Do you like treasures? That's sort of a silly question, isn't it? I think everyone likes treasures, don't they? But just what is a treasure? Well, a treasure is something that is very valuable, isn't it? Gold can be a treasure, can't it? Or jewels can be a treasure. But there are other kinds of treasures too, not just gold and jewels. Did you know that? Well, there are. You see, a treasure is anything that is precious to us. Now, our families are precious to us, aren't they? Imagine how terrible it would be if you had no mother or father or other relatives. So, really, our families are a treasure, aren't they? Or, love can be a treasure. Imagine how terrible it would be if nobody loved you, or you had nobody you could love. So love is a treasure too, isn't it? And the truth can be a treasure. Imagine if everyone lied to you, and you never knew what was true. Even happiness can be a treasure. Just imagine if you were never, ever happy. So, lots of things besides gold and jewels can be treasures, can't they? Well, today I thought we would go on a treasure hunt. Would you like that? Okay, let's see what kind of treasures we can find. But where are we going to go to find those treasures? Well, the Bible is just full of treasures. Did you know that? Yes, it is. The Bible tells us about lots of different kinds of treasures that we can have. It tells us of treasures of special gold and jewels. but it also tells us of treasures of love and truth and real happiness and even about a special family we can have. So we are going to do our treasure hunting in the Bible and see what treasures the Lord has for us. First though, Did you know that the Bible says that the words of the Bible and knowing the Lord are better than gold? Yes, it does. King David said just that in his psalm that he wrote and which we now have in the Bible. So just having the Bible itself is a treasure. But how can that be? How can a book be like a treasure? Well, to start with, the Bible tells us about the Lord God and how we can be with him forever someday. And what could be better than that? To be with the Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever, that is really a treasure. And the Bible also tells us about how to have love and truth and real happiness and a big family. And as we just said, those are all treasures, aren't they? They are different kinds of treasures, but still they are treasures. So the Bible is full of treasures of all kinds, isn't it? But if we want to find the treasures that are in the Bible, we can't just carry the Bible around or have it on a shelf. We have to know what it says about these treasures and how to get them, don't we? So today, we're going to dig for treasure in the Bible, God's book, and we're going to see what treasures the Bible has for us. And we're going to find these treasures in one very special part of the Bible, in the very most important part of the Bible, in the gospel. But first, what does gospel mean? Well, it's just an old word that means good news. What good news? Why the good news of how we can be able to go to heaven someday and be with the Lord Jesus forever and ever? What could be better news than that? But what exactly is this good news of the gospel? It's the fact that Jesus died for our sins, and after he died, he was buried. But then after he was buried, he rose from the dead, came alive again. Then after he was alive again, lots of people actually saw Jesus alive again. Saying the gospel is just a quick way of telling this good news about Jesus dying for our sins and being buried and then being alive again. And if we know that good news and believe it and trust Jesus to save us from our sins, then we will be able to go and to be with Jesus in heaven someday, forever and ever. and that would be the greatest treasure that there could ever be, right? To be able to go to heaven and be with the Lord, nothing could be better than that. There couldn't be any better news, could there? So the gospel itself is really a very great treasure, isn't it? The greatest treasure there is because it is forever. But there are other treasures in the gospel other than that one great one, and we're going to hunt for those other treasures, too. Now, where in the Bible do we find the gospel so that we can find its treasures? Well, to find the gospel of its treasures, we could read the whole Bible, or we could read the Old Testament prophecies. Or we could read one of the gospel books of the Bible, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. But did you know that in one part of the New Testament, the gospel is written down in just a few verses? Yes, it is. But where are those verses? Well, in just a minute, I'm going to tell you. And we're going to use those few verses to have our gospel treasure hunt. First, though, in those verses I'm going to be telling you about, it talks about the scriptures. But what does that mean, scriptures? Scriptures is what we call the whole Bible. But since in the New Testament time, they only had the Old Testament, and were actually writing the New Testament, Then in these few verses, when it says scriptures, they mean just the Old Testament. Now, you remember the Apostle Paul, don't you? Well, the Book of Acts in the New Testament tells us that the Apostle Paul went to many cities While he