The Hidden Treasure!

 8^th Sunday after Pentecost!

 

Introduction:  Things of interest about the book of Matthew.

 

     A.   It is believed to be the second gospel written.

          1.   Mark being the first!

          2.   Matthew having Mark as a source, so most of what is

in Mark is also in Matthew with some added!

 

     B.   It was written by Matthew who was a tax collector and

          also a disciple of Jesus.

 

     C.   Being accustomed to bookkeeping it may be that he kept           notes on the works of Jesus.  It seems he gave a more

          detailed account of the Sermon on the Mount and the              teachings of Jesus.

 

     D.   It is arranged topically thus chap. 13 is concerned

          with parables; Matthew is not writing Chronologically!

 

     E.   The chief purpose for which Matthew wrote his gospel

          was to convince the Jewish people that Jesus was the

          Messiah predicted int their scriptures.

 

     F.   Thus he speaks a lot about the kingship of Jesus and

          his kingdom!

     Trans.

          Let's look this morning at one of these parables about           the Kingdom and see what we can learn about the Kingdom          of God from it!

                            Prayer

                          Matt. 13:44

 

I.   First let's look at what the Kingdom of Heaven is.

 

     A.   Vines dictionary says about the Kingdom:

          "The Kingdom of God is the sphere of God's rule.

          Since, however, this earth is the scene of universal

          rebellion against God, the Kingdom of God is the sphere          in which, at any given time, His rule is acknowledged."

 

     B.   Thus the kingdom of God is in a believer!  When we

          acknowledge his rule and become a Christian, we are a

          part of the kingdom!

 

     C.   And the Kingdom of God is in Heaven where his rule is

          acknowledged.

 

II.  Let's look at the Parable!

 

     A.   The Treasure hid in the field is Christ!  Through Christ         all the real treasures are found!

 

          1.   All fullness.

              Col. 1:19 "For it pleased the Father that in him

                        should all fullness dwell:"

 

              John 1:16 "And of his fullness have all we

                        received, and grace for grace."

 

              In Christ, we can have the fullest life!

 

          2.   wisdom and knowledge

              Col. 2:3  "In him are hid all the treasures of

                        wisdom and knowledge."

 

          3.   righteousness, grace, peace, love and many more.

 

     B.   This treasure is hid in a field!  The field could be the         Bible!

          1.   The treasure is there to those who search.

          2.   The treasure is there for whomsoever (John 3:16)!           3.   Search the scriptures to find the treasure!

 

     C.   Because it is hid in a field only those who search will          find it!

          1.   The field looks to be of no value at first!

          2.   The Bible looks like any other book at first glance              until we open it and Search the Scriptures!

              John 5:39 "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye

                        think ye have eternal life: and they are                        they which testify of me."

 

     D.   Those who realize the value of the treasure in the

          field will sell all to attain it!

          1.   So it is with Christ!  When we realize the value

              of Christ we will make him 1st priority!

              Phil. 3:8      "Yea doubtless, and I count all

                             things but loss for the excellency                              of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my                             Lord: for whom I have suffered the                             loss of all things, and do count

                             them but dung, that I may win

                             Christ."

          2.   And when we do everything else will fall in place!

              Matt. 6:33     "But seek ye first the kingdom of

                             God, and his righteousness; and all                             these things shall be added unto

                             you."

 

     E.   The field could be the world!

          1.   People search throughout the world to find meaning               in life.

 

          2.   There are lots of options to try to find meaning in

life: pleasure, wealth, popularity, etc.

 

          3.   The real treasure in the field is Christ!

 

          4.   Once one finds Christ, they will sell out to attain

it!

Conclusion:

     A.   Have we found this treasure?  Christ?

 

     B.   Do we even realize the value of Christ?  OR does He

          not really seem that important to us?

          1.   Are we willing to make Christ first priority?

          2.   Are we willing to sell out for Christ?

 

     C.   What this parable seems to be saying is that once we've          found Christ he will be worth it all! 

 

     D.   I can honestly say that I don't regret following Christ          or living for Christ at all! 

1.   I don't regret anything I have done for Christ! 

2.   I regret some things that I have done outside of

Christ, the times I have not sold out to Christ!

3.   Christ has made a difference in my life!

 

     E.   How about you?  Have you accepted Christ?  Are you

following Christ fully?  The Kingdom of Heaven is where

Christ reigns; does Christ reign in you?  As we encounter

Christ at the table today, you can sell out to Christ, you

can let Christ reign!

 

                      Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

Perseverance!

 7^th Sunday after Pentecost

                          

Introduction:

     A.   For an athlete to be good at a particular sport, he/she

          has to practice many hours!

