1 STORAGE UNIT MATTHEW 6:19-24 SERMON Just to be clear, the picture on the front of your bulletin is not my garage or storage unit! The text today, Matt 6:19-24 comes from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus had been preaching about prayer and fasting and in vs. 19 he turns his attention to the subject of material goods and specifically, storing up material goods. Jesus warned his disciples emphatically against storing up material treasure on earth. Instead of storing up earthly treasure we should store up heavenly treasure! That s the point of this text. Jesus wants us to store up heavenly treasure! So, let s do it! Store up heavenly treasure! The key verse is vs.20: But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. What does Jesus mean by the phrase, treasures in heaven? Stay tuned! I will identify treasures in heaven later in my message. Jesus never condemned material goods, in and of themselves. He condemned our inclination to become preoccupied with material goods or money. Why does Jesus denounce this inclination or penchant to become preoccupied and absorbed with material goods? Look at what Jesus said in vs.21, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Jesus knows that humans have a tendency to place our trust in material items that serve us, such as our financial investments, home, cars, clothing, and electronic and recreational toys. So we must look at ourselves honestly and ask two penetrating and difficult questions, do I place my trust and hope in the material things that I ve accumulated or seek to accumulate or do I place my trust and hope in heaven? How do you answer those two questions? Where do you place your ultimate trust? Let s return to the text and begin in Vs.19- A play on words occurs in this verse. The verse literally reads, treasure not for yourselves treasure on earth. The grammar indicates that Jesus spoke these words emphatically, as a command. In the second part of the verse Jesus explains why we should avoid storing up treasures on earth: they do not last! Earthly treasures simply do not last! Treasures on earth wear out, break down, go out of date, fade away, and change consistency. Earth is where moth and rust destroy. I brought a few items this morning to illustrate Jesus points. I wore my college letterman s jacket on my first date with Sally. You can see it looks rather worn. It smells too, like mold. In examining this old jacket I note some stains and holes. These holes could be the result of moths eating my jacket. This jacket will not last forever! Imagine me wearing this jacket today on my first date with Sally. Do you think she d want to go out with me again, after showing up in this? This prohibition of Jesus relates to nature. Bugs such as moths, termites, aphids, wood beetles, and carpenter ants eat and damage valuable commodities such as clothes, homes, and crops of food. Before moving to Oregon from Sacramento in 1985, we ran into a problem selling our home. We were required to have a termite inspection. The inspector found termite tunnels under our home.
2 He also found wood underneath our home destroyed by water leaking from one of our showers. We had to spend several thousand dollars fixing our home just so we could sell it. I know many of you have had similar experiences. As Jesus told us, moths and rust destroy. Rust destroys the value and function of certain material goods. We ve all seen or owned old rusty cars which no longer operate and spend their days sitting on junkyard lots or out in some field. Let s see what else I have in this box. Hey, I have an old cassette tape. We used to record my sermons on cassette tapes. Today, technology has progressed beyond cassette tapes and even CD s! Time marches on! Today s state of the art equipment becomes tomorrow s garage sale special! Jesus continues in the next part of vs.19, and where thieves break in and steal. Remember, Jesus is building his argument for storing up treasure in heaven instead of earth. On earth, moth and rust destroy and now we hear that thieves break in and steal. The word for steal in the original is the word, klepto. It appears twice in this verse. From klepto we get the English word, kleptomania meaning a persistent neurotic impulse to steal. Since thieves can break in and steal our earthly goods we should avoid investing in them. I brought my gym bag, pair of pants and my keys. These items were what I had stolen from my locker at the YMCA in Medford many years ago. I had placed these items in an unlocked locker, taken my wallet upstairs for the attendant to keep and then went in to the swimming pool and swam my laps. When I returned to the locker room I discovered that my pants, keys and gym bag had been stolen! I remember standing in my swimsuit in the YMCA lobby dripping wet, explaining my predicament to an attendant. The YMCA let me call Sally and kindly lent me a pair of sweats to wear home. Many people have much more serious items stolen. Perhaps you ve had the unfortunate experience of having your identity stolen, or credit cards, or jewelry, or even a car! My best friend in high school s father had his new Porsche stolen right off a San Francisco street one day in 1970. The authorities never found it. Since these material items can be easily taken from us we should avoid investing in them. That s the main thrust of vs.19. Jesus warned us against placing our trust in things, which do not last or can be taken from us. This brings us to our key verse in our text this morning, vs.20: But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. Jesus said it plainly and gave it as a command: Store up heavenly treasure! Store up heavenly treasure! Based on Jesus command, we should identify what Jesus meant by the term, heavenly treasure. Since Jesus commanded us to store up treasures in heaven, it would be a good idea to identify this treasure, to know what we re supposed to store up! So, what exactly does Jesus mean by the phrase, treasures in heaven? Treasures in heaven includes some important nonmaterial items. The first one is:
