~ August 17, 2014 ~ 10 th Sunday After Pentecost 9:30 am Living Hope Lutheran Church Pastor Todd Goldschmidt Sermon Theme: A Treasure Worth Seeking! SERMON TEXT: Matthew 13:44-52 The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl 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. The Parable of the Net 47 Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 Have you understood all these things? Jesus asked. Yes, they replied. 52He said to them, Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storehouse new treasures as well as old. (425) 868-9404 - www.lhlc.org, pastortodd@lhlc.org Page 1 of 5
This past Monday morning my wife, Suze, and son, Jordan, and I piled into his overstuffed 2000 Corolla, buckled up for safety, said goodbye to Nathan and our dog, Sitka, and headed east. We were bringing Jordan to St. Louis to begin his first year of law school at Washington University. I-90 to Sioux Falls, SD; I-29 to Kansas City; I-70 to St. Louis. Along the way we saw some stunning scenery, nearly got killed 2 or 3 times, and managed not to kill each other. We rolled up in front of his duplex around 5:15 Thursday afternoon exhausted and more than happy to pile out of the car after 2100 miles and eight states. Guess who walked out the front door to great us? Our nephew, John and his wife of one year, Jen, and their rambunctious golden retriever Barkley all fresh from Wenatchee! An hour or so later, another nephew, Steven, showed up. He s from Ephrata. He and John had just started their first year of medical school down the street at St. Louis University. That night Rachel, one of Jordan s best friends from our neighborhood in Redmond, showed up for Domino s Pizza. It was like old home week near the arch in old St. Louie (a nod there to John Prine)! Along the way, it was clear that some folks we met had bought the field with the buried treasure or had discovered the pearl of great price and sold everything they had to buy it. You see, one way to approach Jesus first two short parables is to understand that Christ is the pearl and treasure and we lost souls are those who search. The implication is that when the gospel comes into a person s life it s not just one more philosophy to add into the mix or an access point to God to accomplish our goals. It s everything! It is a radical rearrangement of all of life. We have examples of this in the twelve disciples. They left their careers and families to follow Jesus and the promise of His kingdom. We also have St. Paul s example. He wrote: But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith (Phil. 3:7-10). Is Jesus everything to us? Or simply one loyalty among many others? If someone were to ask us how much we d be willing to give up in order to know Him, is there anything we d hold back? Do we believe in Him only when it doesn t cost us very much? It s easy to know the right answer to these questions, but a wholehearted abandonment to Christ is far more difficult and profound. What is the pearl of great price in your life? Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also, Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 6:19-21. (425) 868-9404 - www.lhlc.org, pastortodd@lhlc.org Page 2 of 5
Where s your treasure stored up in heaven, or here on earth? The one is permanent, the other will pass away; the one is eternal, the other is temporary; the one saves, the other damns. So, into which basket are you putting your eggs? In that very same sermon, the Savior also asks: Is not life more important than food, and the body important than clothes? (v. 25). If other people were to calculate how we spend our time, or take a look at our checkbook, what would they conclude about our priorities? Would they say that God s kingdom is our #1 priority or conclude that we really know what life is all about? We re told not to worry about what we will eat or drink, but we still do. Why? And why would Jesus tell us to turn our attention away from these basic necessities of life? The answer to the first why is that we get our priorities out of whack. We spend our time trying to sustain ourselves so that we might experience and enjoy life. But we never get around to experiencing and enjoying life because we spend all our time on sustaining it. When I worked at Alaska Lumber and Pulp Co. in Sitka, Alaska guys would pull as many double shifts as possible so they could make more money for their families. The cruel irony was, they worked so much they never spent any time with their families! They bought all the fancy toys, but rarely had time to enjoy them. It struck me as kind of sad at the time. Still does. But are we any different from those mill workers? It s easy for us to criticize others when their priorities are all mixed up, but how self-critical are we when it comes to examining what we value the most? Where do we allot our time and resources? The answer to the second why is that God wants us to invest in what s truly valuable. In spite of all the obsessiveness