Overview
A treasure is whatever a person values highly enough to pursue, protect, and sacrifice for. Rev. Jon Ryan contrasts temporary possessions with the incorruptible rewards of faithful service, using the imagery of a race and the examples of Moses and other believers who chose God's promises over immediate gain.
Transcript
What Makes Something a Treasure?
Building your treasure. If you turn to 1 Corinthians, please, chapter 9, what is a treasure? In the dictionary it's defined as something that's precious, something that you value very highly. It can be many different things. Sometimes the treasure may be something that has great monetary value, but other times the treasure might be something that just precious to you. Maybe you have some pictures of your children when they were very young, and those are your treasured pictures. But whatever it is, it's something that personally you value highly, and it's important to you.
In the Word of God, we see the word treasure come up a number of different times, and it's a place where we want to put our focus. The words that we speak can come out of our heart, and so we're to put the Word into our heart like a hidden treasure. We want the Word to be very precious to us. As we're approaching this summer here, we're just about to leap into spring. We changed our clocks, which is one of the signs that spring is just around the corner. This summer they're going to have the Olympics, the Summer Olympics, and these athletes will compete with one another from all around the globe.
And for many of them, the precious treasure is to win the gold medal. Not that it's of great monetary value necessarily. I'm sure that doesn't come into play so much, but it's the prize that they are contending for, and I have been in many cases working towards for many months, if not many years, to be the best in the world, to win that gold medal. And in order to achieve that goal, to reach that treasure, it takes a lot of discipline and sacrifice. They have to make choices, often choices that are different from maybe their peers, maybe their friends who aren't in pursuit of a Olympic gold medal.
And so maybe they choose to eat a different diet, to do exercises. If you're going to run the marathon, maybe you're choosing to run many miles a day or a week in preparation. And there's sacrifice involved. There's effort that's put forth where your friends may be choosing, hey, do you want to go out and party tonight or tomorrow? No, thanks. I'm on a discipline schedule right now, because this is important to them, to win this gold medal. Here in 1 Corinthians chapter nine, look what it says here. If you go to verse 24, 1 Corinthians 9-24, know you not that they which run in a race run all, but one received the prize.
So run that you may obtain. And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corrupt crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly, so fight I not as one that beat at the air, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a cast away. So this is not talking about a physical competition, but it's relating it to the sacrifices that are made for someone that's trying to win the prize.
Running for an Incorruptible Crown
The choices, the priorities that are perhaps and indeed very different than others that aren't trying to go after that same prize. And so we want to consider what it takes. And it's not that what God's got for us is so difficult to obtain, and it's not that only one will receive it. But God's put into his word that there are rewards for certain efforts that we put forth. And isn't that encouraging to know that God's got these great rewards or treasures awaiting us. Go to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12.
Jesus Christ certainly studied the word. He invested his time in his life as short as it was to learn who his father is and to understand these men and women of the Old Testament, what he could read about, he could hear about and how they prioritize their lives, what they did to walk with God and how they were rewarded as they put their trust in God. Didn't rely upon their own decisions or own will, but wanted to align themselves with what God would tell them was the best. Here in Hebrews chapter 12.
Look at verse two, please. Well, I guess we can start in verse one. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. So this is referring to the previous chapter chapter 11, where so many of these men and women the Old Testament are noted. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily be set us and let us run with patience. The race that is set before us. So again, like we saw in 1 Corinthians nine. This life that we're in is compared to a race.
And it's not just a short sprint. It's more like a marathon. It's a race that goes on and on. We're going to run with patience. We're in this competition. And so we can decide how we're going to compete. Now, we decided to be in the competition as we made the choice to make Jesus Christ our Lord to to believe that God raised him from the dead to be sons and daughters of God. That puts you in the competition. The world that maybe could care less about God. Well, they're not in the competition.
There's no contrast there. So now look what it says in verse two, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. So, as it tells us to run this race with patience, it draws our attention to Jesus Christ. And it says that he had to endure. He looked forward to the prize, the joy that was set before him. He could see what his life really meant.
