This morning I want us to look
at three verses of scripture found in Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 through
21. Lay not up for yourselves treasures
upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt. and where thieves
break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure
is, there will your heart be also. One truth that we see on
the surface of these words of the Lord Jesus Christ is this. But if you find a man's treasure,
you will find his heart. If you find a man's treasure,
I don't care who he is, you will find his heart. You know, in
studying different subjects, usually we are given rules, and
then we are told exceptions to the rules. But the Bible, the
Word of God, gives us certain truths to which there are no
exceptions there are no exceptions to what
our Lord here says doesn't matter who a person is wherever his
treasure is that's where his heart will be just like a few
verses down in this chapter he says no man Verse 24, no man
can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love
the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. No exceptions. No exceptions. Doesn't matter who it is. You
cannot. No man, no woman, no boy, no
girl can serve God and this world. There are no exceptions. There
are no exceptions to what our Lord here says about a man's
treasure. You find his treasure, you will
find his heart. In Matthew chapter 13 in verse
44 the Lord gave a parable in which he compares the gospel
to a treasure. A treasure that is hid in a field. He said it like this, The kingdom
of heaven, that is the gospel, is like unto a treasure hid in
a field, the which, when a man hath found, he hideth, and for
joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth
the field. Now the Lord doesn't justify
this man's actions, but he does show how diligent, how diligent
and earnest the man is to obtain The treasure. The treasure which
he found in a field. It is so valuable to him. That's
his treasure. That's where his heart is. And
so, there's no sacrifice too great. Whatever it takes, he
sells everything that he might buy the field, because in this
field, is the treasure and his heart is where his treasure is. You find a man's treasure and
you will always find his heart. This is so very, very important
to all of us here today. I ask myself and I ask you today,
where is our treasure? I do know this, that wherever
our treasure is, that's where our heart is. Now as we look
at this passage of Scripture, these three verses, I want us
to look at it in these three ways. First, this is part of
what is called the Lord's Sermon on the Mount. And it begins in
chapter 5 of Matthew and runs through chapter 7. If you look
back to the beginning, we see why it's called the Sermon on
the Mount. Chapter 5, verse 1. And seeing the multitudes, he
went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples
came unto him. And he opened his mouth and taught
them, saying the very first words out of his mouth. The first words
of his sermon on the mount are simply these. Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It is,
in my opinion, impossible for us to fully appreciate the shock
that these who heard these words at first must have experienced. Because this statement flew in
the face of everything. As Jews, they had been taught
about the Messiah and Him ushering in His kingdom in this world. The very idea for the Lord to
say, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. He could not have said anything
that would have shocked these people any more than those words. They had been taught to expect
that it would be the rich. Don't speak to us about the poor. It would be the rich. Those who
are rich in the wealth of this world. And that's what the kingdom
would be. It would be a kingdom in this
world of wealth, of treasures, of things in this world. And
those who were wealthy, that is the Israelites, the Jewish
people, They would have the benefits and all of the honors that would
go with Messiah's kingdom, with the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom
of God. Now they hear the Lord Jesus
Christ, this one who was famous, this teacher, they hear him saying,
blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
God. Now listen. It is not the poor
or the rich of this world that our Lord is talking about. That's
something sometimes people misunderstand. It's not the poor or the rich
and the things of this world who are blessed. Now when God says someone's blessed,
he's blessed. If God says you're blessed, you're
blessed. And it's not based upon material
wealth or poverty. The wicked are found both among
those who are poor and among those who are materially rich. What does it mean to be poor
in spirit? Now our Lord did not say Blessed
are most of those who are poor in spirit. Blessed are the majority
of those who are poor in spirit. He didn't say that. He said,
blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. What is it? What is meant to
be poor in spirit? Well, one thing is sure. And
that is, no one apart from the grace of God is ever poor in
spirit. Now that's just so. Apart from
God's grace, no one, no man or woman born a child of Adam is
poor in spirit. A person that has to be made
to be poor in spirit. A person comes to be poor in
spirit when he sees something of the true character of God. When he sees something of the
holiness and the purity of God Almighty and he sees himself
not only as a creature of this holy, pure God, but as a sinner,
a person who has offended, who has sinned against God Almighty,
this thrice holy God. No man or woman is ever poor
in spirit until, first of all, God reveals Himself somewhat
to that person in his character, as the Holy Lord God. I think of Isaiah's experience,
and I want you to look back, if you will, to Isaiah chapter
6, because I believe this pretty well illustrates what I'm saying
here. How is it that a person comes
to be poor in spirit? In Isaiah chapter 6, You've turned
here, let me read these verses, beginning with verse 1. In the
year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a
throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Have you ever seen a coronation
of some earthly king or queen, and they have that robe, and
many times it's very long. But let me tell you something,
this king that Isaiah saw, his train filled the temple. This is the king of kings. We
know this is the Lord Jesus Christ because we are told this in John
chapter 12. This is the exalted, pre-incarnate
Lord Jesus Christ upon his throne that Isaiah is allowed to see. I saw also the Lord sitting upon
a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Above it, that is, above the throne, stood the seraphims.
