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“I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” (Isa. 45:3 NIV)

Wk 3 Isaiah 45v3

WOW!!!

“God will give Sarah hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that Sarah may know that He is the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons Sarah by her name. (Isa. 45:3)

Even just the first three words of this verse overwhelm me…that God would GIVE to me…I have done NOTHING to deserve any type of gift from The LORD! Yet, despite my disobedience and sinful existence, in His love, God chooses to give me more than I could ever ask, or imagine: but exactly what I need.

HIDDEN TREASURES

At first mention of the words “hidden treasures” my mind is drawn to a LARGE treasure chest full of shiny gold coins! I’m thinking pirates and treasure maps! However, I do not believe that’s the treasure that The LORD wants me to find! Finding a few coins along the way would be nice though!

“The kingdom of heaven is like TREASURE HIDDEN in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matt. 13:44 NIV)

This hidden treasure that God desires to give me is HIS KINGDOM. He wants to give me a home in heaven, eternal life, salvation, closeness to Him…this is a kingdom that is worth far more than anything I can ever imagine, for; “it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor. 2:9 NIV). I want to be like the man in the Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Matt. 13:44) who was willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING in order to accept this gift, and to do it with a JOYFUL heart, and I want to protect that gift.

Other translations say the following: “treasures of darkness” (ESV, KJV, NASB). This leads me to appreciate that this treasure is unseen. We have to have faith in the unseen (Heb. 11:1), keep our eyes fixed upon that unseen treasure (2 Cor. 4:18), and live by faith, not by what we see in front of us (2 Cor. 5:7). While studying Made to Crave, by Lysa TerKeurst with Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Studies…that has been our focus – to lift our eyes heavenward, away from those things in our lives that we treasure…the food, the money, the lusts of the flesh, eyes, and mind. We need to be as Christ, with His mind focused on the Word of God in His temptations (Matt. 4:1-11); rather than like Eve who kept her eyes on the object of her temptation (Gen. 3:6) Only by doing this will we truly be willing to sacrifice all of these things, and accept the gift of the Kingdom of Heaven.

God also doesn’t promise this will be easy…He’s not just handing it all to us!

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25 NIV)

When we are focused on the things in life – whether it is money, food, fame, success, influence – it is not easy to consider the notion of sacrificing and walking away from it all, in order to follow The Lord and accept His gift of the Kingdom of Heaven. But He equips us for that journey…

RICHES

Again…not money! But…so much greater! Paul makes mention to riches in many of his letters to churches in the New Testament:

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Rom. 11:33a NIV)

The riches that God wants to give me…His knowledge and wisdom! He wants to bestow on me the knowledge of who He is, the understanding of all that He has done for me, the knowledge that He loves me, He created me, He knows me. He wants to give me wise counsel when it comes to making decisions concerning my life and the choices that I make.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Eph. 1:7 NIV)

The riches that God wants to give me…His GRACE! He wants me to understand that I AM REDEEMED! I AM FORGIVEN! 

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,” (Eph. 1:18 NIV)

The riches that God wants to give me…the glorious inheritance of the hidden treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven. He wants to give me all of Him, all that He has for me. He wants the best for me, and for me to be all that He created me to be.

“in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:7 NIV)

The riches that God wants to give me…His GRACE that is incomparable. There is NOTHING that can feel as good as the grace afforded to me by God. The forgiveness of my sins.

“to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ,” (Eph. 3:8b NIV)

The riches that God wants to give me…are limitless. These riches will NEVER run out!

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,” (Eph. 3:16 NIV)

The riches that God wants to give me…will strengthen me and empower me. God’s Holy Spirit LIVES IN ME! He is with me at all times, willing to help me make the victorious decisions that will lead to peace.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19 NIV)

The riches that God wants to give me…will meet all my needs.

“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,” (Col. 2:2 NIV)

The riches that God wants to give me…will enable me to understand who Christ is. He wants me to read His Word with understanding, and apply it to my life.

SECRET PLACES

Where do I find these hidden treasures and riches? I find them where I find God…in my heart. In a Conference Call during Made to Crave, Melissa Taylor talked about those secret places being inside her…that God had planted all of this hidden treasure and these riches inside her. I also believe this to be true and am so thankful for that. There is no treasure map to interpret, no secret code to unravel…it’s all right there! Try as we might, we can’t hide this truth!

“Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD.” (Jer. 23:24 NIV)

God is in the secret places. God is in the hidden treasure. God is in the riches. God has given Himself to me, and He calls out my name, not a number, as He calls me forward to accept this gift.

Treasure