Lessons About the Kingdom of Heaven from the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

Would it be okay if we open our Bibles to Matthew

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13? One of Jill and I's dear friends,

Jennifer Smith, sent this passage this morning.

It was comforting to us. As you turn, I'll just

read it. Psalm 112, verse 1 and 2, it says, Praise

Psalms 112:1

the Lord. Blessed is the one who fears the Lord,

who finds great delight in His commands. Their

children will be mighty in the land, and a generation

of upright will be blessed. So, mothers, just

keep going. We love you. Keep fearing the Lord.

Keep following His commands. The Scripture promises

that your children will be blessed, and that

you're bringing about generations that will delight

in the Lord. amazing job that you're doing. Keep

going. Don't give up. I'm going to join you in

Matthew 13. Alright, I told Jill my Mother's

Day gift to you today will be a short sermon,

so I will keep my word on that. It will be concise

and it will be by the power of the Holy Spirit

we hope. Let's pray. Jesus, as we open the Scriptures

and read Your Word, we're asking now, as many

servants have done over the many years, that

Your Holy Spirit would come and demonstrate great

power through these words to create change in

us that will bear lasting fruit for Your glory.

In Jesus' name. If you agree with that, would

you say amen? Let it be so. Alright. Matthew

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13, let's read today verse 45 and 46,

looking at the parables about the kingdom. Verse

45, Jesus speaking, Again, the kingdom of heaven

is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When

he found one of great value, he went away and

sold everything he had and bought it. Let me

read it one more time. Again, the kingdom of

heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.

When he found one of great value, he went away

and sold everything he had and bought it. A little

bit of context. Or let's just say a lot of context

in a really brief manner. For 400 years, God

was silent on the earth. The Scripture says that

between the Old and New Testament, there were

no prophets speaking the words of God. There

was a covenant change coming. After 400 years,

Jesus is born to the Virgin Mary. He comes. God

comes in flesh to the earth. He's raised by His

earthly mother and father. As he gets to be an

adult man, God has this plan to release him into

the world. And so Jesus comes. He's baptized

by John, water baptized by John in the Jordan

River. Then the Holy Spirit comes upon him like

a dove and remains, the Gospel of John says.

And the Holy Spirit then leads him into the wilderness

where he's tempted by the devil. you know, thoroughly

smacks the devil around with the Word of God

and his authority. He comes out of that into

public ministry, and he begins to teach this

sermon where God sends him. And he says, repent,

change the way you think, for the kingdom of

God or the kingdom of heaven is now here or is

at hand. And one of the main, I know for some

of you, you're like, Do we have to talk about

this every week? Well, for now the answer is

yes, okay? But one of Jesus' main and major assignments,

he had quite a few, but one of them was to establish

the kingdom of heaven on the earth, model that

for his disciples, and then release that assignment

to the New Testament church. And we see that

throughout the Gospels. part of what Jesus was

doing, specifically on these passages we've been

studying for the last few weeks, is he's teaching

his disciples what the kingdom of heaven is really

like. And so he's asking himself this question,

as we have in Mark and Luke, what can I say about

the kingdom? Or how can I compare the kingdom

of heaven? And then... The Holy Spirit is giving

him divine thoughts and ideas, and he's teaching

these things to the disciples. So if you missed

last week, we talked about the treasure being

buried in the field. Catch up on that with some

really good truths. And today we're looking at

truths about the kingdom of heaven through the

parable of the pearl of great price. So let's

look at some lessons, because Jesus came, he

established the kingdom, taught about the kingdom,

conferred the kingdom on his disciples, released

the Holy Spirit on the New Testament church at

Pentecost, and now our job until the Lord Jesus

returns is to advance the kingdom of heaven on

the earth. And so we are, as a church, we're

in a season of supernatural kingdom expansion.

Jesus said, when people say, here's the kingdom,

they're the kingdom, Luke 17, he said, don't

look here and there. Why? Because the kingdom

is within you, right? So in us is the kingdom

of heaven. Everything we need through the power

and the authority of the Holy Spirit to release

the kingdom of heaven is in us. In John chapter

John 7 · chapter mention

7, Jesus said, and you'll be like rivers of living

water flowing. And he said, and by that he was

talking about the Holy Spirit whom they were

to receive. So Jesus said, the kingdom is within

you, and now the kingdom should flow out of you

as rivers of living water. So that's the lifestyle

that we have. Living, dwelling in the kingdom,

being confident of the kingdom in us, and releasing

the kingdom in supernatural expansion. Why? Why

should we care about the kingdom of heaven being

released and expanded on the earth? Because God

told us to? Okay. That probably should be enough.

