Once again, our Lord uses one
word to describe the kingdom of heaven, which is eternal life,
another way of saying eternal life, the life of God in the
soul of a human being and the effect of that in the world.
In one word, in great wisdom, our Lord can say so much in so
few words. Verse 44. Again, the kingdom
of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, of which when
a man hath found, he hideth. And for joy thereof goeth and
selleth all that he hath. and buyeth that field. Treasure. Treasure. The word treasure is
both a noun and a verb. That is, it's an object and it's
an action. Our Lord in His great wisdom
chose this word which is both an object and an action. That's faith, isn't it? Faith
as an object. And faith acts. Faith without
works is dead. Treasure. This treasure can be
looked at two ways. We're going to look at it two
ways. Number one, and what our Lord is saying here, is when
a man, when a person finds the Lord Jesus Christ. I've already
told you what the treasure is. It's not that you didn't already
know, huh? Like the net, like the seed like
the leaven, like the pearl, Christ is hid in all of these things,
but revealed unto us. This treasure is when a man finds
the Lord Jesus Christ, and for great joy, great joy sails out. And then we're going to look
at it in a different way. It's when Christ finds us. and
hides us for great joy. Okay, the treasure is the truth. And you cannot separate these,
the gospel, the truth, the word of God, the Christ of God. They're
all synonymous. Christ is the truth. The gospel
is Christ. Christ is the gospel. The gospel
of God's grace. The treasure is the Lord Jesus
Christ. I said it's an object, a noun that is. Treasure is a noun. It's an object. Christ is the
treasure of God's people, and treasure is an action. They treasure
him. To treasure something is to hold
on to it. to keep it, to lay hold of it
as something very dear to you and precious to you that you
do not want to lose for anything else, for any reason. You treasure
it. To you who believe, He is precious,
a treasure, a treasure. The bride of our Lord in the
Song of Solomon said this, I found Him. She was looking for Him. She asked around about him. Has
anyone seen him? She said, I found him whom my
soul loveth. I held him, and I would not let
him go. That's what treasure means. To
treasure something. Jacob said, after the Lord found
him, Jacob said, I will not let you go. I will not. My treasure. My Lord. My life. Will you also go away? Peter
said, no way. You're our treasure. What you
have to say. What I hope we'll do in the course
of this message is ask ourselves, is the Lord Jesus Christ my treasure? Or who or what do I treasure? Because where your treasure is,
that's where your heart is. That's where your heart is. And to find the Lord Jesus Christ
is to find life. He that hath the Son hath life.
He that hath not the Son, it doesn't matter what he or she
has in this world. Whatever it is that they treasure
or have a great love for, it's not life because you're going
to lose it. You're going to lose it. Our Lord said so much about
treasure. He said, Lay not up for yourselves. treasure on earth. Go back to
the Sermon on the Mount sometime and look at how many times he
speaks of treasure. Lay not up for yourselves treasure
on earth. Where your heart, your treasure
is, that's where your heart is. That's what you'll be thinking
of. That's what you'll spend your time thinking about. That's
what you'll love. And whatever it is you love,
if you lose it, then you've lost your life. You've lost all your
joy. Whoever or whatever it is, if
it's anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ, you're going
to lose it. Treasure. All right. In verse 44, he says
this treasure, kingdom of heaven, the gospel, the truth, eternal
life is like treasure hid in a field. The gospel, the truth,
the Lord Jesus Christ himself is hidden from the wise and the
prudent. David wrote, Thou art a God which
hideth thyself. Though the things of God from
creation are clearly seen, his eternal power and Godhead is
clearly seen. Day unto day uttereth speech. Night unto night uttereth knowledge. Everything in this universe clearly
obviously shows us God is. And yet, man is blind. And Romans 1 speaks a great deal
about this, how that when they knew God, they worshipped Him
not as God. They changed the truth of God. They weren't thankful. They changed the glory of God,
and so God gave them over, blinded their minds, gave them to the
God of this world who is the great deceiver, blinding their
minds to things that are so very obvious. That is, things you
can observe clearly if you have eyes. with regard to this world
and materialism and everything in it, blind ambition and lust,
and because it believed not the truth, God even sends them strong
delusions to believe a lie. Hidden. These things are hidden.
