What Is Your Treasure?

msg for 12/6/09. Preached @ Christian Gathering Church

“Where your treasure is, there your treasure will be also .”Matt 6:21 & Luke 12:34:
- What do you treasure?

• my mom calling about stew last night

- How do you know that you truly treasure it?
Our TRUE TREASURE will cause us to:

• Buy the things we buy
• Sell the things we sell (garage sales / ebay)
• find ways to live in closer proximity to it
• re-evaluate & re-assess your life in various stages
• motivated to acquire it
• create new friendships & possibly dissolve old ones
• neglect everything else because of it
• be consumed by it
• my reasons for exercise in past & lack of now has to do with what I treasure

CHOOSING Material / Temporal OVER Spiritual / Eternal

“an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil.” Matt 12:35/Luke 6:45

- man does, in fact, even treasure things that are evil & adverse to God.
       “…to one burdened with grief…whose existence is bitter, who wait for death…and search for it more than for hidden treasure,” Job 3:20-21
       “All who make idols are nothing, and what they treasure does not profit…” Isa 44:9
       “…A rich man’s land was very productive. He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have any where to store my crops? I will do this…I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. Then I’ll say to myself, you have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared-whose will they be?’ That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.’” Luke 12:16-21


- We even treasure how we store our treasure

• purses / bank accts / investments / babies room / serving your favorite dish IN your favorite dish / colleges & universities / relationships / titles we carry

       “Your wealth is ruined: your clothes are moth-eaten; your silver and gold are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You stored up treasure in the last days!” Jam 5:2-3
- having “things” is not sin. The truth is this is the fate of all material possessions. If your “faith” is in such things, you will be sorely depressed, because this is its fate. If not, you will not be consumed while the things themselves are.

CHOOSING Spiritual / Eternal OVER Material / Temporal

       “A good man produces good things from his storehouse of good,” Matt 12:35/Luke 6:45


       “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a filed, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.” Matt 13:44
- to truly treasure something, you must also treasure what it takes to get it.

• “Prize” w/ “Process” /// “Means” to an “End”

       “I have not departed from the commands of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily food.” Job 23:12
- Treasure is that which may devalue your quality of life if it’s taken away & add value when it is acquired


       {regarding understanding} “…seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure, then you will understand…” Prov 2:1-5
- “though it cost you all you have, get understanding”
- Explain the idea behind the COST aspect of the “Cause, Cost & Response” series that your doing w/ the teens


       “But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.”           Luke 2:19, 51
- We treasure other peoples opinions about our treasure


       “You lack one thing: Go sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” {Matt adds, “if you want to be perfect”} Matt 19:21/Mark 10:21/Luke 18:22
- Simply knowing what is supposed to be treasured is not enough.

• it must be accompanied by your motive, will & application

- The doing or not doing of something is not enough, you must treasure the relationship that it has with your purpose.
- Jesus was saying, “treasure me”
- interesting that “perfection” or “completeness” comes from treasuring Him
- You can tell what the Apostles & couriers of God’s Word treasured through their writings.

• “Slumber of Christianity” Ted Dekker
• Peter spoke of “[obtaining] an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you”
• He realized the value in this treasure when he saw that the prophets of old were curious of it, and even the angels themselves.
• Jude “felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”
• Luke said that “it seemed fitting for [him]…, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order…”
• John told us that “these things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”
• Paul said, “this life which I now live in the flesh, I live unto the Son of God who loved me & gave Himself for me”
• “Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.” 2Cor 4:7

       “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, stroring up for themselves a good foundation for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real.” 1Tim 6:18-19

WHAT GOD TREASURES:

       “Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant, you will be My own possession {peculiar treasure} out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine” Exo 19:5
- The entirety of Scripture resides upon how much God truly treasures us:

• “What is man…
• “He lives to make intercession for us…
• “He knows our coming & going
•  “in the image of God He created man…”
• “He sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts…”
• “friend that sticks close than a brother"
• “Since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise…”
• “I know the plans that I have for you…”
• “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined”
• “For God so loved the world…”
• “He came so that we might have life and life more abundantly”
• “We are fearfully and wonderfully made”
• “I knit you together in your mother’s womb”
• “We’re the sheep of His pasture”
• “We’re His prized possession”

Revelation Scripture -
       “Where your treasure is, there your treasure will be also .”Matt 6:21 &Luke 12:34


2Pet 2:19b: “… since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.”
- Your treasure is whatever defeats your will to do anything else
- “Jesus, defeat my will”… “not my will, but yours be done”
- Paul spoke of Himself as a “bondservant” and a “slave” of Jesus Christ

• You are a slave to your treasure, because wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also
• “You’ve stolen my heart yes you have” song
• In order for us to truly treasure Christ, we must allow Him to defeat our will.

CAUSE and AFFECT
WAYiou wed night series

expanded sermon notes for 10/14/09
"What is your CAUSE?"

