Still A Bargain

If you would, take your Bibles this morning and turn to Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13. Let's pray as we come together around the Word of God. God of heaven, our Father, we thank you for your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we thank you for the kingdom that he has brought. We are thankful for a king who loves us and rules us, who offers us so much.

Would you now, Lord, turn our attention to him and his kingdom? would you help us to understand it that we might live rightly in it that we might be good ambassadors of that kingdom god as we come to you now we pray that you would be pleased to work in our hearts to give us insight to help us to understand help us father so that as followers of jesus we would shine as lights in this dark world grant that we pray in the name of jesus amen suppose you come into town one day to get a haircut and you're down at the barber shop and you engage in conversation with the other guy sitting there and one of them says to you hey did you hear what the pastor of the Baptist church did the other day the man must be a fool well you're interested in this of course and you ask no what happened to make you say that He replies, he sold everything. He sold his vehicles. He sold his house.

He sold his property. He sold everything he owns. You know what? He even sold his books. Now, would your pastor have been a fool for doing that? And I would say, well, that depends.

It depends. You say well it depends on what it depends on the reason why he did it he may not be a fool for selling all those possessions He may not be a fool at all There may be some things that are worth selling all your possessions. And that's what we find in the parables before us, as we see two men who sold everything, and they're not considered fools because of the reason for their selling.

Turn, if you will, to Matthew 13. and we'll be looking at the two parables that we find in verses 44 through 46. These two parables in verses 44 through 46. 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. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Wow, two stories here. Two interesting parables. What in the world do they mean? Well, before we look at those two parables, let's consider and recall what Jesus has said about the kingdom of heaven up to this point with the parables he has already told. Matthew 13 is the chapter in which Jesus gives us an understanding of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven.

He's revealing to us some truths about the kingdom that we might not know, but that we need to know. And he does it, he sets them before us in the form of parables. So far he has taught us first that not all will respond to the message of the kingdom. That there are different soils, that some soils will produce a fruit of the kingdom and others will not. we've heard the parable of the wheat and the tares that in that in this kingdom weeds will grow up along with the wheat the fruit of the kingdom will grow up along with it and will be finally separated and judged when Jesus comes again that is to say that the kingdom comes and opposition is still growing and that that opposition will continue to grow until the end when Jesus comes in judgment And then the last parables we saw the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast that the kingdom grows large from very small beginnings and will have profound influences as it spreads Now we come to these two parables, the parables of the hidden treasure and of the pearl.

What else does Jesus want us to see about the kingdom of heaven? And these two are related because they both deal with things of great value. So we'll put them together. First of all, he wants you to know that his kingdom is like a hidden treasure that you find. His kingdom is like a hidden treasure that you find. Verse 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. Imagine Sam is out in the field and he's working for his master. and he's out there plowing away. The sun is hot and he's just going up and down the field plowing the furrows when suddenly the plow stops and the oxen can't move it. He just hits something and he says, oh, boy, I'm so tired of this.

I wish my master would sell this field because I am sick and tired of picking up rocks in this thing. It's just rocks everywhere. That's all I go. That's all I do. So he bends down to get the rock out of the way, and instead he finds this curious-looking box. And he gets the dirt off around, and he pulls it up, and he opens it up, and he finds in there an assortment of coins and jewels and assorted valuables.

And as he looks at it, he understands this must be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, at least in our thinking. Now, what is a treasure? Someone might ask, what is a treasure like that doing in a field? Well, one thing you need to remember, and Jesus is using parables that would not seem out of place. He's using things that they would understand. Well, what happens is if you look at a map, okay, you have Europe over here, right?

Then you have Asia over here and Africa down here. And Palestine, where Jesus is, where Israel is today and the Gaza Strip and so forth, that is the land bridge that connects all of these. And there were constantly conquering armies coming down that bridge There was always things going up and down that bridge and so these armies would come And people there are always subject to these roving bands, these armies that were continually coming.

