Red Letters 27 - "For Where Your Treasure Is..."
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Jeremiah 17:5-10 English Standard Version (ESV)
5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 He is like a shrub in the desert and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9 The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?
10 “I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
1 Peter 1:3-9 English Standard Version (ESV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Matthew 6:19-21 English Standard Version (ESV)
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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When people ask me what I like to do, I get a little sheepish talking about how I like things like scratch DJing and beatmaking, drawing mostly game and comic characters, and nerdy things like cartoons and old video games. But while I treasure some of these old games and items from my past, I of course have a limit to how much I can spend on such hobbies. Each month my wife gives me an allowance that I can spend on personal things like this and there are no questions asked… as long as I stay within budget! And so depending on whether I’m in a season for records, or DJ equipment, or old retro video games… When I get my allowance (and even well before) my mind goes straight to “what next thing will I get?”
I see this in my children as well. We just got them that Lego set they’ve been talking about for months and already they’re asking for another…?!?! (My wife says I’m just like them…)
As people, I think we are all like this towards the things we treasure, which is different for each of us. For some, we treasure our cars, our homes, our fine dining sets or our clothes. We all have hobbies and things that we enjoy. And while the Lord provides us with much of creation for us to find joy in this life… Today Christ gives us a warning about the risk of treasuring them so.
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
For the last several weeks we have been looking at how Christ was getting us to look inwards and in to our hearts. He tells us very plainly that it is not so much what you do that matters, but what is at the very root (or the heart) of why you do thing. He speaks on hypocrisy, anger, lust, divorce, making oaths, revenge and retaliation… About pride and arrogance, on giving, and praying and fasting… all while asking us to examine why do we do all these things in the first place. Where does the motivation or conviction come to live the way we are living?
Christ tells us, it all comes from the heart.
In Mark 7:15 Jesus sums this up when He says: “It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”” And even the Proverbs 4:23 tell us to “…guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it”. This is the heart of the matter (pun intended). And today Jesus tells us that what you treasure, that which you value and treasure most, determines where your heart is.
And so Jesus is then asking us: Where is… or perhaps what is your treasure? Is your treasure here on Earth? Where the elements and time will eventually cause it to fade away and where nothing is truly safe from vandalism, destruction or theft? Or is your treasure that which cannot be destroyed… That which can not be distorted or corrupted? Is your treasure stored up in heaven, where it is safe, secure, and eternal?
This question can be challenging to answer because we are faced with the reality that often, our treasures are in fact here on earth. The material things that we accumulate, the reputation we have, the power and authority we have gained or the wealth we have obtained, the houses and gardens we are so proud of… We have spent so much of our time and energy and effort (and allowances!) towards them… that these objects begin to a hold a special place in our lives. And once again.. I do not necessarily think that this is inherently bad… But when these “treasures” come to consume so much of our lives then there our hearts will be.
Jesus drawing our attention to what is in hearts is nothing new. It has been a matter of great concern to the Lord all throughout Scriptures. And when Jesus is pointing this out to us, He is reminding us that there is a cost and a consequence to when we put our trust in or when we treasure the things of the earth above the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:5
5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
When a person trusts in the things of this world, there is a negative impact on their life. It is dry. It is exhausting. It is unquenching and unforgiving. Matthew Henry, a Biblical Commentator from the late 1600s puts it this way: “There is a burden of care in getting riches; fear of keeping them temptation in using them guilt of abusing them; sorrow in losing them and a burden of account at last to be given concerning them.” To treasure the vain and fleeting things of this world, is then not so much a pleasure, as much as it is a burden. And can, if we are not careful and if we are not repentful of this, become a trap.
But on the flip side of this, Jeremiah writes that to those who treasure the Lord there is great, great blessings.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Did you catch that? When we trust the Lord and when the Lord becomes our treasure… We are like a tree planted by streams of living water. This is echoing the words of Psalm 1 which talks about the one who delights/treasures the law of the Lord and who meditates on His law day and night. We become a tree that does not fear when heat, or cold or poverty or sickness or plague comes, for its leaves remain green. And in the year of drought… it is not anxious! And even in the year of drought it does not cease to bear fruit. This is the promise for the one who treasures the Lord, who’s treasure is stored up in heaven.
But it also comes with a warning:
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
Where is your heart today? What is in your heart? When the Lord searches your heart… what will He find?
Let us come to Christ today and ask that the Spirit examine our hearts and rekindle our reverence and love for the Lord… That we may come to lay up our treasures in the kingdom of heaven
Knowing that by faith alone in Christ, our treasure is, as written in 1 Peter 1: “3…According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
The treasure that we have received from Christ, the gift of free grace that redeems us from our sin and from God’s wrath, is the one true treasure that cannot be destroyed, that is safe and secure, that is everlasting, and we will never be robbed of.
Brothers and sisters so then be reminded that…
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
May the treasure of our hearts, be with one and true Christ, who has come to give Himself up for us in the greatest gift of all so that we may live to enjoy Him both now and forever and ever.
Amen.