The Treasures of the Kingdom

In 1885, a New York reporter wrote that Saint Paul Minnesota was, “another Siberia, unfit for human habitation” in winter. Upon reading this, the Saint Paul chamber of Commerce were offended by this accusation, which is weird, because it’s true...! But in response, they decided to prove that not only was Saint Paul a perfectly habitable place, but its citizens thrived during winter. How? By launching the Saint Paul Winter Carnival in February of 1886.

The event started small, with bobsledding, ice horse-racing, and the crowning of King Boreas the First, who would live in, of course, a majestic ice castle. The castle was 106 feet high. It consisted of 35,000 blocks of ice! And in grand total, the cost to construct it was $5,000! Which was a bit of a pretty penny back in 1886.

The event began small, but continued yearly, drawing in visitors from all over the world, becoming the massive event that it is today. How massive? QUITE MASSIVE! For instance, in 1992, the event costed 1.1 MILLION dollars, with an Ice Castle that stood 7 stories high! Consisting of blocks that weighed over 500 pounds each! And this did all that without Disney’s Elsa! The ice palace chairmen, Dan Stolz, had this to say about it: “This is about Minnesota proud!” “This is just a phenomenal day that we’ve been talking about for so long!”

And truly it was a phenomenal day! With so much time, energy, and resources coming together to build a truly beautiful and magnificent structure for all to marvel at!

However, as wonderful as it was, eventually, every ice palace faces it’s doom, as it inevitably melts into nothing. All of that work, gone. All of the money spent, evaporated. All of the beauty, majesty, and wonder of the ice castle is laid to waste, as the sun’s heat melts it into nothing but puddles.

James 4:14 (ESV) What is your life? For you are a mist (a vapor) that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus warns us to not spend our lives living for things that melt! It is completely pointless! For the cold, harsh reality is that everything under sun melts. Everything in this world doesn’t last. All of our dreams and accomplishments are but a mist that appears for a moment and then it’s gone! And so to spend our lives constructing ice castles is gigantic waste of time, considering it’s vapor-like lifespan!

The author of Ecclesiastes puts it this way:

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Ecclesiastes 1:14 NIV

King Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes, came to experience everything this world had to offer He was so rich that he’d make Amazon’s Jeff Bezos look like beggar! Bezos is currently the richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of 177 billion dollars. However, at the peak of Solomon’s empire, by today’s standards in terms of how much gold he had, Solomon was worth roughly 2.2 TRILLION dollars!

Solomon was both rich and powerful. He experienced all the joys this world has to offer! He had massive gardens, He had his own personal extravagant zoo! And when it came to all of his other hobbies, if he wanted it, he had it! When it came to romance, he Had 700 wives and 300 concubines! And at the end of his life, do you know what realized? It was all ice! “Vanity, Vanity, ALL is vanity!” he wrote.

And at the end of the book of proverbs, the great, great, great, great, grandfather of Jesus wrote this:

However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. But let them remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.

Ecclesiastes 11:8-10 NIV

Do you see what King Solomon is saying? Don’t live for ice castles! They don’t last! Yes, they look marvelous, Yes, they look majestic, Yes, they are quite impressive! BUT THEY DON’T LAST! And therefore, they are meaningless.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus expands upon what King Solomon touches upon, which is this: There is a castle we can invest in which never melts away! There is a type of treasure that lasts and does not decay! For it is a treasure from an eternal kingdom.

And so, if we are wise, we will invest not in the kingdom of this world - which is ice, but the kingdom of God which is more like diamond.

Well, how do we do that? Well that’s a good question, I’m glad you asked it, because that’s actually the question our text is answering for us this morning. So if you have your Bible, turn with me to Matthew chapter 6, where we will see how we can know if we are kingdom seekers.

And here’s our outline for this morning: Kingdom seekers have right:

1. Treasures
2. Troubles
3. Trusts

1. Treasures

¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21 ESV

And also in verse 24:

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Matthew 6:24 ESV

Jesus is being pretty straight forward here. He’s saying that what we treasure indicates what we are living for. Do you see in verses 22 and 23 where Jesus is talking about the eye being the lamp of the body? Well what’s He saying here? I’ll tell you what He’s saying - He’s saying this. In the Bible, the heart isn’t the emotions. It’s not our feelings. In the Bible, the heart is a metaphor for the WHOLE person. The mind, the motions, the soul - all of it. It’s the whole person. And as James says, out of an abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Which means, that what is in the heart is revealed by the outward actions of the body.

And so with this idea in mind, let’s try to unpack verses 22-23. These verses are a little bit difficult to explain, because at first glance, it’s like, “OK, what?” “The eyes are the lamp of the body?” “If our eyes are healthy, our bodies are full of light?” What’s Jesus talking about here? Is this fortune cookie stuff? Is He saying: “Ya’ll better eat your carrots if you wanna see good"?

