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Welcome to the Further Gospel Podcast where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Costi Hinn, and I want to welcome our listeners on Apple, Spotify, and those enjoying this on our YouTube video podcast format. This is the 10th episode in our series on the parables, and it's absolutely flown by, at least for me, maybe it has for you too. And today I want to cover two in one because the two parables we'll talk about relate to one another. It's the parable of the treasure, the treasure that was buried in a field, and then the parable of the pearl or the pearl of great price. Both of these parables are short, they're clear, they're to the point, and both convey an important truth about the kingdom of heaven. I think this is going to encourage you. It's also going to challenge you. But first, let me just say a huge thank you to all of our gospel patrons. Your support makes this ministry possible. And so far this year, we've seen our ministry support soar to new heights. And so I just want to take a moment and praise God. I don't often get the chance to thank everyone personally. And so I want to do that here and praise God for those of you who have entrusted us to use your financial support faithfully. We do not take that lightly. And also I want to remind you: as a gospel patron, you should have received our monthly impact report for the month of May. And by God's grace, we were able to reach 1.5 million people and change. And how we measure reach here is not by impressions or even views, because people can view things repeatedly. We don't actually count that, but we measure the unique accounts, the unique individuals that interact with our content. And so we tend to be pretty conservative about how we measure everything. And for us, numbers represent human hearts. We're not just some online ministry excited because we we got millions of impressions and we just sort of don't even know what's going on. We actually are trying to impact individual people uniquely, and we want to impact them with the truth. Many of those hearts are you who are believers and who want solid teaching through online media. You can use that, you can share that. But others are people trying to understand the Christian faith and being saved. And we've been receiving stories of renewal in which immature Christians are becoming filled with the Holy Spirit. They're growing, filled with the truth and bearing fruit. And we've also been receiving stories of conversion where people are outright rescued from darkness and brought into the light of Christ. I want to read you real quick a testimony that was sent my way just recently. I think it will really encourage you. I'm going to read it directly from my phone here on a DM. It says, Good evening for the gospel team. I want to reach out to you and thank you and also tell you how much the ministry for the gospel has been blessing the lives of my husband, Bradley, and I, Whitney. Over the last few months, the eyes of my husband and I have been opened to the false teaching and some of what our family has been caught in. Through the Lord's providence, my husband found for the gospel and has been listening and reading to resources from you all. She goes on to explain. I actually uh remember that question. Although I knew it in my head, Costi's encouragement to pray fervently for my husband and for wisdom in the situation was exactly what we needed to hear. My husband has spent the last weeks digging into the word, praying, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, preparing to preach the true gospel to his parents. Tonight, through unlikely circumstances that could only be chalked up to Providence, the Lord provided the opportunity for Bradley to preach the gospel in love to his mom. It's so evident that the Spirit has been working in the life of Bradley in the way he has such a hunger for the truth, and it was so evident in tonight's conversation. My mother-in-law, by the grace of God, was so very receptive to hearing, learning, and even asking questions about everything. She asked questions about almost everything we had so we had been so heartbroken over. And although she didn't know the terms for it all, she asked about the prosperity gospel, the word of faith movement, little God theology, the hyper charismatic movement, and so much more. Bradley says she seemed eager to know the truth and excited to dig into the word. He referred her to scripture, to for the gospel, and some other faithful ministries that she names as well. She just said, I want to be an encouragement for the gospel. Your labor is not in vain, and it's reaching souls all the way in Illinois, and I would imagine elsewhere too. Well, Bradley, Whitney, Little Cohen, and Cooper, they're kiddos. Um, you're exactly why we do this ministry. And if you're watching this or listening to this and you have a similar testimony, we would love to hear from you. Those matter. We send them around our staff. We share them obviously here and other places in our impact reports. And so if you would, shoot me a direct message if you follow me on social media. Shoot one to our team, one of our for the gospel pages, or just email testimonies to contact at forthegospel.org. Contact at forthegospel.org. We're gonna be sharing testimonies in our monthly reports and here on the podcast from time to time. That's what it's all about. It's not mere numbers, it's not clicks and likes, it's the truth leading to transformation. Amen. I know you agree. Okay, if you have your Bible, turn to Matthew chapter 13. We're gonna look at verses 44, 45, and 46 in what is the crescendo, the final