The Great Treasure

Announcements:

What a great day to worship Jesus Christ

There are billions of people who will never know what it is like to gather with God’s people

There are billions of people who will never know what it is like to know Jesus

But for us WE ARE BLESSED!

We have something so much greater than this world could ever offer and so much more than we could ever deserve.

Pastoral Prayer

INTRODUCTION

There are two kinds of preachers: those who preach to convict the soul and those who preach to draw a crowd. I try to preach to convict the soul. And I have tried to preach the other way, and I have tried to prepare nice messages that will not offend people but if I am true to the Scriptures it is nearly impossible.

I say that because I had planned on preaching this parable for weeks, and I planned on an uplifting message about the wonderful treasure the Kingdom of God is. But as I prepared this message, I discovered some deep convicting truths buried within about what it means to be a disciple.

Why do you think Jesus taught that way? Right smack in the middle of a rich, colorful, story Jesus would include a convicting statement that would be so hard to swallow by those who were listening. I would say that Jesus’ own conviction on preaching would be his own words, “the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32).

It is better to preach truth that wounds and then heals, than speak lies that comforts and kills. It is better to be hated for speaking the truth, than loved for telling lies. It is better to be divided by truth than united in error. Those words were spoken by Adrian Rogers and I keep them in my heart because they are words that I live by.

When we read this parable it makes us smile, until we really begin to think about the implications of what He is teaching. This parable is not only about the infinite value of the kingdom of God, but also about the radical call to discipleship in the man who finds the treasure.

Matthew 13:44 NAS

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

We read the first part of that and we say oh that is so good. I just love this parable. And then we read the second clause and it’s a little odd, but still ok. BUT then we read the last part and say, “Is that what God expects of me?” And we are left with this profound impression abou the greatness of the Christ and the profound responsibility of a disciple.

I have broken this parable into three parts, and each part teaches a significant part of the gospel.

The Opportunity: the kingdom of God is a once in a life-time discovery

Matthew 13:44 NAS

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Explanation

Most of us are not treasure hunters, and the thought of finding a buried treasure or a sunken treasure in the ocean seems like a fairy tale.

But to those Jesus was talking to, this story would have been very familiar because treasures were hidden quite frequently.

Why? Because there were no banks, no safety deposit boxes, no fireproof safes in homes, and no real secure place to store their valuables.

So instead of locking the, up, They buried them! And often times they buried them in the middle of a field.

Archaeologists have often found jars of gold coins and even precious jewels buried in fields.

So in cases like that, the owners of those buried treasures would have been killed or died suddenly and their treasured remained hidden where no one knew about it.

And it was very possible to come across someone’s great hidden treasure.

Bridge

What are the odds of finding a buried treasure? Scholars say they were about the same then as they are now.

ILLUSTRATION

If we use the lottery as an example, the odds of hitting the Mega Millions are roughly: 1 in 330 million

There are 329 million people in the United States right now. One of those people will be our next president. Just suppose that you were given a hat with every persons name living in the United States right now and you were given one chance to pick the name of the next President. No looking, no sifting. Just one chance to reach in and draw out the right name.

Application

What makes the Kingdom of God such a rare discovery, is not its lack of availability!

We must not read this and think that the chance of going to heaven is like hitting the lottery!

What we must see here is that the whole World misses the greatest treasure because they do not recognize it

So many do not come to Christ is because they cannot see the once-in-a-lifetime treasure that He is.

The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field…”

They cannot see His value

They cannot see the real treasure that He is

They cannot see past the temporal things of this world.

So when they think about Jesus, they only look at him through their natural eyes and not through faith.

They see another responsibility in their lives.

They see struggles and hardships

They see them losing the pleasures of their sins

And they conclude that He is not worth it.

BUT when one comes to see the kingdom of God for what it really is and what it is really worth, they find a once-in-a-lifetime hidden treasure that changes their lives forever.

The Discovery: When one discovers the true value of Christ, he will gladly surrender everything to have Him

Matthew 13:44 NAS

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Explanation

This man who was walking along in a field and discovered this hidden treasure knew he had stumbled upon a one-in-a-life-time discovery. He knew what he had found was far more valuable than everything that he had earned and saved up over the course of his lifetime.

But there is one issue here! He has been walking in another man’s field! He just happened to stumble upon a hidden treasure. And as it was back then, the man who owned the field owned the treasure!

But this man Is no fool! He has seen the value of this treasure and knows it is worth more than everything he owns. So as a wise investor, he goes and sells everything he has so that he can buy that field. And in buying the field he also receives the kingdom.

Bridge

Now this is not teaching that we can buy Jesus, or give things to revive Jesus or the Kingdom.

No amount of money will get us into the kingdom of God. No amount of good deeds will get us into the Kingdom of God.

What this is teaching is the cost of discipleship. What this is teaching that for one to come to Christ, that one must be willing to pay the costs whatever that is.

Luke 14:28-34 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’…… “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”

Principle:

Do you know what keeps so many people from the kingdom of heaven? The Cost of Discipleship!

Make no mistake, it will cost you to come to Jesus.

It will cost you your time

It will cost you money

It will cost you your reputation with the world

It will cost you the comforts and luxuries that this world has.

It will cost you your lifestyle of sin…

It will cost everyone of us in many ways, BUT WHAT IS GAINED CANNOT BE COMPARED TO THE COSTS!

