Searching for Hidden Treasure
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Unless you subscribe to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, you probably missed the story that was in the May 17, 1987 edition.
A rock hound named Rob Cutshaw owns a little roadside shop outside Andrews, North Carolina. Like many in the trade, he hunts for rocks, then sells them to collectors or jewelry makers. He knows enough about rocks to decide which to pick up and sell, but he’s no expert. He leaves the appraising of his rocks to other people. As much as he enjoys the work, it doesn’t always pay the bills. He occasionally moonlights, cutting wood to help put bread on the table.
While on a dig twenty years ago, Rob found a rock he described as “purdy and big.” He tried unsuccessfully to sell the specimen, and according to the Constitution, kept the rock under his bed or in his closet. He guessed the blue chunk could bring as much as $500 dollars, but he would have taken less if something urgent came up like paying his power bill.
That’s how close Rob came to hawking for a few hundred dollars what turned out to be the largest, most valuable sapphire ever found. The blue rock that Rob had abandoned to the darkness of a closet two decades ago—now known as “The Star of David” sapphire—weighs nearly a pound, and could easily sell for 3+ million.
He had treasure
hidden in
his closet.
He didn’t realize
what he had!
Key Passage
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Explanation...
No banks
Farmer is renting farm land
Finds treasure
Does not own field
Treasure is not his.
Sells everything
Buys Field
Owns Treasure
Parables
full of symbols.
What does it all mean?
Go back
take it apart
little by little.
Read key passage again.
Matthew 13:44 (ESV)
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field...
Treasure
Treasure
What is the treasure?
says:
“kingdom of heaven”
What else could
it be referring to?
Psalm 119:72 (ESV)
The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Psalmist says,
truth
bible
law of God
better than money!
What is this
TRUE treasure?
Truth
Knowledge of God
Law of God
Job agrees:
Job 28:12–23 (ESV)
“But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living.
The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’ and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.
Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls.
The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.
“From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?
It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air.
Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
“God understands the way to it, and he knows its place.
What is
True treasure?
wisdom
Spiritual understanding
truth
UNAWARE OF THE TREASURE
"The Mystery of the Missing Owner" read the headline on an unusual section of the Chicago Tribune on Sunday, February 6, 2005. The supplement was actually a legal notice published by the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office seeking to give money away to rightful owners--the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes, forgotten bank accounts, security deposit checks, uncashed paychecks, and dividend checks.
More than a billion dollars is owed to nearly five million people and businesses that the Treasurer’s Office could not trace. The front page of the supplement listed the names and last known addresses of 10 individuals or couples each owed over $100,000. And what followed were 116 pages packed tightly with names from Lucilee Aakeberg to Leonard E. Zyzda--113,000 names of people all owed more than $100 in cash and/or stock!
Back to key text:
Matthew 13:44 (ESV)
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field...
Field
Field
What does the
field symbolize?
Field
location of
buried treasure.
Location that
you search to
find it.
Treasure = truth
Where do you search
for the truth?
Christ’s Object Lessons Chapter 8—Hidden Treasure
In the parable the field containing the treasure represents the Holy Scriptures. And the gospel is the treasure.
Field = Bible.
Treasure = truth (good news)
Summary...
If you want to
find treasure
must search field.
What is field?
Bible.
What is treasure?
truth
especially truth of Gospel.
One of the better known treasure hunts in modern times is the quest to find the rumored wealth known as the "Beale treasure." The hunt began when an eccentric man, who left the East for the gold and silver mines of the West, returned home, supposedly hid a vast amount of wealth, then disappeared forever. All he left behind were several messages written in a mysterious code. One of those messages when deciphered told of the treasure and its approximate location. The other documents, then, would narrow down the site. Since the Beale documents first came to light, thousands of man-hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent attempting to break the codes and find the legendary treasure.
No reported findings exist.
Today in the Word, MBI, December, 1989, p. 14.
Back to key text:
Matthew 13:44 (ESV)
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field...
Hidden
Hidden
Focus on
this word:
“hidden.”
