A KINGDOM WORTH SEEKING

Prayer:

Heavenly Father……may you open our hearts and minds this morning to this truth…..that there is more to our existence than what we see before us….more than our circumstances…..there is a kingdom of heaven……and you have provided the way to enter.    

Holy Spirit…….minister here this morning, we ask,

 Jesus’ Name, AMEN.

Introduction

A couple of nights back I fell asleep in front of the TV and I started hearing this squeaky little voice talking about riches and wealth and buying property……I thought, “Why is Ross Perot was in my living room…….but then I realized he wasn’t in the room, but on TV!  I finally woke up and saw that it wasn’t Ross, but an infomercial on buying real estate.  This man (who sounded AND even looked a little like Ross P) was going on about this system of buying property that had been seized by the Federal Govt. for taxes due.  As I began to regain full consciousness….I listened as the testimonies rolled on:  first it was those who had just started using this secret system for a few months and they already had amassed property worth $10’s of K …..then more INFO on the product….then those who had $100’s K……and then came the climax….as the music raced on and the announcer’s voice-over grew louder…… “Hundreds of people would pay 10’s of thousands of dollars to learn ‘Max’s’ secret, BUT NOW….Max is willing to give you his wealth building, success - oriented SECRET system for the unheard of price of $39.95!”  And the phones lit up!

Now, What was Max Selling?

·       A High Quality set of CD’s outlining proper Real Estate Transactions?

·       A Proven and Successful Business Model?

·       Was Max selling a new career opportunity?

NO…..he wasn’t selling any of those things.  Now I have to admit, God brought a scripture to mind as I sat and listened Max’s sales pitch:

Prov 17:16

     16     Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom

when he has no sense?

Max was selling a dream!  The same dream that the state of TN sells people who line-up to spend $20….even $50 on a piece of paper that gives them a 1:70 million chance of winning millions of dollars in a Lottery drawing…..instead of  saving that money or using it to feed and clothe their children. 

Transition

So what is the dream and what’s it worth? Well, every person in every culture wants HOPE…..they want to know they have a brighter future than the day they just lived!  They want to be satisfied….to be happy.  So, I want to ask you this morning…what’s the answer to this dream?  Is it wealth and power…..is that what gives us security in life?  Well, our kids talked a lot this week about truth….so I want us to deal in truth.  God has given us the truth about life, and happiness, and satisfaction in His Word. 

First – We all know that what we have is not permanent…..and what I mean by that is this:  Our cars wear out; our homes can be blown down by tornados or washed away in floods or burned down by fire; our retirement accounts can drain away with the falling stock market or be spent covering medical bills to keep us or someone in our family alive.  All that we have is temporary!

Jesus said:  Matt 6:19-20

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

There is a place that’s permanent….a place where even our bodies will no longer wear-out…..where our wealth is permanent!

Second – But then we also know that even with all the wealth and power someone has today……there is no certain tomorrow!  What if your spouse won that great jackpot of $100 million…..and the day he collected the check…..he died of a massive heart attack or stroke.  Where’s the happiness in that!!   Where’s the bright future?

The Psalmist wrote – “My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.” 

The Prophet Isaiah wrote:     Is 40:6b-7

     6     ……          All flesh is grass,

and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

     7     The grass withers, the flower fades

when the breath of the Lord blows on it;

surely the people are grass.

Our lives are no stronger nor more sturdy than the hay we see baled in the fields!  Yet Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3.11 that “…..(God) has put eternity into man’s heart….”  Our lives are brief….because we were created for eternity!

The Answer – The Gospel

          God has provided the answer to our universal need for hope…..our desire to know that no matter what tomorrow brings to us….even death…..we can know that our future is better than our past!  God has provided a way to find the joy….that inner contentment and peace that we all seek.

The Kingdom - When Jesus first began his public ministry, he stood among the people and said:  Mark 1:15

15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God  has come near.  Repent and believe in the good news!” HCSB.

What Jesus was saying then….he still says today! The answer to our need for hope is found in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Turn to Matt. 13:44-50.  READ TEXT

Here in Matthew’s Gospel, we learn something about the Kingdom of Heaven:

First – The treasure of this kingdom is SO GREAT that we can give-up everything else we have…..and be wealthier still.  The man who finds the treasure in the field was more than likely a poor man….a peasant.  That’s why he covers up the treasure….and then he sells everything he has so that he can buy the field and claim absolute ownership over the find!  In this parable, Jesus is teaching that there is a Kingdom….a place of belonging….that is so valuable – that brings such JOY….. that its worth is greater than anything else we could own!

Second – is that the value of this kingdom is so great, that simply possessing it is more valuable than everything else!  Unlike the man who was in the field, this man is a merchant (Grk word for merchant means traveling business man) – and he went and sold all that he had to possess this one, perfect, beautiful pearl.  So, what’s the difference between the treasure in the field and the pearl?  The man with the treasure could sell part of it to live well…..but the merchant must retain the pearl….he must keep it to keep it’s value.  Jesus is teaching us that the kingdom is so valuable – that the JOY is so great in possessing it….not to sell and be wealthy, but to it’s worth all that we have to simply hold onto it!

This Kingdom….this treasure is so valuable……that it is worth your very life!  But unlike Max and his Real Estate cd’s……The Kingdom of God is REAL…..the treasure is REAL…..and God offers it to you right now!  For the Kingdom is found only in Jesus Christ….and all who believe in Him and place their trust and faith in Christ have already entered the Kingdom! 

God has declared in His Word:  “that if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved……for Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Romans 10.9, 13

Will you call on Christ today?  The Good News of the Kingdom is that we can have the joy and peace right now…..for we find it in a relationship with Jesus Christ! 

The Third Parable – Now, we read the third parable from Jesus…..and the Good News of the gospel is not only that we come into the Kingdom of Heaven…but that we are delivered from the judgment to come.  For God is holy and just…and one day the righteous will be called into their inheritance – eternal life….and the wicked – the condemned – will be sent into eternal misery and punishment.  The truth of God’s love and grace in the gospel is REAL…..but so is the truth of God’s coming judgment!  John 3:36 - 36 

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

The righteous inherit eternal life……and Jesus is our righteousness:

2 Cor 5:21

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Prayer