A Treasure Like No Other
Notes
Transcript
Matthew 13:44 (NRSV)
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
A TREASURE LIKE NO OTHER
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS…THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE COMPLETELY CONTENT TO HAVE JESUS AS A SAVIOR, FORGIVING THEM OF ALL THEIR SIN.
FEWER ARE READY TO HAVE HIM AS THE LORD OF THEIR LIFE, LEADING AND GROWING THEM IN GODLINESS.
• WE THINK OF CHRIST AS OUR SAVIOR
• WE THINK OF CHRIST AS OUR LORD
• WE THINK OF CHRIST AS OUR KING
• BUT HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF CHRIST AS YOUR TREASURE?
BY DEFINITION, TREASURE IS SOMETHING OF GREAT VALUE. IT’S HIGHLY DESIRED - SOUGHT AFTER – ANTICIPATED - LONGED FOR. BUT I THINK ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WE FACE IS FOR MOST OF US, WE’RE NOT CAPTIVATED BY TREASURE LIKE WE ONCE WERE.
• WE’RE NOT EXCITED BY TREASURE LIKE WE ONCE WERE
I REMEMBER BACK IN THE DAY WHEN I WAS A KID, THERE WAS A CHILDREN’S MAGAZINE THAT CAME OUT EACH MONTH CALLED HIGHLIGHTS....THAT I WOULD READ…… IN FACT IT WAS CALLED HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN…..SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER THIS MAGAZINE….IN THIS MAGAZINE WERE STORIES…..GAMES AND ACTIVITIES …….DRAWING CONTEST….WHERE YOU COULD DRAW TIPPY THE TURTLE AND WIN MONEY……AND THERE WERE ALSO ADS IN THIS MAGAZINE…..AND ONE OF THE ADS I WILL NEVER FORGET…..WAS AN AD WHERE YOU COULD BUY A METAL DETECTOR….AND WITH THIS METAL DETECTOR…..YOU CAN FIND BURIED TREASURE ON THE BEACH ….OR WHERE EVER YOU MAY BE.
AS A KID….I WOULD DREAM OF GETTING ONE OF THOSE METAL DETECTORS AND FINDING A BURIED TREASURE…..AND AS FAR FETCHED AS IT MAY HAVE SEEMED……..I REALLY THOUGHT THAT IF ONLY HAD ONE OF THOSE METAL DETECTORS……I COULD FIND HIDDEN TREASURE.
IF I COULD FIND THAT HIDDEN TREASURE I WOULD BE RICH IS WHAT I THOUGHT….
BUT BELIEVE IT OR NOT….ALL OF US IN HERE HAVE RICHES AND ARE WEALTHY….
EVEN THE LEAST AMONG US IS WEALTHY BY THE WORLD’S STANDARDS.
DID YOU KNOW NEARLY HALF THE WORLD’S POPULATION LIVES ON LESS THAN $2 A DAY.
• 1.2 BILLION PEOPLE LIVE ON LESS THAN $1 A DAY
• WE SPEND MORE THAN THAT ON STARBUCKS EVERY MORNING
• MOST OF US ARE WEALTHY BY THE WORLD’S STANDARDS
• BUT HERE’S THE SIMPLE POINT FOR TODAY - ONE OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF WEALTH IS WE’VE LOST THE DESIRE AND WONDER OF FINDING TREASURE
ONE OF JESUS’S PARABLES IN MATTHEW’S GOSPEL FOLLOWS A MAN INTO A FIELD. HE’S WALKING THROUGH THE FIELD AND STUMBLES ON SOMETHING UNUSUAL, SOMETHING OUT OF PLACE.
• HE PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT HE HAD FOUND AT FIRST
• HE NEVER EXPECTED TO FIND RANDOM RICHES IN A FIELD
• BUT HE DID
• HE HAD DISCOVERED A LIFETIME’S WORTH OF WEALTH, JUST LYING UNGUARDED, UNCLAIMED IN HIS PATH
HOW CAN I HAVE THIS TREASURE? WHAT DO I HAVE TO GIVE OR DO TO OWN AND EXPERIENCE AND SPEND THIS TREASURE FOREVER?
THAT WAS THE MAN’S RESPONSE, AND HE KNEW HE HAD TO OWN THE FIELD TO HAVE THE TREASURE.
SO HE SOLD EVERYTHING HE HAD SO THAT HE WOULD HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY THE FIELD.
