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  LAY UP TREASURE IN HEAVEN
  by Tim Conway
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Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of surrendering to God
and prioritizing heavenly treasures over earthly possessions. It
challenges listeners to consider where their heart and investments truly
lie, highlighting the eternal value of giving generously and
sacrificially to those in need and for the advancement of the gospel.
The message underscores the Lordship of Christ and the wisdom of storing
up treasures in heaven, where they are secure and eternal, rather than
focusing solely on accumulating wealth on earth.

Duration: 1:13:20 Topics: "Surrender to God", "Eternal Treasures"
Scripture References: Matthew 6:19, Luke 12:33, Proverbs 19:17, Isaiah 58:10, Proverbs 11:24, Luke 16:8, 2 Corinthians 9:6

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DESCRIPTION
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This sermon emphasizes the importance of surrendering to God and
prioritizing heavenly treasures over earthly possessions. It challenges
listeners to consider where their heart and investments truly lie,
highlighting the eternal value of giving generously and sacrificially to
those in need and for the advancement of the gospel. The message
underscores the Lordship of Christ and the wisdom of storing up
treasures in heaven, where they are secure and eternal, rather than
focusing solely on accumulating wealth on earth.

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CONTENT
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Well, we are in the midst of an ongoing series, the Sermon on the Mount,
Matthew 5, 6, and 7. The verses I'd like to call your attention to this
afternoon are found in Matthew 6, verse 19. About 20 years ago when we
came, Ruby and I, a handful, a couple handfuls of other people, when we
started the church there in the inner city of San Antonio, Texas, we
came into the inner city area where there were a lot of churches and the
vast majority of them were charismatic, health, wealth, prosperity. Very
specifically, I never wanted to take up offerings.

We had an offering box. We set it in the back if anybody wanted to find
it. We didn't usually, usually we never said anything.

We didn't broadcast it. We didn't talk about money. I typically preached
on money one time a year.

We had a business meeting for the church once a year and typically on
that Sunday I preached a message that had to do with wealth, treasures,
earthly possessions, something. And that happened just about every
single third or fourth or fifth Sunday of January for the last 20 years,
the vast majority of those years. When we came there, we would get folks
that had visited other churches.

We had a couple come in. You may remember that. Actually, where the
church in San Antonio meets right now, just around the corner, there's
another church.

So that church has been there a while. Some people that had been going
there, they came to our church and they said the pastor's wife would get
up during the service. And if you've seen any of those churches, it's
crazy.

They will have big muscular looking deacons standing in front of what
looked like great big spittoons. And they'll have people just in a
frenzy dancing around and they'll come up and everybody's throwing their
money in. I mean, the stories we heard, we heard the pastor's wife was
up there and she said, we don't want your 10s and 20s.

We want your hundreds. And I mean, we had one brother in the church that
the church he was in before he got saved. He said they talked about
giving every single Sunday.

We heard stories about them chaining the doors until they got as much
money as was needed. We had stories about them taking up an offering and
then the leadership would look at it and then they would say not enough.
And they would basically force the people to give again and they
wouldn't let them leave the building.

Just crazy things. So look, all you have to do is turn on, I don't know
what you guys have over here. We have TBN in the U.S. What do you have
here? Something comparable to that.

And you have it too. And so, you know, you don't have to look very far
before you find, you know, some pastor and his wife and they're
basically begging money. Now, listen, my agenda is not to beg money from
you.

My agenda is to be biblical. And we're, we're simply going through the
Sermon on the Mount and one thing about Matthew chapter six, and this
begins today and it will go on for probably the next three or four or
five messages before we break from this chapter six. The Lord has a lot
to say.

Somebody has said, I have not personally done all the research to prove
this is true, but somebody, I know, I know MacArthur said it. I'm sure
he said he found it from somebody else that the Lord Jesus Christ
teaches more on money and possessions than he does on heaven and hell
put together. The reality is that Jesus had a lot to say about money.

And so we don't need to be ashamed in the church just because we have a
lot of charlatans out there that are in this thing for money. That
doesn't mean that God's people should not think about it, should not
talk about it and should not pay very close attention to what the Lord
Jesus Christ has to say about it. So that's where we find ourselves
today in Matthew chapter six, verse 19.

Before we dive into this, let's just go to the Lord one more time.
Father, I know that we're dealing with a subject that we know it. We
know it for a fact.

Money is something we think about. Money is something we're involved
with. Money is something that very easily competes with you for trust.

We know that it's a heart matter. We know that even in the verses that
we're going to look at today, our Lord is speaking about the fact that
this is a heart issue and where our treasure is. That's exactly where
our heart will be.

Lord, I pray for the people here. I pray that our hearts would indeed be
right. Help us, Lord.

Help us to sort this as we look at your words right now. May you empower
it to us. May you bless us through this.

May you help us. I pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Now, brethren, I recognize this. I recognize that none of us are in the
same place spiritually. I recognize that our faith, the level of faith
you have is different from the person that's next to you.

I recognize that even the disciples said, Lord, increase our faith.
There's a place to have your faith increased. My desire is this, not
just when it comes to money, when it comes to sacrifice, when it comes
to the way you live your life.

My desire is that everybody here is going to grow. Do you remember what
Scripture says? Scripture says that beholding the glory of the Lord, we
are changed from one degree of glory to another. That's my hope.

My hope is that as we behold the Lord and we behold his teaching, we
behold his example, that we will make advances from one degree of glory
to another. I don't have this expectation that everybody's going to be
perfect today or tomorrow or the next day. But what I do have an
expectation of is that this Word cleanses, this Word shows us how to
walk, this Word sanctifies.

Jesus Christ specifically prayed that. We just sang about the Lord Jesus
Christ interceding for us and praying for us. The reality is that
there's a place for us to grow by the washing of the water of the Word.

There's a place for us to be sanctified. He said sanctify them by thy
truth, thy Word is truth. This sanctifies us.

My hope is this. My hope is that as the years go by, you will have more
faith next year than you have this year to trust the Lord when it comes
to your finances. That's my hope.

