WEBVTT 00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:08.976 24, 24, Thrones, 24 Elders, 24 crowns. 00:00:09.076 --> 00:00:17.484 They surrounded the throne of God in heaven Four living creatures which sing day and night. 00:00:17.484 --> 00:00:57.659 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come whenever they gave glory, honor, and thanks to God, the 24 elders would get up from their 24 thrones and fall down before God casting their 24 crowns down in worship saying, Worthy, are you our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and by your will they existed and were created. 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:16.579 So we pray your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:01:16.646 --> 00:01:19.015 Well, good morning, church. 00:01:19.015 --> 00:01:21.450 It's so good to be with you all this morning. 00:01:21.450 --> 00:01:31.427 As you can see, we just completed our DNow WKND 24, and we've been so blessed by God's presence in this place. 00:01:31.427 --> 00:01:41.105 And honestly, it was evident this morning that we're just keeping the ball rolling, that we're we were fueled by God's spirit this weekend. 00:01:41.105 --> 00:01:45.944 And now it's just pouring out into this place on this Sunday. 00:01:45.944 --> 00:01:56.655 And we're so excited to share with you what God has been doing in the lives of our students and I want to take a moment that we were actually walking through a series on Wednesday nights with our students called Footsteps. 00:01:56.655 --> 00:02:06.597 And my challenge to them was, you need to be following someone in your Christian life, following another believer who's following Jesus. 00:02:06.597 --> 00:02:10.902 But you also got to check the rearview mirror and see who's following you. 00:02:10.902 --> 00:02:15.741 And so this morning it was a testament, and I want our students to hear this from me. 00:02:15.741 --> 00:02:32.526 You just witnessed what you can do by simply stepping out in faith and leading, and you were able to lead this congregation in worship this morning. 00:02:32.626 --> 00:02:38.298 So with the weekend, we really focused on this idea of 24 with it being 2024. 00:02:38.298 --> 00:02:41.968 So of course, where does 24 pop up in the Bible? 00:02:41.968 --> 00:02:45.406 Revelation 4-24 elders surround the throne of God. 00:02:45.406 --> 00:02:52.045 They worship God and they - it says that they take their crowns off and lay it at the throne of God. 00:02:52.045 --> 00:02:53.313 And it's the crown of life. 00:02:53.313 --> 00:02:55.883 It's the crown that we receive at the end of our journey. 00:02:55.883 --> 00:03:06.661 When we place our faith in Jesus and we get to the end of our life and we go to be in His presence, we receive a crown of life that was given to us, not earned. 00:03:06.661 --> 00:03:08.997 We take it off our head and place it at the feet of Jesus. 00:03:08.997 --> 00:03:17.004 So our prayer this weekend was your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it's currently being done in heaven. 00:03:17.004 --> 00:03:22.377 We want the same atmosphere to be that is going on in heaven to happen in this place. 00:03:22.377 --> 00:03:28.350 And it was amazing to see that to witness that, to be a part of that this weekend. 00:03:28.350 --> 00:03:42.098 But to have this idea of living out our faith in such a way where we are surrendering our lives and laying down our crowns before God, it's humility, it's sacrifice. 00:03:42.098 --> 00:03:46.703 And I want to say something or give this opportunity for that to say this. 00:03:46.703 --> 00:03:56.379 We had so many people help with the weekend from the people who were in the trenches who actually were, I want to say, dumb enough to stay with the students overnight. 00:03:56.447 --> 00:04:10.762 I don't know why they did it or why they'd be willing to do it, but with the lack of sleep, they were able to walk through God's Word with these students to be up in the middle of the night having tough conversations, to do all the crazy stuff that you can imagine. 00:04:10.762 --> 00:04:18.235 But we from someone like Cliff who is helping keep the facilities clean for us, to people who are preparing meals, I mean, it was just all over the place. 00:04:18.235 --> 00:04:18.903 People were helping. 00:04:18.903 --> 00:04:19.737 So I want to take this moment. 00:04:19.737 --> 00:04:26.177 If you help with the weekend, this weekend, would you stand so that we can just thank you for all of your help. 00:04:26.177 --> 00:04:38.357 If you help with the weekend at all leaders, people who prepared food, help with trash-- every aspect, please stand. 00:04:38.423 --> 00:04:40.725 Awesome. 00:04:40.725 --> 00:04:41.994 Yes. 00:04:41.994 --> 00:04:49.535 So as we talk through this series, I had a verse that came to my mind and we're going to be looking in Matthew chapter 13, verse 44. 00:04:49.535 --> 00:04:51.403 You can go ahead and turn there. 00:04:51.403 --> 00:04:56.742 And as you're turning there, you know, I couldn't help but think of a quote that Pastor John actually passed it along to me. 00:04:56.742 --> 00:05:00.779 And it fits so well with our theme for the weekend. 00:05:00.779 --> 00:05:07.254 But there is an interesting conversation that Queen Elizabeth had in an interview. 