was in these cities, he would preach about the Lord Jesus and tell the people the gospel, that good news. But sometimes after he left a city, the people would have questions or have problems. So then Paul would write them a letter to answer their questions or to help them with their problems. These letters are often called epistles, but that just means letters. And we have those letters in the Bible. Isn't that nice? Because that way we can find out what questions and problems the Christians in those cities 2,000 years ago had, and perhaps we have the same questions now, but we then can read Paul's answers in his letters and have our own questions answered. Now, one of those cities where Paul went was the city of Corinth in the country of Greece. In the book of Acts in the Bible, it tells us that the apostle Paul had been in Corinth for about a year and a half and had taught the people of Corinth, the Corinthians, about the gospel, the good news about Jesus, and also how they should treat each other and how to follow God. But just a very few years later, these Christians in Corinth had some problems. So Paul wrote them two different letters to help them with their problems. We call those the letters, or epistles, to the Corinthians. And in the apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthian Christians, he wrote the few verses I told you about that give the whole gospel. So here are the few verses that Paul wrote telling the gospel that good news. The apostle Paul said, Brothers, I tell you the gospel which I had preached to you, which you had received, and in which you stand firm, and by which also you are saved. For I told you first of all that which I had also received, how that Christ died for our sins, as it's written in the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, as it's written in the scriptures, and that he was seen by Cephas, that's Peter's Jewish name, then seen of the 12. After that, he was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom most of them are still alive now, though some have died. After that, he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, and last of all, he was seen also by me." And that's what the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians. So those few little verses give us the gospel, the good news about Jesus, don't they? Now Paul wrote those verses to the Christians in the city of Corinth actually less than 25 years after Jesus had been on earth and died for our sins and had risen from the dead and gone back to heaven and where he's still alive today. 25 years may seem like a long time to you. but it really isn't a long time at all. You just ask your mother or father or your grandparents what happened that they remembered from 25 years ago. They will remember some important things, and they will also remember some little things. Well, about 25 years before Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians was when Jesus had died, been buried, and was resurrected, became alive again. And this was a very, very well-known happening. And the people in Jerusalem knew about it. It was what we'd call big news. People from all over the world had been in Jerusalem at that time for Passover. Maybe even some of the Corinthians that Paul is writing to in this letter. They would all remember about Jesus. and how he had been put on a cross, and that he was really dead, and that he had been buried. Then they would all remember that his disciples had told everyone that three days later, Jesus had come alive again, that they had seen him alive, and that the disciples had done many miracles in the name of Jesus. At the time, everyone in Jerusalem was talking about this. And that would be such a very unusual thing that many, many people would still remember it and be talking about it 25 years later at the time that the Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians. They would know this was all true. And Paul had taught the Corinthians all about this when he had been with them. And now in the letter, he's reminding them about it again. So that's the gospel in just a few verses. Now, let's hunt for the treasures in it. I think that the first treasure the gospel has for us, besides how to be able to go to heaven, which is the biggest treasure, the first treasure is the treasure of truth. Everything we read in the Bible is true. And everything we read about Jesus in the Bible is true. And since it's true, we can trust what the Bible tells us, can't we? Now, as we just said, the Bible tells us the gospel. that Jesus died for our sins, that Jesus was buried and then came alive again. And then after he was alive again, lots of people saw Jesus alive again. And that is all true. And we can know that it is true. We can trust it. But let's look for some more of this treasure of truth that the gospel has and see why it is a treasure. So just what is this truth the gospel tells us? Let's look at the parts of the gospel. Well, first the gospel tells us that the Lord Jesus had died for our sins, just like the prophets in the Old Testament, the scriptures, had said he would. He was dead, really dead. And the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all describe how Jesus died on that cross. Matthew and John and probably Mark saw Jesus on the cross. They saw