No. Here is what I think Jesus is saying: The eye brings light into it, which allows the body to see and move about in the physical world. And if our eyes are healthy, and working properly, we can do just that just fine. However, what if our eyes are unhealthy? What if they don’t work? Well, duh, that’s obvious - we can’t see, And if we can’t see, then it doesn’t matter even if the rest of our body is the sun, we still are gonna stumble about without a clue of where we are going.

Now look at the last part of verse 23, which says: “If then the light within you is darkness, how great that darkness!”

Alright, now stick with me here. Let’s go back to the Bible’s heart metaphor and try and put this all together. If my heart is full of darkness then this means I am going to live my life for the ice castle. I’m gonna obsess about all of the stuff in this world, stuff made of ice. That stuff is my heart’s desire! OK? And if my heart’s desire is for things that melt, then guess what, Then it is like I’m living as if I was blind!

And this is tragic reality that Jesus is warning us against. See, so many people have been exposed to the light of the gospel, but it’s never really penetrated into their heart of hearts. And a lot of these people think it has, but it hasn’t. Not really. And how do we know that? Because they are still wandering about this world as if they were blind to the truth that it’s a world that is melting away. Yes, intellectually they understand this, but it doesn’t effect them. They can’t stop living for and obsessing over it. And why? Because the things of this world are what their hearts treasure, not the things of the world to come.

However, as Jesus points out, if the light of the gospel has penetrated my heart, then it radically shapes the way I see the world, which allows me to move about in it rightly.

Now, perhaps you noticed that I only gave you two options here, and you’re thinking: “you can’t make it either or like that!” OK, that’s fair - your’e right I can’t. But Jesus can, and that’s exactly what He does. Look at verse 24:

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Matthew 6:24 ESV

Alright, so there you have it - it is either or. So how do we know if we are living for the either, or for the or? How do we know which one we are living for? Well for that, you’ll have to do some cardiological reflection.

When I was a kid, sometimes we’d make some pretty baller snow forts. And I remember when it would start getting warmer we’d try to keep the fort together by reinforcing walls with snow, or closing off one of the tunnels to help keep the structure intact - stuff like that. But at a certain point, it became a lost cause, and we gave up on it, and knew we’d have to wait for next year. And even though we did make some pretty neat forts, we weren’t all depressed about it. And why not? Because we knew the thing was temporary. We knew it wasn’t going to last.

So how about you? When that career or dream job you landed melts away, does it crush you? When your health takes a turn for the worst, are you defeated? Or do you respond as if you really do believe that this life is not our true life. That it’s just a seed that will one day sprout into the eternal life we were always meant for? Do you get the idea here? A good way to see if something in your life is your master, or your god, is to see how you respond when it’s taken away from you, or even when something threatens to take it away from you.

The last part of verse 24 gives us another spiritual Cardiovascular Exam, and there’s no simple way to put this, it has to do with your wallet. How do you manage your finances. How do you think about your finances? Do you see your money as a means of having your best life now? And I hate to break it to you, but if you think simply checking the 10% box on your giving means that money isn’t your God, then I’m sorry to tell you that’s not necessarily the case. Don’t get me wrong, giving 10% of your income is certainly an excellent starting point for your giving. There’s a lot of wisdom behind that principle, but it’s a principle, a helpful suggestion to get you started - it’s not a law. And so here’s the reality. No where in the Bible does it tell Christians that checking the 10% box means God is your God, and not money. It doesn’t work that way. For whether we tithe 10% or 90% of our income, we scary truth is money can still be our idol no matter the percentage. And this is the case because in our hearts we can say: “OK God, I gave you what you asked for, I did my part - now leave me alone with the rest - that’s mine to do with what I want!” And so money is still our God, no God.

⁷ Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7 ESV

When preachers start talking about money in church, do you know what we instinctively do? We think: “Oh this doesn’t really apply to me.” And it’s usually because we can think of people who have a whole lot more money than we do. “I”m not rich! These people over there are rich! Have you seen their car or their house?” Well, except for here’s the thing about that. Every single one of us in this room is ridiculously rich by comparison with everyone else who’s ever lived. I mean, you don’t even have to look back through human history, you can just look around at many parts of the world. The reality is, as Americans living in this time in history, we are all little kings and queens! And so the question is: What are you doing with your kingly wealth? Is it all about you and your personal comfort? Or are you using it for the Kingdom that is coming?

