Where is Your Treasure?

October 7, 2018 Matthew 6:19-21 Where is your Treasure? Stewardship Drive #1 Year B (taken from the stewardship drive - Treasure Children’s Time…… “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Setting Up the Treasures in Heaven Object Lesson Prepare for teaching this lesson by gathering these supplies: piggy bank, coins, posterboard cut out of a piggy bank, pushpins, paper coins, marker and tape. Place the piggy bank and coins on a table near your learning area. Next, hang the cutout of the piggy bank on the wall with pushpins. On the paper coins write phrases like, “Feed the Hungry” or “Comfort the Sad.” Put these near the cutout on a table with the tape. Say: “Let’s read this parable together. Everyone stand up on one foot! Let’s read it in our normal voice the first time and then we will stand on the other foot and read it super slow.” (Read the verse twice.) “Some people use a piggy bank to hide their coins. When Mom or Dad gives you extra change, a piggy bank is a good place to keep until you are ready to spend. You can shake it and hear the change in there. That’s fun to do! What are some reasons why you might get some change?” (Lost a tooth, did a chore, had a birthday etc.) “It’s a good idea to save your treasure so you don’t lose it but sometimes things happen. People can find the secret opening and unplug and steal your money. A thief might even be able to break the bank in half and destroy it. That’s bad news!” “Jesus says that when we put our money in heaven’s bank, we never have to worry about losing it. What does that mean? How do we put money in heaven’s bank? We do the things God asked to us to do, kind things, like caring for the sick, turning the other cheek, giving to the Lord. God sees all these things and every time we do one, He drops another coin in our heavenly piggy bank.” (Tape paper coins to the bank.) I encourage you to store up some treasures in heaven. Not only will you have some treasures when you get there but doing so will keep your heart loving God. Sermon #1 “Where Is Your Treasure?” OUTLINE Matthew 6:19-21 “Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Outline Introduction One Saturday, my wife and I packed up everything we owned except for some clothes and a few pieces of luggage and put them in a storage facility. We were in a time of transition between one home and another and would be living with family for a few months. After packing, we found that the contents of our home fit into a 10’ x 20’ storage unit. I closed the door, put a lock on it, and left all my stuff in that unit, next to hundreds of others. All that I had ever saved for, deliberated over, and purchased was stacked in that room. At first I would go by every week or so just to check in on it. Eventually I didn’t do that anymore, and for three months I didn’t need one single thing from the unit. I. What Do I Really Treasure? A. Our Treasure Is Not Found in Our Stuff Turns out the only thing Americans may love more than Big Macs is hoarding. There are more self-storage facilities in America than there are McDonald's restaurants, according to a recent report from the commercial real estate publication REJournals. There were 48,500 self-storage facilities in America at the end of 2014, Curbed points out, compared to a mere 14,350 McDonald's restaurants. (For the record, there were just 11,962 Starbucks coffee shops in 2014, making the number of self-storage spots larger than McDonald's and Starbucks locations combined.) It's no surprise, if you think about it. Americans are documented on television for their hoarding tendencies, and sleek new self-storage startups are only making it easier to squirrel away our belongings. But what's astonishing is the sheer amount of space devoted to self storage: There's an average of 21 feet of self-storage space available for every American household, the Self Storage Association reports. You've got to wonder if all that stuff could just fit in the garage. In fact, 65 percent of Americans who rent a storage unit have a garage, but they rent one anyway. There is 2.3 billion square feet of rentable self-storage space in the United States. We have so much stuff that our homes can’t hold it. But our treasure is not found in stuff. The Treasure series is not an indictment on stuff. In fact, when my wife and I moved into our new home after three months with family, we used almost everything we had packed away. The couches, the refrigerator, the beds all went to good use. What I learned, though, was that those things are not my treasure. B. What We Value in the End Pastors have the opportunity and privilege to be with people in their last days. Rarely in those last moments do people talk about the things they have acquired on earth—the kind of treasure that moth and rust can destroy, the kind that thieves can break in and steal. People in their last moments talk about their family, friends, moments with God, children they have taught, mission trips they have taken. They talk about vacations and laughter, and they share stories that are amusing and meaningful. They talk less about salaries and more about promises shared with God and with people. At the end of the our life, when we sit down and think about it what is it that we really treasure? What is it that is really most important to us? is it our stuff, or is it our family, friends, experiences, and our relationships with one another. Who do we love and who loves us? We have to remember that our primary relationship with God determines the quality of all of the other relationships. II. Heart Follows Treasure A. Jesus Talks about Money This series is about where you are investing your life, but there’s no denying that it’s also about money. That’s because Jesus talked about money. In fact, Jesus talked more about money than about heaven and hell combined. Jesus talked more about money than anything except the Kingdom of God. Eleven of Jesus’ thirty-nine parables are about money. One of every seven verses in the Gospel of Luke talks about money. Why did Jesus talk so much about money? This is the time of year when we talk about money. It is a time that most people dread. Why do we have to talk about money in church. That is what faith is all about. In the bible, there are 500 verses that talk about faith and 2000 that talk about money. 15% of all of the verses that Jesus talks, are specifically about money. Just like all of Jesus lessons, Jesus adds to what is in the old testament. The old testament talks about giving a 10th of what you have to God, In the new testament, Jesus talks about giving to a cause – to help those in need. And he says that if it takes more than a 10th to do that – then that is okay. B. Jesus Cares about Our Hearts In the Sermon on the Mount we see that Jesus is looking at the heart. He cares about the hearts of God’s people. Jesus talks about money and treasure because he knows that they affect our hearts. He knows money stresses our relationships. Money causes division in and among people. Money and its pursuit can be all-consuming and burdensome. Those who have lost jobs or find money hard to find will tell you that it is not just a financial issue but an emotional and spiritual one. Jesus talks about money because he cares about our hearts. C. Our Treasure Shows Us Our Heart We usually think that where our heart is, our treasure will follow. Jesus says that it is the opposite. Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. This is not just a change in semantics. Jesus knows that the place where we spend our money will become our treasure, whether we want it to or not. Financial commitments require time and energy. They pull our heart in a direction that perhaps neither we nor God ever intended. If you buy a house that requires a large percentage of your income, you have no choice but to spend time and energy and money in paying for it. When you put your treasure into anything, your heart will follow. III. Heart Investment Billy Graham was asked late in his life, “If you could, would you go back and do anything differently?” His answer may surprise you. “Yes, of course. I’d spend more time at home with my family, and I’d study more and preach less. I wouldn’t have taken so many speaking engagements. . . . Whenever I counsel someone who feels called to be an evangelist, I always urge them to guard their time and not feel like they have to do everything.” A. What Do You Want to be Investing In? If you didn’t have your debt or commitments, and if you could choose where to store up treasure, where would it be? B. What Are You Investing In? As you consider where you would store up treasure, take a moment to assess realistically where your treasure currently is? Do you feel your heart divided? C. Treasure in Heaven Jesus tells us we have the opportunity to lay up treasure in heaven. When we are investing our lives in the things of God, we find that our hearts no longer feel disconnected from God but rather are in unity with God. Faith is realizing that that things that we store up here on earth is not our treasure, but what we give to God and what we give to others- our stewardship, or caring for the things that God cares about is our true treasure in heaven. What beginning steps can you take to lay up treasure in heaven? For additional commentary and articles on this theme, please go to MinistryMatters.com/Treasure.