For those of us who need motivation, right? This

is why, right? These are all the initials of

people in our life that are unsaved. We're not

here to release the kingdom to grow a megachurch.

We're here to release the kingdom of heaven on

the earth so that desperate and dying people

can see who the true king is. And if it's a kingdom

of righteousness, peace, and joy that's unshakable

in the Holy Spirit, and they experience that,

they're going to want it. And they're going to

bow their lives before that king just like many

of us did. And they're going to get set free.

And they're going to get healed. And they're

going to get purpose in their life. And then

they're going to go out into their spheres of

influence and release the kingdom. And those

people are going to get saved, set free, healed,

and given purpose. And then they're going to

go out. And that's how revival in the kingdom

works until Jesus comes back. And hopefully there

won't be any names on the cross. Because as we've

been saying, the return of Jesus, thus sitting

in this room, we can't wait. But for these people,

it's going to be a horrible day. It's a horrible

day. And so, we've got a job to do. We're kingdom

people, living in the kingdom, releasing the

kingdom. Right? And so this is why we're talking

about the kingdom of heaven, studying Jesus'

parables and learning lessons. Number one, if

you're writing these down, take notes. This will

be good. Number one, the kingdom of heaven is

a message of ridiculously good news. You and

I are the pearl of great price or great value,

and God paid the highest price to purchase us

back. to himself. The traditional interpretation

of this passage is that it's us seeking the kingdom,

and I think that that's right and good and holy,

and we're going to talk about those lessons.

But there are plenty of theologians, reputable

ones, who see and interpret this passage in a

different way, saying that God is the merchant.

And we are the pearl that he discovered. And

we were of such great value to him that he paid

the highest price to purchase us. And whether

you agree with that interpretation or not, that

message is screamed all throughout the Holy Scriptures

from Old Testament to New Testament. to revelation

listen the whole message from the garden to the

new jerusalem is that god wanted friends he created

us to love him and to be loved by him sin robbed

him of his friends and the whole point of the

gospel message is that he purchased us back he

wants us loves us finds us valuable and did everything

He could and did to have us back. Let's open

our Bibles to Romans 5. You're in Matthew. If

you can turn over to Romans 5. It's just one

of those glorious passages that in a concise

way tells the story of redemption. Romans 5,

Romans 5:6

verse 6. And I'm just... picking this passage

out for the sake of time, but if you want to

read all of 5, 6, 7, and 8, it's some of the

most powerful chapters in the whole Bible about

redemption and the power of the Holy Spirit in

the life of the believer. Alright, but for the

sake of time, chapter 5, verse 6. You see, at

just the right time, When we were still powerless,

Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will

anyone die for a righteous man, though for a

good man someone might possibly dare to die.

But, in contrast, God demonstrates His own love

for us in this. While we were still sinners,

Christ died for us. And since we have now been

justified, what? By His blood. We've been made

innocent, justified of all of our sins by His

blood. How much more shall we be saved from God's

wrath through Him, Jesus? For if when we were

God's enemies we were reconciled to Him through

the death of His Son, how much more having been

reconciled shall we be saved through His life?

Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God

through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we

have now received reconciliation. I mean, you

could camp out right there until Jesus comes

back. We were far away. We were enemies. We were

sinners. And He came and rescued us and reconciled

us back to Him. Do you know where you harvest

pearls? It's not Kay's jeweler. That's not where

you harvest pearls. Where do you harvest pearls?

You harvest pearls in the deep water where it's

the darkest, buried in the mud in a gross, slimy

clam. If you dig around in enough of those, you'll

find a pearl. And we, somehow, religion has hoodwinked

us to think that our God cannot lower Himself

to even be around our sin. And I think that there

is a misunderstanding and a false humility that

might even have some good intentions in that.

But the reality is if God could never be sin,

we're all going to hell. If God could never be

close to sin, we're all going to hell. He went

to the depths, in the mud, in the slimy things,

and he found us, the pearl of great value. And

then he said, you are so valuable to me, I will

pay the highest price. I will give my life. What's

the only thing harder than giving your own life?

