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The
Buried Treasure
When you get over in the
Scripture about Isaiah’s prophecy and through there, you
are in the right field, and if you will dig a little, it
won’t be long until you’ll find a treasure. Too many
today are trying to find it in a field of religious
education, in the field of science, in the field of this
and that or the other, or in the field of theology. You’ll
never find it there. You will find it in this field, THE
WORD, or you will never find it. God help us, to turn back
to the old fashioned truths of the Gospel and lift up a
Christ of Calvary; that will draw all men unto Him.
When he
found the field, it wasn’t long until he had the
treasure. Lord, help us to see that we have to go below
the surface. Sometimes we need someone to help us. Philip
began with that very Scripture and preached Christ to him.
It wasn’t long until he got an experience and was
baptized. Again, I want you to see that we have to go
below the surface to find this treasure. Don’t you know,
the richest mines are often found underground? You go to
the south and into the west where the gold mines are---I’ve
been there. That land is so barren and so rough, you can
hardly stand on it. It looks like it is wasted, but God
knew what He was doing. Under that most barren land, is
found the richest gold mine. I declare unto you, right
here in this very Word of God, where it looks like there’s
nothing there; you keep digging, because under those
things you think most barren, you will find the richest
treasure. In other words, friends, Jesus said, search the
Scriptures. If a lot of people would search the
Scriptures, they might find out they never received
anything, though they thought they had.
He said,
search the Scriptures for in them you think you have
eternal life. But you don’t have eternal life by the
Scriptures. The Scriptures just lead you to Christ, who
gives you eternal life. Proverbs, the second chapter, and
a few verses there, the wise man tells us the same
thing---we are going to have to search the Scriptures if
we ever find it. In other words, friend, you are going to
have to put forth a greater effort than some of you have
ever made, if you ever find this rich experience, that you
can rejoice in. Proverbs, the second chapter, “My son,
if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commands with
thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and
apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest
after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for
understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and
searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou
understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of
God.” Whosoever will; may have the knowledge of God. You
can have the understanding of God, if you will seek for it
like hidden treasures.
If you
were going to go out and literally dig up a hidden
treasure, you would not go bare handed; you would take
something with you to dig with---if you were really going
after the thing. The kingdom is the best known and the
least known thing in the world. Jesus gave us these
parables to teach us the mystery of the kingdom. He said
to His disciples, “It is given unto you.” We taught
you that in the first verse, He went out of the house and
taught the four different kinds of ground; but when He got
into the essence of the truth of the parables, He went
back into the house, and that is where the teaching took
place, and you have got to get into the house to ever
understand the teaching of this book. I say again, the
kingdom is the best known and the least known thing in the
world. Those that have it, wonder why others can’t see
it, and those that don’t have it, wonder why those that
have it, are so happy about it. No wonder Jesus said,
their ears are deaf and their eyes are blind and their
understanding is darkened. What is He talking about?
Some good
old brother or sister sits beside you in worship. Someone
is singing a glorious song of Zion; and all at once the
Spirit of God touches their soul…they rejoice! You,
sitting right beside them, and what did you feel? What did
you hear? What did you see? “I don’t see anything. I
didn’t hear anything. I didn’t feel anything.” Jesus
said in the 11th chapter of Matthew and verse 25, God “hid
these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed
them unto babes, even so Father; for so it seemed good in
thy sight.” So, my friends, we gather from God’s
eternal Word, that if we ever find this experience, if we
ever find this treasure, (speaking of a born again
experience) first, we must be treasure hunting.
The next
thing is, we have to find the right field. Can’t we see
how foolish, how much money is wasted---for science and
other groups and individuals that try to dig into this
thing to try and find anything that would prove God’s
Word true. They will never find it. Why, I just read an
article the other day, that they thought they had come up
with the answer for the Red Sea crossing. They are
hundreds of years behind. They’ll never catch up. They
haven’t got that figured out yet. Here we are, way over
in Canaan. Christ has died, we are saved and consecrated
and they are hung up at the Red Sea. Not only, must we be
treasure hunting; we must find the right field; but we
have to have some tools.
We have
proved the field is the Word of God. What kind of tools do
we need? Repentance will help us. How? It will turn us in
the right direction. Out in the world we’re going
farther away from the treasure every day. The first thing
necessary is, repent; turn around. Somebody said, how do
you know what it is. I’m a “field man”. Not a field
man for an organization; I’m a field man for God.
Someone asked, “How do you know?” Because I found it,
and anybody that can find it, can tell you where they
found it.
Well, you come through
repentance, my friend---old time humility. It will get you
down where you can dig. It will break the surface; faith
will do the excavating; the Spirit of God will take the
veil off of your eyes and you will be born again---see the
kingdom without which, no man can see it, without being
born again. I praise God that right here in this world of
sorrow, poverty, sickness, failure, being in debt, there
is to be found a kingdom of righteousness and peace in the
Holy Ghost.
Now, He
went on a little farther. He said, when a man had found
it, he hides it. What is he hiding? People that really
have this experience are taking care of it. Why, you can
tell when people have any money. They are trying to get up
or down, and I see people going along with their back
pocket half tore out, pocketbook hanging out. Well, I say,
that man hasn’t got anything. When people have really
got something, that means anything to them, they take care
of it. You can tell when people have a rich experience by
their very actions. They’re taking care of it. They are
guarding it with their life. They are careful where they
go, what they say, who they have companionship with. Why?
They don’t want to lose it.
When he
finds it, he hides it; guards it with his very life. It is
the most precious thing. Salvation is the most precious
thing that ever touched the soul of man; a heavenly gift.
Talk about people with millions. Go over to France and
give $2500 for something, and people take it down and put
it in a safe box down at the bank; maybe only look at it
once every 6 months. I am preaching about something that
came from heaven. People think it is nice to come from
France or way off somewhere, where man has hardly been.
They like to say, this is a wonderful thing; it came from
way over there. I am talking about a gift that came from
heaven, and people that really get it, hide it, and guard
it with their lives. God gave us a place to hide it; to
put it in “safe keeping”.
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