We are continuing the series: The Kingdom Experience. Because we don't want to stop experiencing the kingdom, we continue learning about the kingdom. We are on part five this week. Kingdom experience part five; and we're to consider what has been titled: The Parable of the Hidden Treasure. Let us consider the book of Matthew 13:44. Just a verse, but we might spend most of our time or the whole of it on that particular verse. The Bible says: “Again…” just to say it again and again and again. This was not the first time that Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to something. So, the Bible says: “Again…” I have compared the kingdom of heaven to a few other things in the past, but let me show you the kingdom of heaven from another angle. Let me do this again.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found…” What did the man find? The treasure! The Bible says the treasure has been hid in the field and so, the man found it. And for joy over it (the treasure) he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” He didn't buy the treasure. What did he buy? He bought the field. So, we want to learn from it, the Kingdom experience. Now, before we go, a few things I want to note that are very specific in this verse. The Bible says the kingdom of heaven (not the kingdoms of heaven), the kingdom of heaven is like treasure (not treasures). The kingdom of heaven is like treasure not treasures, hidden in a field, not in fields.
So, it does suggest to us that the Kingdom of Heaven is not like a treasure that you can find in different places, it is like a treasure of course, but that treasure is also in a field. So, until you find that field, you will not find the treasure. We are not looking for treasures particularly. However, the treasure that we are looking for is not kept in many fields, it is kept in only a field. So, it doesn't matter how many fields you search, until you find that particular field that the treasure was kept inside, you will not find it; even if you use all your life and all your savings to look for it. Do we understand? So, no matter our labor, of course the Bible says in all labor there is profit. No matter how much effort we put into searching for that treasure, if we are not lucky enough to go to the field that that treasure was kept, we will not find it. So, let's continue.
Another thing the Bible says in that verse is: “which a man…” That is also another singular word there. A man found. Not a man finds and hid. And Bible says for the joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys, not all the fields. The Bible didn’t say he bought all the fields he could find. No! He bought that field. So, his burden, his focus, his desperation, his concern was not on many fields. That reminds me that Scripture in Songs of Solomon, “look not down on me because I'm dark. Because the sun has tanned me. My brothers, my mother’s sons have made me keeper of the vineyards. And they are now angry with me. But my own vineyard I have not kept. They made me keeper of the vineyards. Yet, I was not fulfilled or I was not successful with them. I was not successful with the vineyards they gave to me. And even my own vineyard, I was not also successful there because I didn't, I was not there.
Now this man, when he sold everything, he had, he was not concerned about the fields, which we could call the vineyards. He went in search of that field. So, no matter how much load of resources he was carrying, as long as he was on his way to finding that particular field, he was not going to stop and say let me use this resources that I have to buy this one also. Don't forget, when he sold everything, he had, he went through a distance and on his way, he must have found and met other fields. But he didn't say since I have found these other fields, let me stop here and buy them. Let me not be overwhelmed by the weight of the resources that I'm carrying. But what did he do? He continued until he found and located that particular field and he bought it over. So, we want to learn from it.
Now one t thing I want to also bring to our consciousness about this parable is that the Bible says the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in the field. The question is, who hid it? From whom was it taken? Okay, let me pieces the question more. If the Bible says the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. Where was the treasure taken from? Who are the people that the treasure is hidden from? Who are the people that even though the treasure is available somewhere, they don't know it exists. And then the Bible says which a man found. If you find something, that appears to me to mean that that thing has been lost. You know, many times when we were younger or in the past, or even now, when something that was missing is found, they will say “lost but found.” It is what has been lost that is found.
The prodigal son, in that sense was not lost literally. But he became lost. Because the father could not find him. He left the house. But the father said my son that was lost is now found. So, we are looking at a treasure that was hitherto in possession that a man could have been dispossessed of. A man initially had the treasure, but at a moment in time, the man has been dispossessed of that treasure. Now that treasure that a man has been dispossessed of, is now hid in a field. There's so much mysteries there. We cannot understand the fullness of the mysteries, but we can learn a few lessons there. So, we don't know who took the treasure. We don't know who took it. Do we understand? Now, by now we may claim that we don't know who the treasure was taken from. But we know that the treasure is taking from humanity.
