The Heart’s Treasure - A Passion for His Kingdom

By: Dr. Robert Petterson

Mar 09, 2008

Jesus talked about money more than anything else. There is a reason for that: at the heart of everything is the heart. Jesus said, “For where your heart is, there your heart will be also.” If we have a passion for heaven, we will invest our treasure in its enterprises.

Sermon Text:

[Text: Matthew 6:19-24]

May I tell you the story of two very different men?

The first was a young World War 2 hero named Butch. As a young fighter pilot he served aboard the USS Lexington in the South Pacific. On February 20, 1942 his squadron was on a mission when he looked down at his gage and realized that he was losing fuel. His leader ordered him to return immediately to the aircraft carrier.

Reluctantly, Butch broke from the formation and headed back to the fleet. As he burst through the clouds, his blood ran cold. A squadron of Japanese bombers was headed straight for the Lexington. Without regard for his safety, Lieutenant Butch O'Hare dove straight into the Japanese squadron, his wing-mounted 50-caliber guns blazing. Like a crazed demon, he wove in and out of the enemy formation, firing until his ammo was spent. His machine guns empty, he then tried to ram his foes' planes, scattering the bewildered Japanese. Demoralized, the enemy squadron retreated.

After he limped back to the carrier, the camera mounted on his plane showed that he shot down five Japanese bombers. He was the first Naval Ace in World War 2, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. A year later Butch died in aerial combat at age 29.

There was another man about the same age as Butch. But Easy Eddie was no hero. Eddie was a slick-talking Chicago lawyer who represented Al Capone. He manipulated the legal system to keep Big Al out of prison for years. The grateful mobster made him the highest paid attorney in America. Easy Eddie's estate was so big that it covered an entire Chicago city block. But Eddie had a hard time sleeping at night, knowing that he had prostituted himself to the bloodiest mob in gangland history.

Most of all, Easy Eddie worried about the legacy he would leave his son. Though he could give his boy anything that money could buy, he desperately wanted him to grow up to be a better man than he was. He tried to teach his boy the difference between right and wrong. But, as long as he was associated with Scarface Al Capone, he could never pass on to his son the two most important legacies of all: a good name and a great example.

Easy Eddie knew that, if his son was ever to have a good name, he would have to rectify the crimes he had committed. So he made a courageous decision to walk away from the mob and testify against Al Capone. A year later Easy Eddie was brutally murdered in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago street.

Easy Eddie redeemed a tarnished family name with his final act of heroism. His son grew up proud of the example set by his father, Eddie O'Hare. Maybe it was Eddie's courage that inspired his son, Butch to charge that Japanese squadron on February 2, 1947 and later die a hero's death in aerial combat. Easy Eddie's dream for his son came true. Today, when you fly into Chicago you might even land at O'Hare International Airport, named in honor of Eddie's son, Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.

God has given our church a vision to reach the next generation. We call it Building a Bridge to the Future. Easy Eddie paid the ultimate price so that his son might be a better man than he was. Right now the biggest baby boom in history is taking place on planet earth. The numbers are astronomical: more than four babies are born every second. At the current rate there will be eight billion people in the world by the year 2020. What will we invest to reach future generations for Christ, both here and abroad? More than ever we need to come to grips with Christ's words in Matthew 6:19&20:

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in to steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven …"

In short, we need to invest in that which lasts for eternity. But, more importantly, what we do with our possessions is the greatest indicator of our heart's condition. This is what Jesus wants to teach us today:

If our heart belongs to heaven, we will invest our treasure in it's enterprises

Jesus lays it on the line in verse 21, "For where your heart is, there your treasure will be also." What you do with your possessions says everything about your passions. So, where's your heart today? The Great Physician wants to make sure you have a healthy heart. Here are the diagnostic questions that he asks in this passage of Scripture:

1. Do you have a smart heart? Only if you invest your treasure wisely. In verses 19&20 Jesus says that there are only two places where we can "store" or bank our treasures: earth or heaven. In the final analysis where we invest our possessions is a very practical issue. Last week the richest man in the world, Warren Buffet sent shivers through Wall Street when he declared that we are now in a recession. From the sub-prime mortgage fiasco to a looming credit crisis, we are facing the painful results of years of bad financial decisions. More than ever, Americans are asking, "Where's the safest place to protect or invest my assets?" Jesus would say, "I'm glad you asked. Let me tell you." But he takes us beyond the microsecond we inhabit this earth to that which really matters: an eternity which lasts forever.

Jesus says, "If you are investing in the things of this earth, you need to rethink. Earth is a bank failure waiting to happen." Jesus says in verse 19: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth." He isn't saying that we shouldn't invest in the people of this earth. But he is saying that we can't invest our best in the things of this earth. Jesus wants us to love people and use things. Unfortunately, too many folks love things and use people.

