August 21, 2005

The Kingdom of Heaven is Like

The Treasure is You!

Matthew 13:44-46

Opening Words: This is sermon number five in a six part sermon series I have called “The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like.” There came a point in Jesus’ ministry when he was no longer welcomed in the synagogues. The leaders of the orthodox faith were now in open opposition against him. The Master found himself leaving the sanctuary of the synagogue and using the sanctuary of the seashore. It was in this setting that Jesus really develops his use of parables. It is at the seashore that we find Jesus today. In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew we find seven parables. Six of those seven parables begin with the phrase “the kingdom of heaven is like.” Hence, we find the series title. Each one of these parables answers a basic question about the kingdom of heaven. Today Jesus answers the question, how do you find the kingdom of heaven? The answer to that question is you don’t have to find it. God finds you. This is my question for you do you believe you are a treasure to God?

Today we look at two parables. They are short parables but they are powerful. The key to understanding these parables is correctly identifying the treasure. Let me say this clearly in both parables you are the treasure!

Introduction

Someone once said there are two kinds of people the church cannot help. There are those who feel they are too far-gone. Their sins are too great. Their sins are greater than God’s grace. The second group is those people who feel like they don’t need God’s grace. They are good people who are saving themselves by living good wholesome lives. If you are in that second group then this sermon will not speak to you. This message is for those who recognize their sinful nature. This is my question for you today. Do you believe you are a treasure to God? Let me begin by telling you two stories.

This is story number one. Dr. Williamson was a geologist. One day he was traveling down a rain soaked road in a desolate section of Tanzania in his four-wheel drive vehicle. Without warning he slid off the road. His four-wheeler got stuck in the mud up to its axles. Pulling out his shovel he began the unpleasant job of digging in the mud hole. It was at that moment that something quite remarkable happened. As he dug in the mud he noticed a stone. Dr. Williamson was a geologist so he knew something about stones. He picked up that muddy stone and studied it. The more he studied the stone the more excited he grew! He had a good reason to be excited. That muddy stone became the famous pink diamond of Tanzania. The geologist was more than a little excited. That stone today sits in the royal scepter of Great Britain. Dr. Williamson became rich and famous in the same day. That is story number one.

This is story number two. Ed Lee of Merrimack, New Hampshire bought a nickel for three million dollars. However, it was no ordinary nickel worth five cents. It was a special nickel. It was a liberty head nickel minted in 1913. What made it valuable was that the liberty head nickels were only officially minted between 1883 and 1912. In 1913 Miss Liberty was replaced by the buffalo nickel. Only five 1913 liberty head nickels were ever produced. Ed Lee owned one of those five liberty head nickels at a cost of three million dollars. Some said Ed Lee was a fool but two years later he sold his three million dollar nickel for 4.1 million dollars. Do I have to say it? Ed Lee was more than a little excited. That is story number two.

I tell you those two stories for one single reason. Jesus once told two stories much like those two stories. In some ways they are different. One deals with luck and the other deals with skill. In other ways they are the same. Both stories deal with a special treasure that brought joy.

Body

Let us look at those two parables together. In the first parable a farmer is plowing his field. It is simply by accident that his ploughshare hit a box filled with treasure. It sounds strange to us but in Jesus’ day it could happen. The ground was often viewed as the most secure bank in time of war. Jewish law said it clearly; if a man finds scattered money it belongs to the finder. In the second parable a merchant is searching for a valuable pearl. He knows his business. He is the middleman between wholesaler and retailer. It is his life long search to find the perfect pearl. When he sees it, he knows it. Verse 46 tells us that he sold all his possessions to buy his treasure. The parables are short and clear. Anyone can understand them.

The key to understanding these two wonderful parables is being able to identify who is the farmer and who is the merchant. For many years I thought I was the farmer and the merchant searching for the Kingdom of Heaven. The truth is these two parables always made me feel guilty. I felt guilty because my understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven was incomplete and shallow. Then one day it happened.

