1 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:11,240 Video gets me. Thank you. 2 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:13,640 Happy Father's Day to all of you. 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:15,400 Is anyone else moved by that video? 4 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:17,360 I'm. I'm talking about the one with 5 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:24,560 the astronauts, not the I'm so grateful that you are here on 6 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:28,280 Father's Day and I'm so grateful to all of you that served at 7 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:30,720 VBS. I was talking to one woman on 8 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:32,240 Friday. I'm like day 5. 9 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:34,360 Can you make it? She's like, I'm so sad that it's 10 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:37,120 ending. Like you, you want five more 11 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:41,640 days like praise the Lord, such a special week here in the House 12 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:43,640 of the Lord, both in the morning and the evening. 13 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,200 Just again, thank you for those of you that planted seeds. 14 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,640 Really we all did, whether you were here or not supporting this 15 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,520 VBS ministry. It's not just day camp to 16 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:59,760 babysit kids for a week. Actual Kingdom advancing going 17 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:05,519 on, so praise the Lord, Amen. Happy Father's Day to you. 18 00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:08,520 I don't I don't know if maybe you saw this social media post 19 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,640 by Louis Giglio, Passion City. Church he's the pastor of he's 20 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:15,280 the leader of Passion Conference that happens typically in the 21 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,800 winter with thousands, 10s of thousands of college young adult 22 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,760 kids and. He put out a post that says I 23 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:26,000 find it very interesting how Jesus introduces us to God. 24 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,760 We don't see God from Jesus perspective as God the creator. 25 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,520 We don't see him as. God our defender, God our 26 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:39,040 Savior, God our healer, God our provider, on and on and on. 27 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,680 Jesus all throughout the Gospels repeatedly refers to God in the 28 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:48,600 same way. He says God our Father and this 29 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:53,680 truth should bring joy and comfort in its beautiful mixture 30 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:55,760 to every situation in the room today. 31 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,320 Because I know as you enter, everyone enters Father's Day a 32 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,560 little bit different. Maybe you didn't have a father 33 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,800 that was so great and this day feels tenuous to you. 34 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:08,600 Maybe you're longing to be a. Father and that hasn't happened 35 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,040 yet in Jesus name and it pings on you. 36 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:14,720 Maybe your dad, you just never even knew him. 37 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,040 Or maybe your dad here and you. Walk in, you're like, man, I 38 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,040 don't know that I've been a very great dad and everyone's telling 39 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:26,800 me Happy Father's Day and I don't feel very happy about the 40 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:32,080 reality. And God is Father, Holy is his 41 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,800 name, which means that he's the cover and the protector. 42 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:37,680 He's the leader and the disciple. 43 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,520 Or He's the one who loves us enough to discipline us. 44 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,960 And in all cases, no matter the situation you walk in today, 45 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,760 He's going to father you in His perfect way. 46 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,840 Believe it. Count on it, that this is who He 47 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:55,840 is. The very essence of Father in 48 00:02:55,840 --> 00:03:00,360 its perfected form. He is to you, sons and 49 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:02,720 daughters, can we pray a blessing. 50 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:09,480 Father, we bless you. Holy, is your name distinct? 51 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:16,160 Set apart the everlasting Father, God our Father. 52 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:19,720 Though we thank you for your covering and protection, your 53 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:24,160 leadership in our lives, your discipline in our lives, your 54 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:29,600 voice in our lives. We honor you today is the one 55 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:35,200 true Holy set apart none other than Father, and we bless the 56 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,720 fathers in this room and the sons and daughters for which we 57 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,200 are all sons and daughters and God. 58 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:43,720 Where there's gaps, I pray that your name, your presence, your 59 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:48,280 spirit would sit right there. And where there's honor due and 60 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,440 rejoicing for a father doing the work, that's heavenly Lord. 61 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:56,040 We say bless and encourage and say do not be weary and well 62 00:03:56,040 --> 00:04:00,640 doing. The tree will grow, the seeds 63 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:08,320 will take root. You are Father and holy is your 64 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:10,840 name. Amen. 65 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:13,040 Amen. Amen. 66 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:17,480 Come on, give him glory. He's worthy. 67 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,400 Today I want to address the entire church, but I am going to 68 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:24,640 emphasize a few points along the way to dads. 69 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,600 But really, anytime I say that, I want you to know everybody's 70 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,600 included. All right, say yes, nobody's 71 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,400 left behind. But I am going to address some 72 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:36,000 things to fathers. Today's message is called called 73 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:39,280 Hyde and Seek. Anyone. 74 00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:41,840 Love them some hide and seek. Yeah, We're going to be hitting 75 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:44,720 Matthew chapter 13 today. So go ahead and seek that 76 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:47,040 Scripture in your Bibles. If you need a Bible, raise your 77 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:48,320 hand and they will bring you one. 78 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:51,040 It takes a little bit to get all these Bibles out, but they'll 79 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:52,280 bring you one. Just raise your hand. 80 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:55,080 Hide and seek. I love hide and seek and all its 81 00:04:55,080 --> 00:05:00,640 variants like manhunt, anybody, ghost in the graveyard, anybody, 82 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:03,080 everyone. The reversal of hide and seek, 83 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:07,320 which is sardines, anybody. It's a strange version of hide 84 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,760 and seek. I love hide and seek so much 85 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:16,200 that I once tried to organize a hide and seek tournament, but it 86 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:19,880 turns out that hide and seek players that are good are really 87 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:30,830 hard to find. You see what I did there? 88 00:05:32,230 --> 00:05:34,630 Welcome to Father's Day. You might have thought that I 89 00:05:34,630 --> 00:05:37,470 would forget about dad jokes, but dad jokes are here. 90 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:49,560 You know what's funny? I already forgot about this from 91 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,880 the first service. I was already traumatized. 92 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:55,240 I did some freedom counseling in between services and I'd 93 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,520 forgotten what is happening to my chin there. 94 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:04,320 I don't I Yeah, I wouldn't look at that too long it. 95 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:08,120 Will burn your retinas. Yeah, I did not forget about dad 96 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:09,480 jokes. They're here today. 97 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:11,280 Dad jokes are my gift to all of you. 98 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:13,360 Which really, it's a self-serving gift because nobody 99 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:18,520 likes these jokes but me. Yeah, you're saying that you're 100 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:20,320 just trying to accommodate me and make me feel good about 101 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:22,640 myself. But as tradition holds, there's 102 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:24,920 no Father's Day to illuminate church without dad jokes. 103 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:26,240 So here we go. Are you ready? 104 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:29,320 1st, I'm going to start with some personal news. 105 00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:32,280 I I just found out that I'm color blind. 