00:05:07.321 --> 00:05:15.062 She was speaking to a chaplain and Queen Elizabeth is having this conversation and she said something really cool. 00:05:15.062 --> 00:05:17.898 And I want to put this up on the screen so that you can see it. 00:05:17.898 --> 00:05:18.833 This is her speaking. 00:05:18.833 --> 00:05:22.836 She says, how I wish the Lord would come in my lifetime. 00:05:22.836 --> 00:05:26.307 And the chaplain asked her why and listen to her response. 00:05:26.307 --> 00:05:31.278 I love this, the Queen replied with a trembling voice full of emotion. 00:05:31.278 --> 00:05:37.485 I should so love to lay down my crown at his feet. 00:05:37.552 --> 00:05:44.526 Now, something we can't relate to that I don't know if there's any British monarchs tied to the royal family in here. 00:05:44.526 --> 00:05:47.396 Like there's no kings and queens in this room. 00:05:47.396 --> 00:05:49.497 I'm certainly not a king. 00:05:49.497 --> 00:05:55.637 But what's what's different from us and Queen Elizabeth is we don't have a literal crown for us to take off. 00:05:55.637 --> 00:06:00.675 But I can assure you we are giving crowns in this life. 00:06:00.776 --> 00:06:06.915 There's various things that we can value and consider to be precious to us. 00:06:06.983 --> 00:06:15.725 And so one of my challenges and one of our challenges for our students this weekend was what's something that you're clinging on to that you're not willing to lay over to God? 00:06:15.826 --> 00:06:25.201 And so a couple of questions I want to ask this morning as we get into our text is how can someone have joy in surrendering all they have? 00:06:25.302 --> 00:06:30.708 How can someone have joy in surrendering all they have? 00:06:30.774 --> 00:06:33.810 Because what we're going to see in this passage is this idea of surrender. 00:06:33.810 --> 00:06:46.057 And how can someone actually surrender something that they have maybe some type of value in, but then actually have joy from surrendering it? 00:06:46.057 --> 00:06:47.791 Here's my second question for us this morning, though. 00:06:47.791 --> 00:06:53.665 How can a person surrender what is most valuable to them? 00:06:53.732 --> 00:06:56.767 How can someone surrender what's most valuable to them? 00:06:56.767 --> 00:07:05.577 I can think of the various things that I consider very precious in my life and would I be willing to surrender those things to God? 00:07:05.644 --> 00:07:15.687 And so we're going to see this morning in Matthew chapter 13, verse 44, some incredible truths, some amazing truth in it, although it's one verse and it's a short verse, it's 00:07:18.891 --> 00:07:20.326 small and beautiful. 00:07:20.326 --> 00:07:30.237 And all it takes is a little turn in that diamond to get some form of light reflection, refraction from it that we see another glimpse of beauty and want to see in this passage this morning. 00:07:30.237 --> 00:07:33.005 And this is what it says in Matthew chapter 13, verse 44. 00:07:33.005 --> 00:07:37.911 It says, The kingdom of heaven is like, The kingdom of heaven is like... 00:07:37.911 --> 00:07:41.949 Now, this phrase, the Kingdom of heaven is all throughout the Bible and the New Testament. 00:07:41.949 --> 00:07:44.017 This idea is spread throughout all throughout the Bible. 00:07:44.017 --> 00:07:51.391 In fact, it's mentioned a bunch of times in the Gospels, and there's a phrase that's also similar. 00:07:51.391 --> 00:07:58.132 You may have heard, if you've read your scriptures, there's a phrase Kingdom of God, two synonymous phrases, meaning the same thing. 00:07:58.132 --> 00:08:11.579 And often Jews would want to say and describe this kingdom, but Jews were so scared to to to say the Lord's name in vain that they wouldn't say Kingdom of God, they would say Kingdom of Heaven. 00:08:11.646 --> 00:08:13.882 But this phrase, these two phrases added up. 00:08:13.882 --> 00:08:21.189 They they come out to 106 times in the New Testament, 61 times in the Book of Matthew. 00:08:21.290 --> 00:08:23.192 So it's an important idea that Jesus hits on. 00:08:23.192 --> 00:08:24.560 But we're looking at one verse. 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:32.168 So I'm trying to help us understand this in a short term, but this is what the Kingdom of God is. 00:08:32.268 --> 00:08:42.913 Kingdom of Heaven is not a physical place you see with your eyes, but it's a spiritual reality that you experience through faith. 00:08:42.913 --> 00:08:52.822 You see, I can't point you to a physical address where the Kingdom of Heaven is, but I can certainly point you to the lives of people who have been changed by the Gospel. 00:08:52.855 --> 00:09:05.903 So no, it's not an actual building that we can go and walk to, but it's something that happens internally in a person's life when they accept Christ and Christ becomes the king on their, in their hearts. 00:09:05.970 --> 00:09:16.847 So there's not necessarily a physical throne, but there is a throne on our hearts where something is sitting and for the kingdom of heaven to enter us, to enter this world, it comes and sits on our hearts. 00:09:16.847 --> 00:09:18.850 Jesus Christ. 