And do you wanna know one of the best indicators for whether or not you’re doing that? Does your giving effect your lifestyle? Are there luxurious you go without, because you realize they are ice, and you’d rather invest in diamonds!? And, when you give, do you do you it cheerfully? Do you find joy in it? Or... do you give reluctantly, your bare minimum so you can check the box? If so, then hear Jesus’s warning

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Matthew 6:24 ESV

In 1922, just 4 years after the end of World War 1, Germany’s once thriving economy was in shambles after the allies had instituted strict reparations upon the German people. And so in response the German government came up with a brilliant plan. They started printing off money to pay back the money they owed... And… surprise, surprise, it didn’t work... Anyone else getting some Dejavu right now? It sent the German economy into hyper inflation, to the point that the German currency basically became kindling for the fire place. That’s basically at it was good for.

Now imagine being someone who had worked your whole life in Germany, accumulating the German currency, and then BOOM, nearly overnight your money was worthless! You’d be devastated!

Now let me ask you a question: If you were a German living at this time, and you somehow knew before-hand that this was going to happen, would you still spend all of your time and energy accumulating the German currency? Of course not! What would you do instead? You’d spend it trading your German currency in for one that would last.

¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:19-20 ESV

Church, we have guaranteed insider information that the currency of this world is about to become fire kindling - literally - And we have a limited opportunity to trade it in for a heavenly currency that will never rust, decay, or be stolen. Yet how often do we forget this? How often do we go around like Smeagal - or Golem from Lord of the Rings, gripping onto the melting things of this world because they are “our precious”? How often we are like Demas, who deserted Paul because he loved the things of this world, when we should love things of the world to come, and to use our temporary possessions to accumulate treasures which will never fade.

¹⁷ Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor 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. ¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. ¹⁹ 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.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV

Kingdom seekers have right:

2. Troubles

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Matthew 6:25-27 ESV

In Greek mythology, there is a story about a guy named Sisyphus who upset the gods, and so he was punished by being forced to roll a boulder up a hill for all of eternity. However, the second he would get the bolder to the top of the hill, it would immediately roll back down to the bottom, and he would have to start the pointless process over all over again. It was a huge waste of time and energy. It didn’t accomplish ANYTHING... other than tire him out. Church this is us and our worry. Not only do we accomplish nothing pushing the boulder of worry up the hill over and over, but it only serves to tire and stress out! And so why worry and stress about things beyond our control? Why worry about things we cannot change?

¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:16 NIV

Do you see what the Psalmist is saying? He’s saying the same thing Jesus is saying in verse 27, which is that worry is wasting our time and energy on things that our beyond our control! For every one of our days is written in God’s book, well before they came to be! Look, I’m not saying you should go play in traffic, but Jesus’s point is clear here, the child of God is 100% invisible until the day of their death! Which means, you aren’t going to to die a day before God ordained you to, so what’s the point in worrying about it? What’s the point is clinging to the things of this world, because hey, “WHAT IF!?!” You never know when ya might need it! How often are we like the foolish rich man in Luke 12, who tore down his barns to build bigger barns in order to store his many crops. In which God said

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:20-21 NIV

Church, the things of this world are melting away like snow in the spring. And so why futility fret and stress over them as they melt in our hands? Why not trade these melting treasures in in for the everlasting treasures of the world to come? Why not trade our troubles in for a trust in the God who endured our greatest trouble? Which leads us to our final point:

Kingdom seekers have right:

3. Trusts

Not only does God feed us as verse 26 points out Not only does God clothe us as verses 28-30 points out But God is our loving and caring heavenly Father, as verse 32 points out. Which means that our greatest trouble of all has been vanquished!

On the night before Jesus died, He went to a garden to pray. Why? Because He looked and saw the great trouble that laid before Him, and He trembled. And the trouble He saw was the wrath of God, poured out in full, upon Him.

On the cross, the sin of the entire world was nailed to Christ, who then suffered the full force of God’s divine wrath and fury! Why? Because it was the punishment you and I deserved! It was the price for sin that we could never pay! And yet Christ, the only would who could ever pay it, did not deserve it, but suffered it for us, so that we might be called the sons of God. And so as God’s Children, why worry about a thing? Why not trust our heavenly Father, who through Christ provided a way for our greatest trouble to be our greatest triumph! For our greatest trouble - the wrath of God - no longer remains upon us!

And so what a marvelous reason we have to trade the melting treasures of this world, for the everlasting treasures of world to come! What a reason we have to trade our troubles for Christ’s triumph! And what a marvelous reason we have, to trust our heavenly Father who spared not His one only Son for us!

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Romans 8:31-32 NIV

May we as a church live with our eyes fixed upon the kingdom of God, trusting that all we need has been given to us in Christ Jesus

This is the manuscript the sermon was preached from, so the recording may differ in places.