Jesus tells us two facts of life: things decay and robbers steal. He says "…moth and rust destroy…" In his book Ash Heap Lives, philosopher and theologian Francis Schaeffer says that all of us need to go to the garbage dump and meditate on what we see. All the things we once treasured end up rusted, eaten away, or out-of-fashion, discarded on the ash heap. What are historical ruins and archeological digs except haunting reminders that all great civilizations end up as garbage heaps? The Second Law of Thermodynamics says that everything is running down. Face lifts, botox treatments, and vitamin supplements can slow our inevitable aging process, but never stop it. Comedian Bob Hope was asked why he aged so well. He replied, "I get my exercise as a pallbearer for all my friends who died of heart attacks while jogging." He lived almost a century, but even that was less than a nanosecond in the light of eternity. The only thing that never decays in your hands is that which is stolen from your hands. Jesus reminds us that one other fact is as inevitable as decay: "…thieves break in to steal."

What then is the answer? In verse 20 Jesus says that we need to change banks. "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…" Why? Because nothing there decays: "…moth and rust do not destroy…" And nothing there can be taken away: "…thieves do not break in and steal."

Many people are puzzled about how we lay up treasures in heaven. Jesus is saying that you must invest your treasures in that on earth which ends up in heaven. There is an old saying: "You can't take it with you." Job said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart." (Job 1:21) Someone quipped, "You never see a U-Haul trailer hooked to a hearse." But these you can take to heaven: 1) yourself saved, sanctified, and glorified. Are you investing in things that grow you spiritually or are you spending your resources on that which dissipates your faith and distracts you from Christ? 2) Your family. Are you investing your resources in the salvation and spiritual development of your spouse, children, and grandchildren or that which makes them even more earthly-minded? 3) People who have been saved. How many people will be in heaven one day because you invested your resources in missions that transformed individuals and communities? 4) Your good works. Good works won't save you, but they will follow you into heaven. Whenever you minister to a sick person, or visit a prisoner, or clothe the naked, or feed the hungry, or give drink to the thirsty, you are doing it to Jesus. All of this is what Jesus meant when he said, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven."

The things you buy in this life will decay, time will steal the memory of your accomplishments, and the earth will forget you were ever here. But what you have done for God can never be taken away. Jim Elliott, the missionary who was martyred in South America, said it best: "He is no fool who loses that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

2. Do you have a focused heart? Whatever you invest in gets your heart. In verse 21 Jesus gives the second reason to invest in heaven: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." There are two different ways that this could be interpreted: 1) Show me what you do with your money, and I will tell you where your heart is. In short, we put our possessions in that which excites our passions. Billy Graham once said that our heart is found in our wallet. 2) Wherever you invest your treasures will get your passions. In short, where we put our possessions will excite our passions. The best way to get passionate about something is to invest in it. I believe that a lot of people never get excited about missions because they never personally invest their time, energy, or money in a mission's project. People are ho-hum about the church because they come for an hour on Sunday, throw a couple of dollars in the offering plate, and then steal out the side door. Marriages lose their passion because couples no longer invest their best in one another. A nation that never calls its citizens to sacrifice in a great cause will lose its patriotic passion.

I remember my good friend Chuck. He passionately loved his son Mike. But, when Mike was 17 years-old, he had a terrible accident. His brain stem was crushed and he died. Chuck was devastated when his son died. On day he cried out to me in his grief, "I think I understand Matthew 6:21 for the first time. My son was my treasure. Now that my son is in heaven, my heart is there." For the remaining days of his life he couldn't wait to go to heaven. I was in New York City when I got the call that Chuck had died of a sudden heart attack. Chuck was my dearest friend, but after I hung up the phone, I sat on my hotel bed and smiled as I imagined the joyful reunion that took place when he crossed over into heaven and saw Mike.

Chuck had invested his passion and possessions to make sure that his two sons knew Jesus. Today his other son Greg is an outstanding businessman and Christian leader. Greg's two children are growing up as healthy and vibrant Christians. I believe that, if the Lord doesn't return soon, Mike will have great-grandchildren who will also walk with Jesus. And one day Greg, his children, and grandchildren, together with thousands of lives they have touched for Christ will cross over to join Chuck and Mike. If we focus our lives in the few places that really matter for heaven, our hearts will end up in the right place.

3. Do you have a transformed heart? We become what our focus is. Why is it important to have the right focus when it comes to our passions? Look at what Jesus says next in verses 22-23:

"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."

The Jews had a saying: "The eyes are the doorway to the heart." Sin entered the world through the eyes. Genesis 3:6 says that when Eve saw the forbidden fruit, "…it was pleasing to the eye…" I John 2:14 says that we are captivated by the world through "…the lust of the eyes…" Whatever seizes our focus also captures our heart. Either it will fill us with darkness or fill us with light. Either it will corrupt us or cleanse us.

