Sermon On The Mount: Your Treasure Chest

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.

Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV)

Jesus introduces His followers to an out-of-this-world banking system. Consider some of its unique features:

  • It’s not about worldly wealth or assets.

  • It’s recession-proof, thief-proof, and foolproof.

  • Assets are guaranteed and protected,

  • With a supernatural R.O.I.

  • Deposits come through acts of charity,

  • Gracious giving, and helping those in need.

  • By doing things unseen people can’t count.

  • God DOES count and rewards EXCEEDINGLY…

  • Not only in our heavenly account, 

  • But also even in the here and now…

By Him 'Who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the Power that works in us' (Ephesians 3:20).

Here's how the Lord’s banking protocol works:

'Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you' (Luke 6:38).

When we give to others generously--by way of resources, time, or talents, God gives it back beyond human measure.

Think of Paul's last message on his last trip--before heading to arrest and prison:

'I have shown you in every way… that you must support the weak. And remember the Words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' '

'And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. Then they all wept freely, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more' (Acts 20:35-38).

Was giving unselfish love to others the final summary of Paul's teaching?

Yes! It also summarized Christ’s teaching: ' 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great Commandment. And the Second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets' (Matthew 22:37-40).

One more thing: we’re not just blessed in Heaven by our savings--but also on Earth. When King David was on the run from Saul, He trusted in God: 'I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living' (Psalm 27:13). And so David saw it. And so will you.

Sermon On The Mount: Your Treasure Chest (Part 20)

NOTE: This is a 2023 update of a 2013 Carey Lewis Devotion. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players. Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings.

Carey Arban