Address—D. Rule
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100 and 11111.
I.
Saw.
I have gone.
Mercy.
Father.
From Christmas. Christmas.
Jesus.
Christ.
No, right?
Swear good evening.
No.
Crash in our swimming games.
I must wait, I saw grieving, sleeping.
Day I was walking along the back there and.
Some little girl about yay doll. I don't know she is. She was walking the opposite direction and somewhat impulsively I stopped her and said hello and she had in under her arm.
A stuffed animal.
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And I asked her what the name of the.
Her belonging, her possession was, and she said, Princess.
I want to talk about that.
Princess was her treasure.
That was her treasure.
How long it'll be your treasure, I don't know.
But when I was her age I had the same.
I carried it around wherever I went.
That went to bed with me and ultimately my treasure was.
A rag. Practically, it was a mess.
It had run its course, we would say, and it's on my heart, I trust of the Lord, that we consider treasure.
So let's turn to Luke's gospel.
Chapter 6.
I think it's.
Fair to say, everybody in this room.
As things that you consider.
A treasure things that you value.
And you care about and God's Word talks to us about it and I think gives us some help in understanding what's worthwhile as a treasure. So here in Luke's gospel.
Chapter 6.
It says.
In verse.
45.
A Goodman.
Out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good.
An evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil.
For of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth my sayings and doeth them, I will show you To whom He is like, He is like a man that built a house.
And dig deep and laid the foundation on a rock. And when the flood arose.
And the stream vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it, or it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth and doeth not is like a man that hath that without a foundation built in house.
Upon the earth against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell.
And the ruin of that house was great.
Little Princess the little girl had.
As a treasure.
What would have happened? I don't know if I'd said give it to me.
What would have happened was what was in that child's heart would have determined the value of that treasure. I call it a treasure, and I doubt not it was.
Here we learned where our treasures are kept.
You've got a treasure or treasures in your life and the keeping of those treasures.
Is your heart.
A Goodman out of the good treasure of his heart.
And also, by contrast, speaks about.
An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart.
That immediately tells us that you can have good treasure and you can have bad treasure.
I hope as we look at the scriptures you will be able to have some sense to stop and ask yourself, what kind of treasure do I have?
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None of us completely possible. It's not possible to completely know our own hearts, but we can have some sense from the Word of God that would help us to understand whether what we consider treasure.
Not what we consider, but what it really is to us, whether it's a good treasure.
Or a bad treasure.
Let's go over to Chapter 12.
Chapter 12. We'll start reading in verse 15.
However, I've already forgotten something I wanted to say about what we just left.
If you want to have a good treasure.
You better paid attention to what was said to you yesterday about what you hear. Samuel ended up with good treasure because he listened.
Listening.
In Scripture, is almost in always connected with the will.
And you're not going to have a good treasure if you don't listen to what God says to you.
Just to reinforce what was already said about Samuel yesterday, probably a significant number of.
You, whether you're young or old at that point, as I can remember in my own childhood when mom or dad said something and I went like this.
Why? Because I didn't want to hear.
I didn't want to listen to what was said to me.
What we just read goes on to talk about building A.
And building on a good foundation. And if you want to have good treasure, you've got to have a good foundation for it. And if you're not willing to listen to what God says to you and value what God says is worthwhile.
Yep, you'll have treasure.
But it'll be a lousy foundation and you'll lose it eventually.
So here in Luke chapter 12 and verse 15, he said unto them.
I don't think you'll have any difficulty whether you're.
If you're old enough to read practically that you'll have understanding deciding whether this man that we're going to read about.
Ended up with good treasure.
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.
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.
And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said this will I do.
I will pull down my barns and build greater.
And there I will bestow all my fruits and my goods.
He was accumulating his treasure. And I will say unto my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years.
Take thy knees, eat, drink and be merry.
But God said unto him.
Thou fool.
This night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall those things be which thou hast provided?
The moral, the purpose.
Verse 21. So is he that layeth up treasure for himself.
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And is not rich toward God.
A lesson that I get out of these words.
Beyond simply that, the man God called the man a fool.
Is his treasure.
Had no relationship in his heart to his relationship with God.