Each one had six wings. With twain he covered his face. Can you get a hold of that? Here
are these pure, holy beings. And in the presence of God, they
cover their face. A person, when he sees something
of the true character of God, who this God is with whom we
have to deal, this God who created us, And this God, before whom
all of us one day will appear. The seraphims had six wings,
and with twain he covered his face, with twain he covered his
feet, as though embarrassed, though pure and holy himself,
embarrassed, ashamed in the presence of God Almighty. And with one cried unto another,
and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole
earth is full of his glory. And the post of the door moved
at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with
smoke. Then said I, Woe is me, for I am undone. Because I am
a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips. For mine eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of hosts." Now I checked as I prepared these messages.
Isaiah, when he saw the Lord high and lifted up the first
words out of his mouth, woe is me take your concordance when
you go home and look up the word woe and you will find in the
five chapters preceding this chapter that Isaiah has spoken
that word eight times but he has never said woe is me before he has said woe is them
woe are the wicked But when he saw God, God lifted up, high
and mighty, the holy Lord God, now he sees himself. And he said,
whoa, whoa, it's me, for I am a man of unclean lips. You know,
it's fairly easy. To get most people to agree,
you quote that scripture, for all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. It's fairly easy to get most
people to say, well, I agree to that. I've made some mistakes. But let me tell you something.
When God the Holy Spirit begins to make a man poor in spirit,
he sees himself. It's not just that we've all
know, if no one else has ever sinned, I have. If there's no
other sinner upon the face of God's earth, here's one. A man begins to experience this
and he becomes poor in spirit. Much of this sermon, the Sermon
on the Mount, is an illustration of our Lord's preaching repentance
the scripture says he came declaring the kingdom of heaven is at hand
repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand the word repent means
to change your mind these Jews to whom he was speaking they
had the wrong idea completely about the kingdom that The Messiah
would bring the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. They had
been taught that the Messiah would usher in a kingdom which
is just the opposite of His kingdom. It would not be a kingdom in
which happiness is based on riches, honors, and pleasures. Now that's
what they had been taught. That's what they believed. When
the Messiah comes and ushers in His kingdom, then it will
be a kingdom and our happiness will be the result of being rich,
being honored, and having all kinds of pleasure. The happiness,
now here, listen to me, the happiness of His kingdom is spiritual in
nature. And to be found in perfection,
not in this world, but in heaven. Now that's the first thing I
would say in dealing with these verses. This is part of our Lord's
Sermon on the Mount, in which it might all be just an illustration. Repent. Change your mind. about this kingdom, about the
Messiah that you've been taught to expect. Second, it would be
a mistake to give a literal meaning to the Lord's words in our text. It would be a mistake. And now
there have been some who have interpreted his words in this
way. And they have taught that it
is wrong to ever have any accumulation It's wrong to have anything above
or left over after what is needed is spent. That you should never
have any wealth in this world. There are some who have taught
that. But that is to take the words of our Lord literally,
and that is a mistake. They would teach that no man
should ever allow himself to become rich. If you make $1,000
a month and it costs you $900 to live, then give that $100
away. Don't ever keep anything above
what it costs you to live. That's to interpret these words
literally. As one writer said, to do that,
we should also take his words to that other man, go and sell
that they have and give to the poor. If you take these words
here literally, then we should take those words of our Lord
literally there too. Sell everything. Don't own anything
in this world. Don't own a house. Don't own
a car. Don't have any material wealth
in this world. That's a mistake. It's a mistake
to understand these words literally. Alright, here's my third point. How do we know that we should
take these words in a figurative sense? Well, because the words
lay up treasures must be understood the same way in both statements. In both statements, these same
words must be understood in the same way. Notice in the first
statement, "...lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through
and steal." But now, the same words, "...lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through." to steal. We must understand
these words the same way in both of these statements. Have you
ever seen a deposit slip for the bank of heaven? I don't think