3 1. Surrender to God. When we surrender to God, we give up control of our lives to God. It s no longer what I want to do with my life; it s what God calls me to do with my life! Turn in your Bible to Matthew 19:20-22. A rich young ruler had approached Jesus and asked him what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to obey the commandments and the young ruler told Jesus that he had obeyed them. Look in vs.20 All these I have kept the young man said. What do I still lack? Jesus answered, if you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. When the young man heard this he went away sad because he had great wealth. This young man had enormous wealth that meant a great deal to him. Apparently he idolized his wealth. Jesus knew this young man s heart; he knew this young man worshipped his wealth. So, Jesus commanded him to sell his possessions, to give them up, to surrender his stuff, to let it go. But, the young man couldn t do it. His stuff meant more to him than following Jesus. Jesus wants us to surrender everything that s important to us to Him! He commands us to do this because he wants to be first in our lives! But material wealth functions as the top priority for many of us. I ve noticed that many people have a tough time admitting that material wealth is their top priority, but our spending and lifestyles speak volumes for what s really important to us. If you think money or investments might have a hold on you, review your bank and credit card statements and other ways you spend your money. These statements tell us a lot about ourselves! Surrender to God must happen daily because our human nature struggles for control. We struggle to control our work, our children, our money, our future plans and dreams; sometimes we struggle to control people like our spouse, children or friends. Jesus taught us the importance of surrender. He told us in Luke 9:23: Then he said to them all, If anyone would come after me he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Oswald Chambers was a gifted artist but later decided that he needed to pursue a business career. He entered Edinburgh University but soon grew restless. He transferred to Dunoon Bible Training College where he developed a burning passion for God s Word. We read this about Oswald Chambers, The absorbing passion of his life was utter abandonment to the Lord Jesus and to do his will. That abandonment gave him an inner calm and quiet that was constant and consistent. Outwardly he was tireless in teaching, writing, witnessing, praying He was called to teach at the Dunoon Bible Training college in 1911, which responsibility he filled with signal sweetness and blessing. In July 1915 he was appointed to YMCA overseas service with the British troops in Egypt. In a hut at Zeitoun he ministered to the physical and spiritual needs of the Tommies who where guarding the all-essential Suez canal (Edman, They Found the Secret, pg.56-57) Oswald Chambers died of disease while serving British troops in Egypt. He wrote a well-known devotional book that has inspired many Christians called, My Utmost for His Highest. Heavenly treasure involves surrender and it also involves:
4 2. Giving to the poor. Jesus also told the rich young ruler in Matt 19:21 give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Jesus clearly identified a second treasure in heaven as giving to the poor. What does this mean? It means giving some of the resources God has entrusted to us to the poor. We should give our money, time, and experience to help the poor. Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and he will reward him for what he has done. We must use good stewardship when we give to the poor. Giving $5 to a homeless man who will simply use it to buy a cheap bottle of Vodka or lottery tickets is not good stewardship. Good stewardship involves adapting our giving to good, solid, biblical stewardship principles. Some Christian organizations publish their budgets so contributors can see how they spend their funds. We publish our church budget every year so you can see how we spend the funds we receive. One of my good friends in our church made this comment a few weeks ago: I ve never been in a church that s so open about the way it spends its money. His comment made me feel very good! Be wise and prudent in your giving to Christian and charitable groups. Make sure you know how those groups spend the charitable dollars you give them! In our church we give a considerable amount of our mission and Deacon dollars to organizations which minister to the poor. These include our Honduras mission trip, Loma de Luz Hospital, Youth for Christ, our Mexico Mission trip, Habitat for Humanity, Plant with Purpose, Hearts with a Mission and the Medford Gospel Mission. In addition to mission dollars from our general operating fund, some Deacon fund monies also go towards helping the poor. Recently we began a partnership with a new Christian group in the Rogue valley called Mercy s Gate. This worthy Christian organization provides resources and ministry to the poor. They not only provide help for rent, gas, food and other necessities, they also share the gospel with the poor and work with them to teach them more responsible use of the monies they have. Heavenly treasure includes surrender to God, giving to the poor and finally: 3 Serving God. A third treasure in heaven involves serving God. Turn back in your Bible to the last book in the Old Testament, Malachi 3:14: You have said, It is futile to serve God. What did we gain carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape. Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. They will be mine says the Lord Almighty, in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. People in Malachi s day were questioning their service for God. They were asking, what s the use of serving God? It doesn t seem like it makes any difference! The arrogant are blessed,
5 the wicked prosper and those who challenge God escape. In other words, serving God doesn t seem to have any positive effect! But notice God s response. The text reports that God knows those who serve him. He will make those who serve him his treasured possession. God sees what we do! God sees what you do! He knows how you spend your time. God will hold all of us accountable with our money, time and the use of our spiritual gifts on the Day of Judgment. So, let s make a renewed effort to serve God with all our hearts! Do you have an identifiable ministry in the church? If you consider this church your church home, you should be involved in some kind of service for God! Opportunities include serving as an usher, singing in the choir, teaching Sunday school, volunteering for special projects, serving on a ministry team, etc. Get involved in some form of Christian service! I m happy that we have so many of you signed up to help with the Harvest Festival. When you think of storing up heavenly treasure, think of engaging in these activities: surrendering to God daily, giving to the poor, and serving God. Our Lord wants us to store them up! Invest in these biblical activities instead of material goods that can be destroyed or stolen. Reflect for a moment on your heavenly treasure. What s lacking in your treasure chest? Surrendering to God daily? Giving to the poor? Serving God? Maybe all three of these could use some work. What tangible steps can you take to begin surrendering or giving to the poor or serving God? Let us pray.