He accumulated what he accumulated, what he valued, what he lived his life for, without reference to God.
He wasn't rich toward God. He had no meaningful daily relationship in his life with God.
Pretty simple statement.
But it's an important understanding of the matter of treasure if I live without a relationship to God.
I'll never have a worthwhile treasure.
This man didn't.
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself.
And is not rich toward God.
OK, let's go on to a down farther in the chapter.
To verse.
30.
32.
Fear not, little flock.
For it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
Sell that you have and give alms. Provide yourselves bags which wax not old.
A treasure in the heavens that faileth not.
Where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
For where your treasure is.
There will your heart be also.
Two things that probably many things, but two that I wish to bring out to you a connection with.
Whatever treasure you have.
In your life at this moment.
There's a question.
Can you lose it?
Will you have it when you leave this life?
Are really worthwhile treasure.
Is yours?
If you have what's worth in, what I think Scripture would teach you is worth going after as a treasure.
Even if you die this afternoon, you'll still have it.
You'll have it.
And further than that.
If you have that kind of treasure, the treasures that God gives to us to value.
Our treasures that, as it says, they're not corrupted.
Thieves can't come and take them from us.
There are lots of treasures, right, that can easily be taken from us.
That's the first point.
Second one is verse 34 where your treasure is.
There will your heart be also.
In a moral way.
What controls our heart?
Controls our life.
Whatever this afternoon is the most important.
Part of this life that you have and your heart, whatever your heart.
Values the most is what controls your life.
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Consequently.
The statement here is pretty important to think about.
Where your treasure is.
There will your heart be also.
Is what you value, what you treasure worth it?
Is it going to last?
I would appeal to young people when you start out. It's an important thing, even as a teenager, to stop and reflect on the life ahead.
And what are you going to go after? What are you going to value? What's going to be important to how you make your choices in life?
Well, stop and ask yourself.
What do you consider your treasure?
What is it that you want to have?
For yourself, what do you desire?
Because whatever it is, your heart's going to go that way.
Your heart's going to go that way.
The.
Princess.
Won't last.
A whole Princess.
I'll call it Mom Owner.
Maybe he's not going to hear this comment, maybe he's already gone home, but nonetheless, the little things that we have as a child was where our heart is, and it's all important to us. But it's also well to remember that there are certain things that don't last.
And other things that we learn as we grow that we need to recognize if they're going to be valuable. There are things that will endure.
And will last.
OK, let's turn over to Luke 18.
Luke 18 verse.
18 Luke 1818.
A certain ruler asked him saying, Good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
Jesus said unto him, Why call us thou me good not as good, save one, that is God.
Thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill, Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor thy father and thy mother.
And he said. All these things I have kept from my youth up.
Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing?
Sell all that thou hast, and distribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure.
In heaven and come.
Follow me.
And when he heard this?
He was very sorrowful.
For he was very rich, and when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said how hardly.
Shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God? For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye, the needle's eye, than for rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. I think we learned some more about treasure here.
Sometimes.
We'd like to have.
Then in a drought broad sense, it's not wrong. We like to have multiple treasures.
And so we want this, we want that, we want the other.
But I think we can learn something here that's important in the matter of treasure.
Sometimes.
You can't have all of them.
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You have to make choice.
And if you're going to have treasure in your life, sometimes you're going to make some choices because you can have this or you can have that, but you can't have both.
We can spend a lot of effort trying to have this and that and the other.
And end up not getting any of them that will last to us.
Here was a man, a young man.
And I haven't met a whole lot of people that whose life was all that good as his was.
He was a very.
Impressive young person or young man?
And he had a lot of things, a good reputation, a good manner of life. And the Lord doesn't say he didn't.
And he wanted to add to what he had, eternal life. He wanted to add to his what he was and have something more. He wanted eternal life.
He considered that a good thing to have, and it is. It's hardly a treasure you can look for that there are some, but eternal life is a fantastic.
I'm going to use the word treasure to have.
And yeah, Lord says.
Do this and then you can have that.
The doing this meant giving up some of the things that he valued up to that point in order that he might have something, in truth, far, far better.
And consequently we see in this that there are can be things in our lives that hinder us from having true riches, lasting treasure.
