October is Thanksgiving month at Eastside Baptist Church. Last week
I gave you an explanation
of this tradition among us and I trust that I have helped you to see
that giving and thanksgiving
are a thoroughly biblical practice
found in the entire Bible. This
practice is a true act of worship. We saw that the supreme motive for our
thanksgiving is not only determined
by what the holy law of God commands us to
do. We saw that our supreme motive
is what our thankful hearts command
us to do when
we think of Christ’s sacrificial love for us.
When we remember
that Christ has perfectly kept
the law of God for us who broke the law of God, and when we remember that He gave us His righteousness in place of
our unrighteousness; when we
remember that Christ took away the wrath of God towards us
sinners and when we remember that Christ
made us His brothers, and
children of God and heirs of heaven for ever and ever, then the joy of having this treasure exceeds
all our earthly riches .
This is what our text says: “The
kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and
covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys
that field. “ (Matthew 13:44)
Picture the scene!
A man walks across a field, and he trips over an object
sticking slightly out of the soil .
He looks to see what
it is that nearly made him fall
and he discovers that this is a box buried in the ground. He digs and he
finds a treasure chest filled
with great wealth. The problem is that
the treasure chest is found on a piece of land which he does not own.
And so , in order to get that great treasure he sells all that he has
and he buys
that land. Do you feel sorry for
the man
who has found the treasure because he had to give up everything that he had in order to
buy that field ? This discovery, after
all cost him everything! No, you don’t feel sorry for him. His sacrifice is nothing compared with the treasure
he’s gained! The man who found the great treasure made a short term sacrifice in order to obtain a long term reward. It might
have cost him everything he owned initially – yes, but in the end it gained him everything that mattered [1].
When he saw what he
had found in the field he made every
effort to get that field in order to
claim that treasure. Jesus says, “in his joy he goes and sells all that
he has and buys that field”. He knew
what he was getting , and it filled him with joy- so much joy that he was
willing to give up everything else that he had!
Now remember the
purpose of this parable . Jesus told this story parable
to illustrate the priceless value of the ”kingdom of heaven”, when compared
with our earthly possessions – our houses, belongings, money, investments , etc.
. The great discovery of the gospel, which is the key to the obtaining of the kingdom
of heaven, makes everything
else fade into insignificance. When we know
what a great treasure and inheritance the gospel
obtains for us , all other
treasures become insignificant .
All this raises an important question.
Is the kingdom of God this
valuable to you? If it is, listen to important investment advice which the Lord Jesus
gives us
in Matthew 6:19-21: [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.
The investment advice which Jesus
gives us is this – “Don’t
store up treasure on earth – it will
become worthless. Invest in heaven , and
you’ll never lose .” This does not mean that earthly money is unnecessary or useless .
It’s ok , as far as it goes. You need it to live, and you need enough to keep you going. Let it buy
you your present bread , clothes ,
an education – whatever you need for now , but Jesus doesn’t want you
to get very anxious
about your future (Matt. 6: 25-34). He knows what you need (Matt 6:32), and He is committed to
look after you . He looks after
the birds and He clothes the lilies and the grass
of the field, and He says “you are of more value than they!” Do you trust the Lord Jesus with His words?
So , if you are a gifted and a talented person and able to make a lot of money with your skills , what should you
do with your surplus ? Jesus says, “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. Let your money work
for heaven’s sake! Let your
joy work
for heaven’s sake ! How do you do
that ? Invest wisely in sound gospel work. The best work to invest in is your local church - the
gospel work in which you are hopefully
directly involved here on earth, and
where you receive direct accountability
and where you can ensure that kingdom
work is being done.
In Luke 16:9 Jesus has this to say : “ And I tell you, make friends for
yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may
receive you into the eternal dwellings.” Jesus counsels us here to make this temporary money ( which will fail[2]) work
for the sake of the gospel.
Remember also that you
will take nothing with you when you die. Psalm 49:16, 17
gives great perspective: “ Be
not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.
