Only a believer can truly sing that. They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true, and we have found Him to be. True to His Word in all things. Thankful for that, for Him. He promised to meet with us, or two or three of us, as long as there's one more than the preacher, the Lord is there. If I'm just preaching out in the forest, He may or may not bless that. But He communes with us, and He's promised that, and He's been faithful to that, I believe. I believe that. I believe with all my heart that the Lord Jesus Christ is with us this morning, just as surely as I can see you sitting there.

He's just as real. And just like we could say, you know, sometimes, you know, somebody that's not here will ask me who all was there, you know, or whatever. And I'll say, well, you know, Vicki was there. She usually hangs in there with me. But no, all of y'all who are so faithful.

But I believe we can look back and say the Lord was there too. And it's what a blessing and privilege that is. I'm thankful for his promises. Promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. Let's look in Matthew chapter 13 this morning again. Verse 44, Matthew 13,

44. Again, our Lord has been teaching in these parables and he's doing so again.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, the which, when a man hath found, he haddeth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found the pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had. and bought it. Now we'll look mainly at just verse 44 this morning. This is so rich with teaching and so clearly shows how precious our Savior is to his sheeb.

And when our Lord explained the parable of the good seed, the reason we sort of skipped around in this chapter is because the Lord told us the parable of the good seed and then told several parables before his disciples asked him to tell us the parable of the seed. And he did. And so we looked at both of those places. And then now in between, he's told these other parables.

But when he told him the parable of the good seed and how the farmer, the husbandman, sowed good seed in his field, and the wicked came along and sowed tares, of course, the Lord is the first cause of everything. If tares were sowed in his field, it was by his wit, ultimately. But they were, and they were sowed by the devil, he said. But he explained every aspect of that parable, didn't he? Here's who the sower is, here's what the seed is, here's what the field is, here's what the tares are, and here's what's going to happen in the end of all this.

Every aspect of it had meaning, and so we know that whenever our Lord told these other parables, that that's true too. We don't always have it recorded in the scripture where he explained those elements to his disciples, but we know because of how he dealt with that parable that there are same The same aspects of all the aspects of that parable means something they teach us a spiritual truth by giving us a earthly picture that we can understand and the Lord reveals as it pleases him to those who have ears to hear and Eyes to see and he said if you do you're blessed not better blessed Then he makes that plain, he reveals the meaning of it. And he said, he that soweth the good seed is the son of man, the good seed are the children of the kingdom, the tares are the children of the wicked one. And we know who that is.

In John 8, 44, he told the Pharisees, you're of your father, the devil. They were the children of the wicked one and not just the Pharisees, but the Sadducees and all the religious who the Lord said you will not come to me that you might have life. It's all those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ for their own traditions, for their own doctrinal beliefs, for their own sense of fairness and all the foolish fools go that men sell the Son of God for. And all who lack them that trust in themselves that they are righteous and will not submit themselves unto the righteousness of God in Christ. They're the children of the wicked when the enemy that sowed them is the devil. By the Lord's purpose, by the Lord's, he allows the devil to, look what he did to Job. The Lord said, here's how far you can go. And he took it all the way to that point, didn't he?

So let's look at this parable in the same light, that every aspect of this, we have in our parable a field. So let's take it one element at a time. We have a field in the parable. Well, we don't have to wonder what that is. He just told us in the parable of the field in verse 38, he said, the field is the world. So he's not switching things up on us here. We know that the field is the world. It's a, or a portion of this world, your area of the world.

Whatever, but it's the world and And he's also referred to a treasure and in the context he's also spoken of a treasure So we don't have to wonder what he means by that In chapter 6 of Matthew. He said lay not up for yourselves treasure on earth Where moth and rust corrupt and thieves break through and steal but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. If your treasure and your exceeding great reward and your inheritance is the Lord Jesus Christ, then your heart is going to be with Christ. If it's with this world, then your heart's going to be in this world.

So we don't have to wonder what that's all about. He said, seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you. The kingdom of God and the treasure that we lay up are the same thing here in our text. The kingdom of God, he said in verse 44, is like unto a treasure. So the kingdom of God is the treasure, and to us, the kingdom of God is the king.

And our submission to him, our obedience to him, our allegiance to him, our service unto him, We are answerable to our King. He is the treasure. He's the one that we look to. He's the one we depend upon. He's the one that provides. He's the one that protects. He's the one that rules over us.