My hope is that every time we deal with this, it brings people a little
further, brings you to go beyond where you have been. Now, here's the
words we're going to deal with today. It's just three verses, Matthew 6,
19, 20 and 21.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust
destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where
thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also. I want to start by asking you a question you
might think has absolutely nothing to do with the verses we just read.

Keep your finger right here because we're going to come right back here,
but keep your finger here and go over to John chapter 2. Skip Mark and
Luke and go right to the beginning of John's gospel. So I want to ask
you a question that actually has a tremendous amount to do with what
we're thinking about. John chapter 2. It's a very interesting chapter.

If you go down to verse 23, when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover
feast, many believed in his name. Now, I want you just to capture that
right there. It doesn't just say some believed.

It says many believed, and it doesn't just stop right there. It says
many believed in his name, and you all see that. It's in your Bible.

No matter what translation you have, there's no getting away from it.
They believed in his name when they saw the signs he was doing, but
Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them because he knew all
people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew
what was in man. Isn't that kind of a cryptic verse? I mean, we read
that.

So they believed. Isn't Christianity all about believing? And yet the
Lord himself does not entrust himself to these people. Why? Because he
knew what was in man.

You know, there is the implication here that something defective is
taking place. And then there's this. Go over to John chapter 8. Now, I'm
going somewhere with all this, so just hang with me here.

John chapter 8. Again, the Lord has been teaching. He's been doing
miracles in front of the Jews, and you get the same sort of response.
Verse 30, John 8, 30.

As he was saying these things. So in John, he did signs. They believed
just immediate.

That's what it says here in John 8. He's teaching certain things, and
many believed in him. They believed in his name in John 2. They believed
in him. Many.

It's the same thing. Many was the same word we had in John 2. Many. Case
closed, right? They're Christians, but not so fast.

Jesus says to the Jews who had believed him, if you abide in my word,
you are truly my disciples. You know what? This does not say many
claimed to believe. This actually says many believed.

But Jesus recognizes something. If you claim to believe in his name, the
reality is do you believe in his name? You know, I was looking at this.
King of kings.

Well, we can say that, but do you believe that? We can call him Lord,
but do you believe that? We call him Jesus because he'll save his people
from their sins. Do we really believe that he's the only Savior? Do we
really believe that our all hangs on him? Do we believe that following
him is absolutely the most necessary thing beyond our physical bread and
water? We need him more than that. We need him.

We need to follow him. He is the way to the Father. Do you really
believe that? Do you believe that when he's called Lord, he really is
Lord? Because he did say to some people, you call me Lord, but you don't
treat me like I'm Lord because you don't do what I say.

Do we really believe his name? You see, this is the issue. He's called
Messiah. He's called Jesus.

He's called Lord. He's called King. And then he says, you know what he
says to people? He says, follow me.

I mean, the reality is follow me. What does it mean to follow him? Well,
the reality is you don't have a physical figure to follow anymore. What
you have is his words.

That's it. You have his words to follow. And he said, if you abide in
those words, then you're really mine.

If you follow me, you see, following him, that's the way to life. When
it came to money, that's exactly what he said to the rich young ruler.
He said, you go sell all that you have.

You give it to the poor. You'll have treasure in heaven. You come follow
me.

That's always the issue. You follow me. The way we follow him is by
abiding in his word.

I will guide you by my voice. I ask you this. I ask you this.

Are you a believer? I say, why, yes, I believe. But the issue is this.
Back to Matthew 5 and verse 19, because I'll tell you what we really
believe gets tested by money.

And this is why Jesus spoke so much about riches, covetousness, money,
wealth, because this is where men are tested. The question is this. The
question is this.

Do you really believe that Jesus Christ is real? Do you believe he spoke
these words in Matthew? Do you believe that he had something to say
about money? Do you believe God the Father sent him into the world from
the halls of glory to come here and teach us the most essential things
about life, about death, about salvation, about who God is, about what
really matters, what's really important in life? Do you believe that? Do
you believe he knows what's truly important in life? Do you believe he
really knows what you ought to do with your money? Do you believe he's
got an eye? I mean, if anybody can tell you about what eternity is like.
You know what he told his disciples one time? He said, you ought to leap
for joy at what you have coming. You ought to rejoice and be exceedingly
glad if you knew what was coming.

I mean, when he said to that thief on his right hand or whatever side he
was on, when he said, this day you'll be with me in paradise. Listen,
paradise is a big word. And Jesus knows.

He knows. He knows how spectacular this is. He knows what really is good
for us.

Do you believe that Jesus Christ really sits triumphantly now on that
throne beside his father, that he paid the price, that that's where he
is? Do you believe he's king of kings, Lord of lords? Do you believe
that his father said all the way back there to Moses, he said, he's
going to send a prophet that's going to be like Moses. And he said,
those who don't listen to him, he's going to require heaven. Brethren,
let me tell you this.

He is Lord. Do you believe this? Do you believe? Do you really believe
that there is a heaven coming? Do you believe that it's possible to
store up treasure there? Do you believe that to be absent from the body
is to be present with the Lord? I mean, do you believe that? Do you
believe it's better? I mean, Jesus or Paul, the apostle Paul said this.
He said, you know, with the Philippians, he was kind of wrestling.

He said, I'm going to straight betwixt the two. That's what the KJV
says. And he said, to depart and be with Christ is far better.

Do you believe that? Or do you cling to this life? Oh, brethren, I'll
tell you this, this fear that has come upon the world over a virus for
the Christian, seriously, to be so afraid you won't meet with God's
people. When to be absent from the body is to be, and it's far better. I
don't, brethren, do we really believe this? You count being with Christ
is far better.

Do you believe his words that not only is it far better to be with
Christ, what he's saying is store for yourself treasure in heaven, which
means this, to have treasure there. Then the more treasure you have
obviously makes it even better. Do you believe that? Do you really
believe that? Do you see this as a tremendous opportunity? What he's
saying here, or because what he's saying is this, don't lay it up here,
lay it up there and you will have treasure in heaven.

Do you, do you resent this? Or do you see this as just, wow, what an
opportunity? I can't believe he's telling us this. Seriously, I get, I
get to use my money here and I can store up treasure in heaven. What an
opportunity.

