1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:02,560 Amen. God bless you today. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:07,160 So good to see all the faces that are here, Amen, in this 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,160 holiday season, Amen. And you've made time. 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:14,280 You've carved out time in your life for the real reason, Amen, 5 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:16,800 that we're gathered here today. We're so thankful for you to be 6 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,720 here. Amen To any guests we have most 7 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:22,880 of you that I see out there, I think we see from time to time. 8 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:24,880 Amen. And that's good too. 9 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:26,720 Amen. That is good too. 10 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:28,360 And so we're thankful today to have you. 11 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:31,800 Amen with us. We're going to be turning to the 12 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:36,840 Gospel of Matthew this morning. The Gospel of Matthew chapter 13 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:43,720 #13 I hate to disappoint, but if you came for like a typical 14 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:48,120 Christmas sermon that happened 2 weeks ago, OK, that happened. 15 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,640 I was early, I didn't get the memo, but that happened a couple 16 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:53,160 weeks ago. Amen. 17 00:00:53,160 --> 00:00:58,520 So if, if that's your fair, I advise you to go on Facebook or 18 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,160 YouTube, go back a couple weeks and you'll hear about the 19 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:05,480 perfect Christmas gift and such. But this morning I'm going to, I 20 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,960 want to read from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, just a 21 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:13,320 couple of verses of Scripture, starting with verse #44 today, 22 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:18,400 Amen. The Bible says again, The 23 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:24,520 Kingdom of heaven is likened to a treasure hid in a field, which 24 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,240 when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof 25 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:32,320 goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 26 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:36,960 Again, the Kingdom of heaven is likened to a merchant man 27 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:42,040 seeking goodly pearls, when he had found one Pearl of great 28 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:46,960 price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 29 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:49,840 Amen. With the help of the Lord, today 30 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:57,160 I want to speak to us simply this sell out to buy in, sell 31 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:02,560 out to buy in, Amen. Let's ask the Lord to help us 32 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,840 today. Father, I thank you God for Lord 33 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,680 your Spirit, God that we have already felt in this place, I 34 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:10,919 pray God you would help us in the next little while. 35 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,560 God that our lives and our hearts can be challenged and 36 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:16,480 perhaps changed by the word of the Lord. 37 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,400 I pray God, those that have come in, Lord God seeking Lord Jesus 38 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,760 for her something others, God that May God just be here 39 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,880 because it's the regular fair Lord of what takes place. 40 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,680 Lord, each God is able to be ministered to. 41 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,920 Lord by the Holy Ghost and by your spirit, we will not fail. 42 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,480 Lord to thank you for what you accomplished and do here today. 43 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,400 In Jesus name we pray Amen, Amen, Amen. 44 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:46,400 You may be seated this morning in Jesus name, the Gospel of 45 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,280 Matthew. It's primarily written to a 46 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:53,360 Jewish audience. And so in doing that the Jews 47 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:59,760 had a a custom of theirs that they avoided at much cost to, to 48 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,040 pronounce the divine name of the Lord. 49 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:07,160 It it was not something that they would typically do. 50 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:11,000 And so that's one of the reasons why Matthew and his writing the 51 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,840 Gospel, whenever he refers to what we read a lot about in the 52 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,080 Gospels, in the Bible over all, for that matter, whenever he's 53 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:23,880 referring to the Kingdom of God, he refers to it as the Kingdom 54 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,400 of heaven. Both of these terms, Kingdom of 55 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,160 God, Kingdom of heaven, are used, often interchangeable in 56 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,520 the Scriptures. And in Matthew 13, Jesus is 57 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,200 addressing to begin with quite a large crowd. 58 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:39,680 The Bible says that he even stepped into a boat and it 59 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,720 pushed off just a little bit from shore to be able to address 60 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,280 the multitudes that had come to hear what he was teaching. 61 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:50,000 He was teaching by parables using several different stories 62 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,440 that different people in the crowd might be able to relate 63 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:55,680 to. He was using examples of a 64 00:03:55,680 --> 00:04:00,600 farming and fishing and, and sowing seed and, and all these 65 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:03,480 different types of examples that people might be able to relate 66 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:07,200 to and similes, if you will, like we read the Kingdom of God 67 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:12,840 is like type of scenarios trying to make the Kingdom of heaven 68 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:17,120 relatable to the crowd, the Kingdom of God relatable to his 69 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:22,120 diverse audience, where one simile or one story or parable 70 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,360 might be able to relate with one better than the other. 71 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,120 They might be able to catch something exactly what the 72 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,920 Kingdom of heaven or God was about better through one story 73 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:34,840 than another story. And so he's not just using these 74 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:38,320 various parables and similes just so that they might be able 75 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,080 to relate to it. But indeed, the Kingdom of 76 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,080 heaven and the Kingdom of God is, is so vast and so 77 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:49,360 multifaceted, if you will. There's so many different layers 78 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:51,880 to it. And that that he's using these 79 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:55,880 different venues to try to explain all the different facets 80 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,360 and angles of the Kingdom of heaven and the Kingdom of God. 81 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:04,120 It's just too much really to convey in one setting is just so 82 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:07,040 vast. And so although he understood 83 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,920 that one similar one parable may fail, perhaps by using several, 84 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,400 they could have a fuller or a complete picture really what the 85 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:19,120 Kingdom of heaven was all about. And so in Matthew chapter 13, 86 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:23,160 there are five additional the Kingdom of heaven is like 87 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,880 statements in addition to the two that I read in my text to 88 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,480 you today. But the awesome thing about 89 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,160 parables is this is that parables just tip typically have 90 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:34,640 one point. They just really have really one 91 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,560 focus, one driving point that they're trying to get across. 