<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Hillside O’Malley SDA Church

David Shin

Treasure in Heaven

Father in heaven, we thank you for this beautiful Sabbath that you've given to us, this opportunity that we have to come apart from the cares of this life and to worship you in spirit and in truth.

We pray that you would speak to us this morning, for we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.

Imagine if you could take $3, 000 and turn it into $1 million.

Well according to an economist, this would have been possible if you had invested $1, 000 in each, in just 3 companies back in the 1980s, Apple, Microsoft, and M&T Bank, you would be a millionaire today.

Now the trouble is, I probably would have invested in Blackberry or something like that.

But Anyways, that's according to Standard & Poor's Howard Silverblatt, who calculated as follows using the data through the end of 2016.

So here he says, if you put $1, 000 in Apple in 1980, you would have $228, 000 at the end of 2016.

If you had put $1, 000 in Microsoft in 1987, you would have roughly a half a million dollars at the end of 2016.

And if you put $1, 000 in M&T Bank in 1980, you would have about $640, 000.

And you add it all together, that's about a million dollars right there.

So we are talking about investments today.

And did you know that Jesus gave investment advice in the Sermon on the Mount?

We read it for our scripture reading and our children's story as well.

In Matthew 6, verse 19, Jesus says, do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

So Jesus is saying we're not to invest our money.

He said don't invest in treasure where moth can destroy it.

I did a little investigating, and this suit right here is a Desmond Marion Supreme suit.

I didn't even know this suit existed until a little bit of research.

It's out of my social economic bracket, okay?

It's made by 1 of the most renowned tailors in London, this fine hand-tailored suit comes in nearly at, are you ready, $50, 000.

Wow, some people just Invest in suits, I guess.

I guess 50, I won't tell you how much my suits are.

I was at Loma Linda a few weeks ago doing some intensives and some of these doctors were talking about trying on these suits And he said it just like drapes over you a certain way well better for $50, 000 Well, I don't care how much you spend over time Moths are gonna get to it.

That's what Jesus is saying don't invest in suits.

And then the next 1, this is a Ferrari, LaFerrari.

It has a dry weight of less than 2, 800 pounds.

And according to this, this dragon-like performance car accelerates from 0 to 60 in less than 3 seconds.

And it can prance up to 124 miles per hour in 7 seconds and has a max speed of 217 miles per hour.

I don't care how much you invest in this car, over time, rust will destroy.

Jesus is giving sound investment advice, amen?

Back in the first century, Matthew chapter 6.

And so you say, oh, it's not going to be cloth because moth will destroy it.

It's not going to be metal because rust will destroy it.

I'm going to invest in something like diamonds.

This 76.02 carat 400 year old Archduke Joseph diamond set a world record for the price per carat for a colorless diamond when in 2012 it sold for $21.5 million.

This is the Antwerp Diamond Center in Brussels.

It has a lock with 100 million possible combinations.

And the vault is located 2 stories underneath this building.

They have infrared heat detectors, a seismic sensor, a Doppler radar, a magnetic field, and a private security force.

And yet, with all of this security, back in 2013, there was something called the heist of the century, when a group of sophisticated burglars stole an estimation of $100 million worth of loose diamonds out of this facility.

Jesus said, don't invest in cloth, moth will destroy it.

Don't invest in metal, rust will destroy it.

And even if those things don't get to it, Jesus said thieves will get in there.

That's what Jesus is saying in Matthew 6, verse 19.

Jesus is giving financial investment advice.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

And then he says, where we should put the money, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Jesus tells us where not to put it and tells us where to put it.

Now there's a couple parables that Jesus told.

And then that individual sells all that he has and buys that field.

There's the parable of the pearl of great price, similar theme.

The individual goes and sells all that he has and buys that pearl.

And we know this text, John chapter 3, verse 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son Jesus Redeemed us and according to 1st Peter chapter 1 verse 18 and 19 just a few texts here For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ a lamb without blemish or defect.

And in Acts chapter 2, verse 28, he bought us with his own blood.

You are bought at a price and they sang a new song.

You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.

In second Testimonies 2 46 1 soul saved to live throughout the ages of eternity To praise God and the Lamb is of more value than millions in money Wealth sinks into insignificance when compared with the worth of souls for whom Christ died.

The person sitting next to you is an entity That is of priceless worth in the eyes of God You are heaven's treasure And the Bible says that Jesus sings over you in rejoicing.

Now, this is my annual sermon on stewardship, if you haven't guessed by now.

Every year I preach on the word of God, prayer, ministry, and stewardship, because I think this is important for us to recognize.

Now, I want to be very clear from the beginning the Lord doesn't need our money He says I own a cattle and a thousand hills if I were hungry I would not tell you Part of the partnership of stewardship is that God wants us to have a share in his kingdom.

Because when we get to heaven, suddenly, all of the investments that we made this side of heaven are going to just evaporate in a moment.

And God, I believe, part of the role of stewardship is that we can have a share in his kingdom when he comes.

And here it is, Malachi 3, verse 10, bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house.

Tithe is not just an Old Testament principle, it went into the New Testament, it's implied in the book of Acts, and tithe is a tenth of the increase.

Tithe goes to support the world church in ministry.

Now, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is structured differently than our congregational churches in that when you give up your tithe, none of it stays here at the local church.

It gets channeled up to the conference, and then a percentage goes on to the union, and then to the general conference, which includes our North American division, and it's spread all over the world.

And as imperfect as this institution is, it's been very effective in having a global ministry and global outreach.

I know there's some churches that wish their tithe would, But this is a part of God's plan to take the gospel to the world.

So I'm not preaching for my salary here this morning.

If this church were to not give tithe next month or for the next entire year, that does not, you know, have any effect on my salary.

And furthermore, the pastor of the O'Malley church gets the same amount as the pastor of the Loma Linda church.

And the pastor at Nome gets the same as the pastor of O'Malley.

Back to Menu

Treasure in Heaven

Transcript

Sponsor

Recorded

Related

Treasure in Heaven

28m

Jesus: The Revealer

1h

Cory Reeves Weekend

The Value

34m

God’s ROI

51m

If I Had a Thousand Lives to Live

36m

The Three Angels’ Messages and Stewardship

48m

Talking Points 1st Quarter 2023: Managing for the Master Until He Comes

06 Laying Up Treasure in Heaven

30m

God’s Plan for Financial Security

33m

The Faces of the Wicked

51m

Sound Doctrine