106 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:35,080 Yep. The news came completely out of 107 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:43,200 the purple. It was like, whoa, explain it to 108 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:47,240 your neighbor. Yeah, my doctor, same doctor, 109 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,000 also told me that I was going deaf and that news was very hard 110 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,680 for me to hear. It was just like, Steven, you're 111 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,680 my favorite. Steven's laying it out for me. 112 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,080 Yep. Speaking of like the body, did 113 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:06,280 you know that your pupils are the last part to stop working? 114 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:15,160 When you die, they dilate. Yep. 115 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:18,960 Oh wait, there's more. I have some interesting facts 116 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:20,080 for you. This one's my favorite. 117 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:22,080 And the first service, like 3 people laughed. 118 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:25,600 So there you go. Are you glad you stayed Club 56? 119 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:31,400 Two clubs for Club 56. What do you call a French man 120 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,240 wearing sandals? Philippe Flop. 121 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:43,160 That's a good one, isn't it? The answer's no. 122 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:47,440 No, dad joke is a good joke, so it's not a good one of all. 123 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,000 Here's another interesting fact. Of all the inventions over the 124 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:53,360 last 100 years, the dry erase board, the whiteboard is the 125 00:07:53,360 --> 00:08:04,160 most remarkable. Did you know that the first 126 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,040 French fries weren't cooked in France? 127 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:08,280 They were cooked in Greece. Yeah. 128 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:15,720 Yep. I I I happen to know Forrest 129 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:17,320 Gump's password. I'm going to put it up here for 130 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,840 you. Forrest Gump's password is 1 131 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:25,160 Force One. Hey, it's cute. 132 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,640 It's not that good. OK, back to some personal news. 133 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,280 After dinner just recently my wife asked me if I could clear 134 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:34,559 the table and it took a running start, but I did it. 135 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:40,799 You have to really think about that one. 136 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:43,520 You get it. She also asked me the other day 137 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:45,080 where I get so much candy. I said babe. 138 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:49,280 I always got to twixt up my sleeve, in fact. 139 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:54,080 No, no, no, it'd be melty. That would have been great. 140 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:58,960 I should have done that. Next year, come back next year. 141 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,480 In fact, I love sweets so much, my wife gave me an ultimatum. 142 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:07,320 She said, hey, it's either me or your addiction to sweets. 143 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:09,840 The decision was a piece of cake. 144 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:20,080 I'm looking over my kids. When you're telling dad jokes, 145 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:25,520 it's never a good idea to look at your kids for those of you 146 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:28,520 who weren't here. I had a reprieve of dad jokes. 147 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,200 You probably would have wanted to be here if you don't like dad 148 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:34,880 jokes during the COVID and the quarantining period. 149 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:38,080 Remember when we isolated at home because I stopped telling 150 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,320 dad jokes during COVID quarantines? 151 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:48,520 Instead, I told inside jokes. Hey, you get that one? 152 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:50,320 Come on. Hey, when I see you laughing. 153 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:55,440 Yeah, All right, you probably wish I kept all my jokes inside. 154 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:57,320 And that is the end of my dad jokes. 155 00:09:57,320 --> 00:10:06,080 So there you go. Can we say goodbye to Club 56? 156 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:15,360 Sorry, my shoe untied itself. Well, can we talk about some 157 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:18,480 stuff that are not jokes? This is not a joke. 158 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:21,240 In this series called The Kingdom Unveiled, we are 159 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:25,400 studying the parables of Jesus, these earthly stories that have 160 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:29,920 heavenly meaning. Jesus has come to reveal the 161 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:34,520 Kingdom of God and what it's like right here, right now. 162 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:38,240 So if your life does not feel heavenly in any sort of area, 163 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,920 you can look at the parables and say, how am I living outside of 164 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:45,600 a God intended me to live and use the parables to make this 165 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,120 kind of transformation. I don't feel heavenly in this 166 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:49,960 area. Let me consult the parables and 167 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,320 find out what heaven looks like and begin living in that way. 168 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:55,800 You can live this way here and now. 169 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:57,520 Believe it. Amen. 170 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:01,720 I just want you to think these words when we're reading through 171 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:04,600 the parables. This entire series, revelation 172 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:07,000 through the parables is meant for reflection. 173 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,880 Everyone say reflection. When I say reflection, yes, I 174 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,720 mean meditation, Psalm, chapter one, verse two. 175 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:16,120 I meditate on your word day and night. 176 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:18,480 I'm going to hold it in my mind. I'm not just going to let it go 177 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:20,000 out the ear. I'm going to chew on it, 178 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:24,200 marinate on it and think, what Lord are you trying to say to 179 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:26,320 me? It's what we do when we're 180 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:29,280 sitting in a room like this and somebody's preaching. 181 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:32,960 We're together, considering the Word of God and hanging out 182 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:35,040 there. For a while, we're not just 183 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:37,840 doing the 32nd daily Devo on the Bible app. 184 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,040 So yes, meditate, reflect on it, but also I'm talking about 185 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:47,680 reflection in regards to your lifestyle. 186 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,320 As we read each parable, we can use the parable as a measuring 187 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:56,200 stick or even as a mirror and ask ourselves, do I in my life 188 00:11:56,320 --> 00:12:00,280 reflect the heart of the Kingdom that this parable is revealing? 189 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,920 It's an opportunity for us to do some introspection as we 190 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:05,960 interact with parables. Today we're going to be in 191 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:10,480 Matthew chapter 13. It's one parable or two parables 192 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:12,920 depending on how you look on it. They're kind of combined 193 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:17,160 together by the words that Jesus uses. 3 short verses, Matthew 194 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:19,720 chapter 13, verse 44. If you're ready to say I'm 195 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:25,160 ready, nice. The Kingdom of heaven is like 196 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:28,000 treasure hidden in a field. Remember, this is Jesus 197 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,400 speaking. When a man found it, he hid it 198 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:34,080 again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought 199 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:36,040 that field. Verse 45. 200 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:38,760 Again, there's a continuation here. 201 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,720 Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine 202 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:44,200 pearls. When he found one of great 203 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:48,520 value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. 204 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:54,720 Just want to pause occasionally and remind you Jesus is trying 205 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:59,840 to reveal what heaven is like so we can begin to experience it in 206 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:02,240 our lives now. Salvation with Jesus isn't a get 207 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:04,360 it now and wait to have it until you get to heaven. 208 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:07,480 It's a. It's a. 209 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:11,560 Begins the moment you receive Jesus as salvation here and now 210 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:15,120 experience for those who have ears to hear and eyes to he to 211 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:17,960 eyes to see. Jesus even says the Kingdom of 212 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:21,720 heaven is like he's making it very clear and easy for us to 213 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:24,200 understand. This is something you can see 214 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:26,960 here. And now there are two major 215 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:30,480 interpretations of these two parables. 