     B.   For a musician to be good at playing a musical

          instrument, he/she has to practice many hours, and for

          him/her to remain good, practice must be continued.

     C.   He/she has to stick-to-it or persevere!

     Trans.

          In our Christian lives we need this "perseverance" also, so let's look today at "Perseverance" and see what it really means to persevere!

 

                            Prayer

 

I.   What is Perseverance?

     A.   Websters def. =     Steadiness in seeking a goal;  persistent effort! Some synonyms                              are persistence, endurance, stick-to-it-iveness, staying power, determination, and resolution.

     B.   Persistent Effort:

          through thick and thin a continuous, persistent effort!  Not half-hearted but persistent!  Not just when things are going good!

     C.   Ray, or Marie didn't get good at playing a musical instrument without a lot of practice. It takes

          persistent effort!

 

II.  Let's look at some examples of perseverance from the Bible!

     A.   Negative.

          1.   Matt. 13:20-21

              Here through the Parable of the Sower Jesus

              explains how some will receive the word but when

              trials come they will give up!  They won't

              persevere!

          2.   Matt. 26:69-75

              Peter broke under the pressure; he didn't

              persevere!

     B.   Positive.

          1.   Gen. 6:11-22  (don't read)

              Noah persevered 100 years building a boat because

              God said to and it hadn't even rained before.  He

               had to have had some discouragements, but he

               persevered!

          2.   Heb. 12:1-3

              Jesus persevered until the end in spite of what

               men/women did to him!  “He endured the cross!”

III. We need "Perseverance" today because, like our Biblical examples, we have all kinds of pressures today to cause us to   break!

     A.   pressure imposed by time:

          1.   If you are a doer, you probably don't have enough

              time to get done what you'd like to do!

          2.   As we see things that need done and as we get more

               and more jobs and the same amount of time, it is

               enough to make us throw up our hands and say "I

               can't do it; I quit!"

     B.   personal discouragement:

          1.   This is one that Satan breaks a lot of people with!

          2.   He does it 95% with no help from the outside of

              your mind.  He does it with negative thoughts like:

              a.   You can't do that!

              b.   You can't do anything right; look at that!

              c.   You are a failure!

              d.   Everybody thinks you are a failure!

     C.   Unfavorable circumstances:  (another pressure)

          1.   Things that we can't control:

              a.   people treat us badly!

              b.   a tragic death!

              c.   people who we have confidence in letting us

                   down!

          2.   These things can really turn our world upside down

              and can break us if we haven't learned

              perseverance!

 

IV.  How can we learn perseverance?

     A.   First, God's Word!  Study!

          1.   Do you give up easy?  From God's word, we learn not to give up!  We learn that we can make a

              difference!

              a.   We can still reach people in Forsyth if we

                   persevere and don't give up! 

                   1) evidence – the 2/3 to 3/4^th of you have

                      come to the church in the last 5 years!

                   2) evidence - those who have been baptized,

                      reaffirmed your baptisms and joined the

                      church in the last 5 years.

                   3) evidence - Those of you who are serving in

                      new ways in the last 5 years!

              b.   We can still grow as Christians if we don't

                   give up!

          2.   Are you easily discouraged?  God's word has the

              answer!  "I can do all things through Christ which

              strenghteneth me."  (Phil. 4:13)

          3.   Does it seem like Satan is winning?  The Bible

              Shows us that we are on the winning side:  that is

              the main theme of Revelation. Don’t get bogged down

              in the metaphoric language but realize the main

              point; we are on the winning side!

          4.   We need a clear vision of our goal so we will not

               get side-tracked and bounce around with no

              direction.  We get it in God's word!

     B.   Secondly, Prayer!

 

          We can persevere as we keep the communications open with  Christ, our greatest example of perseverance!

 

V.   Are you a "persevering" person?

          Do Self-Evaluation!

 

Conclusion:

     A.   There's an adage:

              "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

     B.   Can that be said about you in your spiritual life?

     C.   Like the person that plays a musical instrument, if we

          are going to attain our goal of Christlikeness, it is

          going to take some perseverance (persistent effort) on

          our part.

     D.   Do you need to grow in this?  As we encounter Christ at

          the table this morning, ask Christ to help you to better

          live out this virtue of perseverance!

 

                      Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

Mercy, Not Sacrifice!

 5^th Sunday after Pentecost!

                    

Intro.

                            Prayer

                   Matt. 12:1-14 & Hosea 6:6

 

A.   Here Jesus and His disciples went through a corn field, and  they were hungry, so they picked corn to eat! On the Sabbath!