What I find is a lot of people, they seem to resent it. You find
reservation comes in. Well, now it's just this sound of caution so
often.

Brethren, look at these words. Do not lay up for yourself treasures on
earth. Do you recognize that that goes against just the whole fabric,
fabric, the whole, just the whole bent of this world.

Totally goes against it. I mean, we can just read this. Do not lay up
for yourself.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We get so used to it, but do you realize how that
flies in the face of everything that this world is about? Absolutely
everything. This, this, I'll tell you something.

These verses are really telling us something spectacular. Just, I see
the power of God on display in these three verses. I mean, you think
about it, what's got to happen to somebody for them to see.

And you, you know what it's like, listen, most of you are probably like
me. I was saved when I was 25 years old. What did I do before I was 25
years old? I lived for the world.

I lived for toys. I lived for fun. I lived for pleasure.

I lived to have guns and motorcycles and beer, and I lived for that. And
so I wanted money. Why? Because money got me what the world's got to
offer.

Money gets me what man can give. And so what do you do? Well, you want
as much of it as you can possibly get. That's how the world is.

And you want to, I mean, I wasn't even really into laying it up here. I
wanted to spend it as fast as I could get it. But I wanted to, I wanted
to gather up all the toys that I could get out of it.

That's laying up treasure. It can be in a bank account, or it can be in
guns, or it can be in motorcycles, or it can be in whatever. But this,
this just, so what is it, what does it take for somebody that's just
greedy for money, covetous? They want, give me, give me, give me.

They're trying to get the money. They're trying to get as much out of
this life as they possibly can. And then what has to happen for all of a
sudden somebody to have the scales peeled off.

And suddenly they look, and they behold, and they recognize, wow, this,
this, this life is just fleeting. This life is a mist. And it's gone.

And eternity is coming. And eternity is long. And it's everything.

And it's, I mean, what's got to happen? By nature, man, man, man is just
obsessed with this life. I mean, that's how it was when I was lost. Of
course, I was a lot younger.

I'm sure that lost people, as they get older, they begin to think. Ruby
and I talked with a guy yesterday, and he's like, I'm getting older.
They start to think about these things more.

But the thing is, it is so hard for lost people to, they don't want to
think about death, let alone what comes after it, out there into
eternity. It's just, oh, man refuses to think about it. He loves to
believe he'll live forever.

Theoretically, he knows he won't. But I'll tell you this, he's
invincible as far as tomorrow's concerned. And you know that's true.

You know what? I mean, because we were all like that. If you would have
asked me when I was 25 years old, are you going to be alive 100 years
from now? No, I knew that. But if you ask me, are you going to be alive
tomorrow? Well, absolutely.

I see that's the way man is. And you know what? Man's like that even
when he's 95. Because you know what? He's made it this far, and he fully
expects to live tomorrow as well.

Obsessed with now, the natural man, he's trapped in this little moment
of time. He walks, he works, he plays, and there he is in this world.
He's just stuck.

Death is a dark specter. I don't know how it was with you, and I don't
know how it was with me. You go to a funeral, and it's like, oh, we went
out of here.

And you just want to shake yourself and go get drunk with your buddies.
Maybe you weren't just like that, but that's how I was. You don't want
to think about death.

Get away from it. What happens beyond all this? It's just, oh, I don't
want to think about it. I remember after I got saved, I was sitting with
a guy in the place that I worked, and there was a cafeteria there.

There was probably 500 people in the cafeteria. And I said to him, do
you realize that in 100 years, everybody in this room will be dead? And
he just looked at me like I had three heads. And he said, I try not to
think about it.

Well, that's exactly right. He tries not to think about it. But if you
would have asked him about having money, and getting a raise, and
winning the lotto, and getting an inheritance from his parents, and
getting more cars, and more stuff, and a bigger house, and hell, he'd be
all over that.

I mean, do you realize what it takes? It takes an almighty act of God to
awaken sinners out of this death sleep, to recognize eternity hastens,
and then living all out for this life and for retirement. Oh, brethren,
this world lives as though retirement is heaven. That's exactly what it
is.

They don't even look beyond that. It's utter foolishness. What utter
stupidity.

I mean, think about it. Some of our young ladies, I think four of you
all, you just went camping, right? Imagine they went camping. One of
them jumps in the car, and she goes off without the other three, and she
comes back.

What in the world is this? She comes back with trees, and shrubs, and
flowers. Why? She's going to plant them on the campsite, and then here
comes a delivery truck, and it drops off some recliners, and a big
88-inch TV, and nobody does that. Why don't they do that? Who goes into
debt decorating a hotel room? And you say, no, that's crazy.

That's crazy talk. Nobody does that. Well, that's exactly right, and you
know why they don't do that? Because they're only there for a little
while.

They're just passing through, and yet people, they live here like this
is it. I mean, they lay it up here. They're trying to secure their
retirement.

They're trying to be as comfortable as possible. This is the mindset
that Jesus is dealing with, and he full well knows it. That's why he
deals with money so much.

Listen, we're going to get down just a few verses, and he's going to
say, you can't serve God and mammon, God and money. And why those two
things? Why doesn't he say you can't serve God and Baal? Why does he say
you can't serve God and any? You know, you can't serve God and Allah.
You can't serve God and whatever, Ganesh.

I mean, why not those compare? Why money? Because he knows. He knows
men's hearts, and you can go into all the religions of the world, and
you can go every country in the world, and you can see it everywhere.
Men are greedy.

You know, one of the great things that we have to watch out for that
I've recognized over the years as we try to work with people, it doesn't
matter what country. It can be America. It can be Britain.

It can be any country around the world, but you start working with
professing Christians in other countries who are kind of out there at a
distance. We have run into time and time again people that are just,
they're liars. They're into it for money.

That's the reality. Brethren, we'd be crazy to get consumed with a place
that we're staying in for only a few days. That's exactly what most men
do.

There's no eternal perspective, and you know why? You know why? I mean,
men are held captive. The Bible says that the devil blinds the minds of
unbelievers. It keeps them from seeing.

Do you recognize the devil? I mean, the devil who holds men in his grip,
he's a big liar. You ever recognize that? And he tells men, you won't
surely die. You've got a long time here.

