Welcome to 721 Live, the video arm of 721 Ministries. I'm Sam Hunter. I'm glad that you're with us today. We have been talking for the last three weeks about how to bump our trajectory. We've looked out five years to see where we'll be in five years, which can be a sobering exercise. And then we drop back to say, what changes can we make now? What can we add to bump the trajectory? What can we eliminate or at least mitigate that's holding us back from bumping the trajectory so that five years from now we're not the same people. We have grown. We've grown closer to Jesus. We're more Christ-like. We're deeper into the kingdom. We have more of the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience. What are the little things we can do now to bump the trajectory? So you should go back and watch those previous three videos. And that reminds me to ask you to subscribe to these videos. Just hit that little subscribe button, then you get them as soon as they come out. So do that right now. Today we're gonna jump back into the Sermon on the Mount if you've been following us for any time We have been moving through the Sermon on the Mount at a very slow pace because it it requires a slow pace We should go slowly to mine out all the incredible gems from Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount So we spent a year on chapter 5 we spent a semester on the Lord's Prayer and now we're gonna jump back in and it's it's so interesting that as we move back into chapter 6 which Jesus starts off talking about doing your acts of righteousness, then praying, and then fasting. And in the prayer part is where we jumped over to the Lord's Prayer. But we're coming back to that. And Jesus makes this comment at Matthew 6, 19, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And he's asking us, are we storing up treasures on earth or in heaven? Because if we're storing up treasures on earth, those are the kind of things that are holding us back. And those are the kind of things we want to be aware of so that we can eliminate, mitigate, get these things out of the way so that we can keep moving forward into the kingdom. So today, we're going to talk about treasures, your treasures. Treasures that you may not realize you treasure too much and therefore they're blocking your going deeper into the kingdom. As we read last week in Hebrews 12, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. And that's what we wanna do. So I wanna start off with a really penetrating quotation from a man named Nick Freitas who's from Virginia. He's a Virginia legislator. Obviously he does other things. But let's take a look at this because it is worth taking a moment on. Live your life focused on what God says when you arrive instead of what people say when you're gone. Live your life focused on what God says when you arrive. rather instead of what people say when you're gone. Nick Freitas, as I said, is a legislator out of Virginia. He does podcasts and all, but this is, when I saw this, I had to sit down for a moment and think, whoa, he is right, and this is exactly what Jesus is saying, and that leads us into the Sermon on the Mount. Let's start at this Matthew 6, 19, where he talks about where are your treasures? Because that's where your heart will be. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, not on earth, but in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. And here comes his statement, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Is he right? Is that a fact? If you're squirming a little bit, you know it's a fact, and I know it's a fact. So what we want to be sure is our treasures are more oriented towards heaven, towards Jesus, towards pleasing our Heavenly Father, than pleasing other people or treasures that are earthbound. not heaven-bound. And that leads us into Jesus's comments right at the beginning of chapter six in the Sermon on the Mount, where he talks about acts of righteousness, praying, and fasting, and why you're doing it. Who's your audience when you're doing these things? Matthew 6, 1 through 4, I'm not going to read them all because he repeats the same thing. Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. And then he says that same thing about praying. And then he says that same thing about fasting. Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by others. If you do, you'll have no reward from your father in heaven. So my question to you is, do you do things? Are you living to be seen by others or by God? Because Jesus says, in each one of these cases, acts of righteousness, praying, fasting, if you're doing it to be seen by others, yes, that'll be your reward. You will get pats on the back. They'll say, great job. They'll puff up your ego, and you'll feel good about yourself, as long as they feel good about you. But that's, the startling statement is, that's it. You get nothing else. Your Heavenly Father doesn't respond to that. So we want to be sure that we are That our rewards are headed towards heaven and not towards this earth now I want to I just want to pause for a moment because we're gonna get to this in a little while but but If I'm not careful Some percentage of everything I do is to be seen by others, is to be patted on the back. And ladies, let me just tell you, your husbands, the men in your lives, they're just little boys and they want to be patted on the back. I can tell you that because I'm a man and we may bluster up and act all macho and grown up and masculine and all, but we really are just little boys at heart and we just want pats on the back. We just want an attaboy. And if you're, and ladies, either way, if your love