Server Outage Notice: TheSeed.info is transfering to a new Server on Tuesday April 13th
Statistics
2775 sermons as of June 18, 2026.
Site Search
powered by FreeFind
| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) |
“Kingdom Treasure”
Matthew 13:44-46
Many, many years ago, there was a farmer in Persia by the name of Ali Hafed. He sold his farm in order to find diamonds. Farming in Persia was like farming here. It took a lot of effort; you could make some money, but you could also lose everything.
Ali had a successful farm, but he heard about people who discovered diamonds in South Africa. Those who found diamond beds in South Africa became exceptionally wealthy, so he sold his farm and moved to South Africa seeking treasure. But he never found treasure in South Africa. He expanded his search to other countries as well, but he came up empty. All his money was spent. When he died, Ali Hafed was a broken, disillusioned man. He never found the treasure he had been searching for all his life.
Meanwhile, the man who bought the farm from Ali Hafed, years after buying the farm, was at a stream running through the farm, giving his camels a drink when he saw something shiny glimmering beneath the surface of the water. He discovered there, in the stream, an extensive layer of diamonds. The diamonds were of exquisite quality, some of the most valuable diamonds to be found in the world of that day. You see, the richest treasure was right there on the farm that Ali Hafed had sold!
In the two short parables of Jesus, here in these verses, no one misses the treasure as Ali Hafed did, but both people whom Jesus spoke about came across the treasure of the kingdom of heaven in opposite ways. One person, just walking through the field, stumbled onto a great treasure. The other person, a merchant, diligently sought the finest pearl, and finally, after an extensive search, found the perfect pearl of great value.
These two short parables teach us that not everyone comes into the kingdom of heaven in the same way. Some are like the merchant who searched long and diligently for the perfect pearl before discovering it.
Consider the Ethiopian eunuch, described in Acts 8. He studied Isaiah 53 intently, but did not understand who the Scripture was speaking about when it described someone who was “led like a lamb to the slaughter.” Then the Holy Spirit led Phillip to him, and Acts 8:35 describes how “Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”
At long last he understood. He finally grasped that Christ is the Lamb of God who sacrificed himself for sinners. He finally realized that saving faith in Christ leads to the greatest treasure: The forgiveness of sins and the treasure of knowing Christ, of belonging to him and being a citizen in the kingdom of heaven.
Others, by contrast, are like the Samaritan woman who went to the well to draw water. Whom should she find there but one named Jesus who told her about the “living water.” Her life of sin was confronted; she was transformed. Even though she had not sought long and hard for the treasure of salvation, it was given to her as she “stumbled” so to speak – by God’s gracious providence and electing love – into the kingdom of heaven.
In addition to pointing out that people come into the kingdom of heaven in different ways, Jesus goes on, in these two short parables, to show us that if we truly are in the kingdom then we will recognize the great value of our salvation. When we recognize the supreme value of the kingdom of heaven and the sacrifice Christ has made to grant His people entrance, we too will see that it is a priceless treasure.
In both parables, the people spoken about recognized the value of the kingdom of heaven. They both sold all they had to get the treasure they had found. However, recognizing the value of being in the kingdom of heaven is not always easy, not because the kingdom isn’t valuable, but because our eyes are so easily clouded.
The world holds out before us so many counterfeit pearls. Our eyes, not trained as they should be in spiritual matters, can so quickly be misled by the imitation – by the “cubic zirconia” – that we miss the real diamond, the real treasure of knowing Christ by saving faith and being in his kingdom.
In an unusual twist, real diamonds have lost their value as artificial lab-grown diamonds are deemed more beautiful and valuable. My wife and I found that out. We had some very small diamonds that we had for many years – tiny diamonds – but we figured they had some value. We took them to a jeweler, and after carefully looking them over, he said, “These no longer have any value, not only because they are so small, but also because they are real diamonds. Most of our diamonds now are artificially made – lab grown – and they are more beautiful and affordable than real diamonds.”
Part of growing to be a mature Christian includes training our eyes to see the fake pearls and artificial diamonds that the world puts before us. Part of maturing as a Christian means not pursuing the counterfeit treasures of this world, but pursuing the true treasure of Jesus and His Kingdom.
That’s what Moses did. Hebrews 11:25 describes how “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
David had that same spiritual vision to see through the counterfeit treasures of this world. In Psalm 84:10 he wrote, “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” A doorkeeper was similar to a janitor; it was not a position of power or prestige. But David would prefer that position over even the kingship of Israel, for he delighted in the house of the Lord, for there he learned about Christ and the kingdom of heaven which is entered only through saving faith in Christ.
