Things Of True Value
Preaching
What Jesus Did:
The Answer To WWJD
Treasure. Just the word alone is enough to spark daydreams and fantasies. You're walking along the beach and you stub your toe on the corner of a wooden box with an old lock on it. Or you are fishing for flounder and your hook grabs on to a treasure chest. Lots of people take their metal detectors to the beach looking for coins that people lost. I'm amazed at people who periodically lose treasure. Every so often we hear a story of a winning lottery ticket that has yet to be turned in. Wouldn't you tear your house and clothes apart? If I held a potential million dollar ticket, I surely wouldn't send it to the dry cleaners.
There are other ways to find treasure. Searching your grandma's attic, you find a rare stamp on an old envelope, a rare coin in a collection. In the back of a safe, Eastern Baptist Seminary found an original Mozart manuscript worth five million dollars. (Investing the five million in a company that turned out to be a scam, they lost it all.)
• What is your most treasured possession? Under what circumstances would you part with it?
Jesus, in this parable, likens the kingdom of God to a treasure you find in a field, or a pearl you find at a yard sale. What would you do? You would get together the cash necessary to acquire the field or the pearl, and go and buy it. So the first question is, how highly do we value the kingdom of God? Which would you rather find in Grandma's attic, the rare coin worth a million or the kingdom of God?
Sometimes that is our difficulty. We don't understand the real value of things. We think the things of this world and the money of this world have true value. In reality, our values have been turned upside down.
What is it about the kingdom that makes it valuable? First, forgiveness of sins. There is no amount of money and no earthly treasure that can atone for our sins. We need a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus is that sacrifice. The bread of the Lord's Supper is a symbol of that valuable sacrifice. Jesus gave his body as the perfect sacrifice. Money could never buy that. How much is that sacrifice worth to us?
Second, eternal life in heaven. Without atonement, our destiny was hell. With Jesus, our destiny is heaven. We will live forever. How much is that worth to us? We will be with other believing friends and family. How much is that worth to us?
Third, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we partake of the cup at the Lord's Supper, we renew our covenant with God. One part of that covenant is that God will come to live inside us. The Holy Spirit is God inside us. He helps us to keep our part of the covenant. The Holy Spirit is the voice of God to us, telling us where to go and how to live our lives. The Holy Spirit is our source of strength against temptation and sin. The Holy Spirit is our protection from the wiles of Satan, the evil one. The Holy Spirit produces the fruit of Christian character within us. The Holy Spirit gifts us for ministry within the church and in the world. How much is all that worth to us?
• What other ministries or gifts of the Spirit do you treasure?
Fourth, the kingdom of God includes the church with all its benefits and blessings. We have a group of brothers and sisters with whom we can worship, share prayer requests, and work to accomplish great things for Jesus. We have a group of brothers and sisters who are on a mission like us to spread the message of Christ in word and deed. We have a group of brothers and sisters in Christ who will help us and support us in our times of trial, tribulation, and sorrow. They will also rejoice with us in our times of joy and celebration.
• How much is all of this worth to us? How have we expressed our appreciation for being included in God's kingdom?
In the parables, the finders of the treasures went and sold everything they owned in order to have their treasure. What would we give to have the kingdom of God? What would we give to have forgiveness of sins? Would we give up our sins in repentance and no longer do those things that sent Jesus to the cross? Would we give up our grudges against those who have wronged us? Would we grant our enemies the same kind of forgiveness we are seeking? Would we give up the control of our lives to Jesus, making him the true Lord of our lives? Would we receive Jesus into our hearts, and would we accept the fact that only by his death do we have atonement and forgiveness of sins?
What would we give up to have eternal life in heaven? Would we give up our fascination with the things of the world so that we could focus on the things of heaven? Would we give up our fear of death, and instead view death as a transition from this world to the next? Would we give up our pride and sin? Would we live according to God's laws since we want to live in God's heaven? Would we give up our lives if we had to in the name of Christ?
• What is it in your life that you need to give up for the kingdom of God?
What would we give up to have the power of the Holy Spirit really flowing through our lives on a daily basis? Would we give up time so that we could spend quality time in prayer and Bible study? Would we give up activities on Sunday morning so that church and Sunday school would be the only possible priority? Would we give up our pride and our doubt, truly believing in the presence, power, and leading of the Holy Spirit?
What would we give up to be an active, vibrant member of the church? Would we give up a tithe, so that we would never have to worry about where the money would come for the ministries, missions, and programs of the church? Would we give of ourselves in service, using our gifts and talents for the upbuilding and mission of the church? Would we give ourselves in prayer for the church and its leaders, for the church and its impact on the community? Do we esteem the church as a part of the kingdom of God and therefore worthy of our sacrifice?
• What have you given up to have all these things? Is it worth it?
When the Lord's Supper is spread before us, it reminds us of the valuable treasure that can be all ours. We can have it all: forgiveness, eternal life, the Holy Spirit, and the Church. But what are we willing to give in order to have all this? As we sit before the table, that is the question before us. How much do we really esteem the kingdom of God? How much are we willing to give of ourselves and our resources to have that treasure which is the treasure beyond all treasures?
WWJD -- Determine one thing you will give up to have a closer relationship with Jesus.
There are other ways to find treasure. Searching your grandma's attic, you find a rare stamp on an old envelope, a rare coin in a collection. In the back of a safe, Eastern Baptist Seminary found an original Mozart manuscript worth five million dollars. (Investing the five million in a company that turned out to be a scam, they lost it all.)
• What is your most treasured possession? Under what circumstances would you part with it?
Jesus, in this parable, likens the kingdom of God to a treasure you find in a field, or a pearl you find at a yard sale. What would you do? You would get together the cash necessary to acquire the field or the pearl, and go and buy it. So the first question is, how highly do we value the kingdom of God? Which would you rather find in Grandma's attic, the rare coin worth a million or the kingdom of God?
Sometimes that is our difficulty. We don't understand the real value of things. We think the things of this world and the money of this world have true value. In reality, our values have been turned upside down.
What is it about the kingdom that makes it valuable? First, forgiveness of sins. There is no amount of money and no earthly treasure that can atone for our sins. We need a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus is that sacrifice. The bread of the Lord's Supper is a symbol of that valuable sacrifice. Jesus gave his body as the perfect sacrifice. Money could never buy that. How much is that sacrifice worth to us?
Second, eternal life in heaven. Without atonement, our destiny was hell. With Jesus, our destiny is heaven. We will live forever. How much is that worth to us? We will be with other believing friends and family. How much is that worth to us?
Third, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we partake of the cup at the Lord's Supper, we renew our covenant with God. One part of that covenant is that God will come to live inside us. The Holy Spirit is God inside us. He helps us to keep our part of the covenant. The Holy Spirit is the voice of God to us, telling us where to go and how to live our lives. The Holy Spirit is our source of strength against temptation and sin. The Holy Spirit is our protection from the wiles of Satan, the evil one. The Holy Spirit produces the fruit of Christian character within us. The Holy Spirit gifts us for ministry within the church and in the world. How much is all that worth to us?
• What other ministries or gifts of the Spirit do you treasure?
Fourth, the kingdom of God includes the church with all its benefits and blessings. We have a group of brothers and sisters with whom we can worship, share prayer requests, and work to accomplish great things for Jesus. We have a group of brothers and sisters who are on a mission like us to spread the message of Christ in word and deed. We have a group of brothers and sisters in Christ who will help us and support us in our times of trial, tribulation, and sorrow. They will also rejoice with us in our times of joy and celebration.
• How much is all of this worth to us? How have we expressed our appreciation for being included in God's kingdom?
In the parables, the finders of the treasures went and sold everything they owned in order to have their treasure. What would we give to have the kingdom of God? What would we give to have forgiveness of sins? Would we give up our sins in repentance and no longer do those things that sent Jesus to the cross? Would we give up our grudges against those who have wronged us? Would we grant our enemies the same kind of forgiveness we are seeking? Would we give up the control of our lives to Jesus, making him the true Lord of our lives? Would we receive Jesus into our hearts, and would we accept the fact that only by his death do we have atonement and forgiveness of sins?
What would we give up to have eternal life in heaven? Would we give up our fascination with the things of the world so that we could focus on the things of heaven? Would we give up our fear of death, and instead view death as a transition from this world to the next? Would we give up our pride and sin? Would we live according to God's laws since we want to live in God's heaven? Would we give up our lives if we had to in the name of Christ?
• What is it in your life that you need to give up for the kingdom of God?
What would we give up to have the power of the Holy Spirit really flowing through our lives on a daily basis? Would we give up time so that we could spend quality time in prayer and Bible study? Would we give up activities on Sunday morning so that church and Sunday school would be the only possible priority? Would we give up our pride and our doubt, truly believing in the presence, power, and leading of the Holy Spirit?
What would we give up to be an active, vibrant member of the church? Would we give up a tithe, so that we would never have to worry about where the money would come for the ministries, missions, and programs of the church? Would we give of ourselves in service, using our gifts and talents for the upbuilding and mission of the church? Would we give ourselves in prayer for the church and its leaders, for the church and its impact on the community? Do we esteem the church as a part of the kingdom of God and therefore worthy of our sacrifice?
• What have you given up to have all these things? Is it worth it?
When the Lord's Supper is spread before us, it reminds us of the valuable treasure that can be all ours. We can have it all: forgiveness, eternal life, the Holy Spirit, and the Church. But what are we willing to give in order to have all this? As we sit before the table, that is the question before us. How much do we really esteem the kingdom of God? How much are we willing to give of ourselves and our resources to have that treasure which is the treasure beyond all treasures?
WWJD -- Determine one thing you will give up to have a closer relationship with Jesus.