216 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:32,560 That's one parable. And both of these 217 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:36,640 interpretations reveal to us what the present Kingdom of God 218 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:39,880 is like on the earth. I want to share the first 219 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,800 interpretation with you, and then I want to lift up some 220 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,280 Kingdom principles. These Kingdom principles are the 221 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:47,280 revelation that we need to reflect on. 222 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:48,920 Amen. Amen. 223 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:55,880 Interpretation #1 When you truly discover the Kingdom, nothing in 224 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,120 this world compares. Nothing. 225 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:03,520 The Kingdom is so valuable that you and I would joyfully decide 226 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:07,000 to give up everything else to possess the Kingdom. 227 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:11,680 The Kingdom deserves and also demands our total and glad 228 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:14,240 surrender. The Bible says he went away in 229 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:18,120 his joy and sold all that he had to buy the field. 230 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,200 You could juxtapose this, compare this with another part 231 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:24,000 of the Gospels where Jesus is interacting with the rich young 232 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,920 ruler and the rich young ruler is like, I've done everything 233 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:27,960 right. I followed all the laws, have 234 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:29,280 done it all. Can I enter the Kingdom? 235 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:31,440 And Jesus says. You have done well, but one 236 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:37,200 thing you lack this one thing. Go sell everything you have and 237 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,240 return to me and follow me. Give it to the poor and return 238 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:42,240 to me. And the man had to make a 239 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:46,120 decision. Am I going to embrace the 240 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:50,040 Kingdom of God or continue to live in the Kingdom that I have 241 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:53,800 built for my wealth and my riches and my family and 242 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:57,080 whatever? And the rich young ruler goes 243 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:00,720 away sad because he knows he cannot let go of his Kingdom for 244 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:03,760 the Kingdom of God. Here in the parable, the man in 245 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:07,640 joy and glad surrender. Chooses the Kingdom. 246 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,120 These parables are a value proposition. 247 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:16,400 What do you value the most? My son, Eli, he's down here. 248 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,200 He used to a lot. Now he does occasionally ask me 249 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:21,560 a question like, hey Dad, would you do? 250 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:25,360 This for this amount of money like anyone here watch survivor 251 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,800 come on great great great TV show Hallelujah. 252 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:30,200 I don't know what's wrong with the rest of you. 253 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,320 And in Survivor had the Survivor auction and they have like these 254 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:40,960 covered dishes and they battle with their money, fake money for 255 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:44,720 whatever's under there. So they open up sometimes like 256 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:46,440 chicken and waffles and like. Yeah. 257 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:49,360 And sometimes they open it up and it's like sea slugs. 258 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:52,360 They're they're like white, like this long. 259 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,600 They're kind of creamy looking with like this brownish, 260 00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:58,080 blackish head. And when they put them in their 261 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:04,480 mouth, there's this crunching, squishing, juicy, nasty gag 262 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:08,600 reflex kind of vibe. And so you know what I say like, 263 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:10,680 hey, for a would you eat that for 500 bucks? 264 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:19,800 Nope. For 100,000 maybe. 265 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:25,640 Hey, Dad, would you skydive for $500? 266 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:33,800 There is not an amount of money that would let me jump out of an 267 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:38,600 airplane with fabric on my back. Fabric saved my life. 268 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:42,440 Yeah. So anyone here who went 269 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:53,900 skydiving and didn't make it? That's another dad bad joke. 270 00:16:53,940 --> 00:16:57,500 I apologize. It's a value proposition. 271 00:16:57,660 --> 00:17:03,860 Is it worth it to you? Let's lift 3 Kingdom principles 272 00:17:03,980 --> 00:17:06,420 based on this first interpretation Interpretation 273 00:17:06,420 --> 00:17:09,579 and again, see if you reflect these Kingdom values in your 274 00:17:09,579 --> 00:17:11,619 life. That's why Jesus is teaching 275 00:17:11,619 --> 00:17:13,780 them to us. Kingdom principle #1 Hidden 276 00:17:13,780 --> 00:17:17,839 treasure is found by seeking. Only found by seeking. 277 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:22,119 You may be like duh, but it begs the question, are you looking 278 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:26,280 for the treasure? Does your life have evidence 279 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,600 that you are seeking the Kingdom of God? 280 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:31,360 This treasure in the parable is hidden in a field. 281 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:32,960 Think of it. It means it can't be seen. 282 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,920 It's not like a part is poking up and like, oh, what's that? 283 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,920 It's buried unseen, which means the only way you find it is if 284 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:44,120 you're looking for it. We have to believe that this man 285 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:47,640 found it because he was actually searching for it. 286 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,520 If this was a field of crops, might have been found long ago 287 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:53,320 in the annual cycle of turning the crops, but it's been there. 288 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:56,880 He it hasn't been found, but this guy finds it because he's 289 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:01,200 looking for it. Treasure is found by seekers. 290 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:03,800 Do you reflect us in your life? I would say. 291 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:05,840 You're here at church, so you're on a great start. 292 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:10,120 I hope that you're here seeking heavenly wisdom. 293 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,040 Kingdom values and here's the heavenly benefit that Jesus 294 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:18,600 tells us himself. Matthew Chapter 7 ask and it 295 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:22,760 will be given to you Seek and you will find knock and the door 296 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:26,360 will be open to you for everyone who asks receives the one who 297 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:31,040 seeks finds and to the one who knocks the door will be opened. 298 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:35,160 If you're brand new to the Bible and never read the will bees in 299 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:38,400 the Scripture, the will bees are the promises of God and the 300 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,680 promises of God are yes and church yes. 301 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:45,280 And meaning he says yes, I'm going to do it. 302 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:49,440 And the church says Amen. We believe it, we agree to it. 303 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,200 Your promises have been coming true, are coming true and will 304 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:55,600 come true. So if you seek, you will find 305 00:18:56,400 --> 00:18:59,320 that's the promise of God. Believe it. 306 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:02,720 Our family recently was in New York City to celebrate a 307 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,040 birthday of a young lady I'm married to. 308 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:11,160 And we got into the subway from JFK airport. 309 00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:14,000 And we get off the subway, we're walking a few blocks, and we 310 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:18,840 realize that we've lost a backpack on a subway, that the 311 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:21,440 backpack's now by itself. Can you imagine all the other 312 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:23,720 people in the subway? Like there's a backpack on the 313 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:26,840 subway. They think it's a bomb and it's 314 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:32,520 just a sweatshirt. And so we sent ourselves off, 315 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:34,800 but we kind of studied the website, like how do we find our 316 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:37,040 last backpack? And it's like all these words 317 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:39,240 and at the bottom is like fat chance, never going to happen. 