you have. Have you? Have you ever seen
a deposit slip for the bank of heaven and you fill that up and
send that money off somehow to heaven? You realize that these
words of our Lord, they must be understood in a figurative
sense. The Lord Jesus says, lay not
up for yourselves treasures upon earth. What does he mean? Do
not seek happiness in the things of this world. And this is a
mistake, and this is what we are all prone to do. We are all
prone to seek happiness in the things of this world, such as
fame, wealth, and the pleasures. Do not set your heart and affections
on things that are seen, because these things are all temporal,
and they are not capable of satisfying your soul's desire. That's what
our Lord is warning us against. These things that men naturally
seek after. Things that are seen. If you
set your affection upon these things, you make a great mistake. These things can never satisfy
a man's desire. Not his soul. They can never
satisfy a man's spiritual needs. Remember the illustration our
Lord gave in Luke chapter 12. And I especially speak to the young
people here today, but not exclusively. I'm speaking to myself. I'm speaking
to all of us here today. Do not lay up treasures on earth. These things that you can see,
they cannot give you happiness. They cannot bring happiness. They promise a lot. There's no
question about that. But they cannot deliver. Some
people spend their days looking for fame. That's their goal. They want to be famous. When
people see them, they recognize them out on the street or wherever.
Some people, their gold is the wealth of this world, the riches
of this world. And other people just seek the
pleasures of this world. Do not lay up treasures upon
this earth. Do not think that these things
may minister to your soul, to your real need. They cannot do
it. Here's this man in Luke chapter
12 we're very familiar with. Our Lord told this story of a
man who, verse 15, He said, Take heed and beware of covetousness,
for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things
which he possesseth. That's what this man thought.
And I dare say there's many people, maybe some here today, And we
think that our life, as this man, consists in the abundance
of the things that you can see. Remember, anything you can see
is temporal. Never forget that. Everything
you see is temporal. Things which are unseen are eternal. He spake a parable unto them.
A certain man, or the ground of a certain man, brought forth
plentifully. And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do? Because I have no room where
to bestow my fruits. And he said, This will I do.
I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there will
I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul,
Oh, what a mistake this man made. What a mistake. He thought that
these things that he could see, the corn, the wheat, whatever
it was that he had harvested, that these things could minister
to his soul. I'll pull down my barns. I'll build
bigger barns. He didn't thank God that God
had blessed his work. Yes, he worked, there's no question
about that. He plowed his field, I suppose,
and reaped the fruit from the field. But he doesn't acknowledge God
as the one who had blessed, who had given the rain, who had given
the sunshine, who had made his seed to grow and produce. And
he didn't realize that he could take this and share it with others
and be a blessing. No, he thought that these things
could minister to his soul. And so I'll store them up and
I'll say to my soul, eat, drink, and be merry. All of these things
are provided for me. Now I'm happy. Now I'm going
to be happy for many days. But in his case, the Lord called
him a fool because he did not realize that was the last day
of his life. Thy fool. Tonight thy soul shall
be required of thee. And whose shall these things
be? They're not going to be yours. When we leave this world, whatever
we have is not going to be ours anymore. We came into this world
naked, and we're going to go out naked. Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and thieves
break through and steal. Don't seek your happiness in
the things of this world. But rather, notice the other,
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Seek your happiness
in heavenly things, things which are eternal. True happiness consists
in knowing God. Now that's just bottom line. That's just so. True happiness
consists, first of all, in knowing God, in being made like Him,
and fellowship with Him. In Christ, the Apostle Paul tells
us, are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You
see, Christ is the treasure. He is the treasure. And he's
in this field, in this book. He's here. The living Word is
revealed in the written Word. It's His Word. Seek Him. As he says later in this sixth
chapter of Matthew, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness
and all these things shall be added unto you. True happiness is not found in
the things that we may lay up on this earth. This treasure,
that is Christ, He's beyond the moths. That's the way they had
their wealth and their clothes, robes and things like that. But