saga of the parables series. I'll tell you at the end of this episode where we're heading. But what we have is two parables that relate to each other a lot. They're the same theme, and Jesus runs them right into each other because he's making the same point. It's the parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the costly pearl. Now, let me give you the context as we have with each one of these episodes. The context is Jesus' teaching on the kingdom of heaven. So far, he's made some key points about the growth of the kingdom. That's in verses 31 to 33. You got the consummation of the kingdom and all that's coming and judgment in verses 36 to 43. And now he shifts focus onto the value of the kingdom. It's the value of the kingdom of heaven. So let me read these two parables and then we'll interpret them and then we'll apply them to our lives. If you want to go grab your Bible and you forgot it this time, just hit pause and go get it. Or if you're driving, working out on a run, or traveling somewhere and you just don't have it because you're in the car, these are on the screen, or I'll read them all to you and you can follow along. All right, here we go. Matthew chapter 13, verses 44, 45, and 46. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again, and from joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and he bought it. In both of these parables, which are really just a lot like short analogies or illustrations, there's something that someone sees, and in each case, it's this man who values different men, one's uh in a field and one's a merchant. They value what they see so much that they'll do anything to possess it. I think it's really important to note a few things, and we will. Let's break down each one and then we'll apply these. In the first parable of the hidden treasure, a man has found a treasure in a field. Instead of trying to steal it without owning the land, uh, he puts it back and he sells all that he has to buy the field. Now, right away, uh, you can understand that he finds it, hides it, and then buys the field so that he can own it. He doesn't steal it, he doesn't go about getting it the wrong way. Buying the field makes him the legal owner of anything in that field that comes with it. This is how it worked back then. One of the maybe more applicable things that we could think about that relates to this in today's world that wouldn't have been maybe 10, 15 years ago because the show, like storage wars or some of these reality shows, wouldn't have been around as much. But now, having watched like those shows on storage uh battles and people bidding for storage units that are no longer being paid or have gone into delinquency, you think about this. When you buy the storage unit, you get everything in it. In the same way, in those days, you buy the field, you get everything that is in it. The man would legally be the owner of the field, he gets it all. And most all commentators agree that we shouldn't get lost in the ethics of the story because that's not Jesus' point. I know there might be some people that think, well, it seems a little sneaky that he found a treasure and then hid it and then went and bought the field so he could have it, or uh, why didn't he tell people? Or that doesn't seem very honest. I think you need to remember, and if you're new to this episode, way back at the beginning, nine episodes ago, I walked you through the purpose of the parables and how we interpret them. Remember, typically Jesus is making one key point. If you try to get into the weeds on every little aspect of the storyline or every little piece of symbolism, or take those metaphors too far, well, then you're gonna end up interpreting the parable wrongly. Jesus is making an overall main point with these illustrations. And in this case, the point of the parable is this man is gonna do anything it takes to have the field. Why? Because there's a treasure in it and he must possess it. He's willing to sell everything. He will do whatever it takes. Obviously, selling everything is gonna be a great sacrifice, but whatever this treasure was, it was more than worth it for him to do that. Also, one might think it would be uh more than enough to make up for his sacrifice, especially if Jesus, and we don't want to leave out our interpretation or the overall context in our interpretation, let's remember now, we're not just playing up the idea of a treasure and this metaphor in this picture. The kingdom of heaven is like that treasure. Do you think that the man who's willing to sell everything and he sacrifices whatever it takes to get that treasure, if somebody were to have the kingdom of heaven and enter the kingdom of heaven and be with Christ and be saved by Christ, don't you think that whatever the sacrifices were, that treasure would more than make up for it? Jesus had taught his disciples that repeatedly in the Gospel of Matthew. And in those days, the people listening to Jesus would have been very familiar with this kind of scenario. You might think, like, why did he talk about a field? Why a treasure? I mean, these are good interrogative questions to ask when you're studying the Bible. Well, it's simple. That was a common way for people to bury their valuables. So while you and I might be quite detached from an idea or a story that involves burying something in our backyard like that, they didn't have safety deposit boxes. They didn't have a browning safe for, you know, their guns and ammo, their cash and gold. They didn't have storage units with thick locks. You had to hide your stuff. And you had to hide your stuff from invading armies and certainly robbers. And one way to accomplish that or at least increase the odds of keeping your valuable safe was to bury it. It's pretty random. Where should they dig? Where's your stuff? And if things have grown over it, pretty smart idea. That was normal back then. In the second parable, there's similarity in that a man finds something of great value and he goes to great lengths to have it. He sells everything in order to get it. But there's a curious distinction that I want to make note of, and we don't want to make too much about it, but we shouldn't overlook it. The man with the field, he stumbles upon the treasure. Notice that he is aware of it, finds it, hides it, goes and sells it. It seems that he just kind of came upon it. But in verses 45 and 46, the merchant is seeking something. At the same time, what he found was still something that blew his mind. It was beyond what he had expected. And perhaps what comes to mind, maybe for you, this is what came to mind for me, at least illustratively, is the way that maybe a Nicodemus came to Jesus seeking, or uh a Zacchaeus climbed up in a tree to see the Lord. They were looking for something, looking for answers. And conversely, the disciples were fishing, going about their business, and Jesus sort of just invades their life and goes, Hey, follow me, and their lives are changed forever. So, whatever the scenario, whether the unsuspecting or those who are looking and searching for answers, what they find, they must have because of the surpassing value of that thing. And in these parables, that thing is the kingdom of heaven. Let's make some applications here and then land the plane. Number one, the kingdom is not obvious to all. We can apply that. The treasure is buried, the pearl is not discovered without deep search, and if it was obvious to all and easy to all, then it wouldn't have such value. In the same way, many people they live their lives either oblivious or indifferent to the kingdom of God. Christ is not there at all in their mind, or he's not even worth paying attention to. They're focused on themselves to the extent that they can't see what others will find. I think this invokes two responses from us. On one hand, we give glory to God that our eyes have been open. Are you a believer? Do you love Jesus? Have you been uh made aware of your sin and him as the Savior? Do you serve him and pursue him and love him and hunger for him? Well, wow, glory to God, because only he can do that. And so you see the glory of the kingdom, you see its value, you see Christ in all that he is, and that's amazing. You praise God humbly. But on the other hand, don't we become more prayerful and perhaps more patient with others who are blind to what we so clearly see? It's not us who open our own eyes. We didn't go find it and get it and do it. No, God led us there. And it's really important that these two they behold the kingdom, but it's not obvious to all. For the treasure, it's under the surface. For the pearl of great price, it many are searching. Some don't care, but he's looking for something and he finds that one. Number two, the kingdom is obtained regardless of circumstance. Each of these men come to obtain the kingdom regardless of their circumstance. I mean they're given entry. That's what I mean by obtain. And don't hear what I'm not saying here. I'm not saying everybody gets the kingdom no matter what. I'm not saying that in this parable, you know, one man stumbled upon this hidden treasure and, you know, he just he just kind of made it happen and found it in the other. No, no. I'm I'm saying that in this parable, one man stumbled upon a hidden treasure that he wasn't really looking for. He just found it. Maybe he was doing something else. He was surveying the field, he was plowing, he was planting. But whatever he was doing, he was not painted as seeking. Meanwhile, the merchant, he's on the hunt for fine pearls. So maybe like somebody today, he's looking for answers to life and the biggest questions that someone may have. And in the search for answers, he comes upon the one pearl with the greatest value of all. Some people may not prefer the use of language like seeker. I know for a while I was sensitive to that and I just thought, well, we we don't want to make too much of anyone seeking. You know, nobody seeks. Romans 3 says no one's good, nobody wants God, nobody looks for God, nobody cares until he makes their heart want him. But we have to be careful to harmonize both the truth of Romans chapter 3 and that reality that nobody's good, nobody seeks God, nobody wakes up one day and says, I'm just gonna save myself. Yet at the same time, many are seeking in general. They're seeking purpose, meaning, fulfillment, answers. They just don't know that all of that will be found in Christ until the Lord leads them there and opens their eyes. Like that merchant, many are searching for something of value. And by God's grace and their search for something of value, he leads them to the greatest treasure of all, the pearl of great price. And that is a humbling reminder that God will call his people home and they will obtain the kingdom through different circumstances and places and contexts. You know, some people will have been false converts, blindly ignorant yet very moral. Others will be grossly sinful and filled with reckless worldliness in their former life, and the Lord will totally transform them so that people don't even really recognize them. Other people will have been trapped in lies and deception, like I was, under the guise of false teaching, just living for themselves, a double life of hypocrisy. Others will be looking for answers, generally mortal people, but empty and in darkness still because