him die. Jesus' mother Mary and Mary Magdalene and other women who knew Jesus saw him die on the cross. Lots of other people saw Jesus die too and saw that he was really dead. The important Jewish leaders were there and saw Jesus die on the cross. The Roman soldiers there at the cross saw that Jesus was dead. And so did all of the many people in Jerusalem. The Book of Acts and many of the epistles, the letters in the New Testament, tell that everyone knew that Jesus was really dead. Also, it was a fulfillment of prophecies in the books of Isaiah and Daniel and other places in the Old Testament, in the scriptures. So those few verses of the gospel first tell us that Jesus died, don't they? And that's true. And lots of people even remembered it then. And then the verses go on and tell us why Jesus died. They tell us that Jesus died for our sins, to take the punishment for our sins. But then the verses of the gospel go on and tell us that Jesus was buried. The Roman soldiers told the governor that Jesus was dead, so they let two important Jewish men take Jesus' body down from the cross so they could bury his body. Lots of people were there, and they all saw the two men take Jesus' body down. These two men wrapped Jesus' dead body in lots of claws and spices the way that was done then, and they put his body in a cave for a grave or a tomb. And the cave tomb had a great big rock rolled over the opening to close the cave. And the Jewish leaders asked the Roman governor if they could have a guard put there at the cave to make sure that no one would come and take Jesus's body away. They even put a seal on the big rock so that no one would open it. So the Romans and the Jewish leaders knew that Jesus was buried. Some of the Jewish women watched as Jesus was being buried so that they would know where his tomb was. And the disciples knew where he was buried too. Jesus was really buried. That is true. It tells us all of this in the four Gospels. The Gospel of John, the book written about Jesus by the Apostle John, even tells us the names of the two men who buried Jesus, that they were named Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. And the Gospel of Matthew tells us all about the guards and the seal on the tomb. And three of the Gospels, those written by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, tell how the women saw where Jesus was buried. So it is really, really true that Jesus was buried. Lots of people knew this and remembered it. So the Gospel tells us that Jesus died for our sins, like the prophets had said would happen, and that he was buried, like the prophets had said would happen. But that isn't all. There's more of the treasure of truth. After all, lots and lots of people die and are buried, aren't they? But the gospel then goes on to tell us that the Lord Jesus rose again on the third day, that Jesus was alive again three days after he was dead. Imagine that. That's really different, isn't it? All four books written about Jesus, the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all tell us that Jesus rose from the dead, was resurrected, that he was alive again after three days of being dead and buried. The Gospel of Matthew tells us how there was an earthquake and an angel came down and rolled back the big rock from in front of the cave tomb and showed that Jesus wasn't there anymore. And Matthew tells us that the Roman guards were terribly scared and ran and told the Jewish leaders about it. So the Roman guards knew Jesus wasn't in the tomb anymore. And the Jewish leaders knew Jesus wasn't in the tomb anymore. And all four Gospels tell us how some of the women went to the tomb early on the third day and found the stone rolled away. and that they saw that Jesus wasn't there in the tomb anymore, then the women went inside the tomb, and they saw two angels inside the tomb. The angel said to the women, don't be afraid. You are looking for Jesus, but he isn't here. He has risen. Go tell the others. Imagine how happy that made the women. Then the Gospel of John tells us that Mary Magdalene didn't see the angel at first, but that she ran back by herself and told Peter and John that Jesus' body wasn't in the tomb anymore. So Peter and John ran quickly to the cave tomb and went in, and they saw the cloths that had been wrapped around Jesus' body were all neatly there, but Jesus himself was gone. So lots of people knew that it was really, really true that Jesus was alive again after being dead and buried, and they remembered it. So the gospel tells us that Jesus died for our sins, that he was buried, and that three days later he was alive again. And this was also according to what the scriptures, the Old Testament, had prophesied. Then the Bible goes on and tells us that Jesus was actually seen by people after he rose from the dead. People saw the Lord Jesus alive after he'd been dead and buried for three days. In the Gospel of Matthew, we're told that after some of the women had been told by the angel that Jesus was alive again, they were starting to go back to tell the disciples about this. when Jesus himself met the women and spoke to them. Jesus said to them, don't be afraid, go and tell the others. So the women had seen Jesus alive and heard him talk to them. Then they went back and told the apostles about this. But