       The CAUSE & AFFECT theme of this series is not merely a play on words. Intentionally, the hope is to convey the command in Matt 28:19, “Go and make disciples…” Jesus was clear in his resolve for us to go CAUSE something. Moreover, he was telling us to go AFFECT the world, the environment, and the people all around for the glory of the Kingdom of His Name. “…I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for the harvest...” and “…the workers are few…send out some more workers…”

 Series Verse: Nehemiah 2:17
       “…you see the trouble we are in… [everything] lies in ruins… Come let us rebuild the wall… [so] that we will no longer be in disgrace.”
       All throughout the book of Nehemiah are scattered examples of a group of people receiving a cause, taking note of the cost and striving persistently in providing a response. I urge you to read over this book along with this series. See the trials and testing that these people fought their way through and see if you can identify or sympathize with their struggles and victories.
       So how do we go about this task? There 3 major aspects we will discover throughout this series. It is an adaptation from a series of lectures taught by Ravi Zacharias in which he presents 3 major challenges: “Is there not a Cause? (This is the first with which we will be dealing with momentarily.) “Is there not a Cost?” & “Is there not a Correspondence?” (We will be dealing with these over the next few weeks).
       Recently in our small groups discussion, we have been probing various YouTube clips as well as addressing our personal life situations so that we might discover what some of our possible CAUSES may be. We asked this one question to bring it to the surface, “What grieves your heart the most about the world around you?” We have had answers across a telling array of issues: “Teen sexuality”, “violence”, “hypocrisy” & “whether or not Christianity is exciting or boring” to name a few. There cannot be enough emphasis placed on the importance of allowing our hearts to be stirred in the area of CAUSE.


What is “CAUSE”?
       It is the reason for which we decide one way or the other. It is the grounds from which we present our case. It is the source that we always come back to when we feel lost, confused and alone. It is the root that sustains the fruit. It is the origin that decides how something will progress. It is the foundation on which a purpose is built. CAUSE brings about something else after itself. CAUSE produces an unending line of reactions. CAUSE is the trigger before the spark. CAUSE initiates all else that follows. CAUSE is the affect that gives birth to the effect.

CAUSE in its 3 stages:

“Is there not a cause?” 1Samuel 17:29
       David came out of a relatively simple environment & was introduced to the real world of war. He looked for bravery & courage, but found none. He searched the crowd for someone to step up to the perilous task at hand, so he could perhaps cheer them on, only to be disappointed when no one did. He longed to hear someone defend the relentlessly cruel mocking of the one he called God, but witnessed everyone around him helplessly tolerate the sound.
       This is the 1st stage of CAUSE. The awareness in a soul. This is where the discovery of some particular matter has CAUSED our hearts to grieve. This is a question asked by most, if not all, of humanity. Christian & non. Your emotions often times overwhelm you when this question and the dire need for an answer to it invades your mind and heart. You desperately are trying to figure out what’s wrong and if there is any hope for a solution. You begin to try to make others aware with some success, but no one else really seems to “get it”. You try to rally people, but no one seems motivated.
       The danger in staying camped out in this stage is that you might become tempted to give up the pursuit of CAUSE altogether after being frustrated by the confusion of the apparent anarchy around you. Over time you may develop a numbness to your surroundings and learn to not care. “But those who endure until the end shall be saved” is the passage that comes to mind when you might need encouragement to persevere through this stage of CAUSE and onto the next.


“Lord, plead my cause…” Psalms 35:1
       At repeated points in David’s life, he called upon his God to deliver him. He was chased by his condemned predecessor and later on by his even more greedy and over anxious would be successors. He was attacked often times by those who posed as friends and allies. It was at times such as these that he would call upon God to check his actions, his motives, his heart and his thoughts. He promoted his right standing in humility before God and asked that because of his innocence that God would rescue him from those who were threatening his life.
       This is the 2nd stage of CAUSE. The justification of a soul. At this crossroads, you have journeyed through the “There must be something wrong” point and have yourself determined what it must be. Believing that you see the solution, you now become intentional about the possible difference you could make. Then you begin on your quest to search for like-minded people and you discover a new found desperation for God’s help in order to accomplish that “something” that seems to overwhelm your soul.

“Lord, plead thine own cause…” Psalms 74:22
       This is the final stage of CAUSE. A soul is in line with the heart of God. This happens when you receive the revelation of what grieves the very heart of God Himself. You are moved by what moves God. You are concerned with fulfilling His will as you purposefully align your words, motives and habits to accomplish what you believe that the Lord is asking of you. You have become anchored in the life motto of “…not my will, but yours be done.” For one to consistently operate in this arena of CAUSE, you must continually check yourself. Recognize when you are mistaken and humbly be willing to admit it to yourself, others and also to your Heavenly Father. On the other hand, know when the Holy Spirit and Scripture agree. This convinces you that you are doing God’s will. Then be relentless (not forgetting humility) in seeing the matter through until the end. Without envy you must also empower others to help fulfill certain roles that will bring about the desired AFFECT. When you are after the CAUSE of Christ, you are beginning to soak in the big picture of God’s purpose.
       My desire through this message is that CAUSE will be inspired in you. Walk away with the courage & the confirmation you need to AFFECT some situation that has always grieved your heart. Any pastor whose CAUSE is in alignment with the will of God knows that church services are far more than filling seats and doing “church” to say we did it. When we say, “bring your family and friends” we aren’t just trying to boost our numbers. When we take offering we’re not just trying to get into your pockets. Our desire is to cultivate a God CAUSE, a true heart to AFFECT the world around us through the fellowship that the Lord has placed under our care and attention. Our desire is to sow the seed, nourish the soil and bear the fruit with you.