You've got tomorrow. You've got time. Look at the pride of life.

Look at the lust of the eyes. Look what's out here. Look what you can
have.

I'll worry about death later. It's way out there. It's far off.

Don't think of that. It's all going to work out in the end. Get your
best life now.

I mean, you only get to live once. Look at all you can have. There's
plenty of time.

Don't get excited about forever. What does it take to wake someone up
out of that sleep? Do you know what you find repeatedly? These men that
God has awakened from this death sleep in Scripture. And it stops them
in their tracks.

What does it take to stop a man in his tracks to say, no, I see it. It's
a lie. I'm not going to live here forever.

My time is running out very quick. Listen to how they talk. James, what
is my life? I'm a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Job, my days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle. My life is a breath.
Man born of a woman is few of days.

He comes out like a flower and withers. He flees like a shadow. The
psalmist, my days are a few hand breaths.

My days pass away like smoke. But then there's this. John says, we're
not just passing away like smoke.

He said, the world is passing away. And Peter says these words, since
all these things are to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to
be in lives of holiness and godliness? Brethren, I'll tell you what,
it's genuine faith when a person has those devilish blinders on and
they're torn away and they suddenly look up and they realize everything
is, was upside down. They suddenly, this is exactly how it was when God
brought that washing of regeneration that we read about in Titus.

When he brought that to my life, suddenly everything, Christ died.
Christ is real. Christ died.

Christ died for me. My life here is very short. Eternity is very long.

Suddenly my eyes are open to this. I've got money. I remember as a young
Christian.

Oh, I so wanted good, deep theology of salvation, soteriology. Give me
some good meat. And then John MacArthur is doing a series on the radio
on money.

And I thought, oh, not money. And then after I listened to it, I
realized, oh, how badly did I need to hear that? You see, the thing is
that to wake up, to wake ourselves up, to be awakened to this reality,
that suddenly I don't see money. It's just a way for getting the next
thing I need here for just making myself secure in my retirement.

But suddenly my eyes are open to this money actually has the ability to
procure for me riches in heaven. Jesus even calls them money bags. You
talk about almost carnal language, money bags, but that's what he calls
it.

Having this opportunity. What a great opportunity. Jim Elliott, the
American missionary to Ecuador.

These are some of his most famous words. He is no fool who gives what he
cannot keep. To gain what he cannot lose.

If ever there's a place to test what men really believe, it's right
here. Because I'll tell you, if you suddenly give somebody an eternal
perspective and they recognize, they can see with the eyes of faith.
Yes, there's a paradise to come.

There's an eternity to come. My death is imminent. It is coming fast.

It's coming like a freight train. I can't get away from this. I can't
outrun this.

I am going to die. I'm 56. My dad only had three years left when he was
my age.

My friend Bob Jennings, he had about five years left when he was my age.
I recognize we don't know if we have tomorrow. Life is very short.

It's a hand breath. It's a vapor and it's gone. Our place, I mean, you
go look where we live in just a decade or two or five and we're not
there anymore.

The seat you sit in, it's empty in the not too distant future. There's a
place that we are. There's a place we live.

There's a place we sleep. And that place is going to be empty soon. We
may move, but there's ultimately going to be a place that's not empty
and it's usually six foot under.

I was just walking over there at this church building where they've got
these gravestones right there in the entryway and I was reading about
people that died in the 1700s and you just think about their lives. They
came, they went, they're gone. Nobody remembers.

But you know what they did with their life? They had to stand before God
for how they used their money. They've had to stand before God for. He
is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

If ever there's a place to test what men really believe, it's right
there. You know what happens? True faith will throw in with Christ. Just
like Levi, Matthew, he's sitting at his tax station, very lucrative to
collect taxes for the Roman government.

And suddenly there's Christ and he said, follow me. Suddenly it's all
out there. Do I throw it all in with Christ? Am I going to commit to
him? See, that's what true faith does.

You know what? The merely religious man, he won't do that. Why? He's
always hedging his bets just in case it's not true. Don't want to throw
it all away and then it turns out in the end that I don't get anything
out of this.

And so he's just not certain enough. Deep down, he really isn't certain.
He gives something in case it's true, but the world to him is very real.

And eternity is so foggy. The Christian, he'll throw his weight entirely
on the promise of Christ. That's faith.

That's trust. That's the foundation of our Christianity. You see, that's
the big difference.

You could say, you're going to have this theoretical idea. Well, yes, I
believe Jesus Christ was real and I believe he was a savior and I
believe he died on the cross. Well, that's all great and everything, but
are you going to throw your weight in with him? Are you actually going
to get up and, you know, there are people who they have an alternative
plan.

They have an escape route. It's like, well, if this doesn't work, you
know, here's something maybe I can fall on. The true Christian, that's
not it.

Their faith is so attached to Christ, they have no backup plan. It's all
in for Christ or I perish. And to the text.

So let's look what our Lord says here. Matthew chapter six, verse 19. Do
not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy
and where thieves break in and steal.

Obviously that's the negative. Don't do that. Don't lay up for
yourselves treasures on earth.

And then we have the positive verse 20. Rather, but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys,
where thieves do not break in and steal. It seems to mean that one of
the first questions that we ought to be asking of this text is what does
it mean to lay up for yourself treasures on earth? Listen, to lay up
basically means to gather and save.

Here's one of the things. We can almost feel like it's a responsible
thing to save. We can feel like save having a savings account.

So many people don't save up. So many people are just squandering
everything. Let me tell you this.

If you don't save and you give, you give it in a way to store treasure
in heaven. That's not squandering it. That's what Jesus is saying is
there is a safe place for your money.

And there is a place that is not so safe for your money. That's exactly
what he's saying. And see, we can almost get to the place where we've,
we've kind of imbibed this mentality that saving is a good thing.

Listen, what does it mean to lay up treasure? Now I know all sorts of
questions are going, what about this? And what about that? What about
the other thing? Do you find it relatively interesting that Jesus
doesn't get into all the what ifs? He just, you think about this. He was
teaching. This is back in chapter five.

He was teaching. It says that he had the crowds and it said that the
disciples came unto him. He sat down to teach.

