Lay Up Treasure In Heaven — Tim Conway

The Sermon on the Mount and Jesus’ Teaching on Money

Well, we are in the midst of an ongoing series, the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6, and 7. The verses I'd like to call your attention to this afternoon are found in Matthew 6, verse 19. About 20 years ago when we came, Ruby and I, a handful, a couple handfuls of other people, when we started the church there in the inner city of San Antonio, Texas, we came into the inner city area where there were a lot of churches.

And the vast majority of them were charismatic, health, wealth, prosperity. Very specifically, I never wanted to take up offerings. We had an offering box. We set it in the back. If anybody wanted to find it, we didn't usually, usually we never said anything.

We didn't broadcast it. We didn't talk about money. I typically preached on money one time a year. We had a business meeting for the church once a year, and typically on that Sunday I preached a message that had to do with wealth, treasures, earthly possessions, something.

And that happened just about every single third or fourth or fifth Sunday of January for the last 20 years, the vast majority of those years. When we came there, we would get folks that had visited other churches.

We had a couple come in. You may remember that. Actually, where the church in San Antonio meets right now, just around the corner, there's another church. That church has been there a while. Some people that had been going there, they came to our church, and they said the pastor's wife would get up during the service.

And if you've seen any of those churches, it's crazy. They will have big, muscular-looking deacons standing in front of what look like great big spittoons, and they'll have people just in a frenzy dancing around, and they'll come up, and everybody's throwing their money in.

I mean, the stories we heard. We heard the pastor's wife was up there, and she said, we don't want your tens and twenties. We want your hundreds. And we had one brother in the church that the church he was in before he got saved, he said they talked about giving every single Sunday.

We heard stories about them chaining the doors until they got as much money as was needed. We had stories about them taking up an offering, and then the leadership would look at it, and then they would say, not enough.

And they would basically force the people to give again, and they wouldn't let them leave the building. Just crazy things. So, look, all you have to do is turn on, I don't know what you guys have over here.

We have TBN in the U .S. What do you have here? Something comparable to that? And you have it too. And so, you know, you don't have to look very far before you find some pastor and his wife, and they're basically begging money.

Now listen, my agenda is not to beg money from you. My agenda is to be biblical. And we're simply going through the Sermon on the Mount, and one thing about Matthew chapter 6, and this begins today, and it will go on for probably the next three or four or five messages before we break from this chapter 6.

The Lord has a lot to say. Somebody has said, I have not personally done all the research to prove this is true, but somebody... Well, I know MacArthur said it, I'm sure he found it from somebody else, that the Lord Jesus Christ teaches more on money and possessions than He does on heaven and hell put together.

The reality is that Jesus had a lot to say about money. And so, we don't need to be ashamed in the church, just because we have a lot of charlatans out there that are in this thing for money. That doesn't mean that God's people should not think about it, should not talk about it, and should not pay very close attention to what the Lord Jesus Christ has to say about it.

So that's where we find ourselves today, Matthew 6, verse 19. Before we dive into this, let's just go to the Lord one more time. Father, I know that we're dealing with a subject that we know it for a fact.

Money is something we think about. Money is something we're involved with. Money is something that very easily competes with You for trust. We know that it's a heart matter. We know that even in the verses that we're going to look at today, our Lord is speaking about the fact that this is a heart issue and where our treasure is.

That's exactly where our heart will be. Lord, I pray for the people here. I pray that our hearts would indeed be right. Help us, Lord. Help us to sort this as we look at Your words right now. May You empower it to us.

May You bless us through this. May You help us. I pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Now brethren, I recognize this. I recognize that none of us are in the same place spiritually. I recognize that our faith, the level of faith you have, is different from the person that's next to you.

I recognize that even the disciples said, Lord, increase our faith. There's a place to have your faith increased. My desire is this, not just when it comes to money, when it comes to sacrifice, when it comes to the way you live your life.

My desire is that everybody here is going to grow. Do you remember what Scripture says? Scripture says that beholding the glory of the Lord, we are changed from one degree of glory to another. That's my hope.