318 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:42,920 I made that part up, but that's how I felt. 319 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:45,960 So you you're supposed to get back on the subway and write it 320 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:47,520 to the end of the line. And when you get to the end of 321 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:49,760 the line, you go to like the little kiosk and you talk to the 322 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:52,200 person And if the cleaners at the end of the line, I found the 323 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:53,560 item, they put it there and you get it. 324 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,280 And we walk into the Dang and we're like, do you have? 325 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:59,400 It and her face already told me like nobody ever turns in a 326 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:03,440 backpack somebody else in New York City is wearing your 327 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,280 sweatshirt and your deodorant we. 328 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:10,840 Searched all over and never found it. 329 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:19,320 One time I was playing golf. And I had my pitchy wedge next 330 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:23,040 to the green and I chipped the ball up there and I go put the 331 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,840 ball out. Then I go back to my cart and a 332 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:29,680 bunch of holes later. I realize I left my. 333 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,040 Pitching wedge by the green like. 334 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:33,960 Seven holes ago, anyone ever done this? 335 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:36,800 Come on, testify. It's a terrifying feeling when 336 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,720 you get like seven holes later and you realize I left the club 337 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:42,200 now I got to go through the shame and everybody sees it 338 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:43,800 like, oh, that guy forgot his wedge. 339 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:47,520 And so I go back, I look all over. 340 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:50,120 Never found the. Wedge. 341 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:54,320 To this day, some other homeboy is using my wedge. 342 00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:00,360 Still bothers me. Like, what's my point? 343 00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:03,200 I'm glad you asked. Let me talk to the dads for a 344 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:05,080 minute. I'm wondering. 345 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:07,360 And remember when I'm talking to the dads, I'm talking to 346 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:11,800 everybody. What are you looking for right 347 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,720 now? What are you seeking? 348 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,400 What has your attention when you wake up? 349 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:25,160 You're like, I gotta, I gotta. I'm driven to find, search, 350 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:25,960 seek. What What? 351 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:30,240 What are you seeking? Is it money in America? 352 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:34,080 That would make sense. Is it status, position? 353 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:37,880 Is it validation? Is it a quiet room with the TV 354 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:41,280 and a plate of nachos that sound good to any dads? 355 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:46,440 Amen. Here's what I want to say to 356 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:50,800 you. I don't know if all the effort 357 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:57,000 of your searching for those things is going to pay off, and 358 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:03,640 neither do you. There is no guarantee when we 359 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:08,160 search for the things of the world, there's no promise that 360 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:09,040 you're going to find it. You're. 361 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:12,760 Seeking could end up without you finding the very thing that you 362 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,440 are looking for. It may happen or it may not, and 363 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:18,480 hope deferred makes the heart grow sick. 364 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:21,560 And so you search and you search, and you long for and you 365 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:24,880 long for the things of the earth, and you don't get it. 366 00:22:25,360 --> 00:22:27,920 And then your heart's sick. You're a failure because you 367 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:32,520 didn't make it. You're a failure because you're 368 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,400 still lost. I'm not sure what you're 369 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:38,160 searching for you're ever going to find. 370 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:42,240 Only the Lord our God makes the guarantee. 371 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:47,920 When you seek the Kingdom, you will find it. 372 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:53,600 And based on his character and his ability, the promise comes 373 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:55,000 through, not. Yours, all you got to do is 374 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,200 search. Look open the word search, pray 375 00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:02,680 with other people, search, come to church, search your treasure 376 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:09,960 hunting. Matthew chapter 6 verse 33 says 377 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:13,600 seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. 378 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:18,000 By the way, live holy. And then it says and everything 379 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:19,920 else would be added to you. So all the things that you're 380 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:23,120 pining for in the world that you may or may not get and maybe you 381 00:23:23,120 --> 00:23:26,360 shouldn't get, when you seek the Kingdom of God, He's going to 382 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:28,440 change your heart so that the things that are really necessary 383 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:29,720 in the world for you to have, you will have. 384 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,160 It may include money for you, may not, but you got Jesus. 385 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:36,840 It may include status and position. 386 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:40,960 You're up on a platform preaching, or you're in your 387 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:45,080 workplace and your influence in your home with your influence, 388 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:49,160 whatever it is you're carrying with you in your bosom, the 389 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,760 Kingdom of God. Hidden treasure is found by 390 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:56,160 those who are seeking, and there's only one treasure that's 391 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,800 promised to be found. It's the Kingdom of God. 392 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:04,240 Kingdom principle #2 The Kingdom properly always properly 393 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:08,680 assesses worth. What is somebody worth? 394 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:13,280 What is a dream or an opportunity worth? 395 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:18,400 Is it worth it to do it? Worth is often understood by 396 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:22,400 asking yourself, what is someone willing to pay for it with time 397 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:25,960 and money and effort? This guy in our parable finds 398 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:27,640 the treasure, and then he buries it. 399 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:32,520 And then instead of buying just the treasure, Jesus tells us 400 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:35,920 that he buys the entire field. Why? 401 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:37,880 What's going on? I'm glad you asked. 402 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:43,040 Under the law of the Rabbis, the Rabbinic code, if a Workman were 403 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:45,560 to come upon a treasure in a field and lift it out. 404 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:48,120 It would belong to the owner of the field. 405 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:50,560 Like look at this. Treasure I found, and the 406 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:55,000 owner's like mine. But here the man, knowing this, 407 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,400 is careful not to lift the treasure out until he has bought 408 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:00,640 the field. Now check it out. 409 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:04,680 The man in the parable is not interested in the field, not 410 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:08,520 interested in the land, but he values the treasure so much that 411 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,360 he's willing to pay for the land just to get the treasure. 412 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:15,840 The treasure is worth the price to him, even if he overpays. 413 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:22,120 That's what the Kingdom is like. It values things properly. 414 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:28,320 It values people properly so that the Kingdom overpays for 415 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:33,200 what matters to it. That's the essence of grace. 416 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:40,160 Grace is excessive by nature. It overpays every single. 417 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:44,800 Time because it's valued what it's purchasing. 418 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:54,760 Properly remember, these parables are checking our value 419 00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:57,560 system. How do you determine the worth 420 00:25:57,560 --> 00:25:59,560 of people? One suggestion I would give to 421 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:03,160 you is instead of using the lens of the world to determine what a 422 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,480 person is worth, use the lens of the Kingdom. 423 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:09,080 That's what these parables are also teaching. 