Hidden. Found. Covered. | Matthew 13:44

[0:00] Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ. I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and each week I share sermons that balance the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the truth of the Word of God.

[0:15] Together, we'll explore Scripture using observation, interpretation, and application. This helps us discover practical ways to live out our faith every single day.

[0:26] Let's dive in together into God's Word. Let's open in prayer before we begin our message this morning. Will you pray with me? Dear Lord and Heavenly Father, the creators of the heavens and the earth, the Maker of all things, we come before you today as we are in our current situation and circumstance.

[0:51] Father, we pray that today we may learn something new. Father, we are privileged to be able to open your Word, to read it, to study it, and to apply it to our very lives.

[1:05] We recognize that in this world there's a lot of changes that are going on and a lot of just crazy things that are happening in life. And we want to offer all of that to you today so that we can focus our minds and our hearts and everything that we are on you this morning.

[1:23] Father, we recognize that there are some verses that can be very challenging and some verses that can be maybe not so challenging. And as we open the Word today, we just ask that you bless this time as we open the Word and we recognize that the greatest treasure exists in your Son, Jesus Christ.

[1:46] That we are to seek that treasure that exists in your Son. Be with us today. Help us to know you, grow in you, and be moved to do good in your holy name.

[2:02] It is in the name of Jesus that we pray and we all say together, amen. Amen. X marks the what? The spot, right?

[2:14] These are words that we can think of as children or many times in movies. Raiders of the Lost Ark.

[2:26] Treasure Island. Treasure Planet for some of you, right? Very recently I've been spending some time with my kids and we found a new show.

[2:38] It's kind of a cute little family movie, like a coming of age movie. I haven't seen a lot of those recently. I know growing up had a lot of those kind of movies. It's a show that's called The Skeleton Crew and it's a Star Wars show.

[2:51] If some of you are nodding your heads and watching it. It's a very kind of coming of age. It reminds me of like the Goonies. It reminds me of kind of a different time period.

[3:01] And it's a really good show because it's showing these kids, I'm not going to give too many spoilers, that are on a journey to find treasure. It's a common pattern of what we see in a lot of the media, a lot of books that we read, magazines and stories that we have.

[3:18] There's something that's really exciting about this pursuit of finding different treasures, right? If we think of a treasure like this kind of so-called image here, of a treasure chest, right?

[3:31] Nowadays we think of the mystery box and what's inside of it, right? Or for some of us, when we get a treasure map or something as children, we want to know what is going to be at the end of this journey.

[3:47] We go on a journey as children or we read these stories, we watch these videos about an epic adventure. Now, I can think that most of us can think of a story, a book or a movie that has that kind of same premise where people are seeking riches beyond all, you know, right?

[4:08] The lost city of Atlantis, right? Or the road to El Dorado and, you know, the cities are paved with gold and all these things. And it's something that as human beings, people seek riches on earth.

[4:21] And we know that in scripture, the Lord speaks so much about treasure. But treasure, not in the way that we think of treasure.

[4:33] I know for many of us, we'd love to find a pot of gold, right? Or we'd love to find that treasure chest on the road and open it and see all the gold coins and the gems and the rubies and all the things.

[4:45] It's kind of that, it gets you excited about that. We know that in scripture, that it says that we are not to store ourselves treasures on the earth, but treasures in heaven.

[5:00] Well, that's challenging. And when we hear that, you're like, well, Lord, I mean, have you seen this shiny thing before? We think about that. But in the same way that we pursue or people get so excited seeking treasures, lost civilizations, or they're going on these exploring the deep sea diving, right?

[5:21] I mean, even the Titanic, right? The whole premise of that was they're trying to find the, what is it, the jewel? Heart of the ocean. Thank you. Right? They're trying to find a jewel.

[5:33] And in the same way that people pursue these earthly things, we have got to pursue the treasure. The greatest treasure that exists for us as Christians, and we should know that that greatest treasure is in Jesus Christ.

