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Jesus Christ is absolutely the greatest teacher that ever lived because He presented truth in such a way that no matter how you looked at it, it was still truth. Jesus taught sermons and taught by lifestyle, but His favorite way of teaching by far was through stories that illustrated spiritual principles. We call these stories "parables," and they are so simple that a child can understand them and yet so deep that you can spend a lifetime and still learn something new from them. Such were the words of the Master Teacher!

In verse 44 of our text in Matthew, we find the familiar account of the parable of treasure in a field. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hid in a field, which when a man discovers it, he doesn't tell anyone until he with great joy and happiness sells all that he has and buys that field.

We know that you can view this parable many different ways. The most obvious is that the treasure represents eternal life which is the greatest treasure that a man can ever obtain and that the field is doing the will of God. Only those who "do the will of God" will be able to have the treasure of eternal life. When you view the parable this way, several important lessons immediately emerge from the story. The first thing is that to buy the field, the man had to sell all that he had. It cost him everything else in his life, but he was willing to do it with joy because he knew the value of what was in the field. The second thing that stands out to me is that for the man wasn't interested in the field until he saw the treasure in it and then he was willing to buy the field even at great sacrifice. The third point is that the man was obviously in the field when he discovered the treasure before he actually purchased the field, so it's possible to be in the field but not have sold out to commit to it. And the last point that stands out to me so strongly is that the man did not tell anyone about the treasure until he had purchased the field and was sure the treasure was his. Then undoubtedly he told everyone that he could see!

Eternal life is the greatest treasure that a man can possess in life because all other treasures fade away. You can accumulate wealth and it will be divided up after you are gone. You can get fame and power and they will die with you. But eternal life is for forever. Like the false prophet Baalam, everyone wants to "die right" but to "die right" you must live right. If you want the treasure of eternal life, then you must sell out to and commit yourself to doing and obeying the will and the Word of God.

But let me tell you that to get the treasure will take nothing less than a total commitment on your part! There will be no half-hearted, part-time Christians in heaven because there is no such thing as a half-hearted, part-time Christian. The word "Christian" means "Christ-like" and Christ was in no way half-heartedly involved in His cause. He actually breathed and lived doing the will of God so much that others labeled Him as "beside Himself" or "having a devil." Jesus Christ was so sold out that if it took giving up His very life to complete and fulfill the will of God, then He was willing to do so. He wouldn't allow disbelieving family to separate Him from being faithful to the will of God. He wouldn't allow fellow insincere disciples to keep Him from being faithful. He wouldn't let a career that was handed to Him by Joseph keep Him from being faithful to the kingdom of God. Jesus sold out and placed the will of God first in His life. He was obedient to His heavenly calling and to the written Word of God. And the end result was a resurrection and His ascension into heaven as an example of what lays in store for us if we will be "like Him."

If you are trying to be a "half-hearted" Christian then you should be aware that you are not a Christian at all because you can't be like Christ unless you are willing to sell out on everything! To live for God will cost you some things. It will cost you doing what your fleshly desires say do. It will cost you so perhaps some ridicule and some misunderstandings by others viewing your commitment. But the scripture says that despite the great amount of sacrifice of selling everything that he had, the man in the parable did it "for joy." He happily sold out everything and committed everything to this field, because he knew the value of the treasure that it contained! If you think I'm crazy for being completely sold out to the kingdom of God and wanting to know what God's Word says about every area of my life and wanting to obey it exactly, then you have not truly realized the value of the treasure of eternal life! Any sacrifice that I have to make down here I can do with a smile on my face because I know that compared to the treasure that I have found, it will be worth it!

There are some people who claim to be Christians but they are not totally committed to allowing the Word and will of God to govern their life. They are in the field, but they have not purchased it! And let me remind you that you can come to church and hang around the field, but until you sell out everything in your life and commit to the kingdom of God, you have no claim on the treasure! There is a big difference between visiting the field and buying it!

Let me also say that for people to be willing to buy the field, they must see the treasure and get a glimpse of it's value. We tend to want to show people the sacrifice required first, but we must present to them the treasure. Because if they realize the value of eternal life, then no demand of scripture becomes too much. If you feel that the Bible is strict or too demanding, then you quite frankly haven't got a true view of how important eternal life is and how important it is to buy the field!