He's the one that defeats all of our enemies. In every sense of the word, perfect King, He is that to us, the kingdom of God. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and everything else will just be added. Because those who seek and love God, He's our King.

He provides. He'll add it. He'll add it to you. We lay up here, as the text says, and Christ is to us the Kingdom. The Kingdom consists of a King and His people, and being the people, the Kingdom to us is the King. The decree and constitution of the Kingdom is the Gospel. The good news, we come together and to hear of him and how that God can be just and justify sinners like us.

We see in the text that the treasure is hidden. In what sense is the kingdom hidden in this world? And notice that, and I don't think this is in my notes, so let's think about this for a second. He didn't buy a field. He bought a treasure. When he found that the treasure was in the field, he bought the field. Otherwise, he didn't want a field. Nobody bought that field until somebody discovered the treasure.

And then, it's Katy Bar the door. It's everything I have. I got to have it. So the Lord is in this world And he is the treasure hidden in the field. But let's talk about in what sense. Didn't Paul say in Acts 26, 26, For the king Agrippa knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely, for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him. For this thing was not done in a corner. So in what sense is it hidden? It's not hidden in the sense that it's a secret as far as the gospel is preached openly and freely in this world.

Everybody that'll listen, come listen. There's a Bible in just about every home somewhere in there. I guess at least there was in maybe a couple of generations ago. But doesn't God have witnesses in this world and openly declare the message of Christ? We're not hiding the gospel. We speak boldly and freely. And to all who will hear.

All of those things are true, but there are at least two senses in which the treasure is hidden. In this world, the treasure was hidden, a field, our Lord came into this world. And was made of a woman. He was a man like any other man. There was no beauty about him that we should desire him. You know, they picture, they paint him with like a halo of light around his head. There was none of that. Nobody could distinguish him from anybody else, just physically speaking.

They said, in fact, is this not Joseph's son when he portrayed openly before them attributes that only God has? They said, isn't this Joseph's son? Isn't this the carpenter's son, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say that he came down from heaven, even when he told them that I'm the only one, that there's none like me? They said, isn't he just like everybody else?

He was hidden. If our gospel is hid, Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4, 3, it is hid to them that are lost. Those to whom the Lord is not revealed, who don't have eyes to see, who don't have ears to hear, and the scripture clearly says, the hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them. So if you have them, the Lord gave them to you. But if our gospel is hid, it's hid to them that are lost. And here's part of that, in whom the God of this world, little G, hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.

There, as we're told elsewhere in scripture, they are puppets of Satan. You're of your father, the devil, and the works of your father you will do. It's not up to you. You're going to do them. You're going to be evil. You're going to be anti-Christ because you're of your father, the devil. The devil sowed the tares. by the Lord's direction and permission, if you prefer to say that way. Some people say the Lord doesn't permit things, but I think you'll find in the scripture that he does. The wrath of men praises the Lord and the remainder of wrath he restrains.

He withholds that power and he permits at times. So you could argue over words all day, but the Lord does not commit evil, but he certainly permits it. in his world. He manipulates it and uses it. It's all in his purpose. Is there evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it? It doesn't mean that he committed the evil, but he did it. He caused it. He purposed it.

But in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them. They can't see the light of Christ because their minds are blinded. And that explains it, doesn't it? They're blind as a bat. If God hasn't revealed himself to you in his Son, he's the image of God shining unto those who believe. If God hasn't given you faith to believe in him, then you are a blind man.

If you're playing hide and seek with a blind man, you don't have to go that far to hide something from a blind man. It's real easy and it's all hidden, but he's in plain sight to all those that have eyes to see. He's hidden in plain sight. To you it is given to know, but to them it is not given. Blessed are your eyes, for they see. Theirs do not see. They're blind.

And all that while that they're talking about their free will and naming their churches free will and boasting of their free will, Satan hath made them captives at his will and blinded them as blind as bats with regard to anything. Concerning the kingdom of God 1st Corinthians chapter 2 we can't see unless he reveals it to us No man can see no man can come no man can believe Unless it's given Our Lord prayed in Matthew 11 25.

I thank thee O Father that Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid, this is a sense in which Christ is hidden in this world. You've hid these things from the wise and prudent, the ones who, by all accounts, might be the most supplied and outfitted and able to see. But they're blind because of God has hidden these things from them and has revealed them unto babes. And we know why he did that, that no flesh should glory in his presence.

