For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.
31 sermons cite this verse
… where thieves don't break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If you are not a giver, and you're waiting for a day to emotionally be compelled to be a giver or a tither, that day is not coming. For where you invest, there your heart follows. If you want to feel the joy of being a giver, you have to give. It's not going to just come and then you give. We just choose to become kingdom investors. Every second of every day, we have a choice to either spend the time, the resource, the money, or invest it in things that matter to the heart of God. And I just want to get practical. I want to just tell you some stories of people that are dear to me and how the way they think about kingdom investment, it just inspires me and makes me as a giver. And the first, honestly, is Pastor Craig and Amy. I, as he mentioned, we've been friends for 25 years now, gotten to partner in ministry for 23. And every year on January the 1st, around five in the morning, Pastor Craig gives his largest offering of the year. Many of us give at the end of the year, get a tax deduction for that, which is perfectly fine. Craig just does it differently. The first day of the year, before the sun even comes up, God gets my best. That inspires me. My oldest and youngest son, they own an electrical services company together, and they're …
… and his best for your life is that you will live a blessed life somebody say it one more time blessed life look at it I love this scripture Matthew 6 21 it says for where your treasure is not where you promise it'll be not not where you're saying that it will be once you get enough money where your treasure is right now there your heart will be also this is one of those crazy things that people be like, I love God. You don't love God? What's wrong with you? But then anytime it comes to giving their time, their treasure, their talent, they have an excuse. And I know some of y'all, everybody, do y'all know this, that everybody excuse makes sense to them. things that happened on the 1st. So because it happened on the 1st, what I was doing was back dating it to the 15th. And on the 15th, I messed up. So you understand what I'm saying? It was my birthday weekend. So then I did this and I did. And everybody's excuse makes sense to them. …
… if you would, please. Would you pray about giving to our ministry? You know, giving of our finances is a very spiritual thing. You know, Jesus said, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. If you want to see where a person's priorities are, look at where they spend their money. And when we invest in the work of the kingdom of God, we're laying up for ourself treasure in heaven. So we have this really cool program we put together called Harvest Partners. And what it means is these are folks that simply not only give to our ministry, but they give on a monthly basis so we can depend on their gifts. And that helps us to respond to new opportunities to bring the Word of God and to preach the life-changing message of the gospel. So pray about that, if you would. Keep praying for us. And if the Lord directs you, become a Harvest Partner as well. And in advance, let me say, thank you so much.
… Let your heart be enamored with the sunrise of his grace and love and peace. Matthew 6, 21 says, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Is your treasure in the things that you have here on earth? or is your treasure in heaven? Because wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And that's something that is a reason for why we love and celebrate generosity and tithing and giving. And the hilarious thing that it is that God would allow us to get to give of the finances that he's given us for his glory, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If our treasure is truly in heaven, our heart is gonna be connected and it keeps us even more connected. Psalm 84, five, blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. We're just passing through, we're passing through. And at the same time, we are doing what God has called us to do in the time that we have. …
… Matthew chapter six, 21, Jesus said this. Jesus said, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If our treasure is in this world and the things of this world, our heart will be there as well. If we send our treasures to heaven, our heart drifts toward the things of God. Jesus said this, Matthew six, 24. No one can serve two masters. Either you'll hate the one and love the other or you'll be devoted to one and despise the other. And he says very directly, you cannot serve both God and money. He could have said you can't serve God in a lot of things, could have been there, but he actually chose money. And why was he focusing on money? Why should we not serve money? Because money is a false God. Money, when you think about it, money promises what only God can provide. Think about it. What does culture teach you? Well, if you have enough money, you'll be secure. If you have enough money, you'll be happy. …
… Honestly, giving is all about the heart. Let me prove it to you. Matthew 6 verse 21. It says for where your treasure is. Not where you promised it'll be, not where you would like it to be, where your treasure, everybody say it, is. There your heart will be also. Your treasure is a tracking device to your heart. Wherever you put your money, your heart will be there. And I know a lot of people they're like no no no no no I love God I really everything about show me your bank account because the bible doesn't say where you where you hope where you one day would would project that it says where your treasure is your your heart follows your treasure and i didn't say it don't be mad at me this is jesus if you search your bible this is in red okay i just want everybody This wasn't an apostle or a minor prophet or major prophet. This was Jesus who said this. …
Jesus says, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Most of us assume this is what missionaries do, so it'll select few people who leave here to move to another country, which leads to a second data point that one out of 42,000 Protestant Christians goes as a missionary to red zones. Oddly enough, that's about .002% of us. So this is the church's strategy today for how we're going to get the gospel to all the nations. And if we're being honest, it actually looks like Satan's strategy for keeping the gospel from all the nations. And we've adopted it. And as a church, we need to repent. We need to turn from an approach to the Great Commission that is woefully inadequate and practically absurd. And think about it, surely what we don't need to do is just double down on this strategy, or triple it, or quadruple it. So now our strategy is .008% of us going. And we give .008% of our money. …
… thing, if you would, please. Would you pray about giving to our ministry? You know, giving of our finances is a very spiritual thing. You know, Jesus said, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. If you want to see where a person's priorities are, look at where they spend their money. And when we invest in the work of the kingdom of God, we're laying up for ourself treasure in heaven. So we have this really cool program we put together called Harvest Partners. And what it means is these are folks that simply not only give to our ministry, but they give on a monthly basis so we can depend on their gifts. And that helps us to respond to new opportunities to bring the Word of God and to preach the life-changing message of the gospel. So pray about that, if you would. Keep praying for us. And if the Lord directs you, become a Harvest Partner as well. And in advance, let me say thank you so much.