92 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,960 And so it's Christ is giving all these likenesses to the Kingdom 93 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:45,000 of heaven. He's driving home a point or an 94 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,760 idea each time he shares. 1:00 We, we have in the Scripture 95 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,920 talking about how the Kingdom of God is like leaven that's hidden 96 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:58,000 a few measures of flower and it's so it's impact and power so 97 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:02,160 pervasive that it impacts the complete lump and which it was 98 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:04,280 put. We have that type of concept. 99 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:08,040 We, we have the concept that the Kingdom of heaven is like a 100 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:10,400 mustard seed that's planted in the ground. 101 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,520 But when that grows and the power and the impact of that 102 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:17,360 comes to fruition, that it is a tree larger than most of that 103 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,800 day that even the birds of the air come and invest on its 104 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,400 branches. And so Christ is relating to 105 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:26,640 those that he is speaking to that the Kingdom of heaven or 106 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,360 the Kingdom of God. It, it, it's impactful, it's 107 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:32,400 powerful. He, he, he speaks in other 108 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:36,120 places as, as it is a good seed that's sown in the ground and 109 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:38,440 someone comes and sows tares in the night hour. 110 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,400 And then there's a separation of tares from the wheat. 111 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,400 He speaks of another time of it being like the Kingdom of heaven 112 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:48,600 is like a dragnet that's bringing in a variety of fish. 113 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:51,920 And even in that moment, there's a separation between that which 114 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:55,640 is good, which is just debris, and that, that and that which is 115 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:57,600 debris. And so he's talking to us about 116 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,720 how the Kingdom of God is very distinct or that there's 117 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:04,160 separation in the Kingdom. But when he talks to us as he 118 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:09,640 did in our text, and he tells us about a man that discovers a 119 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:11,720 treasure that's hidden in a field. 120 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:15,880 And he tells us about a man that is a merchant, that this is his 121 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:19,600 life of being a searcher for pearls, and goodly pearls at 122 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,720 that, and finding a Pearl of great prize. 123 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,280 God is relaying a facet or layer to the Kingdom, to us, that the 124 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,480 Kingdom of heaven is a treasured Kingdom. 125 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:36,200 The Kingdom of heaven is a valuable, valuable Kingdom, but 126 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:40,840 there is only one Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. 127 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,120 It's the domain, if we were to further define the Kingdom of 128 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:48,560 God, it's it's the domain where God's authority and his will is 129 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,640 acknowledged. Jesus Christ in his earthly 130 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:55,040 ministry, He walked even among the Pharisees, those who were 131 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:58,760 perfect as it seemed in keeping the law, and he would speak to 132 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:03,320 them and say the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you. 133 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:06,360 The Kingdom of God is in the midst of you. 134 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:11,640 And he was relaying in reality that I'm Christ Jesus, I'm God 135 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:15,960 manifest in the flesh. I'm present right now walking 136 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,160 among you here for these few years. 137 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:22,480 So the Kingdom of God is present among you. 138 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,560 The Book of Revelation speaks of that Christ Jesus as being the 139 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,480 Lord of Lords and the King of kings. 140 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:36,200 In essence, Jesus wanted them to know that the Kingdom had come 141 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:39,559 because where the king is, the Kingdom is. 142 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:43,080 Hey man, he was relaying to them, I am among you. 143 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:48,040 And we have in Scripture right about 33 1/2 years of Jesus's 144 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:52,920 life, that king and that Kingdom remained among the people and in 145 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:57,440 certain ways, to a degree hidden to a large segment of society 146 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:01,440 because they didn't expect him to be as he was. 147 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:05,840 They didn't expect him or his Kingdom to come as it came. 148 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,000 The Bible says in Proverbs that it's the glory of God to conceal 149 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,320 a thing. And Jesus came down among us, 150 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:16,960 existed among the people. Some caught a glimpse of it, 151 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,760 some recognized it, others did not. 152 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:23,840 Some had the discovery of it and then tried to ignore what they 153 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:27,440 were discovering. But Christ is his, his, His, his 154 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:31,760 opportunity, His spoke as his desire was that he would reveal 155 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:35,760 himself, the Kingdom of heaven, the Kingdom of God himself, to 156 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,680 everyone. But not everyone was willing to 157 00:09:38,680 --> 00:09:40,840 accept him. As a matter of fact, before 158 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,120 Christ ever came, there was a forerunner, John the Baptist, 159 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,680 you know him. He came with a message from the 160 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:48,400 wilderness. What was his message? 161 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:53,840 Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. 162 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,640 Jesus comes along in his ministry. 163 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:01,080 He speaks the same things in Mark 115 saying the time is 164 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:07,400 fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent ye and believe 165 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:09,720 the gospel. He would speak even to 166 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:14,560 Nicodemus, a disciple that came to him by night, and Nicodemus 167 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:16,320 would have conversation with him. 168 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:20,840 And Jesus's response to Nicodemus concerning this 169 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:25,000 Kingdom experience in verse 3 would be verily, verily I say 170 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:31,280 unto you, except the man is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom 171 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,280 of God. He would further define in verse 172 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:38,880 5, except he be born of the water and of the Spirit. 