00:09:18.850 --> 00:09:21.186 That's what this kingdom of Heaven looks like. 00:09:21.186 --> 00:09:29.794 And so listen, the Kingdom of Heaven as a basic definition, it is the saving reign of Christ in the hearts of His people in a basic way. 00:09:29.794 --> 00:09:32.697 And I give you a bunch of references just so you can do some study later on. 00:09:32.697 --> 00:09:34.399 But this is what it means. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:41.374 The Kingdom of Heaven is the saving reign of Christ in the hearts of His people. 00:09:41.374 --> 00:09:46.645 When I come to Jesus and I accept him as my Savior, he reigns in my life. 00:09:46.645 --> 00:09:47.413 In my heart. 00:09:47.413 --> 00:09:49.948 He is the Lord of my life. 00:09:49.948 --> 00:09:53.052 So when we talk about this in the verse 44 is where to work through this. 00:09:53.052 --> 00:09:58.225 This is what it means when he says the kingdom of Heaven is like. 00:09:58.291 --> 00:10:06.399 So for us this morning, the Kingdom of Heaven is something that began with Jesus. 00:10:06.500 --> 00:10:10.370 It began with the work of Jesus, and it's going to culminate. 00:10:10.370 --> 00:10:14.240 It's going to finish when he returns in all of his glory. 00:10:14.442 --> 00:10:20.847 It began with Jesus, his ministry, and now it's going to be finished and culminate when Jesus comes back. 00:10:20.847 --> 00:10:23.784 This is the idea of the Kingdom of Heaven. 00:10:23.784 --> 00:10:27.422 So let's look back here in verse 44. 00:10:27.522 --> 00:10:30.825 Go back here to the verse, if I can get it up on the screen. 00:10:30.825 --> 00:10:31.860 There we go. 00:10:31.860 --> 00:10:35.129 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure. 00:10:35.129 --> 00:10:37.298 And this is important. 00:10:37.298 --> 00:10:44.907 The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. 00:10:44.972 --> 00:10:50.513 So Jesus says, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure. 00:10:50.578 --> 00:10:53.548 And so this treasure is found in the field by this man. 00:10:53.548 --> 00:10:55.384 And he goes and sees it. 00:10:55.384 --> 00:11:01.323 And because he sees it as valuable, he doesn't immediately take it, but he hides it and buries it back. 00:11:01.323 --> 00:11:03.725 Now, why would he do that? 00:11:03.725 --> 00:11:07.062 It's because back in the day, back in the first century, they didn't have banks. 00:11:07.062 --> 00:11:14.303 They didn't have places where they could put it in a lock box somewhere, any valuables or money or possessions that they had had to be buried in their field. 00:11:14.303 --> 00:11:17.541 And because it was in their field, it was in their property. 00:11:17.541 --> 00:11:29.153 So this person, this man comes up and sees it, sees it as valuable, and then buries it back in the field because he didn't want to get caught for theft and stealing. 00:11:29.153 --> 00:11:37.095 But something I already know from this passage is that we will protect what is most valuable to us. 00:11:37.160 --> 00:11:42.000 My first car in high school was a 1993 Honda Accord. 00:11:42.100 --> 00:11:44.869 It was maroon, paint was chipped.. 00:11:44.869 --> 00:11:46.037 Things were falling off of it. 00:11:46.037 --> 00:11:50.041 It wasn't the-- it wasn't at the top of the list for car thieves. 00:11:50.041 --> 00:11:54.879 Like it wasn't something that someone looked at and said, I'm going to steal that car. 00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:59.283 The car itself didn't have a catalytic converter, so it sounded like a lawnmower. 00:11:59.283 --> 00:12:09.095 Wasn't a great, great car, but at least it got me from point A to point B, So I do cherish it in some ways, but I was smart enough to never to put anything valuable in it because it really wasn't that valuable car. 00:12:09.095 --> 00:12:11.563 So because of that, I left the thing unlocked. 00:12:11.563 --> 00:12:13.099 I really didn't care if someone stole it. 00:12:13.099 --> 00:12:20.572 In fact, they probably would have been doing me a favor because I could have gotten a little bit of money out of it, but I would rather just them steal the car than break the window., right? 00:12:20.572 --> 00:12:22.475 I don’tknow if you ever had a car like that. 00:12:22.475 --> 00:12:27.714 But later on when we had Charlie, my wife and I had Charlie, we we had to upgrade. We had to upsize. 00:12:27.714 --> 00:12:29.682 We eventually get a new car. 00:12:29.682 --> 00:12:34.654 And I'm telling you, I handled that car a lot differently than I handled that 1993 Honda Accord. 00:12:34.654 --> 00:12:35.989 We kept those doors locked. 00:12:35.989 --> 00:12:40.660 We parked it all the way up in the driveway and we hid it in a sense because we wanted to protect it. 00:12:40.660 --> 00:12:42.062 But this idea is true. 00:12:42.062 --> 00:12:47.500 This story, this treasure was so valuable that it was hidden. 00:12:47.601 --> 00:12:51.438 And this person, this man comes up, sees it, and sees it as valuable. 00:12:51.438 --> 00:12:57.278 So he himself desires that treasure, hides it back, and look what happens next in the verse. 