… that believes in what we are doing. They believe in it enough to invest in it. You know, Jesus said, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. If you want to know what a person's priorities are. Just look at how they spend their money. So I think when a Christian invests in the kingdom, and by that I mean when they give at their church and they tithe, and every Christian should do that, by the way, or they have ministries that bless them like A New Beginning and others, and they bring an offering to that ministry, that says something about that person. And here's the thing that people don't often realize. When you give financially to the work of the kingdom, you are laying up for yourself treasures in heaven. Jesus said, lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth or rust can corrupt nor thieves break in and steal for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. So do your giving while you're living, then you're knowing where it's going. So we have a program called Harvest Partners, and these are simply folks that have committed to give to us on a regular basis, on a monthly basis, and thus we can depend on those gifts. Now, you maybe only can give a little. It matters. …
That's called tithing. The Bible says, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Do you want to get a heart for Microsoft? You want to get interested in Microsoft? I'll tell you how to do it. Buy some stock. the moment you buy some Microsoft stock all of a sudden you're going to get really interested in that company and you're going to read articles about it that you never read before now if you don't own stock in Microsoft you couldn't care less about that company but where your treasure is, your heart will beat you want to get interested in Sony Corporation? buy some stock in Sony the moment you buy stock in it you're going to get real interested in it why? because the principle of life is wherever you put your money, that's where your interest goes Now here's the question. Where is your heart? Well, it's wherever you're putting your money. Your heart, your treasure may be in your boat. Your treasure may be in your motorcycle. …
… I wonder if we've all had our wallet baptized. Jesus said, Where your wallet is, there will your heart be also. Well, he didn't actually say that, but he did. In another way, he says, Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. So when you invite Christ into your life, you open your heart, you open your home, you open your resources, you open your future, you open everything up to him and say, Lord, I'm glad to have you in here. Tell me what you want me to do and where you want me to go. That's right. Well, the devil is not happy when he loses a convert. So here's the devil now with his counter attack. Acts 16 verse 16. As we went to prayer, a certain slave girl possessed with the spirit of divination who brought her master's much profit started following us. So this demon-possessed woman now starts following the apostles. She was shouting, these men are servants of the Most High and have come to tell you how to be saved. …
… God I've placed inside of you. Because when you do that, you begin to form my heart in you. And church, again, giving is all about the heart. Look what Matthew 6 21 says, because a lot of people don't realize they say this in passing, but there is so much power in this verse right here. It says for where your treasure is there, your heart will be also. Let me break that down. Your heart follows your treasure. Your treasure does not follow your heart. So a lot of people would be like, you know, if I really love it, I'll give to it lies. If you give to it, you'll really love it. I'll prove it to you. Some of you, like there's a heart string connected from your heart to your wallet. Because as soon as God asks you to give something that hurts, you start moving. Let me prove it to you. You put money in a stock. And you didn't check on that stock or that investment ever before. …
… to happen one day. Throughout this passage is a reminder of why we shouldn't put our hope and build our affection around riches. Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 through 21, Jesus said, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Could I ask you, where is your treasure today? What is it you really value? If it's here on earth, remember, it's all going to either be destroyed or left behind when you die. But if your treasure is in heaven, nothing will ever destroy it for all eternity. verse 20 the acclamation finally of praise over Babylon God says in verse 20 rejoice over her oh heavens and you saints and apostles and prophets that is all believers because God has pronounced judgment for you against her Babylon is the system that oppressed people but especially Christians and that's why Christians can rejoice when God's justice is executed look at this verse 21. Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea saying, so will Babylon, the great city be thrown down with violence and will not be found any longer. …
… you through giving are enriched in every way which includes being enriched in your love for Jesus through giving God enriches you even in that that's what Jesus said in Matthew 6 21 right where your treasure is there your heart will be also what he means is wherever you put your time your talent your treasure your heart's going to follow so where do you want your heart to be Where do you want it to be? Put your time and treasure there and your heart will follow. If you don't love missions and you want to, go on a short-term trip and you will learn to love it. If you wanna love heaven more, if you wanna love Jesus's mission more, give sacrificially and watch how he enriches you in every way and transforms your heart. The Holy Spirit uses your obedience and giving as a means of pouring grace out in your heart so that you are enriched in every way. which brings me to this card that we've talked about now for several weeks. …