What a privilege though to be a blind man. You remember what the Lord said to the Pharisees who mocked the blind man and excommunicated the blind man, but the Lord found him and revealed who he was to him. Remember what he said to the Pharisees? If you were blind, you'd have no sin. Because the Lord gives sight to the blind. He gives sight to the blind. You've hid these things and revealed them to babes, the utterly dependent.

If a baby is going to receive anything life-giving, it's going to have to be given to him. He's not going to find it on his own. He has no capacity whatsoever. to do so. Not physically, not mentally, not in any way is he able to take care of himself. But we're completing our Savior. And in this world, there are some who, by God's grace, have discovered the treasure.

Those to whom he is revealed When John the Baptist in John chapter 1 pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ, he said, behold, look, look at him, see him, check it, look over there, look, there's God's lamb that takes sin away. He saw him and he said, you look at him, look at him, look and live.

One of the people who heard him say that was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. And you remember what he said after he had followed the Lord for a little while. He heard John and what he said, and he looked and beheld the Lamb. And we know that he saw him because what he said, he went and found, the scripture said, his own brother Simon and said to him, we found the Messiah. He was hid before, but we found him, which is being interpreted the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus.

And when Jesus beheld him, he said, thou art Simon, the son of Jonah, and thou shalt be called Cephas, which by interpretation is a stone. The Lord named him, you know, usually when you introduce somebody for the first time, you know, Andrew would have said, you know, this is Simon, this is my brother Simon. But when he introduced Simon to the Lord, the Lord said, you're Simon. How gracious he is to call us by name. He knows us before we even know anything. Then he told Peter who he was, and who he, the Lord, was.

The woman at the well, after meeting the Lord Jesus Christ, and he spoke with her at the well, listen to what she said. And this is so gorgeous, because the Lord is hidden in this world. There are many, many, many, more so it seems from Scripture, than those who see him. There are many who will live and die in this world and never ever catch a glimpse of God's son. But he spoke with her at the well and then she ran into the city after he left and said, come see a man which told me all things ever I did. Is not this the Christ?

At first, He was just a Jew that shouldn't have anything to do with her, a Samaritan. It was probably an annoyance to her. He asked her to get him some water out of that well. But when he began to reveal himself to her, he said, if you had any idea who I was, you would ask me for water. And I love this next part. I'd give it to you.

That's our Savior. That's our Savior. He reveals Himself, though hidden by our blindness, our sinfulness, our utter rejection of Him by nature. We despise God's Son. If you want to see what our will is, look to the cross. Because Pilate delivered the Son of God unto the will of the people, and they spat on Him, and they whipped Him, and they punched Him in the face. And they caused him to bleed from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, and mocked him as he bled out. But oh, the thief on his right hand found him, didn't he? He found him.

Hidden to this world, despised and rejected in this world. she found the christ though in john 4 29 we have that she found the treasure the hidden treasure the song of solomon 3 1 listen to this and we'll stop for now by night on my bed i sought him whom my soul loveth i sought him but i found him not I will rise now and go about the city and the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth. I saw him there, but I found him not. The watchman that go about the city found me, to whom I said, saw ye him whom my soul loveth? The watchman, the Lord sent his watchman and found her. He found her by those means, by the watchman. And she said to him, have you seen him that my soul loves? And it was but a little while that I passed from them. But I found him who my soul love.

Oh, that we may find him this morning. More fully and more deeply than we ever have. And she said, I held him and I wouldn't let him go. I would not let him go. That's the testimony of all who find him. You've got to have him once you find him. I brought him to my mother's house and into the chamber of her that conceived me.

And those to whom the Lord reveals himself must have him. By his grace, we seek him wherever we go. and he'll send a watchman, won't he? He'll use one of his elect to bless one of his other elect, and then not long, it won't be long, he doesn't hide himself for long from his people, but he will. He'll cause us to not take his presence for granted, won't he? We will experience that in this world that causes us not to take his presence for granted.

Remember when it says the disciples constrained him, he made as if he would go. And they said, Lord, don't go. He does that to cause us to say, Lord, don't go. Don't go. And we lay hold of him and we say, I can't let you go. What a wonderful Savior. Let's pray.