7/30/23 - Preparing for Heaven - Matthew 6:19-21 - Pastor Jason Fritz

This Sunday we bring our series on heaven and hell to a close. Perhaps the best way to do this is to hear from Jesus as he tells us what we can do here and now in order to prepare ourselves for the day we see Him face to face. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says this...

“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

In the words of an old pastor, ‘You never see a U-Haul behind a hearse.’

Notice the reason for storing up these treasures in heaven: they last. These are things no one can take from you. I have had valuables lost and stolen. I have had things taken from my car and my home. This never happens with what is kept in heaven. Additionally, by thinking eternally with what we have been entrusted temporally, the things of this earth remain in their proper place.

A funny thing happens in life…

The more things we have, the more our things seem to have us. We start to organize our lives around possessions and spend time and money to protect and maintain them because we fear their loss. Hoarding is a form of idolatry too. It puts something other than God at the center of our lives.

We should recognize that storing up treasures in heaven is not limited to our finances. For example, Jesus said this in Matthew 10:42…"And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” 
 
We serve Jesus by serving the body of Christ and as a result, we gain what we cannot lose. Even seemingly small acts of service when done with the right motive do not go unnoticed by God. If you serve coffee, put away chairs, give a sandwich to the homeless, empty the trash, introduce yourself to someone new, invite a friend or teach a child you are filling the hands of God with what will be returned one hundredfold.

Jesus assumes that our hearts will place value on whatever we find. His point is that our hearts must treasure the right things and keep them in their proper place because what we treasure most matters in eternity.