Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser
What is it in your life that you treasure? Is it someone? Is it something? Is it some experience in your life? What is it that you treasure? When we consider what we treasure the most, what does it really mean? To treasure something means to hold it dear, close and protected. That thing holds a high value to you and you love it dearly. So, what is it that you truly treasure in life? When you think about treasure, what do you imagine? Most people would answer, “Money, prosperity, and riches.” However, if that is the only thing that comes to mind, then you must be very poor. The best things in life are not material possessions, for they transcend the material realm. The best things in life are of a higher quality, beyond the grasp of material possessions.
So, let me ask you again: what do you possess that you treasure most? Is it your spouse, children, job, or your friends? Do you know that you possess Christ? If you’re not a Christian, that won’t make one bit of sense to you, and I understand that. But most of you are, and a lot of you who are reading this are. You’re believers. And of all the people who had many things to treasure, Paul, the Apostle and bondservant of Jesus Christ, was certainly one of them. It’s interesting in the Scripture that he mentions that we have this extraordinary treasure in us. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). This treasure is Christ Himself living inside of us, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
We have the presence of God, His Holy Spirit, living inside of us. This is what God has designed for every believer. We have the hope of glory. As believers, we need to treasure what we’ve received, heard, seen, and experienced. We are to treasure it in our hearts, quietly holding it there, pondering, examining, and enjoying it. The apostle Paul said: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
God wants us to put him first. He wants us to treasure him most. The reason he wants us to put him first is so that we will not have our hearts drawn away from the things of God. The Bible says when we hear the word; because of the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things can come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful (see Mark 4:19). A key to success in the kingdom of God is singleness of purpose. The apostle Paul said: Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13).
We need to have singleness of purpose because we don’t have the capacity to do our best in two areas at the same time. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24). Yes, there’re some material things that are good, and God is a good God. He gives us what we need and much more than we deserve – much more oftentimes than we expect or anticipate (Ephesians 3:20). Therefore if we will simply put God and His kingdom first in every area of our lives, He will add unto us all the wealth that we need (Matthew 6:33).
" The best things in life are not material possessions, for they transcend the material realm. "
“The blessing of the LORD, it makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22). It’s when we covet after money that we pierce ourselves through with many sorrows. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10).
Where does God fit in your desire pattern? And if you think about it, not putting Him as number one implies having an idol in your life. You might say, “Oh, my spouse is not an idol”. Is your spouse number one or is God number one? Are your children number one or is God number one? Is your job number one or is God number one? What do you treasure most? You possess Christ. Do you treasure Him most? Or is there something else in your life that you treasure more? Whatever it is, I can tell you that because He loves you, He’s going to knock on your door. Therefore, we’re to seek Him diligently and with all our hearts.
When we think about what it is that you possess that you treasure most: what does that include? If I treasure you then I’m going to have a relationship with you. If I treasure somebody, I’m going to have a desire to know them. When the Bible talks about knowing someone, it is an intimate knowledge. That is, if I treasure God, I have a desire to know him and it’ll always be an unquenchable desire that no matter how much I know, I want to know more. Why? Because there’s something inside of me that desires to have an intimate personal relationship with him.
I may know lots of people, but the one person I want to know above everyone else is Jesus. I want to know why he thinks the way he thinks, and why He said the things that He said. Even the unbelievers testified that no one spoke like Him. When the chief priests sent soldiers to arrest Jesus, they didn’t arrest him. They went back to report that they were marvelled at the way he spoke. Finally, the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” 46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied (John 7:45-46).
If I treasure Jesus then I want to know why He said the things that He said. So, what are some of the things He said?
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.
For what shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Do you treasure what he said in your heart?