424 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:11,040 US. Look in Second Corinthians 425 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:15,280 chapter 5 verse 14 for Christ's love compels us, meaning I 426 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,360 barely have a choice. I'm so moved by his love. 427 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:23,280 I must do this because we are convinced that one died for all, 428 00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:25,520 and therefore all died, and He died for all, that those who 429 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:28,520 live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died 430 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,360 for them and was raised again. If you didn't follow all that. 431 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:35,280 This is Galatians, for it's no longer I who live, but Christ 432 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:38,720 lives within me. I died with him, and I rose with 433 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:43,920 Him when I put my faith in Him. Right now because of that so 434 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:49,200 from now on we no longer regard anyone from a worldly point of 435 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:51,520 view. I'm not going to judge your 436 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:56,200 worth based on what the world says your worth instead though 437 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,520 we well though once we regarded Christ in this way, they even 438 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:01,120 looked at Jesus as. Just like a regular guy. 439 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,840 And they judged him as a regular guy until he rose from the dead. 440 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:07,560 They're like, hold on a second. We no longer judge him that way, 441 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:10,560 therefore. Familiar scripture. 442 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:13,960 If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old is 443 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:17,080 gone, the new is here. Glory to God. 444 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:19,200 Isn't this an encouraging scripture? 445 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:23,760 We often read it in a self focused way. 446 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:28,480 Man, I was the old creature, but God has come and redeemed me, so 447 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:30,160 now I'm the new creature. And you know what? 448 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:33,320 That's right. But it's also a narrow reading 449 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,400 if you take it in context. Paul's trying to teach us not to 450 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:38,360 view people in the worldly sense. 451 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:42,040 He said if somebody's in Jesus, the old version of themselves is 452 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:43,920 gone and the new version is here. 453 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:46,480 And that's the way the Kingdom judges their words, and that's 454 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:48,320 the way that you too should see them. 455 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:51,600 For when you look at a person in faith, you should see the person 456 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,560 of Jesus. Not the person of their past, 457 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:57,600 not the person of their faults and their failures, but the 458 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:01,000 person raised to new life with Jesus. 459 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:05,920 God views you through his lens and sees you as a person of 460 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:09,240 great worth. Kingdom bringers people who 461 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:13,480 participate in the parables. In order to reflect this very 462 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:15,600 parable, we need to see others the same way. 463 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:18,680 And dot dot dot. You also should see yourself 464 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:22,640 that way. It's a hard time to value worth 465 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:24,560 than other people when you're looking at something you think 466 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:31,920 is unworthy in the Mirror Kingdom principle #1 Hidden 467 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:33,920 treasures only found by seeking #2. 468 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,440 Properly assessed worth and #3 exchange the lesser. 469 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:41,320 For the greater everyone, say greater first a man in our 470 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:44,080 parable. He sought the treasure. 471 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:46,640 Secondly, now he's weighed things correctly. 472 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:48,960 This treasure is incredibly valuable. 473 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:50,760 It's worth all of my possessions. 474 00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:53,880 They don't hold a candle to this thing in my hand. 475 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,920 And so then he goes and determines to not be. 476 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,840 Deceived by the devil as to the actual worth of the treasure, 477 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:07,200 and makes an exchange. He trades out what he now 478 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:11,600 understands is lesser for what he has assessed in his heart is 479 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:15,120 greater. This is what Kingdom people do. 480 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:18,160 What do I mean? Well, we often think that we're 481 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,400 giving up something great when we decide to be fully devoted to 482 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:23,280 Jesus. Like, oh man, I got to give up 483 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:27,000 all those great things in my life to go follow boring Jesus 484 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:32,160 and the Bible. Most people fail to recognize 485 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:35,200 that we gain far more than we give up. 486 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:39,640 Let me say to you this way, What would you give up for peace? 487 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:45,920 What would you give up for joy? How much is it worth to you? 488 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,800 What would you give up for forgiveness and purpose? 489 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:52,640 What would you give up for eternal life? 490 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:57,480 Is it worth everything? Is it worth everything? 491 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:00,800 Amen. Me too. 492 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:06,760 This is the point, the purpose, and the meaning of the first 493 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:10,720 interpretation. I've recognized the greatness of 494 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:14,880 the value of the Kingdom of God and the King therein, and I'll 495 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:18,960 leave everything behind to pursue it, to seek it. 496 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:23,360 Knowing it's a bonus that as I seek it, God's going to provide 497 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:26,640 everything I need anyway. If I go searching for it by 498 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,000 myself, I may or may not get it, but if I go searching for the 499 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:32,600 Lord God first, everything follows. 500 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:37,480 That's the first interpretation. What about the second one? 501 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:42,280 This might blow your mind. We often see the parables 502 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:43,360 through the lens of it's about me. 503 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:45,480 That's what we talked about in the first week. 504 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:50,040 But what if this parable, the subject is God? 505 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:54,320 The star of every parable is God and his Kingdom. 506 00:30:54,320 --> 00:31:00,440 If that in mind, what if interpretation to Jesus? 507 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:05,920 Is the Finder the searcher, and you are the treasure he seeks. 508 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:08,880 It's time for a praise break. Come on, it's time for a praise 509 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:14,480 break. We're going to have a few praise 510 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:15,880 breaks. I don't want to look like a fool 511 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:17,600 up here by myself. So when I start praising you, 512 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,120 start praising. Come on, let's praise the Lord. 513 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:21,360 Anybody. She's she. 514 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:29,520 Whoop, whoop, whoop. 1st I'm going to answer the question, 515 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:32,080 why are there 2 interpretations? Like shouldn't there just be 516 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:35,240 one? Well, the first part of this 517 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:37,720 parable says that the Kingdom of heaven is like the treasure. 518 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:44,240 But the second one begins with the words again meaning that 519 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:46,120 Jesus is saying, I'm repeating myself. 520 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:48,760 There's a theme going on here. These two are connected. 521 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:52,120 And then he says the Kingdom of heaven is like the merchant 522 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:54,360 who's searching for the treasure. 523 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:58,320 Fine pearls, which means that the second part is pointing more 524 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:00,880 towards the Finder than the treasure. 525 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:06,760 And since no one in the history of humanity other than Jesus has 526 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:11,360 given everything in obedience and worship of the Lord, we can 527 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:13,480 understandably make the conclusion that Jesus is the. 528 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:20,200 Finder and we're the treasure. Jesus is the merchant, and we 529 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:22,760 are the Pearl. Look at your neighbors. 