The disciples came unto him. Can you imagine? And he says he taught
them. He specifically was teaching the disciples, even though his voice
undoubtedly went beyond them to the whole crowds.

But can you imagine if you're Thomas? Can you imagine if you're James
and you're sitting there, you're six feet, 10 foot, 20 feet away from
him. And he's looking at you and he's saying, and this is somebody who
knows. He knows what's really important in this life.

He says, guys, don't lay up treasure here. You know, when he came to the
rich young ruler, rich young ruler, guy had lots of money. He said, what
must I do to obtain eternal life? Jesus said, keep the commandments,
which he was obviously knowing he hadn't kept.

Brethren, we've all fallen short of that standard. We're under a curse.
The law is meant to drive us to Christ.

This guy was pretty good in his own eyes. So Jesus put his finger right
on the issue. He said, you go sell all that you have and you give to the
poor.

And he said, you'll have treasure in heaven. You can follow me. Do you
think perhaps that man was made of the same stuff we are? Perhaps he had
expenses.

Perhaps he was wondering how he might feed grandma. Do you think maybe
there were needs that would come up in his life? Do you think maybe a
need for clothing, a need for food, a need for shelter, a need to take
care of his family? Isn't it interesting even there, Jesus is not
dealing with the exceptions. He just basically says, go sell it and
you'll have treasure in heaven.

The what ifs and all the questions we ask, you notice he doesn't really
care to deal with that. Well, let's look further. Saving.

To save up for yourself, it's taking what I don't immediately need. See,
it's one thing if I have an immediate need. Or you can project that
immediate need.

I recognize my car is on its last leg. I'm going to need a car. I'm
saving up for a car.

I want to buy it with cash. I don't want to pay. I don't want to buy it
through a loan and have to pay the interest.

I'd say that's pretty wise. I would say that there's places in scripture
where you could probably affirm the wisdom of such a move. But the
reality is this.

Men are constantly saving up for things that are not immediate needs.
It's somewhere out there in the future. You know how it happens.

Savings accounts, bank accounts, ISA, stocks, pensions. It can be real
estate. It can be an inheritance that you receive.

It can be your grandfather gave you some valuable old coins. It can be
antiques, valuables of some sort. And listen, what is our Lord's chief
argument against storing it up? You see it in the text.

What is it? What's the chief argument against doing it? Now listen, this
has to do with you. This has to do with your money. Do you know what I
want? Pastorally, what I would like to do is I would like to persuade
you to seek to store up as much as possible.

I want on judgment day, I desire to hear well done good and faithful
servants. I desire to pastor a people who are being sacrificial and are
seeking to increase. Because I'll tell you, this is a big faith issue.

To give is a big faith issue. Because you've got this expectation of a
city to come. And you also have to have the expectation that if you give
and then you suddenly in the future find yourself in need that the
Lord's going to be there to help you in that need.

This takes faith. There's undoubtedly. But what is our Lord's chief
argument against laying these things up? What is it? What is it? Chief
argument against it.

It won't last. You know what? You have destroyers and takers. What you
laid up for yourself, thinking to secure your future.

There are myriad of ways designed to keep you from using it. And here's
the thing that I would ask you, who's in control of the moth and the
rust and the thief? The Lord God is. Here's what's very interesting.

Jesus is saying this isn't like Jesus saying, be careful about storing
that up because like there's an enemy over there that can devour your
savings. He's basically saying, look, you don't want to save that up
because the moth, remember he's king. He's Lord.

He's sovereign. He's the ruler. He upholds this universe by the word of
his power.

You think he's in control of moth? You think he's in control of that
rust producing moisture? I remember it. That very first gun my dad gave
me, I wanted to keep that thing until I was an old man. And I had it in
my van and there was a skylight in the back of that van and it was
cracked and water came through and it rusted that gun.

I didn't even know where it is. Rust can take things away. I have a suit
at home.

You pull it out and the thing should be good, but some kind of bug ate a
line right up the back of it. Listen, what Jesus is saying here is, and
you want to get this, don't lay up for yourself. Rather lay up for
yourself.

This, listen, wisdom is to consider your best interests. And what Jesus
is saying is this, why save it up here when there's moth and there's
rust and there's thieves who can deprive you of it and I'm in control of
those things. My father's in control of those things.

In other words, you can kind of plan on him sending them if you store it
up here. But at best it's uncertain and that's what he's saying. You
don't know what can happen.

And you know what? There's not just those. There's economic collapse,
runaway inflation. There's all sorts.

And then there's death. I mean, naked you came into the world, naked
you're going out. You can keep it.

And so the whole point is this. Our Lord's chief argument here is you
laid up for yourself and you thought to secure all this and then what
happens? Well, it's gone. The proverb says, when your eyes light on
wealth, it's gone.

For suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.
Clearly our Lord is saying that anything you lay up here, it's
temporary. It's uncertain.

Don't do that. He says, rather do this. Lay up for yourself treasures in
heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break
in and steal.

You see the contrast. Anything you laid up for yourself in heaven, it's
eternal. It's not temporary and it's certain.

It's not uncertain. And you know what he says? He who is in control of
all the moth and the rust and the thieves, he said, it's going to get
guarded there. He and his father are going to make absolutely certain no
moth gets to it there.

And you see the thing is, you know how scripture speaks in Luke 19,
scripture speaks of things that are temporary when it comes to wealth as
not being yours. Things that you have forever are truly yours. Do you
recognize this? We like to say me, mine, yours, his.

You can say that's my car. You know, when we talk like that and we all,
it's right to talk that way, but we say that's my car out there. But you
know, the Lord says, that's my car out there.

The earth is the Lord's in the fullness thereof. It's all his. He says,
the silver is mine and the gold is mine, says the Lord.

And do you know, David, David said when he was giving to the temple, he
very specifically said that, Lord, you're allowing us to give from
what's yours. And that's, see, do you recognize what's happening here?
It's not ours. And the greatest indication is not yours as you can't
keep it.

And the Lord can take it away. And you don't want to be so brash as to
say, no, he can't. I had an aunt like that.

