Lessons About the Kingdom of Heaven from the Parable of the Treasure

Could we turn our Bibles to Matthew 13? Looking

forward to just the next few minutes together

as we look at this parable of the Kingdom of

Heaven. Matthew 13. Just one verse today. If

you can handle one verse. Verse 44. Chapter 13,

verse 44. By the way, I think I see all the children

have evacuated. We had the wrong message up there.

It said ages 5 through 9, but I think they got

the hint and left us anyway. So, see how it is?

Alright. Let's read together Matthew 13, verse

Matthew 13:44

44. Jesus speaking. The kingdom of heaven is

like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found

it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went

and sold all he had and bought that field. Boom.

There you go. Extremely long passage today. Would

it be okay if we just have a prayer of surrender?

Surrendering our hearts to Jesus' words. Jesus,

we thank You for this. verse, this passage that

You spoke, we surrender and we ask for a demonstration

of the Holy Spirit's power through Your Word

to create permanent, lasting change in our lives

so that Your kingdom would come and You would

be glorified in us. If you agree with that, would

you say amen this morning? Okay. The word amen

literally means let it be so. And when you say

it, you say, I agree. Let it be done in me. Alright,

so today's message, I'm always... It's always

like, do you even get to title a message because

it's God's Word? But if in humility we're going

to title the message, it would be Lessons About

the Kingdom of Heaven from the Parable of the

Treasure. Because that's what we're going to

do. lessons about the kingdom from the parable

of the treasure if you are just visiting or recently

coming back to the gathering we are in a journey

about of learning about the kingdom of heaven

and i would say it's been probably three four

five years now that we've we felt the lord really

focusing to learn about the kingdom and we've

put in a lot of time studying those things Getting

our identity that we are kingdom people filled

with the kingdom of heaven to be released on

the earth. And for those of you who were around

last year, we spent a good amount of time talking

about two topics. One, deeply loving one another

because if the church doesn't have love, it's

got nothing. It doesn't matter what we do. The

Apostle Paul said we can... Pray in the tongues

of angels. We can prophesy great things and do

great miracles if we don't love each other. We

have nothing. So, love. So, let me just remind

you, there's probably people in this room that

are going to be unlovable this week. Because

we're a family. We're going to go through struggles.

We're going to go through difficulties. We commit

to love one another deeply. That's what the Scripture

says. Love one another deeply because love covers

a multitude of offenses, trespasses, and sins.

And so last year we spent a good amount of time

talking about that coupled with a commitment

to maturity. Going deeper in our maturity in

the Lord. Not being swayed by the things of the

world or the doctrines of men. but digging deep

roots into the Scripture and biblical maturity

and loving one another. And those two things

we really focused on last year, building a foundation

for what we feel like God's called us to do this

year and in the years to come, which is to supernaturally

expand the kingdom of heaven on the earth. How

many of you know and believe the Scriptures?

Jesus is coming back. Alright? It doesn't matter

how we feel. It doesn't matter what we want.

The reality is Jesus is returning. And He's returning

as the King. The judging King. Right? And so

in this season of the New Testament church, our

job is not just to be saved and try to be better

people. If the purpose of salvation was to just

get us to heaven, then we would ascend to heaven

once we're saved. But the purpose of the salvation

of mankind the genesis of the new testament church

is that we have a job to do and our job is to

know the kingdom of heaven on the earth inside

of us jesus said that in luke 17 right that when

people say there's the kingdom don't look here

and there because the kingdom is inside of you

you got to get it in you first you got to understand

the kingdom of heaven is in you right everything

you need god has placed in you by his spirit

to advance the kingdom of heaven on the earth

When we talk about the kingdom of heaven, what

are we talking about? We're talking about the

reign of the King. Jesus. Jesus' reign and where

He reigns, there's righteousness, peace, and

joy in the Holy Spirit. All the things we've

been talking about for years. And so we're in

this season in which God has called us as a church.