If the Bible truth
is the treasure,
Why does the parable
talk about it
“being hidden”?
Isn’t the bible
available for any
to “find” it?
The parable says
treasure was “buried.”
Now follow me...
If treasure is truth...
How do you
bury truth?
When we say
someone
buried the truth...
It implies
they weren’t ignorant
to the truth.
They were exposed
to the truth
but they buried it
to reject
or deny it!
Likewise
Jews and OT
had the truth.
Truth of salvation.
Truth of Messiah
Truth of Sacrifice
Truth of Gospel
Plan of salvation.
They had it...
It was given
in symbols.
Sanctuary teaching
all about gospel.
They had the truth
but they obscured it
in their formalism.
They buried it
in traditions
ceremonialism.
The Bible says
so many leaders
reject Christ.
Why?
Nevertheless, many did believe in Him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so they would not be banned from the synagogue.
They rejected Him
not because truth
wasn’t clearly seen.
But...
they rejected Him
because it wasn’t popular.
Next verse:
For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
Today,
Bible treasure
Gospel treasure
not sought after
why?
Same as yester-millennia
worldly treasure
is more appealing
selfish ambitions
worldly riches
honor from people
earthly power
and tradition.
blind people.
Paul says:
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
Worldly people
have no interest in
heavenly treasure.
It’s simply unappealing.
Why does the bible
talk about it
being “hidden”?
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
Sounds like
predestination.
God predestined
certain people
to be lost?
Was it God’s choice
to reject them?
Or was it their choice
to reject God?
Their choice
but God ultimately
allowed
their existence
existence of sin
natural consequence of sin
rejection of sinner.
Who is ultimately in control?
God!
So passage speaks
of God as rejecting them
but in truth
they rejected God.
Back to main question...
Why is the gospel hidden?
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
They have become
blind due to unbelief.
They chose to
blind themselves
with lack of interest.
The Largest Buried Treasure Find in America
The largest buried treasure find in America, known as the Saddle Ridge hoard, was discovered in February 2013. A couple who owned the property were walking their dog in the morning. They spotted what appeared to be a rusted portion of a can and decided to unearth it. The rusted and deformed can was unusually heavy as if it were filled with iron or lead. The can was so heavy that while taking it back to their house, the lid of the can cracked open and revealed glistening gold coins! Not the sort of thing that you stumble across on the average day!
After that first can, the couple went back to the site to dig up the land in search of more cans filled with coins. Eventually, they unearthed a total of eight cans throughout their property on Saddle Ridge. After their discovery, the couple protected their find by hiding it in an old ice chest, then burying it under a pile of wood.
The hoard has a total of 1,411 gold coins with a total face value of $27,980. The actual value of the coins has been estimated to stand at a whopping $10 million dollars. The secret origin of the largest buried treasure find in America remain a mystery to this day.
Back to key passage:
Matthew 13:44 (ESV)
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found...
Found
Found
The parable says
treasure is found...
Begs some questions...
How did he find it?
Why didn’t previous
renters/owners
find it?
If they knew
it was there
they wouldn’t
rent
sell
property!
Prior owner
Prior renters
Oblivious to fact
treasure in the field!
So,
why did this
new renter
find the treasure?
Simple.
He dug deeper.
He plowed
more thoroughly.
This highlights the idea
it takes effort
to find
treasure in the word.
Story about digging septic
depth - 5ft.
effort
scorching heat
sweating profusely
muscles burning
Treasure?
no...
puddle of poop water...
But I did save money...
(that’s treasure)
Point is
takes effort.
Likewise
finding treasure
in God’s word
takes effort!
A casual perusal,
provide few
gold nuggets.
Speaking of
people like this
Ellen White says:
Christ’s Object Lessons Chapter 8—Hidden Treasure
They are content with a surface work, taking for granted that they have all that is essential.
They think
they haven enough
knowledge of God...
But there is
always more to learn!
Reading same chapter 10 times
always learn something new.
Study of Romans
In the Word
Jesus buried
some treasure deeply!
And we must
dig deeply
to discover it.
