Sermon Title: True Treasure

True Treasure (11.19.17) 1

Sermon title: True Treasure

First Reading Matthew 13:44-46

44 “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.

Second Reading Luke 12:13-21

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” True Treasure (11.19.17) 2

I. If your house was on fire and you only had time to take a few items what would you grab as you ran out the door? A man named Foster Huntington asked himself and a few of his friends this question.

a. On May 10, 2011 he launched a blog with ten photos and descriptions. It became a huge success with all sorts of people submitting photos and descriptions. He was not satisfied there, however. He though how would people who do not look at a blogs respond? So he set out and interviewed, and got pictures from, people spanning 80 years and 6 different continents and put them into a book entitled "The Burning House: what you take?"

b. Here are a couple of examples. Brenda Bell is a 60 year old homemaker from Arizona. She photographed her dog and treats for him, her husband Larry and treats for him, Peanut butter, crackers, peanuts, candy, gum, a spork, hand warmers, wool hat, lots of cash and change, emergency first aid kit, zip lock bags, and matches. Brody is a 6 year old form New Hampshire who says his occupation is being a kid, nice work if you can get it. His list is, Wedgehead, Garfield cup, Lego helicopter, Bumblebee Transformer, Chip, yellow belt, piggybank, wallet, weaving, and a Lego Camera that wasn't in the picture because he used it to take the photo. Finally, Alejandro Sosa is a 36 year old technology consultant from Venezuela. He sent in a picture of his daughter and wrote, "Everything is recoverable, except my daughter." I think the reason we love this stuff is because we get a glimpse of a person's personality. We get a glimpse of what he or she treasures most in this world.

c. This morning we are continuing our series entitled "Give Thanks" by considering how we can give thanks to God for the treasures He has given us. And yes this means it is time for the dreaded stewardship sermon! Rather than feeling like a shakedown for protection money, however, I thought it would be helpful to reflect on true treasure. Specifically, where do our treasures come from, what is true treasure, and how does that treasure transform our lives?

d. In our readings this morning we have two short parables from Matthew's gospel and another from Luke's. In these parables, Jesus presents people with very different understandings of the where, what, and how of treasure. For the rest of our time we will consider this contrast to discern God's heart in relationship to our treasures. Our answers start with the letter 'A' to help us all with memory.

II. In starting with the question where do our treasures come from, we will discover why we ought to be appreciative, our first 'a,' rather than entitled.

a. Now we are in church. A few moments ago we sang "Praise (who?) from all blessings flow?" "Praise God," right! We know the 'church correct' answer to the question where do our blessings come from. The real question is why should the realization that all our blessings come from God lead to an attitude of appreciation rather than entitlement?

b. Let's first consider the parable of the rich fool found in Luke's gospel. In verse 17 the rich fool responds to a bountiful harvest by thinking, "What shall I do, I have no place to store my crops." There is something missing in this response to an abundant harvest. Do not get True Treasure (11.19.17) 3

me wrong, farmers work very, very hard. However, they do not make the crops grow. A farmer could do all the right things and not get an abundant harvest. This man gets an abundant harvest and rather than being appreciative he is almost complaining about it, or perhaps feels entitled to it.

c. It is almost like a church complaining about not having enough room in the parking lot. Imagine if we complained about having so many people at Trunk-or-Treat that we ran out of doughnuts, hot coco, and candy. So we decided let's just not do it again, that's too much work! Obviously the farmer needed to consider what to do with the abundant harvest, a church needs to take care of parking problems, and we need to prepare differently for Trunk-or-Treat. The problem lies in the rich fool thinking he was entitled to an abundant harvest because he earned it out of his own epic-ness. When we look to the Lord for true treasure there are things we have to do, Trunk-or-Treat will not put itself together for example, however, we recognize that all good gifts come from God and we appreciate Him.

III. When we look to God for true treasure, we are appreciative. Taking our eyes off of God as our source of true treasure tempts us to get stuck in the trap of thinking that all we need is a little more. If I had just a little more money, a little more stuff, the list could go on, then I would appreciate it.

a. The reality is more does not equal happiness or appreciation. This bears itself out in our experience. Dr. Jordan Peterson is a Canadian Psychologist. When talking about the prevalent psychological problems we face in North America he cites some very clear research. It shows that once people have enough money to keep the creditors at bay, the amount of money you make has no bearing on your happiness. This is why before Jesus tells the parable in Luke He says, "life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

b. Consider how different the responses are in the short parables in Matthew's gospel. In Matthew the treasures were found as gifts, not their own effort. The man who found the treasure in the field didn't try to haggle. He didn't try to keep some of his current possessions and the treasure, the treasure was enough. The merchant didn't complain about not finding the pearl sooner, he didn't think "well maybe there's something better out there." Rather than complaining or feeling entitled they are excited, and appreciative!

c. The treasure, and pearl are so valuable that they are enough. They are satisfied and appreciative for what they have found. So much so that they are willing to give up everything to obtain them. Wouldn't it be amazing to find something so incredible, satisfying, something that fills us with such deep joy that we are willing to give up everything in pursuit of it? In these short parables we find that appreciation, deep abiding joy, is not found it how much treasure we have. It is found it what we treasure most.

