Treasure in a Field - Matthew 13:44

The kingdom of heaven produces joy

Well, good evening. As Ben said, we'll be in Matthew 13 and verse 44. So if you could turn there in your Bibles. And as you're turning there, I'd like you to start forming a mental image of your most treasured possessions. So your house, your cars, maybe your education. Now go beyond possessions, your friends, your favorite memories, your children. And with this picture now in mind, continue to think about the value of all that you have in this life as we read. So hear the words of our Savior in Matthew 13, 44. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. And the question I want to ask you tonight is considering everything you have on this earth Would you give it all away for the sake of pursuing the kingdom of heaven? So at this point in the book of Matthew, Jesus is teaching a large crowd by the sea of Galilee. He begins telling a series of parables centered around the kingdom of heaven. Each one seems to explain the work of God in the kingdom. God sows the good seed of all who would inherit the kingdom. God reveals the kingdom of heaven. God also gathers the evil and the wicked of the kingdom and casts them into a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now these parables carry a great weight to them. We should be terrified by the fact that God will rightly judge all causes of sin and all lawbreakers. And just last week, we considered the insurmountable cost of following Christ in Luke 14, 26. This is a cost that is demanded of Christ's disciples, yet it's one that we simply can't live up to in our own ability. The kingdom of heaven here, it seems to be a burden, nearly a fire held to our backs as we chase perfection and futility. But then we get to verse 44, interrupting the series of parables revealing what God does pertaining to the kingdom is a short parable about how we should react to this costly kingdom. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. It's a treasure. No, the kingdom of heaven isn't a burden. but it's a treasure worth selling everything for. And as we examine the value of the kingdom tonight, it may be helpful not to think about the kingdom in terms of its realm, where it is and what it is, but rather who and what is reigning. Jesus, the very son of God, is ushering in his perfect rule over the previous dominion of sin and death. So with that in mind, I believe the main point of this one verse parable is that the kingdom of heaven produces joy that is far greater than all that we have in this life. The righteous rule of Christ produces infinite joy that is greater than all that we have in this life. So as we continue to walk through this parable, I want to draw your attention to two things in this passage. We're gonna look specifically at the hidden treasure that is the kingdom, and then the radical response that it produces. So let's start by examining the hidden value of the kingdom. So why exactly is there hidden treasure in this field? Well, at the time Jesus was telling this parable, there were no banks for the wealthy to keep their money in. So if someone had more wealth or possessions than they knew what to do with, they would take it and bury it deep underground to be dug up later. And if this treasure would have been hidden so far beneath the surface of the earth, how could this man possibly find it? It doesn't matter if this man was simply a field worker carrying out his daily tasks, or whether it was an archeologist who devoted his entire life towards finding this single treasure. What's important here is that the kingdom of heaven is hidden. it isn't revealed directly on the surface. The true beauty of Christ's reign is not seen by human eyes, but only by a renewed and transformed heart, and how beautiful and glorious it should be to those who have seen it. Through Christ's death and resurrection, the domain of sin and death is overthrown, and the sure salvation of all who believe is accomplished. Every obstacle that stands in the way between you and the everlasting, inexpressible joy of eternity with the God of creation is triumphed over on the cross. And that's the value of the kingdom that we're looking at tonight. So if you're here tonight and you don't know the glories of the kingdom of heaven and the salvation accomplished on the cross, devote your life to seeking after it. There are so many distractions and seemingly good things in this world, but this is the single most important thing you could ever seek out in this life. Christ Jesus died for the sake of sinners so that those who believe in him would no longer stand in the judgment that they deserve, but have an eternal life of joy with God. And you may be wondering if the treasure is hidden, how am I supposed to find it? Well, the Lord says to Israel in Jeremiah 29, 13,

you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord.