And in the parable the man didn't tell anybody until he had purchased the field. If you have sold out to the kingdom of God and truly have the treasure of eternal life within your possession, then you can't help but tell people about it and be excited about it! If you are not excited about Jesus and living for Him and think that praise and worship and testimonies and passion for the things of God are ridiculous, then I would say you probably don't have the treasure for yourself. You may know about it, but you haven't purchased it yet because you are telling anybody about it. But when you have sold out and bought the field, you can't help but show somebody! Passion and excitement about the things of God is one of the proofs that you have received the treasure. Paul said that the kingdom of God was "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Righteousness is living right, that's purchasing the field. You have peace in knowing that you don't have to look any further for anything greater in life. And joy because you know the value of what you've found! If you are truly saved, people ought to be able to tell by the smile on your face and by your worship! You should be happy because you've found the greatest treasure! Better than gold, silver, or precious jewels: eternal life in Jesus Christ is the greatest treasure that a man or woman can ever lay ahold upon!

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Despite me getting a little carried away with my introduction and despite the truth of all of that, I didn't come to present the parable to you that way. That was just to get you warmed up; the appetizer to the main course. I want you to think of the parable in terms of what is represented by "the field."

In the first part of Matthew 13, Jesus taught another parable in which a man planted good seed in a field and then an enemy came in at night and planted "weed seed" on top of it so that when the crop began to come up, the weeds were growing along side of the crop. If you were to skip down to the end of the chapter, you would find that Jesus said that "the field is the world" meaning that the field represented all of humanity. Human lives are represented by the field here.

In our other text we find the same analogy used by the Apostle Paul. He wrote about the revelation of truth that God has given us and said this:

We have this treasure of truth in "earthen vessels." Paul was referring to the human body as an "earthen vessel." It's not too crazy an analogy when you consider that when God created humanity, the scripture says that although He created the animals by simply speaking them into existence, for man, God reached down and scooped out a handful of dirt and formed him. God then breathed into man and he became a living soul, but we all started out initially in the hands of God as a mud pie. When God cursed man because of his sin, part of the curse was that "dust you are and to dust you shall return." Physical death of this human body was a result of man's sin and not part of the original plan of God.

It's funny when you think about it that all our bodies are is a big pile of dirt that has been given conscience and a spirit. It's funny because I think about all the hours that people spend worried about their appearance and worrying about what others think of them when they see them. They spend millions of dollars on cosmetic surgery rearranging the dirt to fit preconceived ideas of what they think it should look like. Some women live their whole lives trying to fabricate themselves into some "ideal" presented in an air brushed picture of a model that doesn't even look like that in real life herself! You want to know why I don't care the least bit about my hair disappearing? It's just a little less dirt that I've got to carry around! What does it matter if you've got a little less dirt or a little more dirt than most people? What does it matter the color or tone of your dirt? What does it matter how tall or how short or how curly or how straight your dirt is? I'm trying to help somebody who may have lived your whole life thinking that you are ugly or homely or always worried about whether you or attractive or not. Why do some people spend millions of dollars on cosmetic surgery and enhancements trying to alter their God-given appearance and yet won't spend more than twenty bucks on a Bible or Bible study help and cringe when the offering plate at church is passed around? Which one helps your spiritual man? Which one is going to live the longest? It's something to think about isn't it? There's nothing wrong with looking nice and nothing wrong with washing off the excess dirt off of your dust and putting smelling goods on so that your dirt doesn't stink, but in the end remember that where you live eternally is much more important than what you think of your dirt form that God has placed you within!

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So it really makes sense for Jesus to compare humanity to a "field." The primary component of a field is dirt, with a few other things thrown in. The word for "field" here in the Greek simply means "a plot of land." It doesn't imply great gardens or monuments or whatever but just refers to a piece of land that has grown wild. There is treasure in this field, but other than that, it's an ordinary piece of land.

Let's imagine buying a wild plot of land that has just been left natural and without any developments. Walk around it in your mind with me today -- Let's buy it in Texas. There is going to probably be pretty flowers on the land right now. But there's also going to be weeds. There might be some pretty trees there. But there might be some poison ivy there too. There might be grass, but there is definitely going to be a lot of rocks that are going to have to be moved if anything is done on this land. There will be some cactuses and thorn bushes -- we're in Texas, remember? You're probably going to discover some snakes there. Wait around long enough and a skunk will probably pass through. If you get down on your hands and knees and look close enough at the field, you will see that there are zillions of small pests there: mice and spiders and ants and creepy things with lots of legs.

Now if you purchased this land and then went back into the bank and threw a fit saying "I purchased this field but I didn't want snakes and thorns and cactuses and bugs and that skunk!" They would look at you and laugh, because you bought the field and everybody knows that all of that stuff goes with it! You bought the field because of the treasure that was in the field, so what if you've got to steer around a skunk or bear or remove a thorn bush to get to it: the treasure is worth what you get when you get the field!

