Sometimes we can be so familiar with the words of God that their power does not impact. Jesus spoke to reveal the heart and mind of our Father, and Jesus came to give us abundant life. Abundant life hinges on our willingness to believe and receive the bread of life. As the word of Life, the attention we then give it provides our foundation for abundant life, so today, let’s approach his teaching from the sermon on the mount with a desire to hear what the Spirit says.
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 also be.
Matthew 6:19-21
Helps Word Study notes the Greek on the word treasure: 2344 (thēsauros) is literally "a receptacle for valuables”).]A. T. Robertson, "In the ancient writers it meant ‘treasury’…. So a 'storehouse' as in Mt 13:52. Then it means the things laid up in store, treasure in heaven (Mt 6:20), in Christ (Col 2:3).
Do not Store up is a Negated Greek Present Imperative, and an NGP always means to Keep on refusing to do this! – and/or Stop doing this if it has already started! The negated NT (Greek) present imperative conveys: Constantly avoid this … keep on resisting! – or Stop (if it is already happening)! The context indicates which idea is meant or both senses simultaneously. [This prohibition always relays ongoing action requiring (positively) continuing vigilance, enduring resistance, etc.]. THE DISCOVERY BIBLE
There are no other words in English that carry the same emphatic meaning as DO NOT. Jesus addressed prayer and fasting as a way to check our heart desires, and now, again, he is highlighting heart issues, giving us both the Do Not and the DO.
We identify the reality of our hearts by our words and deeds. Without being lovers of truth, the Holy Spirit has a hard time overcoming our blindness to convince us of the evils that lurk within.
Paul wrote to the Romans, warning that hard and impenitent hearts store up wrath for the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment is revealed, Romans 2:5.
Luke's gospel records Jesus’ parable of the Rich Fool from chapter twelve, verses thirteen through twenty-one. In this parable Jesus highlights guarding against all covetousness. He concludes that the one who lays up for himself is a “fool” because he is not rich toward God.
The following verses from James 5:1-6 bring stern cautions to believers. ~
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.”
I wrote last week, “Fasting is a tool we use to ensure that our relationship with our heavenly Father is the most essential thing in our lives.” Fasting keeps all other appetites checked and in order. The psalmist talks about his one desire being the presence of the Lord, Psalm 27:4. As we curtail our natural appetites and feed our spiritual ones, we find the things of the world growing dim.
Jesus’ parables explaining the kingdom of heaven from Matthew’s gospel tell of the man who finds the hidden treasure in a field and sells all he has to buy it (13:44). Another, in search of one pearl of great value, finds it and sells all he has to buy it (13:45). Jesus used these stories to illustrate the greater treasure we are to find in Him and His kingdom.
Our admonition from Him is to keep our heart in heaven, and we do this by seeking the things which are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. We set our minds on things above and not on things that are on earth. For we have died to these elemental things, and our life is hidden with Christ in God, Colossians 3:1-3.
My next Good Word ~ September 08, 2024.