“The Treasure that Is God”
By Tom Hanson
August 7th,
2011
Click here to download printable sermon
notes in pdf format.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10
…Eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard…
But
God has
revealed them unto us, even the deep things of God.
It’s the love of God that reigns; thank God
for it. Today we’re
having what’s known
as “a farmer’s rain.” It’s
a slow,
steady rain; it’s not so hard as to damage crops, but it’s steady
enough to
soak into the ground so that the roots of the plants can absorb it. Farmers need this kind of
rain. God is
perfect; God is in control. He’s
not getting old; He’s not getting weary;
He’s not getting tired. He’s
not taking
a day off; He’s not a deadbeat dad that doesn’t want to provide for his
children. As
overwhelming and perfect as
Heaven will be, the entire blessing of being in Heaven will be the
privilege of
being in God’s presence. The
beauty of
Heaven is the presence of God in our lives.
He’s like a trainer in your corner, telling you
things about the other
fighter to help you be victorious.
You
may not understand what He’s telling you, but He’s had a lot of
experience at
this sort of thing. God
is in control.
1 Corinthians 15:57
…God, which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ.
The
word
‘treasure’ first appears in the Bible in Genesis 43:23, and it means a
hidden
treasure, something valuable.
Genesis 43:23 …the
God of your father, hath given you
treasure in your sacks…
God
put a
treasure in the sacks of the Children of Israel.
Today, he is putting a treasure into a
trusted container.
Matthew 6:19-21
…lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven…
Don’t
misunderstand me, God wants us to be good stewards, and to provide for
our
families, but our hopes and our dreams should be in God.
Colossians 1:25-27
…God would make known what is
the riches of the glory…
Do
you ever
watch Antiques Roadshow? A
lot of times
people go on that show with something that they think is an old family
treasure, only to find out that it isn’t worth anything. At the same time, a lot of
times people have
things that are very valuable and they just have no idea. I know that, when my time
comes, I don’t want
to be appraised as being of no value to God.
I want to uplift people, bring them closer to God.
Jesus is
the
Good Shepherd. This
is kind of a
specialty pearl shop. To
our visitors, I
hope that you understand that Jesus is our King in this room.
Treasure Hunting:
Jeremiah 29:11-13
…ye shall seek me, and find me,
when ye shall search for me with
all your heart.
God has
given us
a promise here, that we can find Him when we search for Him with a
whole
heart. He’s
searching for us, too. He
is not a second-rate god, or a second-tier
god. He wants to
have a relationship
with us.
Ruth 1:16
…thy people shall be
my people, and thy God my God:
There
were some
treasure hunters in Nova Scotia,
and somehow they located a treasure chest believed to have been part of
Blackbeard’s treasure. They
had to dig
several feet down into the sand to get to it, and, by the time they
did, it was
very late. So they
decided to leave it
until the next day to actually hoist the treasure chest out of the hole. During the night, though,
the tide came in
and buried the chest again. They
never
did find it again.
Naomi told
both
of her daughters-in-law to go back to their Midianitish families. Ruth’s sister-in-law went
back to her family,
but Ruth insisted on going with Naomi.
A
lot depends upon your commitment to God.
If your commitment is what it should be, then it
will give you a legacy;
you will be able to outlast problems and trials.
You will have His Spirit to bless you. Love is that one emotion
that is purer and
more powerful. Love
can be the driving
force in your life. The
treasure that
God is in our lives is something to fight for; something to seek after.
Israel
is God’s
chosen people; we were grafted in, that was perfect surgery. We are now Children of
Israel; we are part of
God’s family. God
will bless you beyond
all expectations. Ruth
had a
legacy. I don’t
think there were any
newspapers in her day, she didn’t have to worry about her actions
becoming
front page news, but she told Naomi, “I need what you have.” Follow after God.
Treasure Finding:
We
find the treasure; we find God, because He encourages us. When you recognize a true
treasure, it
captivates your mind.
Matthew 13:45-46
…pearl of great price…
If
you have
found Christ, be decisive. There
are
story after story of people that made it all the way.
We haven’t made it yet, but we’re getting
there. If we were
to go around the room
today, and ask everybody how long they have been saved, there would be
a lot of
variation in the answers, but, one thing that we all have in common is,
if
asked, “Aren’t you ready to just quit?”
the answer would be, “No, I don’t want to give it
up.”
Luke 15:8
…seek diligently…
You
don’t know what
you have until you lose it. You
don’t
know how much people love you until you get lost.
We have all stumbled, and yet, we can find
peace in God. He
gives us instruction;
sometimes He’s telling us, “Watch out for that left hook!” If we listen to Him, he
will bring us
through.
Treasure Keeping:
2 Corinthians 4:1-7
…we have
this treasure in earthen vessels…
Sometimes
we
over eat physically; it’s okay to spiritually take in too much.
Earlier, we
talked about God putting treasure into sacks.
Now we’re talking about God putting His treasure in
us. You can make it. Let’s keep the treasure
polished and alive.
Sermon
notes by Pete Shepherd
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