 

B.   The first thing we think is, AWhy is Jesus stealing corn from

this person=s field?@  There was no problem with picking the

corn because it was a custom to leave some grain along the

edges for passer-byers to eat.  This was the for-runner of

Quick Marts except it was free!  It was their way of providing

for travelers.

 

C.   The Pharisees were upset because His "disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath." (vs. 2)

1.   It wasn't lawful to pick corn on the Sabbath!

2.   This was work! It wasn’t about stealing corn!

 

D.   Jesus responded with verse 7.

 

E.   Then He went on to heal on the sabbath which was also against their law!

 

F.   At this, they began to plot to kill him.

 

Trans.

Their problem seemed to go back to the misunderstanding of a prophetic concept.  The prophet was Hosea, and the concept was "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings."  (Hosea 6:6 NIV)

 

I.   Let's look this morning at what they misunderstood.

A.   The Pharisees were a very "religious" group of people.  They felt the way to please God was by the strict observance of the law!

 

B.   The Jews of Hosea's time seemed to think what God was

     pleased with was their sacrifices and burnt offerings!

 

1.   It didn't matter, they thought, how many other

     little gods they worshiped as long as they made

     their sin sacrifice to God!

 

     a.   The Jews of Hosea’s time were largely

Polytheistic. They had fell to a large

Degree to the worship of their Canaanite

neighbor’s gods.

 

              b.   Hosea’s ministry was to bring the Jewish people

back to the worship of only Yahweh!

 

2.   It didn't matter, so they thought, if they cheated others as long as they made their sin offering to God to take care of it!

    

          3.   It didn’t matter if they didn’t help the less

              fortunate as long as they made their sin offering

              to God!

 

C.   But Hosea warns the people, and Christ echoes it here to the Pharisees, "God desires mercy, not sacrifice, acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings."

 

D.   Christ seems to be telling the Pharisees, "You are still holding on to the sacrifices and burnt offerings  alone!  You really don't care about the mercy or acknowledgement of God or this wouldn't bother you!"

 

E.   What is this mercy & acknowledgement?

 

Definitions:

mercy =   devotion  (BKC)

acknowledgement =   loyalty  (BKC)

 

1.   So what Jesus was saying is that God was pleased with sacrifices and burnt offerings coming from a devoted and loyal life!  But if they thought they could forget the devotion and loyalty in exchange for sacrifices and burnt offerings, they were bad wrong!

 

2.   Their lack of devotion to God and their lack of  loyalty to God was evident by their treatment and  care for other people! (Example: The Pharisees in our scripture today.) Mercy also involves extending mercy to others!

 

     a.   They were missing the mark!

 

     b.   Their sacrifices were more important than

people.  They didn’t love or care for the people

as long as they did their religious things!

 

              c.   Jesus shines some light on this in Mark 2:27

where he says: “The sabbath was made for

humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath.”

d.   The law was given to serve humanity and not humanity to serve the law! Again, it comes back to if we are guided by our love for God and others, we will not fail!

 

II.  What is this saying to us today?

 

A.   God is concerned with the attitude of our hearts!

 

1.   Is our attitude one of devotion and loyalty to

     God, or is it one of doing just enough to get by?

 

2.   Do we do the things we do because of our loyalty

     and devotion to God, or do we do them to acquire

     another mark in our favor?

 

3.   Do we do things because we have to in order to "be good enough" for heaven?

 

4.   Is this loyalty and devotion to God expressed in

     our service to God lived out in our love for people,

or do we find ourselves going after other things

(gods) because we really lack loyalty and devotion

toward God?

 

III. What can we do?

 

A.   We "can," like the Pharisees, concentrate on the don'ts

and figure that if everyone avoids them they are

alright!

 

1.   Of course, when we do this, we will probably miss  the mark ourselves!

 

2.   Also, we will fail in the do=s just like the Pharisees did!

 

B.   Or we can concentrate on our loyalty and devotion

     toward God, and we can trust that when we do, God will

     direct us in the other things!  God will perfect us in

Love!

 

Conclusion:

 

A.   How is our loyalty and devotion toward God?  A God who suffered Calvary for our sins!

 

B.   Are we trusting in what God did for us through Christ?

 

C.   Are we showing our gratitude through our loyalty and

     devotion to God, causing  us to do the right things?

 

D.   Or are we doing the things for things sake and really

     aren't very devoted to God at all?

 

E.   As we encounter Christ at the table his morning, are we

going through the religious actions but denying the power

thereof?  If we are, let’s tap into that power this

morning, the power to live pleasing to God, the power to love!  Thanks be to God!

 

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion