Where Does Your Treasure Lie?

Well, brother and our family, the Moody family, we live in a rather historic area of the Spokane Valley. We live near the Plants Ferry Park region, which is only a few miles since the crow flies from our meeting for services today. Our property is on the edge of what used to be the old road that ran from Walla Walla up to Fort Colville. And so when days passed, when people would travel north, they'd come north on their covered wagon, come up to the Spokane River, they would cross that Plants Ferry and head up the rutted road up the hill that runs about 50 yards behind our house. Now, I mention this because there's an interesting story that centers around the area in which we live, and it's a story that involves buried treasure. Probably everybody loves a good story of a treasure hunt. I'd like to quote to you today from an October 18, 2007 article from the Spokesman Review.

The article's titled Landmarks, Plants Ferry a Historical Hotspot. It was written by Stephanie Pettit. And the point of the article was to acknowledge a number of the historically significant events that have occurred over the years in the Plants Ferry region. And she says, quote, even though much is known about the area, there are still a few secrets and a few mysteries. And she goes on to list a number of things that aren't well known about Plants Ferry. Dropping down in the article, she says, and then there's the buried treasure story. She says, it seems that in 1863, two robbers took $80,000 in gold from a walla walla bank.

They were caught near Plants Ferry, but they had hidden the gold before they were captured. Both died in prison, but allegedly told another inmate that they buried the gold at Plants Ferry. Now, that man, who they told, eventually came to the site. He began digging, as did others who heard the stories of gold. But they didn't find anything. Or at least, as the official report would be, they didn't find anything.

Who knows? Now, one theory, after some old saddlebags washed up on the river bank, was that the gold was actually gold dust. It had washed out in the river. But people kept looking. She says, back in 1912, some men dug a hole about 20 feet deep, and their unsuccessful effort to find the gold. Bad luck for them, but worse luck for the hapless cow that wandered by and fell into the hole and died. Apparently, some local rancher thought that was a big mistake. Now, over the years, brethren, various individuals have wandered through that area.

They've come looking for the gold. They've come looking for the missing treasure, the buried treasure that supposedly lies somewhere near Plants Ferry. We have neighbors that lived near us up until a couple of years ago. They owned property just above us for 50 years. And they said, over the course of 50 years, multiple times, they had to chase people away because they were out there digging and searching, hunting anywhere along that trail between Plants Ferry and as it went up the hill. They were hunting for the lost treasure.

They said, even at times, they'd come out at night, and you could see up in the woods these tiny lights, people trying to be secretive, trying to be discreet, but they're out there with their headlamps and their metal detectors and their shovels, looking for the treasure. I've seen people at times come up our way, up our driveway, and I walked out and struck up a conversation, and they start out innocent enough.

They're just saying, well, this is an interesting area, and rather historic from what I understand. And eventually, though, the conversation comes around to the point of, you know, I heard there was treasure out here once upon a time. One day, I saw a car pull up the driveway. They got out of map. They unfolded it on their hood. They're looking at this map, and they're surveying, looking for landmarks. And so, roughly 150 years later, there are people that are still seeking the lost treasure.

Now, the concept of obtaining treasure is an interesting one. Many people in this life have had dreams at one time or another of finding hidden treasure, finding buried treasure. Maybe they think of striking on a treasure that was lost many years ago, such as I described to you today. There's treasure hunters that have invested thousands or millions of dollars into equipment. They're out on the high seas looking for a shipwreck. Maybe a boat that's run up on a coral reef somewhere and gone down with a massive load of treasure.

Maybe some dream of their treasure coming in the form of winning the lottery. You know, a 400 million dollar powerball sounds pretty exciting to certain people. There's something about having all the money you could want that tends to ignite the imagination as to the possibilities of what could be. You know, we like to think about the things we could buy, the fun that we could have, and the places that we could go and see if only money was nearly limitless. And, frankly, there have only been very few people who have realized dreams such as that.

Now, on the other side of the coin, there are those individuals who obtain wealth in a completely different fashion. They didn't go out and randomly strike it rich. They didn't find the mother lode of gold somewhere. But they obtained it by being disciplined. They educated themselves in some manner. They worked hard all their lives. They made wise financial dealings and wise investments. All in an effort to bring themselves to the point where they became wealthy. To the point where they were able to store up some degree of physical treasure in this life. Now, that being said, the Bible has quite a bit to say about the topic of treasure.