Everyone who recognizes the greatness of the treasure of salvation will want to be in the house of the Lord, with brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage us as together we grow in grace and knowledge of God through the study of His Word.
Jesus put it this way: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.” (Matt. 6:21) That statement should lead us to ask, “Where is my treasure? Do I recognize citizenship in the kingdom of God as a great treasure? Or is it so familiar to me that sometimes it’s boring? Am I chasing after the counterfeit pearls and fake diamonds of this fallen world?
It causes us to ask, “Is my faith in Christ a true saving faith?” Even though we live in a post-Christian culture, many people “believe in God.” But believing that God exists doesn’t save anyone. Even believing that Jesus is truly God, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and that He came to this earth in human flesh, suffered, died and rose again for sinners, is not enough to save someone from their sins. James addresses that clearly. In James 2:19 he wrote, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”
True saving faith in Christ is not mere mental acknowledgment that Jesus existed, suffered, died, and rose again. True saving faith has three elements. There is an intellectual element, an emotional element and a volitional element to true saving faith.
First, there must be an intellectual knowledge concerning who Jesus Christ is. That is why we tell others about Jesus. Without a knowledge of who He is, and without a knowledge of who we are as sinners, there can be no salvation.
But to have an intellectual knowledge of who Christ is, is not the same as having true saving faith. There are many people who know all the biblical facts concerning Jesus Christ. They know about His birth, His life of obedience, they know that He was tempted in all ways as we are, yet never sinned. They know about His trials and His suffering. They know He was falsely accused, and yet, although innocent, He was crucified between two criminals on Mount Calvary.
But they also know that is not the end of the story. They know that He rose again from the dead, that He ascended into heaven, and will return again, not as a baby in a manger but as the judge of the living and the dead.
There are many people who have this knowledge in their head, but it never reaches their heart. It doesn’t transform their lives. There is no emotional connection in their heart. Consequently, the knowledge they have doesn’t affect their volition – that is, their will, their goals, their priorities in the brief span of this life. It doesn’t change them, because the knowledge in their head never sinks into the center of their being – their heart.
But when we have a knowledge of the Lord, not only in our head, but also in our heart, it gives us a proper emotion of love for Christ who has cleansed us. The emotional aspect of true saving faith gives us an ever-deeper love for the Father who gave us His eternal Son to be our Savior and Lord. And from the heart we have a deep appreciation and love for the Holy Spirit, who regenerates God’s people, granting us the gift of true saving faith as we are spiritually born from above.
And that emotion, springing from the knowledge of Christ’s cleansing work, affects our will, our volition; it affects the way we live our lives. We realize that we are saved by grace, through faith in Christ, and so we eagerly set out to do the good works God has before ordained for us to do.
We see that in these parables with both the man who stumbled upon the treasure in the field, and the merchant who searched for fine pearls. They both recognized that the treasure was great. There was that intellectual awareness, “This is true treasure!” And knowing the greatness of the treasure they both desired to have that treasure. They both had an emotional, heartfelt desire to attain the treasure that was put before them. And that knowledge and that desire affected their volition, their will. It became their heart’s desire – their will, their volition – to acquire the treasure they had found.
There is no greater treasure than being in the kingdom of our God, of knowing Him by saving faith who laid down His life as an atonement – a covering, propitiation – for the sins of His people.
But there is a word of caution concerning the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven here on earth includes unbelievers who will be weeded out on the Day of Judgment. Earlier in this chapter, Jesus told the parable of the weeds. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.” (Matt. 13:24-26)
His statement teaches us that the devil has planted imposters and hypocrites within the kingdom of heaven here on earth. Just as we speak about the church “visible” and “invisible”, so too the kingdom of heaven has a visible and invisible aspect. Just as not everyone who is in the visible church will be in heaven – the invisible church – so too not everyone who appears to be in the kingdom of heaven is genuine.
There are weeds within the kingdom here on earth – imposters, hypocrites, false teachers, and those who have “historical faith” – they believe Jesus truly lived, died and rose again for sinners but they do not have true saving faith in Christ alone. The knowledge in their head hasn’t reached their heart. By their lives they do not reveal true saving faith. Their will – their goals, values, and actions – have not been transformed and changed.