The Discipline of Pursuing Eternal Rewards
It was so much more than the 30 or so years that he lived on this earth. It was so much greater than that. And he's enjoying the result of that because here, 2024 years later, he's still alive at the right hand of God. God raised him from the dead and he's continuing throughout all eternity to be with God. I'd say that was worth the effort and the sacrifice, although the effort and the sacrifice were not minimal. It says he endured the cross, despising the shame. He had to put up with tremendous adversity.
So adversity and challenge does not mean that we're going the wrong way. That sometimes is part of it. And look what the next verse says for consider him. Let's just stop right there. God is having his word written and he wants us to consider him to consider is to pay attention to really scrutinize and take a look at for consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against themselves. Let's ye be weary and faint in your minds. So in this competition of life that we are in, we can sometimes be tempted to be weary to the point of maybe I just got to give up.
Maybe I'm not going the right way because I'm getting tired. But God's giving us this encouragement, consider Jesus Christ. If you think you're tired, consider how he was, how tired he must have been at times when he was especially as he got to the end of his life. And he's about to face such adversity to the point where they're going to kill him. But many times he's going about doing good. And there are people that are out to try and trip him up to try to kill him to try to defeat him because that's motivated and inspired by God's enemy, the devil, who hated Jesus Christ.
And yet he had to continue. Look at the previous chapter, chapter 11, as I mentioned, this great cloud of witnesses, Hebrews 11. And it lists a number of these men and women. And then we get to verse 13. These all died in faith. Everyone from Abel to Enoch to Noah to Abraham to Sarah and so on. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and embrace them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. See these people, the Old Testament, they made sacrifices.
They determined that what God put in front of them was more valuable than their own comfort. Abraham and Sarah decided that 70 years old, Abraham was 70 when, when God called him and told him to leave his homeland and to go to a place that God didn't even tell him where it was yet. Just go and I'll tell you when you get there. And he did that. He left his own comfort and he ran into challenges. And he went with his wife. They wanted children and they hadn't yet had children or a child.
Moses Esteemed God’s Riches Greater
And yet that was promised and they went forward. So many Noah, God told them, I want you to build this Ark. And it took about 100 years for him to build this vessel and to endure the contradiction of sinners. All these people around him, it said their thoughts were only evil continually. Talk about adversity. And yet he went about it. He went about building this thing, not looking after his own comfort, but putting God's will in front of his own. It goes on in Hebrews 11 14 for they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country for once they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country that is in heavenly, where for God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. See, they had a joy set before them. He just Christ would have looked at these men and women and how they sacrificed and how they moved and how they endured. And he learned from them that you can put trust and confidence in God.
Look at Luke 22. Luke 22, please. Perhaps, well, not even perhaps the greatest challenge of Jesus Christ's life would have been at the very end of his life. When he's agonizing over this amazing thing that God has presented for him to do in Luke 22 towards the end of this chapter. He spent some quality time with his closest followers. Luke 22 verse 39. And he came out so he spent this time with his disciples. And he's now taken them away from where they had the meal. And he's gone to this garden of Gethsemane.
And it's a very challenging, challenging time. And it says in verse 39 and he came out and went and as he was want or as he was known to do to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples also follow him. And when he was at the place he said unto them, pray ye or pray that ye enter not into temptation. You know, there's a point when he had taught them how to pray. What's often referred to as a Lord's prayer. And in that prayer, you know, our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. See he's asking for God's will to be done. That's what he's going to ask in this situation as well. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us as they are daily bread and forgive us our trespasses and lead us not into temptation. So that's one of the prayers that he had taught them they could how they could pray not to memorize that prayer. But to pray that God would not allow them to be led into temptation or that they could overcome whatever the temptation may be.
Faith Chooses What Cannot Yet Be Seen
And here he's telling his followers, pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast and kneeled down and prayed saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. See, again, I don't relish what's in front of me. He could read the Old Testament, what he would have to go through. It's very clear in some of their scriptures, the Old Testament, how maligned he would be, how he would be so beaten he wouldn't be recognizable as a man.