God's Word reveals that there are perils and there are pitfalls to making physical wealth the primary motivation in our life. The Word of God shows us that there are true treasures that we must be seeking to obtain in this life. So today, we'll take a look at those things. The title of my message is in the form of a question. The title is, Where Does Your Treasure Lie?

Where Does Your Treasure Lie? Now, beginning this afternoon, brethren, I want to make it clear from the start that having physical treasure, having physical wealth in and of itself is not inherently wrong. There are a number of individuals in Scripture that were wealthy by God's blessing. We could look at the example of Abraham. He was rich in livestock and gold and silver.

He came by God's blessing. Solomon as well. He was a very rich and wealthy man. So wealth in and of itself is not necessarily a problem, but if that's our primary motivation in this life, I think we'll find that the pursuit of wealth and the results of that will leave us in a place that is anywhere but satisfying. Now, the book of Ecclesiastes appears to have been written by King Solomon. Again, King Solomon was very wealthy, and he was most possibly the richest man who ever lived, even by today's standards.

And so in the book of Ecclesiastes, we find perspective that he gives as to the realities of wealth. I think it's a unique glimpse from a very wealthy man. So let's begin this afternoon in Ecclesiastes chapter 5, beginning in verse 10.

We'll see what wisdom, what instruction, what advice King Solomon has to give. Ecclesiastes chapter 5, again beginning in verse 10, he says, He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance with increase. This also is vanity. And so he says, whoever loves wealth is essentially never going to have enough to be satisfied. There will always be looking for more, and just a little more, and just a little more. If that's their primary focus in this life, he says, this is vanity. They'll never have enough. Verse 11, it says, When goods increase, they increase who eat them. So what profit have the owners except to see them with their eyes?

Verse 12 says, The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. And so, as you can kind of imagine, you have the rich man, he's tossing, he's turning during the night, because he's worried. He's thinking about his finances. He's thinking about his investments.

What did the stock market do today? What will it do tomorrow?

Is my money and conservative investments, have I put it at too high a risk? You know, those things will tend to clog up his thoughts in the night, and as it says, it won't allow him to sleep.

Verse 13, carrying on, it says, There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun.

Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.

For those riches perished through misfortune. When he begets the sun, there was nothing in his hands.

And so, those things that can seem secure, those things that seem to be able to bring us comfort, can disappear very quickly.

Maybe it happens through a bad business deal.

Maybe it happens through a crash in the stock market.

The Scripture tells us that time and chance happens to all of us. So, maybe you could be driving down the street and be in an accident and have huge medical bills that wipe out everything you spent your life accumulating.

Health conditions can cause finances to be eaten up.

And we could probably, the list could go on and on. All kinds of possibilities that could take this money and cause it to just dissipate very rapidly.

Verse 15, Solomon says, As he came from his mother's womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came, and he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand.

And so, you can spend your whole life working hard, accumulating treasure, storing up those things that seem important to you. And in the end, as my grandmother likes to say, you can't take it with you.

Can't take it with you.

Now, unfortunately, she's never said that to me, but I have heard her say that to others.

The big limitation, brethren, is the physical treasure that we need to realize is that it's temporary.

It's not lasting. It's not enduring.

It's corruptible, like every other physical thing.

And seeking after more and more in an effort to be satisfied, as Solomon said, this also is vanity.

He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver.

Let's carry on with the writings of Solomon back in the book of Proverbs, chapter 23. It's a more important insight for us.

Proverbs chapter 23, we're going to look at beginning verse 4.

Proverbs 23 verse 4.

It says, Do not overwork to be rich because of your own understanding cease. He says cease. Don't make accumulating wealth your entire focus and miss life. He says there has to be a balance. There has to be a proper understanding to these things.

I like the way the New Living Translation puts verse 4. It says, Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. I think that's good advice for all of us.

Carrying on in verse 5 here of Proverbs chapter 23.

It says, Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings. They fly away like an eagle toward heaven. So in the blink of an eye, just like that, wealth can disappear. You know, it can seem solid. It can seem stable for just a moment. You can spend your whole life struggling and sacrificing for it. You can sacrifice your time. You can sacrifice your family relationships. You can sacrifice your relationships with God to obtain wealth. And once you have it, you may think it's secure. Again, like a vapor, it can vanish away.