The Bible says a man found it. Now the Bible says that treasure that was taking was now hid. We don’t know who hid it. Is it the same person that took the hid in the field? These are mysteries but I want to bring our minds back to certain places in the Bible. Maybe we should even go there. Let's look at Colossians 2:11-15. The Bible says:
“In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”
Now for those of us who understand this portion of the Scripture, it explains to us what Jesus really came to do on the earth. There was a time the Bible says Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And at a point, Satan was talking to Jesus. He says, look at all the kingdoms of this world and their glory. If you can bow down to me, I will give them to you. Why? They have already been given to me. The Bible says the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure. Don't forget the kingdom of heaven is headquartered in heaven, is based in heaven. But it's not limited to the heaven. The kingdom of heaven had been extended to the earth through Adam. Like, joyfully, take it. Adam and Eve were deceived, they give it over. And so, when they gave it over, even though it was theirs, as soon as the devil was going with it, that became something they lost.
When the prodigal son was with the father, the father could be looking at him and be saying… But the moment the father could no longer see him, the father could conclude thus: My son is lost. Because he said my son that was lost has now been found. So, when Adam handed over the kingdom to Satan, He also thought, “I can see Satan, I can see my kingdom in his hands. So, I can collect it.” But the moment Satan took it, he went away with it. So, it became a treasure, it became a property or a possession that he has been dispossessed of. So, it was lost also. So, when Satan took it, he kept it to himself. But the Bible says Jesus, He went and disarmed, He neutralize the principalities, dispossessing them because there was a point that Jesus came out to talk to the disciples in Matthew chapter 28. He says, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto me. Now, with this authority go therefore.
So, there was a time that Satan had it and what Satan does is to give people today the impression that he still has it. Now, if something was taken from somewhere and kept somewhere and you didn't know where it was kept, and another person went to take it somewhere and kept it somewhere else, wouldn't you still conclude that the thing is still lost? Or you just assume it is with the person that took it the first time. So, the Bible says the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that is hid in a field. That's why I was asking us if we know where the treasure was taking from? Do we know who the treasure was hidden from? These are mysteries. But one thing we mustn't forget is that the kingdom of heaven was brought down to the earth and man was put in charge of it. But you cannot also deny the reality that Satan took it and he went away with it. Until Jesus came. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.
So that thing that the devil thought he was doing, that thing that the devil thought he was having, that thing the devil thought he was owning, the Bible says Jesus disarmed him of it, He dislodged him. So, when the treasure is not taken away from the devil now, do we think the treasure has now been poured on the streets of Lagos, on the streets of Kenya, on the streets of Abuja? When you get treasures, do you pour them on the streets of your house? Where do you put it? Your Bank, your bank? Do you understand? You keep it in your bank? Do you understand? When they say treasure, they're talking about precious things, valuable things, you don't keep it on the streets.
There was a time the Bible says don't throw something precious to the swine. So, the valuable part of the kingdom could not be thrown on the streets. So, when the devil took it, and also kept it somewhere, and Jesus went to take it from him, Jesus wouldn't collect it from Satan only to put it where Satan will pick it up again. So, it has to be hid. It has to be hidden; it has to be kept somewhere. So, the question we could ask is, is the kingdom kept away from you and I? The disciples came to Jesus in this same Matthew 13 and asked: Why do you speak to these people in parables? Jesus said, it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but to them it has not been given. So, the treasure of the kingdom is still kept as a secret.
The treasures of the kingdom, they are not on the streets. You cannot find them along the road. They've been kept in the field. So, if you as a man, you want to find it, you must find it in that field that it was kept in. The Bible says there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved except the name of Jesus. You know, I was just meditating that for many of us, since we are looking at the kingdom experience, we have actually lost many things. The Bible says in that place that we read in Matthew, it says and for the joy over it, he goes… When that man found the treasure that was hid in the field, he became joyful. We could just conclude that when the treasure was taken away and hid somewhere, the man was saddened. There was no joy in his heart. The question is what are the things today that are missing in us, missing in our lives, missing in our marriages, missing in our ministries, missing in our businesses that brings sadness to our heart?
