Treasure the Right Treasures
Brent Bailey has been preparing for a mission trip to Nepal. He trained to do a concise presentation of the gospel message of salvation to the people of Nepal. Brent has been called to this mission and to this message which has been changing lives all over the world. The outline of this presentation is in an App called Life on Mission.
God originally created the world perfectly. He created the Angels as part of his perfect creation. One of his angels rose up with pride. Pride caused the angel Lucifer to attempt to usurp the throne of God. Lucifer fell and took one third of the Angels with him when he lifted himself with pride.
Lucifer was cast to earth as the Devil, the adversary of the one true God. The devil, the deceiver, approached Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and tempted them to disobey God’s only commandment. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they died spiritually that day. Man has been separated from God ever since. Since the fall of man, the sin nature that we inherited from Adam has separated mankind from the spiritual nature of God.
However, God had a plan to redeem mankind and restore a spiritual connection. The plan was through his son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When we confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God has raised him from the dead, we shall be saved, redeemed and made righteous. Salvation means that we have been born again of God’s spirt. When we were born the first time, we inherited Adam’s fallen nature of body and soul. When we were born again of God’s spirit, we inherited God’s spiritual nature of the Holy Spirit.
We who have been born again now have two natures: the nature of the flesh, the natural man of body and soul that we inherited from Adam, and the nature of the Holy Spirit of life in Christ.
The devil will indoctrinate the “natural” man of body and soul: those who are without God and without hope. They do not have the spirit of life in Christ and are blind to the truth in a world of spiritual darkness. In our broken world, lying is encouraged if the outcome is advantageous. The natural man says, “what’s in it for me?” Rebellion is required for worldly acceptance. Doctrines of this world have also infiltrated the church. For example, what the word of God says is “sexual sin” is now accepted in many church congregations. These biblical sins are “welcomed and affirmed” not only for the congregation but also for the pastors. Sin is inevitable when condoned by those who are supposed to be living a holy life. When the church is no longer a beacon of light, Sin becomes commonplace as the cultural norm for acceptable behavior. In America, churches used to stand against sin and those who practiced sin were considered shameful. However sin is now is welcomed, affirmed, and openly celebrated by our culture.
How do you mend the brokenness of our culture? As Christians and Men of God, the question is, “What do you value most?” According to Matthew 6:19-21, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Verse 19 has a unique construction in the Greek language. The word “treasure” is used both as a verb and a noun. This verse says, “treasure not for yourselves treasures upon the earth.” Treasure signifies value. People and cultures use that which they consider valuable to fix that which is broken. However, earthly valuables cannot repair a world that is spiritually broken. Earthly treasures are only temporary…they will come to naught… they will take wings and fly away. That which is of earthly value cannot reconcile our hearts to the true treasures. True and lasting treasure is treasure in heaven. According to verses 19 and 20, Therefore, treasure treasures in heaven for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Either you treasure that which is of the world or that which is in heaven. You cannot treasure both. You cannot serve two masters.
2 Corinthians 4:7 says, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of ourselves.” The treasure is the Holy Spirit of life in Christ.
According to verses 16-18: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man (our earthen vessels) perish, yet the inward man (the Holy Spirit of Christ in us) is renewed day by day.
17. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Valuing the things of the earth results in the wisdom of the world. According to James, the wisdom of this world is earthly, sensual, and devilish. However, when we treasure treasures in heaven, the wisdom that is from above is first peaceable, easy to be in treated, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
Hebrews 12:25 says, “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:”
“Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.”
“And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
For our God is a consuming fire.”
What is it that you value most? That which can be shaken will be shaken. That which is shaken loose will be burned. That which cannot be shaken shall remain. Therefore let us treasure treasures in heaven where there is no corruption… where Christ sitteth on the right hand of the throne of God.
May we ever live to the praise of the glory of his grace, Your brother in Christ, Michael