Treasures in Heaven
Written by Tim Eagle
Saturday, 30 June 2001 19:00
Good morning! Welcome to Gateway Community Church. And, if you're a visitor this morning, we extend a special welcome to you. We appreciate you taking time out of your day to come and be with us.
For those that don't know me, I'm Tim Eagle. Now, I know I'm not who you were expecting to see up here am I? Well, not for me either. Ed, our pastor, is with a group of people from Gateway who are in Nicaragua for 10 days on a missions trip. This group is in Nicaragua to help the local people with work tasks like repairing buildings and fixing houses. But, more importantly, they're there to spread God's word. So, we want to keep all of them in our prayers during this time that they make an impact in people's lives and have a safe trip.
When Ed asked me to say something this morning, he used the word preach, I was stunned. And, as you can tell, I'm still feeling nervous and awkward. So, please bear with me as we go through this morning. After Ed asked me to preach, I prayed on what passage I could use. Possibly one that would fit nicely in-between the Ephesians series he's been discussing and what he's going to speak on starting in July about church issues as they relate to the charter. And, the charter process is what we'll be going through in September and October. But, a specific passage really didn't speak to me about those issues and make for a good transition between the two topics.
So, instead, I chose a passage that had a profound impact on my life at a time when I felt I was stumbling in the darkness searching for an answer. Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night and you need to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water? Or, more probably you get a drink of water and then you need to go to the bathroom later, right? And you're walking in the room real gingerly. You can't really see the things you want to avoid but you know they're there. The darkness prevents you from seeing what you should avoid and what you would clearly see in the light. And, occasionally you step on something that hurts. Isn't it amazing how it's during these times that your foot finds the only carpet tack that didn't get hammered all the way into the floor? How did that get there? That's what it was like for me at that time. I was searching for an answer, trying to navigate through the obstacles in my life that prevented me from clearly seeing what God wanted for me. You know how Ed uses the phrase, "rocked my world?" Well, this passage and the impact it had on me then, and still does, not only rocked my world, it shattered that rock. It changed me so irrevocably that I consider it one of the defining moments in my life.
What I'd like to talk about this morning is handling materialism.
Let's pray. Dear Father, I thank you for this day that we can come and be in your presence together. I pray that you will guide me this morning and we can hear from you. Lord, we are too concerned with materialism in Northern Virginia. We are too focused on it. Please speak to us this morning through your word on how to handle it. Amen.
For those that don't know, my family is from Texas. My brothers, sister, and I were born and raised there. And, my parents and brothers still live there. In fact, my wife, Terri, and our kids, Krysta and James, are leaving this afternoon to go to Texas for our vacation. However, my sister and her family moved some years ago to Portland, Oregon for a new job and a new life. Even though that's where they lived, they continued to return frequently to Texas for visits with family and friends. When my niece, Emily, was about four years old, a neighbor came by their house one day to inform them that her husband had died and gone to heaven. When my niece heard that she looked at the neighbor and asked, "You mean he's gone to Texas?" You see, for her, Texas and heaven were so intertwined, they were one in the same. That's all she knew. That's what she was focused on. I'll return to this in a minute.
The passage we're going to look at today is Matthew 6:19-24, titled Treasures in Heaven. If you have a Bible, please turn to the passage. The book of Matthew is a bit more than halfway through the Bible. It's the first book of the NT. If you don't have a Bible, get close to someone who does or follow along on the screen. The version I'll be reading is from the NIV. Let's stand to hear God's word.
Matthew 6:19-24
(19) "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. (20) But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. (21) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (22) "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. (23) But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (24) "No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.
Now, let's take this passage and start breaking it down. This section is part of a larger passage that starts at Chapter 5 and ends at the conclusion of Chapter 7. This whole discourse is referred to as 'The Sermon on the Mount' because as verse 5:1 says, "Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them." Can you visualize that? Can you imagine that when Jesus saw, and it says 'large crowds in verse 4:25,' following him he walked up the side of this mountain, found some rock to sit on and began to preach to the disciples and the crowds that gathered before him sitting at his feet. Probably covering the mountainside.