It is the kingdom that has the potential to bring joy into our hearts. But until we find the kingdom, we will not be joyful. But the point is, what are the things that bring sadness into our hearts today? Do we think that currently, we have lost our own peace? Could it be that we've lost our own joy? Have we lost something? Are we looking for something and we're like maybe if I go to this place, I can find my joy. Maybe if I do this, I can find my peace. Maybe if I do this thing, I will be rich. Maybe if I do this thing and we are looking for it in places, and the Bible says the thing we are looking for is not in places, it is in a field.
If you look at it, you're looking for something as suddenly you now found it in a field. Is it not logical for you to pick that thing and run away? But is that what the man did? The Bible says for the joy. He didn’t take what he found. He went and sell everything he has ever had. That this thing will demand from me a new life. This will demand from me a new experience. It won't be business as usual. I can’t have this new thing that I'm looking for, I can’t have it along with the options I've been carrying, I need to discontinue. The Bible says he sold everything he had, he didn't come to pick the thing he found, he bought the field.
Many of us, we would not mind to take our marriages and leave Jesus. All I'm looking for is money, give me money take your Jesus. I just want to be able to sleep in the night and wake up in the morning. I don't want sleepless nights; I don't want nightmares. Just give me sleep, you can take your Jesus. Me, the only thing I'm looking for is health, good health. I'm hardly healthy in a week. Just give me good health and keep your Jesus. But this man didn't do that. When he saw what he was looking for in the field, Bible says he went to sell everything and what was his goal; so that he could buy Jesus, so that he could buy the field. In our own situation now, we are to sell everything we have and gain Jesus. Let's go to Philippians chapter 3:7-11. Look at what the Bible says:
“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…”
It is like the man that has sold everything that he may buy Christ. When you buy Christ, you will now say Jesus is mine. Because that is what we mean when we say Jesus is my Lord and Savior. But is Jesus your personal property? But you personalized Jesus. You say Jesus is your Lord and saviour and this and that. What has happened? You have gained Him.
Let us bring it home to a contemporary life. Let's call Jesus a great man. A great billionaire in Nigeria. Okay, let's just look at a typical billionaire in Nigeria. Let's call either Femi Otedola or Aliko Dangote. Can you suddenly throw yourself now and become close to them? Even if you want, would they allow you? But if the condition is you sell everything you have, because I'm just imagining me now. Imagine that I desire Aliko Dangote, with his billions in dollars. Imagine me that have nothing and then the Bible says “Gboyega, sell all that you have, you may buy him. I'm now like… ah this is my N100k or N500k… What again? This my 5 million… Please all those money, are they anything? Who do you want to buy? You want to buy the richest man in Nigeria. Yet, some of us will still rather die with our 1-million-naira investment worldwide, like they sell you worldwide… everything 1.1 million, you will still say I will never sell anything, who is he? And you know that the things you need in life, they are in him. But you said you will keep your family inherited landed property, you will keep all this, you will never do.
But what do people do? Have you seen politicians? Politicians will go and take loan and they will sponsor other politicians. Why? If he can win it, what do they have? They have gained the politician in power. And they know that what they give to the man or invested in him is the least they will ever be. So, you only need to know how indebted our Nigerian politicians are currently hoping that this inauguration was not disturbed and they get sworn into office. They believe they will get their own portfolio. What have they done, they sold everything they had. You need to get close to some politicians, they will be telling you how some of them commit suicide after election. Why? They sold everything they had. Why? They wanted to gain a position and they lost it.
So, it's possible to buy yourself into the heart of a politician, you may need to sell everything you are. Now, this time around, you are not pleasing or seeking for a politician, you are seeking Christ. What are the things you have that you are counting to be something? Is it that certificate that you got it at Ekpoma University? Or is it the one you got at Accra University? Is it the business? Is it the house that you built in your village? The Bible says you have to have the mindset that nothing stops you. Apostle Paul said I have counted them all as loss. Why? What is my goal? I want Christ to know that I exist. When Christ is thinking: do I have anybody in Bwari? I want Him to see me that I am here, that I may gain Him. Do you understand?