00:12:57.278 --> 00:13:09.892 It says, After the man found it and covered up, it says in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 00:13:09.957 --> 00:13:16.130 He goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 00:13:16.197 --> 00:13:30.513 So because he couldn't take it, he had to go bury it and go back, sell everything that he has so that he could then purchase the field and have the treasure that is in the field. 00:13:30.613 --> 00:13:41.792 So what Jesus is pointing out here is that the treasure is so valuable that this man was willing to give up everything to have it. 00:13:41.892 --> 00:13:50.100 So I'm wondering this morning just for you to ask yourself, how valuable is the kingdom of heaven to you? 00:13:50.333 --> 00:13:56.240 How valuable is Christ? 00:13:56.240 --> 00:14:04.881 Because, listen, the focus of the parable is not that we can buy or earn the kingdom. 00:14:04.948 --> 00:14:06.884 We can't buy or earn our salvation. 00:14:06.884 --> 00:14:08.485 We can't do enough good things. 00:14:08.485 --> 00:14:09.888 We can't be good enough. 00:14:09.888 --> 00:14:14.158 We can't attend church enough, We can't muster up enough strength. 00:14:14.158 --> 00:14:16.027 It's not about earning or buying. 00:14:16.027 --> 00:14:24.602 Instead, it's focused on that we should treasure the kingdom more than anything else in our lives. 00:14:24.702 --> 00:14:31.376 For us to see the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, we should treasure it more than anything else in our lives. 00:14:31.376 --> 00:14:34.346 And I wonder if that's true for you this morning. 00:14:34.346 --> 00:14:41.821 Wonder if it's true that you treasure the Kingdom of Heaven more than anything else. 00:14:41.921 --> 00:14:44.890 Because it's interesting. 00:14:44.890 --> 00:14:53.466 Whatever we treasure most, whatever we treasure most, it tends to be on our mind. 00:14:53.466 --> 00:14:55.268 It tends to be on our hearts. 00:14:55.268 --> 00:15:00.240 It tends to be what we spend our money towards, what we spend time on. 00:15:00.440 --> 00:15:05.846 So to look at your life, where's your treasure? 00:15:05.846 --> 00:15:09.350 Where's your treasure this morning? 00:15:09.350 --> 00:15:15.456 Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:15:15.556 --> 00:15:19.894 And I think Jesus is trying to challenge us in this verse. 00:15:19.994 --> 00:15:23.565 Are you willing to surrender everything? 00:15:23.630 --> 00:15:29.937 So listen, how you value the Kingdom of heaven will determine what you do with it. 00:15:29.937 --> 00:15:35.476 How you value the Kingdom of Heaven will determine what you do with it. 00:15:35.543 --> 00:15:41.015 We have this furniture piece in our house that we absolutely adore. 00:15:41.015 --> 00:15:49.125 And it's a funny story how we got it, because it is an older piece of furniture that we actually received from a psychiatric hospital. 00:15:49.125 --> 00:15:51.559 Bear with me. 00:15:51.626 --> 00:15:54.897 So there was a psychiatric hospital that was closing down. 00:15:54.897 --> 00:15:56.865 It was shutting down. 00:15:56.865 --> 00:15:57.833 And it's here in Kentucky. 00:15:57.833 --> 00:16:05.140 And part of the process for them is they were pulling everything out And determining what was valuable and what's not, they were going to keep some things and trash other things. 00:16:05.140 --> 00:16:16.753 Well, part of that was these several 1850 singer sewing machines and it’s really cool pieces of furniture. 00:16:16.753 --> 00:16:18.455 But you know what? 00:16:18.455 --> 00:16:21.958 After we got it, I was like, why in the world will we ever want to put this in our house? 00:16:21.958 --> 00:16:23.360 I don't understand. 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:27.798 But they kept them there for the patients to to have clothes, and they made clothes for them there. 00:16:27.798 --> 00:16:35.605 And so we received this this we come in to we received this, the singer sewing machine. 00:16:35.605 --> 00:16:36.341 My wife paints it. 00:16:36.341 --> 00:16:37.442 That makes it look really nice. 00:16:37.442 --> 00:16:44.548 And now it's a furniture piece in our home and it's a cool reminder of, you know, things that are old can be made new and look awesome. 00:16:44.548 --> 00:16:51.756 But I bring all that to say is that one man's trash is another man's treasure, right? 00:16:51.756 --> 00:16:53.826 Some people saw it as a horrible piece of the thing. 00:16:53.826 --> 00:16:55.994 We're just going to throw it out and get rid of it. 00:16:55.994 --> 00:16:59.097 Now we see it as something incredible and we value it and we treasure. 00:16:59.097 --> 00:17:12.679 But listen, I think it's important that you hear this this morning that we will that we will value the kingdom of God as a priceless treasure, as another possession, or we might even see it as trash to just to be thrown out. 00:17:12.679 --> 00:17:15.080 How do you see the kingdom of heaven? 00:17:15.080 --> 00:17:18.050 How do you see it in your life? 00:17:18.084 --> 00:17:27.259 Imagine a 50 lb. block of iron, a 50 lb. block of iron. Some of the some of the men in here, the big, big, strong men are like, that's nothing. 00:17:27.259 --> 00:17:29.496 50 lbs. I can easily carry that anywhere. 