Is there something in your life this afternoon that you value that keeps you from doing what Jesus says to you here?
Says it to you and me as much as this young man, the Lord Jesus, if he were in this room this afternoon, could say to anyone of us.
Distribute.
What you have and follow me.
Follow me.
What do you have this afternoon that maybe it's not what he had, but what you have that is a hindering you from being wholehearted? Wholehearted meaning following him is more important than anything else that you might have to give up in order to do it.
And so.
He made a choice.
The Lord says, and I believe he does to you this afternoon, follow me.
You've got a choice.
You're going to follow him. They're going to go out of that room at the end of this meeting, following him. I hope you already are, But if you're at that point in life or you're going to go out this room having made a choice, at least for this afternoon.
That.
You either follow him.
Or you don't.
And if you do.
You'll have treasure.
That'll be yours.
For eternity.
We can say we guarantee you.
You'll never be sorry with your choice.
And so there are things that hinder.
The Lord looked at him, and the Lord was sorry, if you will, if you're that young man this afternoon, that young woman this afternoon, and you go out the door having made the wrong choice.
There's the Lord Jesus is going to feel sorrow because you made that choice.
There will be sorrow in his heart this afternoon. You have.
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Within you to bring joy this afternoon to the heart of the Lord Jesus.
Or pain or sorrow to his heart, according to whether you make the good choice.
Or the bad choice.
Whether from you comes or is in your heart.
Lodging place.
Of good.
Or.
Bad, as it said in the first verse we read evil.
Is that the only point? We say, well, you know, but.
For now, for now, I want this. And then yes, after I've had this for a while, of course I'm going to do the important thing. I'm going to follow the Lord Jesus.
What's it say in verse 30?
Who?
Shall not receive manifold more in this present time and in the world to come life everlasting.
Never make the mistake, which probably most of us or maybe all of us in the room have made at one time or another, making certain choices that we thought at the moment were the best choice.
And then we would do the more important choice later.
He says, the Lord says, and Lord knows always what he's talking about.
You know, do we have ears to hear, are willing to listen to what he says and just because he says it, that makes it we know it's true.
And so he says manifold more now.
And more forever.
You'll never be able to have more.
It's not possible to have more.
Treasurer now and forever than doing what's said in these verses.
Follow me.
Follow me.
OK, let's turn over to Matthews Gospel.
Chapter 6.
Verse 19.
Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves breakthrough and steal.
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
Where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt.
And where thieves do not breakthrough and steal.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. We've already read in Luke.
I'll say the companion or the same thoughts in general, but I I'm bringing it here because I want to make an application of it.
To mothers and fathers.
And treasure.
There's not only the thought of my treasure and what's important in my heart, but I suggest to you, and we'll see it more strongly if in other verses, but the thoughts introduced in application, at least here.
Mom and dad.
Do you see your children as a treasure?
I hope you do.
You should.
Your children.
And this is somewhat the point our joint treasure.
It's a treasure you share, the two of you, your children.
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Something that out of the heart of God has been given to you for your blessing.
And you're humbling and you're learning a lot of other aspects, but what I want to emphasize this afternoon is the treasure side of it and in the treasure side of it.
In my application I trust from the Lord is labor together that your treasure.
Has the destiny of heaven and all the choices you make keep in mind the importance of making them for your children With the thought that is this activity, is this value that I seek to present to my children? Is the importance of receiving the Lord Jesus while they're young?
Of value.
You know the answer.
And in that sense, in the application, lay up for yourselves together, treasure not upon earth, but in heaven.
Labor for your children with the intent and the purpose of sharing them.
In heaven.
Heaven is a collective place. It's a wonderful collective place, but we have ample scripture to show us that there's also going to be individual.
Things that we enjoy in heaven that are particularly ours.
And I suggest to you one of them is Mother and Dad.
When you see your son, your daughter in glory with you, you will have the forever shared enjoyment of that treasure and where it is.
It will be personally, individually yours.
With the Lord.
The Lord will share in it.
With you. And so he says don't.
Try to give your child all the advantages, the best life on earth, as a motive, as a as an object.
But rather the decisions that are made.
Our decisions that are intended to have that common purpose of seeking the blessing of your children.