It's interesting to note, when I'm in Romania, these are people who are used to armies sweeping across their country all the time. right the germans the russians the french during during the era of napoleon all these armies they're the kind of people that are used to that we don't kind of know what that's like but the people in jesus time in that era in that land knew what it was like to have armies sweeping across back and forth all the time and so people when these armies are coming through want to hide their valuables because what do armies do they loot and pillage and rape right they do all these horrible things. And so they would take their valuables and bury them so these marauding bands wouldn't get them. They would do it as a precaution.

So Sam has found the treasure of some previous owner now long dead. This is the find of a lifetime. This is the find of a lifetime. Now, rabbinic law said that when a workman came on a treasure in a field, when a slave found a treasure in a field, it belonged to the one who owned the land. Not to the one who found it, but to the one who owned the land.

Whoever owned the field had rights to the treasure. And so Sam carefully puts the treasure back into its hole and he runs home. Overjoyed at this good fortune, he sells everything that he has. He sells his clothes, his animals, the little bit of jewelry he has. He empties out all his accounts at the bank. He sells everything and uses the proceeds to buy that field and become the rightful owner of the treasure that he found.

But that is a bargain. All that he has is nothing compared to the riches he has gained. It's nothing. To get rid of everything he has, he's not a fool, is he? This is a bargain. He's getting something much more valuable. what is the point Jesus is making about his kingdom?

Well, remember what he's already told about being a disciple of his. Let's just take a sampling of it from Matthew chapter 10. Okay, this is just kind of a sample of some of the things that he says are our lot as disciples of Jesus. So turn to Matthew 10, real quickly, let's start reading in verse 16. He says, Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child. And children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. For truly I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Drop down to verse 21. Oh, we already just read that. I'm sorry. Verse 24, a disciple is not above his teacher nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house balsam, how much more will they malign those of his household?

Okay, 34, do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.

Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Now look at what he's talking about in terms of being a disciple. Notice some of the things he has said. They're going to drag you in front of the courts.

They're going to beat you for my name's sake. Brothers are going to deliver brother over to death. Children are going to deliver over their parents. You're going to be hated because of my name. Disciples not above his teacher. If they called me horrible names, they're going to call you horrible names.

They're going to treat you with disdain. I've not come to bring peace. there's going to be lots of conflict because a man going to be set against his father a daughter against her mother and on and on it goes And taking up your cross and following denying yourself This is what it means to be a disciple. Here's what he's saying in Matthew 13. Compared to what you're leaving behind, this is much more valuable.

Compared with what you're going to gain in the kingdom, this is much more valuable than what you have now you're giving up everything in order to follow jesus and these things are going to happen to you but what you're giving up to follow jesus isn't even begin doesn't even begin to measure what you gain by following jesus but because what else has he told us that's true in this domain well for one thing there's forgiveness of our sins. We no longer have to be plagued by a conscience that constantly torments us. We no longer have to, we do not have to go through our ritual of mental punishment when we sin.

We can look to Jesus and see the wonders and the glories of his grace and we can know we are forgiven and God will not hold that against you. I know that on the day of judgment when I stand before Jesus, I will not have to worry about his condemnation. He will welcome me. Why? Not because of me, not because of how well I've done, but because of what he has done on my behalf.

I know this. I know that in his kingdom is righteousness and peace and love. And there's a love now of people who will love me as a new family. And I will love them. And I will have them. And not to not to forget that there'll be a brotherhood and unity that I cannot experience anywhere or with anyone else but with brothers and sisters in Christ on top of all that it's the epitome is I have God himself God is mine he is my father he is the one who loves me he is the one who promises me that whatever comes from his hand comes from a loving hand never being against me always being for me and no matter what happens in life I know that God is working for my good you see the value of the kingdom is worth infinitely more than the cost of discipleship this is still a bargain you You leave all behind in order to follow Jesus You are not losing anything.

You are gaining it all. That's what it means to follow Jesus. Now, is Jesus indicating then that you can buy your way into the kingdom? Is this forgiveness and righteousness something that you can earn? No. Did you hear the call to worship? today i love that passage where the prophet says come all you are thirsty come to the waters and you who have no money come buy and eat come buy wine and milk without money and without cost you see what he's saying there's nothing you can do to to earn it it's free so what is jesus saying here calvin puts it this way and i like this but though the heavenly life and everything that belongs to it is the free gift of god yet we are said to buy it when we cheerfully relinquish the desires of the flesh that nothing may prevent us from obtaining it nothing not father not mother brother sister not my possessions not even life itself will prevent me from coming to Christ.

