Storing up Treasures — Duane Troyer

Storing up Treasures — Duane Troyer

Grace be with you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I Really appreciate It's been shared in the opening and in the comments and I Had a I had a thought or two that I I thought I'd wait till I'm here to share but I I Agree that it's not not always easy to tell like when someone has a scornful heart or not.

But one of the thoughts I had is that there's like one of the synonyms for scorn would be mock. And we're not to be mockers. We're not to sit with the scornful. We're not to sit with the mockers and And even mocking has more than one definition, I think but but one One one definition of mocking that I think and maybe it's not.

Maybe it's not the worst way. We can be a mocker and yet it's mockery and that is when we imitate people. Why is a mockingbird called a mockingbird because it imitates other birds and and one of the things that ties in with what was shared is like what what do we laugh about is People people who have this imitate This habit and are really good at imitating another person.

They can almost always make everybody laugh. I Just think we should guard against it. You know It and it's in us. You know why children do act like their parents when they're they're little because they're they're wanting to imitate.

No, that's not That's not bad. That's That's uh, that's a God-designed thing but when when when when we get older we ought not to to especially in this Making fun of someone way imitating the way they act and talk and trying to get everybody to laugh about About it.

So, hey, let's let's stand and pray our Father in heaven. We thank you for All your love to us your mercies your goodness and kindness. Thank you father for Giving us this day in this beautiful day. Thank you for giving us sound minds and healthy bodies and brothers and sisters to gather with I pray Lord for your presence here for your spirit to be with us and to fill this room and to give us all Eyes to see ears to hear and hearts to understand and I pray as we look into your word Lord that you would just Let the spirit of truth guide guide us and convict us and encourage us.

We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. So I want to.

The Sermon on the Mount and the Kingdom of God

Want to continue into the next portion of the Sermon on the Mount for For those of you who may this may be your first time here I've been within the last Months. For quite half a year maybe more we've been.

We've been taking a thorough look at the Sermon on the Mount which is Matthew 5 6 and 7 and This is this in my opinion is the greatest sermon given by the greatest teacher of all times. He's the greatest king.

He's the king of kings and he's he's establishing a new kingdom. He came to establish a new kingdom him and in this sermon. Which he gave early on in his in his in his ministry. He's he's laying the foundation.

For what what it means To be in this kingdom. He ends this by Saying that this this is foundational to hear and to do these things that I that I've told you here. This is this is how you build on the right foundation a rock-solid foundation that That can't be moved.

And come hell or high water it will it will be steadfast. One of one of my goals has been to inspire myself and others to To a deeper and a more radical return to these teachings and to be able to see the grace and the truth in it.

To see that that in these teachings of Jesus is is new life. New life for a new creature in an in a new creation and Today in today's passage. It's in Matthew 6 and we'll start at verse 19 and we're moving away from from these secret things that Jesus talked about this this good secret that we can have of praying and fasting and having this this secret almsgiving that that fosters a relationship with God that that no one else needs to know about and.

Earthly Treasures and Treasures in Heaven

And we move away from from from those things into something that is very tangible very visible. In fact the rest of chapter 6 here is is. Somewhat all tied together. It's it's kind of all about. It's all tied into this to this subject of earthly possessions.

About what we have in our possession or seek to have in our possession. Why we have it in our possession or why we seek to have it in our possession and where. Where we have this? Treasure as the translators translated it.

And so let's look at Matthew 6 starting in verse 19. Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy. Where thieves break in and steal but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

Where neither moth nor rust destroys where thieves do not break in or steal for where your treasure is. There your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So then if your eye is clear your whole body will be full of light but if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness if.

Then the light that is in you is darkness. How great is the darkness? No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and wealth. We'll leave the rest of that. The rest of those verses in that chapter for the next message and focus mostly on these today. So all of humanity Desires a good life we We desire to have a life that is a pleasant experience a life that is free from suffering.

No one likes to go hungry. No one likes to shiver with cold. No one likes to get sick. No one likes to suffer and in in in the. In the course of human events, there's been a really brief little time when that existed for all humanity.

Though there wasn't much there weren't many humans. There was a there was a time when when the earth brought forth plenty and and it brought it forth perfectly and the climate was perfect and there was.

There was not a single lack of a single good thing. This of course was in the Garden of Eden. It it was in this in this paradise of Eden. It was this place where where where heaven and earth were were together in perfect harmony.

But our as our existence there as humans didn't didn't last long. It it only lasted a really brief time. Because there was sin and we were driven out and the earth was cursed and from there on we had to toil and sweat to produce the necessities to survive and.