00:17:29.496 --> 00:17:30.897 Not that big. 00:17:30.897 --> 00:17:36.336 But it's a burden, right?, Imagine carrying 50 lbs. of anything, a 50 lb.. block of iron. 00:17:36.336 --> 00:17:41.008 Why would one want to burden themselves and carry this 50 lb. block of iron? 00:17:41.008 --> 00:17:42.876 But let me change it a little bit. 00:17:42.876 --> 00:17:47.481 What if it was a 50 lb. block of gold? 00:17:47.548 --> 00:17:49.483 Would you carry it? 00:17:49.483 --> 00:17:52.487 How far would you carry it? 00:17:52.554 --> 00:17:57.125 But if you think about it, the weight didn't change. 00:17:57.125 --> 00:18:00.561 But what did? 00:18:00.628 --> 00:18:07.368 So if it goes from my block of iron to a block of gold, it becomes valuable because we see it as valuable. 00:18:07.368 --> 00:18:11.606 So I would be willing to carry that burden a long way. 00:18:11.606 --> 00:18:14.442 So how do you see the Kingdom of Heaven? 00:18:14.442 --> 00:18:19.248 It's a block of iron or block of gold. 00:18:19.248 --> 00:18:29.392 Story in the New Testament, Jesus is, is is teaching and doing ministry and this rich young ruler comes up to him and says, Jesus, how am I to be saved? 00:18:29.459 --> 00:18:33.563 He says, Keep the law, keep the commandments. 00:18:33.663 --> 00:18:39.603 Rich, young ruler with a smirk-- and I can imagine having a smirk on his face, said, Jesus, I kept all the commandments. I'm good. 00:18:39.603 --> 00:18:42.705 I did it. Is that it? 00:18:42.772 --> 00:18:47.411 Jesus comes right back at him and says, You know what? 00:18:47.510 --> 00:19:03.060 If you would be perfect, go and go and sell what you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. 00:19:03.126 --> 00:19:18.844 Rich young ruler heard that, I can imagine the look on his face, considered his possessions, and verse 22 says, When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. 00:19:18.943 --> 00:19:24.717 He didn't see the Kingdom of Heaven as something that he would be willing to carry this block of gold. 00:19:24.782 --> 00:19:31.156 He saw it as trash compared to his possessions on earth. 00:19:31.222 --> 00:19:32.357 But notice what Jesus says. 00:19:32.357 --> 00:19:39.499 He said to his disciples, Truly, I say to you only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:19:39.499 --> 00:19:42.835 And why is that true? 00:19:42.902 --> 00:20:02.789 It’s because riches and things of this world will steal your heart from valuing God and His kingdom more than anything else, and not just riches and possessions, but relationships and people and status and experiences where we live for this world, assuming that we're going to keep everything. 00:20:02.789 --> 00:20:07.461 But in turn, when we pass away, we get none of it. 00:20:07.528 --> 00:20:14.434 Instead, what Jesus says, You would be better off selling everything here so you can gain everything later. 00:20:14.535 --> 00:20:20.708 And Jesus says again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. 00:20:20.708 --> 00:20:25.613 He has a little humor here, but notice what he says next. 00:20:25.613 --> 00:20:27.048 In this next verse. 00:20:27.048 --> 00:20:30.085 Go to the next verse, please. 00:20:30.152 --> 00:20:33.922 I guess it’s not on there, but here's what he says. 00:20:33.989 --> 00:20:40.395 What is impossible with man is possible with God. 00:20:40.395 --> 00:20:42.765 God can do the impossible. 00:20:42.765 --> 00:20:44.732 He can save all of us from our sin. 00:20:44.732 --> 00:20:52.074 But it requires us to say my possessions aren't worth holding on to if I don't get Jesus. 00:20:52.074 --> 00:21:01.951 So the question is, what is something that if God asked you to surrender, would you hesitate to give up? 00:21:02.051 --> 00:21:02.618 Like if I asked? 00:21:02.618 --> 00:21:06.189 Some of you have to give up tuna salad for the rest of your life? 00:21:06.189 --> 00:21:08.692 Some of you, I'd be like, That's not that big of a deal. 00:21:08.692 --> 00:21:10.894 Like, that's good. 00:21:10.894 --> 00:21:16.200 If I asked some of you to give a barbecue that might be a little bit tougher, right? 00:21:16.200 --> 00:21:24.141 If I asked you to give up, maybe your screens, your devices, your cell phone, your computers, that might be a little bit harder. 00:21:24.141 --> 00:21:32.083 Maybe if I, maybe if Jesus said, well, maybe you’ve got to give up that yearly vacation you take every year that you lean so heavily on. 00:21:32.150 --> 00:21:36.287 Am I getting a little bit more personal? 00:21:36.354 --> 00:21:49.166 But all that to say, listen, if Jesus were to ask you to give something up, what would be that one thing that you would hesitate and cling to? 00:21:49.233 --> 00:21:54.873 Because that's a sign that that's probably an idol lurking. 00:21:54.873 --> 00:21:57.509 And we've got to be very careful. 00:21:57.509 --> 00:21:59.144 Interesting quote here from Saint Augustine. 00:21:59.144 --> 00:22:01.247 I think it helps us understand this a little bit. 00:22:01.247 --> 00:22:05.718 He says, God means to fill each of you with what is good. 00:22:05.718 --> 00:22:08.887 So cast out what is bad. 00:22:08.988 --> 00:22:10.623 You can't be filled up with what is good. 00:22:10.623 --> 00:22:14.094 If you have trash in it. 00:22:14.094 --> 00:22:17.029 He wishes to fill you with honey and you are full of sour wine. 00:22:17.029 --> 00:22:20.967 Where is the honey to go? 00:22:21.034 --> 00:22:24.971 He says the vessel must be emptied of its contents and then be cleansed. 