God has an open invitation for "whosoever will." God does not turn anyone away that wants to be in the field of His church. That means that even in the greatest church on earth, there is going to be some thorns and some sticky situations. In every church, there is going to be some snakes that must be avoided. In every church there is going to be skunk who is always making a stink about something. There are going to be some weeds. And too many times we focus on the negative things that are found in the church and judge it by those things, but let me remind you that there are also going to be some thorn bushes that bloom into roses! There are going to be some that will grow up to be fruitful trees planted by the waters of God! There are going to be some people that will bloom and show forth the glory of God. Don't judge the field only by the poisoned ones that you see there, but judge it according to the treasure found within it! If the church is preaching and teaching truth, then that treasure that is within it is well worth having to deal with the other things in the field! Get your eyes off of the thorns and get them on the treasure! Don't let a few hypocrites turn you back because even Jesus' twelve had one hypocrite in it. Usually the people who say "I can't live for God because of all the hypocrites are the hypocrites themselves." I didn't buy the field and come to church because I expected the field to be perfect, but I'm here because I know that there is a great treasure in the field! It's hid, but I can find it if I'm willing to dig beyond the other stuff that pops up! And I know that the treasure is worth having to deal with any of the weeds that are there!

There are some people that think that the pastor or them (!) ought to kick everybody out of the church house that isn't perfect. Bro. Huntley who pastors on the east coast said that he had a lady come up to him and say "so and so did this and that, what kind of church is this?" And he immediately responded "it's a great church" because the Bible says that it is! It's a great church not because everyone in it is perfect but because of the great treasure of truth that is found within!

Jesus taught that the kingdom of God was like a field that after the owner had planted good seed, the enemy (which Jesus said represented the devil) came in and sowed weeds along with the crop. They didn't notice anything until the seeds started sprouting and weeds began to come up with the crop. The scriptures say that the servants went to the master and said "should we pull up the weeds?" And the master (which according to Jesus represented Himself) said "no, because if you try to get all of the weeds out at this early stage, then you will invariably accidentally pull out some of the crop and good seed, too." Jesus said "let them grow side by side."

Jesus understood a principle and that is when everything first sprouts the weeds and the crop come up, they are almost impossible to distinguish from each other. But give them time. Time is the key. Because eventually the crop will outgrow the weeds and begin to produce fruit and then it will be obvious to everyone which was the weeds and which was the good seed. Jesus said that the harvest they would sort it out and the weeds would be burnt and the good seed harvested.

When people come into our church and are baptized and begin to grow on the spiritual nutrients provided here, we have no way of knowing who is a product of the good seed of the Word of God or who is insincere and not really surrendering everything to Him. I've learned that if I would have picked the people that would have made it a week after they came to church, I would have made some mistakes. You see, we don't kick people out of our church because of their imperfections because first of all, you and I automatically wouldn't be here because neither of us is perfect. The other thing is that only time will tell. Jesus said that you will know a tree by it's fruits. Give the person a year or two and you will see whether or not they are truly yielding to God. If their life bears the fruit of sin: rebellion and inconsistency and pride, then it will be obvious from which seed they came. But if they bear the fruit of the Spirit and submit themselves and work through their issues with obedience to the Word of God, then it will be obvious who was really sincere and truthful with God. If somebody bothers you, then just give it time. If they are a Judas, then eventually they'll hang themselves spiritually, but if they are like the Apostle Peter, they will get things right with God and move on in the Spirit! But it is the will of God that they grow up together!

But remember that even though there may be weeds and thorns and even a few snakes, that there is treasure in the field. Don't get side tracked by the negative in the field and forget why the field is important in the first place! The church of the Living God is a field, but there is treasure hid in the field!

Are their snakes that live here? Yes! Are there wolves and skunks and weeds and pests in this county? Absolutely! But among all of those who are perhaps insincere and not the least bit interested in living for God there is great treasure also! There are people who are hungry that are hid among the others! There is a great harvest hid among the weeds!

Too many people get so focused on the negatives and those that don't want true that they forget that there is a harvest and a treasure in the field that is around us! Not everyone will want everything that God has for them, but get your eyes off of the weeds, and don't let them distract you from the treasure that is there! Jesus said "I will build my church" and there are those who are hungry just as you were that are still hid in our field. We must focus on treasure in our county and town!

And whether you realize it or not, there is treasure in that field. The Bible says:

God views marriage as a positive thing and not a "ball and chain" or "a burden." When my wife and I got married, we had probably at least twenty people see us holding hands or wanting to spend time together that said "oh, it will wear off, just give it few years." Well, we still hold hands and we still love nothing more than to just be with each other after seven and a half years!

The problem is this. Too many people fail to realize the treasure within their spouse. Sure your spouse is a field and with that field comes the weeds and the thorns and the small little pests and all of the other imperfections that we all have! But within that person is a treasure that is hid behind all of that. And too many people focus so much on the thorns and the weeds and the rocks and the poison ivy that they never find the treasure. If you can't speak with joy about your spouse, then you've focused on the wrong things and have never found the treasure that is hid there! If you don't have a happy marriage, then you are focusing on the wrong things.