My hope is that as we behold the Lord and we behold His teaching, we behold His example, that we will make advances from one degree of glory to another. I don't have this expectation that everybody's going to be perfect today or tomorrow or the next day.

But what I do have an expectation of is that this Word cleanses, this Word shows us how to walk, this Word sanctifies. Jesus Christ specifically prayed that. We just sang about the Lord Jesus Christ interceding for us and praying for us.

The reality is that there's a place for us to grow by the washing of the water of the Word. There's a place for us to be sanctified. He said, sanctify them by thy truth, thy Word is truth. This sanctifies us.

My hope is this, my hope is that as the years go by, you will have more faith next year than you have this year to trust the Lord when it comes to your finances. That's my hope. My hope is that every time we deal with this, it brings people a little further.

It brings you to go beyond where you have been. Now, here's the words we're going to deal with today. It's just three verses. Matthew 6, 19, 20, and 21. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Now, I want to start by asking you a question you might think has absolutely nothing to do with the verses we just read.

Genuine Faith and Abiding in Christ’s Word

Keep your finger right here because we're going to come right back here. But keep your finger here and go over to John 2. Skip Mark and Luke. Go right to the beginning of John's Gospel. So I want to ask you a question that actually has a tremendous amount to do with what we're thinking about.

John 2. It's a very interesting chapter. If you go down to verse 23, when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in His name. Now, I want you just to capture that right there. It doesn't just say some believed.

It says many believed. And it doesn't just stop right there. It says many believed in His name. And you all see that. It's in your Bible. No matter what translation you have, there's no getting away from it.

They believed in His name when they saw the signs He was doing. But Jesus on His part did not entrust Himself to them because He knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man for He Himself knew what was in man.

Isn't that kind of a cryptic verse? I mean, we read that. So they believed. Isn't Christianity all about believing? And yet, the Lord Himself does not entrust Himself to these people. Why? Because He knew what was in man.

You know, there is the implication here that something defective is taking place. And then there's this. Go over to John 8. Now, I'm going somewhere with all this, so just hang with me here. John 8. Again, the Lord has been teaching.

He's been doing miracles in front of the Jews. And you get the same sort of response. Verse 30. John 8 .30. As He was saying these things... So in John, He did signs. They believed. Just immediate. That's what it says.

Here in John 8, He's teaching certain things. And many believed in Him. They believed in His name in John 2. They believed in Him. Many. It's the same thing. Many. It was the same word we had in John 2.

Many. Case closed, right? They're Christians. But not so fast. Jesus says to the Jews who had believed Him, if you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples. You know what? This does not say many claimed to believe.

This actually says many believed. But Jesus recognizes something. If you claim to believe in His name, the reality is do you believe in His name? You know, I was looking at this. King of kings. Well, we can say that.

But do you believe that? We can call Him Lord. But do you believe that? We call Him Jesus because He'll save His people from their sins. Do we really believe that He's the only Savior? Do we really believe that our all hangs on Him?

Do we believe that following Him is absolutely the most necessary thing beyond our physical bread and water? We need Him more than that. We need Him. We need to follow Him. He is the way to the Father.

Do you really believe that? Do you believe that when He's called Lord, He really is Lord? Because He did say to some people, you call me Lord, but you don't treat me like I'm Lord because you don't do what I say.

Do we really believe His name? You see, this is the issue. He's called Messiah. He's called Jesus. He's called Lord. He's called King. And then He says, you know what He says to people? He says, follow Me.

I mean, the reality is, follow Me. What does it mean to follow Him? Well, the reality is, you don't have a physical figure to follow anymore. What you have is His words. That's it. You have His words to follow.

And He said, if you abide in those words, then you're really Mine. If you follow Me, you see, following Him. That's the way to life. When it came to money, that's exactly what He said to the rich young ruler.

He said, you go sell all that you have. You give it to the poor. You'll have treasure in heaven. You come follow Me. That's always the issue. You follow Me. The way we follow Him is by abiding in His word.

I will guide you by My voice. I ask you this. I ask you this. Are you a believer? You say, why, yes. I believe. Then the issue is this. Back to Matthew 5 and verse 19. Because I tell you, what we really believe gets tested by money.

