“You Have Treasures Beyond Imagination!”
10th Sunday after Pentecost August 21, 2011 Pastor Thomas Kock
Grace, mercy, and peace are yours, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Word of God upon which we’ll focus today is our New Testament lesson, found in the book of Romans. It’s one of the most-quoted and well-loved texts in all of the Bible. (Read text.) In the name of Jesus, who chose, called, justified and glorified you, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
A treasure is in the eye of the beholder, right? “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” There are all sorts of stories out there about things which have taken place in the course of history where people bought and sold things for prices which they thought were fair and/or right for them, but which seen in the perspective of history seem not so wise.
For example, on May 24, 1626 a guy named Peter Minuit purchased the island of Manhattan for goods estimated to be worth 60 Dutch guilders, which in the 19th Century was estimated to be the equivalent of $24.00. I’m sure at the time $24 was lots of money! I’m sure the Indians felt like that had gotten a great deal, and made great use of the goods which Minuit used to purchase the land. Do you guess that both parties might have stressed about the purchase price? Do you guess that each side might have spent a sleepless night, or that they each might have had arguments with themselves or with people around them as to whether they were paying too much, too little, etc? Yeah, I’m guessing.
As we look at it today, we recognize that Manhattan real estate is crazy-expensive. Would $24 buy one foot of the island now? Do you guess that the descendants of that Indian tribe might wish today that their ancestors had held onto that land? Do you guess that the descendants of Peter Minuit might wish the same thing? Was that $24 a treasure? While it might have seemed so then, it doesn’t seem so now.
But the reality is, if the island of Manhattan had been sold, say, in the 1200’s, it would have probably sold for far less. And all the same thoughts would apply: people would have stressed about it, people would have felt like they had gotten a treasure for it, etc.
And, a couple hundred years from now, the island of Manhattan will probably be worth many more times what it’s worth today, and people will chuckle about the prices which people pay today.
Unless, of course, Jesus comes back. At that point, what will Manhattan be worth? Well, it will be worth exactly zero. Nothing. Nada. Yeah, and how about our homes? Our cars? Our bank accounts? Our collections? Our degrees? Yeah, all those things will be worth exactly zero, too. Nothing.
What will matter when Jesus comes back? What will matter – and the ONLY things which will matter – are the spiritual matters, the eternal things. It will matter that we trust that Jesus is our Savior. It will matter that Jesus died and rose. It will matter that we were baptized, that we heard the Word of God regularly so that our faith will be fed, that we were in SS and worship and that we opened up the Word of God in our homes. Those things will matter!
And yet how many “$24 deals” we make, where we exchange something which is of great value in the long-term for something which seems valuable in the short term. How many times haven’t we skipped adult SS so that we could sleep in later, or get to the restaurant more quickly, or so that we could get to the lake more quickly, or because we thought it wasn’t all that important? How many times have we pushed our kids to get their math or science or English homework done, but haven’t taken the time to have family devotions with them, to read the Word with them, to pray with them? How many $24 deals are we making in regards to our eternal, spiritual well-being, and in regards to the eternal well-being of those around us, all the while thinking that we’re doing things that are really, really important?
Now, let’s be balanced. Is it okay to push our kids to do their homework? Absolutely. Is it okay for us to pursue hobbies or to further our degree or recreation? Sure.
But God wants us to know that those things aren’t THE treasure. THE treasures are the eternal things which God has given to us.
And in our text, God is giving us treasure after treasure after treasure! Today, I want to walk us through this text, commenting on the various aspects of this treasure, so that by the end each of us hopefully will walk out thinking, “Wow! What treasures God has given to me!” And in so doing that we’ll be all the more motivated to focus on those treasures.
Verse 28 is one of the favorite verses in all the Bible: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” What a treasure, huh? No matter what happens, you have God’s promise that it will be for your good! But there’s even more treasure in the details. Let’s focus on the word “know.” In the Greek language there are several words which mean “to know.” The one used here means “to know something intellectually, but not necessarily by experience.” To illustrate, every one of you knows Barak Obama. You know he’s our president, you’ve heard him speak, etc. But, I’ll also guess that none of us has spent any time with President Obama, has spoken to him in a personal way, etc.
