Apostles Church

Joy. Matthew 13:44-46. All marketing is geared toward your quest for happiness. Even duty is performed to keep us from the unhappiness of the guilt of failing in our duties. People do things because they think it will make them happy. Pascal "All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves." Pascal, Pensees. Jesus tells parables that show us that this quest for Joy ends in Him. The Kingdom of Heaven, or KofGod, is the gracious rule of God restoring all things. Jesus is the King that brings about this Kingdom. To find and enter the Kingdom of God, is to personally have Jesus as King over our lives, ruling over us with forgiveness, love and power to save from sin, self and judgment and to transform us.

Parable: Two men find a treasure. One stumbles upon a buried treasure while walking. The other is on a search for fine pearls and finds one that is a pearl of great price – a pearl that surpasses all other pearls. Both make an assessment of the worth of what they have found and deem it to be of supreme of value. Because of its great worth and surpassing value, they are willing to liquidate all they have just to own this one thing. They are willing to lose all things just to have this one thing. They do not sweat the price tag on it, because the thought of possessing it brings such great joy that losing all things for the sake of this one thing is not a sacrifice but an opportunity.
    Jesus is saying, this is what it is like when someone comes to understand who He is and responds to him.  He is saying that to come to a true understanding of who He is, is to have found the one thing that is worth losing all things to have. He is not saying that salvation, forgiveness and belonging in the Kingdom can be purchased. He is saying that there is nothing of greater worth and that possessing it brings such great joy that it is a bargain at any price. Losing everything for it is to gain. Philippians 3:8. Lost that I might gain Christ, the surpassing value.

This Assessment is How We Enter the Christian Life. This is language to describe how one becomes a Christian. They see Christ – the Son of God incarnate, sinless, crucified for our sins, buried, risen, exalted, reigning and returning. They see the salvation he brings – forgiveness of sins, guilt and shame, reconciliation to the Father, adoption, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. And they see that Christ is the greatest thing they could live for and die for and they turn away from everything they valued above him and acquire him by faith. Becoming a Christian is not just about the intellect; it is about the affections. John 3:19. The men in this parable are filled with joy. Jesus is not your God until He is your treasure. You make a God out what you find most pleasure in. Augustine. “How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose… You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure… you who outshine all light… you who surpass all honor…O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation.” Confessions, IX, 1.

This Assessment is How we Live the Christian Life. Firm conviction that Jesus is better than anything else in this world. The pleasure and joy that is in Him is real, lasting and deep. All other pleasures are shallow entertainments. But knowing him, experiencing him, trusting him, imitating him, being made more and more like him is the greatest and highest pursuit of our lives. I live the Christian life by making this assessment day by day and moment by moment and acting upon it. Philippians 3:7-8. Past/present tense. Count everything else as loss. In other words, “I measure the importance of everything in my life by how it impacts my relationship with Christ.”
This is the only way to overcome temptation. Heb 11:24-26. When we give into temptation we have made an assessment – this is better than Jesus and the life he gives. The problem is with our affections. We have a greater desire for sin than we do for Jesus. We have believed that fullness of joy can be found outside of him in Egypt rather than in Him; that Egypt is better than Jesus. And it is not that the worth of Jesus has been legitimately surpassed. The problem lies not in Christ as if he is lacking in greatness or grace. The problem is with us and our ability to see him as the surpassing value. If I choose a 5lb bag of peanut M&M’s over a 5lb bag of gold, that is not a statement about gold, but of my misplaced value. Only when we can feel the supremacy of Christ – that knowing, experiencing, hearing, obeying, and imitating him and being a instrument in his purposes is better than any pleasure –we will continue to give in to counterfeit joys that rob us of true and lasting joy.  “Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” CS Lewis, Weight of Glory. When you overcome temptation because Christ is better to you than your sin, this exalts Christ. It is possible that you overcome temptation by sheer willpower but that only exalts you, and the pride of morality is as sinful as the worst immorality.
This is the only way we will ever risk great loss for Jesus. When we follow Christ, we will be called to risk for him. He ask things of us and leads us in ways that challenge our comfort level and mode of self-preservation. Whether that is speaking the gospel to another person and fearing the loss of face or rejection, or giving generously to meet a need (benevolence fund), or answering his call to put roots down in the city, or give your life to making him known among an unreached people, He calls us to costly things. There will be an assessment you will have to make. Is Christ and his Kingdom of greater value than my own safety, preference and comfort? Acts 20:22-24. Assessment – Christ and his purposes are better than my life and safety. I want to do all that is in his heart for me for his sake and mine. There is always a chance that obedience to Jesus might cost you greatly and leave you with just him. But the overwhelming majority of people who have experienced this have said, “He is All – and He is enough.” 

So, Christ is the great treasure. That assessment is required to enter the Christian life; and it is required to live it. But, how do we come to see and experience him as the great treasure. Many things but time for one: Dwell on him. Like a merchant who painstakingly examines the pearl so that he becomes convinced that it is the One of great price, you have to dwell upon Jesus. Think about him. Read the Gospels. See him incarnate, dying. Christmas: He is the one who has lost everything to gain a treasure for himself, a people for his own pleasure. See him rising, ascending, reigning, patiently waiting, returning…Pray that God would stir your affections for Christ. That you would truly see him. This is why we are committed to preaching Christ at Apostles Church. Not 7 steps, but Jesus. In the account of the beginning of Starbucks, Howard Schultz writes  “…you don’t just give the customer what they ask for. If you offer them something they’re not accustomed to, something so far superior that it takes a while to develop their palates, you can create a sense of discovery and excitement and loyalty that will bond them to you. It may take longer, but if you have a great product, you can educate your customers to like it rather than kowtowing to mass-market appeal.” Howard Schultz, Pour Your Heart Into It. Amidst the mass market appeal of money, sex, and power, we preach Christ and hope that you will come to experience him as far superior and develop a palate for Him and all that He desires for your life.