Dedicated To The Men of God Who Preach the Word of God As It
Is To Men As They Are
"Preach The Word"
Treasures Worth Having
PHILIPPIANS 4:18 "But I have all and abound. I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God"
For one to say. "I HAVE ALL" is a great statement to make about not wanting anything God has not sent. Very few people in this vile world are truly satisfied with what they have. Just about everybody you meet will tell you at one time or another some of the "things" he or she would like to have.
Because we live in a materialistic society, most people
have come to think in terms of "things" which a person may
possess. The Lord Jesus Christ gave a straight word about
"things" as Luke 12:15 records it:
"And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a
man ‘s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth."
This statement of the Lord Jesus may be hard to remember, but since the Lord Jesus Christ always and only spoke the truth, we accept His words and know they are true. "Things" speak of material possessions, or material things coveted after.
I will not sit in judgment on you, but in my life there have been thoughts like this: "If I just had this thing or that thing, I know I would be satisfied." But "things" do not ever satisfy.
A number of years ago, I was asked what I wanted for Christmas. I had seen a metal cabinet which I thought would be good for holding small tools and supplies, and it was under $40, so I told whoever it was that asked me that I wouldn
*t mind having that little cabinet. The money was handed to me, and I ordered that little cabinet that hangs on a wall in my workshop area of the basement. It did not come for several weeks, and I wrote the company about the order. No response came. I contacted one of these outfits that goes after false advertisers. When they made contact with that firm, I received shipment of the cabinet, and a letter of apology and a plea not to put those people on their case again.Mister I got that cabinet, it had cost me so much trouble and wondering if I would ever receive what I had paid for, I found that I did not really care much about that "thing."
We want to consider in this message and three more after this one TREASURES WORTH HAVING. Every one of these treasures we will consider fails to fall under the head of "material" possessions. What the Apostle Paul had received from the church at Philippi might have come under the heading of "material" possessions. Whether they sent him money, or clothing or food, the Bible does not say. But whatever it was, it was satisfactory to this great man of God. God grant that all who know Christ as Saviour will be satisfied with what God provides for us through His Son and His written Word. Look at some TREASURES WORTH HAVING
I. First, Faith In God
Mark 11:22 "And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God."
Simon Peter had taken notice that the fig tree Christ had cursed the day before
was already withered away. It was then that the Lord Jesus said: "Have faith in God." The Lord was instructing His disciples how to get their prayers answered. God is the only one who can answer our prayers.There is another truth for us to see in this statement of our Saviour. It is: Have the faith that God gives Some may ask, "How can I have faith?" The answer to that is found in Romans 10 17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God"
Since God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). when you read God
*s Word, hear God*s Word, then BELIEVE what God*s Word says. God gives faith to all who receive His Word. The truth will cause us to take God at His Word..Christ prayed, as John 17:17 tells us, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."
FAITH IN GOD is the basis of all blessings from God. Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comet/i to God must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."FAITH IN GOD is one of the greatest blessings anybody can ever enjoy. All we can do for anybody who does not believe God is PITY that individual, and of course, PRAY for such an unbeliever.
Anybody who does not have faith in God is the most poverty- stricken person alive on the face of the earth. Faith in God is a treasure worth having.
II. Second, Everlasting Life
John 3:36 "He that believeth on the Son hat/i everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."
Any person who does not have everlasting life is dead in trespasses and sins. The opposite of life is death. The opposite of everlasting life is everlasting death, and the wrath of God forever.
All who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ receive God
*s gift of everlasting life. Christ Himself is eternal or everlasting life. I John 5:20 says of Christ:"...
This is the true God, and eternal life." That is why I John 5:12 tells us: "He that hath the Son hath ljfe; and he that hath not the Son of God hat/i not life."You can have everlasting life now, while you live in this world, and you can know that you have everlasting life now. Anybody who does not know he now has everlasting life is in a pitiful condition.
I would be afraid to go to sleep at night if I did not know I have everlasting life now. I would be afraid to ride in a car, or fly in an airplane, or walk on a sidewalk if I did not know I have everlasting life now. There are too many possibilities for sudden death to overtake anybody, for a person to not care about his relationship to God.
The only time to get everlasting life is while one lives in this world. That is something you cannot get after you die. The Bible is God
*s authoritative Word, and the Bible says: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." That word "hath" means right now.Do you know that you have everlasting life? If that assurance is not in your soul,
today is the day to receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith and get that blessed assurance that you have the treasure of everlasting life in Christ. Everlasting life is a treasure worth having!
III. Third, The Joy Of Christ Is A Treasure Worth Having
John 17:13 "And now come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves."
Here is the Son of the living God, praying what we know to be the Lord
*s prayer. He is praying for His disciples. What kind of condition were they in at the time of Christ*s praying this prayer? They were joyless, poor, weak, needy, and helpless ones that sin had marred, and sorrow had dimmed their view, and the fear of death had long held them subject to bondage.Christ prays that they might have JOY! What joy is this? He says: "My JOY fulfilled in themselves." This is heavenly joy. Nothing of earth can be mixed with this and it be "MY JOY"--the JOY of the Lord.
This joy is not just presented and proposed to them. It is "My joy fulfilled in them." This joy apprehended, understood, realized and entered into. It is joy complete, satisfying, sustaining; joy fulfilled in themselves--not in somebody else, but in themselves.
-The Lord Jesus Christ says: "MY JOY." We may consider His words from three points of view:
1."My joy"--This is Christ
*s joy which is His to give; joy of which He is both Author and Giver.2."MY joy"—The joy of which Christ Himself is the Object, Subject and Element."
3."My joy"—His own personal joy.