For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down
after him. You take nothing with
you when
you die , but you can use your money presently to invest in the growth of the kingdom of God . Randy Alcorn
says: “ You can’t take it with you -
but you can send it on ahead." [3]
Why then are we so reluctant to hear the words of Jesus about investing heavily in the kingdom of heaven? Here’s the problem. It is a matter of trust!
Investing treasures in heaven sounds so intangible. We prefer savings
account or unit trusts. Monthly or quarterly statements will tell
us that our investments are growing.
We tend to put a lot of trust in banks,
and yet , if the truth be told, banks (
history is our witness) are just
not worth our trust.
But here is the Lord Jesus . He
advises you not to invest
heavily on earth where moth and rust
destroy and where thieves steal. If the truth be told , we seem to have great difficulty to
trust the Lord Jesus with His
words . Heaven and eternity
seem to be so far away! But it
actually isn’t. How long will it be for you?
30, 40 ,50 years? James says that
it’s a mere mist appearing for a little time and then vanishes (Jas. 4:14)
What makes this so difficult is that we live in an
age of instant gratification.
We want to see results - NOW (!) , but Jesus teaches us that we need to think of deferred gratification. Even financial planners
tell us that when it comes to
investing your money you should not think in terms of three months or three years , but
rather of 30 years . You need a ‘ long
term view’ . More importantly you need to
trust Jesus in this. You need to know that , that which you give up now for the sake of buying the field with the hidden
treasure will only become yours in the fullest sense in heaven . By the way
, Jesus
promises that those who
sacrifice now for the sake of the
kingdom “will receive a hundredfold AND will inherit eternal life.” (Matt 19:29). Heaven
is our real treasure.
What are you living for ?
BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES
OF STEWARDSHIP
1. God does not need your money. He already owns
everything. As Creator
and Owner, God doesn’t need anything. He
is self-sufficient and self-existent.
· Psalm 24:1-2 “The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, The world and those
who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
· Psalm 50:7-12 [7] “Hear, O my
people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your
God. Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are
continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats
from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a
thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.
“If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness
are mine.
2. We own nothing ultimately . We are God’s stewards, managing
His resources for His
glory ! Stewards are caretakers
and not owners. They simply
manage it on behalf of the owner. God made this clear to Adam and Eve on the
day He created them.
· Genesis 1:28-29 : “And God blessed them. And
God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it,
and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens
and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold,
I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the
earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.”
·
Genesis 2:15 : “Then the LORD God
took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
·
Matthew 25:14-30 : The parable of the owner and the
servants.
3. God will supply every need of
those who trust and obey Him. Just as God provided for
Adam and Eve’s needs, He also provides for us. He sometimes chastises us for our poor
stewardship.
·
Psalm 37:25: “I
have been young and now I am old, yet I
have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”
·
Matthew 6:25-34 : “For this reason I
say to you, do not be worried about your
life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to
what you will put on….
· Philippians 4:12-19 - the
Apostle Paul recognized that God took care of him, and that as a result, in all
circumstances, he could be content.
4. God wants your offerings to Him to reflect your faith in Him. Since God doesn’t need anything to accomplish His will, our offerings
to Him accomplish a different purpose: to build our faith. It takes faith to
trust that God will meet our needs when we give thank offerings to Him.
·
2 Corinthians 9:6-11 – learning to
give cheerfully
·
Proverbs 3:9 “ Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the
firstfruits of all your produce".
5. Material things will eventually vanish, but they can be invested to reap eternal dividends.
Material things are not
inherently evil; they have a place. But that place is temporary and limited. In
fact, the harder we attempt to hang onto material things, the quicker they disappear. God often reminds us of these
realities in His Word.
·
Proverbs 23:4-5 : “Do not toil to acquire wealth; be
discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an
eagle toward heaven.
·
Luke 12:15-21 – the parable of the rich fool
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