The Parables
Series
#4
"HIDDEN TREASURE!"
TEXT: Matthew
13:44-46
INTRO: Captain Kidd and
hidden treasure always excites the imagination of a young boy or girl. The treasure map and the hidden treasure
have intrigued the minds and spirits of men and women for centuries. If only someone could find
it!
Some have spent their life
savings to recover hidden treasures; the excitement of the search and the reward
of a find have made some give up a fortune in search of buried treasures
somewhere.
Ancient custom back to the time
of early man has been to hide wealth; our bank system is relatively a new
concept, no banks existed many years ago, instead men would bury their wealth in
a field or in their homes ... often when leaving to go to war, sometimes never
returning! Today there are many
places in the Middle East that still have tremendous amounts of hidden treasures
buried because of this ancient practice. The location of these buried treasures
often died with their owners, it is not uncommon to see people digging in fields
in hopes of finding some of these treasures.
ILLUS: Hidden
treasures today are rare. In the
ancient biblical lands, however, they were common. Palestine, which was a land bridge
between Egypt and the great empires, was repeatedly invaded, ravaged, and
captured. Multitudes buried gold.
There were no banks. The government, nobility, clergy, and
Arab invaders all robbed the common people often and without warning. Because of this, the people quickly
buried treasure in the ground, in walls, in tree trunks, or wherever they could.
Earthquakes could cover up entire
cities and bury gold with them. All
kinds of people quickly buried what they had in the face of invasion or
political change. They left, they
died, they were captured, and no one knew where the treasure was
hidden.
W.M.
Thompson was a missionary in Syria and Palestine for 30 years. He told of workmen digging up a garden in
Sidon. They found several copper
pots of gold. They did exactly like
the man in the parable-concealed their find with care. But then, wild with joy, they could not
keep their mouths shut. The
governor of the city caught them, and recovered two of the pots, and it was
found that they contained 8,000 pure gold coins of Alexander and his father
Philip. Thompson saw hundreds of
persons all over the country spending their last pennies looking for such
treasure. –
Source Unknown
Examples in
Scripture of this practice of burying treasure:
Achan buried
treasure in his tent floor.
Josh. 7:21
Job refers to
this practice. Job 3:21,22
Solomon may
refer to it in Prov. 2:4
God speaks of
it in Isaiah 45:3
Jesus used the
idea in the parable of the servant who went and buried his one talent. Matt. 25:18
Examples
today: Archeologists today are often hampered
when digging in these regions because the local people suspect that these men
have found some of these ancient hidden treasures and thus hang around to find
it themselves. Also today there are
thriving black markets on ancient treasures discovered by people digging around
in the Middle East who find these treasure troves.
Once an individual made such a
discovery it was not unusual for them to go and sell all they had to buy the
land in which the treasure was found, it really was no sacrifice to do so
– the treasure in the field was worth far more than the price they paid for the
field!
PROP.
SENT: The Kingdom of God is like a
great treasure, and those who have found it and are willing to give all to
receive this treasure will discover that there truly is no sacrifice in giving
when they receive so much!
A. "Hidden"
Matthew
13:44a
1. Plain ordinary looking
field.
a. People often see the kingdom
of God this way.
b. Doesn't seem to offer much
promise.
c. People don’t see the kingdom
of God as that attractive on the surface.
2. Nothing unusual or all that
different on the surface from the world.
ILLUS: A
small company in the early days of gold mining in South Africa sank shaft after
shaft in different locations, finding only a small amount of gold in each shaft.
Ultimately, the prospectors
discovered that all they needed to have done was to go deeper in the first shaft
for, as they did so, they found gold in abundance.
Roy
Hession writes that he has found this to be true in the spiritual life
also. "I testify that although I
have tried all sorts of different shafts, hoping for greater results in my life,
Christ has now become the end of all my searching. Revival for me has meant coming back to
the place where I first began, and I intend to stay there. Tell me not of any other way. I need to go deeper at His cross-much
deeper." –
Source Unknown
a. This is what the Bible is
like to sinners, on the surface nothing spectacular
appears.
b. This is what the church and
Christians seem to be like to outsiders also, on the surface nothing that
great.
c. You have to “dig” to find the
real treasure!
3. One has to look for real
treasure!
a. Non valuable stuff can be in
the open and on the surface.
b. Valuables are hid -- must be
looked for!
c. Stuff of value is deep
down.
d. Jesus is saying the Kingdom
of God is like this!
B. "Found"
Matthew
13:44b
1. Joy for the
Discoverer!
a. What a thrill to find hidden
treasure! People will use magnetic
finders and search through empty fields, how excited when they run across an
ancient object! Have you ever seen
the treasures some of the people have found with these electronic
finders?
b. Promises of a whole new life
for the discoverer!
(1. In his mind he envisions a
much better life.
(2. A new life of
security.
(3. The promises of discovery far
out way the risks of finding!
c. Some people spend years and a
fortune looking for these buried treasures. To them the time and money are worth the
effort.
2. New treasure -- a new
future!
a. The discovery changes their
lives!
ILLUS: There
was a poor woman who earned her living by hard labor but who was a joyous,
triumphant Christian. "Ah, Nancy,"
said a gloomy Christian lady to her one day, "it is well to be happy now, but I
should think the thoughts of the future would sober you. Suppose, for instance, you should have a
spell of sickness and be unable to work, or suppose your present employer should
move away and no one would give you a job.
Suppose...." "Stop!" cried Nancy.
"I never suppose. The Lord
is my Shepherd, and I know I shall not want. You know, dear, it is all those supposes
that are making you so miserable.
You had better give them all up and just trust the Lord." –
Source Unknown
b. The old treasures brought a
new way of life for those who kept digging and discovered
them!
