DO WE KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING?
Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-20, “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, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:”
Why did Jesus tell us to store our treasures in heaven and not on earth? Well, what He wanted to say but did not say was that not only thieves can break into our account and steal our money, but most importantly we do not earn interest from the Kingdom of God when we invest our wealth in banks or properties. We earn nothing from the Kingdom of God - zero interest.
Let me go further back to the time of Adam and Eve. What did God say to Adam and Eve about the fruits of the garden that they can eat?
In Genesis Chapter 3 we read, the woman answered, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'” They disobeyed God, ate the fruit, and God evicted them from the Garden of Eden. They lost eternal life.
Adam and Eve were permitted to eat any fruit in the garden except one. But they decided to eat them all, including the forbidden fruit.
What does this tell you? It tells me that they are greedy, and not only disobedient as most Pastors would say. They are not satisfied with what they have. They want to eat the fruit that God had told them not to touch! They want to eat them all!
Now, let us read what the Bible says about Lucifer. “How you have fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit." Isaiah 14:12-15. Lucifer was not happy with his position in heaven. Lucifer said, "I will make myself like the Most High". He was greedy, and we all know what happened to him. God threw him out from heaven.
And here is a verse in the Bible that addresses greed - 1 Corinthians 6:9-10:” Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.” Greedy people will not inherit the Kingdom of God! They will not inherit the new earth.
Greedy people are selfish people. They are concerned only about themselves. They don’t care about other people, even though they can afford to give away small change to the poor and the homeless people.
One sure way to safeguard ourselves from becoming greedy people is to gather our wealth in heaven. When we gather our wealth in the Kingdom of God, Jesus will pay us a premium interest - eternal life.
I foresee that at the conclusion of the Great Tribulation period many will march toward the Throne of God wearing worn-out sandals and torn shoes, torn clothes and robes! They carry nothing with them other than the warranty from Jesus - eternal life. ALL their wealth is stored in heaven. They have nothing on earth that they can take with them to heaven.
When was the last time that you attended a funeral of a family member, a parent, a sister, a brother, a friend, a rich uncle, a rich friend, or anyone? What do they bring with them? Nothing more than the clothes that they are wearing. All the wealth that they have worked so hard for stays on earth. They can take nothing with them, nothing! Why not gather our wealth in heaven "where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal". Wealth in heaven that will earn us interest - eternal life.
Do we know where we are going at the end of our journey on earth?
Finally, when we pray tonight ask God to deliver us from EVIL - GREED!
Why did Jesus tell us to store our treasures in heaven and not on earth? Well, what He wanted to say but did not say was that not only thieves can break into our account and steal our money, but most importantly we do not earn interest from the Kingdom of God when we invest our wealth in banks or properties. We earn nothing from the Kingdom of God - zero interest.
Let me go further back to the time of Adam and Eve. What did God say to Adam and Eve about the fruits of the garden that they can eat?
In Genesis Chapter 3 we read, the woman answered, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'” They disobeyed God, ate the fruit, and God evicted them from the Garden of Eden. They lost eternal life.
Adam and Eve were permitted to eat any fruit in the garden except one. But they decided to eat them all, including the forbidden fruit.
What does this tell you? It tells me that they are greedy, and not only disobedient as most Pastors would say. They are not satisfied with what they have. They want to eat the fruit that God had told them not to touch! They want to eat them all!
Now, let us read what the Bible says about Lucifer. “How you have fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit." Isaiah 14:12-15. Lucifer was not happy with his position in heaven. Lucifer said, "I will make myself like the Most High". He was greedy, and we all know what happened to him. God threw him out from heaven.
And here is a verse in the Bible that addresses greed - 1 Corinthians 6:9-10:” Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.” Greedy people will not inherit the Kingdom of God! They will not inherit the new earth.
Greedy people are selfish people. They are concerned only about themselves. They don’t care about other people, even though they can afford to give away small change to the poor and the homeless people.
One sure way to safeguard ourselves from becoming greedy people is to gather our wealth in heaven. When we gather our wealth in the Kingdom of God, Jesus will pay us a premium interest - eternal life.
I foresee that at the conclusion of the Great Tribulation period many will march toward the Throne of God wearing worn-out sandals and torn shoes, torn clothes and robes! They carry nothing with them other than the warranty from Jesus - eternal life. ALL their wealth is stored in heaven. They have nothing on earth that they can take with them to heaven.
When was the last time that you attended a funeral of a family member, a parent, a sister, a brother, a friend, a rich uncle, a rich friend, or anyone? What do they bring with them? Nothing more than the clothes that they are wearing. All the wealth that they have worked so hard for stays on earth. They can take nothing with them, nothing! Why not gather our wealth in heaven "where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal". Wealth in heaven that will earn us interest - eternal life.
Do we know where we are going at the end of our journey on earth?
Finally, when we pray tonight ask God to deliver us from EVIL - GREED!
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