Would be watching a son bleed out for people

who hated him. Do you know what I'm saying? How

many of you have ever seen your children's blood

outside of their body? It's a horrifying thing.

One of my daughters had to get a fingernail removed

that she slammed in the door this week, and my

wife sent me the bloody picture of when they

took it off. And I'm like, ah! There's something

about seeing your children's blood not in their

body that's horrifying. Try watching every drop.

come out. I want you to know today that you are

the apple of His eye. And not on your best day,

on your worst day. He considered you the pearl

of great value on your nastiest, grossest, filthiest

day. And he said, you're worth every price to

me. And some of you need to hear that. First

of all, some of you need to get saved. Some of

you are hearing this and you're like, man, that

sounds good, but I've never even had my sins

forgiven. All you have to do is call out to him.

Say, forgive me of my sins. Take me into your

family. I want to love you and be loved by you.

Get saved. What are you waiting on? You think

this is a game? Nobody's promised tomorrow. Don't

leave this building without getting saved. I'll

be here after service. I'll be talking to people.

If you need to get saved, you push them all out

of the way and say, I need to get saved. I'd

rather talk to you. Find my wife. Find any of

the pastors, any of the ministers, any of the

ministry team. Say, I need to get saved. Most

of you are saved. But I really felt strongly

in my heart that there are some of you today

that have walked in such compromise. You've been

swayed into such sin and weights of the world.

And you do not feel like a pearl of great value.

And I want you to hear the Gospel message today.

He loves you before you're shiny. He loved you

before you were shiny. Even in your struggles.

Even in your hardship. You're the pearl of great

price to Him. We sang the song, your blood is

enough, but do you believe it? Do you believe

it? Is it enough for you? Is it enough for you

to silence the lies of the enemy that says you'll

never be worth anything? You've compromised too

much. You have no future in God. Who do you think

you are? Is His blood enough for you? It is.

Go to this pause right here. I'm just going to

ask the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, would You just

begin to minister? Right now, I'm just asking

humbly, Holy Spirit, for those that are just

struggling with receiving love, with worth, with

receiving forgiveness. Right now, Father, Your

Word says that You pour out Your love into our

hearts by the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, come.

Break up those hard places. Silence those lies.

If anyone needs to be saved, Lord, draw their

heart to You right now by Your kindness. Lead

them to repentance. If any Christians just need

to let go and let Your blood be enough, would

You do it right now, Lord? In Jesus' name, Amen.

Alright, number two. Lessons about the Kingdom.

The pursuit of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

must be more than a secondary matter of convenience

a christ follower diligently seeks the kingdom

and requires it as the primary pursuit of their

lives switching directions back to kind of the

traditional view of interpretation of this passage

that we are the merchant seeking after the kingdom

The pursuit of the kingdom of heaven on earth

must be more than a secondary matter of convenience.

A true Christ follower diligently seeks the kingdom

and requires it as the primary pursuit of their

lives. Here in verse 45, it says again, the kingdom

of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine

pearls. The word looking here, I think we have

this up there. In the Greek, zateo. Listen to

this. It means to seek after, to desire, to endeavor,

to require. You see, that's more than a casual

glance. Do you see that? When Jesus says to His

disciples, I want you to seek first the kingdom

of heaven, the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

And everything else, don't worry about everything

else. The pagans worry about those things. If

you'll seek first His kingdom, He'll make sure

you have everything you need. It was a command

as He's teaching His disciples about the priorities

of their life and how to follow Him in kingdom

mandate. And then we see this story in which

the parable of Jesus saying, the kingdom of heaven

is like a merchant. Could we go to that next

one? Merchant. The Greek word emporos, a merchant

as opposed to a retailer or petty tradesman.

This is someone that gets their life. Their whole

life's purpose, right, is to find pearls. Their

whole livelihood depends on it. This is not some

petty retailer. It's not somebody part -time

doing this thing. A merchant is a full -on tradesmen

all right and then the other definition one on

a journey whether by sea or by land especially

for trade so what jesus and and we don't really

have this in our culture But in Jesus' culture,

you had all these trade routes in the biblical

history in which people were coming across the

globe in these trade routes, and they were bringing

these possessions that they're going all over

the world and finding, and they're bringing these

fine possessions for trade. And Jesus is saying,

listen, the kingdom person is like that merchant

that has set their face. Their life is to find

fine pearls. And they're out there, and they're

not just casually glancing around. Hey, I wonder

where I could find a nice pearl today. No, because

their life depends on it. They are seeking. They're

endeavoring. They're desiring. They're even requiring.