[5:48] Knowing that salvation is free and available for all is a great treasure that is not exclusive to one, not exclusive to many, but is available for all who believe.

[6:02] Now, I don't know about you, but if I find a treasure someday, I'm probably going to post it on Instagram. I'm probably going to do a live on TikTok, even though I probably shouldn't because somebody's going to want, hey, can you share some of that treasure?

[6:15] Right? And in the same way, though, when we have matters of salvation, receiving the greatest gift that keeps on giving, we've got to share with other people.

[6:27] Amen? So let's turn to the scriptures today. We're going to go to the Gospel of Matthew. It's going to be page 974. The verse is up here on the screen. Matthew chapter 13, verse 44.

[6:38] And as many of you know, we've been going over the parables of Christ, these simple truths that have such depth to them. They're so easy that a child can read them and understand them.

[6:51] But yet there's so much depth that even scholars, biblical scholars, argue and debate about them. Now, that's fascinating. I mean, if you want to know one thing about the Lord is how he kind of jam packs things into the word.

[7:05] And we as Christians get to read, we get to learn about it, we get to grow in our individual faith, grow as a church, grow as a community, and continue to be transformed.

[7:17] I mean, let us remember when we come to the Lord in faith and we're saved by grace, it's not the end. It's actually the beginning of our new life and continued transformation.

[7:29] And so are we all there? Gospel of Matthew chapter 13, verse 44. You can use your Bible of choice or your ESVP Bible, these handy dandy blue ones here.

[7:42] So we'll read it and we'll kind of explore what's going on in the context and we'll just go from there. So it's known as the parable of the hidden treasure. So Jesus is saying the kingdom of heaven is like what?

[7:56] Treasure hidden where? In a field which a man found and covered up. Well, that's kind of interesting. He covers that up.

[8:06] We'll get into that. All right. That's why we have the title of this hidden, found and covered. Right. Sounds like an insurance policy, but, you know, it's OK. Right. That wasn't intentional.

[8:18] That was just taking straight from the scripture. Right. Right. And then it goes on. Then in his joy, he goes. And what does he do? He sells all that he has and buys that field.

[8:30] I mean, you got to talk about an incredible treasure to be able to sell everything for this. What we can see in this. Right. We'll notice in the scripture, if you turn one page prior.

[8:46] We'll notice that we had the parable of the weeds. Right. The wheat and the tares or the wheat and the weeds. And we were learning.

[8:57] So this kind of helps set the scene of what's going on. Previously, we were talking about how the weeds represent sin and the wheat represents purity transformation.

[9:09] And we noticed in previous parables that when soil has a bunch of weeds in it, it's a representation of sin. And unfortunately, it gets it hits home when I call you a weed.

[9:21] Right. Or someone calls you a weed. Well, you got to be transformed going from a weed to wheat. It's being transformed, going from the former things into the new things of Christ.

[9:32] Okay. So that helps us understand. In fact, Christ explains to his disciples what exactly that means. And so, okay. We are seeing then that we have the parable of the weeds and the wheat.

[9:46] And then it's going on into the hidden treasure. If you look even further then, the parable of the pearl of great value, which we'll do next week.

[9:56] But we'll see that it's very similar. Right. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls who, finding the one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

[10:07] And so there's kind of this pattern that's going on here, realizing that the wheat is of great value. Right. The treasure is of great value.

[10:19] And then further on, the pearl is of great value. So that helps us kind of set the scene. Okay. These are, there's a pattern that's going on. Why, Lord, are you repeating this going on?

[10:31] And I mean, even when you go further into the parable of the net, we won't even go into that yet. But it's the same kind of thing where there's the seeking and there's the finding. We find that a lot in scripture.

[10:44] And so Jesus is telling this short but powerful parable about discovering hidden treasure. Right. So what can we observe? Let's go to that next slide.