Shortly after I was saved, my aunt Peggy was talking with her and my
dad. And I was talking about giving and they were just mocking me. My
dad was laughing at me and saying that pastor's laughing all the way to
the bank.

And I was talking about, it's not ours anyway. And my aunt, oh, she got
all frustrated. She said, my money is mine.

Do you know where my aunt is now? My aunt is dead. And she was not a
godly woman. Where's her money now? You see, that's the thing.

That is exactly the thing. But what he says is, if you store it up in
heaven, you've laid up for yourself. Brethren, I'll just tell you,
wisdom, foolishness.

Think about it. Save it up here. How do you lay up treasure in heaven?
Lay it up here.

That's dangerous. That's risky. That's not wise.

And he tells you not to do it. Lay it up. How do I get it there? I got
20 pound in hand.

How do I get it to heaven? Well, listen, scripture is very, very plain.
Listen to this. Luke 12, 33, sell your possessions.

Now, this is not to the rich young ruler. This is to all of us. Sell
your possessions.

Give to the needy. Provide yourselves with money bags that do not grow
old, with the treasure in the heavens. There it is.

That does not fail. How do you do it? How do you get your money there?
Well, by giving to the needy. Where no thief approaches and no moth
destroys.

Proverbs 19, 17, whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord.
That's how you get it there. You want to get it to the Lord? Well, you
lend it to the Lord when you give to the poor.

When you sell your possessions, that's how you get the money bags there.
Now, poor. Let's just think this.

James chapter 1 says this, pure and undefiled religion before the Lord.
True and undefiled religion is basically comprised of this. Before God
the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.

And so very first place we want to go. Now listen, the hope would be
this, that we as a church can collectively give to a number of things.
That we have deacons that are watching out for the ladies in the church
that don't have husbands.

Especially the widows, those without fathers, even women that maybe have
lost husbands. There's a place for us to look out among ourselves. And
you know what scripture says, it says we're to do good to all men, but
especially those of the household of faith.

You know, one of the things you want to do, one of the ways to get your
money in glory. Listen, there's not a Christian in here that has, you
don't have a right by what is stated in scripture to be saving money for
retirement, saving money for a future you don't even know you're going
to get to if you've got widows and orphans in your church that are in
need. How could, you know what James says and you know what 1st John
says, how can you say the love of God is not there if you can see a
brother or sister in need and you just, you know, well God bless you and
I hope you're warmed and whatever.

How does the love of God even dwell in you? It doesn't. That's the
argument that's being made. So that's one way.

Listen to another way. Beloved, this is 3rd John. Now oftentimes we
don't think a whole lot about 3rd John, but there's an account in it.

Beloved, it's faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these
brothers. So you recognize what's happening. There's some brothers that
these people John's writing to have helped.

Strangers as they are who testified to your love before the church, you
will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God for
they have, here's the thing, they have gone out for the sake of the
name. In other words, they're on a mission. They're on an endeavor for
the sake of the name of Christ accepting nothing from the Gentiles.

That simply means lost people. They're not taking money from the lost.
Therefore we ought to support people like these that we may be fellow
workers for the truth.

You know what we want to find? We want to find people that are good,
godly men and women that hold the good solid doctrine who are doing
things in the world, who are doing things in the name of Christ, who are
going to serve people or who are involved in ministries as we find out
about the... Now this church already supports some. Right now we're
supporting a team that's in Lebanon. We're supporting a missionary and
his wife that are in Thailand, but their main work is Myanmar and China.

We're involved in some of these things, but oh lord help us to...
Brethren, I hope that we see just in the next few years this expand
tenfold where God is showing us places that ways that we can help those
who are going out onto the streets, who are going into prisons, who are
going to especially helping the widow and the orphans in other
countries. And then you have Paul. Paul said to the Philippians, hey you
helped me.

He said, you Philippians, from the beginning of the gospel when I left
Macedonia no church entered into partnership with me in giving and
receiving except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my
needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit
that increases to your credit.

You see what he's saying? I want you to have treasure in heaven. It's
the same thing. You have this.

Don't muzzle the ox. We should be taking care of pastors, missionaries,
those that are... I mean basically his whole argument there is those
that are rendering to you spiritual things, you should render to them
physical things. But this, brethren, this is what the scriptures teach
to us.

Jesus said this, the king will answer them. Truly I say to you is you
did it to one of the least of these my brothers. You did it to me.

When judgment day is coming, you want to know one of the ways you want
to lay up your treasure in heaven? You want Jesus to be able to say to
you, you know what, as much as you did it to one of my brothers and one
of my sisters, even the least of them, you did it to me. And I mean
basically says you give to people like that, you're lending to the Lord.
And he's going to make sure that you're paid back.

That's exactly what the Proverbs says. Brethren, treasure in heaven,
this is not a carnal thing to seek after. This is a good thing.

And to seek after this in faith, because I'll tell you it really is,
it's an outworking of our faith, our trust in him. You have to really
grasp what's happening. So listen to this.

I mentioned this, but David said, who am I? What is my people that we
should be able to thus to offer willingly? This is when he and the other
Jews are, they're making contributions for the temple that's going to be
built by his son Solomon. But he says, who are we that we should be able
thus to offer willingly for all things come from you of your own? Have
we given you now brothers and sisters, you think about this. Can you not
say, what am I after the way I lived after who I was after the things
I've done that I should be able to stand here, redeem this day.

On top of that, the Lord says here, here are some things, here's some
wealth I'm going to commit to you. And now you can use that and you can
have riches, untold riches. This is what David, who are we? Who are we
that we're even in a position to be able to offer these things and that
are his, that he's given them to us.

And then he allows us to be able to go trade with them so that we're the
ones who profit and prosper in the end. This is just absolutely amazing.
And brethren, the thing is, you just have to get the reality.

There are moths, there are thieves, they're out there. And then there's
death. Naked you came, naked you go.

That's how it is. And this, he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep
to gain what he cannot lose. But I'll tell you this, you indeed are a
fool.

And don't, make sure you don't miss this. Christians can be fools. Do
you know, one of the places, and we'll probably touch on this more in
the coming days, one of the, besides this and Matthew 6, you know one of
the greatest places you can really learn about money and just the whole
future and eternity.

