By David J. Stewart |
February 2014
Matthew 13:44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a
field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”
Our text verse from Matthew 13:44 is an incredible Scripture. Jesus plainly
teaches that He is likening this story to Heaven. Jesus tells the story
about a man who finds a treasure in a field. The man realizes that he has
found something so great that he joyously goes and sells all his earthly
possessions in order to purchase this land so he can obtain the hidden
treasure. This story is comparable to Heaven Jesus said, the motherload of
all treasures.
This wise man went and sold all his earthly
possessions in order to leverage his debt
(spending power), so that he could buy this field and all that is hidden in
it. My friend, Heaven is a real place. Jesus in this small passage of
Scripture is teaching that we ought to do the same as this worldly wise man,
by using all of our earthly money, resources and things for Jesus' sake and
the gospels. Life is so short that it will literally all be over just in a
matter of heartbeats. Your life and mine are counting down quickly.
This does not mean that you ought to give all your money to your church; but
rather, it means to use all that God has given to you for His glory,
pleasure and purpose. There are thousands of ways to honor God with our
substance. It pleases God when we by faith obey Him, taking heed according
to His Word, that is, the holy Bible. Psalms 119:9, “Wherewithal shall
a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”
The day you got saved, everything you own became the Lord's,
because He watches over your soul day and night as His child.
Whatever golden opportunities that we may presently have to glorify God by
reaching the lost for Christ with the gospel, praying and fasting,
supporting missionary work, giving financially to the work of God,
contending for the Christian faith, taking a stand for God, helping the poor
and needy, visiting the captives in prison, lifting up the fallen, restoring
the weak and living for OTHERS are quickly fading away. Time is of the
essence!
So oftentimes people go into massive financial
debt to buy a home, a business, a boat, a car (or all of the above). They
use what is called “debt-leveraging,” which means in simple terms,
“borrowing to invest more.” You are leveraging your assets to enable you to
make a greater investment in something else. In the case of our text
Scripture, this man sold everything he owned, leveraging all his worldly
wealth in order that he could buy this property with the hidden treasure
that he had found.
Here again, Jesus teaches what the Kingdom of
Heaven is like...
Matthew 13:45-46, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man,
seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went
and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
This merchant (buyer and seller) of pearls went
and sold all his pearls so that he could purchase the mother-of-all-pearls
which he had just found. The Lord is likening (comparing) this merchant's
decision to go-for-broke to investing in Heaven. Most people (saved and
unsaved alike) spend their entire lives leveraging their earthly assets to
buy temporal things here on earth. Remember, you can't take any of it with
you! You were born into the world with nothing, and you'll die and leave
this world with nothing. Proverbs 27:20, “Hell and destruction are
never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”
With these important truths in mind, it ought to
become very clear to the reader that this earthly life isn't worth investing
in. Life is like a car, that is, it's a depreciating asset from the moment
that you drive it off the parking lot where you bought it. Albeit, Heaven is
an eternal investment, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and neither
do thieves break through and steal. This is what the Lord taught and
promised in Matthew 6:19-20. We have but one life to live. Will you live it
for Jesus?
Don't lay up treasures and go into financial debt
here on earth so that you can enjoy a better temporary lifestyle here on
earth; but rather, lay up for your self eternal treasures in Heaven that
will never erode away, nor can they be taken away from you for any reason.
We leverage our debt for an eternal lifestyle through prayers, fastings,
sharing the gospel (soul-winning) and all that we do in Jesus' precious name
for His' sake and the gospel's.
Jim Elliot
(1927-1956), the martyred American missionary to Ecuador in 1956 said, “He
is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot
lose.” Elliot was one of five missionaries who went in an attempt to
evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador, but were instead brutally
murdered by ten Huaorani soldiers and their dead bodies dumped into the
local river. They died for their Christian faith. In America, we think
persecution is someone laughing at a religious bumper sticker on our car.
Around the world today in 2014, Christians are still being persecuted,
prosecuted and martyred for their faith.
The way that we view this temporal
earthly life now, will determine our eternal lifestyle for ever.
Matthew 6:19-21, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also.”