And ever since that we we humans have been. We've we've clawed and chiseled and chopped and hammered we've we've dug down and we've built up and we've bought and we've sold and we've Invented things we fabricated things.

We forged things Manufactured them and what happens to these things. They rust they rot they decay they break they burn they are stolen and What do we do? We do it all over again. We've we've we've put value on these things and we've come up with a medium of exchange called money that expresses this value and These these things and the money That that we are able to acquire.

These are our possessions and we we can do with them whatever we please. And and it is what today's text calls treasures. There's always been and there always will be a portion of humanity that Acquires more than enough of these things.

They they They acquire more than enough Possessions than they need to live and live without suffering and there's always a portion of humanity That suffer from a lack of these possessions. There's obviously many factors that contribute to it.

Sometimes it's people being lazy or making poor choices or having poor management. Sometimes it's due to the environment they're in or the climate they have that That the surroundings just don't produce much and they suffer because of that but more often than not the opportunity or the lack of opportunity is is the result of of Choices made by by people with more power.

Who create this kind of opportunity or lack of it? Sometimes it's poor choices. Sometimes it's through greed though that That they exploit the poor in order to get more for themselves. And one of the messages That is sounded and resounded through the old and the New Testament is that God hears the cry of the poor?

He hears the cry of the poor specifically those poor who either directly or indirectly Are afflicted by the oppression of the of of those with more written more more wealth and more power than they have.

Psalm 34 6 says the poor man cried and the Lord heard him. Deuteronomy 15 11 says the poor will never cease out of the land. Therefore open your hand wide to your brother and. And God God gave Moses when God gave The the law to Moses to give to the people.

Because he's making this covenant with with the seed of Abraham the descendants of Abraham. He he gives him laws. For this purpose laws like every seventh year He want God wants the people to not plow or harvest the fields you leave it there for the poor people he gives laws like.

When you when you when you do harvest your fields don't don't harvest all the way out to the edges and into the corners. Leave that for the poor people. He gives laws like and says if you're out gathering your sheaves and you.

And you come to the end of the field and you look back and you see oh, I I missed a couple sheaves out there. He says don't go back and get him. Leave him there. Leave him there for the poor.

Mmm, is there a problem?

Okay, leave leave some for the gleaners and and these are laws that God had that God placed upon Upon a people who who who didn't naturally Just just have this heart to share with the poor. In in short this old law is saying To those who who have possessions or the ability to gather possessions he's he's saying don't.

Don't gather everything that you can. Okay, leave leave some for the poor people to gather and Like usual Jesus as he as he's been doing through this sermon. He's he's raising the standard to a new level a New level of how to gather and store up possessions a new level of caring for the poor.

Selling Possessions and Giving to the Poor

So let's let's look here again at Matthew 6 19. Do not store up for yourselves Treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal this. This laying up or storing up treasures.

The meaning of that is like a deposit of wealth or a store of wealth. I think the the Greek word kind of gives this impression of like a granary or a storehouse and. So I don't think Jesus is referring when he's talking here.

I don't think he's referring to our daily bread or the clothes on our back or or necessities like that, but he's he's specifically speaking of of investments. Things things we would store up For the future in order to keep us from suffering or needing to continue to work.

He's specifically addressing that thing and and Jesus is saying don't Don't store your possessions here In this in this earth earth because after all this place is cursed. There's there's moth and all kinds of little critters and insects that destroy destroy things there's rust.

There's thieves. It's just not secure and even even if even if we could Preserve these things from all those things if we could if we can preserve these things from being moth-eaten or rusting away or decaying.

The scripture tells us that someday There will come a big a big bang and a fire that will melt the elements and the earth will burn and and Everything that we've invested here on the earth will our investments going to be reduced to a small pile of ashes.

It's a poor investment. It's a bad place to store things. Jesus is not saying Don't store up treasures. He's saying don't store up treasures on earth. Because he goes on in verse 20 to say but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

Where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal? This this realm called heaven has not and will not be cursed. There's no moth. There's no rust. There's no thieves if you store treasures there.

They will be they will be secure even even against that fire that is coming and and will burn all the elements so How do we store up treasures in heaven these these tangible visible things called Money and possessions.

How how can we store those up in a invisible? Untangible place Called heaven. I think I think for that we can just we can just allow the scriptures to interpret the scriptures in Matthew 19 when Jesus When Jesus met that young man who had great possessions He ends up telling him this if you wish to be complete go and sell your possessions and give to the poor and You will have treasures in heaven and Come and follow me.

There is that very term Treasures in heaven and this is how he could do it. He could take those possessions. That he was sitting on and he could sell them and give them to the poor and he would have treasures in heaven.