00:22:24.971 --> 00:22:26.506 Yes, it must be cleansed. 00:22:26.506 --> 00:22:36.349 Even if you have to work hard and scour it, it must be made fit for the new thing, whatever it may be. 00:22:36.349 --> 00:22:41.288 So maybe the question for us this morning, what are we willing to do? 00:22:41.288 --> 00:22:50.531 What length and what extent are we willing to go to cleanse ourselves of the trash so that we can receive the treasure? 00:22:50.597 --> 00:22:55.769 And for some of us, we may have been following Jesus for a good bit now longer than me. 00:22:55.769 --> 00:23:06.147 I've been following Jesus since college, but some of us may have let a little bit of trash get in our life, distance us from God. 00:23:06.147 --> 00:23:09.785 We value those things more than the treasure and the kingdom of Heaven. 00:23:09.785 --> 00:23:13.021 And as a result, we've started drifting. 00:23:13.122 --> 00:23:19.862 What length and extent are you willing to go to give up those things so that you can have the treasure? 00:23:19.961 --> 00:23:31.074 See, when you see the kingdom as the greatest treasure, this world and the things in it become less attractive and appealing. 00:23:31.141 --> 00:23:42.920 If you see the treasure, the Kingdom of Heaven, as more valuable, these other things in this life, they're going to fade away from your focus. 00:23:43.119 --> 00:23:48.125 But if you honor and value the things of this world more than the Kingdom of Heaven, it's obvious what you're going to go after. 00:23:48.125 --> 00:23:52.962 Listen, you're always going to choose what your heart most desires. 00:23:52.962 --> 00:23:58.336 If you most desire something, you're going to choose it. 00:23:58.402 --> 00:24:05.676 So for you this morning, do you value the treasure and the Kingdom of Heaven more than you value the kingdom of this world? 00:24:05.676 --> 00:24:09.146 See, the problem is not that we're seeking satisfaction. 00:24:09.146 --> 00:24:13.484 So I think sometimes in Christian circles we think satisfaction is horrible, it's bad. We can't be. 00:24:13.484 --> 00:24:15.420 We can't have joy and happiness and satisfaction. 00:24:15.420 --> 00:24:18.323 And sometimes the world looks at the church and says, Well, they're just not happy. 00:24:18.323 --> 00:24:19.458 They don't do anything fun. 00:24:19.458 --> 00:24:22.161 They can’t have fun. Baloney. 00:24:22.161 --> 00:24:23.695 I've been with the weekend with these kids. 00:24:23.695 --> 00:24:27.866 They have a lot of fun and a little too much of it sometimes. 00:24:27.932 --> 00:24:33.239 But satisfaction is the key to the Christian life. 00:24:33.338 --> 00:24:40.246 If you're not satisfied by your relationship with Jesus, what else can you be satisfied with? 00:24:40.313 --> 00:24:51.590 Knowing Jesus in a personal relationship is the most satisfying thing you can experience in this life, right? 00:24:51.657 --> 00:25:02.201 But the problem is, is you're looking for satisfaction in the wrong places and the world's promising you things and making promises to you that it keeps breaking. 00:25:02.201 --> 00:25:04.505 The world won't satisfy you, it won't fulfill you. 00:25:04.505 --> 00:25:13.480 And the things of this life and the status and the rewards and the awards and the accolades and the all the 401K. 00:25:13.480 --> 00:25:22.757 Everything that we could accumulate in this life will not compare and match up to the treasure and the kingdom of Heaven and eternity with Christ. 00:25:22.824 --> 00:25:30.499 So here's your first point this morning I'm challenging us to do is to seek first the kingdom. 00:25:30.598 --> 00:25:34.670 Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, what you will drink. 00:25:34.670 --> 00:25:37.772 Don't be concerned about these worldly things. Why? 00:25:37.772 --> 00:25:39.275 Because God knows that you need them. 00:25:39.275 --> 00:25:40.509 He knows that the world needs them. 00:25:40.509 --> 00:25:43.278 He certainly knows that his people need them. 00:25:43.278 --> 00:25:45.314 33. 00:25:45.314 --> 00:25:53.957 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness-- and here's the caveat-- and all these things will be added to you. 00:25:54.022 --> 00:25:55.858 Jesus will give you enough. 00:25:55.858 --> 00:25:59.863 If the Kingdom of God is first in your life, Amen. 00:25:59.863 --> 00:26:06.903 You don't have to worry about all the little things that you can get stressed over because God will provide them. 00:26:06.903 --> 00:26:10.406 If His kingdom is first. 00:26:10.473 --> 00:26:12.809 Here's your second point this morning. 00:26:12.809 --> 00:26:15.813 Invest your entire life in the kingdom. 00:26:15.913 --> 00:26:30.193 And big point for us this weekend with our students is you can’t give 100% to two things because if you give 50% to the world, you can't give 100% to God. 00:26:30.260 --> 00:26:34.833 So for us to be 100% and to be all in that is to give 100% to God. 00:26:34.833 --> 00:26:45.242 Everything hedge your bets all of your life towards God invested in the kingdom. 00:26:45.242 --> 00:26:45.743 Look what it says 00:26:45.743 --> 00:27:00.125 lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Where's your heart this morning? 