Christ: The Hidden Treasure

In this part of the sermon: He explains the historical context of burying valuables and the simple narrative of the man finding, hiding, and joyfully selling all to buy the field containing the treasure…

Martin shares a personal anecdote about buying gold coins in 1974 and storing them in a safe deposit box, illustrating the modern way of securing valuables, contrasting it with ancient practices.

like before the days of a local bank where you could go down and rent a safe deposit box to put your valuables. I remember back in 1974, I think it was, we came into a little bit of money from one of our relatives, and I had received some counsel that I ought to put a little bit of it into gold. And so I bought eight Mexican, I forgot what they were, gold coins. At the time, gold, I think it was $250 an ounce, invested $2,000 in gold. And there it's been sitting since 1974 and isn't worth much more than that now. I'd like to go to the person that gave me that counsel, but be that as it may. I ...

15:05 - 16:02 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He explains the historical context of burying valuables and the simple narrative of the man finding, hiding, and joyfully selling all to buy the field containing the treasure…

He explains that in ancient times, people buried valuables in obscure places due to the lack of banks or safes, providing context for the 'treasure hidden in the field' in the parable.

Heavy, thick, steel, lead-lined safes that you could purchase and keep somewhere in your basement that weighed 500 pounds and put your valuables in there. Grandma's old ring and all the rest. No, if you had something very valuable, it was not unusual to take that commodity, whatever it was, coins, jewelry, and to put it in a substantial, thick wooden box and bury it in some obscure place. Some who've studied the times, some of our lords said that wealthy men would be advised to split up their assets like that into three major divisions, and one of them should be buried. Well, apparently what h...

16:02 - 17:11 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He explains the historical context of burying valuables and the simple narrative of the man finding, hiding, and joyfully selling all to buy the field containing the treasure…

Martin vividly imagines the man in the parable 'whistling all the while he was selling' his possessions, emphasizing the joy and eagerness with which he relinquished everything for the treasure.

it means from, from the very posture and out of the context, and because of his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Now, I don't know if he had a garage sale. I don't know if he advertised in the local paper or went to the local supermarket where they pin announcements and said, everything for sale, cheap, first bidder, first come, first serve, it's there for cheap. I don't know. But one thing is clear. He was whistling all the while he was selling. It says, and in his joy, he goes and he sells. So you can't think of him saying, oh, I've got a treasure there in the fiel...

18:42 - 19:34 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The discovery of the great worth of Christ and the salvation that is in Christ will always cause a sinner joyfully to dispense with anything and everything that would keep him from possessing Christ and the salvation off…

He uses the examples of an old grandfather's clock or family rings with deep emotional ties to illustrate how even cherished sentimental items become expendable when a greater treasure (Christ) is discovered.

This man may have had deep, long-term emotional ties to an old grandfather's clock in his living room, but once he got enamored with the treasure, away with grandpa's clock.

34:10 - 34:24 Read in full sermon

The point: Cry to God that He would, by His Spirit through the Word, make Christ the treasure and discover Him in His beauty.

Martin recounts an Indonesian preacher's broken English testimony about Abraham: 'God says, Go, and heart don't want go. Heart don't want go. But when I see Him, heart go.' This illustrates how seeing Christ's beauty overcomes reluctance.

Many years ago, I heard an Indonesian preacher, and in his broken English, and I won't try to imitate his broken English, was preaching on this theme out of the experience of Abraham. And he says, God says, Go, and heart don't want go. Heart don't want go. But when I see Him, heart go.

55:52 - 56:13 Read in full sermon

The point: For young people, do not believe the devil's lie that following Christ leads to a joyless, struggle-filled existence; look to older believers as monuments of joy in Christ.

He references the popular TV show 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' and the lottery to illustrate the widespread societal lie that true treasure and fulfillment are found in money and material possessions, contrasting it with Christ as the true treasure.

Isn't it interesting that the program that has knocked the charts into all kinds of disarray is Regis's you want to be a millionaire. Isn't that amazing? It's amazed people. And now all the other stations, not all of them, several others have come up with imitations of it.

59:27 - 59:49 Read in full sermon