The Greatest Investment In The World Is Laying Up Treasures In Heaven

Matthew 6:19-21, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

I made an investment beginning in 2002 when I started my website ministry. I could have spent that time instead getting better at my musical instrument skills. I could have made a lot more music recordings. I could have spent that time playing video games, watching television or pursuing a hobby. There are thousands of things I could have done with my time, but I chose rather to invest 50,000 hours working day and night on my various ministry websites. I have no regrets! 1st Corinthians 3:6-9, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.” The Bible promises that God will reward every believer according to his OWN labors.

Also, please don't make the mistake of thinking that God only rewards the clergy, or men who feel they were called into full-time ministry. Jesus plainly said that God will even reward giving a cup of water to a thirsty child of God. Mark 9:41, “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” Whether you mow the church grass, clean the church toilets, work on your pastor's broken fence in his yard to help, or give some homemade cookies to an elderly lady in the church, God will reward you if it is done for Jesus.

The ONLY reason why I made my eight ministry websites and eight blogs is for Jesus, my blessed Lord, Savior and God. Everything that we do for Jesus' and the Gospel's sake will be rewarded by God in eternity. What saith the Scripture? Revelation 14:13, “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” I love that passage of Scripture. When we breathe our last dying breath, and our guardian angels appear for the first time to take us home to Heaven, our time spent laboring for Christ on earth will be over. The $64,000 question arises doesn't it? What have we done for Jesus?

Let Me Introduce You Dear Reader To Pastor Charles T. Studd

Charles Thomas Studd, better known as C.T. Studd (1860-1931), was a British missionary. He was born on December 2, 1860, in Spratton, United Kingdom, into a family of wealth and privilege. In 1883 he graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, and in 1885 entered the missions field with Hudson Taylor in China. C.T. Studd spent his life in dedicated service to the Lord, serving in China, India, and Africa.

Only One Life, Twill Soon Be Past
by C.T. Studd

Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,

And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill.
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say, “Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

__ extra stanza __

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.

That last stanza made C.T. Studd famous! These are some of the most quoted words in Christendom today...

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.

When the hearse carries our dead body off to some lonely gravesite to be buried, all that will matter then is whether you DIED IN YOUR SINS (John 8:24), or if your DIED IN THE LORD (Revelation 14:13). If you die in your sins without Christ, Hell will be your eternal damnation; if you die in the Lord, Heaven will be your eternal bliss and happiness.

Preach The Gospel To Lay Up Treasures In Heaven

Dear friend, I know 100% according to the inspired Holy Bible that I will die in the Lord, because I have been born-again by faith alone in Jesus Christ, having received His sacrifice on the cross as full payment for my sins, and believing that after being buried for three days He physically resurrected from the dead. These FACTS comprise the Gospel by which all who BELIEVE IT are saved (1st Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 1:16). That is my ONLY hope for forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

If you don't already KNOW, as I do, that your name is written in Heaven (in the Lamb's Book of Life), then you can know right now. Simply BELIEVE (trust, place your confidence in) this GOOD NEWS! Simply BELIEVE that Jesus did it all for you through Calvary's cross! “It just can't be that easy!,” perhaps you say. Yes dear reader, the new birth is that easy. Everything that is difficult or hard about getting saved is God's part. Our part is only to BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (Acts 16:30-31).

For those who are born-again, the only thing that will matter when your heart beats its last beat, will be what did you do for Jesus during your time on earth as a believer? Please read the parable of The Sower And The Seed in Luke 8:11-15. Will you be among the seeds who never grew deep roots—so when persecution arose you quit, never maturing in the Lord to win souls to Him? More than likely you will fall among the thorns—choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of this temporary life, never maturing to become a soulwinner. Sadly, very few believers are among those faithful children of God in Luke 8:15, “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” God's earnest desire for every believer is that we all become faithful soulwinners, sharing the Gospel with the lost (Matthew 28:19-20).