173 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:45,080 He cannot enter into the Kingdom of God because at every step of 174 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:50,480 salvation, at every step of salvation to experience the king 175 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:55,080 and the Kingdom, it's built, if you will, on the platform of 176 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:59,600 surrender, Whenever you repent to God and you're hollering out 177 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:03,520 to God and in that moment of repentance, you are submitting 178 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:07,360 your will to God and all of those things are happening and 179 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:09,640 you're yielding your will to his will. 180 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:13,320 It's an act of surrender when you go to a watery grave of 181 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:17,480 baptism and you allow another person to submerge you under 182 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,480 that water. And the name of Jesus is a vote, 183 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:23,840 vote over you. You are submitting if you will, 184 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:27,880 in waters of baptism when the Spirit of the Holy Ghost comes 185 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:31,480 upon you and you begin to speak in a tongue that you were not 186 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:34,720 taught and you did not learn. And you surrender. 187 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:38,760 That unruly member called your tongue your in your mouth and it 188 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:40,880 begins to speak in a heavily language. 189 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:46,040 In that moment there is a proper place of surrender that happens 190 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:48,600 in your life. To experience the King and the 191 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:53,240 Kingdom is predicated absolutely upon surrender. 192 00:11:55,120 --> 00:12:00,920 And so the Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, he says, hidden 193 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:05,320 in a field, in a Pearl, or if you will, of great price. 194 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:09,800 And the fact that's revealed in this little parabolic saying is 195 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:16,000 this, it illustrates this, that once the treasure or the Pearl 196 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:22,560 is discovered, it was impossible for these two men to ignore. 197 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:29,600 Once they come across it, once they saw it, once they handled 198 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:34,240 it, once they experienced it, it was impossible for them to 199 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:36,040 ignore. Amen. 200 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:40,720 And their response to what they discovered illustrates to you 201 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:45,080 and I once again, the valuableness, right? 202 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:50,680 The pricelessness, if you will, of that treasure I've, I've seen 203 00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:52,560 in my life. And they come of all sorts. 204 00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:55,280 We, we have them today. Some of them are professional, 205 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:57,760 some of them are amateur. There's there's people that are 206 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:01,080 treasure hunters. They come with all types of in 207 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:02,880 all types of all types of different hats. 208 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:04,720 There there are some that are hobbyists. 209 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:08,400 If you've ever been to a beach in, in America, you've probably 210 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:11,360 come across a treasure hunter. They're all geared up with 211 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:13,600 headphones on their head and they got their little metal 212 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:17,000 detector in their little basket of, you know, and they're going 213 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:18,280 through and beep, beep, beep, beep. 214 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:20,880 They're hearing in their ears and they're trying to find, you 215 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:24,040 know, some ring that somebody lost on the beach or some rare 216 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:28,160 coin that, you know, from Spain, you know, that floated over, you 217 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:30,040 know, on here. They're, they're searching, 218 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:32,640 they're looking. Then then you have people that 219 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:36,080 make it almost a profession. You you have archaeologist and 220 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,800 and and you have historians that they built careers around the 221 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:43,680 fact trying to discover lost or buried things that have been 222 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:47,600 from the past that that may be some type of value or even 223 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,520 provide valuable insight to our air. 224 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,400 And then there are actually professional explorers. 225 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:55,640 I mean, sign me up for that, right? 226 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:59,920 Professional explorers that. But they devote their lives to 227 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:03,640 seeking out different things, ancient artifacts or shipwrecks. 228 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:05,920 Just here recently. I'm a nerd. 229 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,320 So here recently, just you didn't know that, but I was 230 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,840 watching a documentary on the discovery of a ship called 231 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,520 Endurance. It was Sir Ernest Shackleton 232 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:19,800 ship that he had sailed on in Antarctica with a crew and it 233 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,760 had sunk in 1915. It was one of the greatest 234 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:26,120 undiscovered shipwrecks in America because in the 235 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,240 Antarctic, it's not just underwater, but it's under 236 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:33,200 layers and thickness of ice that freeze during those winter 237 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:34,920 months. And it's, it's in the one of the 238 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:38,840 most remote places of the Earth, harshest environment. 239 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,760 And so there's a team of scientists and historians and 240 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:43,840 engineers. They, they got all the best 241 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:47,080 equipment and latest technology. They, they were there for 242 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:50,960 months, several days and weeks and in challenging weather and 243 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,720 temperatures in hopes of just finding this lost ship. 244 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,160 And so they conducted this with great care. 245 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,080 They, they, they went to the point that was in the journals 246 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,880 of Shackleton where the last place the ship was. 247 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:06,520 And so they went there and they begin, they got the image of the 248 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,440 bottom of the ocean and they made a grid over top of it on 249 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:12,440 their screen. And they would search in one 250 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,480 little box like each day. And they were running out of 251 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:19,000 time because winter was coming, inclement weather was coming. 252 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,400 If they didn't get out of there, they were going to join 253 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:24,080 Shackleman, his ship probably more than likely. 