Continuation of quote above:
Christ’s Object Lessons (Chapter 8—Hidden Treasure)
But there must be earnest study and close investigation. Sharp, clear perceptions of truth will never be the reward of indolence.
--
No earthy blessing can be obtained without earnest, patient, persevering effort. If men attain success in business, they must have a will to do and a faith to look for results.
--
And we cannot expect to gain spiritual knowledge without earnest toil. Those who desire to find the treasures of truth must dig for them as the miner digs for the treasure hidden in the earth.
--
No halfhearted, indifferent work will avail. It is essential for old and young, not only to read God’s word, but to study it with wholehearted earnestness,
--
praying and searching for truth as for hidden treasure. Those who do this will be rewarded, for Christ will quicken the understanding.
Spirit will
give us desire.
empower us seek.
bless us to receive.
But we must
put forth effort
to dig!
Unfortunately,
Many Christians today,
like prior owner.
We own the field.
(Bible).
It is full of treasure.
(nuggets of truth).
Yet we often
never find them.
Because we never
personally dug deep.
Christian have bibles.
but don’t study them.
Rather listen
to sermons of others.
Let other dig.
Let me be real.
Treasure that is not
found by you
is rarely
much valued by you!
It is not
your faith
but hearing about
faith of someone else.
Allowing others
to dig for us
Like people who
come to church,
always learning
never teaching.
Goal is to
become leader
be teacher
disciple someone
lead other to
good news
you have found.
Let me remind us.
Conditions to
God’s blessings:
Proverbs 2:4–5 (ESV)
if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
Do we want
understand fear of Lord?
knowledge of God?
Must dig for it!
We've all stored objects under our beds at some point, but for one fisherman from the Philippines, there was more than just pocket change beneath his furniture. In 2006 he was out in his boat when his anchor got caught on a giant clam. He had to swim down to release it, and in a great twist of fate, he found a giant pearl inside. Thinking it was an omen of good luck, he kept it under his bed and didn't think any more of it. That was until he needed to move houses 10 years later, and gave the pearl to his aunt. She asked if she could offer it to the mayor of the town to put it on display, and that's when the extreme value of this find came to light. The pearl is one foot wide, 2.2 feet long, and weighs a staggering 75 pounds. Further tests are needed, but if the pearl was indeed formed inside a giant clam, it's thought to be worth almost $100 million.
We have knowledge
right in front of us
(Bible)
we must dig for it.
This leads me
to another
important point...
Verse talks about
knowledge of God.
Knowledge
Knowledge
What are we
digging to find?
In some way
we are digging
for deeper knowledge
of God.
Christ’s Object Lessons Chapter 8—Hidden Treasure
Our salvation depends on a knowledge of the truth contained in the Scriptures.
Bible says:
To be saved,
We must “know” God.
John 17:3 (ESV)
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Bible also teaches,
God must know us.
Matthew 7:21–23 (ESV)
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
If salvation is
connected to
knowledge...
We must prioritize
seeking the
knowledge of God
Paul says:
Philippians 3:8–10 (ESV)
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 and be found in him..., — that I may know him and the power of his resurrection...
Knowing God
more important
than anything else
in this life.
As they saying goes:
“Knowledge is Power”
“Knowledge is Power”
But this
somewhat depends
one what you mean
by gaining knowledge.
I’m going to
come back to
this thought
shortly.
Elsewhere, in 1999, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston paid $1.25 million for Magnolias on Gold Velvet Cloth by Martin Johnson Heade, a 19th Century artist. This particular painting had been used to cover a hole in a contractor's home, and he only realized it might be valuable when playing the board game Masterpiece, that featured an image of it. After making inquiries, the sale was soon made, and he was able to finally cover up the hole in the wall properly.
Back to key text:
Matthew 13:44 (ESV)
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Sells All
Sells All
When the renter
dug up the treasure
he saw its worth.
He realized the value
of what was
right before him.
Getting this treasure
became his
all-consuming thought.
Imagine looks and questions
he gets from
family and friends.
