"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." — Matthew 13:44
Where Is the Kingdom of Heaven?
Do you believe Jesus can still do miracles today? He can. But the biggest miracle that can happen in anyone's life is this: that all our sins are redeemed and forgiven, and that we live a new life for our Lord Jesus Christ. That is the greatest miracle of all.
Now let me admit something. Before I studied the Bible, my idea of the kingdom of heaven was heaven itself — yung langit. Many of us think that way. But contrary to my old belief, the kingdom of heaven is within us and among us.
Four concepts will help before we begin.
First, Jesus' mission is to restore God's kingdom on earth. When God created Adam, the instruction was to rule over the earth and have dominion over all creation. God set up a kingdom here, to be ruled by man. But Adam fell, and Eve with him, and that control over creation was lost to the devil. So the mission of Jesus is to restore the kingdom of God here on earth. Adam was the first Adam; Jesus is the second Adam. Both were created extraordinarily — Adam formed by God's own hand from clay, Jesus conceived by the Holy Spirit. And remember how the Lord taught us to pray: "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Whatever is in heaven, Jesus wants to bring here.
Second, it is a spiritual kingdom — it is the Church. Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to live in us; we are the temple of God, and as we are joined together, the kingdom is formed.
Third, to be born again is the key to enter. Jesus said unless a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God, and unless he is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter it. So the question "anong religion mo — born again Christian ka ba?" is really the wrong question. You cannot be a Christian unless you are born again. The wages of sin is death, and without the new birth our spirit remains dead.
Fourth, after His resurrection, Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God for forty days (Acts 1). Think about that. Of all the things He could have taught in those final days, He taught the kingdom. If it were not important, He would not have stayed.
The Hidden Treasure
"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" (Matthew 13:44).
Imagine yourself camping in Laguna. You set up a tent and start digging, and your shovel hits something hard. You keep digging, and it turns out to be treasure. What do you do? You bury it again. And then you do whatever it takes to buy that land — sell everything, borrow, move heaven and earth. Because if the land is not yours, you cannot claim what is buried in it.
Four things come out of that story.
It is a surprising discovery. For many people, the kingdom of God is not something they were looking for. They had no interest in God at all. But someone invited them — sama ka sa akin, mag-church tayo — and suddenly they heard the Word, and suddenly it began to work. Jesus said His words are spirit and they are life. If the heart is fertile, the Word takes hold and the life changes.
Has your life changed? Maybe before you were angry every day, and now you are angry once a week. At least it changed. Let us be thankful for that.
The kingdom has supreme value. The man was willing to give up everything to obtain it. Is that our heart when we find this treasure? Willing to give up anything — our time, our treasure, our talent — for God? If you feel convicted right now, that is the purpose. Ask honestly: what is more important to me right now? Would I trade the heavenly treasure for an earthly one? Is my job more important? A relationship?
His response was joy. He went away rejoicing. Is that joy still in us? Sunday na naman — is that a joy or a burden? Even when I was still working at Caltex on rotating shifts, and my duty fell on a Sunday service, I would look for a way — swapping shifts with someone — because for me it is sacred. When the body of Christ meets, the Head is there. And the Head of the body is Jesus. So I have to be there. It was never a burden. I had found the treasure.
And total commitment. He sold everything to obtain it.
The Pearl of Great Value
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:45–46).
The first man found treasure by accident. This one was searching. He represents someone intentionally seeking God's truth — maybe not yet born again, but already religious, already looking, already going to church.
And the fine pearls he was already collecting represent the things of this world that people chase for joy and status: fulfillment, success in a career, success in a business. Good things. But then he finds one pearl of great value — and sells everything for it. That is prioritizing relationship with God above every other good thing.
If your relationship with the Lord has cooled, I hope this message restores your joy in Him. He is a friend. He is our King. He is a brother. You will not find a perfect relationship like that here on earth. Sister Mona and I were talking about a friend who missed her wedding because of an excuse about laundry — mas importante pa ba yung labada kaysa sa kasal ko? And Mona's answer is the right one: you have a friend in Jesus. He goes with you whether you are on top or walking through fire.
Kingdom Conviction
Now the second part — thinking, acting, and desiring in alignment with the will and glory of God.
Some background. In John 6, Jesus fed five thousand men — and scholars say that number did not include women and children, so possibly fifteen thousand people. Because of that miracle, the people wanted to make Him king. But that was not His mission at the time. His mission was to redeem mankind and set up the kingdom of God.
The next day they came looking for Him — because when people are blessed, they will look for you. And Jesus read their hearts: you are not looking for me because of the signs, but because you ate the loaves. He wanted them to think about the spiritual meaning of following Him. So He said, I am the bread that came down from heaven, and spoke of eating His body and drinking His blood — which is what we do at communion. And the people said: isn't this the carpenter's son? What is He talking about?
"On hearing it, many of his disciples said, 'This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?' Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, 'Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!'" (John 6:60–62).
And what about us? When we hear hard teaching, do we want to quit? Forgive the one who wronged you. Pray for your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you and say bad things about you. If someone slaps your right cheek, turn the left. That is hard teaching.
