Treasure — Don McClure

Matthew 6:19–21: Treasures on Earth and in Heaven

Matthew chapter 6 verse 19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and dust is corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust nor death corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

For where your treasure is there will your heart be. Also the light of the body is the eye and if therefore thine I be single thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine I be evil thy whole body shall be full of darkness.

If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness. How great is that darkness. No man can serve. Two masters. Hold it there father we thank you for your word. And Lord thank you for worship so wonderful Lord just to come and open our hearts and worship you.

Lord tonight I just need. I thank you Lord for this worship team and their hearts and the blessing just worshiping Lord we don't want to take it for granted it's a gift. And and we thank you we can enter in and are drawn in and our hearts are blessed.

And now Lord for your word we ask that as we would open it at the you would open your word to our heart minister to us Lord some truth that would strengthen us in our fellowship our relationship our communion with you.

For father we ask this in Jesus name amen. You may be seated. Well here we are as we continue on a course through this tremendous sermon the Sermon on the Mount and maybe just to back up a little bit because I haven't done this in for a little while but here once again this is one sermon it is one message.

And it is a message that essentially is there to teach us how to live godly in an ungodly world how to maintain a relationship with Jesus not just to enter into it but to maintain it to strengthen it to see it grow.

The Beatitudes and the Road to True Happiness

And thus we began a course with what is known as the Beatitudes. Where there Jesus you know how happy remember the secret of the greatness of the happy the greatest happiness in the world the happiness that only God can put within the human heart.

And when the human heart is its happiest is when as Jesus said oh how happy are the poor in spirit. And oh how happy are they who mourn. And oh how happy are the meek. And here when somebody is poor in spirit when they're utterly spiritually poverty-stricken and they mourn over it God what is wrong.

And it produced some produces a meekness within our hearts where we come before God not in pride or an arrogance or hostility or an anger. We realize God I've blown it. I'm the one that's at fault. I'm not here to blame the whole world for my problems.

I realize my problem is me. And there Jesus said this person is on the road to happiness. He then goes on and he said oh how happy are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness. For they shall be filled.

Now when a person essentially drained of themselves but hungry for God God loves to take him he loves to bless him he loves to fill them. And then when he fills them he says oh how happy the merciful.

Oh I appear the pure in heart. And oh how happy are the peacemakers. And then oh how happy are they that are persecuted for righteousness sake. There's is the kingdom of heaven he says. Now when somebody is filled with God there will be evidence to a merciful spirit a purity of heart.

There'll be a peacemaker in a world that is desperate to find peace and enter into it. And then even then they'll they'll even be persecuted for it. People look at it when Christ is so alive so real within them.

Some won't like it. But here through the Beatitudes we have essentially been dethroned in Christ is enthroned. And there we find ourselves to where. That's how lordship really happens. If I'm still running my life if I am still living in my own nature my own behavior I'm not humbled I'm not meek.

I don't mourn over any of my own internal weaknesses and still want to think that somehow another Jesus can be Lord. It can't happen. Can't happen. Not until I can't be Lord over a life that is still disputing who he is and the need for him and his power to forgive and love and cleanse.

And thus if I don't have anything to be cleansed up I like myself I'm fine nothing wrong with me. Well I'm not gonna know his lordship. But when I'm broken and I'm humbled and I hunger for him I'm filled.

Salt, Light, and the Transformation of Character

He then goes on and he says you are now the salt of the earth you're the light of the world. And he tells us now this is the life that the world is is both thirsty for salt brings out thirst and light brings out an awareness and knowledge.

And here he says you're what the world is thirsting for. You're what the world is looking for with. This is the life that everybody that's pursuing all these other avenues of pursuits all these other things that people are looking for to find identity and fulfillment.

You're it this life that you have discovered. And then as he continues on in chapter 5 he tells us there's some of the things now that I've that he's enthroned within my life. There are some internal things within me that are gonna kind of step up strut their stuff around and and try to dethrone him.

