12 Jan 13: Treasures in Heaven and/ Abraham Believed God's Promise

**Read Matthew 6:19-34 and Romans 4:18-25

I. Treasures in Heaven
- Matthew 6:19-34; We live in a materialistic world and sometimes we value money and things more than our self, family, friends, Jesus, and God.  We work a lot, sometimes 14-20 hour days so that we can provide for our family and buy the trends of the world.  We take that extra shift or two, just to have enough money for that new IPhone 5 or that BMW.  But Jesus informed us that all these material things are worthless in the eyes of God.  We spend our whole life collecting and storing money, cars, houses, gadgets, but when we die, we leave it to others.  Instead of wasting our time building our treasures here on earth, we should start investing in our treasures in heaven for these treasures are eternal. Matthew 6:33 reads; "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you".  We need to seek God first then He will bless us.  I remembered a story that my grandmother always tells us about a rich man and the pavement:

"There was a rich man who had all the gold, cars, nice houses, and everything else that money can buy. He spent all his life collecting all this treasure so he can bring all this when he dies and go to heaven.  The day came and the rich man passed away.  On his way to heaven, he was carrying sacks and sacks of gold and when he reached the gates of heaven, Peter saw him and asked what he has and why he is carrying all these.
The rich man told Peter that he wanted to bring all his gold in heaven so he can show God how successful and rich he was on earth and be impressed.  Peter then asked him how God is supposed to be impress with him and his sacks of pavements.  Peter then showed the rich man a glimpse of heaven with streets of gold.  

All the gold or money that we work hard for are just streets (pavements) that we will walk on in heaven. They do not mean anything and would not give you favor with God.  Our desire to be prosperous and live a good life far outweighs our commitment to God.   Money by itself is not evil, but it is the LOVE OF MONEY that is truly evil.  If we spend all our life trying to get rich, then what time do we have for God.
Materialism blinds us to God's truth.  We can not serve two masters: God and money.  Do you claim that God, and not money is your master?  Here's a simple test.   Are we too occupied with our jobs, trying to get rich  so we can buy that new car, new Ipad , or other material things?  Do we defend or justify excessive amounts of time thinking or worrying about money?  Do we think about making more money or are consumed with running out of it?  When we first wake up, do we think of all our money or the lack therof?  Before we go to bed, do we think of all our bills or what to buy next?  We need to start our day with a prayer, thanking God for another life, another day and the privilege of glorifying and honoring his Him.  At the end of the day, we need to pray again to God, thanking Him for everything that He has blessed us.

- Finally, we are told not to worry about our daily necessities for God will provide for us. Jesus explained that  if God provided for the birds which do not farm or work, don't you think God will provide for the same men who HE created in His own likeness.  We have been driven by the trends of the world and have been motivated to live by the wrong source.  We are suffering because we are not looking at all the necessities that God has already provided us.  Because we are greedy and we always wanted more, be richer, and live a higher standard, we focus more on always buying the newest cars, electronics, newest trend, eating at a fancier restaurant, and all the other "wants" that we have.  We need to stop living in this world and stop being driven by what other people wants us to be.  We need to start living with the Lord and be driven by the Holy Spirit with how God wants us to live.  We need to stop worrying of the future and live our life today for God has a plan and promise for us:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" - Jeremiah 29:11.

II. Abraham Believed God's Promise

- In Romans 4:18-25, Paul shares the story of how God fulfilled His promise to Abraham (Genesis 15).  God had chosen Abraham to be the father of all nations and He has promised him many many years to have child with his wife Sarah.  And  even though Abraham and Sarah were really old and past their childbearing years, Abraham never doubted the power that God has to fulfill his promise.  That promise came along when  Abraham was already 100 years old and his wife Sarah was about 90.  Sarah bore a son and named him Isaac, whom God established the covenant with. This is a great story of God's faithfulness to those who trusted in Him.  This also shows that "For God, nothing is impossible" (Luke 1:37).  We all have prayers that have gone unanswered for a day, a week, a year, 5 years, 10 years, or even 50 years but we are told to be patient and trust in the Lord our God for He will grant our hearts desires in His timing if it it His will.  God always has a plan for us and it might not be the plan that we want but God knows what is best for us.  Another promise that God has given us is our eternal life through our faith in Jesus Christ and our repentance of our sins.

"11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,[a] and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." - 1 John 5:11-16

III. Proverbs for Today/3:9-10 (NKJV)

9 Honor the LORD with your possessions,
And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
10 So your barns will be filled with plenty,
And your vats will overflow with new wine.


IV. Old Testament Readings:
Genesis 26:17-35, Genesis 27, Psalms 10:16-18

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the privilege to study your Word.  We thank you go reminding us that all the material things here on earth are worthless in your eyes.  Help us build our treasures in heaven and  help us get away from the love of money.  Open our hearts and give us the strength to finally take that step to devote our lives to you and follow your ways.  Father, we thank you for being faithful and for giving us the promise of eternal life.  Forgive us and our sins and shower us with your blessings.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.