{"id":3241,"date":"2021-10-31T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-31T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/?p=3241"},"modified":"2021-11-04T14:22:56","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T21:22:56","slug":"store-up-treasures-in-heaven-matthew-619-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2021\/10\/31\/store-up-treasures-in-heaven-matthew-619-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Store up Treasures in Heaven Matthew 6:19-21"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sunday Service MVCOG - Store up Treasures in Heaven - Matthew 6:19-21\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KgV51FPXatM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Store-up-Treasures-in-Heaven-Matthew-6vs19-21-1.pdf\">Store-up-Treasures-in-Heaven-Matthew-6vs19-21-1<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Store-up-Treasures-in-Heaven-Matthew-6vs19-21-1.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button\" download>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>19 \u201cDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus is drawing the disciples\u2019 attention to the fact that there is more to life than the accumulation of riches. He\u2019s trying to get them to understand the eternal perspective, rather than focus all their resources on something that will only last during this life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Riches aren\u2019t just the money in people\u2019s bank accounts, but it\u2019s also the accumulation of stuff. In Roman times, cloth for making clothes was hand-made from wool or linen, and so was very precious. If moths got to it, then it would be worthless. Material possessions may appear durable and lasting, but they are subject to decay and loss to the owner. The collector car might be nice now, but will be recycled into a trashcan in 50 or 100 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus tells us to store up our treasure in heaven. It\u2019s obvious that in terms of the wealth and stuff that you accumulate on earth, you take none of it with you into eternity. But as Randy Alcorn has said: \u201cYou can\u2019t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.\u201d We have a heavenly safety-deposit box that\u2019s more secure than the ones in the bank, and we only have the limited number of days in our lives on earth to make deposits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, How Do We Store Up Treasures in Heaven?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We Need a New Heart<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no way that the natural man is going to value the things of heaven, because he cannot see, hear, smell, taste or feel heaven right now. The natural responds to the natural. (John 3:12). We were born into sin and cannot love or seek after God of our own accord due to our hardened heart (See Rom 3:11). In order to desire the things of heaven, we must first be born again. (John 3:7). And with this transformed heart, we begin a relationship with God through Jesus His son, and as we begin to walk with Him, placing our faith in Him day-by-day, we see that to value the things of God\u2019s Kingdom. We begin, as Colossians 3:2 says, to \u201cset your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Help the Poor and Those Persons who are in Need<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Probably the most consistent instructions in the Bible about storing up treasures in heaven is to help the poor and needy. Proverbs 19:17 says Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. God has always commanded His people to take care of the poor and needy (Deut 15:7). There will always be needy people around us, and therefore always opportunities to do good. Deuteronomy 15:11 11 For the poor will not cease to exist in the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying, \u2018You shall fully open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.\u2019 God considers doing good and sharing with others as He does a sacrifice: Hebrews 13:16 16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prioritize God, not Worldly Pursuits<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have a limited amount of time on this earth. Our first priority is our personal relationship with Jesus. As we \u201cseek first the Kingdom of God\u201d, then we\u2019re going to find that as Colossians 3:1-4 3 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. If our life is really hidden with Christ\u2014if we have His eternal perspective, then we\u2019re not going to spend our lives seeking all these things on earth. And we will find that the meaning of our lives, the passion of our lives will not be lost when we die, but will continue with us, and be fulfilled and rewarded in heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t let the \u201cstuff\u201d get in the way<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we were looking at the Parable of the sower, we considered the 4 types of soil, we looked at Mark 7: 7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Crowded hearts, full of distraction can cause a lack of harvest in our lives, and distract us from the path that God has for us. In Mark 7:19 Jesus notes that for these hearts, 19 but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. When we allow threats to our spiritual walk to enter in from the outside, it will choke the word within us, and prevent a harvest. And, one of the prime examples that Jesus uses as something that can distract us from God\u2019s path and choke the word is the deceitfulness of riches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Deceitfulness of riches<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the lies that we tell ourselves is that if we only had more money, it would make our life in Christ easier. And logically this may make sense since it seems like we\u2019d have less distractions, right? But what usually happens is that riches make a Christian walk harder. In Mathew 19:24 Jesus said Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.\u201d Does it SOUND like an easy task for a camel to go through the eye of a needle? In fact, it\u2019s not only a difficult task, Jesus says that But Jesus looked at them and said, \u201cWith man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.\u201d Matt 19:26. So Jesus is telling us that riches make it more difficult, not less difficult to run our race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Riches give us a false sense of security. When we\u2019re supposed to be asking God to Give us each day our daily bread, we want to store up grain, then we start relying on ourselves instead of God. Trusting in riches is a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Desires for other things<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Desires for other things. Desires for other things besides the Kingdom of God, besides doing God\u2019s will. Have you ever asked yourself WHY you want something that you want? When we possess our possessions, well o.k., but when our possessions start to possess us, then there\u2019s a problem in priority. Then, our possessions become distractions and idols. The classic Biblical example of this is in Matthew 19:16-22 (the Rich Young Ruler).