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But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.—2 Corinthians 4:7

Do you know that you have a treasure? Every Christian has a treasure. Paul did not say "I have this treasure”; he said that we have this treasure. He said, "What I have as an apostle you have as an usher, as a nursery care worker, as a choir member, as a deacon, as a helper to the needy. Your treasure is not any less than mine in value, in weight, in beauty or glory. Your treasure is not any different than mine.” All who are born of God have received this treasure. There are no exceptions to it. Whether you are learned or unlearned; whether you are a healthy child or a poor old man with his teeth falling out and one foot in the grave; whether you are a doctor, dishwasher, have cancer or are crippled; whether you're black, white, red or yellow, you have this treasure. It makes no difference whether you live in a palace or sleep under a bridge; whether you are a billionaire or don't have a nickel in your pocket, you have this treasure. On the day that you received Jesus you received a treasure. We have this treasure! You have the same treasure as the apostles Paul, Peter, James and John and so you have the same spiritual potential to sit beside Jesus on the Great Day of the Lord.

Now, let's talk about the value of this treasure. This treasure is greater in value than anything you can put into the bank, in stocks, gold, real estate, pearls or jewelry. It cannot be stored in a safe. God did not put this treasure in any of those places. None of them are good enough for this treasure. When God looked for a place to deposit this treasure He looked at what is the dearest and nearest to Him. And that is the heart of man. He put this treasure into His children because this treasure needs portability. It is not made for just sitting somewhere. God wants this treasure to be wherever we are. He wants it to be where you will never forget it when you leave home. He does not want this treasure to be where it can be lost under a piece of furniture, in the laundry, or in the trunk of a car.

He wanted his treasure within us so we have it ready to be used anytime.

He wants you to have it when your doctor tells you that you're going blind. He wants you to have it when your teeth are being pulled. He wants you to have it when you have a head-on collision with your car, and are lying out on the cold asphalt in the rain. He wants you to have it when you miss your plane and you see your aircraft taxiing away from the gate, while you are still inside the building. Wives, God wants you to have it when your husband is grouchy. Husbands, He wants you to have it when your wife's love grows cold.

Youth, He wants you to have it when your parents are breaking up. He wants you to have it when you lose your job or when you can't find your credit card. He wants you to have it when you are misunderstood, rejected, mocked and hated. He wants you to have it when you're arrested, cast into prison and tortured.

We have this treasure in earthen vessels!

Oh, may God help us not to be so overwhelmed with problems that we forget our treasure. We must review, review, review the things of God so we will not forget. We live in a world of trouble. Don't expect to be without it for very long. Let us see how Paul expresses this. He goes from…”But we have this treasure in earthen vessels”...to “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body (2 Cor. 4: 8-10).

Many churches preach that once you receive Christ, all your troubles are over. Tell this to the apostle Paul! Tell this to the rest of the apostles. Most of them were martyred. Tell this to the new converts in Iraq , Iran , Morocco , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Vietnam and North Korea . Don't believe that when you get saved your troubles are over. Let's go back to Paul once again. Let us get more detail. Let us look at Paul's conversion in Acts 9.

When Paul received Jesus he was struck with blindness for three days. Was that a time for celebration or was it troubling? It depends on your point of view. If you don't know the value of the treasure Paul received on the Damascus road, this sounds like an unnecessary, cruel hardship. But if you know the value of this treasure, the immensity, the beauty, the glory of it and the power that is in it; if you know the love it contains, the intimacy with the Divine that springs out of it, and the heaven that opens for those who have it; then blindness is but a small affliction. It could even be a blessing. Seeing brings many distractions. By taking away Paul's eyesight God made him to see Jesus only. Have you ever been there? Sometimes God has to take everything away from us that is dear to us to make us see only Him. No one knows the kind of fellowship Jesus had with Paul in those three days. We don't know whether Jesus took Paul on a tour of His kingdom or whether He showed him the first or second heaven. But whatever it was it prepared Paul for the next message Jesus had for him through the words of Ananias:

“But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake” (Acts 9: 15-16). READ MORE >