Jesus told us to lay up treasures in Heaven. Our lifestyle in eternity as
believers will be determined by our life now here on earth. Otherwise, what
would be the use of laying up heavenly treasures? Daniel 12:3, “And
they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they
that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” If
some believers will shine in eternity, then others won't. If some have laid
up treasures, then the plain implication is that others haven't. Will you be
one of the haves or have nots in eternity?
Heaven is the mother load of all treasures and we as believers ought to be
leveraging our debt by using everything that we own, our talents, our
resources and influence to further the Kingdom of God. 'Tis only one life
will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last. If we're all going
to have the same exact rewards in Heaven, then what's the use of Scriptures
like 1st Corinthians 3:8, “Now he that planteth and he that watereth
are one: and every man shall receive his own reward
according to his own labour.” Clearly, God rewards the
water boy on the spiritual playing field as much as the key players. God
rewards the praying man as much as the preaching man, for time spent. God
rewards labour and not talent.
Everyone can serve God. Even the person locked behind bars or crippled in a
wheelchair can fervently labour in prayer as taught in
Colossians 4:12, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth
you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers,
that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”
Prayer is work!
You Can't Take It With You!
If
we truly comprehended by faith the realities of the Kingdom Of God, then we
would joyously use the money and things that we have in this temporary world
for God's glory. Clearly, wise stewardship of all that God has given to us
is expected. Literally, we are stewards who have been entrusted with God's
money. If you are saved, then everything that you own is the Lord's. So if
someone steals your things, they have stolen from the Lord, because you and
everything that you own are His. Literally, God asks us to give back some of
what HE GAVE TO US, and then He rewards us for it. What a great deal! What a
fantastic deal!
We cannot take anything with us when we die, but we CAN send it ahead. That
is, it's not what we leave behind that matters; but rather, what will be
waiting for us when we get to Heaven. Although Dr. John MacArthur is a
liberal who
denies that Jesus'
blood is sprinkled on the heavenly Mercy Seat, and he
teaches a Calvinistic works-based false plan of salvation, still he makes
the following awesome quote concerning the mammon of unrighteousness (Luke
16:8-9), with
which I agree 100% . . .
“Believers are
to use their master's money (we are stewards) in a way that will accrue fruits
for eternity, by investing in the kingdom gospel that brings sinners to
salvation, so that when they arrive in Heaven (an everlasting home) those
sinners will be there to welcome them.”
—Pastor John MacArthur
The people whom we lead to the Lord
here on earth today, will be there to welcome and receive us into everlasting
habitations tomorrow when we die, to enjoy our peaceful and happy home in
Heaven forever with Jesus. What a time that will be!!! The story of the wise,
but shady, servant who made friends of the mammon of unrighteousness for his
own personal gain, is an example which the Lord uses to encourage us to do the
same, but by
DEBT-LEVERAGING EVERYTHING WE OWN FOR AN ETERNAL LIFESTYLE. Amen!
WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR GOD TODAY?
WE'LL WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET BUSY FOR GOD!!! You can't take money to
Heaven with you, but you can take souls, people. You know, you've never seen a
U-haul trailer hooked-up to the back of a hearse. You can't take it with you!
God Uses Money And Things To Test Our Affections
God uses money and things to test our affections. Colossians 3:1-3,
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your
affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are
dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
The ungodly world only thinks in terms of dollars and cents. Everything is
about money to them. Ephesians 4:17, “This I say therefore, and
testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in
the vanity of their mind... Who being past feeling
have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness
with greediness.” The heathen world will
do anything for money. They are past (beyond) any feelings of guilt for
being unethical, greedy and hurtful toward others by the way they make
money.
My friend, Heaven is a grand treasure, much more
valuable than a giant precious pearl, and far more valuable and enduring
than any earthly treasure that can only be enjoyed for a short time. Won't
you invest with me in eternal things? There are so many things that you can
do to invest in Heaven. Mark 9:41, “For whosoever
shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye
belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.”
Even the Christian who buys coffee and refreshments for church
gatherings, they will be rewarded by God in Heaven. You're doing something
for the Lord. That's what Jesus just said. Mark 9:41 says that giving even a
cup of water in a disciple's name will not go unrewarded. So even the things
that we do to help OTHERS who are serving Christ will be fully rewarded in
eternity.