Christ is hidden. The only way we can see Him,
the only way that we can know Him is if He reveals Himself
to us. He has hid these things from
the wise and the prudent, but revealed them unto me. My, my, thank the Lord for revealing
Christ to us. And those whom he has given eyes
to see clearly see our God in all that is made, clearly see
Christ in the pages of his Word, clearly hear his voice through
the preaching of the Word. How blessed we are. He has revealed
Himself to us and our children even. Treasure hid in a field. The world is this field. World
creation. God's Word has gone throughout
the world. Have you ever thought of this?
The Word of God has been in this world since the beginning of
time. From the Garden of Eden, the
Word came walking. And God has been speaking. God
who at sundry times in diverse manners spake. He's been speaking
to men and women through prophets, mind you, but nevertheless speaking. His Word has gone throughout
the world. Paul wrote, Had they not all
heard, yea, verily, the sound has gone throughout the world.
God has spoken once, an old day, yea, twice, but men perceive
it not. They can't hear His voice. They
can't see Him. He's hidden. The Word of God
is hidden. Man, look at this book. You and
I look at it, we've had our eyes open most in here. We've had
our eyes open to see the glory of God in the face, the person,
the work, the Word of God. And when we look at this book,
we are just amazed and astounded and filled with glory and wonder
and amazement at our great God, at His amazing word and his amazing
work and his amazing son. The heart went, just filled with
glory. And yet the world can't see it
at all. Can't see it at all. They don't
even look at this book anymore. It's just not worth their notice. But one word. The Lord could
use one word and just amaze us. Amazes. Treasure hid in the field. The
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Is that a car horn? The Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. Christ, who is the Word personified,
the Word of God, walked in this earth. He was in the world. The world was made by Him and
knew Him not. Hidden. Hidden in the field. That story in 1 Samuel 20 is
of David and Jonathan out in a field. David was hid in the field. That's what made me go read that. And Jonathan knew him. The servant didn't even know
he was there. Wonderful story. Read it. If we don't look at
it, just read it. You'll enjoy it. But the word came walking
in his field, but he was hidden. He's hidden. Though when a man
hath found, it says in verse 44, but when a man finds him,
oh, for great joy, Great joy when a man finds it. Now, you
and I weren't looking. Nobody is. God looked down from
heaven, Psalm 14 says, to see if there were any that understand. No, there's none, He said. Isaiah
59 says there's none that call us for truth. There's none that
seek Him. No, not one. And that was us.
We weren't seeking Him. We're not even looking. But God,
scripture says, says, I am found of them that sought me not. God
is the one that comes to find us, he said. The only reason
we find him is he comes looking for us and finds us and causes
us to seek him. He calls us to call on him. He finds us. Here's a good illustration
of that. The Lord found Philip. The Lord
found Philip. Philip wasn't interested at all
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Didn't know who he was. Didn't
care. Just like Simon and Andrew and James and John, they were
fishermen. They didn't care about this Jesus of Nazareth, but the
Lord cared about them. And he came looking for Philip
and he found Philip. Well, Philip went running and
told Nathaniel, said, we found him. Yeah, Philip, you had him. Not until he found you. We always
labor this point, don't we? Why is that? God must get the
glory. The truth is that we're dead
and trespassed in sin and God quickens us and causes us to
call on Him and look for Him and seek Him. Scripture says,
seek ye the Lord while He may be found. None seek it, but I
did. Why? Because He called me. Because He quickened me. Seek
ye the Lord. Seek, He said, and you shall
find. If you do not seek the Lord, you won't find Him. If
you don't call on the Lord, He won't hear you. If you don't
ask, you won't receive. If you don't knock, it won't
be open. If you don't come, you won't have life. If you don't
come to Christ, you won't have life. It's just the way it is. And it's your fault if you don't.
Explain that, preacher. Our God is sovereign, and yet
we get the blame for it. I don't have to explain it. It's
just the way it is. If you don't seek Him, you won't find Him.