And this is why Jesus spoke so much about riches, covetousness, money, wealth. Because this is where men are tested. The question is this. The question is this. Do you really believe that Jesus Christ is real?

Do you believe He spoke these words in Matthew? Do you believe that He had something to say about money? Do you believe God the Father sent Him into the world from the halls of glory to come here and teach us the most essential things about life, about death, about salvation, about who God is, about what really matters, what's really important in life?

Do you believe that? Do you believe He knows what's truly important in life? Do you believe He really knows what you ought to do with your money? Do you believe He's got an eye? I mean, if anybody can tell you about what eternity is like.

You know what He told His disciples one time? He said you ought to leap for joy at what you have coming. You ought to rejoice and be exceedingly glad if you knew what was coming. I mean, when He said to that thief on his right hand or whatever side he was on, when he said, this day you'll be with me in paradise, listen, paradise is a big word.

And Jesus knows how spectacular this is. He knows what really is good for us. Do you believe that Jesus Christ really sits triumphantly now on that throne beside His Father? That He paid the price? That that's where He is?

Do you believe He's King of kings? Lord of lords? Do you believe that His Father said all the way back there to Moses, He said He's going to send a prophet that's going to be like Moses. And He said those who don't listen to Him, He's going to require it of them.

Brethren, let me tell you this. He is Lord. Do you believe this? Do you really believe that there's a heaven coming? Do you believe that it's possible to store up treasure there? Do you believe that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord?

I mean, do you believe that? Do you believe it's better? The Apostle Paul said this, he said, you know, with the Philippians, he was kind of wrestling, he said, I'm going to straight between the two, that's what the KJV says.

And he said, to depart and be with Christ is far better. Do you believe that? Or do you cling to this life? Oh, brethren, I'll tell you, this fear that has come upon the world over a virus, for the Christian, seriously, to be so afraid you won't meet with God's people when to be absent from the body and it's far better?

Brethren, do we really believe this? Do you count being with Christ as far better? Do you believe His words that not only is it far better to be with Christ, what He's saying is, store for yourselves treasure in heaven, which means this, to have treasure there.

Then the more treasure you have, obviously makes it even better. Do you believe that? Do you really believe that? Do you see this as a tremendous opportunity what He's saying here? Because what He's saying is this, don't lay it up here, lay it up there.

And you will have treasure in heaven. Do you resent this? Or do you see this as just, wow, what an opportunity! I can't believe He's telling us this! Seriously? I get to use my money here and I can store up treasure in heaven?

What an opportunity! What I find is a lot of people, they seem to resent it. You find reservation comes in. Well, now, it's just this sound of caution so often. Brethren, look at these words. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.

Do you recognize that that goes against just the whole fabric, just the whole bent of this world? Totally goes against it. I mean, we can just read this. Do not lay up for yourselves. Yeah, yeah, maybe we get so used to it.

But do you realize how that flies in the face of everything that this world is about? Absolutely everything. I'll tell you something, these verses are really telling us something spectacular. I see the power of God on display in these three verses.

Eternal Perspective and the Folly of Living for This World

I mean, you think about it. What's got to happen to somebody for them to see? You know what it's like. Listen, most of you are probably like me. I was saved when I was 25 years old. What did I do before I was 25 years old?

I lived for the world. I lived for toys. I lived for fun. I lived for pleasure. I lived to have guns and motorcycles and beer. I lived for that. And so I wanted money. Why? Because money got me what the world's got to offer.

Money gets me what man can give. And so what do you do? Well, you want as much of it as you can possibly get. That's how the world is. And you want to... I mean, I wasn't even really into laying it up here.

I wanted to spend it as fast as I could get it. But I wanted to gather up all the toys that I could get out of it. That's laying up treasure. It can be in a bank account, or it can be in guns, or it can be in motorcycles, or it can be in whatever.

But this just so... What does it take for somebody that's just greedy for money,.

Covetous, they want, give me, give me, give me. They're trying to get the money.