And, I can't imagine Jesus getting ready to give his sermon saying, [raised voice] 'OK, hey everyone out there. Listen to me, I've got some things to say to you that are really important for your lives.' What I can imagine him saying, probably in his normal speaking voice before a hushed mountainside of people, is, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those that mourn, for they will be comforted.' That's how he began the sermon. With the beatitudes, or declarations of blessedness. And he talks on a multitude of areas that not only the crowds back then, but you and me today, have to deal with. This is Jesus telling us moral and ethical standards we need in order to live our lives. Take some time this week to read this powerful sermon and talk to someone about it. Let them know how it spoke to you.
And then, a little more than halfway through his sermon, he speaks on treasures in heaven. Verses 19 through 21 say,
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
In the ancient near east, a large part of the riches one would accumulate often consisted of costly garments which were susceptible to ruin by moths. There was no way to prevent that deterioration. Rust was also representative of anything that destroys worldly possessions. Jesus was telling us not to focus on the material things of this life but to focus on God. Why? Because the only thing that's permanent in our lives is the fellowship we have with God. To be in His will and in His service. That's heavenly wealth.
Verses 22 and 23 tell us,
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"
What does that mean? And, I wondered why did Jesus use 'lamp?' Why not 'window?' Or, 'glass?' Because a lamp is what the people of Jesus' day used to shed light in a place of darkness. It was used to illuminate the path they would take so they could see where they were going. So they wouldn't stumble around in the darkness like would happen if they got up in the middle of the night looking for the bathroom. If our eyes are good, or healthy, or focused on what God wants for us, our whole body will be full of light. Or, healthy. Or, in the right spiritual condition. You see, the eyes are to the body what the heart is to our spiritual condition.
But, if our eyes are bad, or unhealthy, or focused on the material things of this world, we'll be stumbling around in the darkness. Not finding God. Not having the healthy spiritual condition we need in order to know God's will and path for our life. And, we're not just in darkness, He says, 'how great is that darkness!' Exclamation point. If you aren't focused on God, with the right spiritual heart, then your darkness of spirit is magnified. There will be such a distance between you and God it's like you're in a thousand mile train tunnel and you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Really, it's separation from God.
So, Jesus is saying in these verses that if we focus on the worldly things, the material things of this life, we are separated from God. I know this may sound harsh, but what is it that Jesus wants for our lives? Why is it so bad to focus on material things? Well, because the material things of this world are (1) only temporary while we're on this earth, (there are no U-hauls behind hearses) (2) keep us from being the fully productive, serving people God has made us to be, and (3) it's not Godly.
But, you know what? I think Jesus is talking about more than just the material things of this world. He's talking about more than the physical stuff we desire and accumulate. He's talking about our spiritual state of being.
The Lord wants our Godliness, not our gold.
Verse 24 says,
"No one can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money."
The Greek word used for 'money' here is mammon which comes from an Aramaic root word meaning 'that in which one trusts.' You see? Substitute that phrase into the sentence. 'You cannot serve both God and that in which one trusts.' Anything that takes our focus and devotion away from God is separating us from Him. And the farther we move away from God, the dimmer God's light grows in our heart and in our life. Becoming darker and darker and darker. And then we're stumbling around not knowing where to go or what to do. We don't have a clear path to follow. Our heart, the spiritual barometer of our body, is barely beating.
For us here in Northern Virginia, we're particularly susceptible to the things of this world that we put our trust in. That lead us away from God. We live in an area where people earn in the top 5% of income in the world. Of the 6 some odd billion people in the world, we make more money than 95% of them. That's incredible. So, what do we do with that money? We buy bigger houses, better toys, more clothes, more expensive vehicles, the latest video gaming system (for you young ones out there). Never mind the Jones's. I'm trying to keep up with the Smith's and the Harrison's and the. You fill-in the blank. It constantly amazes me how many Mercedes Benz's, BMW's, Porshe's, Volvo's, Cadillac's, high-end, expensive cars I see in this area. I've never seen so many in one place before. That point was really highlighted when we went to West Virginia last month and the most expensive car we saw with West Virginia plates was a Chevy. We live in an affluent area.
