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Again, the kingdom of
Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he
hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that
field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is
like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly 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
If you were to discover how
precious Heaven is, what would you do about it?
Many people know about
Heaven, but have they taken the necessary steps to obtain it for themselves?
Heaven is real! As sure as I am standing here, and as sure as you are sitting
where you are, Heaven is a reality. You may ask, “How do you know that preacher;
have you seen it?” “No, I have not seen it” Eye hath not seen, ear hath
not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man that which the Lord Jesus
hath prepared for us.
However,
I know on the authority of God’s word that Heaven is real! I have placed my
trust and my life into Lord Jesus Christ so that when this life is over I will
have something to look forward to. Aren’t you glad that what we call the present
is not the end of the story? There is something worth living and dying for!
What would you do to obtain Heaven?
Many people are expecting to
receive the rewards of Heaven, but have not gone through the proper steps to
obtain it. Friend, you are living on dangerous terms. You are standing on
quicksand and one day the sands will engulf you. What does it take to know
Heaven is waiting? One little three-letter word….ALL!
Notice what He said; “that
man goeth and selleth ALL to buy the field.” What would you trade for
Heaven today? This is not “The Price is Right,” or “Let’s Make a Deal.” This is
not a game show. It is not a game, period! Would you trade ALL for
glory? That is what the parable says -- he sold all for purchase of the field.
How much is Heaven worth? You cannot put a price on it. There is not enough
wealth to buy a ticket to Heaven. Your reservation to Heaven has already been
paid for, but you and I did not pay one dime for it. Jesus paid our way from
the cross. His sinless blood purchased it for “whosoever will.” So, what does
it take? It takes ALL.
Preacher, “does it mean it
takes everything I have to get my reservation to Heaven?” You cannot go halfway
with God and expect Him to reward you with the price of Heaven. You have to be
willing to give everything to God. Luke 10:25-27.…a certain lawyer
tempted Jesus saying, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life.” Jesus
answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with ALL, thy heart, soul,
strength, and mind and love thy neighbor as thyself. “Then Jesus answered,
“thou has answered right, this do and thou shall live.”
What did Jesus say you must
do to inherit eternal life? Love God with ALL
your heart, mind, and soul. Love Him with everything, you have. To do
this is pleasing to God. That is straightforward, direct, and not one bit hard
to understand. Sadly, some don’t want to love God that much. They want to
love Him just enough to come into the church on Sunday morning for an hour or
two, then go live their own life the rest of the week. You cannot pick one day
to love God. It must be a twenty-four/seven love for God.
The rich young ruler in Luke
10 kept all the commandments yet was lacking one thing. He was not willing to
give up all his riches and follow Jesus. His riches were more important to him
than the promise of an eternal life in Heaven. The important thing is not what
you have now but what you will have later -- spending eternity with Jesus
Christ. God takes nothing from me; my God supplies ALL my needs.
“Preacher, I don’t want to
become a Christian if I have to lose all my stuff for God.”
I Timothy 6:17-19..Charge
them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in
uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly ALL things to
enjoy; that they do good works, willing to distribute and communicate; laying up
in store for themselves a good foundation against a time to come, that they may
lay hold on eternal life.
Would you give up what you
have here on earth to gain a storehouse of wealth in the hereafter? Jesus says
in Matthew 6:19-20..Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon this earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt, where thieves break through and steal: lay up
for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust can corrupt and
thieves cannot enter and steal.
How can we lay up treasures
in Heaven? By giving ALL we have for God
Brother JR Fields........November 19, 2006.
Sermon edited by Mary King
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