THE POINT OF THE PARABLE IS TO HIGHLIGHT THE INFINITE, PRECIOUS WORTH OF KNOWING JESUS AND BEING KNOWN BY HIM.
• THE MAN SOLD EVERYTHING TO HAVE THIS TREASURE
• HE GAVE UP HIS HOME
• HE GAVE UP HIS FURNITURE
• HE GAVE UP HIS LIVESTOCK
• ANYTHING THAT HAD ANY VALUE, HE GAVE UP
MOST OF US HAVE NO ISSUE AT ALL GIVING UP –
• OLD FURNITURE
• OLD CLOTHING
• OLD PAIR OF SHOES
• WE HAVE REAL ISSUES GIVING UP SOMETHING WE HOLD OF VALUE
11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”
• JESUS WAS NOT REFERENCING HERE TO GIVE THEM YOUR OLD UNUSED STUFF
THIS MAN IN THE FIELD GAVE UP THINGS HE HAD MADE - GIFTS THAT HAD BEEN GIVEN TO HIM - POSSESSIONS HE HAD OWNED FOR YEARS AND YEARS.
HE SAID GOODBYE TO IT ALL IN AN INSTANT, AND HE DID SO BECAUSE HE COULD SEE WHAT HE WOULD GAIN …..WOULD FAR SURPASS EVERYTHING HE HAD EVER OWNED UP UNTIL THAT POINT.
IF WE DON’T LOVE AND TREASURE JESUS LIKE THIS, THEN WE DON’T REALLY KNOW HIM.
EVERLASTING LIFE IN AND WITH HIM IS SIMPLY AND UNDENIABLY WORTH MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE WE CAN BUY OR BUILD OR OBTAIN HERE ON EARTH.
• MASSIVE HOMES ARE AS NOTHING
• BEAUTIFUL, EXPENSIVE CARS ARE AS NOTHING
• CLOTHING
• TELEVISIONS
• HE IS WORTH ALL TO US
• I DON’T KNOW WHAT HE IS TO YOU – BUT HE’S MY ALL IN ALL..... HE’S A TREASURE LIKE NO OTHER.
OUR TREASURE IS ALL OUR STRENGTH WHEN WE FEEL WEAK.
PAUL WRITES IN II CORINTHIANS 12:9 “BUT HE SAID TO ME, ‘MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU, FOR MY POWER IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS.’ THEREFORE I WILL BOAST ALL THE MORE GLADLY OF MY WEAKNESSES, SO THAT THE POWER OF CHRIST MAY REST UPON ME.” THE GOD AND SAVIOR WHO IS WORTH ALL ALSO WORKS ALL FOR US.
• WHEN WE FALL, HE’S NEAR TO THE BROKEN AND THE BROKEN-HEARTED
• WHEN WE FEEL DRY, HE’S THE SUSTENANCE AND STRENGTH OUR SOUL NEEDS
• AT EVERY POINT THAT WE ARE WEAK, HIS STRENGTH FILLS US AND CONSUMES OUR WEAKNESS IN ORDER TO SHOW THE MEASURE OF HIS POWER
IT IS FOOLISH TO STOP LOOKING FOR MORE AND MORE OF JESUS.
EVERY NEW THING WE SEE — EVERYTHING WE LEARN ABOUT THIS SAVIOR — OFFERS US MORE JOY - MORE FAITH - MORE REST.
• JESUS IS A NEVER-ENDING, NEVER-EXHAUSTED BANQUET OF GOOD FOR OUR SOULS
• NOTHING TASTES BETTER TO OUR HEARTS THAN HIM
• BECAUSE OF THE GOSPEL WE CAN KEEP EATING AND EATING FOR ALL ETERNITY
• WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT PASTOR NEAL?
• DAVID SAID IT THIS WAY -- PSALM 34:8 “O TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD: BLESSED IS THE MAN THAT TRUSTETH IN HIM”
JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD PREPARED THE WAY FOR JESUS AND HIS MINISTRY, AND WHEN HE FINALLY SAW THE CHRIST, HE SAID, “BEHOLD, THE LAMB OF GOD, WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD!”
THE GREATEST, MOST SEVERE CRISIS FOR THE WORLD AND EACH OF US IN IT IS SIN.
