The lesson this morning is from
Matthew 13. The subject primarily is the
householder's treasure. The householder's treasure. Matthew
13, verse 52. Now this is after the parables.
After he declared the three parables concerning the kingdom of God,
instructed them in the kingdom of God, Then he said unto them,
Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom
of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which
bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old." Now if I
understand what the Lord is saying in this verse, He is talking
about the revelation of Christ in us. He's talking about the
creation of personal faith, that by which we live. He's talking
about a new creation within us. He's talking about the true scribe,
that man who has the understanding of God. And he's talking here
about a person who's been taught of God. And he calls him a householder. Now listen to how the apostle
describes this work in Ephesians chapter 2. In Ephesians 2 verse
19, he said, Now therefore, he reminded those believers at Ephesus
that they were Gentiles. They were not of Israel. They
were without God. They were without the covenants.
They were without all of those things. They were outcasts. God didn't mention anything about
Gentiles just on rare occasions through the Old Testament. All
His blessings was to Israel. All the prophets came from Israel.
The types, the priesthood, the sacrifices, all those things
concerned Israel. When they went into the Promised
Land, He took that land from the Gentiles and gave it to Israel. And He reminds them of this,
but He said that By the death of Christ, by the work of Christ,
these Gentiles were made fellow heirs. And listen to what he
says here. Now, therefore, ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints,
now listen, and of the household of faith. Their household. They
are householders. God made them householders. They
are not strangers staying in the house. They are householders.
In Galatians 6, verse 10, He tells us, as we have therefore
opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them
who are the household of faith. Believers are householders of
faith. They are sons and heirs of the
kingdom of God. He's not one from without. This is what the Lord is. He's
instructing these ones that He's ordained to send out and preach
to men. He's instructing them. And He's
telling them this, you're not one from without trying to describe
something that you don't know anything about. You're not one
who has no personal interest in this thing, speculating about
something you don't have. You're a householder. You are
a householder. How did He come to have this
house? Well, the Holy Spirit tells us over in I Corinthians
3, verse 9, you are God's building. You are God's building. He built
the house. If you had the house, if you
are a householder, God built the house. That's how it came
to be. We weren't born with a house.
We were born condemned. But God made us householders.
We're God's house. You're God's building. That's
what Paul said. God purposed for you to have
it. God designed it especially for you and he ordained the means
to build it. And referring to his office then
as an apostle and a writer of the scriptures and as a preacher
and missionary, Paul said this about God's house over in 1 Corinthians
3. He said, according to the grace
of God which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have
laid the foundation, and another buildeth thou. But let every
man take heed how he builds. For other foundation can no man
lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. And then
again in Hebrews chapter 3, In verse 4, he tells us this about
this house. We're talking about how this
house came to be, what this house is, what he's telling us is about
a householder. Well, he said, every house is
built by some man, but he that built all things is God. And
Moses verily was faithful in all his house. That is, that
house that God gave him. He was a prophet. He was a leader of the nation
of Israel. And he led them out of Egypt,
led them out of captivity, led them through that wilderness
of sin. And he was faithful in all his
house as a servant for a testimony of those things which were to
be spoken after. But Christ as a Son over His
own house. Now listen. Whose house are we? Whose house are we if we hold
fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end? So I know within reasonable explanation
that this is talking about a man's house of faith. That's what this
subject is here. He said a householder, a householder. Now this householder is one which
our Lord tells us in Matthew 13, verse 52, is instructed unto
the kingdom of God. He didn't know anything about
it. He wasn't born with any knowledge. He didn't just learn this from
looking around at creation. He didn't make up some religious
fantasy. He didn't draw this thing out
of the broken cistern of man's nature or dip it out of the well
of his fallen nature. God instructed him. That's how
he come to have this house. God instructed him. God did. That's hard to fathom, isn't
it? You pretend like you don't know
anything at all about the grace of God and take that statement
and just consider it for a minute. God taught him. You say, who
does he think he is? What do you mean God taught you? You mean He taught you, He didn't
teach me? That's exactly what I mean. And
that's exactly what this is saying. God instructed him. In John 6,
verse 45, those Jews murmured, because he said he was the bread
that came down from heaven. This is the spiritual food. This
is the foundation and the object of faith, this bread. Christ
said, I'm the bread. And they began to murmur. And
he told them not to murmur. Don't murmur. And then listen
to what he tells them down in verse 45, John 6, 45. They shall
all be taught of God. Who is going to teach them? God
is. Every man, therefore, that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father. Now, there is a learning
that you go through when I stand up here to preach to you, and
we will get into that in a minute. There is a learning that you
go through when you read the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit
of God opens those things to you. But apart from God, God
teaching, Through those means that He's ordained, there's not
going to be any learning and there's not going to be any house.