Essentially try to take over behaviors that can happen in my life. And that's he said you know you've heard that I've been said by them all the time thou should not kill but I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother.

And now he looks at there and he says you've heard you know that thou should not commit adultery but I send you whoever lust is after a woman. And here is Jesus now looks there and he says things that'll get in your heart in life and it'll dethrone me.

You'll be back running your own life back to the old behavior is there when you find yourself getting angry hostile upset with people and you can just live that way won't work. If you want to go on lusting you want to go on in this world coveting taking things unto yourself.

You don't want to maintain your commitments in your relationships. You've given you know you have heard that have been said that if a man put away his wife let him give her a ride in a divorcement as if somebody just makes a relationship you walk in and out of them just casually.

And he says you can't just make relationships and just forget about them. They've got to be deep and they've got to be powerful. If you want to continue on in a great relationship you have heard let your you know how to make an oath.

And you know he goes on. And as he talks about whether turning the other cheek and walking the second mile and all of these things that are attributes of a person there and he's a humble person. He says he cares for people.

He's not driven by his pride. He can turn the cheek. He doesn't have to win every argument. When somebody needs something he can give it to him. He can walk a second mile and he loves people here. You can go back and you can study that stuff if you want.

But that's basically chapter 5. I could have done that probably in one night but I think I took at least three months on it. But anyway wouldn't know what to done after that I suppose. But anyway then in chapter 6 as he looks he says still to maintain a deep relationship.

You want a living vital strong relationship with the Lord. There's other processes that can get into your life and where you've got to learn how to give not only to give but how to give. And so he says Jesus said when you when you serve or when you minister when you give don't do it to be seen in men.

And he says people like that they're hypocrites. They have their reward. I'm the one that saved you. I died on the cross. I've come in I'm forgiving you. I'm working within your life. I'm the one that's blessing.

You do it for me. Let's keep this simple just between you and me and forget the rest of the world and what they think about it. And he says and when you pray talk to me communicate with me pour out your heart to me.

Don't have to go around. Do you know things in the streets where you're seen of men and love to be seen of other people. Pray. And he says that's hypocrisy. Tell me your needs talk to me about stay close to me.

And then he goes on and he says and when you fast there'll be times in your life you just want to draw close to the Lord. You just need a work of God. And we went through this last week there but he says keep that relationship you know close and keep it strong.

The Danger of Earthly Treasures

But now tonight he continues on helping us maintain a strong relationship with him. And in there in verse 19 again knowing the battles so well as only Jesus knows them perfectly well. But he says lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and dust is corrupt and thieves break through and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rusteth corrupt and thieves do not break through and steal. And now Jesus he's wanting to help us understand a little bit more of some of the pressures some of the temptations some of the things that take us ever so subtly sometimes away from him.

But nonetheless they do it and that is that somebody finds himself. Now they come to him and they're growing and he's blessing. He's doing wonderful things. And they've got a walk going and they're learning to love and care and hold their commitments.

And their marriage and their family is being changed and transformed and wonderful things are going along and happening. They've even you know learned there are some things about giving and serving and they learn to love serving.

And then they've learned to pray and they've learned to seek God. But all the time out here there is still an issue that's always been around that isn't going to go away. And essentially that's the issues of the earth the issues of the world around us.

And here it is something we're now Jesus there that world is still there while I'm seeking while I'm growing the world just sits there as if to wait me out. I know you used to be in me and you used to love me and something's happened and you've run to Christ.

But don't worry I'll get you back sooner or later. And Jesus seeing this world essentially what it is it's going on there always around there. He now gives us another great key to maintaining a relationship with him.

And he says lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and dust is corrupt and thieves break through and steal. Now of course back in Jesus's time there was really no banking institutions as we know them today they're virtually unknown.