If you don't call... Strong, urgent message to those
who don't know the Lord. Get in your closet and you call
on Him. I mean that. Don't wait to get in your closet. Do it right now where you're
sitting. Today is the day of salvation. Right now. Call on
the Lord while He may be found. The Lord Jesus Christ may be
found right now this morning. And it really is that urgent. Alright, when a man finds him,
he says, he hideth. He hideth. When a man finds this
treasure, he hideth this treasure. In Proverbs 2, it says this,
My son, if thou wilt receive my word, and hide my commandments
with thee. Hide means not to conceal, but
it means When you find something you've been looking for and lay
hold of it and put it in your bosom. Oh, I've been looking
for that. As something you don't want to
lose. David said, Thy Word was found and it was sweeter. He said, Thy Word have I hidden
in my heart. Mary, listening to that 12-year-old
The boy whom she thought was her son, he said these things to her and
it said she kept these things in her heart. She was amazed
by that. And kept these things in her
heart. Remembered these things. Hid them so as not to want to
lose them. That's what it means. Thy word
have I hid in my heart. Christ in you is the hope of
glory, really. If you really have found the
Lord Jesus Christ, you lay hold of Him as one you don't want
to lose. And you love Him. You need Him.
Your heart believes on Him. Rest in Him. I've got to hurry. For joy, I preached too long
last Sunday and I berated myself ever since. We started a few minutes late.
A man, when he finds the Lord Jesus Christ, he hides, he lays
hold of Him in his heart, and for joy thereof, for joy, joy
in the Lord. Joy means to have great pleasure.
Joy means to take great delight. Joy means something that gives
you great happiness. Blessed. Blessed, that means
happiness. Blessed is the man. Great pleasure. Jeremiah said this, Thy word
was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. I am called by thy
name, O Lord of hosts. Again, I turned the radio on,
and the first word out of your mouth was, Rejoice, for your
names are written in heaven. And I rejoiced. That gives me
great joy, joy in the Lord, joy like a prisoner set free, hearing
a prisoner who has heard You may go now. All charges are dropped. All your past is gone. A hungry
man. I hear there's bread. I hear
the Lord has blessed His people with bread. Like a forsaken woman,
this man will have you. He said, I do. I will. For joy
selleth all that he hath. Goeth and selleth all that he
hath and buyeth that field." This is for a person to say,
my greatest treasure is Christ. My greatest joy is His gospel.
My greatest enjoyment is hearing His Word proclaimed and worshiping
Him and fellowshipping at His table with His people, and I'm
going to buy the truth and I'm not going to sell it for anything
or anyone. I'm going to do whatever it takes
to have that gospel if it takes me If I need to sell everything
I have to ensure that Christ is preached, the one whom I feed
on, the one whom I commune with, that's what I'm going to do.
That's love. That's love. I'm going to give
everything I've got to keep this. I'm going to give everything
I've got. I don't want to lose this. I've hidden it. It's a
great treasure. God's not mocked. Whatever we
sow, that's what we'll reap. Sow to the flesh, that's what
we'll get. But what have you got? If you sow to the Spirit,
you'll reap of the Spirit. You get out of whatever it is,
what you put into it. That's what the Scriptures say. Her husband doesn't know the
Lord. Well, she supports that gospel and loves that gospel
and loves the preacher of that gospel and loves the people who
are brethren. And her husband asks, or can
be a wife, can be the one, the mate asks, why do you do that?
Why do you give your money to that little tabernacle up there
on the hill? Why do you spend your hard-earned
money for that? It's hidden from him. He just
doesn't know. She just doesn't know. She just
doesn't understand. But to that woman who's found
the Lord Jesus Christ, there's nothing on this earth more valuable. There's nothing she would rather
do than worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing. That's how you know. That's how
you know. Our Lord was standing one day watching everyone cast
into the treasury. He's still doing that. He's still doing that. He sees
everything. He's watching everyone cast into
the treasure. He must have been standing right
there watching them. And one widow came down and cast
in more than she could afford. Sacrificed. It wasn't much money,
but it was to her. She needed every mite, but she
cast in two mites. And our Lord said, everyone else,
He said, cast in of their abundance, their excess, but she is given
all. Where do you suppose that woman
is right now? Where do you suppose that poor
widow woman was who did not have much upon this earth is right
now? I'll tell you where she's at. She's sitting at the table. of the Lord Jesus Christ in splendor, in honor, in glory,
with riches untold. And all of this is just dirt
to her now. Kingdom of Heaven. Now look at
this. The Kingdom of Heaven is like and the treasure hid in
the field, which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy
thereof doeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that
field." Do you know that the Lord calls us His peculiar treasure? Listen to Psalm 135. The Lord
hath chosen Jacob for Himself, and Israel for His peculiar treasure. Why would you choose that one?
