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This has been around for a while, this quip. It goes like this. One’s treasures tells the tale of one’s heart. One’s treasures tells the tale of one’s heart. In other words, your external choices in this world reveal a great deal about what’s on the inside of your bosom. The choices that you make The things that you choose to say or not say, the things that you decide to do or not do, all reveal something about you on the inside. Whether we wish them to or not, they do. So where do you find comfort? Do you find comfort in your own self-assurance, defining yourself as being okay? Maybe you find your assurance or comfort in other people’s validation of who you are. But either way, We struggle with true treasures. We struggle, all of us, with the treasures in this world. Like vines, kudzu around here, they grow and will overwhelm our hearts. The desires of this world, the choices that we make in this world, the laying up of treasures in this world, rather than the laying up of treasures in heaven. Jesus spoke about that in this evening’s lesson. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also. Now that opens a big door, doesn’t it? The temptation that that big door opened… Affects you and it affects me as pastor. Here’s how it affects you. That door wide open tempts you to say, tell me what I gotta do and I’ll do it. I’ll fix it. I’ll make it better. I’ll change. And for all the times that we change, God has the history recorded of all the times that we didn’t choose heavenly treasures and chose rather earthly treasures. The temptation for me as pastor and preacher is to tell you what you as a parish family need to do to change, how you need to be different than you are. Neither way benefits the body of Christ, because for everything we can do or I can tell you to do, there are all the times when both me and you Have not chosen heavenly treasures, and have said chosen earthly treasures. This is interesting, because Jesus knows this, and he does not allow you or me to ask this question. So, Jesus, how am I doing as a disciple? Wouldn’t we love to ask that question? Because that question begs an answer that tells us this parameter is all that we need to do. Nothing less and nothing more. And Jesus never works that way, does he? His parameters are boundless because he dwells in you. His amounts are limitless because he fills you. It’s we who put a boundary and parameters on him to validate ourselves or to be validated by someone else. In this evening’s text, he does not tell anyone how they’re doing. He just says, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven and Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. And then he finalizes it where, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Such exhortation causes us to ask ourselves, are we flesh and blood? And the answer is yes, we are flesh and blood. Then that proves we struggle. We struggle in our confession of our external choices in this life. By word or by action, And we struggle that that really does reveal what we are on the inside, and that’s not so pretty. How free are you to give up those earthly choices that seem to mean so much to you, the ones you cry about and yell about? How free are you to let go of those things? Your Lord wishes to lead you. His will is to take you and lead you, either joyfully bouncing along or kicking and screaming away. But His will is to lead you. Not by sight, but by faith. He wishes to lead you by faith. Therefore turn and believe in your most precious treasure, His reign in you. He is your God. He chose you as His own. He validates and defines you. You don’t define yourself in His eyes and you don’t choose Him. It is He who has chosen you and validates you by defining you with Himself as His dwelling in you, as your Lord and as your Savior. Turn and believe in these most precious treasures, the royal deeds that He has accomplished through you, how He has led you And after the fact, you look back and can see it so clearly and plainly. Though you and I know we did not go joyfully down that path and we did not go with great witness to the faith. We went broken, we went griping, and we went bemoaning. But by God’s grace we went because He let us turn and believe in these most precious promises, His saving righteousness which covers you. You are not validated before God’s eyes by how well you’ve done. You’re validated by what He’s done for you. As the hymn said, baptismal waters cover me. His wounded hands lead me. And He leads you kicking and screaming most of the time. Our Lord’s desire is to strip us of all self-evaluations so that we will never find our validness… In our own eyes, we will only find it in what He declares of us. He wishes to strip us of all other people’s evaluations and what they think of us so that we’re not defined by other people but by Him and Him alone. Who is your Daddy, your loving Father, who will never turn His back on His children. His revealed will for you is to believe and trust in His declaration of who you are. And all that we can do, all that we can do is commend ourselves to Him. Be commended to Him. He is your God. You are His creature. He is your Father. You are His beloved son or daughter. He leads us by His holy word and promise. These are the things by which He leads you. And in leading you by His holy word and promise… All that you and I can do in response is be commended to Him. Satan will bring up all the times that we’ve chosen unwisely and have revealed to our world and to one another where our heart is. And God will remind you, I lead those kind of people. I lead sinners. I don’t lead righteous people. I lead sinners of my redeeming. He has called you. He has called you as His child, and He has called you as one who is going to be led to ventures of which you cannot see the ending. And that’s scary, isn’t it? We want to plan things out. We want to see the obstacles in our path. We wish to know the things that we’re going to face. And He says, No! You are My child. Trust Me in My grace, in My mercy. I will lead you. Be commended to me and let me lead you. He has called you down paths you’ve never trodden. You have no idea of the thorns. You’ve no idea of the brush, the briars. And yet he has continually led you and will want to continue to lead you down those paths. They’re not what you choose. Mind you, He does not let you choose most of the time because our choices are so tainted. Our will is so warped. He leads you and calls you. He’s also called you to perils of which you do not know. Dangers, heartache, sorrow, suffering and joy and thanksgiving and blessing. All of those things you do not know unless He leads you And you are led not by your sight, but by your faith, which does not scream against being led by God. It is your flesh. It is what’s inside of your bosom that argues, bickers, and complains, that shouts out unfair, unjust, unjust. Not only has he called you to those ventures and those paths and those perils, he’s also promised you the faith. He’s promised you the faith to go out with good courage, not with fear and trembling. Oh, your flesh will be fearful, and your mind will be filled with terror. But your faith says… God is my Father. He loves me. He is who defines me. And He leads me. He not only promises you faith as He leads you, this wounded hand is leading you. And His love and mercy is supporting you. He is your cane. He is your walker. He is your wheelchair. Because none of you walk on your own. You walk by faith. And faith says, I do not know how I will perambulate from point A to point B in God’s design, but God will lead me in spite of the things that I’m hindered by. Myself, which is why I walk with Walker and a cane and a wheelchair. His love supports you. His great grace strengthens you and feeds you. All that we can is to be commended to Him. Him who leads such people as we. In the name of Him who leads us, Jesus. Amen. The peace of God which passes all understanding. Keep your hearts and your minds on Christ Jesus. To life everlasting. Amen.
