Treasure in Heaven | Kyle Cunningham

Devotional

Day 1: Unopened Boxes and Open Hands

A father kept mint-condition Star Wars toys sealed in Tupperware, believing they’d gain value. But when his son discovered them, the boy begged to open them. The father relented, sacrificing potential profit for shared joy. Earthly treasures lose their purpose when locked away. [04:17]

Jesus warns against stockpiling temporary things. Moths, rust, and thieves dismantle what we cling to. But relationships—like a father’s laughter while playing with action figures—outlast plastic and cardboard. Heavenly treasure grows when we release our grip.

What unopened “boxes” are you guarding? A savings account? Time? Comfort? Jesus invites you to hold possessions loosely today. Open one resource you’ve been hoarding and share it. Where could generosity loosen greed’s grip on you?

“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… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(Matthew 6:19-21, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal one earthly treasure you’ve overvalued. Confess your grip on it.
Challenge: Give away a possession you’ve kept “mint condition” to someone who’ll use it today.

Day 2: Storage Wars and Eternal Investments

Auctioneers bid on abandoned storage units, scavenging for value in others’ discarded junk. Jesus compares earthly treasures to these forgotten boxes—temporary, decaying, and ultimately worthless. Moths eat fine clothes. Bank accounts can’t buy peace. [07:37]

Jesus isn’t anti-stuff but anti-idolatry. Earthly goods expire; heavenly investments multiply. Serving a grieving neighbor or teaching children Scripture outlives stock portfolios. Eternal treasures are people—souls rescued, fed, and loved in Jesus’ name.

What “storage unit” consumes your attention? Retirement funds? Home upgrades? List three ways to redirect time/money toward eternal outcomes this week. What earthly worry shrinks when you invest in heaven?

“No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and money.”
(Matthew 6:24, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for a material blessing He’s given, then dedicate its use to His kingdom.
Challenge: Calculate 10% of your monthly entertainment budget. Give that amount to a local ministry.

Day 3: Weeds in the Flower Patch

Louise taught her helper to spot weeds disguised as flowers—plants with pretty blooms that choked true growth. Similarly, greed masquerades as prudence, and hoarding feels like wisdom. Jesus trains us to see differently. [16:39]

Healthy eyes discern eternal value. A “weed” might be a luxury car bought for status, while a “flower” could be funding a youth mission trip. Darkness distorts; Christ’s light exposes motives. What we notice reveals our master.

Walk outside today. Notice creation’s beauty, then ask: What “weeds” have I tolerated? Cancel one subscription/service that feeds vanity. What habit needs uprooting to make space for heaven’s priorities?

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.”
(Matthew 6:22, ESV)

Prayer: Pray for 30 seconds of silence, then ask God to expose one hidden weed in your heart.
Challenge: Remove one app from your phone that distracts you from eternal focus.

Day 4: Masters or Martyrs

Money demands, “Die for me”—sacrifice health for promotions, family for overtime. Jesus instead died for us, trading heaven’s glory for a cross. Earthly treasures enslave; Christ’s sacrifice frees. [21:16]

We serve what we sacrifice for. Working late to impress bosses? That’s serving money. Staying late to mentor coworkers? That’s serving God. Both require time, but only one stores eternal treasure.

Review last week’s calendar. Circle entries that advanced God’s kingdom and underline those that served temporal goals. What single task today could shift from “serving” to “investing”?

“If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
(Matthew 6:23, ESV)

Prayer: Confess one area where you’ve let money dictate choices. Ask for courage to reorder it.
Challenge: Text a friend in financial stress: “How can I practically support you this week?”

Day 5: The Treasure That Bled

Jesus saw us—broken, greedy, fearful—and deemed us worth dying for. We’re God’s treasure, bought with blood. Earthly riches demand sacrifice; Christ sacrificed Himself to give us His riches. [21:42]

You’re the unopened action figure God ripped the packaging to enjoy. He didn’t preserve Heaven’s comfort but spent it to reclaim you. Our call? To spend ourselves likewise, investing in souls.

Who in your life feels like a “discarded action figure”? How can you reflect their value to God today? Write their name below. What step will you take to show them Christ’s love?