"From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 'You do not want to leave too, do you?' Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God'" (John 6:66–69).
Notice Jesus' heart here. He did not stop them. If you want to leave, leave — because it is to their loss. But look at Peter's wisdom: Lord, to whom shall we go? If we are wise, where else would we go? If you turn your back on Jesus, you already know where you end up. And remember what we studied last Sunday — Jesus is the Judge. Mas maganda yung kakampi mo ang judge.
Peter was still weak at this point, but he was wise. And our setbacks are only temporary. We cannot see one year from now, two years, five years. When we went through our own crisis, we were not just at zero — we were negative. But Jesus already saw two, three, four years ahead: I am going to restore all that you lost. So let us not give up so easily.
Kingdom Priority
"Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, 'Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?' 'Why do you ask me about what is good?' Jesus replied. 'There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments'" (Matthew 19:16–17).
And when the man asked which ones, Jesus listed them: "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 19:18–19).
Notice something. Of the Ten Commandments, Jesus quoted only the later ones — the commands about our relationship with other people. He left out the first ones, which govern our relationship with God.
"'All these I have kept,' the young man said. 'What do I still lack?' Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth" (Matthew 19:20–22).
Now you see why Jesus left out the first commandment. This man had kept commandments five through ten — but he was breaking the very first one: you shall have no other gods before me. His money had become his god. Sayang — he could have been one of them. There might have been thirteen.
"Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, 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." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:23–26).
Then Peter spoke up — and his words show the conviction of a man who had already found the treasure. "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19:27–28).
"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29).
Eternal life. We cannot count it. A million days is long, but it is nothing in eternity. A billion years is long — and still not finished. Now imagine a billion years in hell. One day there would already be unbearable. Eternity with God is infinitely better.
I am not saying leave everything behind. What I am saying is: prioritize our worship and our service to the Lord. That is why the apostles could face terrible deaths — beheaded, crucified, killed — and still never deny Jesus. They had seen the treasure and they valued it. Their hearts were full of joy.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). Unahin natin ang kaharian ng Diyos. And live a righteous life according to our identity as children of God — because we carry His name.
The Parable of the Net
"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:47–50).
Picture the net coming up full — sapsap, galunggong, tuna, everything mixed together. Then the sorting begins: this one is too small, throw it; this one is spoiled, throw it.
Three things this teaches.
The Church attracts a mixture — both true believers and hypocrites. Not everyone who attends is a true believer. Ano ang ipokrito? The one who is a Christian on Sunday — sweet, soft-spoken, "hi brother, good morning" — and then gets home and is cursing and shouting. Good fish, or bad fish?
The sorting is done by angels at the end. That is why we must seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Good works should be visible in us. Remember the ten virgins — five entered, five found the door shut. A fifty percent batting average. But the goal of Acts 2:42 Church is one hundred percent.
This is why I preach the way I do. In some churches these things are not discussed — sin is tolerated, people are living together and it is accepted, because nobody wants to lose a member or an offering. We are not like that here. We are not after anyone's money. We are after the salvation of the soul. I do not want you coming to me one day saying, Brother Marc, you never rebuked me, you never told me. That is my responsibility before God. Remember who Jesus was speaking to when He said "Away from me, you evildoers" — people who prophesied, drove out demons, and performed miracles in His name. Those were religious leaders. So when I correct you, understand what it means: it means I love you.
And notice Jesus' own way — if you want to leave, He will not stop you. Even if the Twelve had walked away, He would simply have called another twelve.
And there will be intense sorrow — agony and anger over the missed opportunity for salvation. Missed opportunity, because you were already inside the church. You were already caught in the net. But the life was never put in order. Sayang. There will be weeping — regret that comes too late — and gnashing of teeth, which is rage.
A Rich Welcome
"Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:10–11).
What is your calling? You are a disciple of Jesus Christ. What were you elected to do? To serve God, and to be an ambassador of Christ. The Bible calls us citizens of heaven.
And look at the promise: a rich welcome. Imagine walking in and the angels are applauding — "Yay! There's Sister Karol! There's Edward!" Billions of angels, and Peter and Abraham among them, welcoming you home. I am sure you will weep — because all your labor, all your sacrifice, will have paid off. What you worked hard for tastes sweeter than anything simply handed to you.
So brothers and sisters, let us prioritize the kingdom. Let us prioritize the church. Let us not grow tired, and let us not lose our joy in being a Christian.
Challenge
This week, name your field — and name your price.
Ask honestly: what am I still holding that I have never actually surrendered to God? For the rich young ruler it was money, and it quietly became his god while he kept every other rule. For you it might be a relationship, an ambition, a plan, a reputation.
Then check your joy. If church feels like a burden rather than a treasure, spend time this week looking at the treasure again until the joy returns. The man in the field sold everything in his joy — and that joy is the surest evidence he had really seen what he found.
And make every effort to confirm your calling. Do not settle for being a fish that was only ever in the net.
The kingdom of heaven is a treasure — and the One who is the treasure is waiting to give you a rich welcome home.
