The scripture reading this morning comes from Matthew chapter 13.
Please follow along in your bulletin or on your Bible.
Starting with verse 44 we read,
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.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
who, on finding one pearl of great value,
went and stole all that he had and bought it.
This is the word of God.
Great, thank you, Angie.
Okay, well, there we go.
Okay, you can hear me.
I'm not sure why the speakers didn't like you, Angie, but thank you.
In October 28th, so this week, 1949, 72 years ago, somewhere around there,
a young American man by the name of Jim Elliott
writes these words in his journal.
He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep
in order to gain what he cannot lose.
Seven years later, January the 3rd, 1956,
Jim Elliott and four other men would put their conviction to the test
as they flew over the Ecuadorian jungle in the Amazon.
They were missionaries to a tribe there,
the notoriously dangerous Orca tribe.
They had been preparing for years to reach out to this tribe
to connect with them, build relationship, learn their language
so that they could eventually share the gospel with them.
And they land on the beach, and the five men never returned.
They were speared to death on the landing.
Now, we are looking at this very short passage of Scripture today.
Last week, we looked at this big passage,
and we kind of zoomed out and took a high view level.
This morning, we're going to dive deep down,
and we're going to look at just three verses in Matthew 13,
verse 44 to 46.
Let me read it to us once again.
It says,
Jesus says,
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that is hidden in a field,
which a man found, and he covered it up.
Then, in his great joy,
he goes and sells everything he has,
and he buys that field.
Again, Jesus says,
The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant,
someone who's searching for very rare jewels,
and he finds one pearl that is of great value.
He goes and he sells everything he has to obtain that one precious pearl.
In these three verses, we have two parables and one meaning.
They're slightly different,
but by and large, they come down to the same thing.
This is one story that Jesus wants us to see.
But let's consider first what Jesus is not wanting to say.
Jesus is not commenting on the ethics of buying somebody else's property
if you've got secret intelligence that there's a treasure hidden deep below the surface.
If you've got concerns about first century Jewish property law,
you can go and read up about that.
That's not Jesus' point here.
Jesus is not saying that we should all wear fine pearl necklaces
and bling jewelry to church on Sundays.
That's not the point of these stories.
Jesus is not saying that you can buy your way into the kingdom of heaven.
In fact, Jesus makes it clear that the wealthier you are,
the more difficult it is to be a Christian,
which is challenging for us in Hong Kong, right?
No, friends, what Jesus is saying is this.
Jesus is saying that being part of the kingdom of God,
which means coming under the saving rule and reign of Jesus,
that's what it means to be part of the kingdom,
where Jesus is your king, you submit to him, you come under his authority,
to be part of the kingdom of God is so valuable
that losing everything on earth but getting the kingdom
is a happy and worthwhile trade-off.
Jesus is saying to give up everything you have
in order to have the kingdom of God would be a joyful sacrifice.
Okay, is that clear?
Now, before we dive in, there's a couple of things we need to take note of.
The one thing that, in order to understand this passage,
we need to think about this,
is what is the relationship between the kingdom of God and the church?
And that's a really important question.
What is the relationship like?
Is Jesus saying that your local church,
Watermark Community Church, Hong Kong,
is like a treasure that is buried in a field
and it's worth sacrificing everything for it
so that it can advance and become glorious?
No, that's not what Jesus is saying.
The local church, although an extremely important expression
of the kingdom of God, is not the kingdom of God itself.
Those two things are not one and the same.
The kingdom of God is the rule and reign of Jesus
and the local church is one expression of it
and it's important to be part of a church.
I'm so glad that just last Sunday,
we had 13 people joining our membership class
looking to become members of this church.
It's important to join a local church
and become a member of a church.
But the church is not the same thing as the kingdom of God.
And that's important because sometimes you'll find pastors,
I apologize on behalf of my friends,
that we'll confuse these two things.
And as pastors, we like to sometimes crack the whip
and drive our congregations harder and harder
and demand more and more saying,
the kingdom of God is like a pearl.
You've got to give up everything for it.
Therefore, we want you at church seven days a week.
You've got to give everything you have.
Sacrifice your family, sacrifice your career,
just serve in our church.