254 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:27,120 But they asked for a few more days from the captain and in 255 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:31,760 those few more days, finally on on March the 5th of 2022, they 256 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:35,480 discovered about 10,000 deep in that ocean floor that's covered 257 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:38,960 by ice. Amen Endurance, that ship that 258 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:41,040 for years have been undiscovered. 259 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:43,720 And whenever that happened, I'm watching this documentary 260 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,960 whenever that happened, there's people high fiving each other. 261 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,760 There's people that have no relation that are hugging each 262 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:51,920 other. Tears are going down faces 263 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,840 because they they had they had recovered, they had discovered 264 00:15:56,080 --> 00:16:01,120 some something that some of them was a lifelong pursuit is some 265 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:02,720 of them. It was the highest honor that 266 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,720 their life had ever been a part of to make this discovery. 267 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:14,120 But then there's others, people who make extraordinary, 268 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:19,920 unexpected discoveries. 1947 And you may have seen pictures of it 269 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:24,400 before, but nonetheless, there was a Bedouin shepherd. 270 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:28,720 He discovered the oldest known manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, 271 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:33,000 the Dead Sea Scrolls. The story says he was searching 272 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,640 for a stray goat, and he tossed a rock in The Cave. 273 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:42,400 And he heard echoed back what sounded like shattered pottery. 274 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:46,840 And when he went to investigate it, it was the Dead Sea Scrolls 275 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,400 that was inside of the shattered pottery. 276 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:52,440 He went that day looking for a goat. 277 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:57,720 But he found some of the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible 278 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:02,000 in 1974 in China. Many of you perhaps have seen 279 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,880 before what's known as the Terracotta Army warriors, that 280 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:10,119 in the ground, life-size in China, there were farmers who 281 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:14,520 were digging a whale and in the process of digging a well, they 282 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,480 discovered these life-size army members. 283 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:19,839 They were buried with the emperor. 284 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:23,520 Some 2000 years earlier they had discovered this. 285 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:26,079 They were on a journey looking for history. 286 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,160 They were just trying to find water. 287 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:33,920 In 1989, a man purchased in Pennsylvania at a flea market a 288 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:36,800 $4.00 painting. He kind of liked it. 289 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:38,640 What a good fine. My wife would have been right 290 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,160 there with him. What a good fine, a $4.00 291 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,720 painting. But upon further examination 292 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,720 when he began to mess with the frame, he discovered one of the 293 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:50,960 original copies of the Declaration of Independence 294 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:54,640 hidden behind the canvas and that ended up then being an 295 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:58,720 auction for $2,000,000. He went just trying to find a 296 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:01,600 good fine, but he found a priceless fine. 297 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:06,720 In 2008, another unexpected discovery took place when a 298 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:10,120 woman was cleaning her great aunt's house in the state of 299 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:13,120 Tennessee. She found while she was cleaning 300 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,120 a stock certificate for Coca-Cola. 301 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:19,960 That turned out to be quite significant because it was a 302 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:23,160 piece of the company's earliest of shares. 303 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:28,080 Needless to say, that family never wanted for anything again. 304 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,920 She was just cleaning a house, but she found a treasure. 305 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:35,000 What are you saying this morning, Brother McGee? 306 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:38,680 I'm saying this. These two people in our parables 307 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:42,800 today, one was looking for the treasure they found and the 308 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:44,840 other just happened to come across it. 309 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:48,240 But it doesn't matter if you're looking for it or your life 310 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:53,240 intersects it the same, the reaction is the same. 311 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:57,160 You are overjoyed. You are overwhelmed by the 312 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,400 discovery. Can I say this morning, you 313 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:04,360 might be here today on purpose. You might be searching for 314 00:19:04,360 --> 00:19:07,920 something today on purpose, but somebody else might be here 315 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,600 today. That is just Christmas time and 316 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:13,400 I'm just going to church. But I'm here to tell you this 317 00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:16,320 morning you can find a discovery of the Kingdom. 318 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,360 You can find the discovery of the Kingdom of God here. 319 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:22,800 And whether you're looking for it or you just come across it 320 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:29,200 today, you can't. You can. 321 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:34,480 You can experience joy unspeakable and full of glory. 322 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:50,400 Someone say thank you. You know what's powerful to me? 323 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:54,120 The man that found the treasure in the field after he found the 324 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:56,680 treasure. Life was about the treasure. 325 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:00,000 After he found the treasure, he didn't keep on walking. 326 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:02,480 He didn't forsake that spot and never go back. 327 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:07,040 It was about the treasure when that merchant man found that one 328 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:10,160 Pearl. The search for goodly pearls was 329 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,760 over after he had found the treasure. 330 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:32,040 Someone say yes, Isaiah the prophet said. 331 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:38,360 I am fond of them that sought me not. 332 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:48,920 I'm fond of them that sought me. Not folks. 333 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:54,400 We have biblical examples. Brother Trout, a woman going to 334 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:59,640 a well in Samaria. She wasn't looking for the 335 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:06,280 Kingdom of heaven that day. She's just going to the well to 336 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:11,240 draw water. But while there, she came upon 337 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:17,200 the treasure. She wasn't seeking him, but she 338 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:24,320 found him so on his road to Damascus, having letters to 339 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,960 apprehend those who spoke the name of Jesus and imprisoned 340 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:31,840 them on his way to Damascus. He wasn't looking for the 341 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:36,720 Kingdom, but a bright light sign and a voice from heaven spoke, 342 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:40,240 and a spirit of revelation, enlightenment happened, and he 343 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:48,480 found him. No intention. 