[10:55] Right. So the treasure, we know right off the bat, is it out in the open or is it hidden? Right. So it's hidden.

[11:06] Then we have the field. We have the man who is, he's finding, he finds it and he covers it. Now that's kind of an interesting image.

[11:17] It's almost as though when you think of someone who's, maybe they find a diamond and they kind of cover it up, you know, back in the ground a little bit. Or they cover it up and they wrap it up kind of thing.

[11:28] That kind of imagery that we can think of. And we see in here that just like previous parables, when it's saying a man, we can think of first and foremost that that is a representation of God.

[11:46] Right. We have that. We have the treasure representing the kingdom of God and God's people. This all makes sense in just a moment. Okay. The field, as we've talked about previously, the sower scattering seeds into the field, representing the world, but can also represent our heart.

[12:05] And then the man's action found, covered and sold everything to buy the field. All right. So it's like we have two layers of this that's going on.

[12:16] What exactly, where are you getting at with this in it? So think of the connection with the other parables and then you'll get it. So the sower, right?

[12:28] The man was planting the seeds of the word into the field, representing the world in our hearts. Right. We know that. The merchant later on is searching for fine pearls and giving up everything for it.

[12:40] And the man in this parable finds hidden treasure. It is of great value. So much so that he's going to cover it and he's going to sell everything for it.

[12:53] Now, there's two. Let's go to that next slide. There's two ways that we can look at it. And this is what's really powerful about parables is that it's kind of mirrors.

[13:04] Sometimes you've got to look at it at layers of different perspectives. So here's a kind of simpler way of looking at this is that number one, God seeks his people and redeems them.

[13:16] There are some scholars that have that say that the treasure is a representation of the Jewish people and eventually how through that.

[13:29] The man sells everything, gives up everything, making salvation available to everyone. We can also look at this at how God sees us nowadays, right?

[13:42] The Gentiles and the Jews and how Christ was sacrificed, right? When God is selling everything, isn't it interesting that scripture says that Jesus paid it all?

[13:55] Do you get it? So selling everything, so to speak, right? Seeks his people and redeems them. So that's interesting because when we see the treasure being in the field representing the world, those that come to know the Lord are of great value to God.

[14:17] Does that make sense? Do you see that? That's one layer. And then the other one, it's just like how we talked about the parable of the lost coin, right?

[14:29] And I'll get into that in just a second. Well, we can learn that in the same way that we, if we're going out into the world, we must find the greatest treasure.

[14:42] And that salvation that is freely available. Believing in Christ, offering, getting rid of everything. Am I talking about selling all of your assets right now?

[14:54] I'm talking about getting rid of the former life. Dedicating your life to the Lord. Right? Because when we believe in Christ, we are getting rid of the former things and putting on the new self, being transformed by the renewal of our minds.

[15:10] It is spiritual transformation that happens. And so it is seeking the treasure and responding to the Lord. Now, there's other ways that people have looked at this, but this seems to be the most consistent with the other parables and the most consistent with Scripture.

[15:31] And it's beautiful imagery then. Just like when I was mentioning the parable of the lost coin, how the woman was sweeping through the dirt to find the coin.

[15:44] And in the same way, we must diligently search for that which is valuable. So they kind of piggyback off of each other, but it's explained in a different way to help us understand that which is simple, that which is true, that which is very deep and profound in our lives.

[16:06] It's wild. You think of this, you read this on the surface then, and you're thinking, okay, well, I want to think about this.

[16:18] You imagine for a moment if you're going about your day and you find a treasure. Maybe the treasure is too heavy. You can't put it in your car. You have to kind of cover it and hide it for a little bit.

[16:31] The covering is also a very interesting thing. Just like how the Lord covers all of our sins, right? Or just like how we must treasure, right, our salvation, knowing that it is covered.

[16:52] It's fascinating, isn't it? And it's just kind of such a simple parable here, but yet there's so many implications of that. So both of these views work, that God seeks us, and that we as human beings must respond to his call.