Friends, the church is not the same thing
as the kingdom of God.
That's not what Jesus is saying.
Of course, every church, every family,
we do make sacrifices,
whether you're a nuclear family or the church family.
But Jesus' point here is to give up everything you have
in order to come under the saving rule and reign of King Jesus
is a happy and joyful sacrifice.
Now, when we hear these scriptures,
if you've been a Christian for some time,
and I know that might not be true of all of us,
there is a danger.
And one of the dangers is that familiarity breeds complacency.
Right?
We all know that in our lives.
Remember when COVID first hit the world,
we were all on high alert.
Okay?
We were all hand sanitizing 100 times a day.
Very, very conscious.
Two years later, familiarity breeds complacency.
Right?
And there's nothing like scripture for us to become familiar with
and to become complacent with.
Richard Baxter, a famous pastor, said,
these words need more consideration than explanation.
The explanation is pretty clear.
What Jesus is saying,
you don't need to be a rocket scientist
or a nuclear physicist to work it out.
He's saying that to give everything for the kingdom of God
would be a joyful sacrifice.
The explanation is clear.
The question is,
will we consider them?
Will we allow Jesus' words to penetrate our hearts?
Will we allow them to arrest us?
And allowing them to arrest us,
will we believe them and believe in them?
Will we allow them to change us?
So let's consider these three short verses this morning.
And I've got four very simple things to say.
Okay?
So one meaning, two parables, three verses, four things to say.
My math is hot this week.
Okay?
So first thing, let's consider this.
No one enters the kingdom of God by accident.
Consider these parables again.
This farmer is confronted by the unearthing of this treasure.
This merchant is arrested by the discovery of this pearl
that exceeds even his wildest expectations.
And here this laborer, farm laborer,
here this merchant are arrested by this discovery
and they've got a choice to make.
What are they going to do?
In order to obtain this treasure, this pearl,
is going to require some sacrifices.
They're going to have to sell some things.
They're going to have to get rid of some things.
There might be some very important things.
Maybe some family heirlooms.
Some important piece of furniture.
Maybe that thoroughbred horse that he has been saving up for.
Maybe some gold bars.
There's going to be some decision that is going to be needed to be made.
The merchant may have to sell his collection of prized jewels.
What's he going to choose?
Jesus' point here is that the kingdom of God is not just like a lottery,
that you wake up one day, your number's been called,
and Bob's your uncle.
You are now in the kingdom of God.
Jesus' point is that you don't just enter God's kingdom by osmosis,
or by accident, or just by growing up in a Christian family.
The kingdom of God is entered into by a decision,
a choice that's made.
Jesus makes the same point elsewhere.
He says in Matthew's Gospel,
which of you, you desire to build a building?
How many of you are going to engage in that building process
without first considering the cost?
You've got to weigh up the pros and cons.
You've got to come to a decision.
You want to launch a business?
You've got to work out.
What's the cost going to be involved?
How many of you, he says,
how many kings go off to war,
and they've got to first work out with my army,
are we going to win the war against that army?
If a business wants to take over their competitor,
launch a hostile takeover, bid for their shares,
you've got to weigh it up, make some decisions.
Jesus is saying,
the point here is no one enters God's kingdom haphazardly.
No one enters it just by osmosis.
You hang around with some Christians,
and you find out you're part of the kingdom.
Friends, if you were born part of a wonderful Christian family,
praise God for that.
But that doesn't make you a Christian.
You don't get citizenship in God's kingdom
by way of ancestry.
You enter the kingdom of God
by weighing up who Jesus is,
by being confronted by who Christ is,
and making a decision.
Am I going to be part of his kingdom?
Am I going to come under the authority,
the saving rule and reign of Jesus?
Jesus' point here is that,
like the parable on the soils
that Chris spoke about a few weeks ago,
no response is very much a response.
It's tempting to say,
I'm a little busy at the moment.
I'm just trying to finish my degree.
I've got young kids.
I'm trying to launch a business.
I'll get to that some later stage.
And Jesus is saying,
that is as much of a response as saying,
no, I think I'll stay the Lord of my own life.
No one enters the kingdom of God by accident.