344 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:53,800 The best way I know to say it, folks, though you may not be 345 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:55,360 looking for him, he's looking for you. 346 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,160 I don't have the time. I know what's going. 347 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:06,480 I have the time today. But I've shared with you this 348 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:08,720 before. The multitude of stories that we 349 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:13,480 have had with prison people get transferred into a certain 350 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:18,240 institute right before we come, maybe going to be there 2 weeks 351 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:21,160 and they're gone. They don't even understand what 352 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:23,480 just happened. But in that two week frame of 353 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:27,640 time, Princess Within happened. They heard the gospel, they got 354 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:29,600 the Holy Ghost. They weren't looking for the 355 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:38,520 Kingdom. Whenever, whenever we were in 356 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:42,960 Hawaii and we were doing prison conference over there, did it on 357 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,200 Memorial Day, it was likelihood that we wasn't even going to get 358 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:49,320 in there with sister Reinhart was kind of keeping that under 359 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:54,520 her, under her hand. She's thinking all these people 360 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,360 spent money to get to Hawaii for a prison conference and here we 361 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:02,040 might not be getting in there, but we got in there that day. 362 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:04,640 We had three prison conferences that basically happened 363 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:08,600 simultaneously at the same time. And the reason being is that 364 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,960 there was one group of girls who were really awaiting their 365 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:13,760 sentencing. They were doing some 366 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:16,200 construction right at that moment where they were typically 367 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:19,320 held. So all of them had to be moved 368 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:24,960 to the prison. That was the group my wife and I 369 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:29,720 got to lead in the prison. Those that were just waiting for 370 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:32,400 their sentencing, they would only be there for a little 371 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:34,320 while. And they were only there because 372 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:36,840 of what was happening in the facility they were typically in. 373 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,480 But in essence, they were just people walking through a field 374 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:51,880 that's came upon a treasure. They were looking for it, but 375 00:23:51,880 --> 00:23:57,680 they found it. But I'm convinced today, I don't 376 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,960 know what you come looking for today or what journey you're on 377 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:06,240 or you're not on, but you're able to find him here today. 378 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,440 But it's just as important, then, of those who are seeking 379 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:36,440 the the the evangelist in Acts 8 Bible says there's a Ethiopian 380 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:40,040 eunuch in his chariot reading the Scriptures. 381 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:47,560 He's on a search, he's reading from the prophet Isaiah that 382 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:49,720 speaks about in the Lord's humiliation. 383 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:54,440 He wasn't sure what this was all talking about, the man speaking 384 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,760 this of himself or another. Philip draws an eye to him, 385 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:00,720 asked him to understand this. Thou what thou readest. 386 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:06,400 No and Philip begin to preach Jesus that eunuch was searching 387 00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:09,400 and he discovered the great Pearl. 388 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:13,320 He ended up being baptized. There was a change. 389 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:17,920 So just important if you're not looking, you can find it or if 390 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:19,880 you are, there's hope today you can find it. 391 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:24,080 I was trying to converse with burn sister Mason. 392 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:29,600 I I won't get this exactly right, but I was at pops Tony 393 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:31,760 Frederick's dad's funeral yesterday. 394 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:35,240 They were there as well and and Evangelist Bruce Shepherd was 395 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:39,520 there and he had opportunity to speak at that funeral because 396 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:40,920 the relationship he had with pops. 397 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:45,040 But the Long story short is this Pops had started going to 398 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:48,560 brother Frederick's church, got baptized in Jesus name. 399 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:53,320 Evangelist Shepherd was there on the particular time of revival 400 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:56,480 and preaching services and brother Shepherd's very animated 401 00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:00,640 preacher and he was preaching about on the verse ask and ye 402 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,960 shall receive, seek and ye shall find knock and the door shall be 403 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:06,800 opened unto you. He says, that's all I was 404 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:08,880 preaching. He says, and while I was 405 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:10,960 preaching some there in the back was Pop. 406 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:15,560 And he said Pop stood up with his Bible and his finger down on 407 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:20,040 a verse and he he he stood up. But then he started walking 408 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:22,280 toward the altar while I was preaching. 409 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:25,280 He said it had Brother Tony Frederick, he said on pins and 410 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:26,760 needle. He thought, oh, here he pops 411 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:28,240 probably wondering what that word means. 412 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:30,000 He'd come up here to ask me right here in the middle of 413 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:31,760 church. He said, But Pop walked up that 414 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:34,120 middle aisle with his finger on that verse. 415 00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:36,800 And I don't remember if it was the verse that brother brother a 416 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,560 shepherd was preaching on or another verse, but he basically 417 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:41,600 came to the altar, laid that Bible down with his finger on 418 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:43,400 the verse. And he was talking to God. 419 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:47,840 And he said, God, you said if I asked, you said if I saw it that 420 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:50,520 I could have this. And he said, he sat down on that 421 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:54,280 altar and he started rubbing his legs and then he started rubbing 422 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:56,560 his arms. And then he threw his hands up 423 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,800 and he began to speak in other tongues as the spirit. 424 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:02,280 Why? He was on a journey. 