And in case we're inclined to think that that only applies to the rich young ruler Jesus said about the exact same words in Luke and it and it wasn't to one person in particular. He gave this He gave this command to his disciples.

It's in Luke 12 he says sell your possessions and give to charity make yourself money belts, which do not wear out an unfailing treasure in heaven. Where no thief comes? Near nor moth destroys and. So I think I think It it's It's clear enough that this this is how you store up treasures in heaven.

It's a it's a different standard than what was given in the old about. Just don't gather everything you can and leave some for the poor here here. He's saying no, but no but sell what you can sell sell what you have sell what you can sell and give it to the poor.

Unlike unlike some of the commentaries I looked at just to see what they say. Who defined this in very uncertain ways of what it means to store up treasures in heaven, you know. Some giving this thought that well the way you store up treasures in heaven is you you put your thought and your hearts on heavenly things.

And and this probably that that that interpretation probably comes from the truth of the fact that the Lord the Lord does look on to the Heart and he does judge accordingly and yet if we just allow the scriptures to interpret the scriptures it has a very specific definition and it it is in selling the possessions we've laid up for the future and taking that money or the money that we've laid up for the future and Giving it to the poor and that doesn't take away from the fact That the Lord judges According to the heart in fact he He solidifies it in the next verse when he says for where your treasure is There your heart will be also.

It doesn't say Be careful that your heart is not where your treasure is. It just simply says where your treasure is There your heart will be also. So in Proverbs in Proverbs 19 17, it says he who has mercy on the poor Lends to God and he will repay it again and Jesus Jesus drove this point home over and over and over again.

The Rich Fool and the Unjust Steward

I'll read just a couple parables to you. The first one is in Luke chapter 12 again Starting in verse 15 where he says then he said to them beware and be on your guard against every form of greed that not even when for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions and He told them a parable saying the land of a rich man was very productive and he began reasoning to himself and saying what shall I?

Do since I have no place to store my crops then he said this is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones and there I Will store all my grain and my goods and I will say to my soul soul You have many goods laid up for many years to come.

Take your ease eat drink and be merry. But God said to him you fool. This very night your soul is required of you and now and now who will own what you have prepared. So is the man who stores up treasures for himself and is not rich toward God.

The next parable I want to read is in Luke 16 starting in verse 1 now he also says to the disciples there was a rich man who had a manager and This manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions, and he called him and said to him.

What is this? I hear about you give an account. Give an accounting of your management for you can no longer be manager. And the manager said to himself What shall I do since my master is taking the management away from me?

I am not strong enough to dig. I am ashamed to beg I Know what I shall do so that when I am removed from the management people will Welcome me into their homes, and he summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began saying to the first How much do you owe my master and he said a hundred measures of oil and he said to him take your bill and sit down quickly and write 50.

Then he said to another and how much do you owe and he said a hundred measures of wheat and he said to him take your bill and write 80 and His master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly.

For the sons of this age are more shrewd in their relation to their own kind than the sons of light. And I say to you make friends for yourself by means of the wealth of unrighteousness so that when it fails They will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

There's probably there's probably few parables that that have left people scratching their heads as much as this one. It appears like the Lord is commending a man who who who stole his master's possessions?

And and did something with him to secure a safe place for himself. But if that's if that's all we can see in this parable. We're really missing it. So so here's here's this servant in his parable. Who's who's been appointed as a manager?

He's been given the position of a manager over over the master's Goods, and he's he has to position apparently the position of Taking care of accounts payable and accounts receivable and I think as a manager he's He probably already has a certain level of authority and Liberty to to make to make judgments or to do do Some to some extent things that he wants to with with his master's possessions remember that when it calls this man an unrighteous steward.

He is that before he did this thing, right? He's he's considered the unrighteous or the unjust steward not because of what he did here. He was that before this happened. He was squandering his master's goods.

He was wasting them. That's why he was an unrighteous and unjust steward. Okay, so so because of that because he was an unrighteous steward who was squandering and wasting his his master's good. He was given a notice that he's about to lose his position and this Shrewd man started thinking and he thought I'm I'm not able to dig.

I don't know if he was actually Handicapped or if he was just a wimp because he hasn't been working or or or or what? But he he reasoned with him himself. I'm not able to dig and I'm ashamed to beg and So what am I gonna do?

He probably didn't have many friends like most most squanders and wasteful people don't. Or selfish wasteful people anyway, and. And so he thought this is what I'll do. I'm gonna I'm gonna quickly make some friends.

Before I lose this position with with my master's goods I'm gonna it's the only thing I probably has and he he says I'm quickly gonna make some friends so that when I lose this possession at least they'll take me into their house.