If it means I lose my life, I will follow Christ. If it means I lose everything, I will still follow Christ because what I gain, what I gain is comparably more richer than what I've lost. Do you see the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3? I know it was in a scripture reading, but I love that. Let's turn back. Let's turn to it.

I want you to turn to Philippians 3. and do you remember what um what jake just read to us in philippians chapter three he says verse seven no let's go back up um verse four though i myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also if anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh i have more circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin a Hebrew of Hebrews as to the law a Pharisee as to zeal a persecutor of the church as to righteousness under the law blameless but whatever gain I had all that I had I counted as loss for the sake of Christ indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as what Rubbish! Garbage! In order 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 comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.

You see that? Now listen, to identify himself with Christ meant to him losing all his position, losing his prestige. He lists for you a whole list of things that says he had great power and prestige, and he left it all for the purpose of following Christ. What did he get? Turn over to 2 Corinthians 11. What did he get for it all?

2 Corinthians chapter 11. Here's what he got for it. In verse 23 of 2 Corinthians 11. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one. I'm talking like a madman.

With far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes, less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I was adrift at sea.

On frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness danger at sea danger from false brothers and toil and hardship through many a sleepless night in hunger and thirst often without food in cold and exposure and apart from other things there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches who is weak and i am not weak who is made to fall and i am not indignant you see what he's saying here this is what he got for following jesus this is his list of his labors and yet he says in Philippians 3. When I look at the lashes, the beatings, the shipwreck, being hungry, being cold, being in danger, when I compare that with the prestige and the power of being one of the leading rabbinical scholars of that day, when I look at all the prestige, the power, and the wealth that came from that position of a renowned international reputation, when I compare this with that, this is rubbish. why? because he's gained sure he's gained this but he's gained everything else as well he has gained heaven he has gained God he has gained the brotherhood he has gained so much when you compare what he has to eternal life and the escape from the wrath of God and all the kingdom blessings he has he says this is rubbish this is valuable all the things that come with following christ are more valuable and notice back in matthew 13 now notice that the man who found the treasure then in his joy he goes and sells everything in view of the gain of the treasure he joyfully accepts it he joyfully accepts it joy is the relinquishing of all his possessions it's sheer joy for him because what he has found is much more valuable do your life do your lives reflect that do they reflect that kind of joy to know what I have is so much more valuable than what this world offers Is it joyful for me? Right?

Is this how you sing the song? I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I've decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back.

You don't sing the song that way, do you? Good. You shouldn't. You shouldn't. he's saying to us there's so much more to be gained it's a richer treasure now he goes on and talks about this pearl merchant this jeweler right in verse 45 and 46 again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls who on finding one pearl of great value went and sold all that he had and bought it Know that the kingdom of God is like a valuable pearl that you buy.

It's like a treasure that you find. It's like a valuable pearl that you buy. Now imagine Joseph, the pearl merchant. He deals in pearls and he's an expert. in them he's a a wholesaler who who's always searching for for jewelry and pearls and he buys them and sells them at a profit to retail jewelers but one day while doing business he comes across a pearl the like of which he has never seen he has never seen a pearl like this he recognizes its value maybe other people don't but he recognizes its value and his his heart is so stirred at the sight of it that this prudent calculating merchant this one who knows how to make a buck who knows how to do that gives way to this extravagant uninhibited action he sells everything he has for that one pearl everything he has for that one pearl what he exchanges for this poor pearl is not a sacrifice.

It is not a sacrifice. It is a good deal. Now Jesus says your life may be bound up with the pearls of this life. What do you consider good and valuable? What do you consider good and valuable? When compared to the worth of the kingdom, Jesus says there's nothing in this life that compares to the value of the kingdom of God. all the celebrity the money the popularity the school the boyfriends or the girlfriends the advancement in your job the nice houses the property all of the things that you might consider valuable pale in comparison to the value of the kingdom of heaven and being a part of it what is all of that compared to reconciliation with god what is all of that compared to having Jesus as your king?