When Jesus returns, they will be weeded out of the kingdom, unless they turn to Christ in true saving faith. In the parable of the weeds, Jesus described how “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” (Matt. 13:27-30)
Theologians point out that the kingdom of heaven has an “already” and a future (“not yet”) aspect. It is already here on earth but it can only be entered through saving faith in Christ alone. The kingdom will be fully realized in all its perfection throughout eternity in the new heavens and the new earth.
By God’s grace and Holy Spirit’s power, may you and I be true citizens of the kingdom of heaven, not just “going through the motions” of Christianity, not being imposters or hypocrites, not having just a vague belief that Jesus, lived, suffered, died and rose again, but having true saving faith in our mind and in our heart, a true saving faith that radically changes the way we live as it affects our volition – our will – and makes our heart’s desire to live to the praise of God’s glorious grace.
Giving Up All
A second truth these parables teach is that if you know the true treasure of Christ, then you must be willing to give up all to be in his kingdom. Did you notice how in these parables both of the people sold all that they had to gain the treasure they had found?
Is that true of you? Of me? Would we give up all for the sake of knowing the treasure of Christ and His kingdom? That doesn’t necessarily mean selling everything we have. But it does mean that we get rid of all that hinders our relationship with the Lord. You simply cannot hold on to the counterfeit treasures of the world and to the true treasure of the kingdom of God. It is always one or the other. It is either-or; it is never both.
Old Testament Israel tried to have it both ways. They served the Baals and false gods of Canaan but still gave lip service to the one true God of Scripture. They were similar to the so-called “Carnal Christians” today who want the counterfeit treasures of the world and the true treasures of the kingdom of heaven at the same time.
It doesn’t work that way. When the rich young ruler came to Jesus you might recall that he left sad (Matt. 19:16-22). He left sad because although he had lived a good life – in his view he had kept all the commands of God – he wasn’t willing to part with his material wealth.
By contrast, the Apostle Paul, who had a lot to lose, gave up everything for the kingdom of heaven. He was a man of influence, a Pharisee with social standing. And he was undoubtedly well off financially. Yet he gave up everything when he was transformed by God’s grace from Saul of Tarsus to the Apostle Paul.
He gave it up because he found the true treasure of knowing Christ. And he knew that treasure was far superior to anything the world offered. As he wrote in Philippians 3:7-9: “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith…”
If you and I had to lose everything to follow Christ, would we? Because of the persecution of Christians in Iraq, Iran, and other nations like them, millions of Christians have fled to safer counties, losing all, leaving everything behind, for the sake of Christ.
Other Christians, who cannot escape to a safer country, face the persecution and martyrdom that comes because they are citizens of the heavenly kingdom. Only those who know the true treasure of Christ, through saving faith in Him, will give up all, even their lives, for Christ and the kingdom of heaven.
Kingdom Joy
A third truth these parables teach us is that when we give up all our worldly treasures for Christ, we find great joy. Verse 44 describes how the man who found the great treasure “In his joy… went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
Christians, of all people, should be filled with joy: We have the greatest treasure – and that treasure can never be taken from us. Yet how many professing Christians do we know who exhibit none of that joy?
I never knew my grandparents, but my mother told me how my grandfather had become wealthy with real estate after immigrating from Holland. He rented out multiple houses and lived in a beautiful home on a lake in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
But then he lost it all in the Great Depression. He had to move to the other side of town, to a little run-down house. He was very sad, she said. He never seemed to recover. He didn’t seem to have that joy that should mark every person who has found the true treasure of being in God’s Kingdom, for his treasure, it seemed, was on earthly wealth.
Earthly treasure cannot bring us true happiness, and all earthly treasure is so uncertain. Psalm 62:10 points out, “If riches increase, set not you heart on them.” Likewise, 1 Timothy 6:17 warns us not to “set our hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”
As Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
There is so much uncertainty with earthly treasure. But there is no uncertainty with the treasure of the kingdom that Jesus tells us about in these parables! Once we have the treasure of Christ through saving faith in Him, nothing can take that treasure from us.
Peter put it this way in 1 Peter 1:3-4: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you…”
Then he describes the hardships of life, even for people of faith. He describes how we “suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” Perhaps the trials spring from ridicule and persecution because of our faith in Christ. Or we face trials from sickness, the lost job, the strained relationship, the fight with sin, the loss of a dear loved one – that is all part of the grief and suffering of this life.
Yet, Peter goes on to write: “In this you greatly rejoice – that is, faith in Christ and our eternal inheritance in the kingdom of heaven – though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials...Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet. 1:6, 8, 9).
