24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

INTRO: Have you ever read Treasure Island and wanted to have a map of your own and find an awesome treasure. Maybe this is a guy thing???? Of course you knew from the book there would be many obstacles, dangers, others competing for YOUR treasure along the way, but it would be worth it, right? All the things we could do with the treasure were so numerous. We could share it with your best friend Myron, use it to better our family's lives, buy some things we had been looking at, etc.

Or maybe you like countless others, have been bitten by the "gold fever bug." Did you know there are still many even yet today who prospect, especially out west? Yes gold is still being found.

There is a treasure said to exist in Virginia. The Beale ciphers are a set of three ciphertexts, one of which allegedly states the location of a buried treasure of gold and silver estimated to be worth over 30 million US dollars in the present time. The other two ciphertexts allegedly describe the content of the treasure, and list the names of the treasure's owners' next of kin, respectively. The story of the three ciphertexts originates from an 1885 pamphlet detailing treasure being buried by a man named Thomas Jefferson Beale in a secret location in Virginia in 1820. Beale entrusted the box containing the encrypted messages with a local innkeeper named Robert Morriss and then disappeared, never to be seen again.[1] The innkeeper gave the three encrypted ciphertexts to a friend before he died. The friend then spent the next twenty years of his life trying to decode the messages, and was able to solve only one of them which gave details of the treasure buried and the general location of the treasure. Since the publication of the pamphlet, a number of attempts have been made to decode the two remaining ciphertexts and to find the treasure, but all have resulted in failure. Now I could go for a treasure like that, couldn't you?

So we can see, the lure still exits. Today we can buy a metal detector that will help us find "treasure." There are many testimonials out there how people have found stuff that are worth much. There are books available, for instance, here is one…Buried Treasures of the Appalachians : Legends of Homestead Caches Indian Mines and Loot from Civil War Raids Buried Treasures of the Appalachians. Or there is the legend of John Fletcher's buried treasure. One can find all kinds of things about treasure.

Well that has been a few years for myself, and probably for most of you. Most of us outgrow the idea of hidden treasure. Sadly, this is also true of the treasures the Lord offers us.

The blessings of the Lord are like finding buried treasure. They are truly priceless. Yet others often fail to seek after the treasure God has given to us. God has given us a map that is marked for us to see. The way is plain. The treasure is there. Yet, people fail to seek and obtain the treasure God wants us to have.

• We do not believe in buried treasure
• We don't have a treasure map or it is incomplete - but God's map is complete
• Our vision is poor - we fail to see the benefits of treasure versus living without
• The treasure may have been moved it is an empty promise- God's plan is set the treasure is there
• I might fail to find it and others will laugh at me
• We feel inadequate because we do not have an eye patch, telescope, peg leg, ship or a parrot (treasure hunting is for others, not for myself)
• I don't like bugs and snakes and stuff - don’t like all the things we have to put up with to obtain the treasure (preconceived ideas of our inability to obtain treasure)
• I gave at the office - we don't have time for this stuff

Worldly allurements prevented the escape of Lot's wife. Gen 19:26

Genesis 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

The attempt to use the equipment of Saul delayed David. 1 Sam 17:39

1 Samuel 17:39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.

Discouraged men opposed the building of the wall of Jerusalem. Neh 4:10

Nehemiah 4:10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.

Unbelief hindered Christ's work in Nazareth. Matt 13:58

Matthew 13:58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Worldly possessions kept back the rich young man from discipleship. Matt 19:22

Matthew 19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Imaginary hindrances look up before the Christian. Mark 16:3-4

Mark 16:3 - 4 ³And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?