Untitled Sermon (17)

Most of us have heard the old saying that possession is 9/10s of the law- today’s passage kind of revolved around that idea. In these 2 mirrored parables we hear about some men that came across some treasure.

In the days of Jesus there were no banks with large depositories, no safes or vaults like we have today- at least none outside of royalty- so the people had to get a little creative in protecting their valuables. If a person wanted to keep a treasure safe one of the most widely used security measures was to dig a hole on their property and stick their valuables inside for safe keeping. So, if they were off to war, or a far away journey and they did not return those treasures were left behind until someone- like the 2 men in these parables- came along and found the treasure.

Now, the traditional law stated that if someone found something of value they became the rightful owner of the treasure. That is unless you were an employee of someone else. If you worked for someone then your employer could say that you are his agent, and thus it belongs to him because you were acting on his behalf. For example, let’s say that a man worked as a day laborer, and they had been hired by a man to plow a field- they are going through the field with their plow and they hit a box of great value. In that case the man paying the employee could say “he was working for me, thus it belongs to me” especially if the person owned the property they were working on.

In both of these parables we see men find these treasures and do anything that they can to obtain them legally and finally without debate or scrutiny. Both of these men were willing to pay a high price because they knew that their return would be worth it. Jesus says that the Kingdom of God- God’s work within and around us- is a lot like the stories of hidden treasure being found. But how?

The Kingdom of God is Valuable

There are some things in this life that have debatable value- the one who holds them determines how much they are worth. For example, today I am wearing a tie clip that my mother and aunt gave me on the night of my ordination that belonged to my grandfather- probably not all that expensive to buy one like this. I can probably get on Amazon and buy one for a few dollars and have it to my door in 2 days. But THIS tie clip is priceless to me, because it was his. If someone wanted to buy it from me today I couldn’t place a dollar amount on its value.

Then there are things which have value determined by the market and demand- look no further than lumber the past year, right? A $10 sheet of OSB skyrocketed to $30+ a board! I saw one picture that said the price of lumber is so high I am going to sell my house for parts!

Then there are some things that have a value that will never change. The most basic of these is our number system- what math taught us are integers. 1 is always 1, 5 is always 5. 100000 is always 100000

The Kingdom of God has an eternally established value that does not change regardless of the world or its state. Because the Kingdom of God is established by God and exists in God’s sustaining power and work, like God, the Kingdom’s value is unchangeable, and it is most valuable of all the discoveries we will ever make, because at the center of this Kingdom is the presence of God himself.

The problem is that many times we are like the people on an episode of Pawn Stars or American Pickers, we are oblivious of the value of what we have. We hold onto it many times oblivious to the true power and nature of what we have.

The Kingdom of God is Costly

In Luke 14:25-33 Jesus gives us a glimpse of the kind of thinking we need to engage when making a commitment to serve the Lord.

Friends, there is a hard reality we need to hear in this message- if you follow Jesus, it will eventually cost you. Now, for some people the costs are a lot more obvious than others, like Christians in Nigeria and Afghanistan and other hostile areas that are being martyred for their faith. For the alcoholic the cost of following Jesus is to lay down the bottle; for the for the greedy man it might be to give away their money and possessions; for the sexually immoral it is to lay down impure relationships.

One of the biggest things that following Jesus will cost us is control- control of our lives. Following Jesus comes at the base price of laying down my will. In fact, in just a few chapters later in Matt 16:34 we hear Jesus say to his disciples “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

In order to be a true follower of Jesus we must be willing to lay down our need to call the shots. So often Christians act as though it is God’s job to follow us- follow me to work today God so you can bless me, follow me on vacation and keep me safe, follow me in this situation and clean up my mess---- but that is the opposite of the call of a Christian. We are to be JESUS FOLLOWERS- in other words he is in control, he calls the shots, he makes the plans, and we follow. It’s the reason that James wrote: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Yes, in order to pick up the cross of Jesus there is always something to lay down.

Just because we are no longer asked to sacrifice animals does not mean we are no longer asked to sacrifice anything- we are called to sacrifice just as much as the OT followers.

J.C. Ryle once wrote “"It costs something to be a true Christian. Let that never be forgotten. To be a (lukewarm) Christian, and go to church, is cheap and easy work. But to hear Christ’s voice, follow Christ, believe in Christ, and confess Christ, requires much self-denial. It will cost us our sins, our self-righteousness, our ease, and our worldliness. ALL must be given up. Our Lord Jesus Christ would have us thoroughly understand this. He bids us count the cost."