It's time to supernaturally expand the kingdom

of heaven on the earth. Preparing the world for

the return of Jesus. Because as we've talked

about in the weeks past lately, for some of us,

we're pumped about the return of Jesus. We're

like, the Spirit and the Bride say, come, Lord

Jesus, come. We want Jesus to come today. But

you have to understand, for all these people

and the millions like them in the world right

now that don't know the blood of Christ, the

coming of Jesus will not be a good day. You get

it, right? Perspective. And so our job is to

represent the King and advance the Kingdom of

Heaven so that these people in our lives say,

that is appealing. I want that. And they're drawn

to the King and His reign becomes real in their

life. They get saved. They get set free. They

get delivered. And then they start impacting

their spheres of influence. And then they, and

then they, and then they. And revival comes to

the world until Jesus comes. And that's our goal.

That's our job. That's our world. That's our

life. That's the purpose we exist. So, what are

some things we can learn from the passage here?

Number one, if you're taking notes, that's great.

It's helpful. When you write things down, it

helps you to remember them and you have a record,

something to help somebody with in the coming

week. Number one. The kingdom of heaven should

be viewed as a treasure chest full of unshakable

righteousness, peace, joy, and power provided

by the Holy Spirit. If that sounds familiar,

it's because it's just a direct quote of all

those passages underneath it. The kingdom of

heaven should be viewed as a treasure chest full

of unshakable righteousness, peace, joy, and

power provided by the Holy Spirit. You remember,

Jesus is teaching these parables. Why? Because

He's trying to teach His disciples what the kingdom

of heaven is like. And so He's saying, what is

the kingdom of heaven like? It's like this, and

it's like this. We've been talking about these

parables. And Jesus says, how can I help my disciples,

my followers, understand what the kingdom of

heaven is like? He's like, ah, I got it. The

kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in

a field. Now, do we have that next slide for

treasure? When we look at this Greek word for

treasure, the sauros, the Greek word there, it's

not actually talking about the treasure, the

gold, the silver, the jewels. It's talking about

the receptacle you keep them in, which is interesting.

It's defined as the place in which goods and

precious things are collected and stored. A coffer.

A receptacle in which valuables are kept. So

Jesus is saying, how do I help my disciples understand

what the kingdom of heaven is like? He says,

the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure chest.

Think about that. The kingdom of heaven is like

a coffer, like a receptacle that holds beautiful

and wonderful things. And when you and I are

looking and saying, Jesus, how can I expand the

kingdom of heaven on the earth? We need to understand

that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure

chest. Now, maybe it might be a little more helpful

to think of it like this, because how many of

you are going to carry a treasure chest around?

It's a little cumbersome. But maybe, did anybody

here grow up or your children grew up watching

Dora the Explorer? Alright, and she had the backpack

that had everything you ever needed in the backpack

and a lot of things you don't need. Maybe you

see it spiritually like that in that you are

carrying with you a treasure chest. Of everything

that the kingdom provides. I have this picture.

Alright? This is a very young sergeant tunnel

in 2003 on the left there. This is Major Bennett,

our operations officer. My unit was in Iraq when

Saddam Hussein was captured in a dirty little

hole like the dirty little animal he was. And

inside that hole was this toolbox, spray -painted

green, and that is $750 ,000 U .S. cash in all

100s, right? And when they pulled them out of

the hole, that was my unit. I was not there.

But it was my job in the first 24 hours to do

guard duty over the $750 ,000. And everybody

always asks. I didn't bring any home. It all

stayed right there. in that treasure chest, right?

But the kingdom of heaven is like that green

tool box that's holding all the treasure. Could

we go back two slides to the verses? Hebrews

12 .28 says the kingdom of heaven is unshakable.

Yes? Romans 14 .17 says, the kingdom of heaven

is not a matter of the flesh, of eating and drinking,

but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy

Spirit. 1 Corinthians 4 .20 says, the kingdom

is not a matter of talking, but a matter of power.

Matthew 12 .28, Jesus says, and when I cast out

demons, you'll know that the kingdom of heaven

has come. Luke 9 .2, Jesus sends out the disciples

and says to them, Preach the message of the kingdom

and heal the sick. The kingdom and the power

go together. And so when we're looking at what

can we learn from what Jesus is teaching us in

the parable, we have to start viewing it this

way. The kingdom of heaven is this invaluable

treasure chest filled with every good thing that

we need in every moment for the purpose of the

kingdom. Do you understand? Unshakable righteousness.