And it's found in Luke 16. And you know what's very interesting there?
Our Lord makes this statement. He says, the sons of this world are more
shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

And he's talking about money. And you know what his point is? His point
is this, you've got all sorts of lost people out here. They're working,
they're working, they're working, they're making their money so they can
buy their Audi, they can buy their BMW, they can buy their Lamborghini,
they can buy a house in a nicer neighborhood.

They're doing all that. They're working so that they can go party.
Undoubtedly, the city center is full of people right now and the bars
are full down there and they're making their money so they can go in
there and they can buy drinks and they can do all they want with.

And you know what Jesus is saying? He's saying the children of this
world, when it comes to their generation, when it comes to their thing,
when it comes to achieving their ends, they're wiser. Some translations
don't use shrewd, they use wiser. They are more shrewd, they are more
wise than the sons of light.

Brethren, I hope you will not characterize that statement. You know what
that means? You know what that means? That means that the guy out there
that's living for the world and he's living for his toys and he's living
for life here, he knows how to do that a whole lot better than
Christians know how to live what they ought to be living for. That's
what he's saying.

Christians can be fools. That man is no fool. He can't keep it and he
gives it to get what he can't lose.

But that is absolutely playing the part of a fool if you keep what you
can't keep and you fail to give where it would have yielded you some
kind of everlasting fruit. Brethren, that's what's being taught here.
Brethren, I know this.

I've said it many times over the years to different Christians in
different places, but I know this. You will not get to judgment day and
say, ah, I gave too much. Nobody in that day will regret.

I mean, if you perish and all was some self-righteous act to try to
replace the death of Christ and earn heaven yourself, then yes, it'll be
a worm that gnaws you. But listen, now people have a reservation because
they come along and they say, well, okay, I'm going to buy a car.
Shouldn't I save up? I want to save up.

Don't I need money for down payment? Yep. To buy a house that
undoubtedly is true. What about my children? They're going to go to
college.

I mean, what about that? Yep. I mean, there may be a place. You have to
think about college.

Perhaps your children can work and there's nothing that scripture says
the parent has to pay for it. You say, what about leaving an
inheritance? Doesn't a good man leave an inheritance to his children?
One of the greatest inheritance that you might want to leave to your
children is a godly legacy. The truth of the Bible.

There's nothing that mandatorily says, listen, what you have to
recognize in the New Testament is there is very much a missionary
perspective on the New Testament. We have a great commission to go make
disciples of all the nations. We have a commission and Jesus, it's
really not a whole lot different than the Old Testament.

I mean, you had guys like Job, you had guys like Abraham and they used
their wealth and they used it for good things. The very perspective of
the New Testament is this. Our brethren, our time is short.

We have a lost world all around us to be light to. We are supposed to be
involved in an endeavor to make disciples of all the nations. It takes
money.

If you're going to feed a widow and orphan, it takes money. If you're
going to buy Bibles, it takes money. If you're going to buy tracts, it
takes money.

If we're going to send missionaries somewhere, I'll tell you this, one
of the desires I have is to see this church send its own missionary
forth in just the next few years, however long that takes. I'll tell you
this, sending a missionary to another country, especially if he has a
family, is an expensive endeavor. But these are the kind of things that
we need to be preparing for.

This is where you store up treasure, brethren. It is not laying out
here. Now, somebody says, you know, what about an emergency fund? What
about when I get old? What about retirement? What about insurance? What
about this? What about that? What if my health goes bad? I would just
say this, and I'm just about done here, folks, but I want to say a
couple of things.

That rich young ruler was in the exact same place that we are. He's made
it the same stuff. Jesus did not say, well, you know what I want you to
do? I want you to go sell all that you have and give to the poor, but
hold back enough for retirement, because after all, you'd be pretty
stupid not to do that.

Do you know what Jesus recognizes? He recognizes that if somebody goes
and sells all that they have and they give it, and then they come follow
him, did Jesus say, well, when times get rough, I'm going to leave you
and forsake you? Is that what he said? Yeah, you better be careful. You
give too much. Brethren, I'll tell you what scripture says.

Give and it will be given to you. Have you ever read that? Good measure.
How's it go? Press down, shaking together.

I mean, can you imagine that? Give and it will be given to you. Now, he
could have stopped right there. Isn't it amazing he doesn't stop right
there? Give and it will be given to you.

How? Good measure. Press down, shaking together, running over. Or you
got this.

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord. You heard me say that
part before, and he will repay him for his deed. Or how about this?
Isaiah 58, share your bread with the hungry, bring the homeless poor
into your house.

And then it goes on to say, you shall call and the Lord will answer. Or
there's this proverb, one gives freely, yet grows all the richer.
Another withholds what he should give and only suffers one.

Let me tell you this. You know what you better put in the equation when
you're thinking about money? You better put God in the equation. God can
make things happen that mathematics doesn't make happen.

He said, if I give, I'm out. You know what God says, if you give, you
will have more. You say, how does that work? One gives more than it
looks like he ought to, but he gets all the richer.

Wait, that doesn't make sense. And you got another guy holding on to
what he ought to give away and it only works for his poverty. How does
that work? Well, because God's in the equation.

Remember the God that controls all the laws and all the thieves? He's
involved in this and he's watching what happens. And brother, let me
tell you something. Jesus never said to that old woman who threw in her
last two coins, he never said to her, what a fool.

You know what he actually said? She's given more than all the rest. So
you might be sitting there right now and say, well, that's easy for them
to say. And you know, that guy has a good job and you know, that's that
family over there and whatever.

Uh-uh. You may not have very much, but you have the potential to put in
more than all the rest. See, you have the potential for, let me tell you
this.

You can have a wealthy person and he can give 30% of his income and it
can seem like a vast fortune. You think, wow, he's going to have all
sorts of treasure in heaven. And you have some widow over there and she
actually, what she gives is all she has.

And she's given more than all the rest. And God takes note of that. And
I'll guarantee you, don't think that you're poverty.

How should we be giving? Well, we have an offering box here. You can
give through. I'll tell you one thing.