language, you know there are five love languages, if your love language is words of affirmation, then this can really get out of hand and I know that because my love language, my primary love language is words of affirmation. And if you ever met my family, my parents and my sisters, you would understand why. Everybody is always encouraging and complimenting and building up the others in our family all the way through the children and the grandchildren, the cousins and all. So it's easy to see why that would be my love language. But for a long time it got out of it It was really was out of hand and I needed people to pat me on the back and tell me how great I was and tell me and when I started doing 721 ministries not just to tell me how good a businessman I was or an athlete all those years ago, but what a great speaker I am and what a great teacher I am and it was a treasure and The heaven and the Holy Spirit my Heavenly Father through the Holy Spirit made it clear to me That is too much of a treasure and it's holding you back. So let it go and What is who is the audience that you're performing for who is the audience and don't tell me that it's not at all? Others because it is in there somewhere Is your audience other people or is your audience? One person your heavenly father you seek to please him you seek his approval. He's your audience and And if that's the case, then all the rest of it's going to work out. Jesus starts us off as we return to the Sermon on the Mount with, who's your audience? Who are you doing things for? So then he goes on to say, then your father who's seen what is done in secret will reward you. Then your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Now, it's interesting this idea about rewards. They're throughout the scripture. And if you're watching this, I have a paper on it. If you email me, sam at 721ministries.org, I'll send you that paper, which goes through the vast majority of the scriptures in the Old Testament and the New Testament that promise rewards, eternal rewards. It seems a little odd that there would be such an emphasis, but it is right there. And obviously, Jesus is gonna tell us, if you're doing it for the rewards, well, that's all you get. But the fact that there is a reward system, and Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Heavenly Father, they all make it very plain to us that there is a reward system. We want to be aware of it. And we want to live our lives looking to how we will be received when we arrive versus how people will talk about us when we leave. Well done, good and faithful servant, is what I know you want to hear. We may like hearing it here on Earth, but it won't mean a thing compared to when our Heavenly Father says, come on, come on in, my son, my child, well done, good and faithful servant. But let's just take a minute and look at three passages that give us this idea of rewards. Jesus in Matthew 16, 27, for the Son of Man is going to come in His Father's glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what they have done. That's when Jesus comes back. Matthew 19, 21, Jesus is talking with the rich young ruler. And the rich young ruler, of course, comes to Jesus seeking to get patted on the back for all the good things he does and to get some assurance that he's good enough to get into heaven. Jesus gives him that startling statement because he knows that his treasure is his treasures and he says sell all your treasures sell all that and then follow me and Then you will have treasures in heaven Jesus answered if you want to be perfect go sell your possessions and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven then come follow me then you will have treasure in heaven and remember For eternity, we won't be floating around on clouds in some heaven. We'll be back on this, the new heaven and the new earth, the relational and physical paradise that God created in the beginning will be brought back. I doubt we'll be living in one garden with no clothes on. There'll be systems, there'll be governments. It'll be an incredible way to live. It'll be fantastic. And there will be a reward system in heaven. He goes on, because Peter says, wait, we sold everything, what about us? And Jesus says, and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or fathers or mothers or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. And then in Revelation 22, 12, Jesus says again, behold, I am coming soon. My reward is with me and I will give to him according to what he has done. Let me be quick to say, we're not talking about a prosperity gospel. We're talking about what the promises are that what the way we live here will matter there. Now at another time, we'll dive a little more deeply into this, but I will tell you that the primary thing that Jesus will be looking for is our trust. Because after he gives us, in Luke 18, the parable of the widow and the unjust judge, at the end he says, now look, your heavenly father will take care of you. He's not like this unjust judge. You don't need to badger him like the widow does. I'm showing you this example to tell you how much more your heavenly father loves you, he will take care of you. And then Jesus says, however, Luke 18, 8. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on this earth? Will He find people who trust Him? So there is this idea of treasures in heaven, but what would they look like? What would treasures in heaven look like? If you ask that question, and I encourage you to at your next small group, your next Sunday school class, what would treasures, because here they're clearly stated, what would they look like? Well, I can give you a couple of examples that, to me, make it very clear. And so the first example we'll do is we'll go to, we'll ask the question, what would treasures in heaven look like? And we'll go to Luke 16. Now, Luke 16 is the parable of the shrewd manager. This manager was cheating and doing a sorry job, and his boss, his owner, the boss of the company, found out and said, I'm gonna fire you. So the manager acts shrewdly, Jesus tells us in the parable, and goes and cuts deals with people who owed the boss money. And he's setting up things so that when he gets fired, he'll have friends, he'll have a way to make a living. And Jesus actually commends him. Because he acted shrewdly. Now shrewdly today sounds like sneaky or underhanded, but that's not the definition of shrewd. It's being purposeful, it's being smart. It's it's being proactive. So then Jesus makes this statement I tell you used worldly wealth to gain friends for yourself so that when it is gone You will be welcomed into eternal dwellings Use worldly wealth wisely So that when it is gone and you move into eternity, you'll be welcomed into eternal dwellings What is Jesus saying Well, he's telling us that the way we spend our money here, the way we invest in the kingdom, will follow us into eternity. Now that welcomed into eternal dwellings may certainly be our Heavenly Father saying, well done, good and faithful servant, come, enter your master's happiness. But I also think that there's a little different twist to it also. You see, when you give money to the kingdom, and it goes out across the kingdom, people's lives are affected and those people's lives are affected whom you will in all likelihood never meet will be rushing up to you if they go before you when you enter heaven saying thank you thank you thank you thank you for what you did and you'll say well i never met you who are you we don't even look alike we don't we don't we don't come from the same country and they'll say no no you don't understand you gave money and he reached my uncle and my uncle found Jesus and he led me to Jesus or you gave money and it hit me and then my mother and my father and my sisters and my brother you have no idea what God will do with your investments in the kingdom treasures laying up treasures in heaven When I was reading the Older Testament very slowly and very carefully, it was painfully obvious how many times God said, take care of the poor, take care of the widows, take care of the needy. So when the Holy Spirit convicted my heart of that, I adopted six children down in Central America and South America. Adopted meaning I send them a check, it's automatically drafted, six of them every month. I'll never meet them. But I am sure that when I get to heaven, I'm gonna be welcomed in. I don't do it for that reason, but what a joy that will be. Treasures in heaven, what do they look like? Well, here's an example. Welcome, come, good and faithful servant. And then all those whose lives have been touched by you and the way you used worldly wealth will rush up and say, thank you, thank you, thank you. Can you imagine the joy of that? There's another passage in 1 Timothy chapter six. The Holy Spirit through Paul says, command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which let's hold that thought because we're gonna come back to this in a moment, not to be arrogant or to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Verse 18, command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share, rich in good deeds and generous and willing to share and then here comes verse nineteen in this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life in this way they will lay up treasures in heaven so it's your time it's your money it's how you invest in the kingdom so if your treasures are earthbound And your heart's following that. You'll be tight with your money. You'll be stingy with your money. You won't give with joy. You won't give your time or your money with joy. But if you're seeking treasures in heaven, and you're filling up with that incredible love and compassion and grace that your Heavenly Father has for you, you'll start giving. And then when you take hold of the life that is truly life, it will be amazing. So don't miss that. I want you to know in your Heavenly Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit, all make it very clear. Please, live your life here so that it matters there. As we said at the beginning, focus on what you're going to hear when you arrive versus what people will say as you go. But now if treasures are so important and where we lay those treasures up, it's really good for us to know what treasures are earthbound, what treasures are getting in our way, what treasures are holding us back. And I have three, as we finish up this talk, I have three for us to think about. And they come from the parable of the four soils. You can find the parable of the four soils in Luke 8, you can find it in Mark 4, you can find it in Matthew 13. But when we get to the third soil, Jesus says there are a few things that are going to choke out your fruitfulness. And I think most of us will land in that third soil for the busy world we live in today. The busyness of this world lands us with that third soil. In Mark, and I've added in Luke, but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Luke 8, they are choked by life's worries, riches, and pleasures, and they do not mature. So, we have three things here. life's worries the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for for money and pleasures and then the desire for other things and we're going to look at each one of those because jesus