“Why are you selling
everything you own?”
“What has gotten into you?”
His new obsession
all-controlling thought
must have that treasure.
But nobody else
understood him.
Why???
Because they couldn’t see
what he saw
the value
in that field!
To them
old
unkept
ugly
farm...
Nothing to get
all worked up about.
Remember,
field = bible.
Today,
surrounded by
friends and family
of the world.
They can’t
understand
see
accept
zeal we have
treasure of Word!
To them,
old fashioned
stale
uninteresting.
To those,
filled with spirit,
it is everything.
Garage sales are another place that valuable items can be found, and one New York family hit the jackpot in 2007. They were looking for a bowl to place on a mantelpiece as a decoration, and paid three dollars for one with a Chinese design that was just a little over five inches in diameter. They were curious though, and consulted with experts about its origin, soon discovering that it was a 1,000 year old Ding bowl from the Northern Song Dynasty. The only other known of which had been on display in the British Museum for more than 60 years. It had a fine, near-white body, with an ivory colored glaze. And is a beautiful example of the pottery from that time. The family took it to an auction house, Sotheby's, with an estimate of up to $300,000. But it finally sold for a massive 2.2 million after a Chinese antiques collector fended off a number of other interested bidders.
Summary:
Jesus parable teaches
value of treasure
effort needed
to get it.
Two Ditches
Two Ditches
Even for those
who seem to value
this hidden treasure
there is danger.
Like pharisees of old,
they loved to study.
(gain spiritual knowledge).
But for what purpose?
They enjoyed debate
over minor topics.
This knowledge of God
became more of
badge of honor
for themselves.
We live in a world,
generally speaking
knowledge is
honored/respected.
When someone
gets doctoral degree
(letters behind name)
generally treated
respectfully.
We honor knowledge.
But,
knowledge for knowledge sake
does not sanctify
the learner.
Education alone
does not uplift soul.
Christ’s Object Lessons Chapter 8—Hidden Treasure
The true higher education is gained by studying and obeying the word of God. But when God’s word is laid aside for books that do not lead to God and the kingdom of heaven, the education acquired is a perversion of the name.
In our society
constant pressure
to get more knowledge.
(worldly knowledge).
People keep getting
more degree
more higher education.
Why?
viewed as
“more marketable”
for worldly riches.
The problem is:
worldly education
(not leading to God)
is not education at all!!!
That is even true
of scholastic
Bible study.
(Pharisees)
The heart is not
transformed by
knowledge alone.
The Heart is Transformed By:
Right knowledge.
Submission to truth.
Much of “education” (so-called)
in this world
is not education
but rather dumbification.
We are being taught
to have no morals
like dumb animals.
The allurement
of the world before us
respect of education
enchantment of money
distraction of media
Lead us to value
word of God
very little.
Little interest
for TRUE treasure.
But those who
filled with Spirit
do not think such.
They long after
word of God.
Rich Gilson and his wife, Suzanne, purchased a house in Wildwood, New Jersey, about four years ago, and they have been working on additions and renovations to the home during that time. Gilson, who works in home inspections and renovations, was able to start working on the driveway of the house in the area in front of the home’s garage.
Gilson said, “So I start digging. I’m hitting concrete. I'm hitting rock. I'm hitting glass. Then I found these two things, and they look like root balls. I throw them in the soil pile, both of them, thinking they’re just roots.”
As he continued his work outside on Sunday, he came across one of the cylindrical objects again. “I pick it up, and I'm thinking what is this? Why are these things following me, right? I look at the edge, and I think ‘I can see something there.' It looked like paper. So, I started tugging at the edge, and I knew immediately what it was. I thought ‘this is money.’”
The money was wrapped in brown paper. Gilson and his wife began pulling the cylinder apart, and it amounted to rolls of $10 and $20 bills, totaling $1,000. That money would have been worth a lot more at the time: $1,000 in 1934 is the equivalent of more than $22,000 today when accounting for inflation, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Appeal
Appeal
Seek God
Seek Truth
Surrender to the Truth.