425 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:18,740 Find something, someone say man. So it doesn't matter if the 426 00:27:18,740 --> 00:27:22,300 result is from a moment or a lifetime search. 427 00:27:22,540 --> 00:27:30,340 The reaction is the same. Joy, but also selling out. 428 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:43,240 When we talk about buying or selling in today's world, we're 429 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:44,960 thinking about exchange of money, right? 430 00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:53,160 Check Apple Pay, Vimo, Cash App, PayPal, blah blah blah blah, 431 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,560 whatever. Vimo vimo. 432 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:57,840 I don't know what they are. You know how much I do digital? 433 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:05,480 I still write a check to my water department and deliver it 434 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:16,680 by hand, thank you very much. But oddly enough, those are sat 435 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:18,280 in here that knew her probably when. 436 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:19,360 Where are you? About ready to go. 437 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:24,840 But oddly enough, my Grandma McGee understood these things. 438 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:28,280 Somebody's wondering right now, because you'd have to know my 439 00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:31,240 sweet grandma. She called batteries. 440 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:35,280 Batteries and a mattress and mattress. 441 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:42,840 Yeah, she's a special person. But my mom would take her at 442 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:47,120 least once a week to go do her grocery shopping, buy the things 443 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:51,640 that she needed for her house. Grandma would never say, Sue, 444 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:53,400 let's go shopping or we went shopping. 445 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:58,200 Grandma would always say, we're going to we're going to go do my 446 00:28:58,200 --> 00:28:58,680 trading. Right. 447 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:04,400 Hands down, Jamie, you know it. That's what it wasn't shopping 448 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:07,920 who was going to do her trading for her, even if money was 449 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:08,840 involved. It was trading. 450 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:10,800 She's going to go do her trading. 451 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:15,520 But in essence, that is the situation and feel here of the 452 00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:18,520 parable. It's not as though there is an 453 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:22,120 exchange of money, but the buying and the selling was a 454 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:28,920 trading, a bartering, an exchanging of something for 455 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:33,520 something or a response of giving something to something 456 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:37,160 because of what it was. In our modern minds, we 457 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:41,040 envisioned that, that the man in the field in the merchant man, 458 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:45,080 we envision when it says that they showed all that they had, 459 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,920 that they showed, and they then acquired money for the purpose 460 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:53,440 of taking that money and then go buying the Pearl or go buy, if 461 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:57,160 you will, the field that was in. But there was a Jewish law in 462 00:29:57,160 --> 00:30:00,680 that day and the ordinance, My best way to explain it to you is 463 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,120 by a common phrase that you have heard used probably in your life 464 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:04,480 side. This is not the way. 465 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:06,440 It was, you know, said in the Jewish law. 466 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,320 Please trust me with that. But it was basically this 467 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:15,120 finders keepers. What that meant was this. 468 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:18,880 When the man discovered the treasure, it was his. 469 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:23,360 When he experienced the treasure, it was his. 470 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:28,560 The man who found the great Pearl, it was his. 471 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:31,520 That that's all there was to, huh? 472 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:38,120 And if these things indeed describe what the Kingdom of God 473 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:43,720 or Kingdom of Heaven is like, makes perfect sense, because you 474 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:48,680 can't buy the Kingdom of God. You can't buy it. 475 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:51,680 You can't purchase it. Assignment. 476 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:55,000 The sorcerer in Acts chapter #8 he's seen the lane on of hands 477 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,080 and some speaking in other tongues, receiving the Holy 478 00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:59,080 Ghost. And he offered them what money 479 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:02,720 and what do they both say? He said your money perish with 480 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:03,800 you. Or they're saying you can't buy 481 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:05,720 this. What they tell him though, then 482 00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:10,480 repent. This is not an acquisition. 483 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:12,840 Amen. That happens by money, but by 484 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:18,760 surrender. So when we look at buying and 485 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:20,880 selling, particularly in these parables, we're not talking 486 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:22,520 about necessarily exchange of money. 487 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:24,920 We're just talking about an exchange. 488 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:30,320 They sold all, if you will, or they surrendered all because of 489 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:34,880 what they have discovered. They understood that anything 490 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:38,200 else they had, they would never need again. 491 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:45,160 After discovering what they you understand, it became a real 492 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:46,760 process. Now, he says. 493 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:51,080 I found this treasure. I don't need XYZABC. 494 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:54,280 All of that can just go because I found the treasure. 495 00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:57,040 The man now that found the Pearl of great price, he's been a 496 00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:58,800 merchant on the search for a long time. 497 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:00,800 I don't have to look for another goodly Pearl. 498 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,440 No, no, I can shell out everything. 499 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:05,800 And because I'm devoted to what I've. 500 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:20,600 Someone say, hey man, I found, I found this notice in the there's 501 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:22,680 never a price that's associated with either. 502 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:27,360 There's no price on the treasure in the field. 503 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:30,680 There's no price, if you will, that's on the Pearl. 504 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:37,680 There's no price on the Kingdom of heaven for that. 505 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:39,440 For that matter, let me say it like this. 506 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:48,560 The value that it is at is the value that it is for anyone that 507 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:52,600 would really come to terms with what they discovered. 508 00:32:53,840 --> 00:33:01,000 For both, it was we're going to sell or surrender everything 509 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:07,880 because the sum total of my goods, the sum total of what my 510 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:16,960 life has accumulated to this moment of time can't even be 511 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:20,360 compared. Here's what we must know, Sister 512 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:26,960 Ray, this man sowed all and exchanged that for the treasure. 