“Resolutions For A New Year, Part 1” Matthew 6:19-34 December 27, 2009

SI: An old year ending, a new year beginning is an occasion for self-examination,

for re-commitment to the Lord, for resolutions to change and grow spiritually

in 2010.

Today, and next Sunday going to study some words of our Lord in the Sermon

on the Mount. Very familiar words that you’ve heard hundreds of times—

but they are always fresh and convicting.

INTRO: This past summer a British man was enjoying his hobby—looking for

stuff with his metal detector. He was in the field of a farmer friend of his,

when his metal detector started beeping over a spot.

So he started digging and what do you think he found? An old plow, maybe?

He found what archaeologists say is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure

ever discovered. Over 1300 priceless artifacts.

Jewelry, decorative sword and dagger hilts—beautiful things.

The gold items alone weigh 11 pounds. It’s worth a fortune.

Somebody a long time ago buried it. Some Anglo-Saxon man.

You can imagine how good it made him feel to know that he had treasure.

His wealth was safe. Nobody knew where it was buried but him.

He had a nest egg, he had financial security for his family, he was set.

But then something happened and he never got the benefit from his treasure.

Now, hundreds of years later, somebody else gets to enjoy it. Maybe.

I read a follow-up story that the man with the metal detector

and his farmer friend are now fighting over who gets what.

And the British government and museums are making claims as well.

It’s going to be tied up in the courts for years.

The metal detector man might be dead before it is settled.

The main thing Jesus is teaching in this passage is that every man has a treasure.

Everybody has an ultimate priority in this life.

Everybody has something in which he delights above everything else.

Those ultimate priorities, those fondest delights of heart fall into two categories—

treasures on earth or treasures in heaven.

Treasures on earth are the things of this life only.

Treasures on earth are the things that people count on in this life to give them a

sense of identity, a sense of self-worth, a sense of control, security and power.

Treasures on earth are different for everybody.

They could be wealth (11 lbs. of gold buried in back yard),

Treasures on earth could be honors, status, influence and the praise of men.

They could be pleasure, comfort, ease, entertainment, physical health.

They could be romance and relationships.

They could be children and marriage.

Treasures on earth are anything temporary on which you set your heart.

Jesus says that all those things that seem so real and so concrete are passing away.

They are literally here today and gone tomorrow.

If the stuff itself doesn’t break or get lost or stolen or become obsolete first,

then your mind and body will be wasted by disease, or you will get feeble with

age or crushed by an accident and you won’t be able to use it any more.

So Jesus doesn’t stop with this. He doesn’t stop with the negative warning.

He says that there is another treasure worth setting your heart on.

There is a treasure worth devoting your life to getting and storing up.

Because you will always enjoy this treasure, will never pass away.

Can take it with you. Treasures in heaven.

What are treasures in heaven?

We can easily make a list of treasures on earth.

But what are treasures in heaven?

Is Jesus talking about streets of gold, stars in crown, mansions after you die?

Is he saying that you can have a bank account for good deeds in heaven when die?

The Bible does talk about rewards in heaven. But not here.

Heaven is not just a way of referring to the place you go when you die.

Heaven is God’s dwelling. Heaven is God’s throne. It’s His rule.

Storing up treasures in heaven means living here and now under God’s rule.

Loving what He loves. Hating what He hates. Doing His will.

Bringing all of life under His lordship.

Treasures in heaven are all the blessings and pleasures that come from living

under the rule of Lord Jesus Christ.

Treasures in heaven not something that you will only enjoy sometime in the future,

after you have passed on to glory—you begin to enjoy treasures in heaven now,

as you bring yourself under Christ’s rule.

As you submit to his Lordship and enjoy personal relationship with him.

Hope you see how significant this is for new year’s resolutions.

Nothing is more important this coming year than storing up treasures in heaven.

And nothing could be worse than wasting this year storing up treasures on earth.

Let’s look at this teaching of Lord and Master more carefully,

let it search our hearts, and work out the details in our lives. Two points:

1. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.

2. Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

MP#1 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.

Jesus is dealing with the heart. He’s talking about what you value most.

The key word is treasure. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Your heart is the seat of your affections.

Jesus is warning you not to set your heart on the things of this world.

He is not forbidding the accumulation of wealth and property per se.

God gives every person a place in life. He gives some people a little, some a lot.

Some are poor and some are rich and some in between. That’s God’s business.

But whatever He gives you, you are to take dominion over it.

Your are to bring order and beauty to it. Make the most you can of it.

That looks different for every person depending on calling, ditch-digger or a king.

But the drive to acquire, accumulate, build. That desire created in us by God.

It’s in Genesis 1. What we call the Cultural Mandate.

Also, the Bible tells us over and over to plan and be wise stewards.

“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children,

but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.”

“If a man does not provide for his relatives, and especially for immediate family,

he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

That’s not just referring to a spiritual inheritance. The Lord commends wealth

being passed on to generations of believers so it can be used in his kingdom.

That takes not only hard work but planning and saving.

But don’t forget, it’s a matter of the heart. Where is your treasure?

Those of you who are good stewards. Those of you who have most carefully

and prayerfully attempted to save and plan for the future with the resources God

has given you, you are susceptible to trusting in your planning.

Those plans themselves can become your trust and treasure.

There is also noting wrong with enjoying the earthly things you have acquired.

Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:17

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in

wealth, which is so uncertain, but to but their hope in God who richly provides us with

everything for our enjoyment.”

“God richly provides for our enjoyment.” It’s right to enjoy things God has given.

It’s always a pleasure to know Christians who understand this.

Who are able to enjoy good things in a godly way.

But always remember, it’s a matter of the heart. Where is your treasure?

Are you looking at these earthly things as the ultimate source of your satisfaction?

Are you “putting your hope in them”?

Paul says: Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant

nor to put their hope in wealth. He’s right in line with the words of Christ.

Hope is a confident expectation of future blessing.

Are you confidently relying on the things of this world to bless you?

Are you looking for them to give you what God alone can give?

Do you look to your earthly treasures to give you security and happiness?

Are they the basis of your judgments about yourself and other people?

Why do you think Jesus preached this to His own disciples?

Jesus knows this is a constant struggle in Christian life.

Knows that sometimes Christians can waste years of life chasing after these.

He wants you to recognize this tendency and fight against it.

Our hearts are bent toward taking created things, even good things,

worshipping them in belief that they will bless me.

Jesus says:

“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.”

Jesus is talking about your mind, your thinking process.

When your heart is set on some earthly treasure as the thing that is going to give

you lasting happiness, you are looking at the world in a false way.

You think you are walking in light. You are really in walking in darkness.

Because of your sinful nature, you are a master at rationalizing the pursuit

of your idols. Can clearly read command or warning in Bible, “Yes, but.”

How many Christian young people have met the man or woman of their dreams.

Their parents and friends say, This person isn’t a believer. That’s the truth.

That’s the light. Plain teaching of Christ. They say, Yes, but.

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be

devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Jesus saying, you will serve somebody or something.

You will serve the god that you believe is going to make you happy.

A god, by it’s very nature, makes an exclusive claim on you.

It says: Serve me alone. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Jesus picks money as the big example. Money is the god of many people.

It promises security and self-worth if you worship it.

Jesus says this is impossible for a Christian. You can’t serve two masters.

I know you’ve heard the one about the farmer who came in one morning so excited.

Told his wife: The cow had twins. I though we were only going to have one calf,

but we have two! I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. When we sell them, we’ll

take all of the proceeds from sale of one, and give to Lord’s work.

A few weeks later, he came in one morning looking glum and said to his wife,

Guess what? The Lord’s calf died.

The Puritans used to say:

“Let us use the world, but enjoy the Lord.”

Someone has pointed out that all too often Christians say:

“Let us use the Lord, but enjoy the world.”

No man can serve two masters. Our hearts are idol-making factories.

We claim to worship God alone, but our affections are often controlled by earthly

treasures. Our minds look for rationalizations to use thing as we want.

And we get bound to them. Jesus wants to set us free. He’s so helpful.

Because he doesn’t just give a bare warning. He gives us a reason.

He says think about this. Preach it to yourself. Drill it down.

Earthly treasures won’t last.

“Moth and rust destroy, thieves break in and steal.”

Jesus is not just saying that things break and people pass away.

That’s certainly true. There is an impermanence to life. It’s wise to remember.

But he’s also saying that if you set your heart on these things,

if they are your treasure, then you are going to be left with nothing one day.

If you are looking at your marriage to be the thing that will complete you,

and meet the deepest needs of your soul, and be your security and be your

salvation—then guess what? Moth and rust.

You will find over time that it is terribly disappointing.

Earthly treasures don’t have to be stolen or destroyed for you to lose them—

you might hold on to them for years as they are drained of satisfaction.

Jesus doesn’t say this to make you gloomy and cast shadow over your pleasure.

Just the opposite. He wants you to see things as they really are.

He wants you to see the limits of earthly treasures.

If you believe him you won’t enjoy earthly blessings less, will enjoy more.

Will know that have to hold them lightly, receive daily from God’s good hand.

Know they are just helps along the path of life, not treasures of your heart.

That brings us to the second point. Christian life is never just negative.

It’s never just—Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.

It’s never just—Thou shalt not. There is always a positive command.

And the positive command of Christ is:

MP#2 Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

What is heaven? How would you define it?

Would you say it’s the place where the souls of believers go when they die.