They shall all be taught of God. Every man, therefore, that has
heard and has learned of the Father cometh to Christ. He cometh unto me. All right? How does He teach men? Does He
teach them by dreams and visions? Does He teach men by feelings
or supernatural experiences? Does it just pop into their head
one day? They're just walking down the
street and all of a sudden, pow, it just pops in their head and
now they know it. Know something they never knew before. How does
God instruct these householders? Listen to what Paul says here
in 1 Corinthians 2. If you go back and read 1 Corinthians
1, he is going to tell you about the means. Please God, through
the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. But
now we are here in chapter 2. He said, When I came unto you,
I came not with excellency of speech or wisdom of men, declaring
unto you the gospel. But he said, rather, he said,
I declared it to you in plain language, just plain language,
and in demonstration of the Spirit and power. And he gets down to
verse 7, and he tells us, but we speak the wisdom of God in
a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the
world under our glory, which none of the princes of this world
knew. For had they have known it, they wouldn't have crucified
the Lord of glory. But as it is written, eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man the things that God hath prepared for them that love him.
But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." Now I read
all four of these verses to you so you could see that Verse 10
here where He is talking about the Spirit searcheth all things,
yea, the deep things of God. God hath revealed Him unto us
by His Spirit. I read all four of these verses
to you so you could see that verse 10 is not talking about
the Holy Spirit working apart from the means that God has ordained. Rather, He worked through the
plain preaching of the Gospel of Christ. Paul spoke the gospel in the
language of the people. The Holy Spirit revealed it in
the hearts of chosen sinners. Look down at verse 12 of that
same chapter. He said, now we have received
not the spirit of the world. That's small s. What that means
is the teaching of the Holy Spirit. We've not received the spirit
of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might
know the things that are freely given to us of God. Now listen. which things also we speak."
Paul didn't sit in silence. I've told you this before, taking
Kathy down to get her treatments. We used to go through plain dealing,
and when we straightened out and headed for Bossier City down
that way, there's kind of a hump. You go down this little valley,
and you come up on top of the hill, and there was a guy over
there sitting on the hood of his car, and he was just holding
the Bible out. Well, Paul didn't do that. He didn't stand in the
synagogue and just hold his Bible out and wait on the Holy Spirit
to reveal things to men. He spoke. He spoke. That's what this Scripture is
saying, which things we speak, not in words which man's wisdom
teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual
things with spiritual, opening up these things to you. And what seals a man's doom in
this world is not so much his sins as it is his rejection of
the ways and means of God to save sinners. He turns his back
on these things. He rejects these things. He refuses
to take advantage of these things. He finds other things more important. He finds other things to do. He treats these things as common
and ordinary. He treats these things as options. Options. So he tells us in verse
14, after all those explanations, he says, but the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. He won't have
it. He won't have it. He won't advantage himself of
it. You know, somebody told Winston
one day, he said, well, according to you, there's nothing I can
do anyway. He said, no, wait a minute. He said, I didn't say
that. He said, I said to you there wasn't anything you could
do to earn your salvation. There's lots that you can do.
And one thing you can do is attend the preaching of the Gospel.