Again, brethren, the problem with physical possessions and wealth is that it is temporary.

It can come in a season. It can be lost in a season as well.

Now, in recent years, we've seen just how fragile physical wealth is.

There's been many circumstances beyond our control that has devalued the wealth that many Americans have in this country. Back in 2008, there was a stock market crash. And in a matter of days, it wiped out billions and probably trillions of dollars. I know during that time, I was watching my Roth IRA retreat to pre-contribution levels, which means I'd been putting money in it for a number of years. It had an accumulated interest. It was starting to climb. And then the market dropped to such a point that there was less money in that account than I had put in to begin with.

Now, the stock market has since recovered somewhat, but if you look at the conditions on the ground around us, 15,000 on the Dow Jones Industrial Average isn't worth what it once could have been. You know, with the devaluation of the dollar with inflation, it simply doesn't purchase what it once could have. You probably all recognize the fact that if you go to the grocery store with $100, it doesn't buy what it once did. If you go to the gas pump, the story is the same.

Almost everyone who owned houses in 2008 thought it would lose significant value very quickly.

And that commodity has been very slow to recover. Thousands of individuals lost their jobs during that time as well. Ones that did find work once again often had to take a cut in hours and a cut in pay and a reduction in benefits, just a secure work. And again, the lesson is physical possessions and wealth are perilous at best. Now, we all have heard about financial bubbles.

Financial bubbles are things that can occur in a free market. And a bubble is essentially an economic cycle of rapid expansion of value of some commodity. You know, it goes up, up, up, up in value very quickly. And then it devalues very quickly when the bubble bursts. So we've heard in recent years about the tech bubble. We've heard of the dot-com bubble. We've heard of the housing bubble. We've heard of the oil bubble. Anybody here ever hear of a wheat bubble?

Maybe one or two have. But most of us have probably heard of the side effects of a wheat bubble that occurred in the early 1900s. It was called the dust bowl. The dust bowl. And there's probably a few here that remember those days. The dust bowl is a point in history that's interested me over the last six months or so. I've done a number of studying into it and read a number of articles.

I watched a few documentaries on it. And so today I'd like to share with you a description of the circumstances surrounding the dust bowl because I believe it's a good illustration as to the uncertainty and just simply the fleeting essence of physical possessions and wealth.

Now rather than quoting from a number of copyrighted sources because of cyber-cast restrictions, I decided to record much of the factual information that I gathered in my own words. I would like to cite one source today that I did rely on heavily for date chronology as well as statistical facts. And it was a documentary produced by Ken Burns titled The Dust Bowl.

It's copyright 2012 by WETA Washington, D.C. and The Dust Bowl Film Project, LLC.

And if you go online, you can find links to that mini-series, as it actually is, on pbs.org. It's available on Netflix as well as other places.

Now, The Dust Bowl has been described by many as the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history. The Southern Great Plains region that became ground zero for The Dust Bowl consisted of sections of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas. And so you could just sort of draw a circle on the map. That would be the bullseye. It was a prairie region of sparsely treeed land that averaged just over 10 inches of rain per year and was often prone to severe droughts.

The thick, native grasses that covered the land in the early 1900s was a wonder in its own right.

The buffalo grass roots, which extended five feet into the earth, could reach the moisture throughout the dry seasons, and it served as a barrier to keep the soil in place when the winds blew. With the passing of the Enlarged Homestead Act in 1809, homesteaders could lay claim to 320 acres of land, as opposed to the previously allowed 160 acres. This encouraged settlers from Europe and other parts of the United States to flock to the southern Great Plains by the thousands, hoping for the promise of prosperity as wheat farmers. Now, right alongside that period of time, the southern Great Plains entered an unseasonably wet season. It lasted for a number of years, where an above-average amount of rainfall began to fall on a year-by-year basis.

This provided bumper crops and great returns to the farmers of that region.

The term, the rain follows the plow, became common thought.

World War I that lasted from 1914 through 1918 did much to bolster the value of the farmer, as American supplied wheat was desperately needed to feed the allies overseas. Wheat prices during World War I soared to over $2 a bushel, generating windfall profits for the American farmer.

As a result of the money that could be made, thousands of people flocked to the Great Plains, hoping to cash in on the opportunity. Corporations formed and began buying up massive tracks of land to put into production. The following year saw tens of millions of acres of land have the native grasses plowed under in favor of the wheat crop. Following World War I, the demand for American wheat declined, and wheat prices dropped to around $1 per bushel, about half of what it had previously been. However, the plowing continued at record rates. Millions more acres were put into production in the early 1920s. Now, prevailing thought of the day, again the price had been cut by half, but the prevailing thought was if you get half as much for your crop, you have to plant twice as much. So they kept plowing the ground. The years of rain and favorable conditions continued throughout the 1920s. Gas-powered tractors and modern machinery did much to expand the scope of what could be produced, and it rapidly expanded that scope because it produced far more than what the horse and plow ever could. Plowing often continued around the clock. Massive amounts of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas had the buffalo grass turned under in favor of the wheat crop. The land was yielding crops at the abundant rate of $30 per bushel, I'm sorry, the abundant rate of 30 bushels per acre, and the price was holding at $1 per bushel. For the farmer, it seemed that things were going their way, and the possibilities were endless. As a result of the financial boom, people eagerly expanded their holdings. Many mortgaged their paid-off farms in order to purchase more land and more equipment for wheat production. But in 1929, things began to change. October 29, 1929, we all know the date. That was Black Tuesday. The date the start market crashed, and the Great Depression began. At first, the effect did not seem to reach the Great Plain.

If seed was planted in the ground, the ground still produced a crop. So they rather assumed that this depression problem was a matter that the people in the big cities had to deal with. But for them in the country, the seed still produced a crop. There was a bumper crop in 1929, but the problem was it produced an overabundance of wheat in the supply chain. In 1930, wheat prices dropped from $1.70 a bushel. The farmers responded by plowing up even more ground, planting even more wheat, in a desperate attempt to make up the difference. The harvest in 1931 was again a bumper crop. It was in fact the best harvest that the region had ever seen. But due to the oversupply of wheat in the market, there was no one to buy it. Grain elevators stood full to the max, and mountains of wheat were dumped out in the open and left to rot. Wheat prices collapsed to 25 cents a bushel. It cost roughly 50 cents a bushel to grow it, and the wheat farmers knew they were in trouble. 1932 was an extremely dry year.

That was the year that the severe dust storms began. Because so much of the ground had been plowed under and the crop was sparse from lack of rain, the powdery topsoil began to blow.

This, combined with poor cultivation techniques, led to immense land erosion in the southern Great Plains. There were 14 dust storms in all in 1932. They were often accompanied by wind speeds up to 60 miles per hour that raised a black cloud of dirt 250 miles wide and 10,000 feet high.

When these black blizzards struck, they turned day to night.

The wheat crop of 1932 was not much to tell about. In addition, the prices dropped even further.

The plight of the wheat farmer was becoming desperate. Many began having trouble simply putting proper food on the table. Those who had overextended themselves financially in the good years to purchase more and more now found themselves struggling simply to hold on to the original land they began with. They were at risk of losing everything.

The spring of 1933 was again a drought. Crops were sparse, only yielding a few bushels to the acre. The dust storms increased as well. There were 38 in all in 1933. As a result of the storms, blinding dirt went everywhere. It was blown into all the houses. It was blown through the tiniest cracks. One of the documentaries that showed the person at their kitchen table sat in the middle of their dining room. There was a very small pinhole in the ceiling. After one of these dust storms would blow through, they'd get up in the morning and there'd be a pile of dirt on their table right below just that pinhole. The wind would take this powder and drive it into everything.

The blinding dirt was everywhere. It was blown in the houses through the tiniest cracks. They couldn't keep it out. Following a dust storm, there were often drifts up to the rooftops, piled over fences, forcing people to dig themselves out. Much of the livestock left out in the open during the storm suffocated and died, their stomach and lungs being packed full of dirt.

Hundreds of people died during those years as well, contracting dust pneumonia. The children and the elderly were the most susceptible. There was hardly a family that was left untouched by the loss. It is estimated that 100 million acres were affected by drought and erosion as the rich topsoil was steadily being blown away. 1934 through 1937 were the worst years of droughts and dust storms. The thick dust clouds reached as far east as Washington, D.C. and New York, dumping millions of tons of dirt. The winters of 1934 and 1935 saw red snow fall on the New England region.

During those years, many farms went under, and those with delinquent mortgages were repossessed by the bank. With the dream of making their fortune now gone, as much as 60% of the population migrated out of the hardest-hit areas, many moving to California, hoping to make a new life for themselves. I'd like to read to you a quote from the Reader's Companion to American History by Eric Foner and John Gerriti, copyright 1991 by Hughton, Mifflin, and Harcourt Publishing.

It says, quote, In response, the federal government mobilized several New Deal agencies, principally the Soil Conservation Service, formed in 1935, to promote farm rehabilitation. Working on the local level, the government instructed farmers to plant trees and grass to anchor the soil.

To plow the ground in terrace and contour patterns to hold the rainwater, and to allow portions of the farmland to lie fallow each year so the soil could regenerate. The government also purchased 11.3 million acres of sub-marginal land to keep it out of production. This was the area where the wind had literally carried off the top soil and essentially left ground as hard as concrete.

By 1941, much of the land was rehabilitated, but the region repeated its mistakes during World War II, as farmers again followed up grassland to plant wheat when grain prices rose. Drought threatened another disaster in the 1950s, prompting Congress to subsidize farmers in restoring millions of acres of wheat back to grassland. End quote. So, brother and me, the double-edged dust bowl is a fascinating story, but it's a simple reminder of the fleeting security of this physical life. Because, again, wealth and fortune can come in a season. It can be lost in a season as well.

You and I can spend all our lives working to accumulate something physically significant for ourselves. In a very short period of time, it can be gone like a vapor. I think most recently we can identify that by looking at the news reports of the Philippines. The massive typhoon came through in a matter of hours wiped out people's physical lives, and for some it simply wiped out every physical thing that they owned. It's a matter of hours this storm came through and decimated the lives of thousands of people. The problem is putting our primary focus on storing up wealth and treasure on earth may seem to pay for a time. You know, living may be good for a time, but the effects are not eternal. They're not eternal. And the things that are eternal are where our focus must be. So there are questions, brethren, that we need to ask ourselves.

We need to ask ourselves, do we have the right priorities in life, and where does our treasure lie? Where does our treasure lie? Your life's course will be largely directed by what it is that you treasure. You'll put your time, your effort, your energy into pursuing those things, into going after what it is that you value the most. So for each and every one of us, the question becomes, where does our treasure lie? I'd like to turn to Luke 12.

Take a look at a parable of Jesus Christ.

Jesus spoke a number of times about the trappings of pursuing wealth as opposed to pursuing the kingdom of God. Again, the problem isn't necessarily with the wealth. There's nothing wrong, per se, with having substance financially. But the risk we run is that if that becomes our primary focus, it takes our attention away from God. Luke 12, beginning in verse 13, parable of Christ, it says, "...then one from the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. But he said to a man, Who made me a judge or arbitrator over you." Christ just basically said, that's not my business. Verse 15, "...and he said to them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness.

For one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." This life isn't all about what it is we're building up physically and financially. There's more to this life than just the economics. Verse 16, "...then he spoke to a parable to them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man knilted plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops? And so he said, I'll do this. I will pull down my barns and build greater. There I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, You fool, this night your soul will be required of you.

Then whose will those things be in which you have provided?

So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God." The problem, brethren, with the rich fool, as we have it recorded here, is that he had the wrong priorities. He was consumed with his wealth and pursuing his wealth as opposed to pursuing a relationship with God. And you and I can never afford to make that mistake. We can't afford to pursue the things of the physical life in place of pursuing a spiritual relationship with God. It must be our priority to be rich towards God. Now, being rich towards God means that we treasure the things that are important to God. It means we strive to live by the standard of what God values.

Being rich towards God means we make it a priority to have a personal relationship with him.

And so we pray daily. We study his word. We actually need to take time to do those things and we need to defend that time. We need to make it consistent and regular and daily. We need to pray. We need to study his word. We need to serve his people. And we need to do his work.

That's what it means to be rich towards God.

