Treasuring Christ Above All Else

The scripture reading this morning comes from Matthew chapter 13.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

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,

Matthew 13:44–46

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,

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

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

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

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,

no,

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.