And if a man possessed much of anything he was essentially for the most part his own banker. And it's interesting enough when somebody had wealth back then they used to have all sorts of obscure places that they would hide it that they would go put it in.

Later on in Matthew chapter 13 Jesus gives a parable a man who had a treasure and and it was found a tray hid in a field that was not uncommon. People would oftentimes go out. They had they with they had a treasure.

They would someplace on their property they would go bury it. They would hide. We know what they had and they would always rotate the series of rocks and over there two paces from now you know is where they've buried and hidden something so it's as safe as that they could kind of have it.

And some may have enough money beyond even you know certain amount of wealth that they would hide they may be able to go add to their property and add things like clothing or cattle. It's interesting back you may remember the story of Akin in the Old Testament who therefore a Babylonian garment you know these things that he wanted the children of Israel were to destroy all these things.

He went and he took it and there was something just clothing. There's something there you did that he just had to have it and there he went he buried in his tent that was not uncommon people go in their house.

They'd hide thing they'd you know bury it in their own house or under there you know tent or wherever else. And this was this was common. And here the Lord he wants to talk to us and give us some very basic truths about first of all riches for one thing and what to do with them.

And here as Jesus talks about it he says in this life he says a moth and dust is corrupt and thieves can break through and steal. But the word for moth there and essentially something there it just ruins eats it up rusted.

But essentially it's the same word I mean it's a word Greek word brosis but it means to eat away. Rust has this way of you know it eats away at metals and moth eat away at fabric and things there. But and then of course thieves come along and they find a way to break in and steal.

And that wasn't a hard project back then because a lot of the homes were very easy to get into they had no sense of real security systems whatsoever of course and even ways to really lock them down tight and then a lot of them almost mud for plaster.

And to break into a house it was never a difficult thing to do. And anytime somebody had some wealth you know there was some moth or some dust or some steel or some thief that would find it and find a way that they're gonna go get it.

Treasure Reveals the Heart

And here is Jesus though it it's it's an interesting thing as he kind of points out this tendency he realizes our nature. I is I gotta have I gotta have and I never have enough. Sunday morning Chuck was mentioning you know whether Bill Gates or Ted Turner and others no matter how much you get it's never quite enough.

I think before Howard Hughes died they asked me if he was rich enough and he wasn't and not happy yet. But nonetheless there is still this great illusion that sits out there that that it'll make you happy and it but interestingly enough for the most part usually the more people have the greater their fears and the greater their they're concerned.

You know about things and it's a it's a deceptive sort of a thing. You know the guy that doesn't have much he just goes to bed and goes to sleep. He didn't have to even lock the door or wonder if anybody's gonna come in.

They look at what are you doing here. You're looking for something. You got the wrong joint. You know I mean there's something there that somebody that doesn't have a lot doesn't worry a lot about being broken in and having everything taken away and but I've noticed oftentimes the people that do have a lot sometimes the fears increase with the more you have.

Almost some years ago I was actually teaching on I believe this very text if I remember it correctly but I remember I was just talking about the nature of man. It's interesting about us. God put Adam in the garden he sinned and the Lord threw him out of the garden.

He says now you are going to work by the sweat of your brow. You're going to go to work and ever since then man and we've been trying to figure out a way not to work. You gotta be away not to. I know he said we're supposed to but I'm gonna get out of it and we're always working on it.

Somehow another I know I'll tell you what I'm gonna get this thing going and then I'm gonna buy this guy's field over here. I'm gonna get his field over here and then this field over here and then I'm gonna hire them to work all the fields and then if I get enough fields and everything then I can just you have all these fields and then interestingly enough a lot of people they succeed at that and they actually can get a lot of fields.

But at the same time I've noticed though that on one hand and then they look like it's great. I mean they go off and they know they do whatever they want to all day any day every day whatever day. The only thing I've noticed about the other guy that's just plowing the field he's just working the field you know he goes and works and keeps him in.