530 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:25,720 Say you are Pearl. Now look at the neighbor you 531 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:27,280 neglected and say you're a Pearl. 532 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,120 Yep. Any ladies here named? 533 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:34,800 Pearl. I keep nobody the first to ever 534 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:39,680 see there. I'm blessing you to have a 535 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:44,280 child, and it will be a girl, and you will name a Pearl. 536 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:48,560 And OK, Jesus didn't say that I made that up. 537 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:52,840 OK, I want to talk to the dads. Look up here everybody. 538 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:59,280 Please dads, I want you to know that the greatness of you has 539 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:04,360 not been forgotten by God. This parable proves it. 540 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:08,480 When you were fearfully and wonderfully made in your mother, 541 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:11,360 you were made with purpose. Otherwise why would God make 542 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:16,120 you? I need this man on the earth to 543 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:19,440 fulfill these things. Boom, you were born. 544 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:23,640 And somewhere along the way, that purpose, that destiny, that 545 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:28,560 greatness got buried. It's. 546 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:34,280 Hidden in a field right now, buried by shame, buried by 547 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:38,920 failures, buried by the opinions of other, buried by wounds from 548 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:44,080 your past, wounds maybe from your father, Buried, buried, 549 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:47,320 buried. And the parable says the 550 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:53,040 searchers coming to find the treasure of you to unbury the 551 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:58,600 greatness that's in you. And this morning, I'm just 552 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:00,320 trying to look at as many dads as I can. 553 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:05,480 I bought an eyeball and say, hey, it's not too late to let 554 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:08,880 the treasure be found and come out of you. 555 00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:14,679 He's searching and he will find. Yes, the treasure. 556 00:34:14,679 --> 00:34:20,440 So wonderful that Jesus would give all to purchase is you and 557 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:25,000 I, the individual believer. I think this parable powerfully 558 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:28,120 shows us that Jesus gave everything to redeem the whole 559 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:32,040 world just to preserve the treasure that's in it. 560 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:37,280 And the treasure is his people. Praise break. 561 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:40,920 Come on, let's go. Hallelujah, I was tripped. 562 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:46,360 There you go. Charles Spurgeon said it this 563 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:48,800 way. So did Jesus himself, at upmost 564 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:52,800 cost by the world, the entirety of it, to gain His Church, which 565 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:55,080 was the treasure He. Desired. 566 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:02,680 All three Kingdom principles that I said earlier apply to 567 00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:08,600 either to both interpretations. Buried things are found by the 568 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:12,440 one searching. The searcher places a high value 569 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:17,320 on that which is being sought, and the searcher willingly pays 570 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:20,680 the price, acknowledging the worth of the treasure. 571 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:24,760 Jesus came looking for us, determined our worth, and paid 572 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:27,720 the price. Price break. 573 00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:36,280 This is when I need one of them organs, you know. 574 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:43,080 Man, I'm just not cool enough to have an organ behind me yet. 575 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:50,280 Where was I? Praise Break. 576 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:52,960 Yes. I want you to know this Jesus 577 00:35:52,960 --> 00:36:00,920 overpaid for me, same for you. He bought the whole world, Jesus 578 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:04,920 it says John 316. For God so loved the world that 579 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:07,520 he paid the price. He gave his life, his one and 580 00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:10,520 only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have 581 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:14,160 eternal life. He overpaid its grace. 582 00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:17,040 It's excessive and I'm so glad he did. 583 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:31,640 Praise break. One day I want you to know, he 584 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:33,920 bought all the land just for the treasure of you. 585 00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:40,320 Now here's how to bring the Kingdom of heaven to earth. 586 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:44,360 Here's how to put this parable into practice and be part of the 587 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:46,360 meta narrative. The story of the church, the 588 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:49,720 story of the gospel, the story of Jesus has rested on our 589 00:36:49,720 --> 00:36:52,760 shoulders, and now we have this parable so that we can keep the 590 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:56,520 story going. What you value communicates to 591 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:58,200 those you influence, for good and for evil. 592 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:03,360 Now listen, just because you're communicating to somebody 593 00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:05,600 doesn't mean that it's determinative of what the person 594 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:08,480 has to do. The person that's following your 595 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:11,440 influence stands in the wake of your life still has a decision 596 00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:14,320 for themselves to make. But I'm telling you what you 597 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:17,280 value will communicate to the people that you're influencing. 598 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:20,400 I grew. Up a Cowboys fan. 599 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:25,720 The Dallas Cowboys? Yeah, sinners in the hands of an 600 00:37:25,720 --> 00:37:32,080 angry God. I follow the Cowboys except for 601 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:34,880 some middle years of my childhood when I was rebellious 602 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:37,000 and said I don't want to follow what my parents are following. 603 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,200 I'm going to cheer for their arch rival, the Pittsburgh 604 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:42,560 Steelers. Yeah. 605 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:44,800 OK, Gene, I see you. Yep. 606 00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:47,600 I even bought a sleeping bag, which is like the ultimate 607 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:50,200 fandom. I'm going to sleep in a sack of 608 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:56,160 Pittsburgh Steelers. Then I went back to the Cowboys 609 00:37:56,160 --> 00:38:00,480 and during their glory years won a bunch of Super Bowls with 610 00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:04,160 Florida Gator Emmett Smith. You heard me. 611 00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:07,880 But why was IA Cowboys fan? And the answer is because my dad 612 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:12,240 was a Cowboys fan. What he valued, I valued. 613 00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:24,680 I love playing golf. I love playing golf because my 614 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:29,880 dad loves playing golf. What he values I value. 615 00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:33,120 The difference is he has 5 hole in ones and I have 0. 616 00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:41,600 True story, sad story I I I value excuse me I went to church 617 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:43,280 nearly every Sunday morning of my. 618 00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:52,080 Childhood because my parents, who are people of faith, value 619 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:57,280 Jesus, and what they valued, I valued. 620 00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:02,840 I want to honor the dads here today who are bringing their 621 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:06,560 families to church, who are leading them in the light of the 622 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:10,920 Savior, teaching them to love the Word of God and to serve His 623 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:15,080 bride, the church. Because you dads value the 624 00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:18,520 goodness of God, you are communicating to your family. 625 00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:24,400 The King is worthy of our time. The King is worthy of our 626 00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:27,680 finances. The King is worthy of our 627 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:32,840 attention. So I say to you, dads, even if 628 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:34,800 you don't feel like the greatest dad on earth, you brought your 629 00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:36,040 family to church. Today. 630 00:39:37,720 --> 00:39:41,520 Well done. Well done. 631 00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:51,440 So what my dad sought, I sought what my parents sought. 