Again today we continue with the series The Joy of Discovering Hidden Treasure.

 Matthew 6:19-20 (NIV) "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.” Why is it that so many people have roadblocks to giving? We know Christ commands us to give and we know He promises great rewards for giving. So why is it so hard to give? The roadblocks can be unbelief, insecurity, pride, idolatry, and a lack of trust in God. It appears that the greatest deterrent to giving is the illusion that this earth is our home. We must understand that Heaven and the future New Earth, not this earth, is our home. Think about it…the Bibles says we are pilgrims, strangers, aliens on Earth. We are just ambassadors here.

1. We Should not Live for the Dot but for the Line. Think about this…everything that we put so much emphasis on will all be burned with fire. They disappear. 2 Peter 3:10 (NKJV) “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” Think about your lives in terms of the dot (0) and the line. Our lives have two phases: one a dot, the other a line. Our present life on earth is the dot. It begins. It ends. It’s brief. 0------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ETERNITY. Right now we are living in the dot but what are we living for? The shortsighted person lives only for the dot. The person with the right perspective lives for the line…eternity. 

2. Giving is Living for the Line. Matthew 6:20 (NIV) ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven… Missionary Jim Elliot – “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” But money is not evil. A.W. Tozer – As base a thing as money is, it yet can be transmuted into everlasting treasure. It can be converted into food for the hungry and clothing for the poor; it can keep a missionary actively winning lost men to the gospel and thus transmute itself into heavenly values. Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality. 

3. Giving is the Cure for Materialism. The very act of giving is a vivid reminder that life is all about God, not about us. It’s declaring that I am not the point, He is the point. He does not exist for me. I exist for Him. 1 Timothy 6:18-19 (NKJV) “Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,
storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”