Because I did. Because this one is going to
give me more glory, more honor. The angels desire to look into
these things, and they can't understand why He would choose
not the mighty, not the noble, not the great things, but the
base, the worst, the chief, the worst rebels on earth, the ones
that are in His place. That's the ones He chooses. Jacob
have I loved. His peculiar treasure. God's
elect are peculiar people. A treasure to Him that takes
great delight in, great pleasure in, joy. It says the treasure
hid in a field. Treasure hid in a field. When
the Lord finds us, we're all out there in the field, just
like Ezekiel's child. Ezekiel 16, you know that story
of the baby, cast out into an open field to the loathing of
their person. Just like the rest of them, out
in the field. But the Lord said, when I passed
by, the time of love, and I said unto you, when you were cast
out into the field to the loathing of your person, I said, live. I've chosen you. What a peculiar treasure, huh?
Why would He choose that baby? Not because He needs it. Because
she needs Him. I'll tell you who the Lord chooses.
Not those who think He ought to choose them, but those who
think there's no way He'd choose me. Those who think I'm nothing,
I'm nobody. That's who He chooses. It's a
woman who It's all used up, the harlot, that the great husband
finds, like Hosea, and pays dearly for such a worthless woman. And
when it's all over, she knows, he didn't choose me for my beauty.
He didn't choose me for my money. He didn't choose me for anything
he could get out of me. He just chose me. Do you know what he's going to
do? I couldn't hold this back. I was going to save this for
later. I can't hold this back. He's going to present that used
up, forlorn woman whom every man has seen has so used up,
and one day going to present her as a virgin. A chaste virgin. And the rest of those moral women
that think they're something are going to be cast out. That's a peculiar treasure. Those
whom he chooses as his treasure, boy, they treasure him. They
treasure this gospel. Oh, my. When he finds them, he
hideth. When he finds this treasure,
he hides them. I've never looked at this like
this. I don't know why. But so clearly, isn't it, the
Lord Jesus Christ finding those whom He calls His treasure and
hides us. You're dead and your life is
hid with Christ in God. Oh my, hide me, oh my Savior,
hide me. Your life is hid with God in
Christ. A man shall be a hiding place, Scripture says. David
said in Psalm 27, some of your favorite Psalms, In the secret
of thy tabernacle shall He hide me. And who for joy, when He
finds His people, He hideth them. Your life is hid. Your sins are
hidden. Your sins are covered. You're
found in Christ. And who for joy, the Scripture
says, who for joy, the joy that was set before Him, gave the
Lord great joy to make you His people. who for joy went to the
cross, endured the cross, despised the shame, thought nothing of
it, and purchased this treasure. Verse 44 says, sold all that
he had. He sold all that he had to buy
this treasure, this peculiar treasure. Isn't that what our
Lord did? He who was rich. Yet for our sakes became poor,
that we, through his poverty, might be made rich." Well, that's
love. Greater love had no man than
this man. Joy. And he sold all that he
had. He gave himself for it. Love so amazing, so divine, demands
my all, doesn't it? My soul, my all. And he says
he bought the field too. The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof. It belongs to him by gift. God hath given him all things.
It belongs to him by purchase. To this end, Christ both died
and arose and revived that he might be Lord of the dead and
the living. He owns it all. All souls are mine, he said.
He bought the field. It belongs to him. The earth
is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. the world and the earth
and the inhabitants thereof. And it's all for your sake, for
his treasure. He uses it all for his people
who are in the world. That's right. It all still revolves
according to his purpose and exists for his people's sake. And he's still got some treasure
he's finding. He's still got some people out
there hidden. We don't know who it is. He does.
He does. And there's some particles still
left out there. Aren't you glad? This gospel
is still being preached. Isn't that wonderful? Treasure. Treasure. And I haven't
even come close to touching that. Treasure.