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trust the Promises of God and Do Not Be Anxious<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember the words of the Apostle Paul. He knew how to follow God closely, whether he was blessed and abounding, or whether he had nothing, not even enough to eat. He said to those who are rich \u201cnot to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life\u201d (1 Timothy 6:17-19). That which is truly life is found in Christ alone who gives everlasting life (1 John 5:11). At the end of the day, riches are uncertain, but God provides eternal security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what is the answer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remove encumbrances<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The author of Hebrews urges us: Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Change our perspective<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We need to let God change our perspective. As the author of Hebrews has said in chapter 12 v2-4, we\u2019re 2 looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we look to Him, everything else will be put in it\u2019s proper perspective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>19 \u201cDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, Jesus is drawing the disciples\u2019 attention to the fact that there is more to life than the accumulation of riches.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-services"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3254,"url":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2021\/11\/07\/matthew-622-23-keep-your-eyes-on-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":3241,"position":0},"title":"Matthew 6:22-23:  Keep your Eyes on Jesus","author":"Robert","date":"November 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/UyJxpxjLgZw Matthew-6vs22-23-Singleminded-focus-on-JesusDownload Jesus is drawing the disciples\u2019 attention to the fact that there is more to life than the accumulation of riches and understand the eternal perspective; as Colossians 3:2 says, to \u201cset our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.\u201d\u00a0 22\u00a0\u201cThe eye is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Services&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Services","link":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/category\/services\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/UyJxpxjLgZw\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4477,"url":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2025\/04\/27\/ephesians-25-the-saints-inherit\/","url_meta":{"origin":3241,"position":1},"title":"Ephesians 5:5\u00a0 The Saints Inherit","author":"Robert","date":"April 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtube.com\/live\/_Y4g5-kMix0?feature=share Ephesians 5vs5 The Saints InheritDownload Paul exhorts the new person not to live like the old person, explaining that the old person has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God and can expect only the coming wrath of God. Paul describes how not to live, if you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Services&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Services","link":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/category\/services\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Featured-20250427.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Featured-20250427.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Featured-20250427.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Featured-20250427.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Featured-20250427.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":769,"url":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2013\/12\/01\/gift-giving-ideas\/","url_meta":{"origin":3241,"position":2},"title":"Gift Giving Ideas","author":"Robert","date":"December 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Gift Giving Ideas Matthew 2:10-11 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Services&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Services","link":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/category\/services\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4133,"url":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2024\/03\/03\/ephesians-111-12-heritage-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":3241,"position":3},"title":"Ephesians 1:11-12 Heritage of God","author":"Robert","date":"March 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtube.com\/live\/xMgHMVbW0ho?feature=share Eph-1vs11-12-Heritage-of-GodDownload In Him we also have obtained an inheritance We have not only an inheritance, but a heritage from God.\u00a0 A heritage is something that is handed down from the past. It can be a character or manner of living, a reputation, traditions, or a status in life.\u00a0 It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Services&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Services","link":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/category\/services\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Featured-20240303.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Featured-20240303.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Featured-20240303.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Featured-20240303.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mvcog.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Featured-20240303.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":868,"url":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2014\/03\/30\/will-be-done\/","url_meta":{"origin":3241,"position":4},"title":"Will Be Done","author":"Robert","date":"March 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Will Be Done Matthew 6:9-10 Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This prayer model portrays a heart of _________________________. Matthew 7:21 \"Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Services&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Services","link":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/category\/services\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1435,"url":"http:\/\/mvcog.org\/wp\/2015\/12\/13\/the-gifts\/","url_meta":{"origin":3241,"position":5},"title":"The Gifts","author":"Robert","date":"December 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Gifts (MP3) Matthew 2:1-12 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, \u201cWhere is He who has been born King of the Jews? 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