The Kingdom of Heaven is our Greatest Treasure

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Delilah Robinson
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1 Matthew 13:44-46 Pentecost 10 (A) The Kingdom of Heaven is our Greatest Treasure It started, I suppose, with The Antiques Roadshow on PBS. That s the show where people bring in their family heirlooms and experts tell them what their possessions are worth. The show has a way of drawing me in because every time a new item comes up I want to find out what it s really worth. And when one item is finished another item is introduced and I say to myself, OK, just one more. The next thing I know it s an hour later. It started with The Antique Roadshow but the basic concept has exploded across cable television. Now there are shows about pawnshops that show one person after another coming in to see what they can get for their old gun or lamp or guitar or whatever. And there are shows featuring folks who travel around to old barns and sheds and search for hidden treasures. The reason these shows are so popular is because viewers want to see a huge payday. You find yourself cheering for the owner, hoping that their item is a long-lost treasure that s worth thousands and thousands of dollars. What makes these shows suspenseful is that the owners often don t realize how valuable their valuables are. They are waiting on the edge of their seats to find out so you wait on the edge of your seat to find out. Jesus doesn t want that to be true for us when it comes to our appreciation for His kingdom. Jesus wants us to realize just how valuable it is. I. Two Stories Last week in our Gospel lesson we heard Jesus telling His disciples what the kingdom of heaven is like. The kingdom of heaven is a term Jesus used to refer to God s rule over the world on behalf of His people. Those who trust in Him are inside of His kingdom. Those who don t are outside of His kingdom. Jesus used two parables to illustrate how valuable being in His kingdom is. He told about one man who found a treasure hidden in a field. This was probably not as unusual as you might think. In that time and place wealthy people often split their wealth into three parts. One part they kept as cash to use for everyday purposes, another part they kept as precious stones, which wouldn t lose their value like currency might, and the third part they would bury in the case of an emergency. Sometimes the person died without anyone knowing where he had buried

2 his wealth. So, Jesus tells about a man stumbled upon one of these buried treasures. Perhaps he was renting the field and while he was plowing it the plow dug up the treasure. In any event, the man immediately sold everything he had and bought that field. That, Jesus said, Is what the kingdom of heaven is like. Then Jesus told about a merchant whose business was to buy pearls and resell them for a profit. One day he found a pearl without peer, a pearl of such great value that he immediately sold everything he had and bought it. That, Jesus said, Is what the kingdom of heaven is like. II. Coming to grips with this reality Now, what we don t want to do is walk out of here today saying, Huh, and go right on with our lives as though nothing had happened. Stop for a moment and think of what Jesus is saying to you this morning. He is saying, My kingdom, being with me, being on my side, being one of my people, is more valuable than anything else anything else. Every one of us here has to come to grips with that statement. Because either Jesus kingdom is or itis not as valuable as Jesus claims. If it is more valuable than anything else that will have a tremendous impact on your life. Right? When the man found the treasure in the field he didn t walk away, say, Huh, and go right back to his life. When the man found the pearl he did not walk away, say, Huh, and go right back to his life. They both sold everything they had because they recognized that what they were looking at was worth more than everything they owned put together. That is what the kingdom of heaven is like. Being in a right relationship with God is worth more than every thing you have put together. It is worth more than your career. It is worth more than the degree you are working towards. It is worth more than all of your investments. It is worth more than your hobbies, your habits, your relationships. That s a lot of pressure to put on the kingdom of heaven, isn t it? Yet, Jesus insists on it. And notice - it wasn t just that the two men thought the treasure and pearl were more valuable than everything else they owned. It wasn t that theyfelt they were worth more than everything else they owned. The treasure and the pearl were worth more. It was an objective reality, whether they recognized it or not.