Jesus is calling us to focus on the light so that fill up the core of our very being. Above all else avoid the darkness. In Genesis 1:2 we read of the earth: "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep…" Genesis 1:2 is making a powerful statement about this earth. The Hebrew word for formless literally means without substance. If you give yourself to this world it can only give you three things in return: 1) A life without ultimate substance; 2) a life of emptiness; and 3) darkness. Jesus is saying that a focus on this world fills your whole being with darkness. He emphatically ends verse 23: "…how great is that darkness." The great author, Joseph Conrad said that "the heart of darkness grips men of this world with its banal materialism and petty pursuits."

But Genesis 1:3 says, "God said, Let there be light and there was light." God is the source of light because he is light. Heaven is awash in light. The angels who dance before God are made of pure light and fire. John 1:3 says of Jesus, "In him was life, and that life was the light of the world." Darkness is cold and lifeless. But light is warm and alive. It is powerful and passionate. Focus on Jesus and you will be alive with passion. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says that as we behold Christ, "…we are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory…" We become what (or who) we focus on. Jesus is saying that where you "store up your treasures" is significant because it focuses your passions and changes who you are. In short, the things that you shape in turn shape you.

4. Do you have a united heart? It is impossible to serve two masters. Jesus ends with his strongest statement of all in verse 24:

"For no man can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and against the other. You cannot serve God and money."

Most Christians live with the delusion that they can have a diversified portfolio when it comes to this world. We can store some of our treasures on earth, and some in heaven. To use investment terminology: we can hedge our bets. But Jesus says that it is impossible. Why? The key word is at the end of his uncompromising statement: "For no man can serve two masters. He is telling us that the earth and heaven each demand everything from us. One or the other of them will be our master. In his album, Slow Train Coming, Bob Dylan sang these words: "You gotta serve somebody…"

Both the earth and heaven consumes everything. Ultimately the earth consumes our hopes, our dreams, our energies, our possessions, and finally our lives. And when our bodies are put in the ground, the earth rots our burial clothes, dissipates our corpses, and reduces them to dust. There is nothing left after the earth has finished consuming us. As if to mock us, the winds even blow away our footprints in the sand. Even the ephitets etched in our tombstones are blurred by decay and eventually our grave markers toppled over in ruin. And no one remembers that we were ever here.

But Heaven too demands everything. Moses says that "God is a consuming fire." St. Paul wrote, "I have been poured out like a drink offering. I have fought the good fight, I have run the race, and I have kept the faith…" (2 Timothy 4:2) If Jesus is your master, he will demand everything. A drink offering was wine poured out on the metal grate over the sacrificial fires in the Temple. The wine sizzled and burned on the red-hot grate and then disappeared as steam into the air. That's Paul's description of his life in Christ. It is to be spent like a race run to the end, a fight to the last round, and a faith kept to the last breath of life. As surely as the earth masters and consumes us, God also wants to master and consume us. But Paul says there is a difference. He ends in 2 Timothy 4:8 by saying, "Now there awaits for me a crown of righteousness which the righteous judge, will award to me on that day." The earth will forget me, and even wipe away every trace that I ever existed. But heaven will never forget my service. What I have done for my Master will never decay or be stolen.

Jesus is firm: "you can't serve two masters." Each master demands everything. You may try to serve both, but you will be the most miserable person of all. The half-brother of Jesus said it best: "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." (James 1:8). Eventually one of the two Masters will win out. You will hate the one and love the other. Bob Dylan was right, "You gotta serve somebody…" A divided heart will destroy you. The earth will destroy you. But when heaven consumes you it is only to reproduce a heavenly man or woman for eternity.

Why do you lay up treasures in heaven? Because where your treasure is you will find your heart. And heaven produces heart healthy people. You will have a smart heart, a focused heart, a transformed heart, and a united heart. In short, you will have the heart of Jesus who lived to do the will of his Father even when it drove him to a Cross. Jesus turned his back on this earth, and all its temptations, so that he might win a lost world full of people for heaven. He heard from his Father, "Well done, good and faithful Son." And he hears from those saints who have gone on to heaven, "You are worthy to receive glory, and power, and honor, for you have redeemed people from every tribe, language and nation." They could take away his reputation and his life on this earth, but they can never take away the glory that is his in heaven. Nor can they take away the glory that will be yours,

There's no better place to invest your possessions that in a passion for that which lasts beyond this life. Eddie O'Hare discovered that. My friend Mike did too. And so will you as you invest in that which builds a bridge to the future that will last for eternity.

Copyright 2008-2012, All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced without permission from Dr. Robert Petterson, Pastor Trent Casto or Covenant Presbyterian Church of Naples.