If you see someone who needs medical attention,
but they cannot afford insurance, perhaps you can pay to get them care. Dr.
Jack Hyles once met with a couple and the wife kept holding her hand by her
mouth to hide her rotten teeth. Brother Hyles paid to have her teeth
repaired. That's Christianity! Philippians 2:4, “Look
not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
If you want to think like Jesus, then always consider the needs of
OTHERS and live to fill them, especially their eternal need for hearing the
gospel. We draw people into the Church with Christ's LOVE, and
then we attach them to the TRUTH. Isn't that beautiful!
Again, Mark 9:41 says that giving even a cup of
water in a disciple's name will not go unrewarded. So even the things that
we do to help OTHERS who are serving Christ will be fully rewarded in
eternity. The eyes of the Lord behold the evil and the good, and no deed is
ever overlooked, whether it be good or evil. My friend, let's get busy for
Jesus Christ by looking for every possible opportunity to express God's love
for our neighbours, co-workers, loved ones, friends and strangers alike,
that we may exemplify our precious Lord “Who gave himself for our sins, that
he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of
God and our Father” (Galatians 1:4).
A Tremendous Biblical Principal To Learn
Remember also that God only rewards us when we
give to the poor who cannot return the favor...
Luke 14:12, “Then said he also to him that
bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor
thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also
bid thee again, and a
recompence be made thee. But when thou
makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot
recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the
resurrection of the just.”
Please
don't miss this important truth about giving.
Matthew 5:46, “For if ye
love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the
same?” If you buy things for people who can buy things to
reciprocate your generosity, then the reward is negated. Ah,
but when you give to those who cannot return your benevolence, then great is
your reward in Heaven. This is exactly what the Bible teaches. If someone gives back the favor,
you've lost that reward. This is why we are taught by Jesus Christ Himself
in Acts 20:35 that “IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE.” Amen and
amen! Jesus said to invite the blind, the deaf, the maimed (disabled),
the mentally and physically challenged, the homeless, the poor and needy,
the nobodies of society. Amen!!!
So many foolish religious people errantly think
that God is going to one day reward them for sending money to idiots like
Benny Hinn, T.D. Jakes or Joel Osteen—all shady ministers who profit
hundreds-of-millions of dollars from the ministry. The word “minister” means
servant. Jesus said that the greatest among you is supposed to be a servant.
These televangelist thieves and greedy dogs exploit the Bible to make
billions of dollars accumulatively from dumbed-down Americans. They scratch
people's itching ears, telling the masses whatever makes them feel good
about themselves and keeps them coming back for more.
But you'll never hear them crying aloud against
sin (Isaiah 58:1), sounding the alarm bells of judgment (Ecclesiastes 12:14;
Romans 1:32; Hebrews 9:27) and warning sinners of the eternal damnation (2nd
Thessalonians 1:8-9; Revelation 21:8; John 3:36) to come in the Lake of Fire
for ever and ever (Revelation 20-11-15). Today's apostate televangelists
will make you feel good all the way into the fires of Hell forever and ever.
By the way, that's a demon's favorite activity, that is, making religious
people feel comfortable without being born-again by the Spirit of God. They
have churchianity without Christianity.
So the Biblical formula to earn rewards in Heaven
is to give here on earth to those who cannot recompense us; namely, the
poor, the imprisoned, the homeless, the maimed, et cetera. Matthew
19:21, “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go
and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure
in heaven: and come and follow me.” Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the
poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Whereas it is normal for unregenerated, unsaved,
heathen, people to steal in their greed, selfishness and dishonesty; the
holy Bible teaches that as a Christian we ought to labour to spend our
hard-earned money so that we may give to OTHERS who have needs. This is a
Christlike attitude toward money. The world says to steal and horde for
one's self; but the Bible says to earn and give away to OTHERS. Ephesians 4:28, “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him
labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to
give to him that needeth.”
If the worldly wise man in our text verse was
willing to leverage everything he owned to buy a field with earthly
treasure; then how much more ought we be willing as children of God to
leverage everything that we own in this world for the furtherance of the
gospel, and to glorify the precious name of Jesus Christ by living for the
needs of OTHERS.
I'll close by repeating the famous quote from martyred missionary, Jim
Elliot, who said: “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain that which
he cannot lose.”
