Your treasure is linked to your heart. Your treasure is linked to your heart. Thinking about Pastor Rod’s message on Sunday, and his final words, everything has a price, but everything cannot be bought. I thought about the scripture in Matthew 6:19-21.

Treasure is linked to the heart. Thus, we must center our lives around what we treasure most. Is it earthly treasure that we value most, or heavenly treasure? Just a question to consider.

In chapter 6, Jesus continues His Sermon on the Mount. He started by addressing the issue of giving. In contrast to hypocrites, believers are not to call attention to their giving. Instead, charitable deeds must be done in secret, and our heavenly Father will reward us openly.

Next, Jesus addresses the topic of prayer, condemning pretentious, repetitious, and empty babbling prayers only to attract attention. Instead, He introduces the pattern by which we must pray. It is known as the Lord’s Prayer, found in Matthew 6:9-13.

On the matter of forgiveness, Jesus clearly and succinctly states, for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Straightforward and easy to comprehend. No further explanation needed on that matter.

Jesus goes on to address the issue of fasting. The spiritual discipline of fasting is only to be seen by God. Therefore, when fasting, one must anoint their head and wash their face, as not to appear to men to be fasting. Simply put, do not make a production out of fasting, as God the Father, who sees in secret, will reward one openly.

Next to last in chapter 6, Jesus addresses the subject of treasure. And this is where we’re going to stay just for a few minutes. He addresses the subject of treasures. He distinguishes earthly treasure as temporary and heavenly treasure as superior.

Let’s be clear. Jesus is not prohibiting material possessions, nor the enjoyment of them. As 1 Timothy 6:17b tells us, “God… giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” However, He does forbid a selfish and extravagant materialism that ties a person to this life.

We are to hold these earthly treasures as stewards, not as owners, as they are on loan to us, and we are to be faithful stewards of them. First Corinthians 4:2 states, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” There is an expectation from God when He entrusts us with responsibilities. It is not a casual request, but a serious demand for faithfulness.

So that house or that home that you’ve been blessed with, you have a responsibility to pay the mortgage, the light, the gas, electric, water, taxes, and repair bills to keep it up. Would you agree with me?

That car God has entrusted to you must be maintained. Monthly car notes, scheduled maintenance, and safe driving are our responsibility in maintaining the blessing of our cars.

We are also responsible for the money, the income we receive. As faithful, responsible, and good stewards, we tithe and give the Lord an offering. We pay our bills on time. We save systematically and invest. And we spend wisely and responsibly. Does that sound familiar?

Well, Bishop Caesar Sr. always admonished us to wear these material blessings as loose garments, as they may be required of us at any given point in time.

Now to the treasures laid up in heaven. Matthew 6:20 states, “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” These treasures are secure.

Many of the heavenly treasures are found in the Sermon on the Mount earlier in chapter 5, where Jesus addressed His disciples and followers of that day and future followers. Matthew Roden, a writer of Bible theology, gives a list of treasures stored in heaven, and I’d like to share what storing up or laying up treasures in heaven looks like.

It looks like being humble and pure in heart. Matthew 5:8 states they shall see God. That’s a stored-up treasure in heaven. It looks like hungering and thirsting for righteousness. As Matthew 5:6 says, they shall be filled. Treasures in heaven.

Making peace, as mentioned in Matthew 5:9, states they shall be called the children of God. Being persecuted for righteousness’ sake, Matthew 5:10 states, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Being salt in life, as stated in Matthew 5:13, preserving the flavor of godliness in the world and in our relationships. That’s what storing up treasures is all about.

Following God’s command, as stated in Matthew 5:9, in doing so we shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Keeping your word, as stated in Matthew 5:37, let your yes be yes and your no be no, avoiding the evil one.

Giving to the needy discreetly, as Matthew 6:3 says, God will reward you openly. Practicing forgiveness, as spoken in Matthew 6:12, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.

And lastly, this is not the end. There are many more ways to store treasures in heaven, but this is the last that I will share with you. Lastly, shunning worry and trusting God to provide for your needs. This is treasure laid up in heaven.

This is also the final subject Jesus addressed in Matthew 6:23-34, which states, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

When Jesus is our treasure, we will commit our time, talent, money, and ourselves to Him, thus storing up treasure. Your treasure is linked to your heart. Is your stored treasure earthly, or is it heavenly? Just a question for you to ponder.

Shall we pray? Father, we thank You. We praise You, and we bless You. Thank You for Your word. Truly, it is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Lord, help us to hide it in our hearts that we might not sin against You.

Thank You, O God, that as we live from day to day, we can store up treasure in heaven, because where our treasure is, there our hearts are. Lord, where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. So help us to be conscious daily of what we are storing up, O God, what we are storing up, making sure that what we do store up, Lord, is heavenly and not earthly. It is secure and not material, O God, subject to destruction, subject to moth and thieves coming in and stealing.

But help us, O God, to be mindful of what we are storing up in heaven. May it be heavenly. May our treasures be heavenly, because where our treasure is, Lord, once again, that is where our hearts are. We thank You for Your word once again. In Jesus’ name, amen. Amen.