[17:08] This is just a different way of looking at it. And what I like about this is how we think culturally in our everyday world how much literature, media, stories are found about people seeking treasure.

[17:23] What wonderful way that you can identify and talk with someone about you're seeking earthly treasures. How about you seek the greatest treasure that's offered to you?

[17:37] Why not share this story with someone who loves the great myths and the great stories throughout different cultures and whatnot? That'd be a great way to relate to someone. The kingdom is life-changing for those that recognize his worth, and God is actively searching for his people.

[17:57] Are you going to respond? And in this, then, we go to the next slide, then, is, well, then how can I apply this? How can I respond to this, live this out in my everyday life?

[18:12] Because I want you to think that here at Ontario Community Church, there are a lot of people here from many different backgrounds, different denominational upbringings, different cultural backgrounds.

[18:26] We all come together united in Christ. And these applications might speak to you, and I hope that at least one of them does.

[18:38] The first one is, these are questions. Have you found the treasure? Are you seeking in the right area? Are you seeking in the pleasures of this world, but you find nothing but emptiness?

[18:54] Yes. Those that are addicted to many, many different things. Or maybe those people that feel like there's something that's missing in their life.

[19:07] They said, no matter how many women or how much money or how much fame and notoriety, I still feel empty inside. You would think that if money is the greatest fulfillment, everyone would be rich.

[19:17] But yet, celebrities and wealthy people, not all of them, but there are those that feel empty.

[19:28] Or those that are so famous, right? They've got the best looks, you know, magazine covers or whatever it is, but yet there's still that emptiness inside of them.

[19:41] Seeking in the wrong area. So ask yourself, have you found the treasure? If you haven't, let this be a call for you to seek the greatest treasure.

[19:54] Seeking salvation that Jesus has fulfilled, made available for all. And like I said, it's not like having one gold coin and that's it.

[20:08] Or a thousand gold coins and only so many people can have it. But this is the gift that keeps on giving. And so it's a call for us to recognize the kingdom's worth, right?

[20:22] What's fascinating about this parable is, well, how long was the treasure there? We don't know. It's a good question, right? And for us, the treasure is there. You just have to seek and find it.

[20:34] And it also reminds us to think that faith is not about earning, but is about receiving what's already been given. Let that be a call for you to receive in salvation.

[20:48] So are you searching in the wrong places? Only you can answer that question. The second thing then is, are you ready to respond? Maybe, just maybe, maybe you need to respond.

[21:04] Maybe you know the treasure's there. But maybe you haven't made that decision yet. For some people, you know, there's a lot of people that I have met who, for one reason or another, life just happens.

[21:21] That happened to all of us, though. Let's be honest here. Life happens. Situations happen. People get sick. Work gets overbearing. And children? I love my children, but they can be overbearing at times.

[21:35] Right? Life happens. Sometimes we get hurt by our bosses. Sometimes we even get hurt by other Christians. And sometimes we need to respond by just coming back.

[21:50] Coming back to the fold and continue being transformed. Because, may I remind all of you, our faith is not in man.

[22:01] It is in the living God who will never fail you. And I can't tell you how many people I've met where man or a person, an individual, has failed them.

[22:11] Have we been failed before by people? Don't raise your hand. Right? We've been failed by people before. If you haven't, then come talk to me later. I'd love to know how you do it. Right? Or maybe you've failed someone before.

[22:23] Right? We're imperfect. But it's understanding that God does not. He is always going to be there for us. What God offers is very different.

[22:35] Everlasting to everlasting. God is constant. Especially in this world, we need something that's constant. Amen? Many walk away.

[22:46] Many life just happens. But they still long for connection. That's what I found in my own experience. That people still long for community.

[22:57] A place where they can belong and grow together. That's what it's all about. Making disciples. Building relationships.

