What Will You Do with the Treasure of God’s Kingdom?

10th Sunday after Pentecost, 8/17/14
Matthew 13:44-52


What Will You Do with the Treasure of God’s Kingdom?
I. Make sure you’re in it.
II. Make sure you appreciate it.
III. Make sure you share it.


People still discover treasures. This past February a California couple was walking their dog on a trail on their property when they noticed a rusty can sticking out of the ground. They dug it out and took it home. Imagine their surprise when they removed the lid and found it was full of gold coins dating back to the mid-1800s. But the story doesn’t end there. They went back to the spot where they found the can and discovered seven more cans. All together the coins are worth $10 million. The couple admitted that they were in a financial bind and this discovery will certainly take of that.

What they did was wise. We’d like to think we’d do the same. Instead of ignoring a rusty old can, they made the effort to dig it up. Once they realized what they had, they went back to see if there was more. And they used what they discovered to help themselves out of a problem they had.

But that’s not the way it always is. Some people store money and other valuables in odd places—mattresses, inside the walls, in a shoebox in the attic—and forget that they exist. Those valuables aren’t doing anyone any good. A collection of old baseball cards sits forgotten in a box on a shelf in a storage room. Modern collectors would drool over what’s inside. Or, it looks like just another dusty, old painting that grandpa had, when in reality there’s an original Rembrandt under the top canvass. They don’t realize what they have in their hands.

This morning your Savior reminds you what a treasure you have. It’s not some dirt-covered gold coins in a crumbling container. It’s not a collector’s item under the guise of something ordinary. It’s not a famous painting or a rare card or comic book. It’s the kingdom of God. It’s God’s saving activity through the gospel in your life. Truth be told, there’s no treasure more valuable than that. Not all the money in the world can buy what you already have. What a treasure! So what will you do with it? What will you do with the treasure of the God’s kingdom? Let’s receive our Savior’s divine suggestions as we study these three parables from Matthew 13 this morning.

Part I.

We’ve all been there. We’re in the wrong place at the right time. You thought she said to meet her at this coffee shop, when actually she said something else. You thought the mandatory meeting at work was next week, when actually it was two days ago. It’s not only embarrassing; it can have dire consequences.

There’s a popular belief today that it doesn’t matter what you believe, you’ll go to heaven when you die anyway. I once heard an intelligent person tell me that the three great religions of the world— Christianity, Islam and Judaism—all worship the same god, so it doesn’t matter what you believe. We’ll all be in heaven together. In fact, all too many people think that the only thing required to go to heaven is that you try to be a good person. They think they’re right, but they’re wrong.

What they believe doesn’t square with what Jesus said. In the third parable before us this morning—the Parable of the Net—Jesus speaks about a separation of people. He said, “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Jesus states that the righteous and the wicked will be separated. Don’t be fooled by his words. Make sure you know how he uses those terms. He’s not talking about good people verses bad people. In Scripture, the “righteous” are those whose sins are forgiven by faith in Jesus. Simply put, they’re Christians. They believe in Jesus as their Savior. In Scripture, the “wicked” are those who don’t believe in Jesus as their Savior. They might think they’re in the kingdom of God. They might think they’re going to heaven. But they’re not.

To borrow the situations I spoke of a minute ago, it’s like thinking you’re at the right coffee shop or that the mandatory meeting is next week. You’re in the wrong place.

What will you do with the treasure of God’s kingdom? Make sure you’re in it.

Could it happen that we think we’re in his kingdom when we actually aren’t? Indeed it could! Jesus once declared, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 7:21). He also said through the Apostle Paul, “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). Each day the Lord wants us to ask ourselves what he means to us compared to everything else. And if he’s not at the very top, we have a problem. All too easily the pursuit of work, money, fame, happiness, recreation and relationships with others push Christ down on our priority list. Instead, keep the main person the main person. Make the one who loves you so much that he died for you the center of your life, of your world. Realize the treasure that you have in Christ. Make sure you’re in his kingdom.

Part II.

What would you do if you stumbled upon a treasure? Let’s hope you wouldn’t tell yourself, “I know that looks like treasure, but it’s probably phony so I’m not going to bother myself with it.” None of us would do that. Instead, our actions would be much like the men described in the two short parables that begin our text.

In the first parable, the man just stumbles on a treasure in a field, but the field doesn’t belong to him. So he sells everything he has in order to buy that field. I realize that Jesus says nothing about attempting to find the treasure’s rightful owner. That’s because the parable isn’t about rightful ownership; it’s about appreciating the value of an unexpected treasure.

The other short parable presents a slightly different situation. Here the man’s occupation is finding valuable pearls. He’s actively searching for them and when he finds one, he sells all he has and buys it because he appreciates it for what it is—treasure.

Jesus’ point for us is clear—when we find treasure, do what we have to in order to make it our own.

You already possess priceless treasure. It’s Jesus and by faith in him, you’re in his kingdom. Realize, however, that’s not your own doing. Instead of you grabbing the treasure, the treasure grabbed you. Bringing you into God’s kingdom by faith in Jesus was all the work of the Holy Spirit. He grabbed hold of you.

And he’s the one who keeps you in God’s kingdom through the gospel in God’s word and in the sacrament. That’s how God has chosen to bring you to him and to keep you close to him. Word and sacrament. Those are his great gifts to us. So, when’s the last time you said to yourself, “I get to hear or read God’s word today”? When’s the last time you said, “How blessed I am to be able to receive Communion today”? That’s how God keeps you in your faith. That’s how he keeps you in his kingdom.

What will you do with the treasure of God’s kingdom? Make sure you appreciate it!

So, what does your faith in Jesus mean to you? Does it still mean what you said it did on the day of your confirmation when you vowed that you would suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it? Is life in God’s kingdom a nice time, but only when you have time for it? Are you asking God to understand if you get a little distracted from time to time? Go back to your Savior’s love for you. He would let nothing get in the way of going to the cross for you, to die there for you, so that you could enjoy life in his kingdom forever. Make sure you appreciate it!

Part III.

Imagine that a close friend of yours discovered a huge treasure. But he or she hid it from you. They didn’t even share with you the news that they had found it. What would you call such a person? A miser. A jerk. I guess they’ve just indicated how much you mean to them.

You have come to know the riches of God’s grace to you. You know that no sinner deserves anything good from God and yet Jesus loved you so much he died for you. You know that by faith in Jesus you have life in his kingdom forever.

You also know the blessings of living as a child of God. You know God’s truths for your daily life. You have daily guidance from his word on how to live your life and love for Jesus in your heart to motivate you to follow it.

Those are treasures! What should you do with them? Jesus addresses that very question with his disciples when he has this conversation with them at the end of our text. “’Have you understood all these things?’ Jesus asked. ‘Yes,’ they replied. He said to them, ‘Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.’”

What loving friend doesn’t show his dear friends the treasures that he has? How often haven’t you told someone, “Have you seen what I bought? Let me show you”?

What will you do with the treasure of God’s kingdom? Make sure you share it. In simple terms, tell others what Jesus means to you. Share with them the guidance his word gives. In doing so, may God use you to give them the treasure of God’s kingdom. Amen.