Being rich towards God also means that we value his calling. We understand what it is he's offered us in this life. It means we value his spirit in us. We value his nature being formed in us, and we pursue that with all our heart. Being rich towards God means we spend the greater focus of our lives seeking to build up that treasured relationship with God and Christ. It's a very important focus. No matter how much you've accumulated in terms of physical possessions, physical wealth, new cars, big house, no matter what it might be, if we're not rich towards God, then there's no lasting value to the investments that we've made in this life. Again, like a vapor, they simply at some point vanish away.

When you treasure God's way, when you treasure seeking first the kingdom of God, then the things that the people of this world treasure will be less and less important to us.

We need to treasure the things of God. Matthew 6, beginning in verse 19, we see an important principle. Matthew 6, verse 19, again the words of Jesus Christ, very important instruction. He says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Because, he says, you know what? Those things are corruptible. They're corruptible. They're easily ruined. They're depleted. They're stolen. They're used up. They're not eternal. He said in verse 20, But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, but neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And so the point is, if your treasure lies in earthly things, your heart will be set on earthly things. You'll pursue earthly things, like the rest of society around us. But if you're laying up treasure in heaven, your affections will be set on the things of God. And you'll spend your time and your focus and your energy pursuing treasure in heaven. Now, that doesn't mean we don't work hard to provide for ourselves on the earth. That is important. The biblical record teaches us balance of those things. It says that the man will not work. He shall not eat.

We're to go about making our way in this life, as God blesses us with ability. You know, it doesn't mean we don't live in a shack as opposed to a nice house, but it means the primary focus of our life must be on treasuring the things of God, not on the physical. So our focus needs to be.

Dropping down to verse 24, it says, No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other, you cannot serve God in mammon. And mammon is this world's wealth, physical riches. So Christ here is saying a divided loyalty will not work. You can't have one foot pursuing the things of the world and one foot pursuing the kingdom of God, because at some point compromise will enter the picture. At some point, you'll be faced with a situation, you'll be faced with a decision where God's way becomes an obstacle to pursuing what it is you're after in this life. And the decision will have to be made.

Again, no one can serve two masters. So the question becomes, which one will you serve?

Which one has your attention, your primary focus, and which one do you treasure in this life?

Again, brethren, the answer depends on where your treasure lies, what it is that you value most.

Matthew 13, going forward just a few chapters, Matthew 13 explains to us what we must treasure.

This needs to be a very high focus for us. Matthew 13, beginning in verse 44, the parable of Jesus Christ, and he says, The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, hidden in a field, which a man found in hid. And for joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has, and he buys that field.

So here you have a man who valued the treasure over every other physical thing.

In fact, he was willing to take everything he had and put it into obtaining that treasure.

The question for us is, is that our attitude? Do we take the psalm of everything we work for in this life and use it for pursuit of the kingdom of God? Do we walk through our life on a day-to-day process, thinking, how can I draw closer to God today? How can I pursue the kingdom of God? How can I, in my working relationships, exemplify Jesus Christ and the life he's building within me? How can I, on a daily basis, work and strive to be an ambassador for Jesus Christ?

That's where our focus needs to be, if that's where our treasure truly lies.

Carrying on in verse 45 of Matthew 13, it says, Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who when he had found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and he bought it.

And so there was simply nothing more important to that man than obtaining the pearl of great price.

He sold all that he had. He took everything that he worked to accumulate in this life, put it towards pursuing that pearl of great price.

Some of all our efforts, brethren, must be for the same cost, must be for pursuing God's nature in us, and must be for pursuing the life in the kingdom and the treasure he's called us to obtain.

Now, these verses that we looked at makes the process of seeking the kingdom of God seem almost easy. You know, these people were living their life, they saw the treasure, they pursued it, seeking to obtain it, and it makes it seem very simple. And you know what? For those who are invested in the process wholeheartedly, it really is a rather easy decision to make.

Take your life efforts, pursue the kingdom of God. But you see, for some who have a lot to lose in this life, those who have a lot of treasures, those who have a lot of physical toys that bring joy, those who have things that are important that they want to cling to in this life, then the decision process can become a lot more difficult. It can become more difficult. The rich young ruler, Matthew 19, found out how hard it can be to make the right decision. Matthew 19. We're going to begin in verse 16.