guess what? The apostles didn't believe them. Then in the Gospel of John, we are told that Mary Magdalene went back to the tomb after talking with Peter and John, and there Jesus appeared to her. Jesus told her, go tell the others. So Mary Magdalene also saw Jesus on the very same day that he became alive again, and he had talked to her, and she went back and told the disciples, I have seen the Lord. and she told them what he'd said. The Gospel of Luke tells us how the same day that Jesus robed from the dead, that Jesus appeared to two men as they were walking away from Jerusalem. And when he sat down to eat dinner with them, They knew he was Jesus alive again. So the men got right up and went back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles. But they found the apostles already talking about how Jesus was alive. The apostles told the two men, it's true, the Lord has really risen and Peter has seen him. Then the gospels of Luke and John tell us that just a little later, still on that same day, Jesus suddenly appeared to 10 of the apostles in Jerusalem as they were in a locked room. Luke tells us that the apostles were afraid, but Jesus said, why are you upset and don't believe? Look, it's really me. Just touch me and see. Then Jesus sort of scolded them for not having believed the others when they had been told that they had seen Jesus alive. Luke goes on and tells us that the apostles could still hardly believe that Jesus was really alive. So Jesus said, give me something to eat. After all, people are dead, they can't eat, can they? So they gave him a piece of fish and honeycomb and he ate it. So they finally believed that Jesus was really and truly alive. John tells us that Jesus talked with them some more, and they were very happy. Now, the apostle Thomas wasn't there when this happened, and he didn't believe the others when they told him that Jesus was alive again. But the Gospel of John tells us that a week later, Jesus appeared to the apostles again, and Thomas was there this time. Jesus told Thomas, stop doubting and believe. Then Thomas knew that it was true, that Jesus was really alive again. Then Thomas said to Jesus, my Lord and my God. You see, Thomas knew that not only was Jesus a man, but he was God as well. Well, Jesus told his disciples to go meet him up in Galilee, and they went up there, and John tells us that Jesus met them there as they were fishing. Jesus even fixed them a breakfast of fish cooked on burning coals and gave them bread there on the beach. Jesus talked with them and taught them from the Old Testament how this was all fulfilling God's prophecies. But remember, it wasn't just the apostles and the women who saw Jesus alive again. We are also told in the Bible that Jesus was seen by his brother James, and that Jesus even appeared to over 500 people at one time. Jesus was really and truly alive, and lots and lots of people saw him and heard him talk. People saw Jesus and talked with him at different times and at different places, inside of buildings and outside of buildings, some by themselves and some in groups of people. There were small groups of people and big groups of people, and some of them touched him and ate meals with him. We are even told of at least one miracle Jesus did during this time. Lots and lots of people saw Jesus. They knew and remembered that it was true, that the Lord Jesus was really, truly alive again, after having been dead for three days. Then, after he was alive again, Jesus stayed on earth with his disciples for 40 days, and then he went back up to heaven. In the book of Acts, it tells us about this. It tells us how Jesus' disciples watched Jesus as he just went up into the sky and into a cloud. And suddenly, two angels were there with the disciples. The angels said, why are you standing there looking up into heaven? Jesus, who has gone up into heaven, will come again in the same way from heaven. Now, Jesus hasn't come back again yet, has he? But he will, won't he? After all, he came the first time, just as the prophecies had said. So we know that he will come back again someday, just as other prophecies say. After all. What God says will happen always does happen, doesn't it? It's true. And that is a treasure in the gospel, the treasure of truth. And there is lots of that treasure of truth in the gospel, isn't there? But we are told more about when Jesus will come back someday. In the same letter to the Corinthian Christians, the Apostle Paul tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ was the first one who would be resurrected, who would become alive again and stay alive. But Paul then tells us that, yes, Jesus was the first one to be resurrected and to have a body that will never die again. But then Paul goes on and tells us that when the Lord Jesus comes back again, that then everyone who has ever trusted Jesus to save them from their sins, they will all become alive again too, be resurrected, and have bodies that will never die again. And the Christians who are still alive when Jesus comes back will be given bodies that will never die at all. All Christians will have bodies that will never die. Then they will all just be with the Lord Jesus forever and ever. Won't that be wonderful? The promise of our resurrection is a treasure, isn't it? So we've