Matthew 13:44-46
“Are You Satisfied?”
(based largely on the Book: Radical by David Platt)
Imagine walking in a field and stumbling upon a treasure that is more valuable than anything else you could work for or find in this life.
It is more valuable than all you have now or will have in the future.
So you go into town and start to sell off all your possessions to have enough money to buy that field.
The world thinks you are crazy.
“What are you thinking?” your friends and family ask you.
And you tell them, “I’m buying that field over there.”
They look at you in disbelief.
“That’s a ridiculous investment,” they say.
“Why are you giving away everything you have?”
And you smile.
You smile because you know.
You know that you are not really giving away anything at all.
Instead you are gaining.
Yes, you are abandoning everything you have, but you are also gaining more than you could have in any other way.
So with joy—with joy!!!—you sell it all, you abandon it all.
And you hurry to do it.
You don’t speak of sacrifice.
The present tense in the Parable of the Hidden Treasure shows an eagerness and joy!!!
You have found Christ and the Kingdom!!!
You have found something worth losing everything else for.
This is the picture of Jesus in the Gospel.
Jesus is something—Someone—worth losing everything for.
And if we walk away from Jesus we walk away from everything of importance!!!
The cost of non-discipleship is profoundly greater than the cost of discipleship.
For when we abandon our trinkets of this world and respond to the life-giving invitation of Jesus, we discover the infinite treasure of knowing and experiencing God!!!
When we find “the treasure hidden in a field,” we are suddenly confronted with the truth that there are infinitely more important things in our lives than football and a 401 (k).
We wake up and realize that there are real battles to be fought which are so very different from the superficial “meaningless battles” we tend to focus on.
We wake up to the realization that there are countless multitudes who have not discovered the treasure and have not sold all they have to buy that field!!!
The price of our non-discipleship is high not only for us, but also for those who do not know Christ!
God has called us to be a people who spend our lives for the sake of God’s glory among the needy outside our gates.
Consider the cost when we ignore the gospel and instead choose to spend our money on better comforts, larger homes, nicer cars, and more stuff!
Consider the cost when Christians choose to spend millions of dollars on nice buildings to drive up to, cushioned chairs to sit in, and endless programs to enjoy for ourselves.
Consider the cost for the starving multitudes who sit outside.
To enter the Kingdom of God is to accept to do God’s will.
And it is worth anything to do God’s will.
Would you not rather die within the will of God than live outside of it?
That’s how important this treasure is!!!
As Paul proclaims in Philippians, “whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him…” and then, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Talk about freedom!!!
Talk about having life to the full!!!
Talk about finding the Treasure in the Field!!!
There is a war going on for the souls of people—right here in America.
And you don’t have to be rich to be losing!
It’s a war between materialism and doing the will of God!!!
It’s a constant battle to resist the temptation to have more luxuries, to acquire more stuff, and to live more comfortably!!!
It takes a real commitment to Christ, a daily walk with God, a complete devotion to God’s Church and a strong intentionality bathed in prayer to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the middle of an American dream that identifies success as moving up the ladder, getting the bigger house, purchasing the nicer car, buying the better clothes, eating the finer food, and acquiring more stuff!!!
As followers of Christ, we have a decision to make: “Are we going to wage the war?”
Are we willing to identify necessities and remove luxuries?
If our house is too big, are we committed enough to winning this war that we will start looking for something smaller and simpler?
Are we willing to attempt to form a budget that frees up as much as possible to give away?
For the sake of Christ and the Kingdom of God are we willing to put everything on the table?
What kind of car should we drive?
Can we get by just fine with an older model and more miles?
How many clothes do we really need?
What luxuries does God intend for our families and what luxuries does God invite us to sacrifice?
If we have savings, where is the line between responsible savings—which the Bible certainly advocates—and irresponsible hoarding—which the Bible clearly condemns?
How much is wise to save for potential future need when brothers and sisters around us, as well as people who haven’t even heard the Gospel, are threatened by dire need?
These are not easy questions, but they should be questions which drive us to Christ!!!
There is no deeper joy than depending on Christ for the guidance only He can give as He produces the fruit of the Gospel in our lives.
Remember the conversation Jesus had with the rich young man?
This guy eagerly approached Jesus and asked Him one simple, all-important question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus eventually said to him, “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me.”
The beauty of this conversation is what the Bible tells us in Mark 10:21.
It says, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”
What a wonderful phrase!!!
Jesus was not telling this man to give away everything he had because Jesus hated him or desired to make his life miserable.
Jesus was telling him to give away everything he had because Jesus loved him!!!
Luke 12 echoes this theme of love.
It is there that we read how Jesus told all His disciples, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.”
But listen to what Jesus said right before that: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price are very similar.
The primary common feature of both stories is central to the meaning of each: both men go and sell everything for the sake of the one thing.
The two parables are also different.
The farmer is doing his regular work, not looking for or expecting anything special, when he comes upon the treasure by accident.
The merchant is seeking, knows what he is looking for, and still finds something beyond his wildest expectations.
The Kingdom can become real either way!!!
Both men experience great joy and both men are willing to sell everything for the sake of the treasure!!!
And that’s how everyone should be when they discover the love of God through Jesus Christ—overwhelmed by joy and willing to risk everything for the sake of living in the Kingdom!!!
The Bible says that when Jesus told the rich young man to sell everything he had and give to the poor “the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.”
He walked away from Jesus with full hands but an empty heart.
And in doing so, he was leaving behind the only One Who could bring him the life and joy he so desperately desired.
He was like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value—the one he was looking for, he went away sad.
I don’t want to be like the rich young man.
I want to be like the man who found treasure hidden in a field or like the merchant looking for fine pearls who found the Kingdom and sold everything to have it.
How about you?
So, then, what if Jesus told you and me to sell everything we have?
What if He told us to sell our houses for simpler living arrangements?
What if He told us to sell our cars for more modest ones—or for no cars at all?
What if He told us to give away all but a couple sets of clothes?
What if He told us to change our lifestyle completely?
Now, before you and I think of all the reasons Jesus would not tell us to do these things, we need to think about this question first: is He Lord?
John Wesley, the Founder of the Methodist Movement had a simple stewardship plan.
It was, “Make all you can, save all you can so that you can give all you can.”
How awesome is that?
Think about the possibilities for this Church and this hurting and lost community if we were to make the decision to live into that!!!
Think of the sense of adventure and purpose that would expel the darkness in our lives.
Think about how blessed our lives would be with that kind of commitment to Christ!!!
Imagine the number of folks who would start coming to church, who would stop seeing Christians as a bunch of hypocrites and begin to see and thus say, “Look how they love. I want a bit of that. I want to be like that!!!”
What would happen, if together we stopped giving our scraps to the Church, but our first fruits!!!
What if we started giving not just what we are able to give, but beyond what we are able to give?
And what if we did this because we have found the treasure hidden in the field and the pearl of great price?
This is the only way to find joy in life!
This is the only way to win the war against materialism in our hearts.
This is the only way to truly be free to follow Christ!!!
And that is what I want to do more than anything in the world!!!
How about you?
Amen.