I wish I could get out of this field but he goes home every night and he eats his dinner and his head hits the pillow and he just falls asleep. He usually sleeps pretty good. But I noticed the guy there that didn't work during the day that got out of it I got out of it.

I see I have to work boy it's worked for me. And those guys usually work at night. I found and you know they they lay in bed at night in their whole financial statement it's up there on the ceiling and they're looking at this who's trying to break in here now I got to do to protect it if I move this thing over there and they're doing all that while they will.

You know they the guy that plowed the field he's sawing logs he's just happier and anything sleeping great but you work everybody works you don't you just shift it around but but we're always trying to get to where I don't have anything to worry about in life I don't have any concerns it's all gonna be taken care of.

But the thing is is that I don't believe that ever really happens. And here Jesus he's he's just trying to tell us there how to handle and how to deal you know with with the blessings that God does give to us.

And here as as he states there essentially moth and dust one day it takes everything. You know that it's like the story you know the fella who made himself hundred million dollars or whatever and nobody ever knew for sure how rich he really was.

And but his funeral that was the question everybody had. How much did he leave. How much did he leave. Everybody had to know. Till finally somebody turned and he said everything and no matter what you get naked came I into this world and naked go I out you know sort of a thing and and you can you don't take anything with it as far as anything that you've achieved here in the earthly sort of a realm even though we're constantly wanting you know the to find a way to do it.

Kind of like the story of the fella there who is really a good man and he did a really a great life and very very good. And he all the time he just begged the Lord I just want to take a suitcase with me to heaven please it's all I want.

No no exceptions. Please I just well please let me take a suitcase and that's all I want. Well he'd live such a good life. Finally the Lord just okay bring your suitcase. This guy he carted his suitcase around never knowing when he was gonna die.

He took it everywhere with him his huge heavy suitcase with him. You never know I don't want to die without my suitcase. I got to have it to go to heaven. And then finally one day the guy dies and there he is.

He's in heaven first guy to arrive with the suitcase. And everybody in heaven is all gathered around to see this site. What does he got in this suitcase. And here finally they open the thing up to look at it.

And it's gold solid gold bars he'd been hauling around and they're looking around each other. So what is that. What is that funny. One of them looked and says I think that's asphalt isn't it. And what do you want to bring a bunch of asphalt up here to heaven for but that's what the Bible says in heaven the streets are paid with gold the highest thing so often in this life that will walk on it in heaven it'll just be dirt there in a sense.

But but we are values essentially is what he's talking about here. And then Jesus goes on as he looks at these values. So I'm well aware of all of these treasures and all these things. But you can go build and build and build and build and then leave it all of it and have nothing that has gone before you.

This is the other hand you can take of your life and have much of your life go before you. You can lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor dust is corrupt and thieves do not cannot will not break through and steal.

And whatever you put there it's there. And it's going to remain there it's going to sit there's going to be guarded. You don't have to lay in bed at night and wonder if the things that you did for the Lord and your service of your life for your offering of your of your time your energy or your talent or your efforts or whatever was it were for his kingdom.

You wouldn't. You don't have to worry if it's still there it's there. And it's it's something there to realize that one day we'll actually stand before the Lord and do one of the most amazing statements to me in the Bible wouldn't believe it if Jesus didn't say it himself I suppose.

But one day we'll stand before him and he'll say thank you. You can you imagine a scene like that Jesus looking at likes of you and me and saying thank you. And we'll be saying what. Hello you know what what do you mean thank you.

What are you thanking me for. And he said what do you mean when I was in visit when I was in prison you visited me when I was hungry fed me I was naked you clothed me. We'll look at him and say Lord when did we do that to you.

And he'll say when you did it under the least of my saints you did that for me those acts of service and of love and a ministry there were. You found your heart in your life being offered up to the things of the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus said I'll tell you that is something that will never go unnoticed. And then he kind of summarizes though the great truth of this when he says for where your treasure is there will your heart be also.