you know, the little old tiny moth get in there and just eat
a hole in that beautiful garment. And precious metals tarnish. And the pleasures of this world,
they grow old. This treasure, that is Christ,
the knowledge of Him, this treasure, as Peter says, is incorruptible,
undefiled, and fadeth not away. And it is reserved for you in
heaven. Now fourth, it is important to
know that our heart is where our treasure is. If a man treasures
the things of this world to bring him happiness, such as fame,
wealth, pleasures, that's where his heart will be. It will be
in this world. His heart will be here and his
character will be of the earth, earthy. His thoughts, his affections,
his desires, his pursuits will correspond with his treasure. Whatever his treasure is, That's
the way his character will be formed. And if his treasure is
the things of this world, of this earth, earthy, then his
thoughts, his affections, his desires, his pursuits will all
correspond with his treasure. The same is the opposite. If
a man's treasures are the things of God to bring him happiness,
such as knowing God, loving God, knowing that we are loved by
God, finding our enjoyment in the things that God loves, that's
where his heart will be. Make no mistake about it. His
heart will be there and his character will be spiritual. His thoughts,
his desires, his affections, his pursuits will all correspond
with his treasure. I read this past week of a man
by the name of Sir James Simpson. Sir James Simpson. He was born
into a poor family in 1811 in Scotland. Out of a family of
seven children, he was recognized as having an aptitude for books,
they said. Having an aptitude for learning. So all the siblings agreed that
they should send him off. to college, to Edinburgh University
and he became a medical doctor. The first time that he saw an
operation on a person, they brought the patient in and gathered around
him and held the patient down and the surgeon, a man by the
name of Dr. Liston, he began the operation. They just held him down and all
the cries that he heard when the scalpel was used on that
patient. Dr. Liston was a famous surgeon
because he was known by being able to take a person's limb
off faster than any other doctor. And I tell you, that was important.
The faster to do it, the better. But this man, he set out, he
became a medical doctor because he thought that's the way he
could be rich and be famous and sure enough by the time he was
31 years of age he was earning 4,000 pounds a year which at
that time was a vast sum and he discovered or at least he
was attributed or credited with discovering the use of chloroform
as an anesthetic And for that, he was eventually knighted by
Queen Victoria. It was interesting how he discovered
the use of chloroform. He and two other doctors, they
poured some out into three tumblers, it said. And each one just bent
over and took a big whiff of that chloroform. And one doctor,
he started just laughing hilariously. Another doctor just started dancing
all around the room and Dr. Simpson, James Simpson, he became
like a drunk man and then eventually all three of them just fell out
on the floor and they realized they were on to something. He set out for fame and fortune
in this world and he reached it. He got what he wanted, but
he wasn't happy. He wasn't satisfied. And God
used several things in this man's life to bring him to this point
of being poor in spirit. For one thing, he had a baby
girl to die. He did everything he could to
cause her to continue to live, but she died. Another thing,
he had a close friend who was a doctor, and he was a Christian,
and he watched him die, and the testimony he gave. And another
thing, he had a patient, a lady who was a believer, who was a
child of God, and she questioned him, and she asked him these
important questions. After there's no more sick to
be healed, what will you do? What will be your end? God used
all of these things, and of course he used his word. And this man
became poor in spirit, though he was rich in the things of
this world, and well known, recognized, made a knight by the queen. But those things could not minister
to his soul. And he sought the Lord, and the
Lord had mercy upon him. And he continued as a doctor
and as an instructor in the College of Medical Students. And this
is what he told his students. In Christ, in Christ you will
find a Savior, a companion, a counselor, a friend, a brother who loves
you with a love greater than the human heart can conceive. I thought as we sang that hymn
just a few minutes ago, He can save you. He can save you. Where's your heart today? I know
this, wherever your heart is, wherever my heart is, That's
where my treasure is. That's where our treasure is.
And our heart and our treasure is either in the things of this
world or in the things of God. There's no other place. Where's
your treasure? That's where your heart is. I
pray that the Lord would bless these thoughts and words to all
of us here today. Only trust Him. Only trust Him.
Come now by sin oppressed. There's mercy with the Lord.
He can save you. He can save you. What a blessed
word, right? Only trust Him. Let's turn in
our hymn.