632 00:39:51,440 --> 00:39:56,240 And better yet, who my parents sought is who I sought My own 633 00:39:56,240 --> 00:40:01,600 kids. They like the Buccaneers because 634 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:04,240 I've gone from the dark side of the Cowboys to the Tampa Bay 635 00:40:04,240 --> 00:40:12,400 Buccaneers. Can I get a witness I? 636 00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:20,800 Rebuke ye, my kids like the Gators. 637 00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:35,400 My my kids like soccer and golf and most importantly, my kids 638 00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:44,540 value. Jesus, why? 639 00:40:46,380 --> 00:40:47,540 You too, William. Thank you. 640 00:40:48,580 --> 00:40:54,540 What I value, what Christine values communicates to them. 641 00:40:54,540 --> 00:40:56,260 They still have to make a decision for themselves. 642 00:40:56,760 --> 00:41:00,600 And by the way, Owens 10 times better at golf than I am and his 643 00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:02,640 fiance Amy's 10 times better at soccer than I am. 644 00:41:04,080 --> 00:41:09,640 Just saying the truth I put in a sentence. 645 00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:13,960 I need to be intentional about what I value for the health of 646 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:16,560 my soul and the health of my influence. 647 00:41:17,240 --> 00:41:21,440 I want the wake behind me to give life to the people that are 648 00:41:21,440 --> 00:41:24,240 following me. I don't want to be turbulent 649 00:41:24,240 --> 00:41:27,360 water that they barely are surviving in, and the way that 650 00:41:27,360 --> 00:41:30,920 that happens is when I apply the parables to my life. 651 00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:35,360 If I'm seeking first the Kingdom of God, my my wake, my influence 652 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:38,840 is going to be life giving Deuteronomy. 653 00:41:38,840 --> 00:41:40,920 Chapter 6 says. These commandments that I give 654 00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:42,760 you today are to be on your hearts. 655 00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:43,800 Listen to this. This is a. 656 00:41:44,080 --> 00:41:47,840 First step, the commandments that God gives us has to 1st be 657 00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:51,720 the passion, the affection, the direction of our lives. 658 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:57,360 And once it's there, then impress them on your children. 659 00:41:58,080 --> 00:42:02,920 But first has to be the passion you have to then give to your 660 00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:04,240 children. Talk about them when you sit at 661 00:42:04,240 --> 00:42:07,360 home and when you walk along the road and we lie down and when 662 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:09,680 you get up. Fathers, I know that you are 663 00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:11,960 training your children up, but what are you training them in? 664 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:15,720 If you're training them to be successful in life, Maybe with 665 00:42:15,720 --> 00:42:19,360 money, you're teaching them entrepreneurial skills and maybe 666 00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:23,000 you're teaching them sports skills, maybe teaching them how 667 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:26,080 to manage their money or how to be a good husband or a good son 668 00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:28,560 or good daughter or whatever. You're training them up on all 669 00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:30,680 these things and they're not bad things. 670 00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:35,080 But if the first thing isn't training them to value the 671 00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:37,720 Kingdom of God, you may be setting them up for failure. 672 00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:40,560 Because let's say you put the weight on one of your sons or 673 00:42:40,560 --> 00:42:42,920 daughters, like hey, you got to excel and become academically 674 00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:47,080 strong and be a straight A student and all of a sudden seek 675 00:42:47,080 --> 00:42:51,920 first good grades. And what happens if they don't 676 00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:55,720 do it now? All of a sudden they're a 677 00:42:55,720 --> 00:42:59,800 failure and a disappointment to you, to themselves, because you 678 00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:01,640 gave them a goal that they may or may not reach. 679 00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:06,240 But if you teach them to seek first the Kingdom of God, God 680 00:43:06,240 --> 00:43:10,200 made a promise they will reach that goal and not fail. 681 00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:15,840 When we teach our children, even your spiritual children, maybe 682 00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:17,600 they're not your flesh and blood children. 683 00:43:17,960 --> 00:43:21,040 All these people leading VBS to teach the children to seek first 684 00:43:21,040 --> 00:43:25,880 the value of the Kingdom of God. When they seek that, they will 685 00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:27,600 not fail. They'll find it. 686 00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:29,960 It'll give them life. Just some questions to end with 687 00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:33,840 today to help you understand the value you're communicating #1 688 00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:36,000 what does your calendar say about what you value? 689 00:43:39,240 --> 00:43:43,360 I think about the people. Who serve on Sundays here on our 690 00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:46,560 worship team, which includes the band and all those techno wizard 691 00:43:46,880 --> 00:43:49,960 Star Trek people back there that they're just amazing. 692 00:43:51,400 --> 00:43:55,160 And our kids ministry. I get here early on Sundays, and 693 00:43:55,240 --> 00:43:57,000 I'm not the first one here by a long shot. 694 00:43:57,640 --> 00:44:00,480 There's dozens of cars already in the parking lot. 695 00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:03,720 I asked David Pabon, who's playing keys today. 696 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:06,840 I said, David, what time did you wake up this morning? 697 00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:16,440 He said 4:00 AM. That's the cost he's paying and 698 00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:21,280 with his time he's speaking to his family, his friends, his Co 699 00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:25,440 workers. I value the Kingdom of God more 700 00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:31,920 than my comfort and I His. The way he spends his time 701 00:44:32,720 --> 00:44:36,000 speaks to his family about what he values. 702 00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:39,680 What does your calendar say? What does your bank account say 703 00:44:39,680 --> 00:44:43,720 about what you value? We're talking about money in the 704 00:44:43,720 --> 00:44:45,080 church, Jesus. Talked about money more than 705 00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:48,280 salvation in hell combined. Believe it. 706 00:44:50,160 --> 00:44:54,360 I recently shared with our kids in a family devotional how much 707 00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:58,080 our family ties to the Lord here at Illuminate Church. 708 00:44:59,520 --> 00:45:02,880 The intentional, explicit reason I was doing that as I wanted to 709 00:45:02,880 --> 00:45:09,120 communicate to our family we value the Kingdom of God and our 710 00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:12,560 finances speak it. Yes. 711 00:45:12,560 --> 00:45:14,960 I sometimes think about, wow, we could do other things with that 712 00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:19,680 money. Vacations, cars, to name a few. 713 00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:23,640 More rounds of golf, Lots more rounds. 714 00:45:24,240 --> 00:45:26,240 Maybe some lessons before the rounds. 715 00:45:27,200 --> 00:45:31,120 That's not funny. It's painful. 716 00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:40,000 I have trauma. Yeah, Amen, Bob, Don't be 717 00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:40,840 fooled. Anybody. 718 00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:44,680 The people around you that live in the wake of you, that you 719 00:45:44,680 --> 00:45:47,800 influence will see what you spend your money on, and it will 720 00:45:47,800 --> 00:45:52,120 tell them about you. God sees what you spend your 721 00:45:52,120 --> 00:45:57,160 money on, and it tells him a lot about you, what you value. 722 00:45:58,640 --> 00:46:02,200 By the way, there's some revelation that we can all 723 00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:06,160 understand that makes money so simple, and it's this every 724 00:46:06,280 --> 00:46:12,240 penny, peso, yen, Ruby on the earth belongs to God. 725 00:46:13,320 --> 00:46:18,120 All the resource of all the earth came from, was created by, 726 00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:20,280 and belongs to our Heavenly Father. 727 00:46:20,840 --> 00:46:24,000 And so when I tithe, when I bring my first 10% of anything 728 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:28,280 that comes into my house. Paychecks, tax returns, which 729 00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:35,480 don't happen anymore. We bring 10% to the church and 730 00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:38,320 when I bring it, I'm not bringing a gift to the Lord, I'm 731 00:46:38,320 --> 00:46:41,280 just returning to Him. What's his God? 732 00:46:41,880 --> 00:46:44,400 This is yours. And then when anybody in the 733 00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:47,120 church, outside the church does any sort of a generous act 734 00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:50,360 beyond the tithe, it's answering the question, God, what do you 735 00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:53,040 want me to do with your money? Sponsor some compassion. 736 00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:56,000 Kids, Yes. Help beyond pregnancy care 737 00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:57,080 center? Yes. 738 00:46:57,840 --> 00:47:00,200 It's all his money. We're just doing what he wants 739 00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:01,040 us. To do with it. 740 00:47:04,080 --> 00:47:07,120 The kids get it. That's because they don't have 741 00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:10,040 any money. Mom and dad, you should get 742 00:47:10,040 --> 00:47:17,160 more. #3 we're almost done. What do your words say about 743 00:47:17,160 --> 00:47:21,960 what you value? Do your words lead others to 744 00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:25,480 value the Kingdom For what you champion is what you value. 745 00:47:25,480 --> 00:47:28,520 What you try to sell to other people is what you value. 