says these choke us out remember he wants us to produce fruit fruit that will last and here he's showing us the things that are going to choke it out so let's start with life's worries what do you worry about let me say it a different way What do you not worry about? And in the men's groups, I would pick one man and I would say, Glenn, do you worry about Chris's 401k? And he would say, well, no, I don't. I said, but you do worry about somebody's 401k, don't you? And he said, of course, mine. We don't worry about the things that aren't our treasures. So it's a good place to start with what we worry about when we're seeking to find the treasures that are getting in our way, the earthbound treasures. Not the treasures that we can lay up in heaven, but the earthbound treasures. So what do you worry about? One of the men said, I worry about my time. Because if someone wants me to do something for them or with them, my first thought is, how's this gonna affect my time? And I am as guilty of that as anybody else. I like my time. And I feel like, and I'm so wrong in feeling this way, but I feel like if I give you my time, I'm giving you a part of my time that's taken away from my time. Do you hear how many times I use the word my in that little statement? It's not my time. I live to serve my Heavenly Father. But I can worry about whether this is getting in the way of my time. So what do you worry about? Clearly, we worry about things that are our treasures. You may worry about your 401k, your retirement. You may worry about your children. You may worry about your wife. You may worry about possessions. You know, these possessions that possess us. Think about what you worry about because it's very easy to understand where your idols are, things that you treasure, by the degree of anxiety you feel when they're threatened. So, right off the bat, let's identify the things we worry about. Because worrying is wrong. Worrying is not trusting. And Jesus says, do not worry. And so often he would look at his disciples so perplexed and say, what are you worried about? Why are you so afraid? It's as if he couldn't understand why we would worry. And just a little, in a couple of weeks in the Sermon on the Mount, he'll tell us, do not worry. And men will so often say, it's irresponsible not to worry. If you're a man and you're a responsible man, you worry. And I've heard them actually get a little angry with me when I point out that Jesus said, do not worry. Now what they're missing is we're not saying don't be prudent, we're not saying don't be concerned, we're not saying don't pay attention, we're just saying do not worry. So what do you worry about? The next one that we see, for the deceitfulness of wealth, riches, and pleasures. Now let me start right off with asking you this question. Do you like wealth, riches, and pleasures? Raise your hand if you like wealth, riches, and pleasures. And I did this with a man, and of course, everybody's hand went up, because we do like these things. There is nothing wrong with them, but they are deceitful. What is deceitful about wealth, riches, and pleasures? We all think that they will bring us more security, they'll bring us more happiness, they'll make life better. Well, here's the key. These things are the icing on the cake not the cake if Jesus is the cake and These things are just the icing on the cake. You have a much better chance of having your life in balance and harmony but if they're the if they're the cake and Jesus is not Then you're just going to try to pile icing and icing on top icing and you'll never have that balance so the deceitfulness of wealth riches and pleasures and again in first Timothy 6 and for the love of money. Not money, but the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. And everyone knows that passage, but most people have not followed the second passage that follows it up. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Can I get an amen on that? But the love of money is the real problem. So the deceitfulness of wealth and riches and pleasures, they won't bring happiness. They won't bring joy. They certainly won't produce fruit that will last. And as we chase after them we pierce ourselves with many griefs So the deceitfulness of wealth riches and pleasures. I like it. I like wealth riches and pleasures as much as anybody else But they have to be on the icing of the cake. Jesus has to be the cake I want to live my life knowing that he's all I need and the rest of it. Yes That's where the saying comes from. It's just icing on the cake now the third Desire for other things This is what I think really sticks with most of us the desire for other things now I want you to think about the Garden of Eden Because Satan did something there that he's been doing to all of us ever since Adam and Eve God told him not to eat from the tree of Good and evil knowledge of good and evil. Well, where was that tree planted? Genesis 2 9 The Lord made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground, trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. All these trees, imagine this, and in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So we've got this huge garden full of trees that are beautiful, pleasing to the eye, and delicious to eat the fruit from. A garden filled with them and in the center is this tree that they're not supposed to eat from Adam and Eve had to navigate they had to walk through all of this beauty all of this paradise to get to the one thing that they didn't have and That's where they're but that's what Satan did to them. He got them to focus on the lack and not the overwhelming the overwhelming