513 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:31,840 The Scripture does not say for our purposes, it did not say. 514 00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:34,080 He had to borrow more money in order to meet the amount. 515 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:38,560 Doesn't say that he stole from such and such in order to meet 516 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:43,600 the amount, but it illustrates when he had gave everything he 517 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:51,680 had, all that he had was sufficient for the exchange. 518 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:58,200 Honey, you walked to this place. The Kingdom isn't on a shelf you 519 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:01,960 can't reach. The Kingdom doesn't have a value 520 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:07,280 on it. All of you that all that you 521 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:11,719 have surrendered to. It will not be a good exchange 522 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:16,120 for what you will inherit, for what you will experience, for 523 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:20,440 how you will live from that day forward. 524 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:27,840 Someone say man because think the assets of a merchant is 525 00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:30,920 quite different probably than the assets of this man that's 526 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:37,280 just going through a field that matter when it speaks of a man 527 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,239 and I'm trying to be mindful here and I need to run. 528 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:42,360 I really do literal maybe and figuratively. 529 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:44,760 Hey man, I know I do literally man. 530 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:50,400 Nonetheless, a man, a man, it's a general. 531 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,159 It's a general word in the Greek a man. 532 00:34:52,159 --> 00:34:54,440 It could be a man, it could be a woman, but it says, there's a 533 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:57,200 notion there that kind of denotes that it's a man, that 534 00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:00,680 denotes the weakness of man, the frailty of a man, the 535 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:03,720 imperfection of a man. He finds a treasure. 536 00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:06,880 And then you have this merchant man, no doubt that has a better 537 00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:10,280 standing, if you will, in life. But both of them, it was just 538 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:13,960 complete surrender, all that they have and their sell out was 539 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:17,160 in essence, if you want to call it that, for their buy in. 540 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:21,040 It was their commitment, it was, it was their consecration, Their 541 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:24,280 selling out was their consecration to what they had 542 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:27,080 found. He didn't require more or less 543 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:28,680 than the other. Amen. 544 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:31,240 The Kingdom requires our all, Amen. 545 00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:35,760 Jesus said it, pass. He said, but seek ye first the 546 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:40,800 Kingdom of God and all his righteousness, and all these 547 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:45,560 other things will be added unto you. 548 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:50,840 The multitude have been sent away at this point. 549 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:53,640 The disciples are the only ones that are there. 550 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,600 So when he tells them the parable about the treasure and 551 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:01,480 about the good lead, the great Pearl, he's talking 552 00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:03,360 predominantly just to his disciples. 553 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:07,520 And they knew what he was Speaking of because he had 554 00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:09,680 implored them somewhere along the journey. 555 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,200 He called them when they were at the boats and he said leave it. 556 00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:17,120 He called them when the wet Nets were still between the fingers 557 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:18,920 on their hand. And he said, just drop them and 558 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:22,200 tell them, hey, he called them when Johns and Jane were right 559 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:24,280 next to Daddy's elbow. Zebedee. 560 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:26,400 Amen. And they left their father and 561 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:29,880 they came and followed him. They understood what it was like 562 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:33,800 to surrender all for the discovery of the treasure. 563 00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:35,640 Amen. Maybe some of them, I don't know 564 00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:37,480 if they're part of the the human fabric. 565 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:40,640 There might have been some of them that along the way begin to 566 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:43,280 quibble one with the other. Peter might have boasted a 567 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,920 little bit while I left my boat, you know. 568 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:49,360 Of course, every boat, you know, got to have a female name. 569 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:52,040 I don't know what his was. There's only I left Lucy. 570 00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:56,040 I left my boat. I left my Nets, I left this. 571 00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:58,440 Matthew might argue. I had a receipt of customs, a 572 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:00,320 table. I left that I don't know. 573 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:02,040 James and John, Daddy, we left him. 574 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:06,080 But the equalizer for them all is that they surrendered all 575 00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:13,920 Paul said. He said whatsoever things were 576 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:20,800 game to me, he said I those things, I counted loss for 577 00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:24,200 Christ. He said all all the things prior 578 00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:27,200 to the discovery. He said now I surrender those 579 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:30,760 loss for Christ. Amen. 580 00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:36,600 Because he understood that he was in an exchange, He was in a 581 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:40,880 trade, he had sold out for Christ. 582 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:46,760 Someone say, man, I'll skip forward today. 583 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:48,640 I don't want to wear you out. I want you to come back tonight. 584 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:54,280 But Jesus said in Matthew 1626, he said, for what is a man 585 00:37:54,280 --> 00:38:00,080 profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own 586 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:03,560 soul? Or what shall a man give? 587 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:08,280 Someone say give in exchange for his soul? 588 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:13,440 This came back to me actually just this morning or very late 589 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:16,280 last night, probably over 10 years ago. 590 00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:23,520 I woke up early one morning, 5 O clock and there's verse and some 591 00:38:23,840 --> 00:38:28,840 something else that a writer, go figure, had made a statement of 592 00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:33,320 was just going through my mind. Henry David Thoreau, some of you 593 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:35,680 may have read some of his works or at least you've been exposed 594 00:38:35,680 --> 00:38:39,120 to him in school. He he made a statement years and 595 00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:42,600 years ago. He said the price of anything is 596 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:45,160 the amount of life you exchange for it. 597 00:38:52,860 --> 00:38:56,780 And so over the years, I've I've witnessed people give mere 598 00:38:56,780 --> 00:38:59,700 meanness of their life to things that eventually squandered 599 00:38:59,700 --> 00:39:05,620 years, isolated moments, even sometimes demanding a lifetime. 