… Because the Bible says, where your Instagram is, there will your heart be also. Actually, the Bible doesn't say that. But it says, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. But I can find out a lot by you. In fact, now employers will look at the social media of a potential hire. They go, oh, this is a red flag, or this is a problem, or this person is really obsessed with cats, or whatever it is that you post about the most. But that's where our passion is going to be revealed. And here's the problem. We can be distracted by secondary things. They're not bad things in and of themselves. They're just not the main thing. Because as I said before, the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. And people, the main thing is Jesus Christ. That's where our passion needs to be. Well, the devil hates evangelism. The devil hates the church. The devil hates followers of Jesus. …
… Then Jesus adds this, and where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Only on earth can I suffer and endure trials and draw closer to God. Only on earth can I suffer and endure trials and draw closer to God. You might say, well, I think I'll pass on that. Hold on now, buckaroo. There are some great things that happen when we come through times of testing. You know, the Apostle Paul talked about a thorn in the flesh. A messenger of Satan sent to buffet him, he said, to punch him, to hit him. What does this even mean? What was this thorn in the flesh? No one knows. It's interesting. Paul could have identified it. He had a lot of thorns in the flesh. He had people always criticizing him, telling lies about him. Maybe that was this thorn in the flesh. He had maybe a physical problem. I mean, after all, this guy's been shipwrecked. He's been beaten with rods. He's faced all kinds of physical persecution. …
… But, Jesus says, I recommend that you store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there is your heart also. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Jesus is saying, hey, here's an idea. Don't just put all your stuff in an earthly account. Put your treasures in a heavenly account. In other words, what he's saying to us is, open a heavenly depository and start moving stuff to it. open up a heavenly depository and start moving stuff that way store up for yourselves here's key phrase we're going to come back to because god doesn't need our money god doesn't need our possessions god doesn't need our stuff he's saying this is i'm recommending for you to store up for yourselves our motivation and being generous isn't so we can store up stuff for ourselves He's just wanting us to understand. In 107 verse sermon, he's giving a lot of real estate to helping us understand the kingdom economy of God. …
… that we suddenly forget about God in something like our finances when Jesus said where your treasure is there will your heart be also Lord have mercy you gotta guard yourself against greed, brothers and sisters. Your net worth should be greater than your asset sheet and your investment portfolio and your accounts and your property and your jewelry and your wardrobe and your vehicles and your businesses because your ultimate worth is in God. Yeah. Yeah. You gotta refuse self-reliance. You gotta make certain that you fight against racism. yeah you need God to win that fight we've been fighting this fight so long there's only one way we're going to win this fight and that's with God because policy is not going to do it the changing of laws is not going to do it you know what's going to be required for things to change regarding racism in America changed hearts if there's no change on the inside of people i don't care how good a people they claim to be that cancer inside of them called racism is gonna raise its ugly head every single time because it safeguards their place and space in society lord have mercy i don't mean to take too much time here but I need to make sure that I challenge you about making sure that you are making your memory work as refusal. Are you listening? And here's the ultimate thing especially for people of color people that have been in bondage before a part of this refusal means that you refuse to return to bondage. …
… Matthew 6 says, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We often think that our heart leads our investment, but Jesus says the opposite. Our heart follows what you and I invest in. That's the greatest gift my parents gave me, a love for this church. Because I was in here no matter what. Rain, sleet, or shine, I was here. I was here in the mix. The church was not even an option. And I know that's a lot of kids here, students here, that's you. Church is not an option. Grow to love this place. That's what my parents did for me. They unlocked the keys in my life to now I'm investing into this place. So we've got to choose your foundation. We've got to build on the foundation. And once that house is built, we've got to open our house to so many people. My parents, growing up, countless dinners, we had people who were far away from God at our dinner table. …