[23:09] We have to think about that. It's about gaining something greater. Something greater than what the world has to offer. And for those of you who maybe haven't responded or you need to be reminded.

[23:24] What would a genuine, authentic faith in Christ look like? Despite what people have done. Again, God will never fail you.

[23:36] Man certainly will. It's just reality. That's the life that we live in. And then third. Are you sharing the treasure?

[23:49] Now something that we can think about in terms of receiving the greatest gift is. Well, if you find literal gold coins, probably don't post it on TikTok.

[24:02] Just word to the wise here. Okay? Or if you win a brand new car on the Price is Right. Right? Maybe not. But in terms of salvation though, share it with other people.

[24:16] Because it's the gift that is available to every single person. And it's a call for us to share in that gift with everyone.

[24:28] Live life knowing that the kingdom is the greatest treasure. And what do I mean by that? It's just simply that Jesus Christ providing salvation is the greatest gift.

[24:39] It's simple. Just like this parable is simple, but yet there's so much to it. Coming to Christ is just believing his death, burial, and resurrection.

[24:50] That's pretty simple. Compared to, you know, you've got to learn the languages. And you've got to know the prayers. And you've got to recite it every single day. And we say, our faith in Christ is far different.

[25:04] And that's the beautiful thing about it. And so, if we see this treasure as valuable, it should change how we live our life.

[25:20] Think of the man that sold everything, right? Representing God, sacrificing everything for us through Jesus Christ. But also how we sacrifice our former life to put on the new creation.

[25:35] To be born again, as it were, right? Even when we talk about baptism, representing the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Even when we talk about that, it's representing the old is passing away and the new is here.

[25:50] Because God works wonders regarding transformation and doing something new in our lives. And so, what do you do with something so valuable?

[26:04] You've got to share it. The treasure is hidden. But once it is found, it changes everything. My friends, I love this parable because it also points to how something that was hidden, the mystery of Christ, was once revealed to all.

[26:25] For the Gentile and the Jew, for everyone to believe. And that's part of the echo of what we find in Scripture. So, ask yourself this question.

[26:37] What is your treasure? Do you hold on to the things of this world? Do you seek God and the treasure that has been offered? And what would it look like to live your life knowing you have the greatest treasure?

[26:53] You've got to receive it first. And live life accordingly. And so, in all of this, let us remember then about this small but this amazing parable of the hidden treasure.

[27:10] Knowing that that once is hidden, being revealed. Representing God. Revealing salvation to all who believe. Let's pray together.

[27:22] Father, we thank you for this wonderful parable. Showing how you loved us so much that you sent your son Jesus Christ and you sacrificed for us.

[27:38] We are ever so grateful for that. We may not fully understand it, but we know that you've done it for us. May we receive that gift.

[27:49] And as we look at the other side, the mirror, the echo, the additional layer to this parable. May we realize that may we be someone that finds the greatest treasure of knowing Jesus Christ by believing in him.

[28:08] Father, you call every single person to this treasure. Father, I pray that if there's anyone that hasn't made a decision for Christ, may they receive that treasure.

[28:30] If there's someone that's been hurt and maybe just has been away, may they come back to you. And I also pray for those that have received this treasure.

[28:43] May they share it. What a remarkable and powerful parable we've gone over. And just one verse. What an amazing God you are.

[28:54] As we close, we're going to sing this last song, Father. And we just pray that this congregation, this church body, and we'll sing it together.

[29:08] That because Jesus lives, we can face tomorrow. And Father, we love you, we praise you, we glorify you, we honor you, and we thank you for sending your Son the greatest treasure of all.

[29:29] It is in Jesus' name that we pray and we all say together, Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you for listening for this week's message from Ontario Community Church. I pray that you are encouraged and strengthened in your walk with Christ.

[29:44] For more sermons and resources, visit OntarioCommunityChurch.org. May God bless you as you live out His grace and truth every single day. Amen.