00:27:00.125 --> 00:27:07.099 Is your life being invested in the kingdom, the Kingdom of heaven? 00:27:07.165 --> 00:27:08.401 This incredible quote by Mr. 00:27:08.401 --> 00:27:10.103 Jim Elliott. He's a pastor missionary. 00:27:10.103 --> 00:27:19.011 He says he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to attain and gain what he cannot lose. 00:27:19.078 --> 00:27:22.415 Friends, you can't keep any of the stuff that we got. 00:27:22.415 --> 00:27:26.586 There's nothing that we have that we're going to keep. 00:27:26.586 --> 00:27:28.721 Our life’s going to fade away and pass by. 00:27:28.721 --> 00:27:35.096 But the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven is forever and ever and ever. 00:27:35.328 --> 00:27:36.663 And guess what? 00:27:36.663 --> 00:27:41.301 You'll never lose it in Jesus. 00:27:41.368 --> 00:27:48.175 Let's go back to our verse, because there's one more aspect, one more caveat, one more thing that I want you to see out of this verse. 00:27:48.175 --> 00:27:52.279 The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up. 00:27:52.279 --> 00:27:55.349 And here's the phrase, the clause. 00:27:55.450 --> 00:28:00.321 Then in his joy,... 00:28:00.388 --> 00:28:02.458 what? 00:28:02.458 --> 00:28:07.829 He has joy in selling all that he has. 00:28:07.930 --> 00:28:09.731 How? 00:28:09.731 --> 00:28:16.204 Why would a person find joy in surrendering and giving up everything he has? 00:28:16.204 --> 00:28:22.111 How can someone have joy from sacrificing all that they have? 00:28:22.211 --> 00:28:26.215 Ask that, ask that question to yourself. 00:28:26.281 --> 00:28:33.355 Because the truth in this, I think, will change the way that we see the Kingdom of God in our relationship with Christ. 00:28:33.589 --> 00:28:35.491 Let me show you some Scripture to help us understand that 00:28:35.491 --> 00:28:43.701 2 says, Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the... what...? 00:28:43.701 --> 00:28:49.740 joy that was set before him, endured the cross. 00:28:49.807 --> 00:28:56.948 How could Jesus see the cross in front of him and have joy? 00:28:57.048 --> 00:29:08.460 How could Jesus know what He's about to go through when he goes to the cross to die, to hang 6 hours, to then die on a cross, to be buried? 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:14.499 The reason why he has joy is because of what happens after. 00:29:14.599 --> 00:29:17.301 It’s because of what he gets. 00:29:17.301 --> 00:29:21.906 It's because of what he accomplishes and gives victory. 00:29:21.906 --> 00:29:29.882 Because when Jesus goes to the cross and dies, he's in the tomb for three days and he didn't stay there. 00:29:29.882 --> 00:29:38.124 And so because he is raised from the dead to new life, he gives victory and salvation to all those [who] believe. 00:29:38.124 --> 00:29:53.006 So the reason why Jesus has joy with the cross in front of him is because salvation is coming after it and because salvation is coming to all those who would believe he has joy to go through the cross. 00:29:53.073 --> 00:30:03.584 So, listen, this morning you can have joy in surrender because you realize what you receive is infinitely greater than what you're giving up. 00:30:03.651 --> 00:30:11.925 You may be giving up a lot, but what you're getting is infinitely greater and better in Christ Jesus. 00:30:11.925 --> 00:30:25.507 Possessions, money, time, relationships-- if Christ is asking us to move and give and be open to surrender those things, what you're getting is infinitely greater and better. 00:30:25.606 --> 00:30:34.983 But the temptation is that we become so easily pleased and satisfied with the things of this world. 00:30:34.983 --> 00:30:45.928 We're so easily pleased with the things in this world, and we've got such a small view on things that we miss out on the Kingdom of Heaven. 00:30:45.994 --> 00:31:00.477 And we can live a life for this world for 60, 70 years if we're blessed and have a great life on this world according to the worldly standards, but then lose it all in the end. 00:31:00.544 --> 00:31:03.512 Look at this In Second Corinthians chapter five. 00:31:03.512 --> 00:31:05.715 Paul's writing and says, So we do not lose heart. 00:31:05.715 --> 00:31:18.929 Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison... 00:31:18.929 --> 00:31:23.901 And this we look not to the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen. 00:31:23.901 --> 00:31:27.704 For the things that we see with our eyes, they’re transient, they're fading, they're going away. 00:31:27.704 --> 00:31:29.973 But the things that are unseen 00:31:29.973 --> 00:31:34.445 16-18] Where's your vision? 00:31:34.445 --> 00:31:46.392 Are you looking at things that are right before your eyes, or are you by faith, keeping your eyes on heaven, keeping your eyes on Christ, keeping your eyes on eternity with Jesus? 00:31:46.392 --> 00:31:57.936 You see, our eternal treasure is not found on this earth in things we can see, but in the unseen reality of the Kingdom of heaven in you. 00:31:58.037 --> 00:32:05.944 God offers everything you need through the Holy Spirit, and He grants us eternal salvation now leading into eternity. 00:32:05.944 --> 00:32:07.814 Is that enough? 