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

Prayer: Thank Jesus for purchasing you. Ask Him to send someone today who needs this truth.
Challenge: Share the gospel with one person using the phrase “God treasures you.”

Sermon Summary

Jesus draws a sharp line between what wastes away and what lasts. His words forbid stockpiling treasure on earth because moth and vermin ruin it and thieves take it, and he names the deeper issue beneath the pile: “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Earthly treasure is anything that wastes away. Money, possessions, even the number in the bank, all expire. The text exposes the false promise underneath the hoard: control, security, and significance cannot be purchased, and they cannot add an hour to anyone’s life.

Jesus then names the alternative. Heavenly treasure is what endures. Eternal life is what the Father gives, so the lives of redeemed sinners become the investment that pays in heaven. The call is not merely to detach from stuff but to have a heart that aims at people, right now. The kingdom is not a someday account. It is a present economy. Time, money, attention, and energy get leveraged so that people meet mercy, find welcome, and grow in Christ.

The eye image carries the weight. “The eye is the lamp of the body.” Healthy eyes fill a person with light, teaching a disciple to tell flowers from weeds, to see the beauty worth cultivating and the hidden roots that must be pulled. Unhealthy eyes turn even light into darkness. Greed makes the room go dim, not by shouting but by hiding. All it takes is one wealthier neighbor for the heart to say, That warning is not for me. Jesus will not let the heart stay there with its eyes closed. The light may sting, but sight returns in the light.

Finally, Jesus tightens the screws with masters. “No one can serve two masters.” Money demands sacrifice and keeps people enslaved by fear and hunger for more. Christ gives himself as the one treasure who sacrificed himself to purchase his people. Money says, Die for me. Jesus says, I have died for you. That is the gospel, and it sets the pattern. With Jesus as rabbi and Lord, disciples no longer cling to the fleeting. They give sacrificially for the eternal life of others. The Father has already named his people his treasure. In that light, the church learns to spot greed, open its hands, and invest in heaven now, not later.

Key Takeaways

1. Earthly treasure always has an expiration. Every created good ends up in a landfill, a ledger adjustment, or a loss report. Chasing permanence in what is perishable guarantees anxiety and disappointment. Joy grows when possessions become tools rather than trophies. Freedom begins when the heart tells the truth about moth, rust, and thieves. [08:46]
2. Heavenly treasure is redeemed people. Eternal life does not cling to objects. It is given to persons. When the heart funds mercy, presence, formation, and welcome, it converts the temporary into seed for eternity. The return is measured in faces, not figures. [11:48]
3. Healthy eyes learn to spot greed. The eye trains the heart to love what lasts and uproot what chokes. Greed rarely announces itself; it hides behind comparisons and rationalizations. Stepping into the light may sting, but only sight in the light can tell a weed from a flower. Repentance begins with what the eyes learn to see. [18:57]
4. Only one Master can own hearts. Money enslaves by making every decision a transaction and every sacrifice a payment. Christ liberates by making his own life the payment and his cross the receipt. Devotion divides at the root, so allegiance must be singular if love is to be whole. Love of God untangles fear of loss. [20:59]
5. Invest now, not later. The kingdom’s timeline is today. Meals, childcare, hospitality, and presence look small, but they cash out in eternal dividends because people are priceless. The wise steward turns the temporal into a bridge toward the everlasting, one ordinary gift at a time. [12:38]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:32] - Star Wars and stored treasures
[05:05] - Treasuring relationship over collectibles
[06:07] - Jesus on treasures and the heart
[08:46] - Earthly wealth’s expiration date
[10:25] - Money’s false promises exposed
[11:28] - Defining heavenly treasure
[12:22] - Investing in people now
[13:13] - Concrete ways to invest
[14:39] - Learning to spot good investments
[17:27] - Training the eyes to see
[18:57] - Exposing hidden greed
[20:59] - Two masters: God or money
[21:16] - The treasure who died for us
[22:41] - Call to sacrificial generosity

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 6:19-24 (ESV)
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Observation questions

According to Matthew 6:19-21, what two reasons does Jesus give for not storing up earthly treasures? How does the sermon illustrate this with examples like money, possessions, or even collectibles? [08:46]
In the sermon, the “eye” is described as training us to distinguish between “flowers and weeds.” What practical examples were given to explain how unhealthy eyes turn light into darkness? [18:57]
Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters” (v. 24). How does the sermon contrast the demands of money as a master with the gift of Christ? [20:59]
What specific actions or investments in people were mentioned as ways to “store up treasures in heaven” right now? [12:38]

