How to Store Up Treasure That Never Runs Out

Most of what you build in this life will not survive you. The career, the house, the accounts you have worked to grow, all of it eventually passes to someone else or simply fades. So, the real question is not how much you can accumulate, but what you can actually keep. Jesus put it plainly: store up treasure for yourselves in heaven. Not treasure that depreciates. Not treasure someone else can take. Treasure that lasts.

What Does It Mean to Store Up Treasures in Heaven?
Paul picks up the same idea in his letter to Timothy, urging believers to "do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share," thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life (1 Timothy 6:18-19). The phrase sounds abstract until you ask a simple follow up question: if you made a list of everything in this life that actually lasts forever, what would be on it? Not much. Nothing material survives. What lasts is spiritual, namely the soul. That reframes the whole idea. Storing up treasures in heaven is not religious activity for its own sake. It is investing in the one thing that outlives everything else: people's souls.

The Story Jesus Told About a House That Would Not Stay Empty
Jesus illustrated this with a story in Luke 14:15-24. A man once threw a great banquet and invited many guests, then sent word that everything was ready. One by one, the invited guests made excuses. One had just bought a field and needed to inspect it. Another had just bought oxen and needed to test them. A third had just gotten married and could not be bothered. Every excuse was tied to something ordinary, a purchase, a job, a relationship, and every excuse cost that guest a seat at the table.

When the host heard the excuses, he did not cancel the banquet. He sent his servant into the streets and lanes of the city to bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. Even after that, the servant reported there was still more room. So, the host sent him out again, this time to the highways and hedges, with instructions to compel people to come in so that the house would be full.

That last detail is the point of the whole story. The host wants a full house. That is God's heart for heaven. He does not want empty seats. So, when Jesus talks about storing up treasure in heaven, He is describing the work of filling that house, of getting more people into it.

Why Evangelism Is the Real Treasure
That is the center of this teaching. The number one way to store up treasure in heaven is to invest in the things that get more people into heaven. Not generosity for its own sake, not religious performance, but the actual work of introducing people to Jesus. Serving, giving, and teaching only count as treasure in heaven when they move someone closer to knowing Him.

How to Actually Store Up Treasures in Heaven
The idea can stay theoretical unless it gets specific. Here is what that looks like in practice.
Start with the people already around you. Spend intentional time with your neighbors and coworkers, not as a project, but as a relationship, so that sharing the gospel with them becomes natural rather than forced. It is worth asking honestly whether you actually know the people next door, or whether the only interaction you have is watching a garage door go up and down.

Consider starting a small Bible study or prayer group where you already spend your time, including at work. One man moved to a new city, took a job at a manufacturing plant, and after a couple of weeks asked his boss if he could start a short prayer group before the shift began. The boss said yes. A group of coworkers started showing up 45 minutes early, and over time some of them came to know Christ.

Serve together as a family through a local mission partner rather than defaulting to a normal Saturday routine. Taking even one Saturday a month to serve locally, whether that means supporting refugees, helping single parents, or working alongside an anti-poverty ministry, turns an ordinary weekend into something that outlasts it.

If you have young children, consider supporting a child overseas through a reputable child sponsorship program. It gives your own kids a tangible connection to someone their age in a different part of the world, and an early picture of what it means to care about someone else's relationship with Jesus.

Closer to home, teach a class, disciple one person, or simply invest consistently in your local church. None of these require a platform or a title. They require showing up for people.

Where to Go From Here
Nothing material survives you. Not the accounts, not the house, not the career. The only thing you own that will actually outlive you is the impact you have on another person's soul. That is what Jesus meant by storing up treasure in heaven, and it is available to anyone willing to spend their time, attention, and relationships on getting more people through that door.

This blog is based on the message shared by Campus Pastor Ben Hays at our CityRise West U Baptist campus on Sunday, July 19, 2026. Check out the full message below!