We are all searching for something that will fill our souls with joy, peace and love. We may find it in people, things, or experiences.
Matthew 6:21 TPT – For your heart will always pursue what you esteem as your treasure.
Without even thinking about it, we have already chosen what we love most purely by giving it our full attention and time. We naturally grow a passion for things or people and if we do not think about what we are doing we can end up valuing something that is not that good for us, could cause us problems in the long term and get us off track with what we are here on earth for. We could miss out on our whole purpose.
So, if we want to be sure that we are making wise choices and being good stewards of our time, we need to be sure we are pursuing what is truly valuable, remembering that our time here is short, but our life in heaven is forever.
Matthew 6:19-21 MSG “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse! —stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.”
Treasure is not just money, property, riches, and wealth. We can get sucked in by things that literally have no value at all. Humans have the ability to get sentimental or passionate about almost anything. People collect newspapers and magazines, books, clothes, leaflets, and letters, junk mail, bills and receipts, containers, plastic bags, cardboard boxes and household supplies. I’ve heard of people collecting stamps, coins. baseball cards, vinyl records, comic books, vintage movie posters, miniature cars, fridge magnets, autographs, first editions. Some people struggle with impulse buying or feel the pressure to get the bargain because it’s so cheap. They think they are saving but they are spending when they do not need to. Jesus wants us to be cautious and not get carried away.
Consider the saying – ‘one man's trash is another man's treasure,’ this means, what’s useless to one person is valuable to another. However, I believe there is a lot of confusion over what is trash and what is treasure. The world we live in muddies the clarity over what holds value and worth. It depends on what perspective we have and whether we are looking at things that we are temporary or eternal.
God has already given to us so much that is so precious. Beautiful vistas, animals, our loved ones, flowers, delicious food, coffee, wonderful smells, and delightful music. The Bible does not tell us that we can’t enjoy the beauty of this earth. But Matthew 6:19-21 warns us that whatever our heart pursues is our treasure and because the world muddies the clarity over what is valuable, we often get caught up pursuing things with no worth.
Q: What is your treasure? What does your heart, eyes and ears pursue?
I love my cat, chooks, flowers, movies, and a good cup of coffee. But I need to be careful these things don’t hold too much of my attention. They are temporary and in time they will fade away. True treasure won’t die, never change and it is good for my mind, soul, body and spirit. If you give too much eye and ear time to movies, gaming, fashion, food, alcohol, shopping online, worldly knowledge, alcohol, celebrities, you may be making these things your treasure. [This is not an exhaustive list, add your own].
Q: Do any of these things get more of your time or your thought life than God?
In December I was mother of the bride for our daughter. I looked online at potential dresses to help me decide what style I would like. When I finished looking, close my device and close my eyes to go to sleep I could still see the images with my eyes shut. This reminds me that whatever we give time too stays in our minds long after we have turned off the light.
When I was a teenager I read a lot of novels. I found myself struggling to come out of the story and back into the reality of my life, almost adding the characters into my own world. I was subconsciously escaping from my emotional pain. Maybe the reason why we pursue some things is because we do not want to focus on our reality as it’s too painful. Worldly treasure is often used this way, to comfort, distract, and push off disappointment.
We know the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy and he uses worldly treasure to keep our eyes off the one true treasure, Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Q Do you use worldly treasure to comfort and distract you from your pain?
Isaiah 55:2 NLT Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good?
1. What is true treasure?
We have been offered a treasure that is greater than anything we can find in this world.
Colossians 3:2-3 TPT “Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm. Your crucifixion with Christ has severed the tie to this life, and now your true life is hidden away in God in Christ.”
· God’s word is treasure
Psalms 119: 111 TPT “Everything you speak to me is like joyous treasure, filling my life with gladness.”
Psalms 119:162 “I rejoice in your word like one who discovers a great treasure.”
· Fear of the lord is treasure
Isaiah 33:6 NLT In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure!
Position yourself to give the Lord the respect and honor that He deserves. Fear Him for He is a Holy God. This will strengthen your heart, soul, mind, spirit.
· Heavenly wisdom is treasure
Proverbs 3:14 TPT As wisdom increases, a great treasure is imparted, greater than many bars of refined gold.
But the most important treasure of all is…
· The Lord himself is our treasure
Have we met Him, do we know Him, do we understand how wonderful He is?
Job: 22:23-25 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored—so clean up your life. 24 If you give up your lust for money and throw your precious gold into the river, the Almighty himself will be your treasure. He will be your precious silver!
When your arms are full of worldly treasure, you are unable to grasp hold of the most wonderful treasure of all. We must let go of all things that mean more to us than He does and make Him our number one focus.
2. How do we find this true treasure?
· Look for the Lord and you will find Him!
Jeremiah 29: 12 – 14 NLT “In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes.”
Isaiah 55:6 NLT “Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.”
· Give away your life and take hold of Jesus life instead.
We can’t keep all our worldly false treasures and have Jesus too; we need to empty our hands of everything and take Him only as our one true treasure.
Matthew 10:39 NLT “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.”
Jesus saved Mary Magdalene from being stoned by some religious leaders when she was caught in adultery. He also delivered her from 7 demons. Because Jesus did all this for Mary, she had a great love for Him, she had discovered what she had been looking for her whole life in Him. He loved her unconditionally and so she loved him in return and one day she poured a large expensive bottle of perfume over Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair and her tears. Jesus became her full focus; she discovered true treasure. She followed Him, listened to His teaching, and obeyed Him.
Q: Jesus loves you unconditionally too, how devoted are you to Him?
King David the Psalmist had been faithful and unfaithful. At times he was a good king, but then he also made some big mistakes. He took someone else’s wife because he made her his full focus. Then to cover up he murdered her husband. God hates sin but he is faithful to His children. David learnt from his mistakes and wrote…
Psalms 16:5 TPT “Yahweh, you alone are my inheritance. You are my prize, my pleasure, and my portion. You hold my destiny and its timing in your hands.”
Have you ever seen a couple of old people walking down the road, hand in hand, clearly in love, and they’ve been married for more than 50 years. This couple can finish each other’s sentences; they know what’s on each other’s minds. That is what we all desire our marriages to be like, but if we do not put the effort in to our relationship then we will never have a marriage like that.
It is the same with our relationship with Jesus. If we don’t put some effort into our relationship with Him, spending time alone talking and listening, then we are not being intimate. We will not grow the relationship, we will be an acquaintance to Jesus.
It is important that we don’t just seek him and find him, but that we get to know Him intimately, know His heart.
3. What we do once we have found it
4. Matthew 13:44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.”
We know we have found true treasure in Jesus when we are prepared to get rid of everything else in our lives and make room for Him making Him our focus and priority.
2 Timothy 1:14 TPT “Guard well this incomparable treasure by the Spirit of Holiness living within you.”
5. We are His Treasure
God made us like Him and He has a treasure too. Song of Solomon tells us we are His treasure. Check out these verses, the groom is Jesus, the bride is the church.
Song of Solomon 4:9 –10 “You have captured my heart, my treasure, my bride. You hold it hostage with one glance of your eyes, with a single jewel of your necklace. Your love delights me, my treasure, my bride. Your love is better than wine, your perfume more fragrant than spices.”
Song of Songs 2:16 TPT “I know my lover is mine and I have everything in you, for we delight ourselves in each other.”
Can I encourage you to be determined to delight yourself in Jesus more and more and give up your worldly treasure. I encourage you to allow the love of Jesus to overwhelm you. Do not be afraid. It will take eternity to fully grasp, but let’s make sure we make the most of His love right here and now.