Treasure Hunt
Summary of sermon on Matthew 13:44-46 from Pastor Lance Shumake..
In our text this week, Jesus shares two parables about the kingdom of heaven.
He says “the kingdom of heaven is like…
...a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes out and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
...a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Essentially, what He’s saying is that
when we find the kingdom of heaven, we have found the
ultimate treasure. It’s worth giving everything else up for.
The two examples Jesus gives are illustrations of how we come to find the kingdom. (1) The man who stumbles upon the treasure might be like a person who was born to a believing family. The treasure was always there, but the person couldn’t claim it until it became their own. (2) The merchant who searches urgently for the pearl would be someone who went down a lot of paths and found them to be dead ends. An example would be the Apostle Paul, who says in Philippians 3:7-10:
“But 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 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”
We see through these examples that
when we find the kingdom of heaven, it will change everything
because we are assured of something so much greater.
Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but 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.”
→ What are our treasures? Our money. Our time. Our energy. Our abilities. Our resources.
→
How are you investing your treasures?
Where you invest shows where your heart is.
Jesus assures us that
what we lose in this pursuit will never be a sacrifice!
Of the man who found the treasure, author Randy Alcorn said, “We aren’t to pity this man; we’re to envy him! His sacrifice pales in comparison his reward. Consider the costs-to-benefit ratio -- the benefits far outweigh the costs.”
Missionary Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
We can look to no greater example of this than Jesus Himself,
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” - 2 Corinthians 8:9
Let the words we proclaim on Sundays be true:
If more of You means less of me…
...take
everything.
--
Watch this sermon.
