What would you pay for eternal life?
Picture yourself in this scenario. You just bought one of those metal detectors and you go out to use it just as a hobby. You find this big field and you’re doing you thing. Every now and then you find something nice and sometimes not valuable. But it keeps you searching. You have your hopes on a prize. Finally you hear the detector beeping. It slowly starts to beep faster and faster and louder and louder. You get so excited you stop in your tracks bend down and start digging. Now you struck the big one. You don’t just find something valuable. But you find a gold mine. The whole area is all gold. Its amazing you can believe it but it is true. It’s all gold.
What do you do? You don’t own the property. It’s owned by someone else. So you can’t just take the Gold. What do you do? So you decide to buy the property. But the owner wants a big money. In order to buy it you have to sell everything you have for it. You don’t have that cash. So in order to get the field you have to sell your house, car, everything. Would you do it? You know if you buy that field all your dreams will be fulfilled. Or do you hold on to the measly things that we hold on to?
I know of someone else who told a story like this it was Jesus. But it went like this
Matthew 13:44 - 50 (NIV) 44“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
What can I say? When we look at how Jesus presents this message we can learn a few things. I believe Jesus was trying his best to get His disciples to understand something. And that’s the value of the kingdom
I. THE VALUE OF HEAVEN
a. He wants them to understand a few things
b. One…the value of the kingdom
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field
II. He called it a treasure.
a. It is valued
i. Held dear to your heart
ii. Its important to you
b. The most valuable thing in this world
i. I know many people don’t see this
ii. But those that are actually experiencing the kingdom of heaven understand its value.
c. You care for a treasure
i. Safe deposit box
III. He compared it to Fine pearls
a. To such an extent that the finder sold everything he had for it.
b. It was of so much value that nothing else matter.
c. Compared to it, the things of this world paled to it in comparison.
d. It’s like that gold mine I was talking about.
IV. The kingdom of heaven in the after life
Revelation 21:4 (NASB)
4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."
By Heaven we understand a state of happiness infinite in degree and endless in duration.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (1706–1790)
V. The kingdom of heaven in this life
Heaven is the perfectly ordered and harmonious enjoyment of God and of one another in God.
SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO (354–430)
VI. THE COST OF HEAVEN
Jesus now tells his the disciples
a. That it is so valuable its worth giving everything you have.
i. He knew that in order for them to advance this kingdom that they would be risking everything they have
ii. There families their jobs
iii. Their homes
iv. Their lives
v. They all died accept John
vi. And many. many more died martyrs to advance the kingdom
vii. Jesus is telling them that it is worth it all.
b. Is not heaven worth the cost?
c. Is not eternal life worth everything we have?
VII. Shouldn’t we give up everything to take hold of it?
a. You cant work your way into heaven
b. No matter what you do our own good works will never amount enough to get us into heaven.
c. We are not perfect
i. “Its by grace that you have been saved”
d. This doesn’t mean we don’t have a part in our salvation
e. What it means is that we didn’t do anything special to prompt God to send his son. He did it on His own violation.
It’s free but not cheap
Illustration: I am offering someone a free gift. But it’s in china on top of a mountain. Now the gift is free. But the plane ticket costs. Then you have to catch a cab then you have to climb the mountain. The gift is free. Its your for the taking. Actually the moment you start out for it, it’s actually yours. You name is on it. But you have to leave.
f. Many people don’t want to pay for the ticket; we want God to continue to flip the bill.
g. There isn’t anything we can do to earn our salvation. But our salvation is a two way street.
h. There is a cost. Jesus tells us this
VIII. And if it’s so valuable to us shouldn’t we give everything we have to advance it?
Luke 14:28 - 35 (NIV) 28“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. 34“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Explain the scripture: We should count the cost before we enter in
Cheap Grace
I. The biggest problem we have in America today is a watered down version of the gospel.
a. Not only from layman but also from preachers.
b. We get the message of grace without the message of commitment and they both go hand in hand.
Cheap Grace
Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ,
c. That’s why many people never come to commitment in Christ.
i. They get told somehow they can be saved if they believe in Jesus but this isn’t even close to the truth of the gospel.
ii. God wants us to be disciples and walk in relationship with him. Period.
d. So we never tell them the cost right from the beginning
i. Maybe its because we are afraid they wont accept it
ii. Maybe its because we never paid the price our selves
iii. Maybe its because we don’t know
e. Promise keepers has always presented the gospel perfectly
i. God isn’t looking for people who want a superficial faith
ii. He is looking for sold out soldieries with a cause.
iii. And when we come to Christ we don’t just come to him and say forgive me.
f. We must say to ourselves is my salvation worth giving up all that I have.
i. Is the kingdom of heaven worth enough for me to change my lifestyle and give my life to Christ?
g. Many say you must let Christ into your heart. True
i. But what is better is that we must give our life to Him. That’s the cost.
33In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
h. Hear me today.
i. From the bottom of my heart. This is the truth of the gospel.
ii. It’s about giving ourselves to a loving God.
iii. In every area of our lives.
Costly grace
1. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has.
2. It is the pearl of great price to buy. For which the merchant will sell all his goods.
3. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble.
4. It is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. …
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer in The Cost of Discipleship. Christianity Today, Vol. 42, no. 8.
II. He also says this important thing
34“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
a. Hear that? We are the salt of the earth scripture tells us right
b. Now let’s say we come to Christ and we don’t count the cost and we realize the cost is too much so we don’t pay the price.
c. So we don’t serve him, and do the things God wants us to.
d. This is what he means by loosing its saltiness
e. What does he say?
35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out
f. Tell me I am interpreting the scripture wrong
i. But I am not
g. Some say this demonstrates what Jesus did for us. We were the pearl and He was the merchant
i. No early scholar believes this
ii. It’s a new teaching
iii. Because we try to justify a dead church
iv. A dead Christian
We justify it rather then saying the truth
I am worried about your relationship and your work in the kingdom
IX. The weeding out in heaven
47“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
X. What are you willing to pay? To advance the kingdom
a. Gilbert?
b. Buddy?
c. Rob?
d. Congregation
XI. What are you willing to pay?
a. An alter call to ask God for help?
b. A commitment to worship service?
i. Morning and evening?
c. Study of Gods word?
d. Personal and group study?
e. Sharing your faith?
f. Time in prayer?
g. A relationship with someone?
h. Persecution?
i. Tithes and offerings
j. Knock on doors
k. Lead a ministry
What are you willing to pay?