I've got to find the pearl of great value. What

am I going to do? How am I going to provide for

my family? How am I going to have any kind of

inheritance? My whole life's purpose is to find

that pearl. And in contrast, Unfortunately, we

have American Christianity that says, I can live

like the world, talk like the world, watch what

the world watches, entertain myself with what

the world entertains myself. Oh, and by the way,

in the name of Christ. And it's just not true.

It's not Christianity. Do you understand that?

That's not Christianity. If you're defining Christianity

the way Jesus defined it in the scripture, that

is not it. He said the kingdom of heaven is like

this. It's like a merchant whose life depends

on finding fine pearls is seeking, endeavoring,

requiring to find it. Where are those people?

You are them. Don't give up and don't go backwards.

The kingdom first lifestyle has to be the primary

direction of our lives. Yes, we got jobs. Yes,

we got families. Yes, we got bills to pay. All

of them are only tools to advance the kingdom

of heaven. And we have to have that perception.

I know we've talked about this a lot. You're

like, my goodness, Jesse, how many times are

we going to talk about this? Repetition is good

for us. It's good to learn. All right. Like I

said, going to be quick. All right. I'm going

to give you the choice. This is crowd participation.

Would you like to hear a quick story about one

of my daughters that was lost in an industrial

park in the Metroplex? Or would you rather hear

a story about how I lost the Army's keys to the

Armory and almost got an Article 15? All right.

Raise your hand for the daughter. Raise your

hand for the keys. All right. I'm going to tell

you the key story then. All right. For a very

brief time, when I was stationed at Fort Hood,

the training NCO moved to a different position.

And some of you will think this is funny. For

a very brief time, I was Corporal Tunnel. They

all thought that was a great joke, Corporal Tunnel.

But for a very brief time, I was a Corporal Tunnel

for about six months before I made sergeant.

During that time, the training NCO left, and

I was appointed by the commander as the training

NCO for our unit. Very brief time, just so they

could find a better replacement than me, which

was highly needed. But as the training NCO, you're

given the keys to the armory, all right? The

armory and... And they give you, back when they

printed out things on paper, do you remember

it had like the printouts with the holes all

down the side with the terrible thing? The terrible,

you could tear it off. Anyway, it was just pages

and pages and pages. And I'm talking millions

and millions of dollars of equipment. And then

a 24 -year -old is signing their name at the

bottom, Corporal Tunnel. Yes, I'm taking charge

of these millions of dollars of equipment. It's

an infantry unit. We got it. I mean, we got Bradley

fighting vehicles. We got saws, 249, Bravo. I

mean, we got all, you get it, a lot. So I had

the keys. Get the weekend off. Go down to hang

out with my family in Brownwood, Texas. It's

on my key chain in the cars. Go out on the swimming

dock because I'm an idiot. And I take off my

hat, my shirt to go swimming. I put my keys in

my hat, lay it on there. go swimming, we're having

a good time with family, get out, go to draw

off, go to put my clothes on, put my shirt on,

take my hat, go like this, and I hear a kaplunk,

all right, and those keys go to the bottom of

Lake Brownwood off the swim dock. And honestly,

it really is an article 15 if you lose honor.

It's not like you can go have another one made.

Do you know what I'm saying? Like, it's an Article

15, which is reduction in rank, reduction in

pay, and possible jail time. Right? It's kind

of a big deal, especially when you're a corporal,

you know. And so I was like, holy moly. What,

you know, full -on panic mode. Well, a couple

years earlier, I got my scuba diving certification

in Brownwood, actually, because that's where

I went to college. And I knew they had a scuba

diving shop, so I went. and I rented scuba diving

gear. All right, so I put on scuba diving gear.

I go down to the bottom of the lake underneath

the swim dock. Do you know what the visibility

in Lake Brownwood is? About two millimeters.

That's about it. It doesn't matter. Like, you

can't see jack squat. It's brown. That's all

it is. And so I start where I think they fell

off, and just by feel, I'm looking for these

keys. Minute. Five minutes, 10 minutes, 20. First

tank of air, gone. Go back into town, get a second

tank of air. Come back out. I'm trying to make

concentric circles. By the grace of God, I found

the keys to the armory on the bottom of Lake

Brownwood, all right? And I didn't get an article

15. And actually, you know more than my commander

knows because I never told him either, all right?