So seek out and believe in the treasure of the kingdom of heaven. And for all of you who already know the great value of the kingdom, let me ask you this. Are you treating it as the infinitely valuable treasure that it is, or does it merely sit in the background of your life? Who, when they find a treasure as valuable as the one we're looking at here, would dig it up, take it home, and then put it back in the ground in the backyard of their home? No one would do that. You display that treasure at the very forefront of your life so you can admire it all day long. You study every corner and crevice of the treasure. You look at it from every angle and it makes the treasure more and more beautiful with every passing second. So treat the kingdom of heaven in this way. Get to know it. Admire the beauty of the gospel and continually remind yourself of it. And also continue to see the beauties of our union with Christ that is accomplished on the cross as he gradually reveals more and more of himself to our renewed hearts and minds. The kingdom of heaven is a treasure that should look more and more perfect and more and more beautiful every passing second, and there's no way it shouldn't leave our lives completely turned on their head. it should truly have a massive effect on our lives. So now let's examine the radical response to the kingdom that Jesus proposes here in Matthew 13. So quite simply, the response of the man is going and selling everything he has. But I think we miss the entire point of the parable if we miss the three little words that come before that, in his joy, In his joy, the man goes and sells all that he has. This man is losing every single thing he owns, every piece and every penny that he spent his entire life working towards, yet he's joyful. Now, back at home, I have a happy little dog named Bennett, and Bennett loves food. But every time I let him out of his kennel in the morning, He starts his day by sprinting past me and going and trying to find everything and every little piece that he can pick up and put in his mouth. Now, he seems completely satisfied by the folded socks, the tattered toys, and the whole bags of almonds that he can stuff in his mouth. And he'll just stare at me across the hallway, looking at me with the greatest smile that he could ever have. But as soon as he hears the lid of the treat jar unscrew, the bag of almonds hits the floor and Bennett is sprinting towards the kitchen counter. No toy, no person, no other kind of food, no amount of force could stop him in his pursuit of this treat. Now, the kingdom of heaven is far more valuable than a dog treat, but that is what our pursuit of the kingdom should look like. Are we willing to abandon the fleeting amusement we get from the old toys and socks of our own lives for the sake of pursuing everlasting joy in the kingdom of heaven? Would you seriously let your grades, your phone, success at work, an afternoon kicked back in front of the TV, the hope of a relaxing retirement spent reading books and playing golf, Would you let those things stand in the way between you and eternal joy in Christ? Here we also have to be extremely careful to see why the man is selling all that he has. It isn't to purchase the treasure. And in fact, it can't be to purchase the treasure. The kingdom isn't for those who have enough money or merit to buy their way in. In Matthew 5, 3, Jesus says to his disciples,

blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The man isn't selling all that he has so that he can purchase the kingdom, but he does it because the worth of the kingdom is so great that he no longer has a need for anything else. The kingdom of heaven does have a price though, but it's not one that we can pay. The price of the kingdom of heaven is the blood of the eternal son of God shed on a cross, and that price has been paid in full. This glorious treasure of infinite value has been bought by the blood of Christ and is now sitting in front of you, and it might as well be placed in your hands. So all that is left for you to do is to lay down your hands full of the fleeting passions of this life so that you can fully embrace the surpassing joy of the kingdom of heaven. So what should we do in response to this? Should our next step be to literally go and sell off our most prized possessions so that we can single-handedly pay for the upcoming renovations to the church? I won't stop you from doing that. I mean, we should be willing to become financially poor for our own pursuit of the kingdom. But what I really want you to see here is that more immediately, we should be giving up ownership of everything that we own. Everything that we have been given here on this earth is to be stewarded for God's kingdom. So treat your possessions and even your life as instruments given to us by God for the purpose of worshiping and delighting in God. We weren't purchased by God to mundanely check off boxes on a divine to-do list. But we have been saved so that every passing moment of our renewed lives would be spent delighting in the great treasure bought for us. And if you have a hard time finding joy in the life that you have here on this earth, And if you feel lost in the suffering and trials of this present darkness, it should be a great comfort that our greatest hope and joy is not here on this earth. As we heard in First Peter 1.4 this past Sunday, the inheritance that is the joy and hope of the Christian life is kept in heaven, imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. so as we give up the pleasures of this world to pursue the great value of the kingdom. I hope that we would be able to join in with the words of David Livingstone.