WE HAVE NO HOPE IF SOMEONE CANNOT OR DOES NOT INTERVENE ON OUR BEHALF.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THE LAMB OF GOD, JESUS CHRIST, HAS TAKEN OUR SIN - OUR CROSS - OUR SHAME ON HIMSELF BY DYING FOR US, AND THEN HE DEFEATED SIN AND DEATH FOR US BY RISING AGAIN.
• ALL OUR HOPE IS WITH THE CRUCIFIED AND RISEN TREASURE OF OUR HEARTS
• MY HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHNG LESS THAN JESUS BLOOD AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
• HE TRULY IS, AND WILL BE, OUR ALL IN ALL
DURING HIS TIME ON EARTH, JESUS SPOKE TO THE MULTITUDES IN PARABLES, STORIES OF MODERN LIFE TO CONVEY A SPIRITUAL TRUTH ABOUT GOD AND HIS KINGDOM.
THROUGH THESE PARABLES JESUS REVEALS THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD.
AWAY FROM THE CROWDS JESUS EXPLAINS TO HIS DISCIPLES THAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE A TREASURE.
LET US EXAMINE THIS MORE CLOSELY.
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS WHERE THE MOST PRECIOUS THINGS ARE STORED.
THE MOST PRECIOUS, MOST VALUABLE AND MOST GLORIOUS THINGS ARE STORED IN THE HEAVENS.
AS THE PARABLE GOES WHEN A MAN FOUND THIS TREASURE IN A FIELD, HE HID IT UNTIL HE COULD REDEEM IT - OWN IT - POSSESS IT.
• INTERESTING TO NOTE THE MAN DID NOT POSSESS THE FIELD WHERE HE FOUND THE TREASURE
• YET HE KNOWS THE TREASURE THAT HE FOUND IS OF THE HIGHEST VALUE
• AS A CONSEQUENCE, HE IS WILLING TO GIVE ALL THAT HE HAS TO REDEEM IT
THROUGH THIS PARABLE JESUS IS SHOWING THE WORTH OF ALL WHO ENTER INTO HIS KINGDOM.
AT THE TIME OF JESUS TELLING HIS DISCIPLES ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, HE KNEW HE WAS THE MAN IN THE PARABLE. THE ONE WHO HAD GIVEN UP EVERYTHING TO REDEEM WHAT HUMANITY GAVE AWAY.
II CORINTHIANS 8:9 “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.”
• THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, HIS PERFECT WORLD IS WHERE HIS WILL IS DONE
• EVIL AND SELFISHNESS HAS NO POWER - NO PLACE - NO PART IN GOD’S KINGDOM
• HIS KINGDOM IS A PLACE OF EQUALITY AND RESPECT
• HIS KINGDOM IS WHERE HE RULES AND REIGNS IN LOVE AND JUSTICE
• HIS JUSTICE IS PERFECT AND RAISES EACH ONE UP EQUALLY
O NO CORRUPTION IN HIS KINGDOM
O NO HATRED AND RACISM IN HIS KINGDOM
O NO CLASSISM IN HIS KINGDOM
O NO DEMOCRATS OR REPUBLICANS IN HIS KINGDOM
O NO HAVE’S AND HAVE NOT’S IN HIS KINGDOM
DISCOVERING THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD’S KINGDOM AND TRULY UNDERSTANDING ITS FULL VALUE BRINGS GREAT JOY. WHEN ONE WHO WAS LOST RECEIVES JESUS AND ENTERS INTO HIS KINGDOM THERE IS EVERLASTING JOY IN HEAVEN.
• ST. LUKE 15:10 “LIKEWISE, I SAY UNTO YOU, THERE IS JOY IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ANGELS OF GOD OVER ONE SINNER THAT REPENTETH”
• IT IS THE HEART OF THE FATHER THAT ALL WILL BE SAVED
• HOWEVER NOT EVERYONE CHOOSES TO BE SAVED
• SALVATION AND GOD’S KINGDOM IS A CHOICE
THIS JOY OF THE SON OF MAN IS HIS JOY FOR US IN HIM. WHEN WE ENTER INTO HIS KINGDOM IN RECEIVING JESUS AND HIS RIGHT TO RULE AND REIGN, WE ENTER INTO HIS JOY. THE JOY HE NOT ONLY IS BUT ALSO THE REVELATION OF THE JOY HE HAS OVER US. HE DELIGHTS IN US LIVING IN HIS KINGDOM.