Secondly,
Jesus tells us that the way into the kingdom of God
is the same as the way of the kingdom of God.
The way into the kingdom is the way of the kingdom.
Now, last week,
we looked at this passage right at the end of the sermon.
We just looked at it in a few minutes.
And one of the things that I said
was that this is the way into the kingdom of God.
And that's true.
But one of the things that we at Watermark are learning
is that the way into God's kingdom
is also the way of God's kingdom.
The way that you become a Christian
is also the way that you live as a Christian.
Maybe a good analogy of this
is it's similar to marriage, right?
Those of you that are married,
one day you stand at the altar
and you hold your wife's hands,
your husband's hands.
You look them in the eye
and you say,
with all that I am
and all that I have,
I give myself to you
in the covenant of marriage
for better or worse,
richer or poorer,
in sickness and in health,
till death us do part.
Right?
Does that sound familiar?
Okay.
Justin and Annabelle nodding.
Four weeks in,
still doing strong.
Okay, great.
Well, that's,
I'm glad that Dave's still onto it, okay?
But those of us that are married 40 years,
I hope you're still onto it as well, right?
It's not just four weeks.
It's 40 years in.
You can't 10 years into marriage,
you know,
your wife asks you to do something
and you say,
no,
not really interested.
And she says,
hang on,
what is all about,
what is all that better and worse stuff?
You know,
you give yourself to me,
I give myself to you.
What is up with that?
And you say,
oh,
that is just in order to get married.
You didn't expect me to actually live like that,
right?
I mean,
no one actually does that stuff,
right?
No,
no,
the way into marriage
is also the way of marriage.
You say these vows in order to get married,
but you live out those vows
in order to have a healthy marriage.
In the same way,
the way you become a Christian
is through faith and repentance.
Repentance means turning away
from some lesser God,
some counterfeit God,
some idol,
something that grabs our heart's attention
rather than the true God.
We turn away from that,
but then we turn to Christ in faith.
Faith and repentance
are two sides of the same coin.
They go together.
Eric Scott says,
they are the two pedals of a bicycle,
right?
If you're just doing repentance,
you're going to go around in a circle,
right?
If you're just doing faith,
you're going to go around in a circle.
You've got to,
faith and repentance
is the way into the kingdom,
but faith and repentance
is the way of the Christian.
It's the way that we live out our lives.
It's until death do us part.
Tim Keller famously says,
faith and repentance,
or the gospel,
is not just the ABC of the Christian life,
it's the A to Z of the Christian life.
And Tim Keller actually got this
from a famous man called Martin Luther,
who 504 years ago,
this very week,
31st of October, 1517,
he's this Catholic monk,
and he wants to talk to,
he wants the Catholic church
to have a big discussion
about some things
that he thinks are going wrong,
right?
And so he posts this post
on the social media of his day,
right?
He posts this post on Facebook,
except they didn't have Facebook
500 years ago.
And so the way that they did it
was he goes to the church door
of Wittenberg Castle
and he nails this big poster
on the church door,
okay?
That was like social media
500 years ago.
And he says,
hey guys,
there's some stuff
we've got to talk about.
And so he nails this long piece of paper
with 95 statements
called theses
that he says we've got to talk about.
Now Martin Luther wasn't trying
to start the Protestant revolution.
He wasn't trying to start a new church.
He was just saying,
listen,
we need to talk about some things.
Do you remember the very first one
of his 95?
I think it's on the screen.
There we go.
He says,
when our Lord and Master,
Jesus Christ,
said repent,
he willed that the entire life
of believers
be one of repentance and faith.
What Martin Luther was saying
is the problem with us as a church
is that we enter the Christian life
through faith and repentance
and then we go on
with our way of living ourselves.
He says actually,
when Jesus said,
come and follow me,
turn from your false gods
and follow me,
he willed that that would be
the pattern of our lives
day in and day out.
Friends,
if somebody told you
once upon a time,
just pray the sinner's prayer,
surrender to Jesus
and then you can get on
with your life,
I'm so sorry to tell you
they lied to you.
Please forgive them.
That's not true.
The way into the Christian life
is the way of the Christian life.
