Last week I was given the privilege of teaching at the Youth Service here in Brussels. I am finding more and more that I love to teach the Bible, and that I am pretty good at it. Well, I just wanted to share it on here, like I did in the spring when I taught, so others could read it as well. Share this with others you think might need to hear it or would appreciate it.
What is your Treasure?
Main Idea: If we were to truly savor and treasure Jesus Christ, how much differently would our lives look?
Matt 13:44 – “The kingdom of Heaven is like a 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.”
If you were stranded on a desert island and you could only have 3 things with you, what would you have?
There are things that we cannot live without right? How about in your everyday life. Are their certain things you cannot live without?
Phones, Internet, Facebook, Music, TV, Certain People?
How much do we love these things?
Do you love them as much as the things of God?
Community, Prayer, Reading the Bible, Memorization, Fasting, Righteousness, Holiness?
Or do you love them more?
I am right there with you. I love movies and TV shows, so there is judgement here. I am constantly listening to music, and its not always Christian music. I can literally talk about TV and music for hours. I have wasted many days binge watching Netflix.
But can we do that with the Lord. Can you binge read the Bible for a whole day? Can you spend an entire day with the Lord in prayer and study? Meditating on his Word and memorizing passages?
What would you do with an entire free day – free from obligation and commitments? Would you fill it with the things of the Lord or with the things of the World?
Yes, its true that all of these things are not sinful, we we must evaluate these things based on the Bible and not just our own reasoning.
First – Evaluate if the things you are watching or doing are promoting Christ or the World.
This is a HUGE problem with TV and music – most shows are, at best, indifferent to sin, if not promoting it. We must guard what we allow in our lives regarding the worlds view of sin, or we can begin to become indifferent to sin as well.
Second – Maybe its not promoting sin – but in 1 Corinthians 10:23 it says “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.”
So all things are lawful (he is not talking about sin – he was talking to the Jews about new freedoms in Christ and things that are permissible. He is NOT saying that sin is lawful!) but that is not our only filter when we act.
Is it helpful?
Does it build up? Yourself, others or the Glory of God?
We must be careful, because this tendency towards the things of this world, rather then the things of God, can be dangerous.
1 John 2:15, 17 – “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
In this passage, Jesus is talking specifically of money, but this can go for anything we set up and worship other than God.
James 4:4-5 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?
The world = Enemies of God.
And the only reason that we are not still enemies of God is because of Jesus and what he did for us – if you are in Christ and born again. If you are not, you are an enemy of God.
I don’t know about you guys, but I do not want to be an enemy of God.
But how? How do we come to seek the things of God over the things of the world?
I believe that one of the reasons we do not long for God, that we do not desire the Word of God and why we cling to the things of the World is that we do not have a right view of God and we do not treasure Him as we should and how He deserves.
I think we take Jesus for granted and do no see Him as He is.
Do you treasure Jesus?
Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of Heaven is like a 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.”
Matthew 13:45-46 “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.
Do we give our all to obtain more of the Kingdom? More of Christ? To be in closer fellowship with Jesus?
We don’t. I don’t. — It’s because we do not properly treasure Christ. We do not have a proper view of our Savior.
Matt 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
This is problem with our hearts.
To solve this heart problem, let’s take some time to look at Jesus – A true and honest look, and we why we should value him so highly.
Reason 1
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
The Word is Jesus, and he was in the Beginning – he is eternal, existing before time – with God, and being God.
STOP: Think about that, not as something you have heard multiple times and has becoming normal for you to hear, but really think about it.
And all things, ALL THINGS, were made through Him. It says in Colossians 1:16-17 that all things were created by Him, and in Him all things hold together.
He is creator and sustainer – of EVERYTHING.
Reason 2
Revelations 19:11-16 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
He is defender and warrior. This passage is a terrifying view of Jesus, but a right view of Him. He is the one who will destroy sin and death – and all of those who are not His own.
To prepare a way for his people – those that He loves and that love Him. – to enter into this.
Revelations 21:3-5 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
This is the goal! – This is what we should have our eyes set on, and this is what we should be valuing. Eternity with God, in full and unbroken fellowship – like Adam and Eve before the Fall.
Reason 3
Let’s continue to look at our Lord Jesus and why we should treasure Him.
John 1:14a And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
Jesus took on flesh and come to live among man.
Jesus – God, eternal, creator, sustainer, defender, and destroyer of sin and death – took on broken human flesh and lived among broken, sinful and unfaithful people.
He willingly chose to do this! This was the plan since the beginning of time.
Why?!
Colossians 1:19-20 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
He did this to reconcile all things to himself buy the Blood of the cross. – He did this for US!
That was his purpose for coming… to redeem His people for His glory!
We are worth that much to Him.
He treasures us deeply – Why do not treasure him the same way?
We must remember what he saved us from – our bondage to sin, slavery and death.
Ephesians 2:1-3 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
So if you are saved and born again in Christ – we must remember that person we were and how Christ has set us from from that.
And we could not do this on our own – He had to be the one to do this!
Reason 4
John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
John 15:26 But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
Christ has given us, sent us, the Holy Spirit to dwell with us and in us.
1 Corinthians 3:16 [Do you not know that you[a] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?]
We are a temple – His temple- because God’s Spirit dwells within us.
The God of all creation has chosen to dwell within us.
To be with us always -and to teach and guide us about Christ
It says in Romans 8:11 that this is the same Spirit of God that raised Jesus Christ from the dead! – That power resides within us.
How can we not treasure this? We are so quick to think, “Yeah, I know this” but do we really absorb this information and what that means for our lives. The Holy, Just, God of Creation willing lives and indwells broken, sinful, man.
This is crazy right?! How is this even possible?
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of the Lord dwelled in the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant.
This was most Holy – There is a story in 2 Samuel of a man named Uzzah and this is what happened to him as they were moving the Ark of the Covenant.
2 Samuel 6:6-7 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.
He was trying to steady the Ark so it would not fall. He touched the Ark and died! He died coming that close to the Holiness of God. That is the only fate available to sinners when confronted with the Holiness of God.
And this same Spirit lives in us! The very same. And we do not die – because of the blood of Christ and his sacrifice to bring us into right standing before God. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee of our salvation and the proof that we have right standing before God, because it we did not we could die.
This is how we learn to treasure God more – by realizing what he has done for us – and praising Him for it.
This is why we must meditate on the Word – think about it – not just hear it.
Reason 5
Finally – Romans 8:26, 33-34 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. – Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
If everything else was not already more than we could process – The Holy Spirit and Jesus, Himself, intercede for us before the Father.
When we do not know how to pray as we should, the Holy Spirit prays for us – on our behalf.
And Christ is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us – rescuing us from the charges against us and from condemnation.
Why do we treasure Christ? – How can we not? – When we have a right view of Him!
The very God of Creation who has come into human flesh, the Christ who will end sin and death forever, for the purpose of saving and redeeming His people. More than that, Christ has sent the very Spirit of God – so holy that it cannot abide sin – to dwell within us, reveal truth to us and intercede for us.
This is how we treasure Christ – Look at Him!
My prayer for you is this: Ephesians 1:16-18 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
and that the Lord would make this your heart –
Philippians 3:8 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 rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
Fight the Good Fight of Faith my friends.
This will not be easy, but its worth it.
Engage the Outsider
What do you find is your treasure in your own life? What is that thing you cannot live without?