Christ has not transformed their heart. He will reveal himself to all who are his. Others may end up in church just because Mother's Day brought them. They wanted to make mom happy, and they end up finding a pearl of great price, the treasure that changes their life. It's a reminder. We don't determine the how, God does, but all whom he calls will obtain the kingdom and the same kingdom at that. So be careful. Some people come to Christ or are drawn to Christ in different ways than others. What's the thing that happens for everyone who is in Christ? They will enter the kingdom and they will find Christ as the treasure. Number three, the kingdom must be valued. Both individuals see the kingdom of heaven for what it is. It's symbolized in these objects, the treasure in the field, the pearl of great price, and neither is overlooked, neither is given trivial curiosity, and neither loses its luster. Once discovered, their shimmer doesn't fade. And I think this raises the question: do you love Christ? Do you live for Christ? Do you long for Christ in his kingdom? Or have you found yourself sort of in this cruise control mentality that we sometimes talk about here for the gospel where you know the high is over and now you're just sort of in the mundane of moralism? Do you long for the day when you'll leave this earthly world and earthly things behind and enter into the kingdom of heaven? Or are you holding on? Will that be a loathsome idea for you, or is it joyful? You know, both of these men are pictured as seeing the kingdom for the value that it has. It surpasses the greatness of anything else. Is that you? Is that me? Number four, the kingdom is worth any sacrifice. In this regard, both men have the same response. The kingdom is worth it, so they sell everything. They want to be able to have the treasure or the pearl of great price. I can just imagine uh, you know, in our own time that you sell everything or I sell everything, and we just we just get land, like the guy who got the field. You got no structures, you got nothing else, but man, you got the piece of land that the treasure is in. This is the picture of obtaining the kingdom of heaven. That you would give up everything. And in the end, as long as you have that thing, you have Christ, the person of Christ, you have that thing meaning assurance, entrance into the kingdom, you've got everything. Jesus teaches his disciples this in the gospel of Matthew. Time and time again, he points them to the sacrifice they're going to make now for a reward to come. You know, that's Paul the Apostle's same mentality. And the question is, is that ours? What are you willing to sacrifice in order to gain the surpassing knowledge of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord? What are you willing to lay aside so that you can enjoy your relationship with God and have free-flowing fellowship with Christ where things aren't getting in the way, sins and encumbrances and things that you're holding on to, but you'll let go of everything if it means being closer to Jesus? Do we consider our temporary afflictions, our temporary sacrifices, our temporary denials of self as really little sacrifice because of what we've gained? You know, I'll be honest with you. I really think this part of the parable resonates with me in a very vivid way. Because I recall when I was first converted, and even now, sometimes people will talk about how hard it must have been for me. And they mean well, but often I'm I'm just like painted as this victim, and oh, it must have been so hard to break away from your family and give up having wealth and all these opportunities and everything that the prosperity gospel brings and and all of that. And I'm always just staring back at people saying, honestly, there were some things that were hard, but it wasn't that hard. We got Christ, we got saved, I was rescued. I mean, we were poor. I mean, for years, we were living under the poverty line. I was at a church that paid very little and it just was okay. This is ministry. And I felt rich every day because I had Christ. Were there challenges? Of course. Were there things that I look back on and I think, man, I I never really thought about that. I never saw that for what it was. I never really worried about it. Yeah, totally. I look back and think, man, the older I get, I'm like, well, yeah, I got five kids, and I mean, there's things that you need for living. And I just look back back then. I was like, I got Jesus, I gotta live on the street. It didn't matter. And in a way, I still kind of have that mentality where, you know, life is great. It's good to have a car that runs. It's good to have food in the fridge. It's good to have clothing and and and material goods that God provides food, clothing, and shelter. Sure. But in the end, I mean, Jesus is everything. And I would give it up. I know you would give it up. There's nothing that he could ask me to do that I would just go, well, that's just too much, Lord. I just can't obey you in that way. Oh, I couldn't lay that aside. Wouldn't you give it? Up all over again, anything, any person, any attachment, any ambition, take it all. Just give me Jesus. That's still the way it is. Why? Because we're Christians. Our our hearts have been transformed. You can't leave us in any type of scenario, and we just think, man, that it's not enough. The Lord's not enough. I need him plus this. Send you to the mission field. Just give me Jesus. Put you in first world America, just give me Jesus. Put you in a nice neighborhood, beautiful home, nice car, affluent area, middle class area, poverty area. Just give me Jesus. Amen? I mean, that's really what it is. Ultimately, the principle here is this person, they're willing to give up anything. Their life, their pride, their sin, their way. Yes, their materialism. Why? Because Christ has become everything. I think of what Steve Lawson said one time. He said, There's nothing wrong with having stuff. The problem is when the stuff has you. What is the stuff of life that can get in the way of your joy if you don't have it? In the end, I want you to think of one thing. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which a man found and hid again, and from joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys a field. There's joy in this. There's so much joy. I've got to have it. And then when I get it, I'm so full of joy. That's Christ. That's his kingdom. Number five, the kingdom is obtained by individual faith. Last key point here. Maybe you've never thought about it this way or from this angle, but notice each man finds the treasure individually. I think of this in terms of Israel and uh the Jews and their entitlement and how they're God's people, and they just automatically get everything, and they got quite the attitude, the Pharisees, especially, you know, the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses is our father, Abraham is our father, all of these things. Look, the land is not inherited. He buys it, he finds the treasure, goes and gets it. Now, here Jesus doesn't allude to any type of kingdom access or treasure or pearl by way of proxy or inheritance. And I think this is a really helpful application because for us today, I mean, we need to realize each one is given salvation. Each one is given entrance into the kingdom of heaven by faith, faith alone and faith on your own, might I say. And so we have to conclude every teenager must grow to ride the wave of their own faith and not that of their parents. Every person who's a church member, you can't put more stock than is biblically allowable in the fact that you're a part of a church. Being part of a church doesn't save you and doesn't mean necessarily that you're saved. Attending a church, being a member, even giving lots of money, serving, and doing all sorts of things doesn't give you entrance to the kingdom. Faith in Christ, treasuring Christ, your whole life for Christ, your love for Christ, all of that is that's what gives you entrance into the kingdom. Why do I name all those things? Because all those things are synonymous with genuine faith. People with genuine faith, they love Jesus. People putting on a show, they don't actually love him. They're just putting on the veneer. They're cleaning the outside of the cup. Really, they're putting lipstick on a corpse, though. They're still dead. They're just trying to make it pretty. Some questions for you to consider today. Is Christ in his kingdom a priceless treasure to you? Do you see him for who he is? If you do, it'll change your life. Number two, what have you given up to pursue Christ? It's an honest question. I'm not pushing for asceticism here. It's not my jam. I'm definitely not into that. I don't like that holier than thou stuff. Oh, look at me. I'm just, you know, a worm in the dirt and I've got nothing, and it's on purpose because now I'm really spiritual. None of that stuff. That's legalism and asceticism. But ask a question. I should too. Has pursuing Christ changed your life much? Or do you have a pattern of holding on to worldly habits but claiming to be holding on to Christ? I want to challenge you. I'm doing this in my own life with you. Think about your affections. What you pursue shows what you love. When you love Christ, nothing will get in the way. You'll move it all out of the way. You'll sell it all, give it all up, lay it all down. Why? Because he's everything. Well, friends, this series has been a blessing and a joy to study and to deliver to you. I've enjoyed it, and I'm sure we'll revisit more parables in the future. Um, maybe I'll write a short booklet or something for you at some point and add several more. I know there's ones that I wanted to get to, but for sake of time, it's time for the next series. And I would love an excuse to spend more time in the parables, so maybe I will write something for you down the road. As far as where we're heading in the weeks ahead, okay. One, I want to give you like a prayer life tune-up, I would call it. So we're gonna do three weeks on prayer. It's gonna spur you on, and then we'll do our popular life-changing sermon series that we do every summer. It's five weeks, five messages that I select on life-changing topics from reputable, trustworthy preachers. These are not my own sermons, these are guys I look up to. And last year I had one from Johnny Erickson Tata, so that's why they're I will call them messages, because I we hold a position that women aren't pastors and shouldn't be getting up preaching to everybody on church on Sunday. But overall, five life-changing messages or sermons that are preached, perfect way to make the time fly on your summer road trips. And also, if you've never heard of some of the preachers I introduce you to, great content to help you grow. Besides your own pastor who should be the consistent voice in your life. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching, thanks for your support. For more information or to partner with us, go to forthegospel.org and be sure to subscribe here on YouTube or drop us a review if you're listening to this on Apple or Spotify. We're dropping videos and content all week long on social media, so you can also follow us there and share those encouraging resources with others. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. Keep on living for the gospel.