TREASURES IN HEAVEN

Matthew 6:19-34
Key Verse 6:33

Read verses 19-21. What do "treasures here on earth" refer to specifically? Why should we resist the urge to store up for ourselves these types of treasures? What do "treasures in heaven" refer to specifically? Why must we store up treasures in heaven?

* These refer to anything of this temporal world that we might put value on. This is intentionally a catch-all expression because many people put value on many things in this world. It is hard to categorize all the things mankind considers "treasures" but we can (and should) be specific in understanding our own tendencies.

* We are all investors. We invest our time, money and resources. We should resist the urge because all things of this world are passing away—they are losing investments. Anything that we might think is valuable in this life will soon be valueless. To buy into the things of this world is to knowingly make a losing investment and thereby disappoint Jesus our master. Our investments must stand the test of eternity!

* Treasures in heaven refer to all the glory, honor, recognition, pleasures, happiness and reward that Jesus has in store for his people. But the biggest treasure is Jesus himself and there are many passages that tell us that when we invest rightly our experience in heaven is enriched. In heaven our reward will be a deeper revelation of God himself. So treasures in heaven are the only thing worth investing in.

* We must store up treasures in heaven because we would be obeying what Jesus says here. Of course Jesus commanded this so that we would be blessed with a reward and not lose our life investment. 

Read verses 22-23. What does it mean that the eye is the lamp of the body? What does it mean to have good eyes? What does it mean to have bad eyes? What happens if we do not see things as God sees them?

* The "eye" is our spiritual life. It represents our understanding of spiritual value and our vision for the future. The "body" is our life here on earth.

* If your eyes are good it means that you can see value in the things of God. You see everything (life, opportunity, pleasure, suffering, relationships, etc.) with clarity just as God sees them. You are able to understand life without distortion, blurring or blindness. It speaks of someone who has escaped the blinding effects of Satan. 

* If we don't see things as God sees them then we are considered to be blind and in the dark. If we are spiritually in the dark then our life (whole body) will be full of darkness. If our life is full of darkness and yet we think we are full of light still then Jesus says, "how great is that darkness!"; meaning that we are blind to our blindness—doubly blind.
Read verse 24. How does this verse relate to the previous verses? Who are the two masters that we must choose between? Why can't we serve two masters? 

* This verses tells us what causes our spiritual eyes to go bad. It tells us that duplicity (trying to serve two masters) never works out and turns us away from God and into the darkness.

* The two masters are (A) Jesus (B) Mammon (translated "Money" but the meaning is much richer—wealth, material possessions, earthly goods, property).

* We can't serve two masters because we are driven to one side or the other. Serving God and serving Mammon are totally opposite pursuits and lead to totally different ways of life. To serve God is to store up for ourselves treasures in Heaven but to serve Mammon means to store up for ourselves treasures on earth. Serving Mammon leads a person on a path farther and farther away from God. Serving God leads us on a path farther and farther away from Mammon. If you are trying to serve both, it is impossible to not become bias and begin to hate the one while loving the other.

Read verses 25-27. How is "worry" manifested in life? Why should we not worry about the things that are considered critical to life (i.e., food, drink, clothing)? How useful is worrying at changing our life? What is Jesus' point here?

* Worry is manifested in the form of hundreds and thousands of thoughts in one's mind and heart. Worry is like mental congestion taking away one’s peace and serenity. It captures the mind and heart and demands full attention. One who worries is thinking, plotting, planning, mulling, figuring, interpreting, analyzing, suggesting, complaining, talking and acting on the issue that worries them. Worry is harmful to our mentality and physical body. It is a symptom that reveals a spiritual problem.

* We should not worry about even critical needs because God wants to give them to us and he can do this easily. It is God's job to provide for us, not ours. We shouldn't try to take on such a huge job because we will be overwhelmed with it.

* Worrying is so ineffective that you can't even add one hour to your life.

* Jesus' point is that physical concerns are peripheral and are not really concerns at all because (a) we can't do anything about them (b) God wants to provide them for us. Therefore we should focus on the spiritual matters and not worry anymore about physical ones.

Read verses 28-34. What can we learn about God who "clothes the grass of the field"? What is the root cause of worry? (30b) What are the basic things that pagans and Christians need? How do pagan's go about getting these things? How are Christians supposed to go about getting these things? What does it mean to seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness?

* God provides and takes care of everything and everybody. He will be attentive to the details of our needs because he even thinks about the grass which only lives for a short time.

* The root cause of worry is unbelief—"you of little faith".

* The basic things all people need are food, drink, clothing.

* Pagans "run after all these things". They go crazy in the pursuit of basic essentials. This is maddening for many people for eventually you get tired of running after things. To those who do not tire easily of the "rat race" the concept of allowing God to provide is offensive. They would argue that "God provides for those who provide for themselves." This is of course evil rhetoric. Such people don't have time for God because they are too busy chasing after the next meal.

* Christians are supposed to be "given" these things. This denotes a lack of exertion or effort. We should therefore allow God to give us our needs and never take the provision process into our own hands.

* To seek first his kingdom and righteousness means to take all the resources that would've gone into pursuing one's physical life and redirect them to our spiritual life. It also means to focus on the only thing that's important, that is our spiritual life in the kingdom of Heaven.