really found a great treasure in the Bible, haven't we? We found the gospel, the good news about Jesus, the greatest treasure there could ever be. And again, what is that big good news treasure, the gospel? that Jesus was here on earth, and that he died for our sins, just like the Old Testament scripture said he would, and that he was buried, and that he was then alive again after three days, just like the Old Testament scripture said he would be, and that lots and lots of people then saw him before he went back to heaven. It's been a long time since all of that happened, about 2,000 years so far. But we also know that someday Jesus will come back and that then all of the Christians will be resurrected and then they will live with him forever. What a great treasure. And we know this is true because the other parts of the gospel were true. We know this because the Bible tells us all about it. And the Bible is God's work, a true book. But we said earlier that the Bible has lots of treasures for us. The gospel about the Lord Jesus is the greatest treasure of all, and the gospel itself has a lot of really good treasures in it. We can know that the gospel, the good news about Jesus dying for our sins is real, it is true. As we said before, truth is a treasure. For those who believe this good news about Jesus There are other treasures too. Other treasures besides how to go to heaven, and the treasure of truth, and the treasure of the resurrection. The gospel also has the treasure of love. Remember, love is precious. It's very important to everyone, isn't it? People love us, and we love people. Think how awful it would be if nobody loved us, or we didn't have anyone to love. But we have our family and friends who love us, don't we? But someone else loves us even more than our family and friends do. Who is that, do you think? Yes, it's God. God loves us so very much. that he made a way for us to be with him someday forever and ever. What was that way? Well, first, we are all sinners, aren't we? We've all done things we shouldn't have done. I have, you have, everyone has. And those things are sins. And sins deserve to be punished, don't they? that punishment would be not to be able to go to heaven and be with God. But as the gospel tells us, God the Father loved us so much that he sent his son Jesus to earth to die for our sins, to take our punishment for us. And if we trust the Lord Jesus to take our punishment for us, then we can someday go be with God forever and ever. And that love that God has for us is a very, very great treasure, isn't it? So we have the gospel treasure of being with Jesus forever and the treasures of truth and love all from the gospel. But there are yet more treasures in the gospel. We had said earlier that families are a treasure too, hadn't we? Well, did you know that the Bible tells us about a special family that we can have that is a treasure? Yes, it does. To start with, if we love Jesus and have trusted him to save us from our sins, to take our punishment for us, then God is like a father to us and the Lord Jesus is like a brother to us. Remember, there is God the Father, God the Son, that's Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit, one God in three persons. Also, if Jesus is our Savior, then we are what is called a Christian. Christian means a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, Christian, Christian. Well, if we have trusted Jesus Christ to save us, then the Bible tells us that not only are we a Christian, but all other Christians in the whole world are our brothers and sisters. So with the gospel then, we really have a very, very big family, haven't we? God the Father is our Father. The Lord Jesus Christ is our big brother. And all Christians who have ever lived or ever will live are our brothers and sisters. Wow, what a big, wonderful family we have. That is really a treasure, isn't it? and families are supposed to love each other, aren't they? So the Bible tells Christians that they are especially supposed to love each other, and that means even more of the treasure of love for us. But we said earlier that even joy, that is real happiness, can be a treasure. It would be just awful if we were never able to be happy, wouldn't it? But the Bible tells us that even when bad or sad things happen, we can still have joy, that is, real happiness, by just knowing the gospel, by knowing and trusting in the good news that God loves us so much and that he has made a way for us to be with him someday forever. And that can make us happy, even if we are sad, It's sort of like if you are hurt, but you remember that later on the hurt will be gone and you're going to have some ice cream. It may hurt now, but later things will be good. And that's the happiness, the joy that the Bible gives us. The promise that even if there are sad things now, if we are Christians, we will go to heaven someday, which is a happy thing. Also, someday Jesus will come back, and then everything will always be good and happy for Christians forever. That is a treasure to remember, isn't it? So, by digging into the Bible, it tells us how to get the treasure of the gospel, which leads to the treasure of being able to be with the Lord God forever and ever. And the gospel also gives us treasures of truth, love, a big family, and real