• IN THIS PARABLE THE MAN SOLD ALL THAT HE HAD TO POSSESS THE TREASURE
• THAT IS THE ENORMOUS VALUE OF THE KINGDOM, ALL PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR SALVATION
THE QUESTION THIS MORNING IS -- WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD THROUGH THIS TEXT? WE LEARN ONE MAIN THING - THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS SO VALUABLE THAT LOSING EVERYTHING ON EARTH, BUT GETTING THE KINGDOM, IS A HAPPY TRADE-OFF.
HAVING THE OMNIPOTENT, SAVING REIGN OF CHRIST IN OUR LIVES IS SO VALUABLE THAT, IF WE LOSE EVERYTHING, IN ORDER TO HAVE IT, IT IS A JOYFUL SACRIFICE.
THE APOSTLE PAUL EXPRESSES THIS VERY THING IN PHILIPPIANS 3:7-8 “WHATEVER GAIN I HAD, I COUNTED AS LOSS FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST. INDEED, I COUNT EVERYTHING AS LOSS BECAUSE OF THE SURPASSING WORTH OF KNOWING CHRIST JESUS MY LORD. FOR HIS SAKE I HAVE SUFFERED THE LOSS OF ALL THINGS AND COUNT THEM AS RUBBISH, IN ORDER THAT I MAY GAIN CHRIST.”
• IN THE PARABLE THE MAN SELLS EVERYTHING HE HAS SO THAT HE CAN HAVE THE KINGDOM
• IN PHILIPPIANS 3:8, PAUL SUFFERS THE LOSS OF ALL THINGS THAT HE MAY GAIN CHRIST
• I THINK THOSE ARE VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL REALITIES
THE POINT HERE IS NOT THAT YOU BUY THE KINGDOM OR BARTER FOR THE KINGDOM OR NEGOTIATE FOR THE KINGDOM.
• YOU DON’T BUY IT
• YOU CAN’T NEGOTIATE FOR IT
• YOU GET IT FREELY BECAUSE YOU WANT IT MORE THAN YOU WANT ANYTHING ELSE
IN OTHER WORDS, THERE IS A CONDITION FOR HAVING THE KINGDOM — FOR HAVING THE KING ON YOUR SIDE AND AS YOUR FRIEND —BUT THE CONDITION IS NOT WEALTH OR POWER OR INTELLIGENCE OR EMINENCE. THE CONDITION IS THAT YOU PRIZE THE KINGDOM MORE THAN YOU PRIZE ANYTHING ELSE.
• THE POINT OF SELLING EVERYTHING IN THIS PARABLE IS SIMPLY TO SHOW WHERE YOUR HEART IS
• ST. MATTHEW 6:21 “WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE ALSO”
• IF YOUR HEART IS TO HAVE THE KINGDOM ABOVE ALL THINGS, THEN ST. LUKE 12:32 COMES TRUE FOR YOU - “IT IS YOUR FATHER'S GOOD PLEASURE TO GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM.”
• TO GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM!
SO THE POINT OF TEXT IS THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS SO VALUABLE THAT LOSING EVERYTHING ON EARTH, BUT GETTING THE KINGDOM, IS A HAPPY TRADE-OFF.
OR TO BE MORE PERSONAL AND SPECIFIC, WE CAN LOSE EVERYTHING WITH JOY IF WE GAIN CHRIST.
The field in the parable that cost everything the man owned represents the losses, hardships, and persecution a follower of Jesus is called on to endure for him.
DON’T MISS THE WORD “JOY” IN THIS VERSE - “then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
THE LOSS OF ALL THINGS IS NOT SAD IF WE GAIN CHRIST.
--THERE’S A SENSE IN WHICH I CAN ALMOST HEAR JESUS THINKING AS HE’S TELLING THE STORY -- I’M THE TREASURE HIDDEN IN THE FIELD
--YOU’RE LOOKING AT IT!
--THE TREASURE IS STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU AND YOU CAN’T EVEN SEE IT
--IT’S IN PLAIN SIGHT BUT IT’S HIDDEN
--I’VE TOLD YOU THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR BECAUSE I AM NEAR!
--LITERALLY, STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU
--AND INSTEAD OF GIVING UP EVERYTHING THEY HAD AND GOING AFTER THE TREASURE THAT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM, THEY CRUCIFIED THE TREASURE
--THEY KILLED JESUS
--THEY NAILED THE KING OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO A CROSS
--A PLACE CALLED GOLGOTHA
--HE’S A TREASURE LIKE NO OTHER