Let me tell you why living together is not the same as marriage. Because to have the treasure, you must purchase the field. You can see the treasure on the field just visiting it, but it's not yours until you purchase the field. And too many people use the weeds and the thorns as excuses as to why they can't have a good marriage. It's all of how you view your field. And it's not your spouses responsibility to discover the treasure in their life, but your responsibility. So you've got to sell out to the field. I know a lot of people who are married and who are not happy because they have not sold out and totally committed to the field. If every time you have an argument or "intense fellowship" you say "I'm leaving" or you start looking elsewhere, then even though you are married, you haven't totally sold out to the field. Only when they know that you are totally committed to them, will you be able to discover the treasure of what you have!

And let me say this, people over and over forget that the grass is always greener over the septic tank. Foolish people start having issues with their spouse and they start looking at someone else and saying "now if I was married to them, things would be different." No it wouldn't because they are a field too! They have their own issues and problems, and you are focusing on the treasure that you see there and ignoring the weeds and issues in their life. Why don't you take a step back and look at your spouse with the same eyes? Look beyond their weeds and their thorns and you will see a treasure there also! And if you trade your spouse in for another field, eventually you will have the same problems in that marriage also because the issue is not the problems but that you are dwelling on the problems rather than the treasure! Somebody needs to refocus today and realize that your spouse is a field but that there is treasure in that field! I don't care if you've been focusing on the weeds and thorns for forty years, there is still treasure hid there. It's time to change our focus!

Along the same lines:

No matter how frustrated you are and how hopeless it may seem, there is still a treasure hid within that child that can be released by the power of God! Where is your focus directed?

And similarly:

It's time that instead of taking catalogues of the negative points in people's lives and begin to focus on the treasure within their life. If they need correction and reproof then the Word of God and the ministry will handle that. You need to focus on the treasure in them.

The story is told of a man in a church that wouldn't say anything bad about anybody. He was famous for it. There was another man in the church who was the most obnoxious, pessimistic, cruel jerk that ever lived. When the preacher had to preach the jerk's funeral, he was struggling for something good to say about the man and so he asked the man who had never spoken an unkind word to stand up and say something about the deceased. Everyone anxiously wondered what could be said but the man who had never said anything bad about somebody stood up and paused for a moment and then said "well, he was a good whistler." The moral of the story is that everybody, even the most obnoxious jerk that ever lived has at least something that is positive!

And if you can't find anything good to say about somebody, you can say this: "well, God said that there is treasure there, therefore even though I can't see it, there's something good within them somewhere!" Your brother and sister in Christ is not perfect, nor will they ever be, but remember that despite the imperfections they have something within them that is valuable to your life! Commit to their friendship and you will discover that there truly is treasure in their field!

Everybody has issues and sticky situations and obstacles to overcome. Everybody begins as a wild field. You can drive by a garden and admire the line pathways and the beautiful things that bloom there and you can drive by an orchard an view the stately trees heavy with their sweet fruit and you can sigh and say "My field will never be like that." But can I remind you that the garden and the orchard began as a wild field with thorns and with weeds and with no fruit just as you did? But somebody made up their mind "I'm going to buy the field and then I'm going to work on it until the treasure is revealed!" One thing is for sure: if you do nothing, then you will never be anything other than what you are, but you don't have to finish your life with everything in disarray and your relationships having failed and thorns and snakes in control!

When Mary Magdalene went seeking the body of Jesus, she mistook Him for the gardener at first. In many places in scripture God's people were likened to a vineyard planted by God and protected and tended to by a watchman, the pastor or prophet in their life. Too many of you have focused on your shortcomings and your failures and your disappointments and your circumstances and your past and your talents and all of the other weeds found in your field and have forgotten that God placed treasure in your life when He created you! If you were not important to the kingdom of God, then God would have not let you live. If you did not matter, then He would not have died on the cross. If you were hopeless then He would not have called a preacher to found this church and a pastor to tend it! If there was no worth in your life, then God would be simply wasting His time showing up to services and responding to your praise and prayer! The truth is when God sees your life, He sees all of your faults and all of your shortcomings and all of the weeds in your field, but He also responds with joy when you seek Him because through all of it He sees the treasure that is within you! It's not too late and don't believe the lie of the devil that nothing of worth can come from your life. Sure, you are a field, but there is treasure within that field!

Maybe you feel as if you are perfect and that you don't need God to do any great work. Let me remind you that even the most perfect garden must be constantly weeded and tended to remain at where they are. We need the Great Gardener of heaven to examine us and help us take our eyes off of the weeds and onto what He sees: the treasure! There is treasure in the field!