I discovered that the farmer and the merchant were not me and you. In these two parables the farmer and the merchant is God. That is Biblically consistent. God plays the main character in all the parables in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew. In our opening stories God is the geologist and the coin collector. If God is the farmer and the merchant then we are the treasure! We are the treasure chest buried in the ground. We are the pearl that the merchant has been searching for his entire life. That discovery changed the way that I feel about these parables. That correction changed the way that I feel about myself. With this correction these parables no longer make me feel guilty. These parables humble me because they speak of God great grace. Why would God treasure someone like me? I know the truth. I am not perfect. I have so many imperfections. Why would God value me? Let me ask you our question one more time. Do you believe you are a treasure to God?

Three wonderful words run through these parables. They are common to both stories. All three of these words underscore the fact that we are God’s treasure. The first word is value. Both the buried treasure and the perfect pearl were of great value. You and I are of great value to God! The second word is the word sacrifice. The farmer went out and bought the land. Verse 44 says he sold all he had to buy that land. The merchant went out and sold all he had to buy that perfect pearl. God sacrificed His one and only son, Jesus, so you could be saved. The third word is the word joy. When the farmer and the merchant found their prize they were more than a little pleased. They were excited! On the day you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior you put a smile on the face of God. Luke 15:7 says, “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent.” Let me say it again. Through the eyes of God you are the treasure! Do you believe you are a treasure to God?

I love the story of Abraham Lincoln. A famous preacher came to Washington to preach one Sunday evening. The president went with an aide. They participated in worship and heard every word. Lincoln sat there without showing any emotion. At the conclusion of the service, the aid and the president walked back to the White House. (Isn’t that a great visual?) The two men didn’t say a single word for several minutes. It was only then that the aid asked Lincoln, “How did you like the sermon?” Lincoln said, “It was well thought out and powerfully delivered.” The aid replied, “So you like the sermon.” Lincoln stopped walking and said, “No! He didn’t ask us to do anything.”

Today I am going to ask you to do something. I am going to do something that is very different. I am not going to ask you to serve on the Finance Committee. I am not going to ask you to teach Sunday School. I am not going to ask you tithe. However, we would appreciate it. I am not going to ask you to go on the next volunteers in mission trip to Russia, Mexico or Africa. What I am going to ask you to do is much harder. I am going to ask you to accept the fact that you are valuable to God. You are just like that buried treasure. You are just like that perfect pearl. You are of great value to God. Do you believe you are a treasure to God? If you think you can be open to that little fact say, “Amen!”

Conclusion

Byron and Susan are an example of how opposites attract. Byron is quiet and easy going. Susan is not. Susan is emotional and passionate. Susan can be inflexible and opinionated. I like Susan because I can always get a reaction out of her. However, many call her annoying. Byron and Susan are of example of opposites attracting yet they have been married happily for years. Kathy sang in their wedding. At the rehearsal dinner we sat with them and share those sacred hours with them. I will never forget that evening. We ate in a restaurant on the west side of Cleveland. The people were leaving and Byron was saying, “Good-bye.” Susan, Kathy and I sat at the table. Susan turned to look at Byron. When she turned around she had tears in her eyes. She looked at us and said, “Why would Byron want to spend his life with someone like me? She knew her imperfections.

Have you ever asked that question? Why would Jesus want to spend his life on someone like me? You know your imperfections. You know about your divorces. You know your relationship with your mother is bad. You may feel like a failure as a parent or a grandparent. You know you haven’t spoken to your neighbor in years. You know your bankruptcy was in the paper. You know you shouldn’t flaunt your prejudice nature but you do it because it is your identity. Why would Jesus want to spend his life on someone as imperfect you? Jesus did for the same reason that Byron married Susan the next day. He loved her! He saw the qualities that make her so wonderful. Through the eyes of God you are a buried treasure or a perfect pearl. God loves you! God sees the qualities that make you so wonderful. Let me ask you that question one more time. Do you believe you are a treasure to God? And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”