KINGDOM TREASURE: Worth Any Price 3-3-24

KINGDOM TREASURE: Worth Any Price 3-3-24

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Today we begin a brand-new sermon series called Kingdom Treasure. Throughout the Gospels there are multiple stories that are told to help give clarity to the kind of Kingdom that God was bringing into the world through His Son, Jesus Christ. Each story is like a newly discovered treasure that reveals novel and exciting truths about what we are invited into as followers of Jesus. Whenever we find something that is worth great value, we want to share it with others. So, over the next few weeks we are going to dig into the scriptures as if we were mining for rubies, jewels or gold to find something new that we can share with the world around us.

 

Story: Antiques Road Show ending 

 

Story: I have spent many hours over the last 30 years looking for treasure.  I have never panned for gold.  I have never day traded.  I have bought and sold sports cards and action figures.  I have purchased too many objects at garage sales, flea markets, Salvation Army’s, Goodwills, and the like.  I have at times purchased items of great value like a $50 camera I sold for $1500.  Most of my purchases have been with the hope of great value but the reality of little value.  Now we are getting rid of most of those treasures that we once thought would bring us joy.  They are going, and we are not sad.

 

It is amazing what people will do for things that they see as having great worth. People work hard to build up a large bank account. People save for years to buy an expensive car. A young man will work his fingers to the bone to buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend. If we think something is valuable, we will do anything for it. In a world where value is usually defined by how much something costs, today we visit a story in the Bible that will cause us to rethink what is worthy of our time, energy and sacrifice.

 

I.  IT IS TIME TO RETHINK WHAT IS MOST VALUABLE

 

In the book of Matthew, Jesus is speaking to a large group of people and teaching them about the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is a place where God had full rule and reign. It is a reality that was becoming more and more clear as Jesus was at work in the world. Jesus uses powerful imagery to teach a life-changing truth.

 

”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.“

        Matthew 13:44 NIV

 

         A.  What you have is valuable.

 

Illustration: Look at the coin you were given as you entered the room today. Hold it in your hand and pretend for a moment that this coin is real. Pretend that this coin is so rare and so valuable that you would do anything to have it. That is what the man in the story has come upon.

 

We don’t know how long it had been there. We don’t know how it got there. We don’t know how the man found it. All we are told is that the discovery is so exciting that he hides it again and goes to sell everything he has so that he can buy the field that the treasure is in. The man in the story believed the treasure he found to be so valuable that he gave everything up to have it. Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like this treasure.

 

                      1.  You are blessed to have found Jesus.

                      2.  You are blessed when you chose Jesus over your previous life.

 

         B.  What you have is worth any price.

           1.  Relationships

                   2.  Status at work

              3.  Pleasure, prosperity, freedom, selfish desires

           4.  Prosperity

              5.  Freedom

                   6.  Selfish desires

           7.  Anything/everything

 

The reality is that a lot of the things we often chase after and see as valuable, in the end, aren’t worth anything anyway.

 

II.  DON’T FALL FOR FOOL’S GOLD

 

Story: Between 1848-1855 there was something called the California Gold Rush. Approximately 300,000 people loaded up their families with wagons and horses and raced to the West to strike it rich. Gold had been discovered in the hills and people came from all around to get a piece of the treasure. Many did. Many hit the mother lode and changed the trajectory of their family’s future altogether. Others came all the way west and sacrificed so much for something called fool’s gold. A worthless stone that looks so much like gold that it often fooled those who found it.

 

A.  Attractive counterfeits abound.

 

Pic: fool’s gold vs real gold

 

Story: Gary Freitag’s rocks around his house.

 

    B.  Effective testing methods exist.

           1.  Temporary

                 2.  Eternal

  C.  Valuation - determining your value of things

                     1.  Time

                  2.  Energy

             3.  Attention

                 4.  Money 

 

Story: Our stuff and getting rid of storage and most of what we own.

 

           D.  An example of fool’s gold

 

”As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.“

           Mark 10:17-22 NIV

 

             1.  Following Jesus is costly.

                     2.  Jesus does not negotiate.

 

”Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”“

           Mark 10:21 NIV  

          

                     3.  Jesus lets us choose poorly.

 

III.  YOU ARE WORTH ANY SACRIFICE

 

Though the Kingdom of God is a treasure that is worth any sacrifice, it is made available to us by an even greater sacrifice.

 

    A.  Sacrifice demonstrates value.

 

Story: Every year in Alaska, a 1,000-mile dog sled race, run for prize money and prestige, commemorates an original "race" run to save lives. Back in January 1925, 6-year-old Richard Stanley showed symptoms of diphtheria, signaling the possibility of an outbreak in the small town of Nome. When the boy passed away a day later, Dr. Curtis Welch began immunizing children and adults with an experimental but effective anti-diphtheria serum. But it wasn't long before Dr. Welch's supply ran out, and the nearest serum was in Anchorage, Alaska. Governor Scott Bone authorized delivery of the serum by way of train 298 miles from Seward to Nenana, Alaska - 1,000 miles of frozen wilderness away from Nome. 

 

Amazingly, a group of trappers and prospectors volunteered to cover the distance with their dog teams! Operating in relays from trading post to trapping station and beyond, one sled started out from Nome while another, carrying the serum, started from Nenana. Oblivious to frostbite, fatigue, and exhaustion, the teamsters mushed relentlessly until, after 144 hours in minus 50-degree winds, the serum was delivered to Nome. As a result, only one other life was lost to the potential epidemic. Their sacrifice had given an entire town the gift of life.

 

         B.  God’s sacrifice demonstrates our value.

                    1.  What we pay is insignificant.

                    2.  What God gave was priceless.

 

”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.“

           John 3:16 NIV

 

”My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.“

           1 John 2:1-2 NIV

 

”God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—“

         Romans 3:25 NIV

 

                    3.  God’s valuation of us should make us value one another as priceless.

 

CONCLUSION

 

It’s time to rethink what is valuable.  Don’t fall for fool’s gold.  You are worth any sacrifice.  

 

Think: The kingdom of Heaven is worth more than any amount of material goods I could possibly obtain. Trading what is temporal for what is eternal is an easy trade.

 

Feel: I can spend my whole life stockpiling things that in the end don’t really matter and miss the true treasure that is offered in Christ.

 

Do: Let go of the things that are getting in the way of me fully embracing the Kingdom of God.

 

INVITATION

 

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.