You can do that. And if you don't, you'll be damned. That's just so. The natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. Why? There's foolishness
to it. That's foolishness. You mean
to tell me I've got to drive clear over somewhere to hear
the gospel preach? That's exactly what I'm telling
you. That's exactly what I'm telling
you. You're not going to be saved on your back porch studying creation. You're going to be saved when
God tells you the truth. And the way He tells men the
truth is through a preacher. The way He gets it from my heart
to yours is by the Holy Spirit of God. He'll take what I'm saying,
and the thing that differentiates what I preach from what lots
of men preach is the power and presence of God. He opens those
things into the hearts of men. And He makes Himself known. A man will take a dream or a
vision. He'll take a feeling. If another
comes in his own name, he'll hear it. He'll hear it. If he
comes in the name of humanity, he'll hear him. If he comes in
the name of morality, he'll hear him. If he comes in the name
of charity, he'll hear him. If he comes in the name of politics,
he'll hear him. But he said, I came in my Father's
name. And you won't have it. You won't
have it. But that man instructed of God,
they won't have. A scribe, in the truest sense
of the word, is a man instructed of God. He's taught of God. And
that man is a householder. He lives in the house that he
preaches. He lives in the house where he
walks. He's a householder. He's in the
house. He knows the house. And then notice this, Matthew
13, verse 52. It says, this scribe, who is
instructed of God, who is a householder, brings forth out of his treasure my soul. He is not trying to
get you to make decisions. He is not trying to straighten
you out on your doctrine. He is not trying to get you to
make a pledge or join an organization or turn over a new leaf. He goes
in the treasure room. of the house he lives in, and
he gets an arm load of treasure, his treasure, treasure given
to him of God, and he holds it up and says, look, look, look
at this, look at that. You know, I'm a builder. I've built houses for a living,
built commercial buildings and things. You know the houses that
I really loved, you know how I The reason why I go here and
duplicate that, you know why? Because I've been in the house,
and I've seen what makes up the house, and I love it. It's practical. It's beautiful. It's appealing. It's comfortable. And I say to
myself, men are going to want this, so I go build another one
just like it. That's what he's talking about
here, the householder, the man In whose house God built, there's
treasure in there, heavenly treasure, divine treasure. And he goes
in there and he gets an arm load of it up. And he brings it out
and he says, look, look at this, look at this. That's what preaching
is. That's what our Lord is telling
His disciples. Paul told the Corinthians in
II Corinthians 4-6 that the same God who commanded the light to
shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. What did he say next? But we
have this treasure, ain't that what he said? In earthen vessels. And the reason we do The reason
we do is that the excellency of the power might be of God
and not us. It's my treasure, but God gave
it to me. He gave it to me. In Him, Paul
told the Colossians, are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
glory. Folks ask me from time to time,
how in the world did you come to this or that interpretation
of that verse? Come to see that. And here's
what I tell them. I arrived at it through my own
experience of grace. I live in the house. It's my
house. I'd been down here probably for
about six months or so. Larry and Carol Brown bought
my house and we went up and they graciously offered Kathy and
I to stay there. And when everybody went to bed,
Carol would come in Of course, you all know I have sleep in
a chair. So she came in making preparations for me to sleep
in that chair. And she said, now, if you have to go to the
bathroom, it's right around the corner there in the hallway.
And the switch is over here on the wall. And here's the kitchen
over here if you need some coffee. And then all of a sudden, it
dawned on her. She said, you built this house, didn't you? I said, yeah, I know wherever
board is. I know wherever chunk of insulation is. I know wherever
wire and pipe is. I know where all the rooms are.
It was my house. My house. You see what I'm saying?
This is what the Lord is saying. And when I say things like, you
can't tell what you don't know anymore, you can't come back
from somewhere, that's what I'm talking about. And that's what
the Lord is telling them. The house I live in is my house. It was freely given to me of
God and it's filled with heavenly treasure. Treasure I can access. I can access it. He don't open it up. He said,
blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear.
Everybody can't access this treasure. You have to be a householder. Treasure I can bring forth. Treasure
I can hold up in evidence and inward work of grace. Things
hidden from the eyes of men. Wonderful things, divine things,
mysterious things, heavenly treasures. And then he tells us also that
these treasures consist of old and new things. Isn't that what
he says there in verse 52? Old and new things. Old things. Things before the foundation
of the world. I'll never forget the first time
I ever read that phrase in the Scripture. It just dumbfounded
me. I never heard anybody even talk
about that. Things before the foundation of the world. Before
there was an earth or a sky or an environment or anything, before
there was anything, there was God. God. And God ordained things. Things
of old. Old things. Things before the
foundation of the world. An everlasting covenant of grace. David said, although my house
be not so with him, yet hath he made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure. And you know what he
said about that? This is all my salvation and
all my desire. An everlasting covenant of grace,
divine election, predestination, the appointment of a mediator
and assurity, old things like the fall of man in the garden,
The promise of the woman's seed, the demonstration and declaration
of faith, the destruction of the world. Old things like the
priesthood, the law and the prophets, the promise of a coming Redeemer. I can go in my house, John, and
go all the way back before the foundation of the world and get
hold of treasures and hold them up. Antiques appeal to people. Think about that. Before the
world was, there was a crown. Oh, my soul. Old things. You go in that treasure
room, and there's old things in there. Somebody told me one
time, I was telling them something, they said, now wait a minute,
that's the old Bible. Yeah, it sure is. It sure is. And then there's a new thing. He said, after those days, I'll
make with them a new covenant. A new covenant. The appearance
of Christ in this world. His life, His death, His resurrection,
His ascension into glory, the sending of the gospel. He sent
gospel preachers, ordained them, sent them out by His own hand.