You know, you are not gaining a man that you are doubting, will he get into power? Will they inaugurate Him, will they swear him in? Would there be a court order that will stop his inauguration, you know, that is not the man that you want to gain. You are gaining Christ, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the one who does not need to be voted into power. So, look at it, verse nine:
“…and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
I have sold everything that I had, my ambitions. Pastor Adeboye wanted to become the youngest vice chancellor in Nigeria, as he been able to do that? As he become nobody? So, there is sell off. Something has been sold. Can you sell something and still, have it? What were the things that you were caring about, na this thing i go die for, nobody can separate me from this thing? And now that you think you are in Christ, and they have been disconnected from you. Many of us the things we used to carry around in those days, we have still carried them into Jesus Christ. There has been no discontinuation from our old and we are still thinking that we can gain Christ. Yet the Bible says when Jesus was given the parable, when the man found that treasure, because of the joy of finding that treasure, he didn't want to get the treasure alone. He wanted to get the field that the treasure is getting in.
Where is your joy kept in? Some people will come to church, get a wife and get out of church. The girl that you got in church, that you took out of church, will she remain good? Do you understand? The Bible says we are created in Christ Jesus. It starts with we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus. The environment of our creation, of our making is Christ. That is where we can survive. The man that did not take the treasure from the field, he knew what he was doing. If you take a fish from the water, you will kill it, no matter how you think the fish is treasurable or is valuable. Can you take a fish, you like the fish, you want it to live for ten more months, ten more days, and because you love it so much, you took it out of the water so that you can be taking it to your house, so that you can put it on your shelf. Will it live?
Anything that you take out of Christ Jesus that you may consume it to your own lost, it will die. When you're looking for a good husband, let your husband be found in Jesus and let him be in Jesus. You're looking for a good job, in Jesus. Let it be in Jesus. You're looking for a good ministry, let it be in Jesus, let it never be taken out of Jesus. Let us not start in the Spirit and hope to perfect in the flesh. Don't make me your friend in the Spirit in Christ Jesus and wants me to continue to be your friend outside of Jesus. Just imagine my marriage now. How I used to see Jesus all around my wife in those days. And then as soon as she got me, she now felt the only way, the smart way to enjoy me is to stop me from thinking about Jesus. What would you have now? Is it a beast or what. It's not joking.
Many women are frustrated today. Why? They thought they were just having fun in marriage but did not know they were gradually taking their husbands love away from God, either to themselves or to different things. Now the man does not think about God again and you think he will continue to love you? Does a man have capacity to love a woman endlessly? Are you God? Are you the creator of the woman? God is love so if you must continue to love her for the rest of your life, it must be in God. Some people can fake it so people can package it because that's what you want to see. But that something is real it can be produced only by God.
What have we learned now? Whatever you found in Jesus that you love, use it in Jesus. You know, there was a week that I was using this language of fanning to flame. Fan to flame anything that you have found in Christ inside Christ. Fan it to flame, let it keep burning in Christ. Suddenly you realize that you think well, you realize you talk well. And lately you realize that it is because you have been getting close to Jesus. Don't carry that well-talk, well-think and carry it away from Jesus. It will turn to insanity. Use it in Christ. Use it to represent Christ. Use it to glorify Christ. That is why the Bible says whatever we do, let's do it as unto the Lord. Let's do it in the Lord as unto the Lord. Fan to flame the grace that you find in Christ, inside Christ.
That's the word that has been laid in my heart. The man is not foolish. Jesus wouldn't give us that parable if there is no lesson to learn. It is difficult for me to fathom how I will find something I've been looking for and it is on the table, and instead of me to take it, then I will now buy the table. That means there is a wisdom. The man just realizes if this thing will last, I must not take it away from that table. I must buy the table and carry the table.
I pray that God will help us in Jesus’ name.