No need. No harm, no foul. We found them. But

you talk about someone frantically looking for

something of great value to them. The kingdom

of heaven has to be more than a casual pursuit.

It has to be our life. And people are like, Jesse,

that sounds too serious. Take it up with Jesus.

I don't know what to tell you. I don't know what

to tell you. You don't get to live your life

for yourself anymore. We're bought with a price.

We don't belong to us anymore. We surrendered

all our dreams and visions and plans for our

lives at the foot of that bloody cross. And now

it's... How do I further your kingdom, Jesus?

How do I live for your kingdom? How do I bring

salvation to the lost? How do I bring the power

of the Gospel to people's lives? How do I bring

unshakable righteousness, peace and joy in the

Holy Spirit? And everything else will be added

to you, right? Moms, I want to encourage you.

I want to highly encourage you because the kingdom

of heaven... is right there in those babies.

That is your primary and most beautiful assignment

is the kingdom of heaven being built up and released

in these disciples that live in your homes. One

of my daughters rides with me to church every

Sunday morning. I cherish it. And today I was

just... I was driving and I was thinking about

this whole concept. And honestly, Jill knows

I have the worst memory in the world. But things

that are precious, I can remember. And I was

just thinking about the years because we've been

pastoring this church for 18 years. My daughter's

only 14. And for years, we've been driving this

route to church. And I just started thinking,

man, I can remember when she was tiny and asking

me about questions about things outside the window,

right? And then they get a little older and they

want your phone. And I can remember driving,

watching her over there playing games on the

phone. And then they get their own phone and

you're driving, you're watching them on their

own phone. And today I was just watching her

put on her makeup. young lady, and I'm just thinking,

this is the kingdom. This is the kingdom of heaven.

Right? Moms, dads, you don't have to look very

far to see the kingdom. They sleep in that room

next to yours. It's valuable. It's precious.

You've got to be seeking first that kingdom.

Does that make sense? Alright, let's close with

this one, number three. Before we do, could we

just pause? If you need to repent for a casual

kingdom lifestyle and be like the merchant whose

life depends on finding precious pearls, let's

just respond to that. Lord, help us. Help us

to perceive what is primary and priority. Amen.

Alright, let's close with this. Do not undervalue

the kingdom of God. It's not illogical or irresponsible

to sell everything you have to purchase that

which has exponentially greater value. It is

a wise investment and excellent stewardship.

Can I read that again? Do not undervalue. the

kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God. It is

not illogical or irresponsible to sell everything

you have to purchase that which has exponentially

greater value. It is a wise investment and excellent

stewardship. So this merchant, he finds a pearl

of great value and then he goes and sells everything

he has to buy that pearl. And you say, Well,

that's crazy. I mean, what guy's going to go

sell everything, everything he has, household,

everything he has, to buy a pearl? Well, if you're

asking that question, you're thinking too small

about the pearl. Right? Because how many of you...

If someone offers you an investment to sell everything

you have which is worth $600 ,000, your net value,

and you get to trade that in to purchase something

worth $2 to $5 or $6 or $10 million, you're not

going to think twice about that investment. You're

like, duh. Right? I have this picture. Can I

show this picture? This is the world's most valuable

pearl. I thought the teenagers would like this

because Gig is such a... fun word right now,

but it is literally called the giga pearl, all

right? And it's valued at 100 million dollars,

okay? It is 75 pounds of pearl discovered by

this fisherman off the coast in the Philippines,

all right? Now, I was just doing the math this

week. I was thinking, Did anybody get their tax

assessment here in the last couple of weeks?

Did anybody else cuss? Okay, just me. All right.

Just kidding, children. I didn't cuss out loud.

Only in my mind, which is not much better. All

right. So I'm just looking at my tax assessment.

It says my house is worth $250 ,000. I'm just

rounding these numbers. It says my land is worth

$100 ,000, so that's $350 ,000. I'm thinking

like... The cars that we have, the gun collection,

the KitchenAid mixer, and the wiener dog, I'm

putting all that together. I'm thinking maybe

another $100 ,000. So I'm thinking, you know,

the tunnel net worth right now, I'm thinking

around $450 ,000, all right? If somebody says

to me, hey, what do you think about selling everything

you have and it'll buy this? You're thinking,

yes, please. I will spend that for the $100 million

pearl. Right? When the world says, what are you

doing? Why are you giving up career in the pursuit

of riches or whatever it may be? Or why are you

giving up this priority? Because we ought to

look different to the world. The Christ follower

should look strange to the world we live in.

