Laying Up Treasures
The sermon emphasizes the importance of aligning our hearts with God's kingdom through our actions and intentions to lay up treasures in heaven.
Mary Wilder Tileston emphasizes the importance of laying up treasures in heaven, highlighting the connection between our treasures and our hearts as mentioned in Matthew 6:20-21. Charles Gore explains that any act, thought, or word that promotes the kingdom of God is stored up in the divine treasure-house, awaiting its eternal reward in the heavenly city. Brooke Foss Westcott encourages believers to transform the conditions in which they work into temples where they serve, recognizing that these elements are essential for building a life dedicated to God.
Text
Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, . . . for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
--MATTHEW 6:20,21
SINCE I am coming to that holy room
Where with the choir of saints forevermore
I shall be made Thy music, as I come
I tune the instrument here at the door,
And, what I must do then, think here before.
--JOHN DONNE
TO lay up treasure in heaven is to do arts which promote, or belong to, the kingdom of God; and what our Lord assures us of is that any act of our hands, any thought of our heart, any word of our lips, which promotes the divine kingdom by the ordering whether of our own life or of the world outside--all such activ.ity, though it may seem for the moment to be lost, is really stored up in the divine treasure-house; and when the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, shall at last appear, that honest effort of ours, which seemed so ineffectual, shall be found to be a brick built into that eternal and celestial fabric.
--CHARLES GORE
We cannot remove the conditions under which our work is to be done, but we can transform them. They are the elements out of which we must build the temples wherein we serve.
--BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT
Sermon Outline
- I points: - Understanding Treasures in Heaven - The Importance of Heart Alignment - Biblical Foundations
- II points: - Acts of Service and Their Eternal Value - Transforming Our Work Environment - Building the Kingdom of God
- III points: - The Role of Intentions in Our Actions - The Impact of Small Efforts - Hope in the Heavenly Reward
- IV points: - Living with an Eternal Perspective - Encouragement for Daily Faithfulness - Community and Collective Efforts
Key Quotes
“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, . . . for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“To lay up treasure in heaven is to do arts which promote, or belong to, the kingdom of God.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“We cannot remove the conditions under which our work is to be done, but we can transform them.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- Regularly reflect on your daily actions and their alignment with God's kingdom.
- Transform your work environment by viewing it as a place to serve and build for eternity.
- Encourage community efforts that promote collective service towards God's purposes.