You’re absolutely right. But what is that place?

Heaven is God’s dwelling place. Heaven is the presence of Almighty God.

In Revelation 4-5, John sees heaven. Do you remember that vision?

There in the center of all things is the Throne of God, the Ancient of Days.

And at his right hand is Christ the Son, the Lamb ruling.

And surrounding the throne are the living creatures, and the myriads of angels.

All of them praising God and waiting to carry out his orders through his creation.

One commentator defined heaven this way:

The “nerve center of the universe, control tower of the cosmos.”

So how close or far away from heaven you are does not so much depend on

how much longer you have to live, but on your closeness to the heart of God.

The person who knows Christ, and worships him, and submits to him,

and is in tune with his Spirit, is a person who is connected to heaven.

Heaven is not just something after this life—

It is life now and afterward with God. Living before His throne. Before His face.

So treasures in heaven are not just the peaceful presence of God at death,

and the incredible blessings at the resurrection and the new creation.

Treasures in heaven are all of the blessings and pleasures that come from

living under the rule of the Lord, from living before his throne—

even in this life.

Peace of conscience. Think how many people are torn up by guilt over their

moral and relational failure. How many people parent out of guilt.

How many people try to atone for their guilt by self-hating.

What a treasure is peace of conscience. That comes by living under the gracious

rule of Jesus Christ. Knowing you are forgiven. Repenting when he commands.

Being given strength and help to live a good life.

The joy of the Lord which is your strength.

God commands you—Rejoice in all circumstances.

He commands it. And you think you can’t but as you obey him

and sing in spite of your circumstances.

And you find that even though you are in a drought,

there is deep down this spring, this fountain that keeps things green.

Adoption as sons. God chose you to be his child. He brought you into the family.

And as his sons and daughters he gives you a place to work in his kingdom.

He calls you to serve him. And when you need help, you approach the throne of

grace with confidence as he commands.

And when you sin and fail, he disciplines you as his son.

That’s never pleasant at the time, but as you submit to it, it produces in time,

a harvest of righteousness and peace.

Do you value the treasures of heaven?

Do you value life under the gracious, forgiving rule of Jesus Christ?

Do you value the fruit of the Spirit?

Do you value Christ-like character?

Do you look at your children and say, Thank God, I see my son, my daughter,

growing in Christ’s likeness? Or do you get more excited or more upset about

their grades or sports or popularity?

Dr. Ligon Duncan is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Miss.

He said that when he was a boy he had a great aunt who always gave him

the most boring birthday presents.

His parents and grandparents and friends gave him toys—which he loved.

His great aunt would give him poems she had typed and framed.

You can imagine what a boy though of presents like that.

But, he says:

“As I grew, the presents she gave me were still with me. The toys where broken and left behind. What I had first valued was now valueless. What I had first considered boring were now the things I treasured the most.”

The Lord wants you to take stock of what you really value.

The things that are so important to you at the moment have an amazing way

of falling in value. The things you think are insignificant sometimes turn out

to be the most significant things in life.

And if you have your treasure in the wrong place,

he wants you to determine to change that.

He wants you to cultivate a heart that cherishes heavenly treasures.

How do you do it? How do you store up treasures in heaven?

Storing up treasures in heaven bringing all of your life under Lordship of Christ.

Pray, Lord Jesus—I want to love what you love.

I know you love you love people.

You died for your people so that they could be saved.

There are people in your life who the Lord wants you to love this year.

May be someone in your family. Or in your church.

Might be a neighbor. It might be an enemy.

Let that be your resolution.

To store up treasure in heaven in 2010 by loving that person more in real ways.

Also, Pray, Lord Jesus—I what to hate what you hate.

I know you hate sin. I want to hate sin in other people. Never hate the person.

But hate the sin that is enslaving them. But most of all, want to hate the sins

I see in myself. Let that be a resolution. To store up treasure by fighting sin.

Pray to know God’s will. To cooperate with the Holy Spirit.

To seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.

Take the blessings God has given you, the good things God has given you to enjoy.

Use them to glorify God and advance His purposes here and now.

Use good things God has given you to be a blessing to others.

We read this verse earlier in I Timothy 6

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to but their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

Then Paul says:

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

Evidence that you are not storing up treasures on earth, are storing up in heaven,

willingness, joy in using treasures here to purchase treasures there.

New year a time to examine all of these things—where is my treasure?

Where is my heart? What am I serving?

With help of Christ, commit self to seeking true treasure.

As we come to the Table, we’re going to sing a very old hymn.

Written in the 8^th century by an Irish Christian.

Maybe around the time that Anglo-Saxon man was burying his gold.

Take note of the third stanza:

“Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,

Thou mine inheritance, now and always;

Thou, and Thou only, first in my heart,

High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.”

May that be our prayer this year.