Yes? We should look different. They should look

at us and go, why do you live that way? Why are

those your priorities? When the world looks at

us and says, it is crazy that you're trading

in the things of the world for faith to a God

you can't see, they just don't understand how

priceless the pearl is. And sadly, most Christians

don't either. That's why we haven't sold everything

for the kingdom. Now when I talk about sell everything,

please don't go give away your house today unless

God tells you to. Don't go give away your property.

Don't quit your job. That's not what I'm talking

about. God has no problem with wealth and careers

and fantastic things. They're just all second

in priority to the kingdom. They're all intended

as tools for the glory of the king on the earth.

But if your life is still about you and your

kingdom, I'm telling you, it's only because you

have not seen the... unspeakable value of His

kingdom. Because it would only make logical sense

for us to put everything on the back burner for

the kingdom of heaven. Does that make sense?

Does anybody know who Jim Elliot is? He's an

American missionary, was martyred for the gospel

in Ecuador in like the 1950s. He says a quote

that a lot of people know, but maybe you don't

know the context he later gave his life. He is

no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain

what he cannot lose. And there's a kingdom concept

that says, My King is so glorious and His reign

is so important to the salvation of the world

that I will give up every right to myself and

to this world if I can have that kingdom. If

I can be a part of that kingdom. If I can give

that kingdom to one other desperate, needy person.

What's interesting about the giga pearl, you've

got to go research this story. It's fantastic.

The guy was fishing. That guy was fishing in

a storm, and his anchor got caught on something,

and it was putting his boat in peril during the

storm. So he dove down to the bottom of his anchor.

and he found his anchor on this huge clam. And

in those areas, they say clams get 100, 125 pounds,

these mussels. And his anchor in the storm is

stuck on this pearl. You can't make this stuff

up. How many of you know that the pearl of the

kingdom is often found when you're anchored in

a storm? It is so true. It's the storms. It's

when everything is going crazy. that that's where

you find yourself anchored on what is truly important.

So this fisherman finds the pearl in that muscle,

and he doesn't know what it is. And for 10 years,

he keeps it in a burlap sack underneath his bed.

And in his mind, he's thinking it's a good luck

charm. So every morning, he rubs the pearl on

his way out for his fishing trip for good luck

on the fishing day. Ten years. He's possessing

a hundred million dollar pearl in a shack in

the Philippines under his bed. Is that you? Is

that you? Do you have the greatest collecting

dust under your bed spiritually? Is it your good

luck charm? Or is it the kingdom of heaven on

the earth? Being advanced. Violent men take hold

of it, it says. It's violently advanced on the

earth with intentionality, with purpose. You

know how they found out about this pearl? Fire.

The guy's house caught on fire. And the pearl

was revealed. And someone in his family, I was

reading that some of his family was a tourism

director and they put it on display in that little

village and then it became known to the world.

Isn't it amazing that the pearl of greatest price

in the world was revealed to the world by fire?

I can't make this up. Fire. Fire of hardship

and purity. fire of the Holy Spirit, and one's

coming greater than me that will baptize you

with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Fire will

reveal the priceless kingdom of God to the world.

Both the hardships we walk through and the fire

and passion of the Holy Spirit in us, on us,

and through us. Yes? Alright. Well, I mean seven

minutes early. That's early. Could we stand and

be released? Anybody want to be that merchant

that has found it and now everything is second

place to the kingdom? Do you want to be that

person? Anybody want to take the kingdom of heaven

out from underneath the bed? And let fire reveal

it to the world. They want to see it. They don't

even know how bad they want it. They need it

so bad. So Father, here are your sons and daughters.

We were the pearl of great price that you bought.

And we say thank you. And now you are our pearl

of greatest price. You and your kingdom. And

we say, God, take us. Rewire our brains to think

about Your kingdom first everywhere You send

us. And God, we're asking right now for fire.

Fire through the Holy Spirit. The fire of faithfulness

through difficulty and hardship. Purify us, God.

And set us on fire so that this world can know

You as their King and experience the beauty of

Your kingdom. Do anything You want with us. We

are a coin in Your pocket. Spend us any way You

want. And bless our mothers. In Jesus' name,

Amen.