The Truth About Treasure Series

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

Hagerstown, MD

www.mycrossway.org

This morning we have the absolute privilege of continuing in our study of the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. And before we get into the text, let me remind you that Jesus’ sermon is really a contrast between the religion of the Scribes and Pharisees and the truth of the kingdom of God. In fact, Matthew 5:20 “20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” is sort of the entire thesis statement of Jesus’s message. In other words, this is the standard if you want to be a righteous citizen in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Pharisees were only concerned with outward appearances - piety. They taught that being holy was all about works and the external pretenses of life all the while, they had wretched, darkened hearts. They taught that as long as you don’t kill someone, you’re alright. Jesus said, that if you hold anger in your heart you’ve committed murder in your heart. They taught that as long as you don’t commit adultery, you’re good. Jesus said that if you even look at a woman lustfully, you’ve already committed adultery in the heart.

And the same is true when it comes to money and treasure, which is where we are at today. Now, I don’t go out of my way to preach about money. So if you are new with us, this is not the norm. But I do preach verse by verse through the Bible, and as much as Jesus talks about it, I will talk about it. You’ll be interested to know that Jesus talked about money 5 times more than any other topic. So it must be important, but it needs to be presented biblically. There is no get rich scheme in the Bible with God. Jesus’ concern is the condition and attitude of your heart toward such things. So with that let’s read the passage together.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Matthew 6:19–24)

Have you ever heard about a man named Forrest Fenn? Forrest Fenn was a pilot in the US Air Force, earning the rank of Major and awarded the Silver Star for his sermon in Vietnam, which flew 328 combat missions within a year. After his service to his country, he ran an art gallery where he made his fortune, sometimes bringing in up to $6 million a year. He died in 2020 at the age of 90 years old, but not before publishing his memoir in 2010.

In Fenn’s memoir, The Thrill of the Chase, Fenn described a treasure chest containing $1 million dollars in gold coins he said he buried somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, somewhere north of Sante Fe. The value of the chest today is estimated to be upwards of $2 million dollars. Fenn said that stories in his memoir included clues to the chest's location and that the poem found in the chapter "Gold and More" contained nine clues that would lead the chest. The result was a modern-day treasure hunt that stretched from Sante Fe to across the Canadian border.

In 2020 Fenn posted in his blog that the chest was found. "It was under a canopy of stars in the lush, forested vegetation of the Rocky Mountains and had not moved from the spot where I hid it more than 10 years ago. I do not know the person who found it, but the poem in my book led him to the precise spot. I congratulate the thousands of people who participated in the search and hope they will continue to be drawn by the promise of other discoveries. So the search is over. Look for more information and photos in the coming days."

The victor at first remained anonymous but was later identified as Jack Stuef, a medical student from Michigan. In an attempt to give honor to Fenn, Stuef only removed a couple of artifacts from the chest and left the treasure in its hiding space for others to continue to search. Those items were auctioned in December 2022, bringing in $1.3 million dollars.