paradise that God had made for them. And that's what he does to us. He gets us to think about the things that we don't have. The things that we don't have, we have so many things. And if we would just stop and realize, my gosh, he has blessed me with so many, look at my children, look at my family, look at my health, look at my life, look at how he has blessed me. Don't focus on other things. And that's one of those things that will choke our fruitfulness out, that will hold us back. That is a treasure on this earth that is going nowhere, the desires for other things. So I have two questions for you. How would you answer if you were honest and transparent? If only I could have, fill in the blank, I'd be happy. When I get there, fill in the blank, I'll be happy. If only I could have. Tell me, and just pause and think deeply, and really, when I do these talks and these videos, I can only present this to you. If you don't ask the Holy Spirit to help you look inside and be self-aware and transparent, then you're really wasting your time. So be real about this. If I could only have, how does that sneak in, that desire for other things? If I could only have five million dollars in the bank, If I could only have that better car, or that bigger house, that house down the street, or that second home, or that boat, or that shotgun, or that golf club, or if I could only be in that particular club, if I could have that hunting farm, you can see that most of these are for men. Ladies, you'll have to help yourselves on that. If I could only have, if I could only have, if I could only have, I'd be happy. And we fool ourselves into thinking that that is the deceitfulness of wealth. If I could only have, I'd be happy. And you know, it's so interesting in 2 Samuel when David gets with Bathsheba, and Nathan the prophet comes to David and says, God has sent me to you. And he said, I gave you all of Solomon's, I mean, I gave you all of Saul's paradise. I gave you all of his kingdom, everything he has. I gave you the whole land of Israel. I gave you everything you could possibly want. And then he makes this piercing statement. If that hadn't have been enough, I'd have given you more. Why did you sin against me and despise me in the way you acted? If that hadn't been enough, I would have given you more. If only I could have, then I'd be happy. When I get there, When I get there, when I retire, when my children get out of college, when my children go to college, when my children get married, when I get there, when I arrive, are you thinking that way? Because as we started this series four weeks ago, I asked you to reach out for five years to see where you would be in five years, I'll be 72. My wife and I will in all likelihood be living predominantly in Charleston. As I walk down the battery in Charleston with the water right there, the harbor right in front, early morning beautiful, sunset beautiful, I think to myself, I'll be able to do this every day in five years. I won't be retired, I just will be spending more time, much more time in Charleston. But if I'm not careful, I'm gonna run through the next five years and not enjoy if I have five more years not enjoy every Second when I get there, I'll be happy and Jesus says that is choking it out That is choking out the life that is truly life that is choking out the life to the full Jesus gives the season the power of the four souls that third soil is gonna catch all of us if we're not careful So I want to finish with this And I call this Jesus Plus. Jesus Plus. And it goes along with the desire for other things. It goes along with all these things that Jesus says, that third soil, those of us who are gonna let these things choke us out. Hopefully, you have learned that Jesus is everything. that without Jesus, you will never have the life to the full. Without Jesus, you will never have a life of harmony and balance. Without Jesus, you'll never experience the fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Without Jesus, and so you say, yes, I know, I have to have Jesus in my life. I want Jesus in my life. I have to have him. But I also have to have the plus. Yes, Jesus is important. But I need the plus along with it. I need the treasures that go along with it. Jesus plus. Ask yourself, what is the plus in your life? And your Heavenly Father, who loves you perfectly, wants you to know that Jesus is all you need. Now he'll lavish you with other things, the things that are just right for you. Not prosperity gospel, the things that are just right for you. He's a lavishing God. But Jesus is all you need. And if you're stuck in this world of Jesus Plus, if you're stuck in this world of the deceitfulness of wealth and riches, if you're stuck in this world about life's worries, if you're stuck in this earthbound treasures of desiring other things, your Heavenly Father, who loves you perfectly, may, He may feel as though, I have to take all those things away so that this person I love Can really start to live life to the full by understanding that jesus is all they need when jesus is all you have Then you really understand he's all you need Jesus is all I need I like the other things. I'll I enjoy him. I don't want him to go away But I do know that there is no plus. It's just jesus So today, we have sought to find the treasures in our life that we treasure too much and are holding us back, choking out that fruitful life that Jesus wants us to have. Will you take the time to examine what may be too much of a treasure in your life, and therefore it's holding you back? Because, because, because there's more. You know it. Come, follow Jesus, and find it.