They're trying to get as much out of this life as they possibly can. And then what has to happen for all of a sudden somebody to have the scales peeled off and suddenly they look and they behold and they recognize, wow, this life is just fleeting.

This life is a mist. And it's gone. And eternity's coming. And eternity is long. And it's everything. I mean, what's got to happen? By nature, man is just obsessed with this life. I mean, that's how it was when I was lost.

Of course, I was a lot younger. I'm sure that lost people, as they get older, they begin to think. Ruby and I talked with a guy yesterday. He's like, I'm getting older. They start to think about these things more.

But the thing is, it is so hard for lost people to, they don't want to think about death, let alone what comes after it, out there into eternity. It's just, man refuses to think about it. He loves to believe he'll live forever.

Theoretically, he knows he won't. But I'll tell you this, he's invincible as far as tomorrow's concerned. And you know that's true. You know what? I mean, because we were all like that. If you would have asked me when I was 25 years old, are you going to be alive 100 years from now?

No, I knew that. But if you asked me, are you going to be alive tomorrow? Well, absolutely. See, that's the way man is. And you know what? Man's like that even when he's 95. Because you know what? He's made it this far and he fully expects to live tomorrow as well.

Obsessed with now. The natural man. He's trapped in this little moment of time. He walks, he works, he plays, and there he is in this world. He's just stuck. Death is a dark specter. I don't know how it was with you, and I don't know how it was with me.

You go to a funeral, and it's like, oh, we went out of here. And you just want to shake yourself and go get drunk with your buddies. Maybe you weren't just like that, but that's how I was. You don't want to think about death.

Get away from it. What happens beyond all of this, it's just, oh, I don't want to think about it. I remember after I got saved, I was sitting with a guy in the place that I worked, and there was a cafeteria there.

And there was probably 500 people in the cafeteria. And I said to him, do you realize that in 100 years, everybody in this room will be dead? And he just looked at me like I had three heads. And he said, I try not to think about it.

Well, that's exactly right. He tries not to think about it. But if you would have asked him about having money and getting a raise and winning the lotto and getting an inheritance from his parents and getting more cars and more stuff and a bigger house, hell, he'd be all over that.

I mean, do you realize what it takes? It takes an almighty act of God to awaken sinners out of this death sleep to recognize eternity hastens and that living all out for this life and for retirement, oh, brethren, this world lives as though retirement is heaven.

That's exactly what it is. They don't even look beyond that. It's utter foolishness. What utter stupidity. I mean, think about it. Some of our young ladies, I think four of you all, you just went camping, right?

Imagine they went camping. One of them jumps in the car and she goes off without the other three and she comes back. What in the world is this? She comes back with trees and shrubs and flowers. Why? She's going to plant them on the campsite.

And then here comes a delivery truck and it drops off some recliners.

And a big 88-inch TV.

And nobody does that. Why don't they do that? Who goes into debt decorating a hotel room? And you say, no, that's crazy. That's crazy talk. Nobody does that. Well, that's exactly right. And you know why they don't do that?

Because they're only there for a little while. They're just passing through. And yet people, they live here like this is it. I mean, they lay it up here. They're trying to secure their retirement. They're trying to be as comfortable as possible.

This is the mindset that Jesus is dealing with and He full well knows it. That's why He deals with money so much. Listen, we're going to get down just a few verses and He's going to say, you can't serve God and mammon.

God and money. And why those two things? Why doesn't He say you can't serve God and Baal? Why doesn't He say you can't serve God and Allah? You can't serve God and whatever? Ganesh. I mean, why money?

Because He knows. He knows men's hearts. And you can go into all the religions of the world and you can go every country in the world and you can see it everywhere. Men are greedy. You know, one of the great things that we have to watch out for that I've recognized over the years as we try to work with people, it doesn't matter what country, it can be America, it can be Britain, it can be any country around the world, that you start working with professing Christians in other countries who are kind of out there at a distance.

We have run into time and time again people that are just, they're liars, they're into it for money. That's the reality. Brethren, we'd be crazy to get consumed with a place that we're staying in for only a few days if that's exactly what most men do.