And he gives us to me I think one of the great keys almost to the whole of the Sermon on the Mount the whole of the Christian life a sense a whole of existence. I suppose in the sense and that is is that one of the things that the Bible has a way of bringing out for us is that essentially if man's interests if man's if they're centered on earthly things there's the result of it.

Then then if that all of my time in my talents and my energy and my efforts will be focused on this I won't be able to stop it. It's just kind of like a fixed. If my treasure is here I'm doomed to be concerned worried working at it pouring my attention into it my efforts into it of taking care of this.

But if heaven has become the great attraction of my life of my heart if heaven something has happened through my life where I look at heaven I look at the kingdom of heaven I look at the God of heaven.

And I found myself absolutely thrilled about who he is. And I look at the rest of this down here and it's just lost its power. It's lost its emphasis. He's taken over the Beatitudes of worth that transformed life is happening.

Circumstances are so overwhelmingly wonderful that our God is doing in my life when I'm trusting and following in yielding I'm falling in love with him over and over. And as this is happening eternity becomes the great attraction and the heart which is so important to the Bible it just a godless seed like he looks at everybody and we walk in here and we all look different.

You had men and women and we're young and we're old and you can put any other description you want but every one of us are different. Some of us were born privileged some of us were don't know where we were born.

We were adopted or in transferred here and there. And some of us have had great wonderful lives and great blessings and comfort. Some of just struggled and struggled and struggled. Some of you know got great education somewhere denied some inherited all sorts of things and some sat there and inherited bills you know or something.

But also everybody's different and we want to say life isn't fair. But as far as God's concerned God is this way. As he told Samuel man looks at the outward countenance. But God looks at the heart. You see when it comes to the heart all of life is a level playing field has nothing to do with where you been.

That's the one thing that is exclusively yours. You can do with your heart whatever you want to. You can look at this world and say I love it and I want it and I'm gonna gain it. I'm gonna pour every bit of energy and effort I can into it and it's going to pay me well for it.

You can look at your heart and you can love God. You can love yourself. You love the devil. You can love pleasure. You can love anything. God just gives everyone a heart and that's what he looks at. Man looks at the trivial this superficial the circumstantial the things that we think are unfair.

But God says it has nothing to do with it. It has to do with the heart. And where a man's treasure is there is where his heart God sees. Where is the human heart going. What is it really motivated by what is it look at.

And that's what he looks at over 830 times in the Bible the King James any rate the word heart is mentioned. You want to know if something's important to God you look at that and you realize God looks at the heart and and what does it do.

And it's something there that in the midst of it you know that's where behavior really happens. As a man is his heart as a man thinketh as a man is in his heart. So is he. And the Bible talks about a humble heart a broken heart a hardened heart a rebellious heart a submissive heart you know a loving heart a merciful heart a generous heart a seeking heart a worldly heart a hardened heart all sorts of hearts.

The list goes on and on through the Bible. But God always looks at the heart. And what did he sees is what he sees as Jesus said he says. For out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts murders adulteries fornication thieves or thefts false witnesses blasphemies.

And here he says the heart has the capacity to go and do the most wretched and terrible and pathetic things. Or on the other hand Jesus you know he taught in thou shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.

The heart is the capacity either to give itself over to everything that is wretched or to turn itself and to offer it up to God and say I choose with my heart I choose to love you. Jesus talks you know at the end times that he says that servant there'll be those that believe their gods belong to him and serve him.

But he says there'll be a servant there. So saying his heart my lord delays is coming. And he goes on. He talks about the terrible repercussion of somebody who in their heart say wait a minute I got some more time and some other things I can do before he comes.

He's not coming yet and I've still got plans here that I want to get to. And what a tragic thing that can happen to the heart. And when it's hardened and it finds itself looking at something else rather than just wanting to look to the Lord and and and to see him and to grow in him.