Faith and repentance.
And actually,
what we see in this parable
are those two things
that work, right?
This is actually a parable
of what faith and repentance
looks like.
We see here Jesus tells this parable
to demonstrate
what this life looks like.
It is giving up the false
and taking hold of the true.
It is giving up the counterfeit
and taking hold of the genuine.
It's giving up some lesser God,
some lesser treasure
in order to take hold
of the true treasure of heaven,
which is the kingdom of God
and Jesus Christ himself.
This is the life of a Christian.
Day by day,
week by week,
month by month,
letting go of that
which captures our heart's attention
and reminding ourselves
Christ is true,
Christ is real,
take hold of the treasure of heaven.
And so what that means, friends,
for those of us
that are not Christians this morning,
friends,
you'll never become a Christian
until you give up those things
that have captured
your heart's attention
and discover the beauty
of who Christ is
and take hold of him.
But what it also means
is that for those of us
that are Christians this morning,
the life that Christ calls us to
is to day by day
give up the things
that are tempted
to capture our heart's attention
and to turn to the treasure
that is Christ.
This is the gospel-centered life.
Okay, so the way
no one becomes a Christian by accident,
the way into the Christian life
is the way of the Christian life.
Now here's another question.
What is it that Jesus asks us to give up?
I mean, Jesus here in these parables
says,
you tell these parables
of these two guys
that go and give up
everything they have.
What does that actually look like
for us
in 21st century Hong Kong?
Ah, Jung, that's totally fine.
Your little one is too cute.
Okay.
What does that actually look like for us?
Well, that's a great question.
For every one of us,
it will look different.
But the overall answer is this.
Whatever owns your heart
has the tendency
to keep us
from the kingdom of God.
Whatever owns your heart
has the tendency
to keep us
from the kingdom of God.
For some of us,
that may mean
the everyday pleasures of life, right?
So the things
that in everyday life
that grip us,
that amazing new car,
that career promotion,
career success,
the things that make us
feel good about ourselves,
the things we look to
that grab our attention
and think that's going to make life
worth living.
For some of us,
the things that own our hearts
are people's approval,
the affirmation of others.
And so we do whatever it is
to please people,
to gain other people's recognition
and their favor.
But what this means
is that those people
own our hearts.
They're actually our king.
They're actually our treasure.
Jesus says that
everything we look to
to make us feel worthwhile
or commendable
or admirable
needs to be sold off,
given up
in order to take hold
of the treasure
that is Christ.
Friends,
for some of us,
one of the most difficult things
to give up
is not the pleasures of life.
It's not the big car
or the big house
or the overseas holiday
that owns your heart.
For some of us,
it's the pride
of our hearts.
I see this in my own life.
That's what's so deadly serious.
And Jesus says that
the pride of our hearts
has a way of blinding us
to seeing the treasure of Jesus.
Pride manifests itself
in many different ways.
One of the most
unobvious ways,
the most sinister of ways,
is when we feel sorry for ourselves.
Maybe someone's disappointed you
or let you down.
Someone's hurt you.
Maybe,
hopefully,
they've come and said sorry to you,
but maybe they haven't.
Friends,
are we still holding on
to that offense,
that bitterness?
Holding on to it
because it's a position of power
that makes us feel justified?
Jesus says,
it's very hard
to let go of everything,
to take hold
of the treasure of Jesus
and still hold on
to bitterness
and offense.
Friends,
for some of us,
maybe it is,
for some of us,
it's our very religious duty
that keeps us
from taking hold of Jesus.
There's this amazing sentence
in a book
by Flannery O'Connor
called Wise Blood.
I remember reading this book
five or six years ago
and I stumbled across
the sentence
that absolutely blew me away
and when I read it,
I realized that actually
I'd heard Tim Keller
quoting this before,
but I'd forgotten it
until I read the sentence
in this book.
The book Wise Blood
is about this young man
that is abandoning
the faith of his upbringing.
He grows up
in the American South
and he's turning his back
on the faith of his upbringing.
And he says,
there's this sentence
in the book
where Flannery O'Connor
writes this,
there was already
a deep wordless conviction
in him
that the way
to avoid Jesus
was to avoid sin.
