What Would You Pay For Eternal Life?

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