The giving of the Holy Ghost. The establishing of His churches
in the world. New things. New things. A new creation, a new birth,
a new way, a new man, new, all these things new. Old things
are passed away and behold all things are become new. I can
go in there and dig out treasures from before the foundation of
the world and I can go in there and take out treasures that are
as fresh as yesterday. Huh? Treasures. Old and precious things and new
and valuable things. A scribe, in the truest sense,
is not an intellectual. He's not a man who's been trained
at some school. He's a spiritual man who lives
in the house God built. And he's in air and joint air
with Christ. And this man has a personal interest
in the treasure. It's his. Ain't that what that
word says? His treasure? Didn't say he went in and pulled
out of God's treasure, although that's true. He went in and pulled
out of his treasure. I'll tell you when you can tell
about something when it belongs to you. I'm telling you the truth. I
can tell you what John Gill said, and I can tell you what John
Owen said, and I can tell you what different ones have said,
but I'll tell you where I have the most liberty. When I tell
you what I have, what's mine, that's when I can talk to you.
I can hold that treasure up. This is mine. This is my salvation. This is my regeneration. This is my faith. And I can talk
to you about it. That's why David said in his
dying words, this is all my salvation and all my desire. even if God
doesn't reveal it to another living soul. He said, it's mine. It's mine. What I preach to you and all
those who hear me belongs to me. It's mine by divine grace
and it could be yours if God be pleased to give it to you.
God be pleased to make you a householder. Now let me show you one more
thing and I'll quit. I'm way past my time. There's a time when by the grace
of God the gospel is preached. A household is led your way and
sets before you heaven's treasures. What a blessed privilege. I can't
tell you what a blessed privilege that is. What an opportunity of God's
grace. But brethren, there's a time
when the gospel is preached and a time when it departs. It departs. There'll come a time when God's
candle will be extinguished in Taylor, Arkansas. It'll be gone. How do I know that? I know that
by just reading church history. I know that. London, England,
God put a candle in London, England. And Benjamin Keats preached.
And I thank John Gill and Charles Spurgeon and John Rippon. And
he held that candle lit for almost 200 years. And he went and put
it out. Put it out. And he took it somewhere
else. And there'll come a time right
here in Taylor, Arkansas when God will extinguish his candle.
He'll put it out. And he'll take it somewhere else. I've seen it in places and known
it to last only one generation and then gone. And then in others,
just a day or so. Missionary comes to town, preaches
for a few days, and evangelist, and he's gone. He's gone. So geographically, his gospel
will only shine for a while and then brought to shine somewhere
else. And individually, the same thing
can be said. God will not continue to allow
a hard-hearted rebel to go on hearing without consequence,
bowing up to the gospel, shaking his fist in the face of God against
his gospel without consequence. Without consequence. Because
of the willing rejection of their love of the truth. It says over
in II Thessalonians that God sent them a strong delusion to
believe a lie and be damned for their unbelief. The Pharisees
heard but refused to believe. And in so doing, God gave them
up to their unbelief to go on and practice that thing. And
they died in hope of it. They died clinging to that just
as surely as a believer clings to the grace of God. And they
go out and meet God, clinging to the lie. Listen to this. These Jews, and
they are stubborn. Stephen told him, he said, you
stiff-necked and uncircumcised of heart and ears, you do always
resist the Holy Spirit. You resist Him, reject Him, reject
His means. You won't have the things of
the Spirit of God. And Paul went and preached to
them. And those Jews wouldn't have it. They went right on back
to their rejection of it, went right on back to their stiff-necked
ways. And Paul told them, he said,
seeing you put it from you, You did this. God didn't do this.
You did this. You put it from you and judged
yourselves. That's what happened. That's
what happened. God exposed His judgment in you
and you judged yourselves unworthy of everlasting life. And so He
turned to the Gentiles. Huh? God snuffed out that candle
to the Jews and turned Him to the Gentiles. And this man who
wrote nearly half the New Testament preached to Gentiles. The Lord who was the householder
brought forth by His own hand some tokens of the treasure of
redemption and left in His wake some who believed and some hardened. And if you read in our text one
more time, In verse 53, it says, "...and it came to pass that
when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed." He departed. He didn't stay there. He moved
on. May God be pleased today to open
our hard hearts and show us His treasure for Christ's sake.