3 When a person brings an item to the Antiques Roadshow, it doesn t do her any good to claim what the item is worth. If the expert says that her porcelain shepherdess is worth $10 at auction it doesn t do any good for the owner to say, Oh, no! This is worth at least $10,000! It is worth what it is worth. Perhaps you watch some of the real estate shows on HGTV. Experts come in to help homeowners sell their homes. Very often the homeowner insists that their home is worth more than it actually is. This home is worth $400,000, they claim. But it s been on the market for nine months at that price and hasn t sold. So the expert explains to them that the home is worth what someone will pay for it. That is what it is worth. When it comes to the kingdom of heaven the opposite often happens. We undervalue what it is worth. Our relationship with God becomes an afterthought after our career, after our family, after our friends, after our toys, after our hobbies, after our habits. Notice that this attitude does not change what the kingdom of heaven is worth. It is still worth more than all of those things put together. We just aren t recognizing it. III. When God opens eyes So, God intervenes. He steps in and opens our eyes and helps us see what a treasure His kingdom really is. Sometimes He does this for people who aren t even looking for it. They aren t thinking of spiritual things. They are just going about their daily lives like the man in the field when he found the treasure. Other times a person is looking for meaning in his life. This person is searching and searching but nothing seems to satisfy. His career is exciting at first but then he loses his job or retires and realizes a job can t bring lasting happiness. His hobbies are fine but eventually he loses interest or can no longer participate for whatever reason and the enjoyment goes up in smoke. His toys bring temporary joy and excitement but before he knows it the new boat or car or camper or television loses its luster and he has to go out searching for the next toy in his search for joy. This person is looking and looking for something of lasting value just like the pearl merchant in Jesus parable. Whether they are looking for it or not, something amazing happens when people find Jesus. In Jesus they find the One who makes them whole. They find the One who takes away their guilt by carrying it to the cross, the One who takes away their worries by promising to take care of every need, the One who takes away their fear of death by pointing to His empty tomb and saying, Because I live you also will live, the One who takes away their loneliness by placing His hand on their shoulder and assuring them, Surely I am with you always. When a person recognizes all of

4 this about the kingdom of heaven they aren t willing to give it up for anything or anyone. It is too valuable. In the Old Testament there is an entire book of the Bible that expounds on this point. The book of Ecclesiastes is a speech given by King Solomon not long before he died. It is a really fascinating book. You should read it sometime. Basically, Solomon discusses the value of his possessions and accomplishments to discover the meaning of life. He says, Pleasure proved to be meaningless I tried cheering myself with wine I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards I amassed silver and gold for myself I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind (chapters 1,2). At the very end of the book Solomon says, here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments (12:13). Solomon is saying what Jesus was saying. In the end, nothing but your relationship with God matters. So treat your relationship with God accordingly. Keep Him in the front of your mind in every area of your life. Ask yourself, How will this new job affect my relationship with God? How do the people I m hanging out with affect my relationship with God? If I marry the person I m dating, how will that affect my relationship with God? How will the music I m listening to affect my relationship with God. How will the movies I choose to watch affect my relationship with God? How will the way I schedule my time affect my relationship with God? Then, make decisions based on the answers to those questions so that your relationship with God is at the center and all the other areas of your life revolve around it. Because the kingdom of heaven is your greatest treasure. Today we are celebrating the start of a new school year for Pilgrim school. That school is a huge investment of both time and money for this congregation. There are salaries to pay and Ipads to buy. There are desks to fix and lunches to serve. So, why go to all that trouble? It is simple, really. The people of Pilgrim believe that providing a Christ-centered education is more valuable than all the time and money we contribute to run our school. Those children are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and our goal is to keep them in that Kingdom until they reach Heaven. Question: Which is more valuable $300,000 in cash and jewelry or three oranges? Would you believe me if I said that it depends on the situation? Major A. H. Peuchen left $300,000 in money and jewelry in a box in his cabin as he scrambled to get to a lifeboat and escape the sinking Titanic. "The money seemed a mockery at that time," he later said. "I picked up three oranges instead." Sometimes value is relative to the situation. But not when it comes to the kingdom of heaven. Whether you are young, old, rich, poor, healthy, sick or climbing

5 off a sinking ship the kingdom of heaven is your greatest treasure. So, treasure it. Amen.

I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. 4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for

I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. 4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 I said to myself, Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good. But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 Laughter, I said, is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?