about food in our culture, and in spite of the billions spent on marketing the latest look, these things are only temporary. In the eternal scheme of things, food and clothes and other externals have no real significance. They re not valuable. They only support what is valuable life itself. We act as though the wrapping is more important than the gift. As a fellow preacher put it years ago: Americans know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. What do we do with mixed-up priorities and misplaced values? Lay them aside. Look at what God does with His birds and His lilies. They spend all their lives just being for the glory of God. We spend all our lives just doing, usually for self-glorification. We need Jesus to come along and radically revise our conception of things. He takes our upside-down thinking and turns it right-side-up the way God intends. Let s measure our priorities against God s priorities. It s a much better and more fulfilling approach to life. So few people know so little of the coming kingdom that it becomes an afterthought. Six days a week we plan for life by investing in houses and goods insuring them all and perhaps give only a day s thought to eternity. We research human answers to human problems; we surf the net to find the latest gadgets at the lowest prices to get a steal of a deal, while we neglect the divine privilege of dependence on a transcendent God. (425) 868-9404 - www.lhlc.org, pastortodd@lhlc.org Page 3 of 5
Both as individuals and as societies, we focus so much on the here and now that we grow blind to the there and then. While all eternity lies before us, our vision extends but a few decades at best. But as in Jesus parable of the rich fool, human plans can be interrupted in one surprising moment, and what we have valued most may no longer matter at all. Where do you invest your life? In trying to maintain security and comfort for the next few decades, or in knowing the security and incorruptible glory of eternity in heaven? Millions will one day look back at their incredible lack of logic, recalling the years they spent on temporal comforts compared with the scarce attention they gave to everlasting realities. Our road trip to St. Louis confirmed the sad truth that so many lost souls still seem to seek worldly wealth with little or no regard for lasting treasures. Casinos littered the landscape while billboards touted the latest mega-millions jackpot. What a tragedy! What a waste. How heartbreaking for those who miss the big picture only to see all of their life s labor come to nothing. By contrast, how blessed are those who are rich toward God! Consider the long term and examine where your investments lie. Use your resources God s resources to further His kingdom. How refreshing it was, though, to overhear one lady comment to another in a St. Louis coffee shop, You just have to pray on it or to be greeted by a desk clerk in Rapid City, SD wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the message, Pray Hard! The Lord still has His followers scattered across the country and around the world! We marvel, too, at the way God orchestrated the details of His plan for Jordan and his cousins so that they re living together in St. Louis. God is good! By the way, John and Steven are avid fishermen. The treasure and the pearl represent the gospel of Christ we fishers of men use to catch others for God s kingdom as in the parable of the net. Fishing for souls is much like regular fishing. Avid anglers are willing to stay out on the water for hours with nary a nibble because they re convinced that they ll eventually be rewarded for their tenacity with a keeper. The fish that get tossed back either aren t long enough to be legal or are too beat up and mushy to smoke or can as is sometimes the case with spawning salmon. Knowledgeable fishermen are also resourceful. They invest the time that it takes to get to know the habits of the fish they re trying to catch and what type of bait works best. That s where fishing for fish and fishing for men are similar. We have to invest the time in our relationships with those we re trying to witness to and be in it for the long haul. We have to adjust our methods of presenting our Savior depending upon their situation in life at the time or where they re at in their spiritual journey. But all of our time, energy and effort is worth it! God promises that His Word always accomplishes what He desires and achieves the purpose for which He sends it. So cast your nets wide my fellow fishers of men! Take advantage of the opportunities God gives you to share Jesus with others! Don t hold back! Let your life demonstrate that God s priorities are your priorities. (425) 868-9404 - www.lhlc.org, pastortodd@lhlc.org Page 4 of 5
Invest yourself your time, energy and financial resources in the ongoing work of God s kingdom. Friends, that s the best investment you can ever make! Amen. (425) 868-9404 - www.lhlc.org, pastortodd@lhlc.org Page 5 of 5