Do joy and peace mean so little that you rather have stuff than what the kingdom offers You see Compare all that you have and all that you are with what you have in the kingdom and ask yourself, what is more valuable in my sight? What is more valuable? What are the things that you count valuable? Maybe it's vacations. Now look, maybe it's houses, maybe it's popularity, who knows what it is, but here's the point.

Here's the point. Jesus isn't saying don't take vacations anymore. He's simply saying this. When you're at the crossroads, what really is more valuable to you? And how do you see that? How do you see that?

How do you view the kingdom? Now, some of you have never come to Christ in faith. You've never cast yourself on him for his mercy. you've never entrusted himself yourself to him for your forgiveness you never have what is holding you back okay i want you to think about that take an inventory what's holding you back you say well i have to live differently i know that if i follow jesus that my life is going to have to change i won't be able to do the things i want to do true you're right your life is going to have to change To follow Jesus means I'm going to do what my master says.

Okay? So, yeah, your life will change. But you know what's great about the kingdom of God? He changes what you want. He changes what you want. And you find delight in what you didn't before.

You know, as I'm speaking here, I am thinking about my dear friend, Greg Field. Greg's not in here. He's in the nursery today. So I feel a little more confident with this. But I remember the New Year's Eve service between 92 and 93. You know, the watch night service.

We were all here together. And 92 was the year that my neighbor, Greg, was converted. And that night, as we were here at church on watch night service, I'll never forget him standing up and him saying this. If one of my friends last New Year's Eve had said, I would be in church on New Year Eve I would have said you crazy What wrong with you That the dumbest thing I ever heard But here I am on New Year's Eve in church with a bunch of Christians and enjoying it.

Right? now compared to what he had to what he has now he didn't give up anything he didn't sacrifice anything so i ask you you have never trusted yourself to christ what is it you think is so valuable that you would give up eternity that you would give up peace with god that you would have a god who would love you and look after you and make sure that there was nothing coming into your life that would harm you, not harm you in any lasting way, but that even those things that are difficult are going to be good for you and hold back those things that would be too much, allowing those things that would be good for you, loving you in every way, providing for you, taking you to heaven or taking you to glory in this new earth. All of it, all of it is yours. What compares to that?

If you entrust yourself to Jesus, you're not giving up anything. You're gaining everything. It's not a sacrifice. It's not a sacrifice at all. It doesn't compare to the riches you'll gain. Now, Christian, look what you have.

Now, as I meditated on this sermon, as I thought about it, even as I think about it up here, here's the thing that strikes me. Sometimes we feel so sorry for ourselves. Sometimes we feel sorry for ourselves because of maybe the way our friends treat us or we feel sorry for ourselves because we don't have the same things that everybody else does and sometimes it looks good to us.

Why? We have riches beyond compare. We have riches that unbelievers know nothing about. And sometimes our eyes are captivated by the fool's gold, by the baubles that the world dangles before us. And we know, listen, here's the rub. we know, I want to grab that, but I know it's really not for me, but oh, it looks so attractive. Just remember this, turning your back on it is no sacrifice.

What you have is better than anything you could even compare to. So what do you hold on in your hand today? What do you hold in your hand today? The treasure of the kingdom of heaven or the worthless junk of this world? What are you hanging on to? Don't be fooled or distracted.

See what Jesus offers in the kingdom. Joyfully sacrifice everything in order to follow him. The exchange is still a bargain. Father, thank you for your word. Lord for those who are here today who have never bowed before the Lord Jesus to take His yoke upon them to entrust themselves to Him to find forgiveness and joy in Him and a new life Father I pray that they would think carefully about what they want to hang on to so carefully how they want to hold on to things as if they're dear.

Teach them, Father, that to give up all for Jesus is not a sacrifice but a great gain. And Father, for us who are believers, we pray this. Continue to remind us that we have the best. There is nothing better than what you've given us, even with the kingdom, with its persecutions and its difficulties and hardships. yet it is better than anything we could have dreamed.

Father, would you please make these truths live in our minds that we might live in ways that reflect the valuable place that we have in your kingdom. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.