Not as the first man who was not rich toward God. What good is it if you raise your children to be not rich toward God and put before them something else?
Which may produce for you eternal loss.
No shared treasure.
Where your treasure is.
There will your heart be also.
If your treasure is not heaven and connected with the things of heaven, you don't have the desire. Whether you know it or not, you don't have the desire to bring your children into a treasure that you don't have.
If you're not desiring yourselves.
The Heavenly.
The good thing?
Then.
Your heart.
Is going to seek something different for your children?
Don't.
Seek what's good.
OK, let's go on to Matthew.
Chapter 13.
Now everything's going to get switched around.
Talked about you and your treasure.
The emphasis for the rest of the meeting.
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Is on God and on His Son.
You've been encouraged to have the right treasure.
Let me read to you, to him. We started with one stanza out of it.
By thee, O God invited, we look unto the Son, in whom?
Thy soul delighted, who all thy will hath done.
And by the one chief treasure.
Thy bosom freely gave.
Thine own pure love we measure.
Thy willing mind to save.
God has treasure too.
The Lord Jesus as treasure to.
God's chief treasure.
Is the sun.
By 1 Chief Treasurer.
God teaches us about treasure by giving us to understand Himself a little bit.
And when we see what God values, we can learn to see what we want to value. Don't you want to value? Don't I want to value those things that God finds a value?
His son.
I think can be safely said the hymn writer had it right.
That his son is his chief treasurer.
But what do we learn about God in that?
What should we benefit, if you will, directly from that?
God says my son is my chief treasure.
And I'm going to give him.
For you.
I'm going to give him for you.
You know, when you value something, normally we think about hanging on to it. As I said, I didn't try to take Princess away from its owner.
That was something valued and I wouldn't have tried to say, hey, give me, give me Princess, I want it.
I don't think in a natural sense we would have said to God, give your son.
But in infinite love, he did.
But what's the end result?
Salvation of our souls, Absolutely.
Otherwise, we would be forever separated from God. We would be forever separated from any kind of treasure. We would spend eternity.
In regret, as well as many other things, I.
But what do we have?
What is the result of God having shared his treasure with us?
He shares it with us forever.
We will have with our God, our Father, the enjoyment.
Of an eternally shared treasure, his son.
Trust that touches our hearts that it's true.
We.
If you want the best treasure.
Now and forever.
Learn what the Lord Jesus values. Learn what God values and holds to be treasure.
And desire it for yourself and your life.
Now let's turn over to Malachi.
Chapter 3.
Malachi Chapter 3.
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The verses I'm going to read.
Event on my heart for probably 10 days.
When they came before my heart, I had no awareness or idea I'd be standing here this afternoon.
I had no awareness or knowledge of what would be the subject of the reading meetings.
That we've had this weekend.
What God did, the Lord Jesus did.
And I would say in one sense, if you don't remember anything else of this meeting.
For those of you who remembered the Lord Jesus here this morning in his death.
I hope you'll remember these words.
Spoken, I believe in spirit from the heart of the Lord Jesus to you about something that is a treasure to Him.
Let's read it.
Malachi Chapter 3.
And verse 16.
Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another.
And the Lord hearkened. That means he listened. He paid attention.
He observed.
And heard it.
And the Book of Remembrance was written before him.
For them that feared the Lord.
And that thought upon his name.
And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts.
In that day when I make up my jewels, Mr. Darby. Translation, my treasure.
And I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
The Lord Jesus.
This morning.
Observed what took place in this room.
He observed.
Each and everyone.
That responded to his desire this do.
In remembrance of me.
Further than that.
Every word.
That came out of your mouth in the singing or in spirit every word that was read that you entered into.
Those words of scripture that were being read.
Every prayer in which your heart was in tune with the words that were being.
Presented to God was observed.
Was heard.
And what did it mean?
What did it mean? What took place this morning?
To him.
It says a book of remembrance.
Was written.
He is recorded in his book, his Book of Remembrance. We talked about remembering him, and we did. But here's his Book of Remembrance.
He has recorded in it your name.
And what you did this morning?
Because he values it that much.
It's that important to his own heart.
Them that feared the Lord.