Okay,
just think about that
for a second.
Is that not
an amazing insight?
Right?
Here's this person,
sorry if you can't see,
Ellen,
here's this person
that wants to avoid
the gaze of Jesus
looking into his heart.
And the best way
to fly under the radar,
he reckons,
is not by running far away
but by sticking close.
You know,
isn't there that saying,
some saying about
keep your friends close
and your enemies even closer?
If you want to be
an enemy of Jesus,
if you want to avoid
coming under the rule
and reign of Jesus,
one of the best ways
to do it
is to hide it
with lots of religious
activity and duty.
So you serve in church,
you're part of a CG,
you attend,
you come early,
you unpack,
you stay late,
you sit up,
you do all these things
in order to avoid
the gaze of Jesus.
Friends,
don't you see
how you can use religion,
even Christian devotion,
as a way of avoiding
coming under the rule
and reign of King Jesus?
You think that
if you serve enough,
give enough,
do enough,
no one will notice
and you can fly
under the radar.
You see how religious
devotion can be a way
of avoiding
the reign of Jesus,
the saving reign of Jesus?
But Jesus says
that if you want to encounter
the life transforming
power of the gospel,
if you really want to encounter
the life transforming
grace of Jesus
and the love of Christ,
you've got to come
to the place
where you see Jesus
for who he is
and you take hold of him
and you abandon
even religious devotion,
even religious duty
in order to take hold
of who Jesus is.
Remember the apostle Paul,
he says in Philippians chapter 3,
that famous passage of scripture,
he says,
I once was extremely religious.
I had my resume
all printed out,
top marks.
I was the top of my class.
I was born to the right family.
I was tutored
by the right teachers.
I was excelling
way above everyone else
in my age.
I was a Hebrew of Hebrews.
I had everything going for me
until one day
I discovered
your surpassing worth
of the treasure
of heaven.
And now I consider
all those things
as rubbish,
as dung,
compared to the all-surpassing worth
of knowing Christ Jesus,
my Lord,
and taking hold
of the treasure
and becoming like him
and being found
in his likeness.
Friends,
sometimes we've got to give up
even our religious devotion
to take hold
of the treasure of Jesus.
For some of us,
lastly,
the thing that stops us
discovering the treasure
of Jesus
is not our religious devotion,
it's how irreligious we are,
how modern we are,
how authentic we are,
how woke we are.
We look at religious people
and we think,
oh, they're so stuck up.
They're so full of themselves.
Well, at least I'm authentic.
At least I'm not trying
to pretend to be somebody
that I'm not.
I'm authentic millennial,
right?
But friends,
don't you realize
that in your authenticity,
in your wokeness,
you can be just
as full of yourself
as the religious person
sitting next to you.
Jesus says
the only way
to encounter
the kingdom of God,
to really discover
who he is,
to see the beauty
of who he is,
is to lose ourselves
and to be enamored
with who Christ is.
Friends,
it's tempting
to look at Christianity
and think,
I've got the jade stone,
I've got the diamond,
now let me add a pearl
to my array of jewelry.
And Jesus says
that will not do.
That will not do.
You cannot add
a bit of Jesus
to your life.
You come to him
and you say,
have your way.
Let me come
under your rule
and your authority.
Jesus,
you are Lord
and I am yours.
You discover
the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom of heaven
is like a merchant
in search of fine pearls
who in finding one
of great value,
exceedingly great value,
went away
and sold all
that he had
to take hold
of the pearl
of great price.
No one enters
the kingdom by accident.
The way into the kingdom
is also the way
of the kingdom.
Thirdly,
the hindrance
is the kingdom
and finally,
the promise
of the king.
Now,
look at verse 44
with me again.
Jesus says this,
the kingdom of heaven
is like a treasure
hidden in a field
which a man found
and covered up.
Then in his extreme
misery and sadness,
he went
and he bought
that field
because that's
what God expected
of him.
Okay?
No,
that's not what it says.
What does it say?
The kingdom of heaven
is like a man
that found a treasure
and he covered it up
in his great joy.
He went
and sold all
that he had.
He sold it
at a bargain.
He sold it
for a discount.
Take whatever you want.
I just need your money.
Whatever it takes,
I must have
that treasure.
Jesus promises
that being part
of his kingdom,
coming under the saving
rule and reign
of Jesus as king
is so valuable
that losing everything
you have on earth
to gain the kingdom
is a happy
and joyful
and worthwhile sacrifice.
Friends,
in some ways,
this describes
the job description
of the elder pastors
at Watermark Church.
Our job
at Watermark Church
is to do
everything we can
to clear away
the dross,
to clear away
the haze
and to help us
to see
week in
and week out
the infinite glory
and the infinite worth
of Jesus
so that as a church
we can live lives
that say yes
to you Christ
and not be
distracted
by the glitz
and the glamour
of the world
around us.
Our job
as elders
is to help us
not just
accept Jesus
not just
admire him
but to utterly
adore him.
Our job
as elder pastors
is to help us
not just
tolerate Jesus
but to treasure him
above all things.
And friends,
can I say
that if you are
a parent here
that is your job too.
Your job
is not just
to provide
a house
and a roof
and clothing
and food
for your kids.
That is an important job.
Don't neglect that.
Those social services
are going to come
knock on your door.
Do that.
But don't just do that.
Don't just get your kids
through school
and good grades
and university.
Do all that you can
to help them
see the infinite worth
of Jesus.
That they won't
just admire Jesus
or accept him
they will utterly
adore him
and treasure him
above all things.
And can I press
a little further
and say men
you are the head
of your home.
It is primarily
your responsibility.
Don't sit back
and let someone else
do it.
Stand up.
Take responsibility.
Friends,
husbands,
wives,
parents,
this is our job.
Jesus is saying
that for the one
who has eyes
to see it
give up everything
you have
it is totally
worth it
because of the
all surpassing
worth of Jesus.
Friends,
let me ask you
what's holding you back?
What's that thing
that is so tempting
to earn your heart?
What is it
that is so hard
to give up for Jesus?
Friends,
that thing,
some boyfriend,
some girlfriend,
some career progression,
some bank account,
those things may be
a great gift from God.
They may be
a wonderful thing.
But are they still
going to be
the treasure
of your heart
in a hundred years
from now?
Maybe in five years time
they'll still be great,
wonderful.
Ten years time,
maybe if you're
very lucky
50 years time
you'll still be
treasuring them.
But in 200 years time
and a thousand years time
and a billion years
from now,
what are those things
going to mean to you?
Friends,
Jesus says
that if we
treasure Christ
supremely
above all things
in one billion years
from now
that will still be
a joyful
and a worthwhile
transaction.
salvation.
But as we come
to close,
here's another reason
why giving up
everything to follow
Jesus is a happy
trade-off.
We spoke earlier
about Philippians
chapter 3.
Remember,
very super famous
verse,
the apostle Paul
says,
I had all these
things going for me
and then I
discovered Jesus
and I considered
them rubbish
compared to the
all-surpassing worth
of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord.
And then Paul
goes on and he
says this,
not that I have
already obtained
all this,
in other words,
not that I'm
perfect,
okay,
I'm going to,
but he says,
I press on
to make it my
own because
Christ Jesus
has made me
his own.
Okay,
so think about
this for a second.
I know this is
late in the sermon
to get theological
but just stick with
me for two minutes,
okay,
we're almost done.
Paul says,
not that I've
got this all
sorted out,
okay,
the way into the
kingdom is the
way of the
kingdom,
I'm going to
carry on,
but I press
on day by
day to make
Christ Jesus
my own,
to take hold
of Jesus
because he
has already
taken hold
of me.
What's Paul
saying?
Paul is
saying that
he continues
to take hold
of Jesus
knowing that
Jesus has
taken hold
of him.
Paul is
saying that
Jesus Christ
gave up the
glory and the
treasure of
heaven,
to take
on the
mess and
the shame
of this
world and
the shame
of the
cross so
that we
broken people
can give
up the
mess and
the shame
of our
false gods
in order
to embrace
the treasure
that is
heaven.
You see
the exchange
there?
Jesus gave
up heaven
to take
on the
mess of
this world
so that we
can turn
our backs
on the
mess of
this world
and embrace
the treasure
of heaven.
Jesus says
I will
embrace the
shame of
the cross
so that you
can embrace
the treasure
of heaven.
Friends,
in the
gospel,
Jesus Christ
had it all.
He had it
all in
heaven.
But because
of his
infinite love
for you and
because he
knows how
much you
and I
need him,
Jesus gave
that up
to walk
in the
shame and
the mess
and the
brokenness
of our
world
so that
we can
turn our
backs
on the
mess and
the shame
and the
brokenness
of the
things that
capture our
heart's
attention
and can
have the
treasure of
heaven
and can
have Jesus
himself.
Friends,
Jesus gave
it all
so that we
can have
him.
And now
he asks
us to give
up a very
small thing,
a counterfeit
God,
a false
idol,
a worthless
treasure,
that we
may have
eternal
treasure.
Friends,
this is why
we gather
at church
on Sundays.
Six days
a week
we're being
told money
is your
life,
relationships
are your
life,
sex is
your life,
career
progression
is your
life,
grades are
your life,
and once a
week we
gather to
remind ourselves
no,
that is not
true,
Jesus is
our life.
Those are
false
treasures,
Jesus is
the treasure
above all
treasures.
Jesus and
his saving
rule and
reign in
our lives
is utterly
glorious and
worth it all.
And of
course one
hour a week
is not going
to be enough
and so day
by day we
wake up in
the mornings
and we
get into
God's
word in
order that
we go out
that week
to withstand
the onslaught
and to
remember Jesus
is the
treasure above
all treasures.
Friends,
he is no
fool who
gives up what
he cannot
keep in
order to
gain what
he cannot
lose.
Jesus gave
up heaven
so that we
can gain
that which
we cannot
lose.
Friends,
can I invite
you?
Can I call
you this
day?
Why don't
you turn
your back
on the
things that
are tempted
to own
your heart?
What's holding
you back?
The thing
that you
tempted to
love and
adore above
all else?
The thing
that you've
come under
its rule and
its authority,
its reign in
your life?
Friends,
did it ever
go to the
cross for
you?
Did it ever
lay down
its life
for you?
Did it ever
die on the
cross for
you?
Jesus Christ
did.
Jesus loves
you so
supremely he
went to the
cross for
you that
we in
order can
have the
treasure that
is here.
Let's pray
together.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus
Christ, we
acknowledge the
words of Richard
Baxter are so
true.
These words
don't need
great explanation.
They're pretty
clear.
they need
greater
consideration.
Father, the
familiarity with
these famous
passages is
challenging.
God, we
pray that you
will arrest
our hearts.
It's so
tempting to
nod our heads
and say, yes,
the kingdom is
valuable.
Yes, the
kingdom is
worthwhile.
Jesus, won't
you pierce
through our
head nodding
apathy and
open the eyes
of our hearts
to see you
for who you
really are.
Jesus, come
and have
your way
in our
life, we
pray.
Father, where
we've tempted
to love and
adore and
trust other
things, won't
you forgive
us?
We want to
turn to you
in faith and
repentance.
Won't you
give us the
faith to
turn to you?
We pray.
Jesus, come
and help us.
Help us to
turn to you,
we pray.
in your
great and
gracious name,
amen.
I want to
ask us to
respond differently.
I think we
got two
questions up
there.
I want to
ask you just
to take two
minutes and
maybe you
want to write
it down on
your phone or
on the
bulletin if
you've got a
pen with
you.
What is it
that Jesus
is saying to
you this
morning?
And then
secondly, how
are you going
to respond?
And a
good way to
start off a
response is
these words,
Heavenly Father
dot dot dot.
Heavenly Father,
I come before
you this
morning.
Heavenly Father,
I need you.
Heavenly Father,
come and help
me to see the
treasure that is
Jesus.
What's Jesus
saying to you?
How is he
calling you to
respond?
Let's take a
few minutes to
do that and
then Ellen's
going to sing
and lead us
and we can
stand when
maybe Ellen
can tell us
to stand at a
certain point.
But in the
beginning, let's
just listen to
the words and
then we'll
take communion
after that.