The World, the Flesh, and the Lust of the Eyes

Jesus and Lou and Luke 6 he says a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good. But an evil man out of the tree out of the evil treasure of his heart bring it forth that which is evil.

For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. You see God looks there and you and I we have a heart and with this heart we can do whatever we want. We can harden it. We can we can let it become evil and corrupt.

Or we can say God take my heart and do a word. But essentially when the world to get captures the attention of the heart. And that's of course that's always been around ever since the garden ever since the garden.

You might say God literally put a piece of the world in the garden. I suppose there when they're in the midst of the garden was a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And God told me the deal of course of the day in which thou eatest you'll die.

It'll cost you terribly. And they're essentially you know what happened there in the garden. It tells us in Genesis 3 6 that when the woman saw that the tree was good for food that was pleasant to the eyes the tree was desired to make one wise she took of the fruit thereof and did eat and gave it to her husband.

But here there's something that she looked there and she saw interestingly enough three things that she noticed in that the tree was good for food pleasant to the eyes and able to make one wise. Those are really essentially the definition of worldliness of worldly person.

In 1st John 2 15 and 16 John writes. And he says love not the world neither the things that are in the world. For if any man loved the world the love of the Father is not in him. And he says that for all that is in the world the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father but it's of this world.

The world passed away in the lust thereof but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. But there John he tells us he says look out for the world don't ever allow yourself to love the world and having find yourself getting caught up in any great affection for it.

And he says for the things are the world. They are the three things the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes in the pride of life. And essentially what the lust of the flesh is is number one to me at any rate the lust of the flesh are your passions passions.

They're the physical appetites the physical passions of life. When somebody there the physical world takes over the lust of the eyes are your possessions being able to look. I want this I want this I want this things there that so often we look at.

Or the pride of life as he says lust the flesh lust of the eyes the pride of life. The pride of life is position. And there are three things all of these things to find a worldly person a person who is finding their treasure in this world.

If you're living for your passions you're your possessions or your position in life it's worldly. And that's essentially what was right there hanging on the tree when she saw that it was good for food.

There's her passions pleasant to the eyes possessions the pride are able to make one wise position. And here it is something in the pride of life. And these things have always been around and it's always always been there.

It's interesting. The Lord told the King in Deuteronomy three things he says I when somebody rules and you set him on the on the throne and they rule my people. He says there's three things I don't want the king to do.

I don't want him to multiply wives into himself. I don't want him to multiply wealth into himself. And I don't want to him to employ to dad horses into himself though there those were three things. Now the wives obviously passions lust of the flesh.

A king there if he's gonna rule my people he can't be driven by by you know multiplying wives multiplying wealth position or possessions pardon me. And or else horses now horses back in those days that was position some trust in horses some trust in chariots.

But when somebody boy if they've got a big army they've got a position in the world there are forced to be reckoned with. And here God told the king he says don't ever worry don't ever you know try to find your strength in your horses you know or your position or your possessions or anything like that.

And then the Lord of course told all the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 8 he says. And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied and all that I asked is multiplied then thine heart be lifted up and I'll forget the Lord thy God which brought thee forth out of Egypt from the house of bondage.

Here God looking says there's a great tendency so always with us right going through this life as we're wanting to grow in the Lord surrender to him. But this world sits over there within as soon as God so often blesses us.

Or so funny the children of Israel when they're in bondage they cried out to God please get us out please get us out get us out we'll love you forever. And then he gets him out but while he's even bringing him out knowing the trials that are ahead of me says listen when you get in your homes and your blessings and your wealth and your cattle is being multiplied.

Don't forget me don't forget me. David once said he said Lord please don't give me so much I forget you or so much or so little I curse you. But there he looked there he says God I just want my life to where I constantly need you.

I constantly you're constantly the focus of my life that nothing will ever threaten that that's it what it is that I want. These are the same things that Jesus himself actually went through himself at his own temptation.