Interpretation questions

Why does Jesus connect our “treasure” with the location of our “heart” (v. 21)? How might someone’s spending habits or time allocation reveal what they truly value?
The sermon warns that greed often hides behind comparisons (e.g., “I’m not as wealthy as my neighbor”). Why is this comparison dangerous, and how does it blind us to greed’s presence? [19:22]
If money cannot provide true security, control, or significance (as stated in the sermon), why do people still cling to it? What false promises might someone believe about wealth? [10:25]
How does the urgency of investing in the kingdom “now, not later” challenge common attitudes about waiting for a “someday” faith?

Application questions

What’s one earthly treasure (e.g., money, possessions, status) you’ve been tempted to view as permanent? How can you remind yourself of its “expiration date” this week?
The sermon describes greed as a “weed” that chokes out good growth. What’s one area of your life where you’ve rationalized greed (e.g., envy, overspending, fear of scarcity)? How can you uproot it? [18:57]
Jesus calls us to invest in people, not possessions. Who is one person you could intentionally invest in this week through time, hospitality, or practical help? What would that look like? [13:13]
How does your current budget or calendar reflect a choice between serving God or money? What small adjustment could you make to prioritize eternal investments over temporary ones?
The sermon says, “Money says, Die for me. Jesus says, I have died for you.” Where do you feel pressured to “sacrifice” for earthly gain? How might Jesus’ sacrifice free you to give generously instead?
When have you avoided addressing greed because “someone else has more”? How can you step into the “light” of honesty about your own heart’s attachments? [19:22]
What’s one ordinary, daily act (e.g., a meal, childcare, a conversation) you can reframe this week as an eternal investment in God’s kingdom?

Sermon Clips

68s

“Money as your master will do anything to keep you enslaved to it. Every treasure on earth will insist that you sacrifice yourself to purchase it. But Jesus is the one treasure that sacrificed himself to purchase you. Money as your master will say die for me. Jesus as your savior says, I've died for you. He looked at us, sinners as we are, and said to have them, even a violent death on a cross and going to hell would be worth it. And why did he do that? For the same reason my dad gave up what he had for me. Because we are God's treasure. We are his treasure. We are his children. We are God's prized possession. Our heavenly father cherishes us more than anything and is willing to give up everything so that we may have joy. That's the gospel.”

43s

“You know how it feels to be in a dark room for a while and then either you walk really quickly into a bright room or suddenly somebody cuts on the lights? What's your first instinct there? You want to close your eyes. You want to hide away because it hurts. It can hurt our eyes to adjust that quickly to the light. It requires an adjustment which can be disorienting at first. Absolutely. Sometimes it's painful. But our eyes, they need time to adjust and that's okay. But please know that you can't experience the light with your eyes still closed.”

50s

“Jesus has an eye for investments. And earthly treasure earthly treasure wastes away. I do wanna ask what heavenly treasure is. If we're defining earthly treasure as things that waste away, what does that make heavenly treasure? Think about that for a second. Earthly treasure is what's temporary. Heavenly treasure is eternal. Right? What does Jesus say in this world has eternal life? What does Jesus say last into eternity here on this earth? Of all the temporary fleeting things, what are the things that last forever? It's you. Me. Jesus promises us eternal life. Right? Redeemed sinners. God's gift to his people is eternal life.”

41s

“If you turn a blind eye to greed, you are living in the dark. All it takes is one person to know one person to know that's wealthier than you, that makes more money than you. Then you start to turn a blind eye and assume, okay, well, this treasure, this earthly treasure stuff, this doesn't apply to me. I don't struggle with that. I don't struggle with greed. Me? Greedy? I'm not even rich. How can I be greedy? That's turning a blind eye to greed that is so well hidden in darkness. It's filling your body with darkness. And, oh, how great is that darkness.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Western Hills Church of Christ This sermon · AI assistant

What defines earthly treasures as described here

How does Jesus contrast serving God and money

How are heavenly treasures identified and invested