DailyDevotion Sun. 22/1/2017
LESSON 8 22/1/2017
THE PARABLE OF THE HIDDEN TREASURES
Suggested Hymns: G.H.B. 75, 80
Devotional Reading: 1 Cor. 2:6-16
Topic For Adults: Sell All To Get Godly Pearl
Topic For Youths: Don’t Miss Your Unique Opportunity
Topic For Intermediates: The Kingdom Of God Is Better Than All
Scripture Lesson: Matt. 13:44-46
Memory Verse: Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like unto 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 the field (Matt. 13:44) NKJV
DAILY DEVOTIONAL READING
Sun. 22/1/2017
Seek The Kingdom First
Matt. 6:31-34
Jesus knows that some people will become anxious about what they need in life because of lack of faith. He affirms that God has promised to provide for His children all their needs. He proceeded to tell us the vital thing which God expects from us. In verse 33, He charged us to make diligent effort to seek the kingdom of God and its righteousness i.e, we must seek earnestly to have the rule and power of God demonstrated in our lives than other things of life will be made available to us. You must make effort to obey Christ’s command so that you can possess His righteousness, then God will provide you with all necessities of life. There is no need for you to be anxious for anything if you seek the kingdom first, He will surely provide for you.
Point of Emphasis: Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness.
Prayer Point: As I seek first your kingdom, good things of life for my comfort will not elude me in Jesus’ name.
BACKGROUND
Almost everything a man desires requires a task of keeping eye on the goal and making sacrifice to achieve it. There is a need of keeping firm our ultimate aim of our membership of God’s eternal kingdom by working sacrificially and give it all it takes to retain it.
The Lord Jesus uses a parable of the hidden treasures to draw our attention to the needful sacrifice we must make for the sake of the kingdom. Sinners must do everything needful to accept the will of God for their lives.
NOTES ON THE TEXT
PART 1: ILLUSTRATION OF HOW TO FIND THE KINGDOM (MATT. 13:44-46)
Jesus used a common practice in His time (verse 44) to draw the people’s attention and understanding to know how to find the kingdom of God. It was common in Jesus’ time for people to hide precious materials in the ground. In the time of war, these things are hidden in other to prevent them from falling into the hand of the enemy. Sometimes, the owner may die and not return to retrieve the goods. The item may not be discovered until when a fortunate person comes in contact with it. The Jewish law favoured the person that found the treasure as the owner, especially, when the person bought the fields.
Again, in verse 45, Jesus made use of example of a merchandise who found a godly pearls and wanted to make it his own, sold all he has in order to make it his own.
PART 2: COST OF FINDING THE KINGDOM (MATT. 13:44-46)
It is imperative to make deductions from the parable Jesus made in order to have a clear understanding of what Jesus was telling His followers about the kingdom. Firstly, the man who found the treasures went to sell all that he had in order to make it his own. This is telling us that the person who comes in contact with the kingdom of God and wants to make it his or her own must give up everything to accept the will of God for his or her life. Also, the merchandise seeking godly pearls was going about his work when he found the goodly pear of a great price. There was nothing compared to the goodly pearl that was matter to Him. This made him to sell all he had that he could get his utmost desire. There is nothing that can be compared to the kingdom of God to true believers.
The parable focuses on the same point as in the buried treasure. The latter was searching while the former came upon it and found it unexpectedly. It is certain that the man knew the value hence he sold all to obtain the ownership.
PART 3: VALUE OF THE KINGDOM (MATT. 13:44-46)
Jesus knows the value of His kingdom to mankind. However, He doesn’t want us to do something He has not demonstrated. He put our interest in His heart, in view of this, he left His deity and paid the supreme sacrifice on the cross to give us grace to have access to the kingdom (Phil. 2:5-11). What are the things that we should give up to find and inherit the kingdom? We must give up all the mundane things which give temporary gain but result in long term pain. We must equally show attitude of gratitude on what the giver of the kingdom offers. As there was nothing comparable to the godly pearls, nothing should matter to believers more than the kingdom. Thus, we must hold our citizenship of the kingdom jealousy and invite others into it. “Seek ye first, the kingdom of God every other things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33) The kingdom is not only exciting when discovered but it is precious. A man who finds it obtains a godly heritage unquantifiable. This goes for any genuine Christians.
CONCLUSION
The parable of the hidden treasure illustrates the kingdom of God which is a priceless treasure that should be desired above all things. One should acquire the kingdom by selling all and giving up everything that would prevent our being part of it. Selling all means that we must transfer our whole heart from other interest to the one supreme interest – Christ Jesus. Strive to be Roman 12:1 compatible. “I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”.
QUESTIONS
- How can you get the best of your desired goal?
- In your own understanding, how do you consider the action of the merchandise in this parable?
- Give a precise explanation of what Jesus was telling His disciple in this parable.
- How can a believer show gratitude to what the kingdom of the giver offers?
- How should we hold our citizenship of the kingdom of God?