Christ came down from heaven to give us joy.
Isaiah 61:3 "The oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."
The angel of the Lord at Christ
*s birth gave these words we find recorded in Luke 2:10,11:...... behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord"The only real and abiding joy is in the knowledge and enjoyment of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Christ is the foundation and person of all our heavenly joy.
John 15:11 "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."
There are two motives for joy in Christ:
1.What He has done for us.
2. What He is in Himself.
I Peter 1:8
That word "unspeakable "does not mean we cannot tell about the joy of the Lord. We can express the joy of the Lord as much as our poor abilities allow us to do so. But, if our tongues were set on fire, and we were to begin day and night, and year by year, to tell of His worth, and the inexhaustible fullness of the joy He gives us, we could never tell it all, because it is "full of glory."
Psalm 43:4 tells us of David
*s joy: "Then will go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, 0 God my God."The Joy of the Lord is a treasure worth having. Do you enjoy the Lord*s joy in your soul?
IV. Fourth, The Light Of Life Is A Treasure Worth
Having
A sinner without Christ IS darkness according to Ephesians 5:8 "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light."
Before the sinner is saved, he walks in darkness. And that lost sinner is darkness personified. When the sinner receives the Saviour, being in Christ we have "the light of life."
All who reject Christ hate the light. John 3:19,20 makes this clear:
"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were eviL For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither comet/i to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved"
The only source of light is "the light of the
world," and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. John 1:6-9 tells us about
that light.
"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came
for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him
might believe. 1-fe was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of
that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh
into the world."
Christ is Light. Have you received the light of the world? All who receive the Lord Jesus Christ have "the light of life." Anybody else, or anything else that claims to be "light" is a lie when compared to Christ who is the TRUTH.
The "Light of life" is a treasure worth having.
V. Fifth, The Commandments Of Jesus Are Treasures Worth Having
John 14:21 "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and 1w ill love him, and manifest myself to him."
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my
commandments. "John 14:23 "Jesus answered and said unto him, If
a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we
will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
The commandments of Jesus speak of what He has told His servants to
do. The Lord Jesus Christ tells the saved how to behave in such a way as
to be well pleasing in His sight. The Lord Jesus Christ never puts anybody
under the law of Moses as a way of life. John 1:17 gives us the contrast
between law and grace in these words: "For the law was given by
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
What saved people need to ask ourselves is: "How am I doing in my obedience to the living Saviour? Commandments speak of our obedience to the Lord. It is a wonderful life when God
*s redeemed people keep Christ*s words. A life of obedience to Christ is the direct product of the salvation Christ gives us as a free gift.Nobody in any dispensation ever earned salvation by a certain set of rules. commandments or laws, or by his own obedience. Romans 5:19 tells us whose "obedience" saves sinners: "For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."Christ*s commands and our obedience to Him is a Treasure Worth Having.
VI. Sixth, Hope Toward God Is A Treasure Worth Having
Acts 24:15 "And have hope toward God, which
they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the
dead, both of the just and unjust."
"Hope" is made up of expectation, belief and patience. Paul
is testifying before Governor Felix. Paul told the governor about the
problem with his own people, the Jews. It was the party of the Sadducees
that denied any kind of resurrection.
Paul was a God-fearing, Bible-believing man. Paul believed everything written in the law and the prophets. Any person who believes God
*s Word is going to find rough sledding as he passes through this world.There are enough infidels who deny God
*s written Word to give trouble to all of God*s people who believe God*s Word. I have seen people snicker and laugh when the basic truths of God*s Word have been preached to them. They WON*T LAUGH when they get to HELL! But it will be too late for them to change their minds and believe what God*s Book says then. Paul believed in two resurrections in the future- -one of the just and one of the unjust. That was the basis of his hope toward God. He believed that God would perform all of His promises, and resurrection is one of God*s promises.Job surely gave a great testimony of his faith, as Job
19:25-27 records it:
"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at
the latter day
VII. Last, A Conscience Void Of Offence Is A Treasure Worth Having
Acts 24:16 "And herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men."
Paul wanted nothing to be on his conscience that would hinder his fellowship with the God of Heaven. The way to have a "conscience void of offence toward God" is to be sensitive to sin, and to be faithful to confess sins to the Lord.
The remedy for sin in a saved person
*s life is found in I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."CA. Tindley wrote a song entitled "NOTHING BETWEEN"
Nothing between my soul and the Saviour,
Naught of this world
*s delusive dream;I have renounced all sinful pleasure,
Jesus is mine; Let nothing between.
Nothing between, like worldly pleasure,
Habits of life, tho
* harmless they seem,Must not my heart from Him ever sever,
He is my all; let nothing between.
Nothing between like pride or station;
Self or friends shall not intervene;
Tho
* it may cost me much tribulation,I am resolved, let nothing between.
Nothing between, e
*en many hard trials,Tho
* the whole world against me convene;Watching with prayer and much self denial,
I
*ll triumph at last, with nothing between.Nothing between my soul and the Saviour,
So that His blessed face may be seen;
Nothing preventing the least of His favour,
Keep the way clear! Let nothing between."
And then Acts 24:16 SAYS:
"to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men."God forbid that we should harbor ill will toward those outside or inside the household of faith. While we pass through this world on our pilgrim journey. we want to be right with God and man.
A conscience void of offence is a treasure worth having.
DO YOU HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE?
That is the basis for all these treasures worth having.
If you have not yet received the Saviour, now is the time to call on him to save you from sin and hell, and save you for heaven and home.
Sermon From Dr.
Ben Byrd
Pastor Gospel Baptist
Church--Newton, NC
