AI Generated Sermon Study Page

Introduction

I

In one of Aesop’s fables he tells the story of the fox and lion. :A very young Fox, who had never before seen a Lion, happened to meet one in the forest. A single look was enough to send the Fox off at top speed for the nearest hiding place.

The second time the Fox saw the Lion he stopped behind a tree to look at him a moment before slinking away. But the third time, the Fox went boldly up to the Lion and, without turning a hair, said, “Hello, there, old chap.”

N

The danger, of course, is if something like this occurs in our relationship with God. Perhaps we were saved many years ago. The newness of the experience has worn off. We come to church every Sunday, read our Bible regularly, pray, but the zeal has faded. The truth we once treasured has faded into and everyday fact that we just live with. We need to rightly discern the worth of the kingdom and live in light of that worth, lest we be deceived by counterfeit security.

T

Jesus teaches that how we value the kingdom affects how we live our lives. He that our eternal destiny hangs on whether we treasure the kingdom.

R

So turn to Matthew 13:44 and, Lord willing, we will go to v. 58

O

Today, we will see the importance of treasuring the kingdom through the delight of discovery (44-46), the danger of deception (47-50), the duty of discipleship (51-52), and the disaster of dismissal (53-58)Delight of DiscoveryMatthew 13:44–46ESV

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like 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. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Before the days of regular banking practice and safes, it would be a lot more likely to stumble upon a buried treasure. Burying treasure was considered a safe way to maintain it during this time. Jesus compares the kingdom to a buried treasure. The value of the kingdom is clear, but its presence is hidden.

Just like God’s power is clearly seen in the things he has made, but his presence is not often palpable to our senses; so the kingdom’s worth is clearly seen to those who know it, but it is not a kingdom of this world that we can take a plane to.

Notice the attitude of the man who found the treasure in the field. The second half of v. 44, it says, “In joy he goes and sells everything he has” In v. 46 the pearl merchant also gives up everything he has. Relevance

Imagine discovering something so vast that all of our measures of distance could not begin to describe it. We could no longer use meters or miles, legions or lightyears because of the absolute vastness of this object. We would have to invent a new measuring system.

When we discover the value above all other values of the kingdom, it turns our internal treasuring system upside-down.

Perhaps we measured the value of everything before in monetary denomination, or sentimentality, or utility (a thing’s usefulness to us) or in pleasure.

And consider, what was the denomination for how you valued treasure? Is your treasure measured by convenience? Comfort? Pleasure? Experience? Practicality?

You see, we all have a yard stick that we use to determine the worth of something, and if something is worth our time.

But the kingdom is of such a value that all our yard sticks are worthless. We exchange our entire value system for a better one.

This is why the man sells everything he has with joy because the treasure in the field is worth so much more than everything he has.

David Livingstone was a 19th century missionary to Africa. Notice what he said to a group of Cambridge students: For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. . . . Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.

Only the man who has seen the value of the kingdom can give something up without considering it sacrifice.

Do you have this new value system? Or do you just sit here expecting me to meet your carnal value system? Jesus gives a clear warning to those who do not value the kingdom.The Danger of DeceptionMatthew 13:47–50ESV

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The present age is one of all sorts of fish in the sea, good and bad. Those who value the kingdom and those who don’t. But at the end of the age, the dragnet will be drawn and the sorting will take place. And consider: The value of the fish is determined by what fish valued.

I want to point out something to you that is easily missed, especially in my translation. In v. 49, it describes the angels separating the evil from the righteous. A literal rendering would have this say from the midst of the righteous, or as it says in the King James tradition, “From among.”

I think the warning in the text is clear: Although the kingdom requires a new value system, the external evidence of who truly has that value system is not clear until the final sort.Relevance

I can see your physical presence in the church but I cannot see your internal motivation for being here. I do not know what you value that brought you to sit in a pew this morning. While we exist here in this life there is always a mixture of good and bad fish. The sort occurs later.

The challenge of this parable is not to look at the external evidence of someone’s salvation, but for each of us individually to examine what we truly treasure. Consider our external signs of salvation. Take baptism for example. We, as good baptists, do not teach that baptism affects one’s salvation in anyway, but instead symbolizes the change that has taken place in the heart.

Yet consider this question. If we were to do a survey of all the people who have ever been baptized at this church, again, we will just narrow it to this church only. If we took a survey of everyone who has ever been baptized here, how many do you think would affirm that they are going to heaven because they have been baptized?

And here’s the issue, such a person is like a a man who who found a penny on the ground. He picked it up, put it in his pocket and went on his way. You see the contrast between the parables Jesus gives? The kingdom is not only worth far more, but changes how we view treasure. We would be happy to give up everything fro the kingdom and still would consider it a net gain. Yet the person who believes himself to be good to go with God because one day he said a prayer, or one day he came forward in a silly altar call, or one day he was dunked in water, is like a man who picked up a penny and went his way. Why? Because the penny added nothing to his life it was just a mere convenience. The penny did not change him.

And the frightening thing is there may be a great deal of penny pickers in our pews who still value the things of the flesh, who hold up their old yard sticks to everything done in church. Then, one day the net is drawn. The penny in the hand falls back to the ground, as worthless as it ever was. And the man is thrown into the fire where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And to make matters worse there are a great deal of so-called churches who make it their main business to scatter pennies on the ground. Then they measure their success based upon how many pennies were picked up.

