SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/26/2020 9:16 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-6 “A Single Treasure”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
6:19-21
Message of the verses: “19 "Do not
store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and
where thieves break in and steal. 20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or
steal; 21 for where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also” (NASB95).
We
want to begin by talking about what happened shortly after the birth of the
Church which is seen in the early chapter of the book of Acts. During the feast of Pentecost there were
many, many people coming and staying in Jerusalem, and some, perhaps most of
them stayed with friends and family as there were not that many hotels or inns
for people to stay at during that time period. Many of these people who came to
Jerusalem for this feast were no doubt very poor, and as many became believers
after hearing Peter’s sermon they did not want to leave Jerusalem, but as
mentioned they were poor and so we see the early church in action fulfilling
things that Jesus is saying in this sermon.
To meet the great financial burden that suddenly was placed on the church
the local believers “began selling their property and possessions, and were
sharing them with all, as anyone might have need” (Acts 2:14). They were storing up treasure in heaven.
MacArthur
writes “Many years later, during one of the many Roman persecutions, soldiers
broke into a certain church to confiscate its presumed treasures. An elder is said to have pointed to a group
of widows and orphans who were being fed and said ‘There are the treasures of
the church.’
“God’s
principle for His people have always been, ‘Honor the Lord from your wealth,
and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with
plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine’ (Prov. 3:9-10). Jesus said ‘Give, and it will be given to
you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour
into your lap. For by your standard of
measure it will be measured to you in return’ (Luke 6:38). Paul assures us that ‘he who sows sparingly
shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap
bountifully’ (2 Cor. 9:6). That is God’s
formula for earning dividends that are both guaranteed and permanent.
“At
the end of His parable about the dishonest but shrewd steward, Jesus said, ‘I
say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of
unrighteousness; that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal
dwellings’ (Luke 16:19). Our material
possessions are ‘unrighteous’ in the sense of not having any spiritual value in
themselves. But if we invest them in the
welfare of human souls, the people who are saved or otherwise blessed because
of them will someday greet us in heaven with thanksgiving.”
12/26/2020 9:34 AM
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