Sermon Notes
Pastor Jeff Stanfill

"Great Gain"
October 15th, 2006 - AM Service

GREAT GAIN
TEXT: MATT. 13:44-46
INTRO:
This morning we have introduced new members of our congregation. This is a morning to celebrate for it means God is magnifying Himself among us. The point is not that we are bigger but that our God is bigger to us.

While we have for several weeks drawn lessons from the royal and famous of the kings of Judah, this morning are going to seize this opportunity to clarify our hearts concerning the purpose of God and CCC.

Some time back we learned some vocabulary that helps us express our hearts. We learned to say that we treasure Jesus Christ. I am reaching back to a passage of Scripture that we have drew from previously and want to expound it again very similarly as I did before. This is because it will communicate to new friends among us much of who we are in Christ at CCC; and it will help us celebrate the right thing in the right way.

READ TEXT.

Treasure! The way the word moves over the tongue even feels rich! Humans are fascinated with treasure and treasure stories.

We read two treasure stories in this passage. While two stories they are yet one story. A story of great gain. Let's look at these two people to hear what Jesus is saying. While the main characters are people and their actions carry the story - the story is about the Kingdom of Heaven.

I. THE FIRST PERSON (13:44)
1. The likely scenario of this person stumbling upon a buried treasure is literally likely a stumble. Ancient Near Eastern custom was to bury valuables in ceramic jars in the ground. In the ground it was considered safe and protected. If foreign armies were approaching, families and individuals would prepare for the invasion. Part of that preparation was to go out, dig a hole, and place their family valuables in a jar and in the hole to be hidden from the army's search for spoils.

2. To the people then, to bury something in the ground was considered the safest act anyone could do. Think about the parable of the talents and the foolish servant who did not risk the master's talents as did the other two. They took a risk and invested the money. But the one man buried it in the ground. He put it where it was considered to be the safest. If the talents were given for safe keeping, he did what was considered the wisest thing. But that was not the intent in the giving of the talents so he was foolish.

3. So a very likely scenario is this person is a day laborer plowing a field readying it for planting. Suddenly the ox steps into a hole and stumbles. The man helps the ox's leg from the hole and notices that it is not just any hole in the ground but where a treasure pot had been buried. He reaches in and discovers gold, silver, jewels, precious stones. The ancient Hebrew law was finders keepers. The treasure was his as he found it!

4. He covers the spot and arranges the dirt to look undisturbed. He races home to his wife and tells her, "Tomorrow we will have a garage sale and we will sell everything - every dish, every chair, every jar and pot, the beds, even the house!" "Are you crazy? Has the sun boiled what little mush you have in your skull?" "I have discovered a treasure that will make us wealthier than any of this that we now have. I must buy the field I was plowing today for I know where the treasure is!"

5. The point of this parable does not concern itself with the man's employer and his claims. Jesus parables were not intended to be pressed beyond their point. And the point of this parable is the joy of this man in selling everything to gain everything more!

II. THE SECOND PERSON (13:45-46)
1. The first person stumbled into something while the second person is out on a search. And this person is no day laborer ecking out a living but a person of great wealth. He is no mere local retailer either. The word for merchant indicates that this person was a substantial trader, an expert importer of fine pearls. He traveled far and wide seeking great finds to bring back and sell for handsome profits.

2. As an expert in his field he knows pearls. He finds one of great value. The criteria for a pearl's value begins with
· a perfect shape,
· a perfect color,
· a perfect texture - it has no defects,
· it must have luster and,
· obviously the bigger the better!

3. Having found this pearl of great value, everything else he owns is now worthless to him. He must have that one pearl over everything else. So he does not have a garage sale - he has an estate sale selling everything! His fine imported china, his exquisitely carved furniture, his silken wardrobe, his amazingly stocked spice cabinet from the Orient - everything is sold to buy that one pearl worth it all!

4. The first man stumbled into his riches. It is as if the treasure sought him out; placing itself in his path that day to be found. He didn't know he was looking for anything. But discovered it was. The second person was out looking for treasures. He was on a search for the finest find. He had seen enough and learned enough to know value when he saw it. Both of these people, though from different economic backgrounds and on opposite ends of the wealth spectrum - both could afford to buy the treasure if they were willing to sell their all.

III. MUSTN'T LIVE IT IN THIRD PERSON
1. We saw the first person, we saw the second person, and if you will allow the pun, we must not leave this in third person but must make it first person for ourselves. These two stories are one about great gain. The Kingdom of Heaven is obviously living under the rulership of and in relationship with Jesus Christ. So today consider:

2. To treasure Jesus Christ will cost all you have. The price is the greatest any one of us will ever pay. Yet it is a price each one of us can afford. Truthfully, it costs us all the same regardless of who we are and what we have. It costs - everything! We must sell our all and pay our all so in reality, the treasure is all we have. In the end all we have is Jesus. All we need is Jesus. All we want is Jesus.

3. To treasure Jesus Christ is worth far more than you paid. Satan tempts us by rehearsing our garage and estate sales, "Remember what it was like, all your things around you, all your valuables stored away at your beckon and call? Now you don't have anything but this one pearl. You don't have much any more do you? Tom still has a lot. Harry is getting more. Sally is so satisfied." But the treasure of Jesus Christ is worth far more than you and I paid. Tonight, the Word of God reminds us of that.

4. This is why to treasure Jesus Christ will change the way you live. The day laborer's life was drastically altered from that of toil, sweat, and tears to that of rest, peace, and plenty. The merchant's life went from roaming, searching, yearning to satisfaction, contentment, and settledness. The claims of Christ are great in deed when we must sell everything to gain Him. That is a change many are not willing to undergo. But for those who so do what sweet and precious reward!

CONCL:
1. We celebrate the treasure of Jesus Christ. We do not celebrate our searching. We do not celebrate the price we paid. We celebrate Him!

2. We evaluate our lives according to the treasure of Jesus Christ. Consider who you have in Jesus; what you are in Jesus. Is your live being lived accordingly?

3. We understand that this treasure is supernatural.

4. We see that we pursue the treasure of Jesus Christ for the joy of having Him. These stories are not about stoic denial of all things pleasurable, fulfilling, and joyful. They are about knowing where to find and then laying hold upon that pleasure, fulfillment, and joy. Yes, that means we can and should be in pursuit of joy and happiness. The ethic of it is where we seek such joy and happiness. If it is in the pleasures of sin or the acclaim of the world we are declaring that those things are of more worth and value than Jesus Christ. But as He is our treasure, our pearl of great price, we properly chase after joy, pleasure, and fulfillment in Him.