A Priceless Possession
Matthew 13:44-46
February 27, 2005
Matthew 13:44 (NLT)
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field—and to get the treasure, too!
Just Minding My Own Business
- The first man was not looking for treasure
- He was going about his daily business
- Content
- Unaware of what he was missing
- The treasure was uncovered in the midst of the daily routine
Divine Interruptions
- The message of Christ intersects the routine of their life
- A conversation with a friend
- An article in a magazine
- A song on the radio
Treasure Hunt
- The merchant was diligently searching for the treasured pearl
- The merchant would go to those who might have what he was looking for
- Sorting through the claims and inventory of the merchants
Spiritually Seeking
- Many are searching for spiritual and eternal significance
- Relationships
- Religion
- Self-help
- New experiences
- Nothing has quite measured up
Treasure
- Valuable and costly by nature
- Requires great cost and sacrifice
- The Kingdom of Heaven
- Cost the life of God’s Son
- The treasure is available to all
Gotta Have It...
- To possess the treasure was worth any amount of sacrifice
- Life was totally re-arranged
- All other things were let go of
- The possibility of what could be was more important than what was
Counting The Cost
- The treasure of Heaven will cost you everything - Matthew 19:16,21-22
Matthew 19:16, 21-22 (NLT)
Someone came to Jesus with this question: "Teacher, what good things must I do to have eternal life?"
Jesus told him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." [22] But when the young man heard this, he went sadly away because he had many possessions.
Counting The Cost
- The treasure of Heaven will cost you everything
- You must surrender control of your life
In return
- Forgiveness
- Grace
- Fulfillment
- Power
- Intimacy with God
- Eternal Life