And he knew this is what he was about to face. And he's asking God, you know, if I had the choice, I'd prefer not to go this way. But God, I'm going to put you first, I'm going to do what you would have me to do. Not my will, but thine be done. See, he was consistent. He taught this back in Matthew chapter six. We'll look at this in a minute. He taught them to just determine that you're going to do what God would have you to do. And it says in verse 43, and there appeared an angel unto him from heaven strengthening him.
And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. And his sweat was as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground. There's a figure of speech. How intense this must have been. And yet look at God provided an angel to minister to him to help him in this challenging time. And one of my favorite verses is in Hebrews chapter four verse 16 where it says, let us come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Well, Jesus Christ certainly came boldly, fearlessly to God, and he's in a great time of need.
And God with his great grace provides an angel, sends an angel down, go take care of my boy. See, God will do the same for us. He's no respecter of persons. So Jesus Christ shows here how he endured the cross, despising the shame with what he was going to have to go through. Look at Matthew chapter five. Matthew chapter five, please. And Matthew five. Again, this great sermon on the Mount. Jesus Christ is teaching. And we see in verse 13. He's telling this group of people that have gathered to hear him teach, ye are the salt of the earth.
But if the salt has lost its saver, wherewith shall it be salted? It is then forth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under the foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. It may demand light of candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick and it give it light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father, which is in heaven.
Treasures in Heaven and the Light of the World
See, this is the teaching and he's going to lead to the end of this teaching where he's going to tell these people that make a priority in your life. Don't let the treasure or what you value most highly be what everyone else around you is perhaps valuing. They want to have the big house. They want to have the new car or whatever it was in that day and time. They want to have these physical things. And that's what they will brag about. That's what they're striving for are these earthly possessions.
And then these types of things. And he's going to teach them. That's not what it's all about. You can be different. You can be the salt of the earth. Salt preserves. Salt adds flavor. Salt heals. Great properties and salt. Salt represents integrity. You can be the light of the world. You stand out when you make your priorities different. Your light shines when people see that you're not striving for the same things that maybe the others around you are striving for. That you have a greater treasure in mind. Look at chapter six, the next chapter.
Chapter six. And in verse eight. I mentioned he teaches them how to pray. Well, start in verse seven. But when you pray, use not vain repetition. So he starts this prayer that he's going to teach that everybody repeats and is prefaced with, don't just vainly repeat things. But people miss that. When you pray, use not vain repetitions as they even do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. You may not be there for like unto them, for your father knoweth what things you have need of before you ask.
Before you ask him. After this manner, therefore pray. Our father, which art in heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. Just like he said in the garden, right? God, not my will, but thine be done. We want to do what God has for us in his direction. You know, there's a verse that we often quote in Proverbs three, where we trust God. We don't lean to our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge him. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. So it's as Jesus Christ is teaching this group of people. He's telling them or teaching them that we want God's will to be done, not our own will. God will provide for us. He knows what we need even before we ask. He prefaces this prayer with any God will give us our daily bread, whatever the need is that daily bread represents everything that we would need physically.
Building Treasure Through Service and Love
And he goes on to to explain this more. If you jump down to verse 19, chapter six, verse 19, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust that corrupt where these breakthrough and steal. So treasures on earth are all the things that people value in the world. They value so many things that are physical. Like I mentioned earlier that to have this, the most beautiful home or to have, you know, these different assets that amass to great wealth. And Jesus Christ is teaching them. That's not it.
It's not what you will but God wills. So lay up for yourselves these treasures, but verse 20, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, or neither moth or rust that corrupt where thieves do not break through nor steal for where your treasure is. There will your heart be also. So he's giving them a greater perspective. In this tame teaching he taught them, you are the light of the world. Let people see that this is what's important to you. And it doesn't mean we have to go shouting it from the rooftops necessarily.
It's just the daily priorities of our life. We don't have to brag about that we're sons of God, but opportunities will present themselves. When you are able to share with somebody like somebody shared with you, that this is the way to live. And you're going to gain treasures, valuable things that will last you throughout all eternity. So it's so much greater than, than what you can have for the immediate for the 60, 70, 80, 90 years in this lifetime. It goes on in verse 25, therefore I say unto you, take no thought.