Mr. Alwine read from this passage in his message earlier. Very important point, very important focus for us to have. Matthew 19, verse 16. It says, Now, behold, one came and said to him, Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? And so he said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. And he said to him, Well, which ones? And Jesus said, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Verse 20, And the young men said to him, All these things I have kept from my youth, what do I still lack? And Jesus said to him, If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. The main principle of the story is that in order for the rich young ruler to become perfect, he needed to be willing to let go of that which was an obstacle that kept them from following Jesus Christ. Now, the money in and of itself was not the problem, but the man's complete attachment to it was. He was trusting in his money more than entrusted in Christ. He was relying more on the relationship he had and the comfort that he had that his finances brought as opposed to trusting where Jesus Christ would lead. Brethren, for us, there can be nothing that we aren't willing to forsake in our lives to follow where God and Christ call us to in this life. They call us to forsake the old man, put on Jesus Christ in us. Christ says, take my yoke upon you. My burden is easy. My load is light. You come and follow me. That's what we've been called to do. And when we get too involved, too tangled, too immersed in the things of this physical life, then we can lose perspective. We can lose focus very quickly and very easily.

Again, the focus should be that there is nothing we aren't willing to forsake in order to follow where Christ leads. And that's the principle of this parable.

Now, accomplishing our goals physically in this life can't be the highest priority. You know, this is what I want to do. This is what I want to get done. This is where I'm going.

Those can't be the highest priority in our life.

Tabitha recently had an assignment at school, and one of the questions that she had to answer was, do you think that accomplishing your goals is the most important thing?

And I was rather amused because I hadn't heard about this till after the fact, but apparently the answer she put down was, no. You have to read your Bible and go to church.

I thought that was pretty good coming from an 11-year-old. But again, accomplishing the goals that we set for ourselves physically, that's not the highest priority in this life. It is nice to be driven. It's nice to be motivated. It is good to have goals, personal goals, places we want to go, things we'd like to accomplish. It gives us motivation. It gives us things to work for. But again, those physical things can't trump what God is doing in our life. Now, the secondary principle we draw from the passage here is that the giving of what we have for the less fortunate does lay up treasure in heaven.

Looking out for the needy is a responsibility that each and every one of us have.

Now, that doesn't mean that we should go and sell all that we have and give it to the poor. Again, the Bible gives us instructions for being financially balanced. But God expects us to use those things that we are rich in to help and serve others. Now, sometimes we think of being rich in terms of simply having a lot of money. And that is one way a person can be rich. But sometimes we're rich in other ways as well. There are some people who are rich in time. Time is a very valuable commodity. It seems like when you have money, you don't have time. When you have time, you don't have money. It seems like that's the way it works. But some people are very rich in time. Maybe they're retired. Maybe they have the strength and the ability to serve others. Again, the principle is if you're rich in something, use a portion of that to go and serve someone else. There's those that can be rich in skill. Maybe they have exceptional carpentry skill, mechanic skills. Maybe they have computer skills. There are needs. Seek people out. Find where you can help take what God has richly blessed you with and put it to work in serving others.

Patience. That's a gift. That's a blessing. Some people are rich in patience. They have the ability to sit and listen and to give wise counsel. There are people who are rich in encouragement.

And hopefully all of us are rich in love. And, brethren, these are all things that we should be willing to use and share and give in the way that God has abundantly blessed us. We should use it as a blessing for someone else as well. Whatever you are rich in by God's blessing, use it to serve God's people and use it to serve the world around you. We shouldn't just kind of be in our own shell. We need to look around this world, see where there is need, see where we can take an active part in helping others, and we need to engage in that process as well. Let's look at 1 Timothy 6. Here Paul reminds Timothy to teach the effects of having wealth and what a person's perspective should be. 1 Timothy 6. We're going to begin in verse 6. 1 Timothy 6, verse 6 says, But godliness with contentment is great gain. The question is, brethren, do we really believe that?

Godliness with contentment is great gain. You know, this world doesn't think so.

This world says, why settle for less when you can have it all now?

You know, in fact, we can give it to you. You can have it. We can find a way to make it happen.

Why settle for less when you can have it all? The world says, why be content with that piece of junk iPhone 4 when you can get the iPhone 7? You'll be content for at least six months. Then there's the iPhone 8. God's word translation says this about 1 Timothy 6, verse 6. It says, A godly life brings huge profits to people who are content with what they have.