746 00:47:28,520 --> 00:47:32,240 If I told you you need to go to Chuy's and try the ponchos, Have 747 00:47:32,240 --> 00:47:33,720 you ever tried the ponchos at Chuy's? 748 00:47:33,720 --> 00:47:36,720 I'm championing them right now. In fact, I just busted Chuy's. 749 00:47:36,720 --> 00:47:39,240 They're going to be so packed by illuminators right after the 750 00:47:39,240 --> 00:47:41,520 service now. Anyone even know what the 751 00:47:41,520 --> 00:47:47,040 ponchos are at Chuy's? Oh, they're not the rain things 752 00:47:47,040 --> 00:47:49,680 you wear when it's raining. They're like nachos but they 753 00:47:49,680 --> 00:47:53,320 take an entire tortilla, cut it in half, fry it, and then you 754 00:47:53,320 --> 00:47:57,520 have like 10 of these half fried tortillas covered in. 755 00:47:57,520 --> 00:47:58,440 Cheese. Yeah. 756 00:48:00,080 --> 00:48:05,360 Guacamole, Jalapenos. Muy yummy. 757 00:48:07,960 --> 00:48:09,840 Yes, you can have chicken or steak or both. 758 00:48:12,120 --> 00:48:15,160 See, I've just champagne this to you because I value it. 759 00:48:15,160 --> 00:48:21,560 I'm trying to sell it to you. Follow me here. 760 00:48:21,640 --> 00:48:25,120 I've been golfing many times in my life where I show up to the 761 00:48:25,120 --> 00:48:29,600 golf course by myself and they pair you with randos, people you 762 00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:31,560 don't know. Like go to the first tee, 763 00:48:31,560 --> 00:48:34,520 there's John and Peter. Like what's up, What's up? 764 00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:39,320 We're going golfing, we're playing and roughly around hole 765 00:48:39,320 --> 00:48:43,240 131415, whatever, there's eighteen holes, so we're almost 766 00:48:43,240 --> 00:48:44,640 done. You're like enough. 767 00:48:44,640 --> 00:48:46,080 Golf talk? Gag me, right? 768 00:48:46,080 --> 00:48:51,160 OK, hold on. One of the guys will say this 769 00:48:51,160 --> 00:48:54,240 just happened last August. I went play golf by myself in 770 00:48:54,240 --> 00:48:57,800 Sarasota. This guy, he's a theater guy. 771 00:48:57,960 --> 00:49:01,600 Deep voice. So, like Tim, what do you do? 772 00:49:02,880 --> 00:49:06,960 I said, well, I work for the guy whose name you said about 100 773 00:49:06,960 --> 00:49:17,080 times. I play with the guy and I, he 774 00:49:17,080 --> 00:49:19,360 asked me the same thing. He is funny. 775 00:49:19,360 --> 00:49:21,640 He had one of those veterans had to have like the ship on it, 776 00:49:21,640 --> 00:49:26,000 like USS boat, whatever. And he literally cussed like a 777 00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:30,760 sailor the whole time. And he asked me like hole 15, 778 00:49:30,760 --> 00:49:32,800 Tim, what do you do? I said I'm a pastor. 779 00:49:32,800 --> 00:49:35,440 And he says, why didn't you bleep, bleep, tell me you were a 780 00:49:35,440 --> 00:49:42,560 pastor. Ha ha, funny. 781 00:49:42,560 --> 00:49:50,120 But isn't that a good question? Why did it take 15 holes in for 782 00:49:50,120 --> 00:49:51,600 me to tell him that I was a pastor? 783 00:49:56,120 --> 00:49:59,280 Don't I value the Lord got enough that I'm not embarrassed 784 00:49:59,280 --> 00:50:01,480 to tell people I'm a pastor? And then they're all worried 785 00:50:01,480 --> 00:50:04,120 about their behavior and nervous on the golf course around the 786 00:50:04,120 --> 00:50:07,720 pastor. So I just keep it private so I 787 00:50:07,720 --> 00:50:10,360 don't, you know, hurt anybody's feelings. 788 00:50:13,720 --> 00:50:16,560 What does that say about my value of the Kingdom of God? 789 00:50:17,320 --> 00:50:19,680 Shouldn't it be on whole one that they know who I serve? 790 00:50:20,200 --> 00:50:21,600 Should it? Shouldn't it be one of the first 791 00:50:21,600 --> 00:50:26,200 things out of my mouth? I'm ratting myself out. 792 00:50:27,680 --> 00:50:30,960 Does your family? Your Co workers, your neighbors? 793 00:50:30,960 --> 00:50:34,280 Ever hear about your king from your mouth? 794 00:50:35,560 --> 00:50:37,960 Would people who are scrolling through your social media be 795 00:50:37,960 --> 00:50:41,120 shocked to find out that you're a Jesus follower? 796 00:50:45,360 --> 00:50:49,160 Here's the last thought. Let's ask the Holy Spirit to 797 00:50:49,160 --> 00:50:53,000 help us answer this question. What might I need to give up in 798 00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:56,240 order to fully possess the treasure of Jesus? 799 00:50:58,960 --> 00:51:01,760 What in your life might you need to give up in order to fully 800 00:51:01,760 --> 00:51:04,440 possess the treasure of Jesus? Maybe you're making a list like, 801 00:51:04,440 --> 00:51:06,240 hey, I need to give up excessive alcohol. 802 00:51:07,400 --> 00:51:09,680 I need to give up pornography lust. 803 00:51:09,680 --> 00:51:11,600 I need to give up the hoarding of money. 804 00:51:12,920 --> 00:51:17,880 I need to give up bad habits with eating, exercise. 805 00:51:18,240 --> 00:51:20,120 I need to give up profane cussing. 806 00:51:20,120 --> 00:51:23,720 I would say to you all of those are fruits of the actual root of 807 00:51:23,720 --> 00:51:27,440 what we need to give up, which is 2 things, comfort and pride. 808 00:51:31,080 --> 00:51:34,440 These are the lesser value things that we could give up for 809 00:51:34,440 --> 00:51:36,200 the greater value of the Kingdom. 810 00:51:36,200 --> 00:51:40,120 A little bit of comfort, little bit of pride. 811 00:51:41,080 --> 00:51:42,720 This is not about me and my Kingdom. 812 00:51:43,680 --> 00:51:46,640 It's about Him and His Kingdom. Because I value it, I will take 813 00:51:46,640 --> 00:51:55,200 up my cross and bear it daily. It turns out that both 814 00:51:55,200 --> 00:51:59,040 interpretations are true. It's not one or the other. 815 00:52:01,680 --> 00:52:03,560 Here's how it works. The Bible says that we love 816 00:52:03,560 --> 00:52:06,080 because God first loved us. It means that we were the 817 00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:08,600 treasure buried in the field, and he came. 818 00:52:08,720 --> 00:52:12,200 In Jesus and found us and unbound us and set us free. 819 00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:14,920 And now, for the rest of our lives, we're going to continue 820 00:52:14,920 --> 00:52:18,960 to pursue the treasure that is Jesus by giving up everything to 821 00:52:18,960 --> 00:52:21,600 follow the One. Who came to find us? 822 00:52:23,160 --> 00:52:27,560 Both interpretations are true, so let's just use this morning 823 00:52:28,280 --> 00:52:35,560 as an excavation. Let's allow the searcher, the 824 00:52:35,560 --> 00:52:40,600 Holy Spirit, to unbury us so that the greatness of the 825 00:52:40,600 --> 00:52:43,160 Kingdom of God, which is deposited in you as a believer 826 00:52:43,160 --> 00:52:45,640 in Jesus, could burst forth would. 827 00:52:45,640 --> 00:52:47,160 You bow your heads, close your eyes. 828 00:52:48,560 --> 00:52:51,080 Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask first of all that you would 829 00:52:51,080 --> 00:52:55,840 silence the mouth of the deceiver, who says to anyone, 830 00:52:55,960 --> 00:53:00,800 You are too buried, too bad, too far gone, not redeemable. 831 00:53:02,800 --> 00:53:04,520 God's going to find everybody but you. 832 00:53:07,120 --> 00:53:11,240 We rebuke that in Jesus name. Instead we speak your words that 833 00:53:11,240 --> 00:53:16,280 there is treasure in the room that you've come to seek and in 834 00:53:16,280 --> 00:53:22,480 your joy endured the cross scourting its shame so that 835 00:53:22,480 --> 00:53:26,320 anyone who professes Jesus can have new life. 836 00:53:27,760 --> 00:53:35,400 Lord, I pray that my words, your words, would be a shovel over 837 00:53:35,400 --> 00:53:40,400 the souls of men and women here. You would unbury us from sin and 838 00:53:40,400 --> 00:53:42,720 shame. You would unbury us. 839 00:53:42,720 --> 00:53:48,480 Dig up the roots of bitterness and arrogance. 840 00:53:50,360 --> 00:53:53,400 Dig up the roots of offense and woundedness. 841 00:53:55,400 --> 00:54:00,240 Unbury us, Lord, release the treasure that you created in US. 842 00:54:01,920 --> 00:54:05,840 Only Jesus can do this. And maybe you're here today and 843 00:54:05,840 --> 00:54:10,440 you've never received Jesus, and you're in the tomb of death and. 844 00:54:10,440 --> 00:54:12,880 Jesus has brought you to this place, the Holy Spirit has 845 00:54:12,880 --> 00:54:17,440 brought you here to illuminate church today, June 21st, 2026, 846 00:54:17,440 --> 00:54:19,760 because he wants to say to you, it's time to come up out of the 847 00:54:19,760 --> 00:54:24,160 grave. His blood is the excavation. 848 00:54:24,680 --> 00:54:27,880 That brings us from death to life, from darkness to light. 849 00:54:28,440 --> 00:54:31,080 The old thing is gone, the new is here. 850 00:54:31,080 --> 00:54:34,760 Just by believing on Him, He sets you free. 851 00:54:35,520 --> 00:54:38,120 He unburys the treasure of you. You just got to believe Him, 852 00:54:39,760 --> 00:54:42,760 receive him as Savior. So the whole church is going to 853 00:54:42,760 --> 00:54:44,000 pray. We're going to scatter the seed 854 00:54:44,000 --> 00:54:46,000 every week, the seed of the gospel. 855 00:54:46,000 --> 00:54:47,720 Would you close your eyes? Are you already doing that? 856 00:54:49,200 --> 00:54:51,640 Would you just repeat after me and give it some voice? 857 00:54:51,640 --> 00:54:56,160 Don't be whispering in here. Saying Father, in the name of 858 00:54:56,160 --> 00:55:01,760 Jesus, I am a Sinner. That needs saving. 859 00:55:02,920 --> 00:55:05,600 That needs to be found. I am buried. 860 00:55:05,600 --> 00:55:12,280 Treasure waiting for the Savior to search and find me and set me 861 00:55:12,280 --> 00:55:19,200 free. So I believe and I confess that 862 00:55:19,200 --> 00:55:24,960 Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead so that I may have 863 00:55:24,960 --> 00:55:31,080 new life. I receive you into my heart and 864 00:55:31,080 --> 00:55:37,120 ask you to help me to live for you all the days of my life. 865 00:55:39,440 --> 00:55:44,000 Glory to God, glory to God, Hallelujah, Holy Spirit, go and 866 00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:45,680 do your work. If you've prayed that prayer for 867 00:55:45,680 --> 00:55:50,800 the first time today, you've just become a born again 868 00:55:50,800 --> 00:55:54,640 believer, born into the life of Jesus. 869 00:55:54,640 --> 00:55:59,720 Amen. So I just do one thing here. 870 00:56:00,680 --> 00:56:02,640 I'm going to count to 3. And if you prayed that prayer 871 00:56:02,640 --> 00:56:06,280 for the first time, I want faith to fill your heart and say, yes, 872 00:56:06,280 --> 00:56:08,000 I'm in. You're in a family of faith. 873 00:56:08,280 --> 00:56:10,960 There's No Fear in this house, no awkwardness. 874 00:56:10,960 --> 00:56:13,200 We've all raised our hand and gone to the altar in this 875 00:56:13,200 --> 00:56:14,240 moment. And it's you. 876 00:56:14,520 --> 00:56:16,720 And this is your first time on the I'm going to count to 3:00 877 00:56:16,720 --> 00:56:18,360 and you're just going to throw your hand up like this. 878 00:56:18,560 --> 00:56:20,760 And it's important because Jim's got something. 879 00:56:20,760 --> 00:56:23,560 To bring you. I can't see too far and other 880 00:56:23,560 --> 00:56:26,000 people I can't see that far. Sorry, that other usher. 881 00:56:27,560 --> 00:56:28,520 Is going to bring something to you. 882 00:56:28,520 --> 00:56:31,440 So on the count of three, raise your hand. 123 No one believing 883 00:56:31,440 --> 00:56:33,120 on Jesus for the first time. Amen. 884 00:56:33,680 --> 00:56:34,840 Well done. Love you. 885 00:56:35,280 --> 00:56:39,160 Who else? Anyone else up there? 886 00:56:39,400 --> 00:56:40,880 We're coming to you. We're running to you. 887 00:56:41,440 --> 00:56:44,280 Run, run, run. See you. 888 00:56:44,280 --> 00:56:48,800 Praise God for you. Hallelujah. 889 00:56:49,160 --> 00:56:50,440 Come on, let's worship the Lord.