C. "Sold
Out" Matthew 13:44c
1. What I have already is
nothing compared to the new treasures I've found.
a. Notice the attitude of
sacrifice when he discovered what kind of treasure he had found! “and then in
his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (underline
mine for emphasis)
b. The idea of sacrificing was
done with great joy because the man knew what he was getting … something so
great and wonderful that no sacrifice was too much to secure
it.
c. He was downright joyous over
the price-tag of this plot of land, for he knew what treasure it contained. This is also true with the kingdom of
God.
2. No sacrifice in God's
kingdom!
a. What we receive can’t be
compared to what we give!
ILLUS: A
merchant was asked to contribute to a certain piece of church work. He gladly wrote a $250 check and gave it
to the solicitor. At that moment, a
cablegram was brought in. The
merchant read it and looked troubled. "This cablegram," he said, "tells me that
one of my ships has been wrecked and the cargo lost. That makes a difference in my
business. I will have to write you
another check."
The
solicitor thought he understood and handed back the check for $250, and the
merchant wrote out another and gave it to him. When the solicitor read it, he was
utterly amazed; it was for $1,000. "Have you not made a mistake?" he asked. "No," said the merchant, "I have not made
a mistake." Then he added, "To me,
that cablegram was a message from my Father in Heaven. It reads, 'Lay
not up for yourselves treasure upon earth ... but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves
do not break through nor steal'
(Matt
6:19-20)."
–
Source Unknown
b. No treasure hunter who ever
discovered a great treasure felt bad about what he gave up to find that
treasure! He didn't even count the
cost!
c. What he paid was more than
gained in the discovered treasure; we always gain more than what we give
up!
(1. In finding Christ ... we may
lose our “self” (Selfishness) …
but
(2. We gain love and eternal
life. (Eternal
reward)
(3. We gain a whole new family,
Christ’s family.
(4. We become a part of a new
kingdom, the kingdom of God!
II. "FINE PEARL!" Matthew
13:45-46
A. "Seeking!"
Matthew
13:45
1. The merchant was
seeking!
a. Nothing of value is found by
those who are not looking!
b. This merchant was looking for
fine pearls! He was looking for
something valuable.
c. How many people today are
truly seeking something valuable, or are they willing to settle for something
cheap?
2. You won't discover anything
of value if you’re not seeking!
ILLUS: My
wife and I will go shopping together; but I will find nothing while she finds
all kinds of great values. Why does
she find things of value while I find nothing when we shop together? She genuinely is looking for something
valuable; on the other hand I hate shopping and am looking to get home!!! She is seeking; I’m just along for the
ride reluctantly! – Dennis Marquardt
B. "Great
Value!" Matthew 13:46a
1. God's Kingdom is like a pearl
of great value!
a. It had value far above
anything this man owned!
b. Nothing that belonged to this
man even came close to the value of this pearl.
2. Nothing compared to it! Nothing compares to the kingdom of God
either!
a. Fraternities or
sororities
b.
Clubs
c. Organizations,
etc.
3. When we come across God's
kingdom we often can't comprehend what we have found ... its value is so
great!
a. It is unfortunate that so many Christians have forgotten
how valuable this kingdom is … that it is worth more than anything of value they
now possess!
ILLUS: A
man gave several thousand dollars to help build a church. Then came the 1929 Stock Market crash.
He lost everything. Someone said, "If you had that money you
gave to start the church, you would have had enough to set yourself up in
business again." He replied, "I
would have lost that money, too, in the crash. As it is, it is the only money I saved.
It is now in the bank of heaven,
yielding interest which will accumulate until eternity." Hundreds have come to Christ through the
church he helped build. –
Source Unknown
b. We should be willing to
sacrifice everything for this kingdom … even with joy! What we get in return in this kingdom is
of such greater worth, we can’t even imagine an appropriate sacrifice for
gaining it outside of Christ!
C. "Sold
Out" Matthew 13:46b
1. Again there is no sacrifice
to give in light of what we receive!
We gain far more in the exchange!
2. Same is true with God's
kingdom and His church.
3. No one in their right mind
would hang on to their small wealth if they discovered a great treasure and by
giving all they had could purchase something that brought them greater wealth!
It is easy to sell out what is
worth little to gain everything!
a. What if that attitude
prevailed today?
ILLUS: In
the second century, a Christian was brought before a pagan ruler and told to
renounce his faith. "If you don't
do it, I will banish you," threatened the king. The man smiled and answered, "You can't
banish me from Christ, for He says, 'I will never leave you nor forsake
you.'" To this the king angrily
retorted, "Then I will confiscate your property and take all your
possessions." Again the man smiled
and said, "My treasures are all laid up on high; you cannot get them." The king became furious and shouted, "I
will kill you!" "Why," the man
answered, "I have been dead forty years; I have been dead with Christ, dead to
the world, and my life is hid with Christ in God, and you cannot touch it."
In desperation the king turned to
his advisers and asked, "What can you do with a fanatic like that?"
–
Source Unknown
b. What if Christians today
thanked God for the sacrifices they got to make in order to have the privileges
of the kingdom today?
c. What would the kingdom of God
look like today to the world if we lived like this?
d. What would be the appeal to
Christianity if Christians today gave the impression to the world that they had
great joy in sacrificing for being a Christian?
4. People in the world are
attracted to “sold out” events … so they will be attracted to “sold out”
Christians also!
CONCLUSION:
In God's Kingdom we
always gain more than we give away ... a great treasure awaits us in His kingdom
... a treasure that's worth more than everything we have! The Bible is the great treasure map, hid
in it is such great wealth!