If you and I know the value of the kingdom of heaven, then regardless of our circumstances, we should be as joyful as the man who sold all he had for the treasure in the field. Our treasure is priceless, and our treasure is secure!
Security in Christ
Why is it secure? It is secure because from first to last our acquisition of the treasure of salvation and our entrance into the kingdom of heaven is from the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 puts it so clearly: “It is because of him – God the Father – that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’”
It is because of God’s electing love that we are in Christ, through the Holy Spirit’s convicting and regenerating work within us. And when God begins something, He always finishes it. Philippians 1:6 assures us that we can be confident of this, “That he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” In the words of R.C. Sproul, “We are secure, not because we hold tightly to Jesus, but because he holds tightly to us.”
While these parables are honest in telling us that we must surrender all to Christ, we know from the rest of Scripture that it is not we who buy the treasure of salvation. That was bought for us by the only One who could pay the price. Psalm, 49:7, 8 put it this way:
No man can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for him—
the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough –
or give to God a ransom for him—
the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough –
The only one who could pay the price is Jesus Christ. And he did pay. He paid with his life. 2 Corinthians 8:9: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” We become, by God’s grace, rich with salvation, rich with our citizenship in the kingdom of heaven.
Although some stumble into the kingdom and others seek it out with diligence, it is always of the Lord that we are in his kingdom and come to know the treasure of Christ. As we sang in that beautiful hymn on God’s electing love:
I sought the Lord and afterward I knew
He moved my soul to seek Him, seeking me.
It was not I, who found, O Savior true,
No, I was found of Thee.
Sometimes we have visitors who seem to just “happen” to visit the church. But no one is here just by “happenstance,” not even the visitors who come and observe for a service or two and then disappear. Who knows how the seed of the gospel will grow in the future? None of us know whether at some later time in their life the Holy Spirit will illuminate to them the glistening treasures of knowing Christ and being in the kingdom of heaven.
Many of us have grown up in the church, but maybe some still haven’t found the Lord of the church. Maybe some of you have seen the counterfeit pearls of the world and they look more real and glisten brighter than anything you’ve seen. Be assured from Scripture that you will find no greater treasure than Christ. You will find no greater sacrifice than the sacrifice that Jesus made for His people. You will find no greater love than that of Jesus Christ. And you will find no greater blessing than the eternal blessing of being a true citizen of the kingdom of heaven.
And you young people, don’t be like the Persian farmer, Ali Hafed. Don’t leave the church, turning from the kingdom of heaven to look for treasure in the world. The greatest treasure is here in front of you. There is no greater treasure than knowing that you are justified by faith in Christ and in His shed blood, that you belong to Him, body and soul, in life and in death, and that nothing can separate you from His love.
There is no greater treasure than knowing and believing by saving faith that Jesus lived, died, and rose again for your justification. There is no greater treasure than knowing that He has imputed – credited – His perfect, righteous obedience to you so that you stand before your triune God clothed, not in filthy rags of self-righteousness, but in the radiant robes of the righteousness of Christ!
No matter how you have come to know Christ, if you truly have saving faith in Him, you must be able to respond as Isaac Watts did, in another familiar hymn:
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were a present far too small
Love so amazing so divine
Demands my soul my life my all. Amen.
That were a present far too small
Love so amazing so divine
Demands my soul my life my all. Amen.
Bulletin outline:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field... Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls...”
Matthew 13:44...45
“Kingdom Treasure”
Matthew 13:44-46
I. These two parables teach that the entrance into the kingdom of
heaven, which is only found through saving faith in Christ, is the
greatest treasure:
1) Some don’t seek the treasure of salvation, yet find it (44;
John 4:4-26)
2) Others diligently seek before finding (45; Acts 8:26-40)
II. Regardless of how we come to Christ and into His kingdom,
we must:
1) Recognize the great value of our heavenly citizenship
(Matthew 6:19-21; Philippians 3:20-21; Hebrews 11:24-28),
given by grace through faith in Christ which affects our intellect,
emotions, and volition (44, 46; Ephesians 2:8-10)
2) Give up everything that hinders our relationship with the Lord
(44, 46; Philippians 3:7-11)
3) Delight in the joy of salvation (44; 1 Peter 1:6-9)
III. Our assurance: Our treasure is secure because of Christ
(Philippians 1:6; John 10:28)
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Ted Gray, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright, Rev. Ted Gray
Please direct any comments to the Webmaster
