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 moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Mat 6:19,20)Jesus taught this about the rich fool. Notice his attitude about the here and now:
And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:19-21).God's will is for us to store up treasures for ourselves, but not here in this life. We are commanded to store up treasure for ourselves in heaven.
God's word also explicitly tells us how to successfully do that. What you are about to read is how you can obey that command and put treasures and rewards in heaven for yourself and avoid loss of rewards. This is another very important teaching to keep and stored away.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:34)
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Mat 6:21)That simple truth speaks volumes about the heart of people we know. It is easy to spot those who are caught up having earthly temporal things, instead of going after the eternal.
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Mat 19:21)
Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Mark 10:21)
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. (Luke 12:33)
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Luke 18:22)
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Tim 6:18,19)
because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. (Eph 6:8)
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. (Luke 14:13,14)The resurrection of the righteous is the Christian's judgment.
If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. (1 Cor 9:17)
Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. (Mat 6:1)
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. (Mat 6:2)
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Mat 6:3,4)That is the right way to give to the needy. Praying and fasting is essentially the same way, that is, not done for man to see.
Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward. (Mat 10:41,42)
I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. (Mark 9:41)Furthermore, helping other Christians is showing love for God:
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (Heb 6:10-12)That makes helping Christians a double blessing for you.
Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. (Phil 4:15-17)Their account is their heavenly bank account, which was added to by their financial support of Paul. That is related to this:
I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? (Luke 16:9-11)
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. (Mat 16:27)
Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. (Rev 22:12)
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (Luke 6:35)
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? (Mat 5:44-46)
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim 3:12)Getting persecuted is a sure thing for Christians, because Christians live godly. That persecution, however, will sometimes be subtle:
Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets. (Luke 6:22,23)
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Mat 5:11,12)Being aware that you are getting a great reward when wicked people persecute you will help at that time. Ponder how the Apostles reacted to being physically beaten bloody (flogged):
His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. (Acts 5:40-42)The apostles were not going to be silenced from speaking in the name of Jesus because of threats or beatings. They went right back to the same place doing the very thing that got them in trouble in the first place! The only way to stop them would be by death! Doesn't that thrill your soul? That describes our spiritual family, the kind in God's kingdom now! They were committed to be faithful to God until death, as we better be too.
To successfully store up treasure and rewards in heaven you will have to be walking in faith, with pure motives and even trying to make a conscious effort to get them. Look for opportunities to store up more spiritual treasures and rewards in heaven, as commanded. Now you know how to lay up treasures in heaven for yourself and how not to lose rewards.
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