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.  

Good Day Ahead

Englewood/Rust UMC
July 4, 2010
2 Kings 5:1-14
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
Pentecost 7
Year C
First Sermon

I think it’s been cancelled now, but at the beginning of the year there was this show that came on ABC – I think it was called Flashback, or something like that. I never really got into the show, but I do remember the line from one of the commercials that has always stuck in my mind. In it a little girl of about six years old woke up in her bed crying. Her mother stood over her and asked – baby what is the matter. She said, mommy I had a bad dream. The mother asked, so baby – what was your dream. She said momma I dreamed that there were no more good days. There are only bad days ahead.
The scene sticks in my head , and I thought there is a sermon in that statement – I immediately thought this little girl was having my bad dream - my nightmare. The nightmare of no more good days. Things are never going to get better for me. You don’t pay bills and the bills pile up, you pay the bills and the bills still pile up. You work as hard as you can, tirelessly every day and there is still someone telling you that it is not enough. You try and things still don’t change, you don’t try and things don’t change. What is the use – there are no more good days. There was a time in my life when I felt that I was moving forward, getting ahead, happy enjoying life. But that was a long time ago – not today.
But you know – I also think that I am forgetting a very important lesson about my faith in Christ.
Namaan must have felt that way when he set out to isreal looking for a cure. There were no good days ahead. We get that way when we feel we have been robbed of the life that we know and understand.
Namaan was the general of the greatest army in the world at the time. The bible says that God gave victory to the army of Aram through Namaan. He was used to people bowing to him and giving him whatever he wanted. He was used to special priviledges, used to invitations from important people, used to being with the rich and famous of his day.
But he lost all of that the day he got a disease – what he thought to be a skin disease. He didn’t know what it was, but he was not taking any chances.
He thought he had leprosy – a skin disease that made all of his friend keep their distance. But really it was something deeper.
Physical symptoms are always a sign of something deeper. Every illness that we have has a physical component, a mental and emotional component and a spiritual component. Physical illness is our bodies way of getting our attention to warn us that something needs to change in our lives and in our spirits.
The second symptom of his deeper illness, of his need for a cure, was in his stuff. In order to take this journey of healing he needed to take 10 changes of clothes, horseloads of jewelry, food and other gifts. He was convinced that his stuff was going to find a cure.
No wonder when he did get to the prophet Elisha, the prophet didn’t even bother to greet him. He just sent a message to bathe in the river.
Elisha knew that Namaan’s complaint was not his problem. Remember physical symptoms are always a sign of a deeper spiritual issue.
Namaan didn’t need to be cured of his leprosy, he needed to be cured of his pride.
Pride that his stuff could bring him healing. Pride that his life was all about him – who he was and what he had. Pride that just because he was important that he was not supposed to suffer.
Elisha didn’t want to have anything to do with his stuff.
Pride stands in the way of us seeing how God works in our lives. Humililty opens the door to see how God is working in spite of ourselves, our ego and our pride. Let me repeat that – pride stands in the way of us seeing how God works in our lives, humility opens the door to see how God is working in spite of ourselves.
You see this is not a story about Namaan and his high horse, his illness, his unwillingness to listen, his arrogance that just because he has a problem someone is supposed to take care of him.

This is really a story about the miracle of everyday life and everyday people. It is a story about a slave girl who knew of a prophet who could really cure Naaman. It is about a servant who told him the put his pride aside and do what Elisha said, it is about a down to earth prophet – who had spiritual eyes to see what was really going on.
God works through our faith not our pride, we just have to be aware enough to know the difference.
We also have to know that everything that we need in life is contained in the peace of Christ. Peace means justice, wellbeing, wholeness, and joy.
Jesus sends his disciples out into the world 2 by 2 charging them to give peace to the world. He tells them to take nothing for the journey – in other words leave you stuff at home. Peace is not in our stuff, it is in our love for God.
Just like a car needs gas, a spirit needs the spirit of Christ. When the spirit is not connected to God – we are empty. The peace of Christ for a Christian is everything. It is our healing, our teaching, our guiding light, it is our light in a dark spot, our joy in times of trouble, our hope when nothing else works. Most importantly it is our message to the rest of the world that we are all God’s children and everything is going to be okay.
The peace of Christ is the fuel our spirits use, the food our souls feed on – we can’t be happy apart from the spirit of Christ. Christ can’t give us happiness and peace apart from himself – it’s just not possible. Those are not my words – but the words of the famous Christian author C.S. Lewis.
Furthermore, an unhappy, unpeaceful, hopeless Christian is a poor reflection not only on Christ’s church but on God.
Either they are not practicing their faith properly, or their faith is useless.
Unhappy Christians are the world’s biggest argument for staying away from church, and for believing that either God is useless for even that there is no God.
The presence of joy is a sign that Christ is alive in ourselves, our hearts and the world.
When Jesus send his disciples out 2by2, he told them to pass the peace, travel light, heal the sick, and to return with joy. Scripture says – I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions, over come the power of evil and nothing will harm you.

Jesus didn’t say the journey would be easy, as a matter of fact he says the exact opposite. But he did say that nothing will harm you and that you will have joy.
Billy Graham tells the story of visiting a carribean island. He was invited to have lunch with one of the wealthiest men in the world. The man was 75 years old – and he seemed close to tears the whole time. I am the most miserable man in the world. He point to his yacht and said that he could go wherever he wanted. He could do whatever he wanted, he could have whatever he wanted – I have all I want to make me happy – but none of it mattered. Nothing gave his life meaning, nothing made him happy. The grahams talked to him and tried to lead him to Christ – to help him understand that true happiness was in the presence of Christ in his life.
Later that day they had dinner with a pastor – 75 also, he too had lost his wife and spent his free time taking care of his sick sisters. But in the midst of it all – he was happy and full of Christ. He loved witnessing to the love of Christ. I don’t have a dime to my name he said, but I am the happiest man on the island. When the Grahams left his house – Billy asked his wife – which one of these men was richer?

We got some tough times ahead – and life really might not get better. There is rejection, failure, and pain in the future – we can be sure of that.
But there are also good days ahead. Personally I praise God that I don’t have to life in the nightmare belief that there are no more good days.
I can celebrate because the glory of God is not in what I do for God- it is in the testimony of what God does for me.
My peace is not in my self, its in Christ. My message to the world is not in my stuff, or lack there of – it is in the witness that I am for God. My joy is in my journey – journey to pass the peace of Christ to everyone I meet. My happiness is not just in what I say – it is in who I am for the Lord. And who the Lord is for me. Let us pray….