happiness. What wonderful treasures. Those are things that money could never buy, aren't they? So, as King David said in his psalm, the word of God really is better than gold, isn't it? But you might say, what about treasures of gold and jewels? Are there any gold and jewels promised to us in the Bible as well as the greater treasures of being with God forever and the treasures of truth, love, joy, and a family? Yes, there is actually the promise of special gold and jewels. Did you know that? You see, when the Lord Jesus comes back, and then forever and ever begins with everything always happy and good forever, then there will be an enormous, gorgeous city that God has prepared for us. It is called the New Jerusalem, and it will be brought down from heaven here to earth, And we can be in it forever and ever with the Lord God. And the Bible describes that city for us. What do you think that city will be made out of? It will be made out of a special pure gold. And the street of that city, the New Jerusalem, well, what do you think that street will be made out of? Yes, that street will be made out of a special pure gold. Imagine a city made of gold with a street that we walk on that will be made out of gold. Also, there will be 12 gates that lead into that city, and each gate will be one great big pearl. And there will be 12 foundations to the New Jerusalem, and each foundation will be decorated with a different kind of jewel. One foundation will be of diamonds. one of sapphire, another of emerald, another of amethyst, and so on, for each of those 12 foundations. Won't that all be beautiful? And we can live in that city that is made of special gold and pearls and jewels. That is a treasure, isn't it? Well, this has been quite a treasure hunt, hasn't it? We've found lots of treasures, haven't we? And it was all done by looking at the gospel in the Bible. Okay, now very quickly, what do those few verses that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians say the gospel is? Yes, The gospel is that Jesus Christ died for our sins, just like the Scriptures, the Old Testament said he would. That Jesus was then buried, but then he rose, was alive again three days later, just like the Scriptures said he would. And that lots of people actually saw him alive after that. But you know, it isn't enough just to hear about those treasures in the gospel. Just hearing about them doesn't give them to us. In order for us to have these gospel treasures, we have to believe what the Bible tells us about them. We have to realize that we are really sinners and that we don't deserve to have those treasures. That instead, we deserve to be punished for our sins, don't we? Then we have to ask the Lord Jesus to forgive us for our sins and to take the punishment for us. We need to trust him to do that. If we do that, then Jesus will do that. He will take the punishment for our sins. Jesus has promised us that. Yes, if we believe him and trust him, the Lord Jesus will take our punishment for us and God will forgive our sins. And then all the treasures that we have just talked about will be ours. and we will someday live with God forever and ever. We only need to believe and to trust in King Jesus. Yes, the Bible with the gospel is true, and it tells us about many treasures for people who trust the Lord Jesus to save them. Now let's just quickly list those treasures. What are they? Yes, the gospel gives us the biggest treasure of all of knowing how to be with the Lord God forever by trusting Jesus to save us from our sins. But the gospel also gives us the treasures of truth, and tells us about the love of God for us, and how to have real happiness, and about a great big family for us, and it tells us about this beautiful New Jerusalem, this golden jewels, where we can live with God our Father, and the Lord Jesus, and our big family forever. The Bible is just full of treasures for everyone who has ever trusted the Lord Jesus to save them. And there's something else wonderful about the treasures of the Bible for those who have trusted Jesus to save them. You know what that is? Why? It's that once we have those treasures, we can never lose them. If we found some gold today, we might lose it, or someone might take it away from us, right? But if we have the treasures of the gospel, those treasures can never be lost, and nobody can ever take them away from us. God promises that, and God always keeps his promises, doesn't he? Isn't the Lord God good to tell us about all of this? He loves us so very much. He has given us many treasures, ones that can never be lost. Treasures right now of truth, and of special love, and happiness, and a special big family. And treasures someday of being able to be with the Lord God in all of his splendor forever and ever. And these treasures are more wonderful than just gold, aren't they? Now the Lord God in the Bible tells us about these wonderful treasures of the gospel and how to get them. And I've just now told you about the treasures of the gospel and how to get them. Maybe now you may want to tell other people about these gospel treasures and how they can get them too. After all, God offers these great treasures to everyone and wants them to take them. Isn't the Lord God great and loving? I hope you enjoyed our treasure hunt. I did.