And the thought about his name thought of.
Upon his name, did you think? Upon his name this morning? And remembering him? Of course you did. You couldn't have remembered him really without.
We had the doctrinal part of it in the reading meetings and the importance of His name and Jesus is Lord.
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And if we know him as Lord, we have a respect for him.
As it says here, they that feared the Lord, those that had appropriate, proper, reverential respect for the one they were remembering this morning. He saw it, He appreciated it.
He's recorded it.
We read the words this do.
Yesterday, at least.
There's a companion thought to these words. These were written to specifically written to Jewish people.
In the end, prior the last words, almost in the last book anyways, that was written before the Lord Jesus came.
And it was a word of encouragement to those in that situation, and it'll be a word of encouragement in the future and the tribulation to those in that a similar situation.
But it was in a day which was getting darker.
The day of Malachi was a day when things were getting harder and darker.
A companion, a parallel in the New Testament, in my soul, there were Saints in a place called Philadelphia.
And it says of those Saints in a day that was getting darker and closer to the coming of the Lord.
Says.
His valuation of what he appreciated there was Thou hast kept my word.
Did you keep his word this morning?
Keeping his word is this do.
Did you keep that word?
This too.
Now is kept my word.
And has not denied.
My name.
The world is denied his name.
His name?
As art thou, the Christ was asked him at the time he was crucified.
Are you?
Truly the person that has that name, he was being asked.
They said it was to him at that time. You say you're.
The Son of God, in effect, the I am.
They said that's blasphemy for you to claim that name.
And E Castile.
To keep his name.
One of the most wonderful opportunities to do it was this morning.
To give honor in a place where he's rejected.
To his name, to who he is.
And do so in a way that recognizes the consequences to him of that name, his death.
Verse 17.
They shall be mine, saith Lord of Hosts, and that day when I make up my jewels.
You're a jewel, you're a treasure to him.
We have our treasures. You are one of his treasures. We collectively are the Pearl of great price that he gave all for.
As the church.
Treasure.
You are to his heart.
Make a couple of comments about it.
I had my Princess, wasn't called Princess and as I said, it started out a nice looking lovely stuffed animal.
But the time came when it was a mess.
It wasn't from a natural standpoint, anybody else but me would have said I would don't, don't get that thing around me. It's not worth anything.
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It's dirty, can't even be cleaned anymore properly.
The Lord Jesus treats you as a treasure.
But you started out.
Where my treasure ended.
A mess.
In and of yourself, I'm going to say worthless.
And that's where God started. The other side of it is sometimes to have a treasure you staff to build it, you have to create it.
There's such a thought as a farmer, he puts I'm going to be in trouble since they're farmers that know what they're talking about where I don't in the room, but I will anyways. He starts with some seed, but he doesn't have a crop.
He has to slaver, he has to spend a lot of time and energy, he has to depend on whether and other things to looking to God to provide that he can't provide.
But hopefully in harvest time he gets his treasure. That is at least what he is has put his effort into.
His livelihood.
God gave you to His Son in a past eternity.
And in a certain sense.
You were.
As part of Adams race? Nothing.
Value there really.
But it is hard.
You're a treasure.
So he started to work.
And worked and worked. If you're sitting in this room, he's still working on you.
You're not done yet.
You're not yet what He wants you to be. As His treasure you have in credit. If you're the Lord, you have incredible value now.
You have life, you have the Spirit of God living, dwelling, I should say, in you.
He's going to keep working.
God is given is at work by the Spirit.
So that when?
I see you in glory.
They're going to be incredibly valuable treasure.
You're going to be just like him.
God is so pleased with his treasure of his Son that he wants heaven to be full of.
Those who are just like him.
And then heaven will be full of treasure.
All those that are his own.
But he won't.
Forget.
I doubt not in my own soul that the day will come.
When you're in glory.
With the Lord Jesus in a way that he alone can express.
Will tell you how much he valued what you did this morning.
That it was precious.
To his heart.
Let's sing.
Number 88.
I hope.
Verse 7 of 88 is a response of our hearts to what He thinks about us.
And what he's invested in us.
Let's sing 88.
Glory.
Crowd.
And.
From glory to glory.