The Bible has much to say about saints earning rewards in Heaven. One of my favorite Scripture passages is found in Hebrews 6:10, “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” If you labor for Christ as I humbly do, then you also know that at times we feel weary and wonder if our labors are in vain for nothing. Google has censored 95% of my web traffic over the past several years, which I admit has discouraged me a lot. I sometimes feel like I'm just wasting my time. Yet, I know in my heart of hearts that my labors are never in vain in the Lord, because God said that they're not. 1st Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Pray, Fast, Give To The Lord's Work and The Poor, To Lay Up Rewards

We can also earn rewards by labouring in prayer. I receive many emails from frustrated Christians who tell me that God never answers their prayers. To be honest friend, I feel the same way! It is true. But may I remind you that as saints we are commanded to WALK BY FAITH, and not BY SIGHT. 2nd Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” If we refuse to pray because it doesn't seem like God is answering, then are we not foolishly living by sight? When I behold God's amazing handiwork in creation, I am convinced that God exists (Psalms 19:1-3). When I read the King James Bible, I am convinced that they are God's inspired Words (2nd Timothy 3:16). Since I received Jesus as my personal Savior at age 13 in 1980, I have felt the blessed presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling me. So just because my prayer life feels like that of an atheist, doesn't compel me to become one! I share the same sentiments with suffering Job in the Old Testament, who exclaimed in Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”

We can earn rewards by praying and fasting. Remember, God doesn't reward us for answered prayer, but for our labors. Prayer is labor! Colossians 4:12, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” Pastor Jack Hyles had a widow at the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, who did nothing but pray for Dr. Hyles whenever he traveled to go preaching around the world each week. She was given a copy of Dr. Hyles' preaching schedule, so she could pray for him diligently as he preached the truth.

There are thousands of little things that we can all do to serve God. I used to buy eggs at the grocery store when I lived in Chicago. The eggs came from a farm in southern Illinois. All of their egg cartons had Bible verses from the King James Bible imprinted on them. I met another man one day who worked collecting garbage. He had written out the Gospel with some Bible verses, which he personally handed to people as he worked his pickup route each day.

I heard Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) this week preach a helpful sermon titled, “Lucky Canaan.” The sermon is about being a humble servant for God. The way up is still down! I encourage you to listen to the sermon. Jesus said he that is GREATEST among you shall be your SERVANT. Very few pastors today have a servant's heart. Instead they have an employee's heart, while working only to collect their disgusting 6-digit salary. I'm talking about the shameful façade at Pensacola Christian College (PCC) which masquerades as a so-called “Christian” institution. Please don't be deceived, PCC is far from a Christian place!

Dear reader, we are all living on borrowed time from God. One of my hobbies is studying the biographies of famous people (both saved and unsaved). People are interesting, aren't they. I enjoy learning about the lives of others, especially famous people. In fact, did you know that the Old Testament is a collection of biographies. Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” Evangelist Lester Roloff (1914-1982) rightly said that the Old Testament will put iron in your blood. I like that!

This is just a brief blog that I wrote today, to encourage you to get busy serving God to lay up treasures in Heaven. I've heard preachers falsely teach that if your motives are wrong that God won't rewards your labors. I don't see that taught anywhere in the Scriptures! Show me where the Bible says you won't be rewarded if your motives are wrong! Now, you must be saved to receive rewards, otherwise you'll end up in the same sinking boat as the people in Matthew 7:21-23. They boasted in their own defense of having done “many wonderful works.” They boasted that they'd “prophesied” (preached) in Jesus' name. They cried out “Lord, Lord” to Jesus, explaining that they had become Christ followers on earth. Matthew 7:23, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” In their own minds they had done everything right. They dotted their i's and crossed their t's. Unfortunately for them, they wrongly assumed. Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

God will reward me (and every other preacher who faithfully upholds THE TRUTH) in Heaven for my labors (Titus 1:9-14). Dr. Jack Hyles used to rightly say: 𝑻𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓. I love that truth! I have lost and suffered greatly in my personal life, because of unjust persecution from wicked pastors who mistreated, shunned, ostracized and ultimately banned me from returning to church. God will avenge me in time (Matthew 18:6; Luke 17:2; Romans 12:19-21; Galatians 6:7; 1st Thessalonians 4:6). God is good. I learned decades ago to never blame God for the horrible things that professed Christians have done to hurt me in my life. Christians are people at best, and people are sinners at best.

If you are a born-again believer, I encourage you to get busy serving God. When we get to Heaven, all that will matter is what we did for Christ. The measurement of my success when I get to Heaven won't be how many people showed up at my funeral on earth; but rather, how many people are waiting to greet me when I get to Heaven. Thank you for reading my blog.