At least I'll have a friend to go to that'll say yeah, come on in you did me a good favor. Stay in my house. And and so and so thinking that he calls his calls these debtors and he releases portions of their debt now.

It's understandable. Why? Why we scratch our heads and wonder about the the Goodness of such a decision for for instance like if if any of you Would would ever come to me and be in this position and ask me for advice.

I would never give you this advice. I would and you'd come to say look I was wasteful I squandered my I was working for this man, and I squandered his goods now. He's gonna fire me. What should I do? I'd never tell you to go take some of his goods and.

And you know do the thing that this man does. I would tell you well you're. You're just gonna have to reap what you sowed. And you can you can plead for another chance. But if he if he doesn't if he doesn't give it to you.

You're just gonna have to get a shovel and start digging or if if if you're actually not able to do that. Well, we won't let you starve. We'll take care of you. But but this is just it's just the way it is you can't do this that that's that's the advice I give but Jesus Jesus concludes this parable by the master praising Him for his shrewdness.

And he he says the children of this age are wiser with their kind of people than the children of light. Now here's here's what I want us to think about. What are the ways that we are like this unjust steward?

Here's some things that we are just like him. We've we've been entrusted with property and possession. That belongs to someone else. We've been entrusted with with with possessions that belong to God.

We've been given a position as a manager or a steward over these possessions. Like like this steward in the parable. We have we have been given an account that our stewardship is going to come to an end.

We've We we like this steward we'll have to give an account for how we stewarded this this these possessions. Probably for many of us like this steward. There's been a point in our life where we wasted or squandered some of our masters possessions.

Regardless if that's not the case we're still going to lose our position and we've we've been given a notice of that. Like this steward. What we do with our masters goods will impact our life after we lose this position and Like this steward it is in giving it away that we secure for ourselves a Habitation after we lose this position.

There's so many ways that we are just like the steward the only difference the big difference is that that our Master has instructed us to do this very thing this this this man here. He's he's this shrewd worldly guy and he in any schemes and he thinks and he comes up with this idea on his own.

We've been told to do it and yet. We're slow. We're slow to get it. There are a number of places throughout the scripture where you you get this idea or you get this picture. How this works out in reality you you get this image that God will judge people by appealing to the poor people.

The Single Eye and Serving Two Masters

What they have to say about this man. It's really sobering. Going back to Matthew Chapter 6 Jesus goes on to say the eye is the lamp of the body. So then if your eye is clear, so then if your eye is clear your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness. How great is that darkness? This is another couple verses that might if it if it's like me it's puzzled me over the years, but I I Think we do well to leave these verses in their context.

Jesus Jesus here is is just got done talking about about possessions and and how to how and where to store them up that they're that's safe and and how not to store them up and. And the way to store them up is to sell them and give to the poor to be merciful to the poor and then he then He gives this then he gives these two verses about having a single eye or a good eye versus a bad eye.

And then he goes right on again to talk about Serving two masters and and about how we cannot serve God money. So in that context Let's I think I Think the people familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures would have probably caught on in a way that we don't if we're not.

Let's I'm gonna read three verses from yet Out of out of the Old Testament. The first is in Deuteronomy 15 9 where he says beware Lest there be a wicked thought in your heart saying the seventh year the year of release is at hand and your eye be evil Against your poor brother and you give him nothing and he cry out to the Lord against you and it becomes sin among you.

Proverbs 22 9 says he who has a generous eye Will be blessed for he gives his bread to the poor. Proverbs 28 22 says a man with an evil eye Hastens after riches and does not consider what poverty will come upon him.

So right here after following this teaching of Of how not to lay up treasures on earth by by gathering and hoarding things for the future. But rather laying up treasures in heaven by selling our possessions and giving to the poor.

He he says In my mind what he in my understanding of what he's saying. He's saying If you can see this clearly if you can if you can see this with a single vision Your whole life will be full of light.

If you can't if your eye is evil according to these passages in the Hebrew Scripture. The eye being evil is the one who has some greed in there Who's not really ready to give to the poor to share and distribute with the poor if your eye is evil.

We walk in darkness. In that in that parallel passage in Luke 11 where where he where he talks about the same thing if your eye is single. Your whole body is full of light in there. He adds this then watch out That the light in you is not darkness.

Watch out be careful for many people that once had a clear eye and and and and and and they they they saw this teaching With a single eye and clearly. It doesn't it doesn't happen all of a sudden that the light goes out and there's darkness, but slowly our eyelids fall shut and the light in us becomes Darkness, and if we close our eyes to this truth, how great is the darkness or the blindness?

It's interesting To me that that seems like the translators, I don't know why. But but there's there's some discrepancy and how they would translate that word single like this this translation says clear.