IV. This leads us to our next question, what is the true treasure that God wants us to seek? When we know what to look for we find abundance, our second 'a,' instead of scarcity. True Treasure (11.19.17) 4

a. Consider the rich man in Luke 12. He found his treasure in amassing material wealth. In this parable before we find out what happens we learn that the man is already rich. So not only is he unappreciative, his focus is on scarcity rather than abundance, even during an abundant harvest. His response to an abundant harvest is to tear down his barns, which were more than adequate to supply his needs because Jesus starts by telling us he is rich, and build bigger better ones. For this guy enough is never enough. We will never find true treasure when we focus on scarcity rather than abundance.

b. Jim Carry once said, "I wish everyone could get rich and famous and have everything they have ever dreamed of so they would know that's not the answer." Some of us may be thinking, I would love to volunteer for that experiment. However, if what we treasure, what we really, want, always leaves us wanting more, rather than having abundant joy, perhaps we are treasuring the wrong thing. Think about all the things we consume but don't satisfy.

c. The treasure and pearl in Matthew's gospel gave the people who found them abundant joy. Jesus tells us that the treasure and the pearl symbolize the kingdom of heaven. So what is the kingdom of heaven? It is not just where we go to when we die. As Jesus said when He began preaching, the kingdom of heaven has come near, in His coming to us. The treasure of the kingdom of heaven is that we can have the abundant joy of enjoying fellowship with our creator and His people. When we treasure the kingdom of heaven we focus on abundance because we are redeemed, past sins are forgiven, relationship with God the creator of the universe is restored. What more could we possibly want?

V. How does finding our treasure in the kingdom of heaven change how we live? It causes us to actively, our final 'a,' peruse it rather than being complacent.

a. In Luke, the life goal of the rich fool was to have "plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” Really, that's it, that's the most we can hope for in life? I have never seen a U-hall following a hearse. When I meet with people who are facing death, they never say, I wish I would amassed more money, I wish I would have bought more fancy things, I wish I could have made my life easier. They do say, I wish I spent more time with my family, I wish I would have given more to make a difference. Treasuring material wealth will cause us to never be satisfied, because we will always want more, but become complacent.

b. When we treasure the kingdom of heaven, we experience the exact opposite. We will always be satisfied with the love, grace, and joy we find in relationship with our Father in Heaven and His people. However, we will never be complacent. Instead we will actively seek the kingdom of heaven coming to us and through us.

c. It comes to us through worship, reading His Holy Word, prayer, bible study, covenant groups and the like. Opportunities to open our hearts and lives to the Holy Spirit's power. It comes through us when doing family promise with love, doing everything in our power for the families to feel welcome and at home. When we were discerning the name of Kingdom Sports Camp we wanted to make it clear that in it we want to create space for God's True Treasure (11.19.17) 5

kingdom to come through us. With Alpha, we are not just ordering pizza's to feed our guests. We are making home cooked meals so the folks who come know they are welcome.

VI. As we prayerfully consider how God is calling us to support the ministries of this church finically let's think about a fire. Not one destroying our house so we can only grab a few items while running out. Instead the fire that the Holy Spirit sets in our hearts when we truly treasure the kingdom of heaven above all else. Truly treasuring God's redeeming and life transforming love with an attitude of appreciation. Living in the abundant joy of fellowship with our Father in heaven and His people. An abundant joy that satisfies our deepest desires but does not lead to complacence. An abundant joy that leads to actively perusing the kingdom of heaven coming to us and through us!

VII. Let us pray: Lord send Your Holy Spirit so that our greatest treasure is the kingdom of heaven, amen.

VIII. If you feel lead, please fill out the commitment card found in your bulletin and bring it up during the final hymn and put it in one of these baskets as an act of surrendering to God.

IX. Receive this blessing and benediction: Let us go forth treasuring the kingdom of heaven as it comes to us and through us!