What does that look like? What does unshakable

righteousness look like? Like many of you did

again today. Receiving the blood of Jesus as

an unshakable gift no matter how I feel. Unshakable

righteousness can also be demonstrated like we

talked about last week. In a very real way, is

that you ought to be the very best employee that

your employer has. Because righteousness, unshakable,

works out like integrity, like excellence in

what God has called you to do. What does unshakable

peace look like? I think you know. It looks like

many years ago when Jill and I were borrowing

an RV. Borrowing an RV. And the last thing the

person said to us is, I never let anybody borrow

this RV, but I'm going to let you borrow it.

Haunting words. And when we were in Colorado,

I ran the RV under a cover of a church, no less,

and ripped the air conditioner off like a tin

can. And it was snowing into our RV because there

was such a huge hole in the roof. And I crumpled

like a little baby under the weight of what I

had just done. And the only person I knew there

was the pastor of the church that we had visited.

And I called him and I said, Pastor Al, I just

need help. I don't know what to do. I've never

had an RV before this happened. He shows up as

a man of unshakable peace. Jill and I, how many

years ago was that? I don't know. Fifteen years

ago. And we'll still remember the moment he showed

up at that RV park filled with peace. And when

He came in, peace settled on us. Because the

kingdom of heaven brings an unshakable peace.

And that's ridiculous. That's an air conditioner

on an RV. But what about all the life -altering

incidents going on in the lives of people all

around us? And they're in chaos. They're in pain.

They're in confusion. It's unshakable peace.

You have it in the kingdom of heaven. And it

needs to be expanded. Right? Unshakable joy.

Joy is not dependent on circumstances. Joy is

rooted in who God is. Right? And we can walk

through the worst days of our lives with an unshakable

joy. And power. The word power literally in the

Greek is dunamis where we get our word dynamite.

And it literally, literally in the Greek means

miracle working power. You and I have been given

by Christ who is our King reigning in His kingdom.

He has authorized us with His authority and His

power to do great miracles in His name that His

kingdom would be expanded. Alright? So let's

just stop right there and let's just change the

way we think. The kingdom of heaven has very

little if nothing to do about church and religion.

It has everything to do about the presence of

Jesus walking into horrible, crazy, dark, chaotic

places. So let's just pause. If you need to repent,

which means just change the way you think and

align your thinking with Jesus, you just need

to receive the treasure that is the kingdom.

And Jesus, we commit to think like You think.

And You told us to think this way. The Kingdom

of Heaven is like a treasure chest. Help us to

wear that backpack with confidence, Jesus. Amen.

Number two, we're writing these things down.

The Kingdom Person is actively and intentionally

seeking the kingdom of heaven wherever God has

placed them. The kingdom person is actively and

intentionally seeking the kingdom of heaven where

God has placed them. In Matthew 6 .33, he's talking

about all the crazy situations of the world,

all the things we worry about. He's teaching

and he says, don't run after these things like

the pagans do. But instead, what? Seek first

the kingdom of God and His righteousness. There's

a seeking that we do. The word seek literally

means to search out with effort, right? In this

passage, Jesus is saying, listen, the kingdom

of heaven, guys, is like a treasure that a man

found in a field. He says, in the passage says,

it's like a treasure that was hidden in a field

and a man found it. Let me ask you, how does

a man find something in a field that's hidden

if he's not looking for it? He doesn't. If something

is hidden, you don't just find it in happenstance.

That's why Jesus said, I need you to seek first.

I need you to pursue. I need you to search after

the Kingdom of Heaven. And part of that comes

at salvation when we receive the blood of Jesus

and our eyes are opened and we're covered in

destiny and the kingdom of heaven becomes alive

to us. And that's very important, but it's only

the first step of many, many, many days ahead

of us. And then from there on out, our job is

to wherever God sends us to be looking for the

kingdom. Where is the treasure today? As I go

into work, as I go into marriage relationship,

my relationship with my children, whatever season

that you're in, whatever sphere of influence

that God has given you, He has called you to

be a person who is intentionally and actively

looking for the kingdom. Do you do that? That's

what a kingdom person looks like. A kingdom person

looks like this. They wake up in the morning.

They get fresh filling and anointing of the Holy

Spirit. And they surrender and say, God, how

can I expand Your kingdom today? Everywhere You

send me today, give me eyes to see. Could you

go to that next slide there? Okay. Exactly. I

think we already said that. Let's look at this.

