The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field

An Incredible Find

A father and two daughters in Australia were walking with their dog named "Lucky" last Sunday when
they made a "lucky" find.

"I actually walked right past it but my daughter pretty much kicked it as she was walking," the
father told the Bendigo Advertiser. "She then goes, 'Dad, is this gold?' I said, 'I think it might
be.'"

It was indeed a gold nugget. They took the nugget to a local supermarket to weigh it. It weighs 20
ounces, or 1.25 pounds. The family claims that its value could be close to $24,000 U.S. dollars.

"We've come on some tough times," the father admitted, "so it's really good because we've been
struggling financially. It couldn't be better timing really." *

There is an even more incredible find that is actually available to anyone who is willing to
"search" for it.

Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid;
and for 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 beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price,
went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:44-46).

The greatest "find" is to discover the kingdom of heaven and enter into it, for it is an eternal
kingdom with spiritual blessings that are worth far more than all the gold in the world - or
anything else that this world has to offer.

Christ is reigning over His spiritual kingdom even now. He is "at the right hand of God, angels and
authorities and powers having been made subject to Him" (1 Peter 3:22). The subjects of Christ's
kingdom are those who have submitted their lives to His reign through their trusting obedience. The
spiritual kingdom of Christ on earth is the church which will become the eternal, heavenly kingdom
when Jesus returns (1 Corinthians 15:24; 2 Peter 1:11).

Sin will keep us out of Christ's kingdom (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians
5:5). We are ALL sinners, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

How does one have his sin remitted so that he can become a subject of Christ's kingdom?

Jesus told Peter, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom" (Matthew 16:19). These "keys" unlock
the doors of the kingdom so that we may enter. We find Peter and the apostles revealing the keys of
the kingdom when they proclaim Christ as Lord and Christ - "Anointed One," the King - in Acts 2. As
a result of their preaching, many of the Jews in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost realized they had
crucified the sinless Son of God. They cried out to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and
brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37).

Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). These
were the keys of the kingdom! The Jews on Pentecost and others to whom the Gospel of Christ would
be preached were told that if they placed their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turned
from their sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessed Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and were
baptized (immersed) into Christ (Acts 2:38; 22:16), then their sins would be washed away by the
blood that Jesus shed for them on the cross (Ephesians 1:7).

"Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were
added to them" (Acts 2:41). They were added to the kingdom of Christ, the church.

Those same "keys" may be used to enter in Christ's kingdom today.

Won't YOU use those keys to have your sins washed away so that you can enter into Christ's eternal
kingdom?

-- David A. Sargent

* Information gleaned from "Australian family finds $24G gold nugget on family walk with dog named
Lucky" by Nicole Darrah of Fox News, www.foxnews.com

Hu Jen-chuan

Love's Burden

In 1972, a two year old Chinese boy, Hu Jen-chuan, fell from a table and went into a coma. When he
woke up after six days he was not able to talk or move. Like any parent, his mother, was terribly
distressed. Yet her distress was multiplied by the fact that she could not afford to place him in a
nursing home.

Instead she cared for Hu Jen-chuan herself, and her care revealed the unfathomable depth of her
mother-love. You see, because he was unable to move, Hu Jen-chuan was liable to get terrible
bed-sores. So for over 30 years, his mother did the unbelievable - she carried her son on her back.
As of May 2002, Liu Kuei-lan was 65 years old and weighed 40 kilograms (about 88 pounds). Her son,
then a grown man, weighed 82 kg (about 180 lbs.).

On many occasions Liu fell and fractured bones while carrying her son. Yet she continued to carry
him. When asked how she could do it her reply was simple:

"He ain't heavy; he's my son." *

The love of Liu Kuei-lan for her son pictures the love of Christ for us.

Our sin brings a great burden upon us. We suffer the pain of our mistakes, the impact of our sins
upon those that we love, and the knowledge that we have offended the very God who created us. Our
sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) and put us on the path of destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).

But God loves us so much that He gave His one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins so that
through Him, we can be reconciled to God and receive the gift of eternal life (John 3:16; 2
Corinthians 5:17-21).

Jesus willingly took the burden of our sin upon Himself as He died on the cross. "He himself bore
our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his
wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24). Bearing the burden of our sin brought terrible pain,
suffering, and death to Jesus. His great suffering was expressed when He cried out from the cross
to His heavenly Father: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46). In order to
bring us to God, Jesus had to endure the punishment for our sin (1 Peter 3:18).

Why did He do it? Was it because it was the will of His Father to redeem mankind? Yes. But it was
also because Jesus loves us. "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for
us" (1 John 3:16 NIV).

How can we receive salvation and eternal life that Jesus provides through His atoning death?

God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts
16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans
10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16).
He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John
1:7-9).

Each of us can echo the words of the Apostle Paul: "He loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians
2:20).

Won't YOU accept the salvation and eternal life that Jesus made possible through His atoning death?

-- David A. Sargent

* Source: reported in the Taipei Times May 11, 2002 and quoted in
https://storiesforpreaching.com/category/sermonillustrations/mothers/. Adapted to reflect time
past.