00:32:07.814 --> 00:32:13.319 Are you content with Jesus? 00:32:13.420 --> 00:32:16.623 So here's my last point for you this morning. 00:32:16.623 --> 00:32:26.866 Going to that last point, look to the kingdom of heaven with joy. 00:32:26.866 --> 00:32:32.239 Would you look to the Kingdom of Heaven with joy? 00:32:32.306 --> 00:32:45.553 Would you set your eyes on the crown of life that is before you and me, that we can see God enthroned and he is offering us a crown of life in eternity with us? 00:32:45.553 --> 00:32:52.059 If we would just come before him with open hands and saying, God, whatever you want, you take. 00:32:52.059 --> 00:32:53.561 Everything I have is yours anyway. 00:32:53.561 --> 00:32:54.997 My life itself is yours. 00:32:54.997 --> 00:33:02.637 So, God, take what you will so that not only do we receive the crown of life, but we talked about this weekend. 00:33:02.637 --> 00:33:08.778 You get to join in with the other 24 elders and lay down your crown at the throne of God. 00:33:08.778 --> 00:33:11.646 And I want you to be there. 00:33:11.646 --> 00:33:13.982 God wants you to be there. 00:33:13.982 --> 00:33:15.585 God wants you to be there so much. 00:33:15.585 --> 00:33:20.490 He was willing to send his son Jesus to die on the cross for that. 00:33:20.589 --> 00:33:25.761 See, to get the crown of life, Jesus had to take a crown of thorns. 00:33:25.828 --> 00:33:31.067 And for you and me, He offers simply trust and believe. 00:33:31.067 --> 00:33:36.140 And I will give you that crown of life if you remain in me to the end. 00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:39.710 One final scripture verse for you this morning, I hope this encourages you. 00:33:39.710 --> 00:33:43.079 This is a prayer from David, and he says, Restore to me 00:33:43.079 --> 00:33:57.295 12] God restore in me the joy of your salvation in the Kingdom of Heaven and uphold me with a willing spirit. 00:33:57.362 --> 00:34:04.102 I think one thing that's come out of this weekend and even this morning is that there is joy in salvation. 00:34:04.169 --> 00:34:18.384 There is joy in the Kingdom of Heaven, and there is joy when you place your faith in Jesus, no matter your circumstances, no matter what you're dealing with, no matter what you have or what you don't have, Jesus is enough. 00:34:18.449 --> 00:34:19.751 So here's your challenge this morning. 00:34:19.751 --> 00:34:25.590 Do you treasure the Kingdom of God above all things? 00:34:25.657 --> 00:34:30.963 To ask yourself this question will help you understand your next step from here. 00:34:30.963 --> 00:34:42.608 In fact, we had two students to come forward over the weekend, wanted to give their life to Christ because they realized that I believe the Kingdom of God is worth it. 00:34:42.641 --> 00:34:52.853 I believe leaving my life behind for the Kingdom is worth it. 00:34:52.920 --> 00:34:56.056 And so if that's you this morning, here's my encouragement. 00:34:56.056 --> 00:34:57.891 Don't wait. 00:34:57.891 --> 00:35:05.500 This life is too short and the kingdom of heaven is going to be culminated when Jesus comes back and he's going to wrap it all up with victory. 00:35:05.500 --> 00:35:07.001 And we don't know when that day is coming. 00:35:07.001 --> 00:35:14.041 But here's what I can promise you that if you place your faith in Jesus, you will receive the crown of life at the end. 00:35:14.041 --> 00:35:16.945 And this morning that may be you. 00:35:16.945 --> 00:35:22.884 Something may be had been stirring in you for a long time, and you're not sure what it is, but God has been leading you to take the next step. 00:35:22.884 --> 00:35:35.030 And for some of you, that next step is coming forward and sharing with some of our elders or our pastors that you can accept Christ today, just like our students have been active in doing. 00:35:35.231 --> 00:35:39.635 And I pray that for you that you would value the Kingdom of Heaven more than anything. 00:35:39.635 --> 00:35:42.271 But for some of you, that next step is not salvation. 00:35:42.271 --> 00:35:49.179 It's a return to the reality that the Kingdom of Heaven is better than the kingdom of this world. 00:35:49.278 --> 00:35:54.617 With the reality we live in today, with with our homes, we build up our own castles. 00:35:54.617 --> 00:36:00.891 We wall ourselves in, pull in the driveway, close the garage door, turn the Wi-Fi on, turn the TV's on. 00:36:00.891 --> 00:36:05.429 And we sit confined in our kingdom to our deathbed. 00:36:05.528 --> 00:36:11.969 But there's a greater kingdom and there's a greater throne, a more satisfying life than living for yourself. 00:36:11.969 --> 00:36:15.271 And we offer that to you through Jesus Christ. 00:36:15.373 --> 00:36:21.778 But for some of us, we need to get back to building the Kingdom of God and not our own kingdom. 00:36:21.778 --> 00:36:31.356 And if that's you this morning, you come forward, you come forward and you pray because we want our church to be about the kingdom of heaven. 00:36:31.356 --> 00:36:33.858 Amen. 00:36:33.858 --> 00:36:35.360 So I'm going to pray for us. 00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:38.864 Pastor John is going to come up and then we'll we will close our service. 00:36:38.864 --> 00:36:39.697 Let me pray for us...