There's no eternal perspective. And you know why? You know why? I mean, men are held captive. The Bible says that the devil blinds the minds of unbelievers. It keeps them from seeing. Do you recognize the devil?

The devil who holds men in his grip, he's a big liar. You ever recognize that? And he tells men, you won't surely die. You've got a long time here. You've got tomorrow. You've got time. Look at the pride of life.

Look at the lust of the eyes. Look what's out here. Look what you can have. Oh, worry about death later. It's way out there. It's far off. Don't think of that. It's all going to work out in the end. Get your best life now.

I mean, you only get to live once. Look at all you can have. There's plenty of time. Don't get excited about forever. What does it take to wake someone up out of that sleep? Do you know what you find repeatedly?

These men that God has awakened from this death sleep in Scripture. It stops them in their tracks. What does it take to stop a man in his tracks to say, no! I see it. It's a lie. I'm not going to live here forever.

My time is running out very quick. Listen to how they talk. James, what is my life? I'm a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Job, my days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle. My life is a breath.

Man born of a woman is few of days. He comes out like a flower and withers. He flees like a shadow. The psalmist, my days are a few hand breaths. My days pass away like smoke. But then there's this. John says, we're not just passing away like smoke.

He said the world is passing away. And Peter says these words, since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness? Brethren, I'll tell you what, it's genuine faith when a person has those devilish blinders on and they're torn away and they suddenly look up and they realize everything was upside down.

This is exactly how it was when God brought that washing of regeneration that we read about in Titus. When He brought that to my life, suddenly everything... Christ died. Christ is real. Christ died. Christ died for me.

My life here is very short. Eternity is very long. Suddenly my eyes are open to this. I've got money. Oh, I remember as a young Christian. Oh, I so wanted good deep theology of salvation. Soteriology.

Give me some good meat. And then John MacArthur's doing a series on the radio on money. And I thought, oh, not money. And then after I listened to it, I realized, oh, how badly did I need to hear that.

You see, the thing is, to wake ourselves up, to be awakened to this reality that suddenly I don't see money as just a way for getting the next thing I need here, for just making myself secure in my retirement, but suddenly my eyes are open to this money actually has the ability to procure for me riches in heaven.

Jesus even calls them money bags. You talk about almost carnal language. Money bags. But that's what He calls it. Having this opportunity. What a great opportunity. Jim Elliot, the American missionary to Ecuador.

These are some of his most famous words. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. If ever there's a place to test what men really believe, it's right here. Because I'll tell you, if you suddenly give somebody an eternal perspective and they recognize, they can see with the eyes of faith, yes, there's a paradise to come.

There's an eternity to come. My death is imminent. It is coming fast. It's coming like a freight train. I can't get away from this. I can't outrun this. I am going to die. I'm 56. My dad only had three years left when he was my age.

My friend Bob Jennings, he had about five years left when he was my age. I recognize we don't know if we have tomorrow. Life is very short. It's a mist. It's a hand breath. It's a vapor. And it's gone.

Our place... I mean, you go look where we live in just a decade or two or five, and we're not there anymore. The seat you sit in, it's empty in the not-too-distant future. There's a place that we are.

There's a place we live. There's a place we sleep. And that place is going to be empty soon. We may move, but there's ultimately going to be a place that's not empty, and it's usually six foot under. I was just walking over there at this church building where they've got these gravestones right there in the entryway, and I was reading about people that died in the 1700s, and you just think about their lives.

They came, they went, they're gone. Nobody remembers. But you know what they did with their life? They had to stand before God for how they used their money. They've had to stand before God for... He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

If ever there's a place to test what men really believe, it's right there. You know what happens? True faith will throw in with Christ. Just like Levi, Matthew. He's sitting at his tax station, very lucrative, to collect taxes for the Roman government.

And suddenly, there's Christ. And he said, follow me. Suddenly, it's all out there. Do I throw it all in with Christ? Am I going to commit to Him? See, that's what true faith does. You know what? The merely religious man, he won't do that.

Why? He's always hedging his bets. Just in case it's not true. Don't want to throw it all away and then it turns out in the end that I don't get anything out of this. And so, he's just not certain enough.