Some of them even say sound but but like the King James and the New King James says if your eye be single. If your eye be single, which I as best as I could tell is a is a fair enough translation. But what does that mean?

What what does it mean to have? A single eye. Well, what's the opposite of single vision? Double vision. Double vision which is seeing two images of the same thing, right? That's what double vision would be and and What what do we see when we go right on into the next verse?

He says no one can serve two masters. No one can serve two masters if you see two images and If there is one master and you kind of see two images of who you could devote yourself to you've got double vision.

You've got an evil eye. If I I know we're in in this context and so I probably can't catch you off guard, but if I ask you some If I ask you like who's who's the two masters that we can serve? Probably.

We'd say God and the devil and I'd ask you. Well, which one are you serving and you'd say well for sure. You're not serving the devil. You're not devoting any time to the devil. There ain't no way that that you could be accused of Serving the devil and yet In in what Jesus is saying here.

He's saying the two masters are God and money God and wealth and How confident are we to still say? There's no way you can accuse me of serving wealth. I'm not devoted to it. God will have nothing of it.

This verse says no one can serve two masters for either He will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth it is it is as a pouring to God if we are trying to do that if we're if we're trying to focus on who the master is and we're kind of seeing two images and it's God and wealth it Is as it is as a pouring to God as if your wife tried to serve you and devote herself to you and another husband.

It's it's a pouring. I Want to look at a few a few more passages first Timothy 6 starting in verses 17 he says Instruct those who are rich in the present world. Not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches.

But on God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy now. If we would stop right there You could almost preach a prosperity a prosperity gospel message out of that. And to be fair there's something it means something there's something there I think it does it it does.

Attack the ideas of asceticism, which I think are a cheap counterfeit to what Jesus really Really wants us to get. But let's let's keep on reading. So he says He's talking to those who are rich in the world.

He says instruct them to do good. To be rich in good works. To be generous and to be ready to share. Now if we stop there we We could We could still kind of have this idea that like Wealth for ourselves and to enjoy and to Gather is good.

As long as we don't put our heart on it and and we're just ready to share whenever the need comes and yet. Let's let's go one verse more where he says storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future.

So that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. Here it is. He's he's he's he's he's. Quoting Jesus again do you and I think I think it is just safe for me to say he's talking to us here. Okay, he's talking to people who?

Live in this environment where there's lots of opportunity and where it is. It is not hard to gather more than then than our necessities. And he's he's saying to he's saying to us Be ready to share do good be ready to distribute and store up your treasures in heaven.

Storing up our treasures in heaven by not storing them up here. But distributing them selling them or or or however for for the sake of those who do not have this opportunity the way of the Christian should be distribution and not accumulation.

Giving, Equality, and the Example of Macedonia

We we see there in Acts that when When the people were filled with the Spirit of God. Those who had lands and houses Their their possessions became less as they shared it with those who didn't have them.

Can That be said of us in 1875 there was a man named Karl Marx. And he popularized this slogan from each according to his means to each according to his needs and that that is a concept That is straight out of the scriptures.

And it it is in agreement with Jesus's teachings and he won The hearts of one-third of the population with it. There is something within our hearts. There is something some Hidden hidden light within us that knows that in in the world before it was cursed.

That's how it worked in in a world before there was greed and selfishness. That is how it worked from each according to his means to each according to his needs and there is something within us. It knows that in the eternal kingdom come it will be that way.

The reason the reason what Karl Marx and others like him Have tried and presented doesn't work and is devastating is because they are forcing it upon people who are willing or unwilling. They are they are doing it without grace and voluntary humility they are doing it without embracing the beatitudes of Christ.

They are doing it without being regenerated but we We are to have a new heart. We are to be free of greed and selfishness we are to have a heart into which is born a new kingdom with new values a place Where heaven and earth come back together again, I was recently Reading through the second book to the Corinthians.

I was really blessed with a lot of it, but I was especially blessed with chapter 8. And I'm not going to read that whole chapter, but I just want to point out a few things. Paul is addressing the believers here in Corinth.

Corinth and he's he's uh He's he's urging them to contribute to this thing that they're trying to do there they're they're trying to Raise or gather funds. I believe to take back to the people in Jerusalem who were suffering need the believers in Jerusalem Who were suffering need and he's he's urging the believers at Corinth to contribute to this.

He starts in by saying in verse 1. He says now brethren. We wish to make known to you the grace of God Which has been given in the churches of Macedonia. That in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.

For I testify that according to their ability and beyond their ability they gave of their own accord he's he's urging the the the The believers at Corinth to take an example from the ones at Macedonia these people of their own accord.