Ottawa Conference: 1988, Our Treasure is in Heaven (6:19)
Address—G.H. Hayhoe
Matthew chapter 6 and verse 19. Leonard Up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, And where thieves breakthrough and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, And where thieves do not breakthrough nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. In the 13th chapter also. 13th chapter of Matthew. And the 44th verse. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field. The witch, when a man hath found behind us, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. And one other passage in Second Corinthians chapter 4. Verse 6. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted but not Forsaken. Cast down but not. Destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. Well, brethren, I was just thinking particularly of that little word treasure, thinking of how perhaps I should have read the 13th chapter. First of all, the Lord finding a treasure, we finding a treasure, and then we displaying that we have this treasure in earthen vessels. In Matthew chapter 13, we have brought before us about the Lord Jesus, the one who found a treasure, and it says for joy thereof he went and sold all that he had and bought it. What was that treasure? Oh, it's very humbling for us when we think about it, to think that the Lord looked down and saw us, poor feeble things that we are. Ones who are part of the crowd that cried away with him crucified. And that he actually found his joy and his delight in us, that he saw a treasure hid in the field. We know that the field is the world, and we're told that in the 13th chapter. And so he looked down upon this world, this world that had gone on in its evil way, this world that was in rebellion against him, and he saw a treasure. Doesn't that touch your heart and mind? That we're so dear to him that he went and. All that He had in order that he might have us as His treasure, just think of what it cost him. He left that glory on high came down into this world, and as our brother brought before us last night, took His place here in this world in a Manger, was brought up in Nazareth of Galilee, where Nathanael said, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? While he passed through this world could say foxes have holes in the birds of the air have nasty. But the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head, and so he went onward to that cross. Tells us that he bought the field. Satan, as the usurper had come in, and he had taken over this world. Remember how in the temptation he said to the Lord Jesus that the kingdoms of this world were his, and that to whomsoever he would, he would give them. He was a usurper. He had taken things over, and the world had accepted Satan as its God. For it. Tells us that Satan is the God of this world and the Prince of this world. But the Lord Jesus. He bought the field. Another day we're going to see him in his rightful place. He is going to be honored as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. All are going to acknowledge him and his rights, and every knee will bow down to him. He bought the field. But oh, brethren, how wonderful. There was a treasure in it. And who was that treasure? What was that treasure? Oh, I say again, does it not humble you and I to think that we were the treasure, those who were? Dear to him the most sacrifice was too great. He gave himself our poor hearts to win, and there he bore the wrath and judgment that our sins deserved. He died in our place. He paid the price. He bought the field, it is true, but it was for the treasure that was in it. And now he looks down. How precious we are to Him. Doesn't that touch your heart?
When Paul was writing to those at Thessalonica, he said, knowing brethren, beloved, your election of God, that is, you may be rejected by your fellow man, but as God looks down, you are one of his elect, one of the ones that he had chosen. I've heard young people say, oh, I was chosen out of a class of 40 to do such and such. They feel greatly honored, but just to think out of this world that he should have chosen you and chosen me to occupy the nearest. Place in association with himself for all eternity. We wouldn't have asked for such a thing, we wouldn't have thought about it, but in His eternal purposes He had it that all the price has been paid. Surely we can say the love of Christ constraineth us as we think of that wonderful love. So I say again, brethren, it's a humbling and yet a wonderful thought that we were the treasure, His own, not just those of us who are here. Because He looks down on this whole world. He knows those that are His, they're dear to Him. Some of us may not as walk as closely to Him as we should, but we're still precious to Him, and He loves us. Having loved His own, which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. And this is said just on the very time when they were about to forsake him and flee, when Israel had turned away from them and Jeremiah had to mournfully tell them they were going to be carried into captivity. It was at that time the Lord gave him that beautiful message. I have loved thee within everlasting with an everlasting love. Love, therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee. Oh, may that love touch our hearts. If it does, brethren, it's going to have an effect upon us. I don't believe it to be possible for a real Christian to sit down, as it were, for even 5 minutes and bask in the sunshine of that love. And to think that the God of all the earth, the One who has made everything and upholds all things by the word of His power, is looking down on us here and says that we're His. In this world. Well, that is in Matthew chapter 13. In that 6th chapter of Matthew, we find the Lord speaking a little word to his disciples. Bringing before them a very, shall I say, a very searching question for them and for ourselves, he said. Where is our treasure? Where is our treasure? We have things that we value, things that are very important to us. But where is our treasure? Truly? Oh, how often we have set our mind on something here. We have thought it was worthwhile striving after and when we received it, when we got it, we were so disappointed. Disappointed.