Scripture
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.”
Quote
You can tell what God thinks of gold; He uses it for pavement.
~Ruth Bell Graham
The devil is the ultimate con-artist and he is especially gifted in the area of material wealth. He convinces us that the more we save the more we have when the very opposite is true. He has the ability to confuse our priorities: we use people and love money. Again this is a direct contradiction of the truth: we are to love people and use money. He convinces us to hoard gold, invest in gold, love gold, and even wear it ostentatiously as a display of our pride and success. In this world, we value gold. I have no idea where and when it got started but gold has become the most precious of all metals and it is treasured here on earth by millions. What is valuable here, at least in terms of the world’s opinion, is merely pavement in heaven. I know you have probably heard me tell about the man who had all his assets converted to gold and buried with him when he died. When he got to the gates of heaven with his briefcase filled with gold, the angel who inspected the case opened it and was startled. He looked at the man and said, “You brought pavement.”
Of course this story is a joke, you can’t carry anything with you, not in terms of material wealth. BUT you can lay up treasures in heaven. I highlighted three words in today’s text…Lay up and steal. Ironically, these are basketball terms. The lay up is the highest percentage shot in basketball and the steal is one of the top four stats… Points, rebounds, assist and steals. The devil is very good at stealing. Jesus promised us we could lay up treasures in heaven but He was not referring to gold, silver or money. Heaven’s economy is infinitely greater than our present economy and there money has no significance. So what can we take to heaven? You can take your character. If you are truly saved, you are being sanctified: this simply means God is working on your character. These streets of gold that John speaks of are translucent like a mirror. Christ in YOU is your hope of Glory and when He is revealed, the Christ in you will also be revealed. When you walk on that translucent avenue that runs through the middle of heaven; you will see the glory of Christ reflected in you. Not only will you be amazed, everyone around you will be amazed.
You can’t take money with you but it can be converted into heavenly treasure by your generosity. A PK {preacher’s kid} heard a missionary speak and the child was moved, she gave everything she had to the missionary. Later in life, she saw a video of this missionary baptizing converts and she felt an overwhelming since of gratitude because she knew she had a part in his ministry. When you give to God’s kingdom work, you are laying up treasures in heaven. My son says that “Giving is the easiest of all Christian virtues.” In other words it is a slam dunk, or for those of us who cannot jump, a lay up.
I can’t list all the ways you can lay up treasure in heaven but I must mention one more. Actually the big three in my opinion are evangelism, missions and ministry but they all relate to our reaching others. I can’t carry money to heaven but I can carry my children, grand children, friends, etc. When Joe Wheeler set the huge transformers on the back of the property at DBC {I had to be out there watching} one young man walked up to me {in his twenties} and he said, “You don’t remember me do you?” I gave him a once over but then I had to admit, “No, I am afraid I don’t.” He said, “I am Tim,” {and he gave his last name also} but I was still in a quandary and had no idea who I was speaking with. He said, “Tim, from Faith Baptist Church at Midway. You did a revival for us and you and the pastor came to our house and you shared the gospel with me and I was saved. I was 14 years old at the time.” Thankfully, that rang my bell and suddenly I remembered Tim. It was a WOW moment for me. Some fifteen years or so ago, I was speaking at a homecoming at Salem Springs. I served this church while I was in college and ran off with their pianist. A young man walked up to me in the men’s bathroom of all places and said, “Brother Jack, do you remember me?” Of course he could tell by my expression that I didn’t. He said, “I am David Blankenship, you baptized me when you were our pastor.”
Sorry for the length but I have one that tops both of the above. When we {GRACE POINT} were looking for a youth director; my good friend Sherman Leeth {principle of the Marshall County Tech school} told me, “Bro. Jack, you have a great youth director right across the road and he is a Danville boy.” I pressed him for the name and he said Josh Melson. He said, “You probably know him,” but the name didn’t ring a bell. I called Josh and set up the interview. I meet him at the high school and when I saw him, the bell went off and I said, “I do know you.” He said, “You should, you baptized me.” I really don’t give a hoot about gold; my treasure is people. By the way, Josh had twenty young people at church Wednesday night and he has 30 going to camp. We can’t pay the boy what he is worth. He is worth more than gold. Do you get my drift.
My sister Holly is better and my friend in Ohio is better. Ralph Glenn in still at DMH and Vellene went home last night.