Who Wants to Be a Christianaire?

March 23, 2003

The Rev. Dr. Anthony J. Godlefski, Pastor

Montgomery United Methodist Church

Malachi 3:10; 4:2, 3 

Treasures in Heaven

¹⁹"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning!

If I were Regis Philbin, I might say to you, "Who wants to be a millionaire?" I can't say that. But I think that if Jesus were with us today, He might phrase the question a little differently. He might say, "Who wants to be a Christianaire?" Because, my friend, if you were a millionaire, I couldn't promise you how long that would last. But if you're a Christianaire, my friend, you are investing in something that lasts.

And what is the formula for being a Christianaire? Jesus gives it to us in the Scripture this morning. He says, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But rather, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not corrupt, and thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be, also."

Well, friend, what is a Christianaire? A Christianaire is someone who is rich in spirit, rich in a way that nothing can take your richness from you. Wouldn't you like that? Wouldn't we all like to have that?

The reward of being a Christianaire is the deep satisfaction of knowing that you have done the right thing. May I say it again? The reward of being a Christianaire is the deep and lasting satisfaction of knowing that you have done the right thing.

Let's compare that to treasures on earth. What's all this stuff about moth and rust and that sort of thing? Let's take a look at it. Back in the old days, when Jesus preached, people had three ways of measuring wealth. One way was garments. If you had fancy garments, a lot of money was invested in them. That was part of your treasure. A second way was grain. Grain was a way of storing wealth. You could store it in barns. A third was through gold and coins. These were generally stored in the house somewhere, or in a hole in the ground – no banks quite the way we have them today.

But Jesus said, "You know those fancy garments" (which have always been used as kind of a Biblical standard of riches – you remember Joseph's coat of many colors? His father gave him a coat of many colors, and that was a symbol of great riches). "They are susceptible to little moths, which can eat away at their worth." The symbolism here is for things that time takes away from us, things that once, perhaps, we took great value in, but aren't quite as fascinating as they once were.

Grain – you know, that word "rust" actually means "nibbled away," because mice come and nibble away at the store of corn. I'm wondering how many of us have nibblers in our lives that can nibble away at things we try to lay aside.

Gold, where no one can break through – what is this "breaking through"? Well, houses back in those days were generally made of mud siding. They didn't have vinyl and aluminum back then. They had mud packed against the wall. So, if a thief wanted to break in, all he had to do, literally, was to dig with a little shovel into the wall of the house when no one was home and take the gold. Everyone was afraid of these three things, the moths, the nibblers, and the thieves.

But Jesus said, "Don't take your value from that. Don't place your hard-earned satisfaction there. It's too temporary. Take your value from something that really, really lasts. Have treasures in heaven."

How do we do it? How do we lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven? May I suggest three ways?

One – practice the things of God. You've already done it. You're in church. You are practicing the things of God. You have taken this time aside. I know you have very, very busy lives, and you are here to give devotion to the Lord. That's a way of storing up treasures in heaven. When you pray, you are storing up treasures in heaven. You are making investments in a lasting investment. When you study the Bible, you are laying up treasures in heaven.

At the first service, we had visitors here from a former church of mine, and one was telling me that she had gotten into the Bible, and what an incredible reward that is for her! How deeply, deeply satisfying the study has been! That's a treasure in heaven.

Two – do deeds of kindness, acts of kindness. When you help out with the soup kitchen, when you help with a church meeting, when you help somebody with a battery jump, when you say an encouraging word to somebody, when you take time to listen to a child's song – these are spiritual gifts; these are treasures in heaven. This week, when you do these things, or when you're called upon to do something that's going to cost you but you know it's the right thing, say, "Let it be a treasure in heaven." And go on ahead and do it.

Three – invest ourselves in things that last, invest – our time, our talent, our treasure – in the things of God. Every time we have a meeting at this church, I want to pray at the end of that meeting and give thanks to God for the contribution of those people at that meeting who have given up something dear in order to be there to help our church run. It's a gift. It's a contribution of time and talent.

And all of us, you and me, are given the joyful opportunity of being cheerful givers to the church. Our stewardship team is working hard and has encouraged me to talk about this. How can we be cheerful givers? We can we be cheerful givers by doing what the Bible says, to give proportionately as we are blessed. The Bible invites us to tithe; when God gives us ten apples, give one back to the Lord. That's tithing. Many of us have indicated that we are on our way to tithing, and that we are giving proportionately. That's joy! There's joy in doing that, because you are making a positive difference.

Next Sunday, March 30th, we are going to have the opportunity – all of us, the entire church – to tithe for that week for the Lord. I invite you to join me in doing it. It's a joyful thing.

Now, forgive me, I'm going to take a step to the side, and I'm going to talk to another group of people. There are many people who read these sermons on Visions of Hope, and it's to you that I want to talk for a moment. I know you're from all over our great land. To you I say, tithe to your church. Tithe to your local church this week, wherever it may be. Wherever it is that you are spiritually fed, send them a tithe this week. Surprise them, maybe. Bless your church this week, wherever your church may be.

Okay, I'm back on the sermon track.

You see, when you invest in spiritual things, there is a joy and satisfaction that nothing else can give you. Let me tell you a little story about a certain man. Once there was a certain man who inherited a fair sum of money. He was challenged as to what to do with it. One opportunity was to take it all and put it in an investment firm and let it sit there and grow, maybe. But just about at the same time, his church came to him and said, "We want to build a large sanctuary, so that more people can come to the Lord." And they asked him to help.

He decided to take a fair amount of that inheritance and help. He gave them $55,000 and invested it in that church. He had some bills to pay and some debts to clear up. He did that. Some family members needed a little help. He tried to help them. An organization came to him, an organization that helps people to help themselves. They said, "We need your help." And he said okay, and he helped them, too.

Then he said, "With the rest of this, I'd better do something really solid for my future." So, he saw on television advertisements for big firms that said, "We analyze your goals. We care about where you're going. Just come and invest with us." You know those big firms – Storgan Manley, Wayne Bitter, or whatever it is. So he went and put money there.

Today, that church that he invested in is growing and growing. More and more people are coming to the Lord. The family is doing pretty well. That organization that helps people to help themselves is doing marvelously. Lots of good things are happening there. And that other investment? Well, I'll tell you, that man could never have lost so much money so quickly without professional help! That's all I can tell you. And he looks at that crater and says, "Expensive lesson."

Mind you, I'm not talking against investing. You must invest, and wisely. Do it wisely. And, by the way, that gentleman is doing fine. He's learned some things about investing along the way. But I ask you this: where is his treasure? Where is his source of treasure in the great big long run? I think you know.

Jesus said, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." It's a great investment, and the dividends are out of this world.

God loves you. I do, too. Have a blessed week. Amen.