600 00:39:06,260 --> 00:39:07,980 We might ask, how in the world can this happen? 601 00:39:10,060 --> 00:39:13,980 Is it a skewed idea of values? Or were they willing to pay a 602 00:39:13,980 --> 00:39:20,000 price for things they valued? I believe in many instances that 603 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:22,400 the exchange didn't happen all at once. 604 00:39:24,640 --> 00:39:26,880 I believe a lot of times it seldom does. 605 00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:31,520 I think sometimes we're put on a payment plan we don't realize we 606 00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:36,520 signed up for. And so through their life, 607 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:39,160 they're making periodic installments just kind of 608 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:42,000 haphazardly. It's almost like they got your 609 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,040 bank account and they take it out every month. 610 00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:46,880 And you just go on with life, barely even noticing that that 611 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:51,160 occurred or happened, only to be able to conclude at the end of a 612 00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:56,360 lifetime that you have poured and exchanged so much for 613 00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:58,840 something that you thought that you wanted or needed. 614 00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:03,320 But imagine the horrible realization to come at the end 615 00:40:03,320 --> 00:40:05,840 of life. And realize you've invested in 616 00:40:05,840 --> 00:40:10,920 something that could never truly benefit you again. 617 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:14,560 Scripture, of course, predates Mr. Thoreau's statement when it 618 00:40:14,560 --> 00:40:18,560 says what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose 619 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:21,240 his soul? And then inquire, Or what shall 620 00:40:21,240 --> 00:40:24,320 a man give in exchange for his soul? 621 00:40:25,240 --> 00:40:29,280 And what always captured me on that morning 10 or so years ago 622 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:32,640 was this. The question isn't what shall a 623 00:40:32,640 --> 00:40:40,400 man receive in exchange for his soul, because in this setting 624 00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:45,000 the scripture, the exchange had already happened and the man is 625 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:47,120 just wanting to get back his soul. 626 00:40:49,520 --> 00:40:52,480 So The thing is then after you've lost your soul, what do 627 00:40:52,480 --> 00:41:00,840 you have to give? What do you have to give what 628 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:06,840 I'm saying today these people of the scripture understood that 629 00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:13,080 the exchange of all of what they had and who they are was a good 630 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:18,240 and proper exchange for everything that the Kingdom had 631 00:41:18,240 --> 00:41:21,120 to offer them. If you understand with me this 632 00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:24,120 morning, what I want us to leave here thinking about is this. 633 00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:31,080 And it seems like, man, that I hate it around this time of year 634 00:41:31,080 --> 00:41:34,880 when you hear people that have died and there's deaths. 635 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:36,960 And I know it's inevitable it's going to happen. 636 00:41:37,720 --> 00:41:40,880 But the thing that I asked of us this morning is this is that 637 00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:46,200 when you're there on your bed, right? 638 00:41:47,240 --> 00:41:51,640 And when the struggles with breath coming into your body is 639 00:41:51,640 --> 00:42:02,160 happening in that moment, what will you have spent a lifetime 640 00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:10,280 to attain? What will you have spent a 641 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:21,960 lifetime to? There is a treasure, there is a 642 00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:26,040 Kingdom, and I, I believe as Jesus walked this earth and as 643 00:42:26,040 --> 00:42:30,120 his Spirit is here today, the Kingdom and God is here today. 644 00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:33,880 It is among us. And Sir, our ma'am, whether 645 00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:36,160 you're searching for or whether you just happened to be 646 00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:42,560 intersecting it today, please respond to the discovery of the 647 00:42:42,560 --> 00:42:46,400 Kingdom. Please respond to maybe that 648 00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:49,120 spirit you're feeling right now. If our eyes could be closed, our 649 00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:51,680 heads be bowed. Please respond to that spirit 650 00:42:51,680 --> 00:42:55,040 that you have may felt in this service thus far today. 651 00:42:55,320 --> 00:42:56,800 Hey, man. You feel that drawing or you 652 00:42:56,800 --> 00:42:57,840 just feel something? Yeah. 653 00:42:57,960 --> 00:42:59,720 I don't know what's going on. I just feel like crying or 654 00:42:59,720 --> 00:43:01,160 Brother McGee. I don't know what's going on, 655 00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:02,720 man. I just don't know. 656 00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:04,480 I don't know. I can't even begin to describe 657 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:05,600 how I'm feeling right now. Sir. 658 00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:10,080 Ma'am, you, you just need to sell out to that you. 659 00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:13,120 You need to surrender to that you can uplift hands, you can 660 00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:16,320 open your mouth, whatever the situation may be, you can begin 661 00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:19,960 to submit your life and submit your will to whatever God would 662 00:43:19,960 --> 00:43:24,440 want to desire for you today. Because I guarantee you, all of 663 00:43:24,440 --> 00:43:28,440 you, all of you is exactly what he desires. 664 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:33,360 All of you is exactly what you what He desires your total sell 665 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:36,600 out, Amen. It is in essence, a buy in. 666 00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:40,560 There's no money exchanged, but there is an exchange, Amen. 667 00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:44,040 You for him, you for him, you for him. 668 00:43:44,240 --> 00:43:47,480 He wants you today, He desires you today, Hallelujah. 669 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:51,640 He wants to call you, Amen. His children, He wants to care 670 00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:55,200 for you, He wants to love you. He wants to help you. 671 00:43:55,600 --> 00:43:58,080 He wants to encourage you when you're despondent. 672 00:43:58,240 --> 00:44:00,480 He wants to point you in the right direction when you're 673 00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:03,120 directionless. He wants to be your God. 674 00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:05,360 The Kingdom's come to you this morning. 675 00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:08,080 God has come to you today. Hallelujah. 676 00:44:08,080 --> 00:44:12,320 Will you sell out to him, Amen. And pie into this most precious 677 00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:16,080 gift, this most precious experience, this most precious 678 00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:19,880 Amen discovery. If you're looking for him today, 679 00:44:19,880 --> 00:44:23,080 look no further. If you've been looking, look no 680 00:44:23,080 --> 00:44:25,200 further. You're where you need to be 681 00:44:25,200 --> 00:44:27,200 today. You're where you need to be 682 00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:28,960 today. This altar is open. 683 00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:32,560 As many of us that will, as many of us that will participate. 684 00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:35,440 Can we come into these altars? Whether you stand, whether you 685 00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:37,560 kneel, can we come into these altars? 686 00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:39,840 I don't care who you are, as many that would be willing. 687 00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:48,560 Can we gather in today and say, Lord, oh, I surrender it all to 688 00:44:48,560 --> 00:44:53,120 you, God. I surrender God with joy. 689 00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:56,680 Hallelujah. The Kingdom of God is not meat 690 00:44:56,680 --> 00:45:01,680 and drink, but righteousness. Hallelujah, joy and peace and 691 00:45:01,680 --> 00:45:05,800 the Holy Ghost. And I found the Lord. 692 00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:09,240 I found everything. Come on, Sir. 693 00:45:09,240 --> 00:45:11,800 Come on, ma'am. He'll meet you where you are. 694 00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:14,600 He'll meet you where you are.