But what about the other things in our lives that we trust? This area is known for it's intoxicating sense of power that overcomes and takes hold of people that live here. The seat of government not just for the United States, not just for the Free World, but for the whole world is right here. I heard one radio station recently advertise that Washington, D.C. is 'the most powerful city on the planet.' Doesn't that sound good? And, it feels good too, right? Isn't it great that we live here and we can feel some of that power? And, you know what? If we live in the most powerful city in the world then some of that is bound to rub off on me. But, that sense of power now will never be enough. We'll need more and more. And, we'll do the things it takes to get it.
What about jealousy? Of the money or the toys or the power that others around us have. What about our jobs? Have you ever known anyone who comes to the end of their life, lying on their deathbed, taking their last breaths of life and says, 'Man, I wish I had spent more time at the office?' What about our busyness? Or our selfishness? Or our control? Or our anxiety? Or our anger? Or our desires for what we don't have instead of what we do have?
The Lord wants our Godliness, not our gold.
For me, I put my trust and focus in a place and a lifestyle. And that place was Dallas. In the fall of 1995, I began to commute every week from Dallas to Northern Virginia for the project I was working on. Then, at the beginning of '96, the company I worked for opened a regional headquarters office in Reston and asked me to help set-up the new organization. My immediate reaction was, 'Sure, how can I help while I'm in Dallas?' My management, of course, wanted me here, living in Northern Virginia. But, the idea of moving away from my family, Terri's family, our friends, our church, our activities, our kid's school, our security and protection and support system of being where we were and what we had there that we built for ourselves for over 15 years was not an option. Like my niece's perception of Texas as being heaven, Texas was my reality of heaven. I would suffer the discomfort of the weekly commute and deal with the related issues of doing that as long as we stayed in Dallas.
Terri and I prayed constantly for wisdom in this situation and how to deal with it. And, of course, we thought we would help God with the decision by putting demands in front of my company of what it would take to get us here. We came up with obstacles presented to the company to prevent us from even being interested. However, they started to agree to them. Once one was met, we demanded another. We submitted a series of demands that were all finally met to our amazement. Finally, we had to say to ourselves, 'We can't ignore God any more. We don't know why He's doing this. But, it's clear we need to move to NoVa. We made the most difficult decision of our lives in moving here in the spring of '96 leaving behind everything we knew and loved.
But, I didn't have to like it. I thought, 'Ok, I'll go to NoVa. But, only for 2 years max. I helped justify it by saying it's got great places of history and natural scenery to see and visit. Kind of an extended vacation and exploration time for us and the kids. Then, I'm outta of here back home to Texas. Back to my family, my friends, my church, my activities, my Cowboys, everything that I've known and spent years investing my life and my family's life into. I was living a temporary life. I was waiting for my time to be up, my sentence if you will, so I could return to Texas.
And, do you think I moved to NoVa thinking, 'God, I know you made my path here clear. So, I'm gonna move here to get closer to you. I'm moving here to become a more spiritual person and deepen my understanding of your word. When I live here, I'm going to hear from you, God, in powerful ways and you're gonna move me closer to your will for my life so that I can be the fully joyful person in Christ you have created me to be!'
And, to my surprise, God did speak to me in a powerful way. In a way I wasn't prepared for but changed my entire perspective of who I am in Christ.
In the summer of '97, I was offered a new job with a new company. More money, more responsibility, bigger title, and best of all, it was in Dallas. Finally, a way out I had been looking for to get me (us) from this misery we were in here. And get us back to the warm, comfortable surroundings of being home.
But, by that time, we were already involved in Gateway. And the idea of community and the vision of what God was doing here was such a strong calling in my heart, the decision to leave didn't come as easily and as quickly as I thought it would. It actually became a painful time of trying to discern what God was telling me to do. There was a lot of prayer and tears and anxiety. I involved new friends here for their prayer and their insight. I endlessly searched the scriptures for a passage that would speak to me and give me direction. This went on for a couple of months.
