 4:34 34 And there came from all peoples, from all the sovereigns of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, to hear the wisdom of Shelomoh. Solomon had it all, everything that his heart desired, untold wealth and wisdom, popularity, fame and glory, and knowledge and understanding greater than any man alive! He lacked nothing and denied himself nothing; yet for all that he had, Solomon came to realize that it was all meaningless and worthless. Solomon came to see that all the fame and glory, all the material wealth and possessions in the earth, all of the temporary pleasures and pastimes were all vanity and meaningless. Ecclesiastes 2: I said in my heart, Come now, let me try you with rejoicing and find out what is good. But see, that too was futile. 2 I said of laughter, It is madness, and of rejoicing, What does it do? 3 I searched in my heart how to stimulate my body with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, until I could see what was good for the sons of men to do under the heavens all the days of their lives. 4 I made my works great, I built myself houses, I planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made gardens and parks for myself, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made pools of water for myself, to water from them a plantation of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female servants, and I came to have sons of the household. Also, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were before me in Yerushalayim. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasures of sovereigns and of the provinces. I provided male and female singers for myself, and the pleasures of men a woman and women. 9 Thus I became great and increased more than all who were before me in Yerushalayim. Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 And all that my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor. And this was my portion from all my labor. 11 But when I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled, see, all was futile and feeding on wind, and there was no gain under the sun. All of the time that we spend lusting and seeking after these things, takes away from the time we could be spending learning and drawing closer to YHVH. What can we

3 hope to gain from the pursuit of such things? Absolutely nothing people fool themselves into believing that material things will make them happy, but it is just an illusion. For those who possess wealth and great material possessions it is never enough, they are constantly seeking to add to what they already have! When you really stop to think about it, there is very little that we actually need to sustain our lives. Do you want to spend the precious time that you have on this earth pursuing things that are meaningless and without value? How much are those possessions worth, that people spend so much time and effort pursuing? Many of those things that we seek after just serve to use up our available time and to draw us farther and farther away from YHVH! Whatever we spend the majority of our time and efforts on should help us to grow closer to and have a deep meaningful relationship with YHVH. Our societies and cultures are built around consumerism. Everywhere we go and everywhere we look we are constantly being told that we need something to make our lives more enjoyable and to make our lives easier. One of the reasons that we are in the midst of a financial crisis is because of unbridled greed. People have been encouraged to buy things that they cannot afford and credit was too easily extended to those who could barely afford life s necessities. None of the things that we can possess in this material world will ever bring true, lasting happiness, peace of mind and contentment. There will always be some new possession to seek after, some new pursuit to take up our time. 1 John 2: Do not love the world nor that which is in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 Because all that is in the world the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world passes away, and the lust of it, but the one doing the desire of Elohim remains forever. We can all be affected by this world and we can easily fall into the same trap of lusting after possessions and material gain. We have to realize, that is not why we are here! Those things have no importance and we should not let those things be our focus and rule our lives. Whatever we spend the majority of our time doing in this life, are the things that matters to us the most. If those things are more important to us and take away from the time that we should be spending with YHVH, then they are idols. Father wants all of our attention and will not accept anything less than the number one position in our lives. There is a time coming when people will realize in a very real way, that all of their personal possessions are worthless. There are many people in the world that are beginning to experience this very thing right now. People are losing their homes and all of their worldly possessions and being forced to live on the streets, or in campgrounds. What good will all of those material things do for you when you are faced with a crisis?

4 You cannot even sell those items during difficult times, because there is nobody else with the means to buy them either! YHVH says the time is coming when even gold and silver will be worthless! Ezekiel 7:19 19 They throw their silver into the streets, and their gold becomes as filth. Their silver and their gold is unable to deliver them in the day of the wrath of They do not satisfy their appetite, nor fill their stomachs, because it.יהוה has been their stumbling-block of crookedness. What good are gold and silver when there are no goods to buy? Of what worth are gold and silver when your very life is at stake? Gold and silver cannot sustain life! Each of us had better be spending our time and energy on things that do matter on pursuits that do sustain our lives and that will allow us ultimately to have eternal life in YHVH s Kingdom. We can never allow ourselves to get to a point where we start thinking that we can rest and grow lax, and think that we have done all that we need to do and there is nothing left to accomplish. Luke 12: e then spoke a parable to them, saying, The land of a certain rich man yielded well. 17 And he was reasoning within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room to store my crops? 18 And he said, I am going to do this: pull down my storehouses and build greater, and store all my crops and my goods there, 19 then say to myself, Life, you have many goods laid up for many years, take your ease, eat, drink, rejoice. 20 But Elohim said to him, You mindless one! This night your life shall be demanded from you. And who shall own what you have prepared? 21 So is he who is storing up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward Elohim. One of the main reasons people pursue and attempt to acquire great wealth is to have a life of leisure. Their idea of happiness is not having to work and being able to spend their lives on whatever pastimes please them. A life of leisure and overindulgence is not a productive life! Human beings need something to do. We have to have a reason and a purpose in our lives. We were not meant to spend our time idly, on meaningless things that produce nothing of any value. People have a distorted sense and belief in what is important and what will really bring them peace and a true contentment that will last. A life apart from YHVH is not life it is an existence. To truly understand the meaning of life, why we are here and what our purpose is, you must have a relationship with YHVH! There is a wealth and a treasure that is more valuable than anything we can ever possess on this earth. Matthew 6:19-21

5 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 shall be also. Everything in this world is temporary and it will all pass away at the end. The earth will be burned up and it will be rebuilt and prepared for YHVH to dwell on it along with His Son. Store up your wealth and treasure in a place where it will be safe! Matthew 13: Again, the reign of the heavens is like a man, a merchant, seeking fine pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Seek after the pearl of great price, pursue it, add it to your treasure and then store your treasure where you long to be in the place where it is safe and no one can touch it, or take it away from you the Kingdom of Elohim! Make attaining the Kingdom your goal and your pursuit in this life, so that you may have eternal life with YHVH and His Son there is no greater wealth or treasure would you trade that for material wealth and gain? The greatest riches can only be possessed when we give up everything that we have. Seek that which will last and that which has true value. Copyright 2011 Jeff L Mills