And when it says take no thought, it just means don't worry about. Don't worry about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink. Know yet your body, what you shall put on. It's not the life more than meat and the body more than Raymond isn't life bigger than, than you had this wonderful meal. I'm able to eat porterhouse steaks every day or lobster every day. That's not what life's all about, that you can brag about eating at the nicest restaurants or that you have the beautiful, most beautiful clothes.
That's not what it's all about. It goes on. Behold the fowls of the air. For they so not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns. Their heavenly father, feed of them are not ye or are ye not much better than they, which of you by taking thought or worried or, or putting all your mental time into this can add one cubit into his unto his stature. And why take you thought for Raymond, consider the lilies of the field how they grow, they toil not needed. Neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you that even Solomon, and all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
A Life Invested in What Lasts
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass in the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you. Oh ye of little faith. Therefore take no thought don't worry about these things by saying what shall we eat, or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed for after all these things to the Gentiles seek. So we are surrounded by people that could care less about God. Or are caught up in and not really understanding who God is. And all these things the Gentiles seek where people are pushed, we see advertisements all the time, pushing us, exhorting us to buy their product to that you need this to get ahead to be safe, and so on.
And says, all these things the Gentiles seek for your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you to seek God first in this context is to want to do his will, and not our own Jesus Christ was seeking God first in the garden when he said, not my will but die and be done. He went to God three times asking if this if there's a way to go another route.
I'd prefer to go that way, but he was resolute in his decision, not what I decide God, but what you decide what you want done. That's where my confidence is, and that's where I'm going to go as challenging as it can be. So we're to consider him who endured the cross, consider him who, who was facing every challenge, and not just looking at Jesus Christ, he learned by looking at these others in the Old Testament. The men and women of old that that also decided that they could have returned to their homeland could have gone back and live the way their friends were living.
But they decided not to return they decided to continue to pursue the path that God put them on, even though at times it meant great challenge. They had to endure tremendous adversity because choosing to go on that path. There was an enemy that laid in front of them, many, many obstacles, and yet as they trusted God, they overcame these obstacles. And so can we God will take care of us God will provide for us. And so we can endure like Jesus Christ and build great treasure in heaven lay up for ourselves great treasure in heaven, because we keep our eye on the prize the joy that lies ahead of us.
So Heavenly Father I thank you again for the encouragement we get from your word. These great examples that you give us not the least of which is Jesus Christ. Now he exhorted his men and women that came to him during his lifetime to be the light of this world to be the salt of the earth to not get caught up in the rat race that the world is so caught up in and trying to amass great physical treasures that once you die you can't take those physical treasures with you. That's the end of it this short lifetime that you have that you might be able to enjoy these things is and that's the end.
But he exhorted them to lay up great treasure in heaven to great treasure that they can enjoy throughout all eternity which is so much the greater portion of our lives. So Father we're thankful for for your word and that it gives us the direction with which we can move it gives us the courage and the strength to to make choices that we need to make day by day. And that these choices can certainly pan out to be great treasure for us. Thanks to the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Key Takeaways
- for many of them, the precious treasure is to win the gold medal.
- Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.
- he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast and kneeled down and prayed saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me.
- when it says take no thought, it just means don't worry about.
- he exhorted them to lay up great treasure in heaven to great treasure that they can enjoy throughout all eternity which is so much the greater portion of our lives.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of “Building Your Treasure”?
A treasure is whatever a person values highly enough to pursue, protect, and sacrifice for. Rev. Jon Ryan contrasts temporary possessions with the incorruptible rewards of faithful service, using the imagery of a race and the examples of Moses and other believers who chose God's promises over immediate gain.
Which scriptures are central to this teaching?
The teaching draws especially from 1 Corinthians 9, Hebrews 11, Luke 22.
How can believers apply this teaching?
Receive the truth presented, verify it in Scripture, and live it out with faith, humility, and love. he exhorted them to lay up great treasure in heaven to great treasure that they can enjoy throughout all eternity which is so much the greater portion of our lives.
Scripture References
1 Corinthians 9; Hebrews 11; Luke 22
This text was prepared from the teaching audio or source document. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