… They have their reward. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. You cannot serve God and mammon. O ye of little faith, do not judge lest you be judged. Well, today we're going to examine three other well-known penetrating statements. Casting pearls before swine. Ask, seek, and knock. and a third that's known as the golden rule. We're going to discover the importance of using the power we hold to communicate true words, prayer, and our deeds to make Jesus Christ known to those who will listen. To guide us through these sayings that are so powerful, let's open the Word of God to Matthew chapter 7 and listen along as I read verses 6 through 12. I'll be reading again from the New Living Translation. This passage from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount forms the basis, the foundation, for everything we learn today. So listen carefully to Matthew chapter 7, beginning with verse 6. don't waste what is holy on people who are unholy don't throw your pearls to pigs they will trample the pearls then turn and attack you keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for keep on seeking and you will find keep on knocking and the door will be open to you For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. You parents, if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course …
… giving. The more you give away to worthy kingdom projects, to your church, to what God has called you to do, the more your heart follows your treasure. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. It's not just where your heart is, there's your treasure is going to be. It's where your treasure is, that's where your heart be. And you say, well, I wish I had more of a heart for God's kingdom. Put more of your treasures there and your heart will follow. I wish I had more of a heart for my church, Passion City. I really wish I had the heart for this church that some people seem to just really have. And I don't have it. I wish I had it. Here's how you can get it. Give your treasures to it and your heart will follow your treasures. And we don't want to be rich fools. We just, I was telling Todd the other day, sent him an email about a small church in our area. It's actually a church that's pastored by my, one of the Dans, that's my son-in-law. And And they as a church took a special missions offering to go toward the orphans of South Sudan, a school in Uganda. …
… and in your secret actions, you were doing what was right. All right, so that's the first thing he teaches. Now, we're going to skip down a few verses. If you have your Bible, turn to Matthew chapter 6, verses 19 through 21. And here Jesus says this, stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven where moth and rust don't eat them and where thieves don't break in and steal them. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. That's interesting. In this passage, if you look to the Greek, and I'm guessing the Aramaic behind it, which Jesus spoke Aramaic or Hebrew Aramaic. Aramaic's a variant of that. But it sounds like this in Greek, five times the word treasure shows up. So he says, don't treasure up treasures for yourself on earth. Instead, treasure up treasures in heaven where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So he's challenging us to treasure the right things, to treasure up the right things. …
… where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. It's ironic that money is the one thing that we print with the words, in God we trust on it. Maybe it's kind of eerily prophetic and accurate, but you cannot trust in both God and money. You cannot trust in money as God, but then not be afraid when the volatility of the market and ebbs and flows and even the fears of, even if I set it up just right, who knows if my son's son's son will be a moron and squander it all, right? This worshiping of money, it's uncertain riches. Do not set your hope on uncertain riches. And if I'm honest, so much of my anxiety when it comes to money comes down to fear. And I'm afraid, and rightly so, if what I'm elevating and exalting is my ability to control and work hard. So what do we need to do? Jesus' advice is so weird, as always it tends to be, but then it's right. …
… who've never even heard. Or maybe Jesus said where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. How much of your treasure are you putting toward getting the gospel to three billion people who've never heard it? Likely it is. We spend most of our money on ourselves. We give a small percentage of our money to churches, ministries. Usually that money, we then spend on making church as comfortable as possible for ourselves. And then we give a small portion of that money to what we call missions, like work around the world. And this is speaking, got the data, generally in the church. I've not looked at Biltmore's budget. This is not commentary on this church. But as the church of Jesus Christ, the small percentage we spend on missions, approximately 98 to 99% of that small percentage actually goes to green parts of that map. Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Asia where the gospel has already gone. And I'm not saying it's bad to come alongside our brothers and sisters in those places. …
… Jesus said it, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We're essentially ignoring the places in the world that most need the gospel, but we're doing so under the guise of giving to missions. Like the devil has us patting ourselves on the back for giving to missions while $1.83 out of $100,000 goes to people who need the gospel the most. Then, so the other error we've made involves how we view and send missionaries. So basically we've said, okay, God's calling some people from the green to go to the red, so there are the goers, and the rest of us are cinders. And I've used this language before based on pictures like Acts 13 that we see in the Bible. But here's the problem that I'm realizing in a fresh way because the way this plays out is almost every Christian who hears about the need for the gospel in the world pretty quickly concludes God's not calling me to go there. And by going, we think, leave my job, become a missionary, move to another country, learn another language, with special training, adapt to a different culture, in a red zone. …
… righteousness into you. Generosity literally forms Christ's likeness in you. In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus said it this way, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. By the way, for a lot of years, I literally quoted that verse wrong. You can go back and find old summit sermons where I would quote that verse backwards. I would say where your heart is, there your treasure will be also, meaning that where you put your treasure reveals where your heart is. Where your heart is, that's where your treasure goes. And that is certainly true. There are many other verses in the Bible that say just that, but that is not what Jesus is saying here. Here he is saying that where you put your treasure actually has a shaping training effect on our heart. Where we put our treasure acts like a magnet for the affections of our heart. You remember this thing right here? Remember this? Wool E. Willie. I had to go buy a new one because I couldn't find mine. …
… And then this line, why don't you say it with me? For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. This is so interesting. Once more, he's talking about treasures. What do we do? and how often we're storing up treasures for ourselves here on earth. That may be our retirement funds. And by the way, he's not saying don't have savings to take care of yourself in the event of a crisis. Don't save up for your retirement so that you're not a burden to anyone else and you can take your, no. Those things are fine. What he's saying is be careful about your heart because if in your heart you begin thinking it's all about how much wealth I amass, how many treasures I have, all of these things that you can devote yourself to, you've missed it already. Don't store up for things that can be broken, lost, stolen, or going to deteriorate. But instead, store up treasures in heaven. So what is a treasure in heaven, and how do we store it up? …
… where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So this is the same spirit and holy joy-seeking as we see in Jesus' other ethic, in his line of reasoning. As you empty your earthly, aging, stealable wallets by giving to others who are in need, you provide yourselves with heavenly money bags that do not grow old, treasure that cannot be stolen by thieves or destroyed by moths. so again we're finding this this two directions of giving you've already seen it number one jesus people give to others in need number two jesus's father gives to his people coming down from heaven might give to others you give from your limited possessions to the needy and you get from your father's unlimited bounty and remembering that motivates the giving. Jesus doesn't want us to forget that. He's motivating us by that. Remembering your father, his lavishness, his giving motivates us. Knowing that your father has it all and that what he has cannot be stolen or destroyed and that he happily gives to his children and doesn't hold back. You are freed from hoarding and holding tightly to your earthly possessions. …
… will be also. Our money signals where our hearts are. The way we spend our money, our checkbooks are sure indicators of our spiritual condition. Just humbling truth. Humbling verse, Matthew 6 21. You want to see where people's hearts are, look where they're spending. This is humbling for us in the immediate culture we live in. Right around this building. You look at where we spend our money on. Big houses, nice cars, nice clothes, and entertainment, stuff, inundated with stuff. And we are showing our spirituality. we are revealing a heart issue this is gripping for me individually and the family we've got so far to go even in the family I lead and then when it comes to this faith family probably the most humbling facet of pastoring for me if not the most humbling there's a few things that are humbling but one of the most humbling facets of pastoring for me is the church budget because we have so far to go as a faith family. …
… Come on, clap if you agree with that today. so it it protects me but it also transforms me matthew chapter 6 verse 21 listen to jesus for where your treasure is there your heart will be also so watch it it protects me it changes me. When I give to God, guess what breaks? Greed. Selfishness. Living for myself. It just breaks right off. So I'm protected and changed through giving. And I'm believing for us that that greedy spirit, that selfish spirit is going to die in us. And I'd love just to give once and go, I am so not selfish anymore. But as my marriage will tell you, I still struggle. By the way, Julie and I are getting ready to celebrate next week, 17 years of marriage. Two weeks. Two weeks. Sorry, two weeks. Sorry, two weeks because it's September 21st. Do you remember the 21st night of September? I was singing. and there's a selfish person in me like there's a selfish person in you. …
… and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. There are three basic truths in these passages that I have read to you. Many things, but three basic truths. Truth number one, we must possess real wealth. We must possess real wealth if we would be successful in life. Look again in verse 19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. …