By contrast, y’all know each other. You’ve spent time with each other, have talked to each other, have laughed and cried with each other. You have experiential knowledge of each other.
The Greek in v28 for “to know” is the one which emphasizes the intellectual knowledge, not the experiential. In other words, God is saying to us that we intellectually know that all things will work together for our good. Our minds know it, because God says it.
But, we might not experience it. Or perhaps better, we might not be able to figure out HOW something’s working for our good. Or, we might not FEEL like something is working for our good. The treasure is this: not only WILL all things work for our good, but we don’t have to worry about figuring out how. We don’t have to worry about feeling like it’s for our good. Rather, we simply get to trust that what God says to us is the truth, whether we understand it our not. So, think of the “worst” thing that’s ever happened in your life. No matter what it is, no matter how you feel about it, God’s promise is that it has – and will – be for your good, whether you feel like it’s good or not, whether you can understand how it’s good or not.
And why does God make all things work for our good? Because you’ve been called according to His purpose. And what is God’s purpose? God’s purpose is to take you to heaven. God’s purpose is to save you eternally. And God’s been focused on that, well, forever! He explains:
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to
be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brothers.” (
And knowing you that way, what did God do for you? He “predestined” you. That Greek word means something like this: “To set a fence around, in advance.” Knowing you the way He did, God chose you to be part of His “fenced in area.” Or maybe we could say, “In spite of knowing you the way He did, God chose you to be one of His children.” Before God ever said, “Let there be light,” God said, “John, Heidi, Daren, Lisa – you are Mine! I claim you as MY child!” Can you imagine? God did that for you before the world was even created! HE placed His fence around you! What a treasure!
And, God did that so that Jesus would have “companionship.” Jesus became a real human being. Why? In order to save us real human beings. Jesus – true God and true man – went to the cross and paid for our sins, in full, completely. It’s because of Jesus’ sacrifice that God could choose you and me to be His children. And, Jesus remained human. So now, Jesus is your brother. He considers you and me to be His brothers and sisters. Can you imagine? You are a brother, a sister, to GOD! Talk about status! Talk about a great family bond! And that’s yours! What a treasure!
So in the course of time, God brought it to you personally. He CALLED you. The Greek has the idea of a giving an official and important invitation. Like if the governor was giving a black-tie dinner in your honor. Obviously you’re invited; there’s no question as to whether you attend. It’s an HONOR to be invited! God gave you the official “invite” to heaven on the day you were baptized. He wrote His name upon you, He claimed you as His child. Every time you hear the Word or come to the Supper, God seals that status to you, reminds you of that status, reminds you that you are officially invited to THE banquet feast of the ages, our home in heaven.
“But, I’ve got no right to go to heaven! I’m a sinner!” Yep. And so God took the next step: He justified you. That means that God declared you to be innocent in His eyes. He could – and did – do that because Jesus your Savior went to the cross in your place, dying to pay for your sins. Because Jesus took the “guilty” verdict, God can declare you to be innocent in His eyes. Yes, you, you’re innocent in God’s eyes. What a treasure!
“And those He justified, he also glorified.” Did you notice that it’s in the past tense? God considers you to be glorious, right now! God considers you to be an inhabitant of heaven, right now! YOU are glorious in the eyes of God, right now! That’s GOD’s determination of who you really are! Right now!
And so I think we can only conclude by saying, “Wow!” God has given to you and me amazing treasures! These are truths which will carry us through this life, and on into life eternal!
And so my encouragement to you is to recognize
the treasures that are yours, and dig into them! We’re starting our new year of
adult SS next Sunday. Many of you don’t attend
And as you dig into that Word of God, as you dig into those treasures, God will continue to build you up. God will continue to remind you that all things are working for your eternal good, that He is conforming you into the likeness of His Son, that you are right in God’s eyes, that you are already glorious in the eyes of your God. And in being reminded of those truths, you’ll see the things of this world for what it is: often a $24 deal which, in the long run, isn’t worth making. By contrast, you’ll see the things of God for what they are: an amazing treasure which is worth pursuing, worth sharing, and which brings joy and satisfaction to this life. And, those treasures are yours! Amen.