Deep down, he really isn't certain. He gives something in case it's true. But the world to him is very real. And eternity is so foggy. The Christian, he'll throw his weight entirely on the promise of Christ.

That's faith. That's trust. That's the foundation of our Christianity. You see, that's the big difference. You can say, you can have this theoretical idea. Well, yes, I believe Jesus Christ was real and I believe He was a Savior and I believe He died on a cross.

Well, that's all great and everything. But are you going to throw your weight in with Him? Are you actually going to get up and... You know, there are people who they have an alternative plan. They have an escape route.

It's like, well, if this doesn't work, here's something maybe I can fall on. The true Christian, that's not it. Their faith is so attached to Christ, they have no backup plan. It's all in for Christ or I perish.

Storing Treasure in Heaven Rather Than on Earth

And to the text. So let's look carefully at what our Lord says here. Matthew 6, verse 19. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

Obviously, that's the negative. Don't do that. Don't lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. And then we have the positive, verse 20. Rather, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break in and steal.

This seems to mean that one of the first questions that we ought to be asking of this text is what does it mean to lay up for yourself treasures on earth? Listen, to lay up basically means to gather and save.

Here's one of the things. We can almost feel like it's a responsible thing to save. We can feel like save, having a savings account. So many people don't save up. So many people are just squandering everything.

Let me tell you this, if you don't save and you give, you give it in a way to store up treasure in heaven that's not squandering it. What Jesus is saying is there is a safe place for your money and there is a place that is not so safe for your money.

That's exactly what he's saying. And see, we can almost get to the place where we've kind of imbibed this mentality that saving is a good thing. Listen, what does it mean to lay up treasure? Now, I know all sorts of questions are going, what about this and what about that and what about the other thing?

Do you find it relatively interesting that Jesus doesn't get into all the what-ifs? You think about this. He was teaching. It says back in chapter 5, He was teaching. It says that He had the crowds and it said that the disciples came unto Him.

He sat down to teach. The disciples came unto Him. Can you imagine? And it says He taught them. He specifically was teaching the disciples even though His voice undoubtedly went beyond them to the whole crowds.

But can you imagine if you're Thomas? Can you imagine if you're James? And you're sitting there. You're six feet, ten foot, twenty feet away from Him. And He's looking at you. And He's saying, and this is somebody who knows, He knows what's really important in this life.

He says, guys, don't lay up treasure here. You know when He came to the rich young ruler? Rich young ruler. Guy had lots of money. He said, what must I do to obtain eternal life? Well, Jesus said keep the commandments.

Which He was obviously knowing He hadn't kept. Brethren, we've all fallen short of that standard. We're under a curse. The law is meant to drive us to Christ. This guy was pretty good in his own eyes.

So Jesus put His finger right on the issue. He said, you go sell all that you have and you give to the poor. And He said, you'll have treasure in Heaven. You come follow Me. Do you think perhaps that man was made of the same stuff we are?

Perhaps he had expenses. Perhaps he was wondering how he might feed Grandma. Do you think maybe there were needs that would come up in his life? Do you think maybe a need for clothing? A need for food?

A need for shelter? A need to take care of his family? Isn't it interesting even there? Jesus is not dealing with the exceptions. He just basically says, go sell it and you'll have treasure in Heaven.

The what-ifs and all the questions we ask, you notice He doesn't really care to deal with that. Well, let's look further. Saving. To save up for yourself. It's taking what I don't immediately need. See, it's one thing if I have an immediate need.

Or you can project that immediate need. I recognize my car is on its last leg. I'm going to need a car. I'm saving up for a car. I want to buy it with cash. I don't want to buy it through a loan and have to pay the interest.

I'd say that's pretty wise. I would say that there's places in Scripture where you could probably affirm the wisdom of such a move. But the reality is this. Men are constantly saving up for things that are not immediate needs.

It's somewhere out there in the future. You know how it happens. Savings accounts, bank accounts, ISAs, stocks, pensions. It can be real estate. It can be an inheritance that you receive. It can be your grandfather gave you some valuable old coins.