I like that translation. A godly life brings huge profits to people who are content with what they have. That's an important lesson we should be able to learn, even in the church. That godliness with contentment is great gain. God controls all wealth, and depending on what he's blessed you with, maybe it's little, maybe it's much. But we should all be content in those circumstances to live a godly life and be a blessing to others with what he has blessed us with. Carrying on in verse 7 of 1 Timothy 6, it says, For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with ease we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and the snare, and to many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

And so the love of money can cause us to do things that are apart from God, apart from His commandments, apart from His standard that He's lined out in Scripture, and it can cause us to do those things to our own destruction. So we have to be careful.

Dropping down to verse 17, I'm sorry, let's take it back up to verse 11. Verse 11 says, But you, O man of God, flee these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you are called, and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. And so this is describing being rich towards God. It's describing pursuing the treasure that is true and that is lasting, that God has set before us in His life.

So we're going down to verse 17 now. It says, Command those who are rich in this present age, because there are those who are financially blessed. Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

And so all wealth, again, it ultimately comes from God. All things are His. He created all things. He has the ability to bless you abundantly.

You know, if you're serving God and you're living according to His way, and your standard in this life is to seek the treasure of God, and He wants you to be rich, you'll be rich. If you're following God and you're seeking God and you're living according to His way and you're faithful and God doesn't want you to be rich, you won't be rich.

God's in charge. God knows what we need. He knows what it is that will help us to maintain and keep our focus in this life.

So all wealth comes from God. Verse 18, carrying on, says, Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

So, brethren, God provides someone with wealth.

I'm going to get up and start dancing here in a minute.

All right. When God provides someone with wealth, they need to handle it with an outward focus.

They need to be able to take what God has blessed them with and make it a blessing for someone else.

It isn't a matter of the government looking at someone and saying, You know what? You have too much. We're going to take it from you and we're going to give it to them.

That's not the principle. The principle is it is a matter of the heart to take what God has given you.

He's blessed you with abundantly and shared with someone else.

Scripture says, in doing so, you will store up treasure in heaven.

In Matthew 6, verse 25, as we're drawing close to the conclusion, Matthew 6, verse 25, again it reiterates what our focus should be.

Matthew 6, verse 25, the words of Jesus Christ, He says, Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, what you will drink, or about your body, what you will put on. Is life not more than food and the body more than clothing? Isn't this physical life that we're living more than just physical provision?

This life is about the spiritual pursuits in the kingdom of God.

Verse 26, it says, Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather in the barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than may?

It says, Which of you can add one cubit, which of you by worrying, can add one cubit to his stature?

So why do you worry about clothing? It says, Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin. And yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. And so the lilies in the field are living up to the potential and the purpose for which they were created. It would appear in the end that Solomon did not. The question for us is, are we? Are we living up to the potential for which God created us?

Carrying on in verse 30, he says, Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear? For after all those things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. And so the point is, if we seek God's kingdom first, if we strive to put on His nature in our life first, then He'll see that you don't lack in your physical needs. You know, maybe the food and clothing He provides isn't what we think it should be, according to the standard of this life. But you know, if you're working hard and you're serving God, you need to take what God gives you. And remember that godliness with contentment is great gain. But other than all things are said and done, what is it that godly treasure seekers will find awaits them in the end? If we've lived a faithful life, if we put God first and pursued that treasure and laid it up in heaven, what can we find awaits us in the end?

Well, let's answer the question in two brief scriptures as we conclude. Let's go first to Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews 1, beginning in verse 1. Hebrews 1.1 says, God, who has at various times and in different ways spoken times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things through whom also he made the world.

And so God has appointed Jesus Christ as heir of all things. All means all. Nothing withheld, nothing excluded. Jesus Christ is heir of all things, and in my reckoning, that's a whole lot of stuff. So where does that leave you and I, brethren, in the end? Well, let's go to Romans chapter 8 to finish answering that question. Romans 8. Beginning in verse 16. Romans 8 verse 16. It says, The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God. And if children then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.

And so again, Christ has been appointed heir of all things. You and I are sons of God, and if we remain faithful to the end, we will be joint heirs with Christ of all things.

Again, all means all. That's everything. So let me ask you, what is it in this life that is so important that it can pull our focus away from pursuing the true treasure and the true truth and the true things of God? That question almost seems silly, doesn't it?

Brethren, where does your treasure lie?