But the men in these parables were so sold out to the value of their discovery that they sold everything that they had to obtain it. They gave it all up once they found the jewel. And let’s face it, especially here in the USA we don’t have to give up everything to follow Jesus. Most of us will never give up a job, or a home, or any of our freedoms- much less have out lives threatened. In fact, many Christians will not even consistently give up an hour or 2 on Sundays for Church and Sunday School. I saw a picture this week of Christians in Afghanistan going to church that said “We are going to worship Jesus, and we may die” and then a picture of some American Christians that said “We are going to church to worship Jesus- unless its raining out, or I had a long week at work, or we have family coming over for lunch...”

But what were the men in the parable willing to give up? Everything- they were willing to sell everything they owned to take possession of the treasure they had found. Why? Because they knew that the treasure was worth it....

The Kingdom of God is Worth It

Most of us will sacrifice a great deal if we see that the sacrifice is worth it. We will invest thousands of dollars in a car in anticipation that is it a reliable mode to get us where we need to go; we will spend countless hours at ball fields for games and practices if we see that our kids are happy, learning from their experience, and becoming better people through it; we will spend money on vacations if we see it as potentially bringing our families together and giving us rest and relaxation. We do not mind investing if the return is worth it- and the KOG is always worth it.

In Daniel 7:13-14 Daniel gets a vision of the Kingdom of God coming to full fruition when Jesus returns and listen to what he says:

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Listen to how it is described- it is everlasting, it will not pass away, it will not be destroyed.

Jesus said this about our investments in the KOG in Matt 6:20 “ lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Our investments will never be destroyed, never fade, and never get worn out.

Let’s say you were in the market for a new car and the salesman came to you and said I have this car- it is fully guaranteed to never leave this condition. We guarantee that the paint will never fade, or get scratched. No part on the engine will ever break or malfunction, the tires will never go bald, the transmission will never slip, the seats will never tear and the carpet will never get stained or run down- would that be worth the investment? Would you buy a car like that? Fully guaranteed for life! I would. And that is what Jesus is offering us.

Jesus offers us a chance to invest, to be a part of, a Kingdom just like that; one that will never fade, never spoil, never break- the Kingdom of God. The invitation is open, but the choice is only ours.

Did you catch what the Scriptures say about the first man? it says IN HIS JOY he went and sold everything to buy the land. This man found the treasure, and he did not try and think of a way to keep all his things and take possession of his new discovery; he did not sit back and whine that he was going to have to get rid of it all; he did not go take out a high interest loan to get it- but in his joy he willingly got rid of everything else to get it.

Can I just level with you for a moment? Our world, our nation, our churches are too full of people that are trying to figure out how to keep one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom of God. They are trying to have enough Jesus to get them to Heaven and enough world to satisfy their Earthly desires.The problem is that if we haven't noticed the world is getting more and more hostile against the things of our faith and getting further and further away from God. So it is kind of like straddling between a boat and the dock- eventually the currently pulls the boat too far and you have a choice to make, one or the other or get wet.

This man willingly and joyfully gave it up for the treasure- are you willing to give up the things of the world for the KOG?

Instead of saying- God I know that a sexual relationship outside of marriage is not what you want; but we love each other and we are going to get married one day so its ok; will you say NO this is not what God wants for me so I am going to invest in the Kingdom.

Instead of saying God I know that I am not supposed to be bitter and hold a grudge; but they hurt me so bad and they are so wrong; I would let it go if they would just apologize. Will you say God it hurts, but I know that bitterness and grudges are like poison for my soul, so I am going to lay my hurt down and choose your Kingdom in this moment.

Instead of saying God I know that I am supposed to give out of my abundance and I know I do not tithe faithfully, but I am saving up for that boat, God and the kids want those new cellphones and Brenda just told us the other week that the giving at the church is going good so they do not need my money right now; Will you say God giving is not just about the church, it is about me, and I know you will meet my needs so I am going to commit to a life of generosity and choose Your Kingdom.

I’m betting that all of us- myself included- have something we need to lay down- sell- get rid of- to invest in the KOG today. The question is are we willing? Do we believe that the KOG, though costly, is worth it?

There is one difference between these 2 men though, one is a man who stumbles across the treasure in what seems to be happenstance- an accidental