Something Better

We are currently looking at the topic of the Kingdom of God

As I have previously mentioned the Kingdom of God is one of the primary topics in Scripture

Yet even with that being said, there is still a lot of confusion over what exactly the Kingdom of God is

In my opinion the Kingdom of God is basically us surrendering ourselves totally and completely to God’s rule

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is … righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

In Matthew 6:33 we are told to “seek first” the Kingdom of God

Even if we do not totally understand what it is, we are still to seek it

In our look at the kingdom of God – or kingdom of heaven as it is sometimes called – we are going to be taking a look at some of the teachings of Jesus

Often times we see Jesus making statements such as “the Kingdom of God is like …”

I want to begin to look at some of these passages

In these passages Jesus is taking something that was familiar to his audience and relating it to what the Kingdom of God is like

Our passage for today is found in Matthew 13

Matthew 13:44-46 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. 

Kind of an interesting passage

We see Jesus comparing the Kingdom of God to a treasure hidden in a field and a pearl of great value

In the first story Jesus says the Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field

Apparently the treasure has been there for a long time because the person who currently owns the field is totally unaware of it – if they knew it was there they would take it for themselves

For whatever reason there is a man in that field – maybe he’s just passing through the area, maybe he is a laborer working in the field, who knows

This man happens to stumble upon the treasure, and I’m sure at first he is quite excited – wouldn’t you be if you found a treasure?

I can just picture his excitement fading away, however, when he realizes that the treasure does not belong to him, it belongs to the person who owns the field

Then he suddenly has and inspiration – “Why don’t I buy the field?”

That’s a great idea, but if that guy was like most of us here he didn’t have enough money laying around to go out and buy a field

In fact, the price of the field was high enough that to buy it, the man had to sell everything that he had to raise the money

Put yourself in this man’s position for a moment

If you found a treasure worth millions and millions of dollars, but in order to get that treasure you would have to sell everything that you owned, would you do it?

Don’t answer too quickly

When I said sell everything, I meant literally everything – you would have nothing left except the clothes on your back

For me that would be tough

Most of the things that I have I could sell without much of a problem

But there are a few things that I would really struggle getting rid of

It’s not that those things have incredible monetary value – most of them do not

Their value does not lie in the monetary worth, but in their sentimental value

Let me give you a perfect example

When I was a teenager my grandfather gave me an old Sears and Roebuck 12 gauge shotgun

The stock was cracked, and the front sight had long since fallen off and was replaced by a little bead of solder

Overall it was not worth a whole lot, but it was a shotgun and I hunted with it quite a bit

About 10 years ago I went online to see if I could find a replacement stock and discovered that the gun had been recalled years and years ago as unsafe {explain}

Sears is still offering $100 for the bolt, but guess what? They aren’t getting it

Why?

Because that was my grandfather’s gun

I don’t have him anymore, but I do have his gun and you can’t afford it

To the world the gun is worth about $100 – probably less

But to me it’s priceless

I’m sure all of you have items just like my grandfather’s gun – in and of themselves they are not worth much, but the sentimental value makes them priceless

However, in our story we are told that this man sold everything that he had – everything

So let me ask you again, if you could get a treasure worth millions and millions of dollars, but in order to get it you had to sell literally everything – including all those things of sentimental value – would you?

If we asked our friends and family what we should do they would all tell us to go for it

But that’s because they do not have the emotional attachment to our things like we do

I’d have absolutely no problem selling all your stuff – wouldn’t bother me a bit

But all of my stuff? Totally different story

Yet if I want that treasure, I must be willing

We have a similar situation in the story about the merchant looking for fine pearls

He found one of immense value, but in order to purchase it he had to sell everything that he had

The story of the merchant is a little different, however

What makes it different is that the treasure was a sure thing – if he sold everything he had he was guaranteed great wealth

The pearl is a gamble

The odds are that the merchant would make back his money and much more, but there is no guarantee

The merchant buy that pearl of great value and then not be able to sell it

Maybe the market on pearls would drop and it would not be worth as much as it was

Maybe the merchant made a mistake in estimating the value of the pearl

If I came home and told my wife that I found a treasure worth millions and millions but to get it we would have to sell everything I could probably convince her to go along with my plan

Why? Because it’s a sure thing

However, if I came home and told my wife I found this amazing pearl that could bring us tons of profit, but to get it we would have to sell everything I don’t think I could convince her

Why? Because it’s not a sure thing, it’s a gamble

We could lose money, we could lose everything

Jesus says the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Kingdom of God, is like these two stories

The Kingdom of God is something of immense value, but it comes at a cost

What is that cost?

I cannot tell you exactly, the cost can vary from person to person

Basically what it boils down to is that I must be willing to give up anything that God asks me to give up

For some people this could be literally everything

For some it may be just a few things

God wants us to be willing to give up anything that stands in the way of us and His plan for our life

There are many things that I have given up that really were not that hard to give up

There are other things, however, that were quite difficult to give up, and others that I am still holding on to.

To fully experience all that God has to offer, I must be willing to give it all up

That’s not easy, but it’s worth it

Reminds me of when Jesus called His disciples

In Matthew 4 (paraphrase)

Matthew 4:18-22 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19  "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20  At once they left their nets and followed him. 21  Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22  and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

I must leave the familiar, for the unfamiliar.

In some ways it’s exciting, in others it’s kind of sad

To grow we must be willing to leave behind the familiar and take up the unfamiliar

For some of you that may mean giving up habits that you know are bad, but you’ve had them for years and are comfortable with them

For some of you it may be possessions, or activities, or jobs, or many other things

What God is offering you is far more valuable, are you going to hold on to the familiar and reject what God has?

Or are you willing to give up the familiar and follow God’s plan for your life?

It’s not always easy, and sometimes you look back nostalgically on what you had

But God’s way is always better!

Last week we looked at this passage of Scripture that I think is very applicable here

Matthew 19:27-30 Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" 28  Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30  But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first. 

Yes, there are things that we must give up, but our reward will be great

It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it

Something else – like the merchant and the pearl there is no guarantee

I’m not going to say that giving it all up will make everything immediately better

Immediately it may get worse

You may lose friends, you may alienate yourself from family, it can cause stress on your marriage and with your kids

Any number of bad things can happen as a result

But in the end, it will be well worth it

Think of the man who sold everything for the treasure

Was it easy?

Not at all

But that man would have been kicking himself in the pants for years to come if he had not done it

What about you and the Kingdom of God?

What is holding you back?

What is standing in your way?

What do you need to give up?

It won’t be easy, it won’t be risk free, but it will be worth it!