There’s a great deal of so-called churches who cater to the old, sinful value system and manipulate people to pick up pennies. It’s a scheme, a business, an alternate kingdom, a scam. They will make the music emotional because emotional supernatural experience is the measure of the old, sinful value system. They make fun the center for kids and youth programs because entertainment is the measure of the old, sinful value system. They make things comfortable and relevant by tearing apart the Bible to give life principles because practicality is the measure of the old, sinful value system.

I have a great deal of sorrow, mixed with anger and zeal about all of this. Because there will be a day when the net is brought to shore. I have a great fear that many entertained in the centers to worship self will be found to be the bad fish because there was no change in their value system.

We value the King, not some fabricated emotional experience of him! We want our kids to be amazed at the kingdom not just amused. We value the life-sustaining substance of the Word in its entirety as God intended it, not a ripped apart principle that may or may not be from it.

And this is just what Jesus teaches: if we value the kingdom, we will do something with it.The Duty of DiscipleshipMatthew 13:51–52ESV

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

The disciples understand the value and truth of the kingdom. And so now they are required to do something with that.

Oftentimes, scribes are seen as negative examples in the gospels. They often approach Jesus to challenge him and try and trip him up. They have this negative connotation due to their misinterpretation of scripture and character, not because of the vocation itself.

To be a scribe required an immense amount of work. The scribe in training would eat, sleep, breathe the text. Every waking moment would be dedicated to memorizing, interpreting, and learning the scripture. And I think it is this job and work ethic why Jesus uses the image. But his scribes are not trained on the Old Testament alone, but on the kingdom of heaven.

The master of the house who brings out the new and old does so for the benefit of others. That others too may rejoice in those good things.

So the kingdom is more than just discovering a great treasure, it is now living as stewards who share and apply those truth. One does not treasure the kingdom in his heart alone, in some secret way. But instead shares, and lives it out.

Relevance

This parable reminds me of a kid and show and tell. Not like when you would be required to bring something to school.

Sometimes when we would have guests over, especially when my kids were younger, but it still goes on to some extent today, they would bring one thing out of their room and say, “look at this.” And then we would be having a conversation with our friends that were over and a few minutes later here comes the same kid with another thing, “look at this!” And then again, “Look at this!” And I might resond, “You’ve had that for years!” And they would say, “So?”

This is the nature of this kingdom. It’s not a treasure that’s found then hidden in the heart. It’s then brought into all of life and excitedly shared with others.

So in this case, familiarity breeds longing. But sadly, for those who have not discovered the value of the kingdom, familiarity breeds content.The Disaster of DismissalMatthew 13:53–58ESV

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Notice that Jesus in this story returns to his hometown. The people has a similar reaction to his teaching: they too were astonished. But they were not so shocked by the authority with which Jesus taught as they were the fact that, “Wait a second, we know this guy, we know his family. . . how could he. . .?”

Then Jesus refuses to do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. But why? Is it like the movie The Polar Express where if you don’t believe in santa you can’t hear the bell ring? Does God’s power depend on our belief? This is what the false-teacher faith healer wants you to believe. You know, the guy on TV trying to convince you to buy a prayer blanket he blessed. And if ti doesn’t work, its just because you did not have enough faith. Does God’s operation really depend on belief? No. Psalm 115:3 “3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

So then, why would their unbelief cause Jesus to not perform mighty works?

One commentator argues, “

MatthewExegesis

Jesus knew that the people of Nazareth would only resort to the ridiculous extremes of the Pharisees in dismissing the obvious implications of Jesus’s miraculous ministry

You remember the Pharisees who could not deny Jesus’s power so they questioned its source without any proof? They claimed Jesus was Satanic.

In a similar way, the people of Nazareth’s preconceived notions about Jesus cause them to refuse him. So that even after his astonishing wisdom and authority, they still reject him. Notice this is not Jesus setting someone up for failure. It’s not as though Jesus thought, “If I perform this miracle, I know that it will cause them to believe.”

Rather, the idea is that their heart is so hard, no matter what Jesus does (other than perhaps violate their will and coerce them to believe) nothing will cause them to believe. Notice their question at the end of v. 54: “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?” They witnessed his works and wisdom and concluded he’s merely a carpenter’s son, nothing more.

They allowed their preconceived notions about Jesus to blind them to the reality of who Jesus is.Relevance

And I fear that many might allow their preconceived notions about Jesus to prevent them from seeing who he really is. And especially their old, sinful value system.

When we value therapy and inner peace above all else, we only see Jesus as valuable so long as he is therapeutic. When we value rules above all else, we only value Jesus so long as he’s legalistic. When we value entertainment, we only value Jesus if he’s interesting. And on and on the list can grow.

The treasure of the kingdom is that we can be made right with God through trusting in the work of Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This changes how we value everything else. The unbeliever might use Jesus. say they believe in Jesus, but he will never treasure Jesus for who he is.

But I believe there is another danger for the believer. The one of familiarity. Just as the people of Nazareth are familiar with Jesus and it causes rejection. So too, our familiarity can lead to a lack of zeal. We come to church every Sunday. We hear the word all the time.

But what is the root cause of fading zeal? It’s not coming to church often. Its not reading the Bible. Its not even studying theology. The root cause of a fading zeal is when we sneak in the old, sinful value system into our new life. When we consider the things we give up for the kingdom a sacrifice, the joy fades. Because the only reason we would consider it a sacrifice is because we have snuck in the old, sinful value system. “I have to give up my weekend to go to church” is simply evidence that we have a misplaced value system.

“I can’t afford time to pray and read my Bible” is evidence of this misplaced value system. And what we treasure—really treasure, bleeds out into the rest of our lives and our joy in discovering the kingdom.

As is usual in the gospel of Matthew, these passages force us to look deep within, not outside. Pray.