Heavenly Investments

Heavenly Investments

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

(Matthew 6:19-21)

Heavenly Investment is the 16^th pillar

Heavenly Investment is the 16^th pillar that holds the temple of Truth!

Beloved, where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.  This simply means that where your priorities are, that is where your heart will be.  If your priority in this life is to accumulate material riches, your heart is in the world, for wealth on earth is measured in gold.  The more gold you accumulate, the richer you are, and it is only in this world that gold has such value.  For God decided to make the most precious metal on earth—pavement in heaven! The street in heaven of the city that God has prepared for those who love Him is made up of pure gold!

“The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”

(Revelation 21:21)

That means that you step on pure gold, even just walking to grab an apple or a banana off a tree.  Hallelujah!  My dear beloved, there is no money in heaven, and as you can see gold has no value in heaven. Quite frankly the banks in heaven do not take cash.  You cannot deposit cash or gold or any other material.  The only currency accepted, that can be deposited into your account in heaven, is FAITH; so the poor of the world can be very rich in heaven.  Hallelujah!

“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”  (James 2:5)

When the Lord Jesus commands us to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal, He is clearly telling us to have faith.  Every time we trust God, we act on faith, we walk by faith, and we believe every word God says. Your bank account in heaven is credited with treasures that cannot be stolen.  See, the devil can steal your car, your house, your family, your marriage, and he can destroy all your material possessions so quickly.  Just remember Job!  But one thing the devil cannot steal from you is your faith in Jesus Christ our Lord!  Amen!  For when you believe in Jesus Christ our Lord with all your heart and confess Him as your Lord and Savior, eternal life is credited into your bank account in heaven.  Hallelujah!  Praise the LORD!

And when you believe with all your heart, without any doubt, that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, power (grace) is deposited immediately into your heavenly bank account, and all day access is provided to you for your account, so that you may use your funds at any given time on earth to do all things and to endure all things, according to God’s will through Christ who strengthens you.  Amen!

The LORD revealed this to a man before, and showed him the balance of power (grace) that was credited into his bank account in heaven due to his faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.  This is what the man said after he saw the Amount of grace credited into his account due to his faith:

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  (Philippians 4:13)

And again:

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:19)

(Beloved, I speak in a manner that we understand, because of the times we are living, the above is my humble attempt to help us understand, the riches and resources we have in Christ, if we just believe. Therefore it must not be taken literary. But rather as an illustration. )

My dear beloved, the time is at hand and our salvation is nearer than before when we first believed.  Let us therefore not entangle ourselves with this ‘gospel’ the devil has planted in the church, a gospel of celebration and prosperity, lying to us, that we must live our best life now.  Of course, this counterfeits the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.                                                                                                    

For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”  (Matthew 16:24-27)

My dear beloved, there are two doctrines that are being preached:

A)    The Lord Jesus is saying: forsake the world and all its lusts and desires, glory, honor, riches, temporary pleasures, and all this world has to offer.  Have faith in Me and follow Me, for I have prepared a place for you, so that where I am, you also may be.

B)    On the other hand, you have the devil saying: life is too short, let us enjoy it; live your best life now.  This is all you got.  Get money.  Be rich, be wealthy.  Get honor, prestige and glory.  I can give you all your heart desires right here on earth, so why wait for heaven when you can have it all on earth, here and now? 

These are the two doctrines that are being proclaimed to you.  You must choose one for yourself.  You definitely cannot believe both.  No one can choose for you.  You must choose for yourself.  But you must be aware that both choices come with conditions:

If you choose to follow Christ Jesus our Lord you must forsake the world and all its lusts, desires, glory, honor, riches, temporary pleasures, and all that this world has to offer, and follow Christ Jesus our Lord wholeheartedly.

If you choose to believe the devil, and you desire to have it all in this present life, the Bible warns us of the consequences:

“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”   (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

And the devil’s condition is:

“Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’
 Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.”  (Matthew 4:8-10)

My dear beloved, we are the followers of Christ Jesus our Lord and together with Him let us say: “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘we shall worship the LORD our God, and Him only we shall serve.’  Away with all your worldly riches, and all your lusts and desires, glory, honor, and temporary pleasures.”   I choose Jesus Christ as my Lord and personal Savior.  Amen!

What am I saying then? Should Christians have nothing?  God forbid.  For it is written:

 “The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness,
         The world and those who dwell therein.”  (Psalm 24:1)

Silver and gold belong to God, and God gives it to whomever He desires.  So if God gives the ability to some Christians to be wealthy to fulfill His purposes, they will be wealthy and they must support the cause of God.  We must love them rather than envy them or speak evil of them.  For they are brethren, and those whom God has blessed with earthly wealth, must be prepared to be always ready to distribute to those in need, that they may have treasures in heaven. Wealthy disciples are needed in the Kingdom of God, for when the Lord Jesus lay dead in Pilate’s possession, the poor disciples--Peter, John, James and the others--were hiding for fear of the Jews.  Then it was necessary for the wealthy disciples to fulfill their duty.  That was the reason why the LORD had placed them in that strategic and influential position:

“After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.”  (John 19:38-42)

So then, the Lord Jesus was buried by wealthy disciples.  Wealthy Christians are often needed to go where poor disciples cannot go.  God will provide for Himself wealthy and influential disciples to accomplish His work.  What I am saying then, is that being poor is irrelevant and being wealthy is irrelevant. Being poor without being converted and envying those who have more is in vain. Likewise, being rich without being converted and looking down on others is vanity.  What then?  I say, life is about priorities.  What is the most important thing in your life? To make money?  Or to follow Christ Jesus our Lord with all your heart and to find out what is the will of God for your life and do it? The wisest man that ever lived once said:

“There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;  And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.”  (Proverbs 13:7)

 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”  (2 Corinthians 8:9)

I pray then:

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty  power  which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.”   (Ephesians 1:17-20)

Finally, my dear beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world so that through Him we may have eternal life. Let us therefore stop chasing perishable things at the expense of our faith, and by faith let us lay hold of eternal life, for which Christ died for us.  Let us, therefore, cast away all evil thoughts and schemes of the evil one, and let us not yield into this fashion of loving money, which is a root of all evil, lest we fall into temptation to be rich and depart from the living God.

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.”   (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  Amen!

Meditation:  Where my priorities are, there my heart will also be: is it Christ or is it the perishable things of the world?

 Prayer points:  LORD, please give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.  Please open the eyes of my understanding, that I may comprehend the riches of Your glory and the inheritance that You have prepared for me in Christ. I pray in Jesus’ name.   Amen!

Commitment:  I commit myself, from today onward, to seek the kingdom of God first above all things and to follow Jesus Christ my Lord with all my heart, mind, and soul.  Amen!