This is the primary point of the the entire parable! JESUS IS WOTH INFINITELY MORE THAN ANYTHING WE COULD EVER GIVE UP!

The value of a treasure is worth everything that we have!

‘There is nothing that could even compare to Jesus!

But I must make his point clear: THE MAN PAID TO COSTS.

Even when the costs was as high as selling everything that he had.

So many love the thought in our world today love the idea of going to heaven, just as long as it does not cost them anything.

But grace is not free!

And if it cost Jesus Christ to suffer, bleed, and die on the cross of Calvary, we must not think it will not cost us too!

Bonhoeffer said that is cheap grace!

QUOTE

“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.”

Cheap Grace does not save! If coming to Christ has not cost you, then listen to me you have not come to Christ!

If you love your money more than Jesus, then that is your treasure.

If you love your sin more than Jesus, then that is your treasure.

If you love comfort and laziness more than Jesus, then that is your treasure.

If you are a person who harbors hatred and unforgiveness then that is your treasure.

If there is anything in your life that you value more than Christ, and would not give up because of Christ, then you can identify your treasure.

Application

What would you not give for Jesus? If this man sold everything he had to get that treasure then put yourself in his place and ask yourself, is there anything that I would not give to have Him as my Savior!

Can I plead with you this morning? Give it up! Everything we have is perishing, and all that is going to matter is what you did for Christ.

The man sold everything to buy the field, because the field is how he got the treasure.

It is such a heart breaking thing to see a person who would be willing to go to hell over a dime on a dollar.

It is such a shame to see a man in the last years of his life with tens of thousands of dollars in the bank and puts Pennie’s in the offer plate.

It is heartbreaking to see people who are fully capable of serving and helping in the church who will not lift a finger to do so.

It is unbelievable to see people who never share the gospel, yet claim to have been saved by the gospel.

The Joy: It is the joy of discovering the treasure that compels the man to do things he has never done

Matthew 13:44 NAS

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Explanation

We read the part about the costs and think there is no way I would do that. No way I could give up everything, risk embarrassmeNT, face my fears, whatever it is.

But notice what this verse says, it is the joy of finding the treasure that compels this man to sell all that he has.

He does not sell his goods out of dread, or out of spite, or out of regret!

He gives up everything because of the overwhelming joy that the treasure has brought him.

Principle

Coming to Christ should not be seen as a dreadful thing, but a joyous experience.

There is the joy of being forgiven! having our sins washed away! The overwhelming impression and truth that every bad thing we have ever done has been washed away by the blood of Christ.

There is the joy of a relationship. Knowing and walking with the Creator of the universe! The One who made everything that we can see, and who has the power to do anything in our lives. We have the ability to pray and know that He hears us and that if we ask anything according to His will, He will give it to us!

‘There is the joy of hope. This hope knowing that neither life nor death can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ. That one day when we leave this world, we are going to a heavenly home to be with the Lord forever!

Joy is not something that some ChristIan’s have, but what every child of God has immediately upon giving their lives to Jesus.

It is not a facade or a feeling that comes and goes.

It is a reality that all believers possess.

Application

What motivates you?

A warped view of the gospel does things out of guilt and shame.

That relationship with Christ is based on performance, not grace.

The more you do, the moreGod loves you. The less you do, the less God loves you.

But true grace is not that way. True grace says there is nothing you could ever do in Christ to make Him love you more or less.

Grace is foundation of our joy. It is receiving something that is so great and we KNOW that we do not deserve it, but aecuase of His great love He offered it to us anyway.

And because of that tremendous gift, it becomes our motivation to give everything we have for Christ.

That is the joy unspeakable that his man found.

That is the joy unspeakable that anyone can find in Christ.

CONCLUSION

Tommy Thompson

A former deep-sea treasure hunter is preparing to mark his sixth year in jail for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of 500 missing coins made from gold found in an historic shipwreck.

Research scientist Tommy Thompson has been held in contempt of court since Dec. 15, 2015, for that refusal. He is also incurring a daily fine of $1,000.

Thompson's case dates to his discovery of the S.S. Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, in 1988. The gold rush-era ship sank in a hurricane off South Carolina in 1857 with thousands of pounds of gold aboard, contributing to an economic panic.

Despite an investors lawsuit and a federal court order, Thompson, 69, still won't cooperate with authorities trying to find those coins. Thompson says he's already said everything he knows about the coins.

He pleaded guilty in April 2015  for his failure to appear in court and was sentenced to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. But Thompson's criminal sentence has been delayed until the issue of the gold coins is resolved.

After a federal judge ordered Thompson in 2012 to appear in court to disclose the coins' whereabouts, Thompson fled to Florida where he lived with his longtime female companion at a hotel. U.S. marshals tracked him down and arrested him in early 2015.

Other reports state that the gold is worth around 500 million and Tommy has it hidden away for his children.

What is your treasure?

Do you know that the opportunity to come to Christ is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? And it is God who opens and closes that door.

Do you know that God placed you here today to hear this message so that you will come to Him?

Do you know that if you will be like the man who was willing to give up everything you can experience that same joy that he found?

Jesus still Saves. And there is nothing so bad in your life that Jesus cannot save you from.

But you must be willing to trade in your treasure to have the Great Treasure.

~Prayer~