You want to be involved. I want you all involved. I hope you all have a
real desire to see this church supporting these kinds of endeavors that
are helping the poor, the kinds of endeavors that are seeking to take
the gospel up, the kind of endeavors that are supporting missionaries.

Brethren, we need to watch out for each other. You don't have to give
through the church. I mean, hopefully we will collectively agree on
things to give to that will cause you to want to give to the church.

And if you're going to be a part of this church, we obviously have to
pay. We paid rent here. We don't own this building, but the church pays
me.

The reality is you don't have to give to the church and you can be
giving to where there's needs. And I'll tell you this, all you have to
do is ask the Lord, show me where there's needs. There's nothing wrong
with holding onto money for a season when you're just, you're wondering
what to do with it.

Oh, you've got so much coming in, Lord. I mean, one of the things is
this, I'm asking the Lord, I really desire to see this church put in a
position where we have some really significant financial situations that
we're faced with because of the spread of the gospel, because we're
helping in so many different places. I want the Lord to open these doors
where your heart is.

But brethren, this is a hard issue. I'll tell you this, you've got a
bank account and that bank account's growing. You're thinking about it
all the time.

Jesus knows it. Where your treasure is, men are always thinking, my
grandfather, he used to, he worked for Upjohns, which is now Pfizer. And
he was, you know, part of his pay or whatever kind of package he had
with them.

He received stock. I think he had stock in Upjohns. He had stock in GM.

Looking at it every day, every day, every day, paper come, there it is.
He's got the stock section. You know what, where your treasure is, your
money or your mind will be there.

There's no question about it. But if you're investing it all over in
Myanmar with those, you know what's going on in the civil war over
there. If you're investing in these things, you're investing in the
Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

If you're investing in these things, where's your mind going to be when
your mind's not going to be all hung up on these things that don't,
don't make this abstract. The heart, the heart is your thoughts. The
heart is what you're thinking about.

Your heart is going to be, that means your affections, your desires,
your thinking, they're going to, they're going to be there. And I just
ended up with this, the Lordship of Christ. Brethren, the apostle Paul
said, we, what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ is Lord.

And I'm here to proclaim to you, not myself, but this very thing, Christ
as Lord. To you who are not Christians, let me tell you this, being
saved means being saved to surrender to the Lordship of Christ. You have
to recognize this.

Jesus Christ knows what is best for us. You have to be saved from going
your own way. There is a way that seems right to man.

The end of that way is death. What we have to be saved from is going our
own way. Jesus said, follow me.

That's what we need to be saved from, going our way to going his way.
And he is indeed Lord. And those early Christians, they proclaimed him
as Lord.

And he is Lord. See, this was the whole issue with the rich young ruler.
I'm Lord.

You want eternal life? You know what? Anyone can have eternal life that
will have it on his terms. The problem is most men are wanting to
negotiate. They want it on their own terms.

Now, I'll come to you if, I'll do this if. Jesus, he is a lover of our
soul and he does not abide us to whore ourselves, which is exactly what
scripture calls it. When you fall in love with money above him, he will
not tolerate that.

He is a jealous lover and he will not have us trusting money. And he
will put his finger right there and say that money, you're a steward and
he's committed to you his things. And he tells us what to do with what
he's given to us.

Is there a place to support your family? Undoubtedly there is. Can you
go out and get ice cream and do it to the praise of the Lord? Whether
you eat or drink, do it to your glory. Has he given us richly all things
to enjoy? Doesn't scripture say that? It does.

But brethren, our time is short here and eternity is long. And he has
given you, as Lord, he has given you a tremendous opportunity with the
wealth that he has given to you. I would just say, remember that word
yourself.

Don't lay up for yourself treasures on earth, but lay up treasure for
yourself in heaven. This is very personal. This has to do with you and
your own good.

I just encourage you, don't be a fool. Don't end up being one of those
children of light who isn't as wise as the children of this world. Don't
be that.

May God loosen the strings of your heart. Just make this, I really hope
the testimony of this church is we're liberal, we're sacrificial, and
very giving and very ready to help. Lord, I pray that you'd help us.

Lord, you want to be like Levi, not like that rich young ruler. All in,
absolutely all in to follow you unto the death and then outward into
life. Lord, we don't know what the fullness of treasure in heaven looks
like, but we know you highly commended it and you spoke of it as though
it is the thing to be desired with a great desire.

And whatever it is, Lord, I pray that you would put it in the hearts of
these people to not hold their wallets tightly, their bank accounts,
their purses. Lord, please give us, give us our own missionaries. I pray
that that would be plural.

Give us opportunities. Give us open doors. Lord, give us, give us the
ability to know where some of these labors like we read about in third
John, Lord, where are they? We hear that this country isn't even sending
forth missionaries anymore.

I pray that you'd raise up, Lord, I pray that you'd raise up an army of
men and women that are such people that go, would be ready and willing
to go forth for the name, that we can help on their way, that you would
show us where the apostle Paul's are, that we can aid in the work of the
gospel. Lord, please, please give us open doors into prisons. Give us
open doors into college campuses.

Give us an open door into the neighborhood that Thomas was talking about
where the man was stabbed. Continue to give us an open door down in the
city center. Lord, we pray, give us the open doors that no man is able
to shut that allow our church to be able to be involved in all these
things, to bring in the homeless poor into our homes, to be able to
reach out to the hungry.

I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty, naked. Lord, show us. I was sick
and you came unto me.

Lord, to have sisters, to brothers that are visiting, that are going,
that some kind of hospital ministry maybe. Lord, I pray, the sky's the
limit. I pray, Lord, that you'd just, you'd fill this church full of
people with a big vision, a big, Lord, big hearts and give us big open
doors that we could go through to glorify you in our day.

Lord, help us to live in this generation and help us not, help us to be
wiser and more prudent than the sons of this world. Help us, Lord, to
really live like we believe that there is an eternity coming and they're
really our treasures and you really are on the throne and you really are
Lord and you really did speak these words to us to tell us not to store
up, lay up treasure here. Lord, please, we pray all this in the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen. You're dismissed.

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Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/thvHjQ_jyj0.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/tim-conway/lay-up-treasure-in-heaven/
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