Until I read Matthew 6:19-24. And, I distinctly heard God speak to me. God said, 'Tim, It's not money that you're serving, it's not the material wealth or the power or a title. It's this idea of going home. To be in a place that's known and familiar and more comfortable. You're so consumed and focused on being in Texas, you have distanced yourself, separated yourself from listening to me and following my will for your life.' I had finally come to a point of brokenness in my life that this scripture allowed my eyes to be opened for God's spiritual light to illuminate my heart. He knew what was best for me and I was fighting it so hard, that I didn't even know I wasn't open to God's clear calling for the path I needed to take. Until I read this passage. God wants us to serve only Him.
And, you know what? It was a wonderful, liberating feeling. To actually know and say to people 'I know the path God has laid before me. I don't know where it will end up. But, I know that if I follow it, straight and true, and not veer to the right or to the left, God will bring me to a new place of relationship with Him. A place of focused vision on Him, dependency on Him, and obedience to His direction for my life. I'm not saying it's easy. But, it is freeing.
The Lord wants our Godliness, not our gold.
So, what is it in your life that is shiny and attractive? What is it that grabs your attention, holds you in its' grip, and for some unknown reason keeps drawing you to it? What is it that is such a fixation and focus and need in your life that it separates you from God? For me, it was moving back to Dallas.
OK. That's nice. You're probably wondering, 'How does that apply to me or what does that look like for me?' Well, I don't know how best you are ministered to but let me suggest three things that work for me and you may apply to your own life. And, young people, these are ones that each one of you can even remember.
1. Pray. Continuously. Purposefully. Find a quiet place of solitude where you can focus on God and hear him. Near the end of the bike circuit I make around Ashburn Farm there's a large oak tree. I like to think it's the largest oak tree still standing in the Farm. And at the base of it is a large rock which I go to and lye on after riding there. And I pray. I call it my prayer rock. It helps me to feel a greater sense of solitude and awareness of God's creations. When I'm lying there with my eyes closed, I try to focus on the natural quiet surrounding me. Pretty soon I can start making out the calls of many different kinds of birds. I hear a squirrel scampering in the tree. I hear the wind blowing through the tree branches making that cascade of sound through the leaves. It helps quiet my soul and focuses me on God so that I can tell Him what's going on in my life and I can listen for an answer. Find that place of solitude for you where you can have focused prayer so that you can feel God's words rustle through your heart.
2. Invite. We're a community of believers united in Christ, focused on Christ, and serving Christ. Share your struggles with others in our community. Invite them in to the difficulties you're going through. Ask them to pray with you and for you during this time. Ask them for their wisdom and discernment. God can speak to those believers around us about your situation. Surround yourself with them. Seek their counsel. Invite them in.
3. Prepare. The answers we seek are not always in the places or in the ways we expect. Prepare yourself to be open when the moment occurs that God says something to you. Don't miss it. Prepare to receive it.
Pray. Invite. Prepare. PIP. The pip plan. It's easy to remember. What are they? Pray. Invite. Prepare.
A final thought. It's a funny thing about gold. Gold is very malleable, meaning it can be formed, shaped, pressed into very thin sheets which can then be applied to most anything. The false idols of Canaan worship were covered with these thin sheets of gold. And, just as these gold layers that cover the inner substance keep our eyes from the core, the worldly treasures in our life that Jesus talks about here are layered on our heart and keep us separated from God and what He wants from us.
There's a name for the kind of false substance that looks like the real gold. It may appear to be the same. It shines real nice and is attractive to our eyes. But, underneath the appealing covering, there's no value in it. There's no real heart of worth which has long lasting attributes. That false gold is called pyrite. Or, fool's gold.
What's YOUR master? Let's pray.
Father, we are a people stumbling in the darkness. We cry out to you for help. We want to clearly see you. To focus on you. To be so in tune with what you want for our lives that we are in lock step on the path you have for us. We want to put aside the obstacles that prevent us from doing that and feel your radiant light in us. Lord, you are our everything. Our all in all. I pray you will open the eyes of our hearts. Amen.