Maybe I didn't put it up there. But in Matthew

13, let's look at some verses that Jesus said

prior to that. In verse 13 -17. Matthew 13, verse

Matthew 13:13–17

13 -17. He's still talking in parables. Verse

13 says, This is why I speak to them in parables.

Those seeing, they do not see. though hearing,

they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled

the prophecy of Isaiah, you will be ever hearing,

but never understanding. You will be ever seeing,

but never perceiving. For these people's heart

has become calloused, and they hardly hear with

their ears, and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear

with their ears, understand with their hearts,

and turn, and I would heal them. Alright? Pretty

harsh judgment. But then listen to Jesus turning

it in His revelation of the kingdom. He says,

but blessed are your eyes because they see, and

your ears because they hear. For I tell you the

truth, many prophets and righteous men longed

to see what you see, but did not see it, and

to hear what you hear. but did not hear it. What

is Jesus doing? He's releasing a revelation in

the earth that says these things used to be hidden

by mankind, but in these days He's revealing

it and now you have eyes to see and ears to hear.

And you are blessed. You are blessed because

there's been plenty of men and women in history

that long to see, hear, and know the things you

now see, hear, and know about the kingdom. And

so, what we're looking for are eyes and ears

that are ready to see and hear the kingdom anywhere

He sends us. Let me ask you this. Why was the

man in the field in the first place? Jesus said,

the kingdom's like this. It's like a treasure

chest that was hidden in a field and a man found

it. Why is he in the field in the first place?

It's not his field. Because the passage later

tells us that he sold everything to buy it. So

why is he in the field? Is he just traveling

through? Possible. Is he a hired worker working

somebody else's field? Possible. Both of them

are highly applicable. Whether we're traveling

through what we feel like is a situation that

we don't even think has a whole lot of purpose.

Anybody ever felt that way? You're just kind

of getting up, going through the day, going to

bed. You feel like, man, this is a dry season

of my life. I feel like there's not a lot of

purpose. I feel like I'm just traveling through

life. It's a lie from the enemy. You are in the

kingdom. The kingdom is in you. And you need

to have eyes and ears ready to see and hear where

the kingdom needs to be expanded. Was he working

in somebody else's field? I don't know. Possible.

also applicable. It doesn't matter what you're

doing. It doesn't matter who you're working for.

It doesn't matter what your job is or why you're

in the field, why you're in the world. Your greater

purpose is the kingdom of heaven on the earth.

You've got to be looking for it. I told you just

last week. I did it again this week. Worked a

couple of shifts at the PD. Right over the door

handle. Big postcard says, RTK, release the kingdom

duct taped. So every time I open the door of

the patrol unit, I have to lift up the release

of the kingdom paper to be able to get out of

the vehicle. Because I want a mentality that

God didn't send me on this shift today for any

other reason than to expand His kingdom. And

that goes for you and what you're doing and where

God has put you and the people He's given you.

Are you seeing it? Do you have eyes to see it?

Well, Jesse, I didn't realize any situation this

week. You missed it. But praise God that He's

merciful. I did it again this week. You know

how many shifts or situations that I get out

of and the next day I'm like, you idiot. It was

like a perfect opportunity to release the kingdom

and you totally missed it. So what do you do?

I'm sorry, Lord. I'm sorry I missed it. Would

you help me not to miss another opportunity?

I don't want to miss one opportunity. Because

this life isn't about me. It's about your kingdom

in the earth. We're going to have all kinds of

situations this week. We're going to run into

all kinds of people. Just yesterday was Palapino

County County Cleanup Day in which they open

all the dumpsters for free and you can bring

all your trash. on the one day of the year you

can bring everything you want to throw away for

free and uh jill was like hey we really need

to do this i was being lazy he's like i don't

want to do that today waited to the last minute

we loaded up the trailer we go down to uh the

county cleanup he says pull up to this dumpster

we unload everything we're about to pull up and

we see an elderly lady pull up in a pickup by

herself and she has an entire demolished back

porch just stacked boards and so I say to Jill,

hey, let's help this lady out. She's like, okay.

So we get over there, put our gloves on. We spend,

you know, what is it? Five, seven minutes, but

would have taken her a really long time to unload

this into a tall dumpster by herself. And we

get done and she says, thank you so much. And

we're like, yeah, absolutely. No problem. I think

Jill said, hey, God love you. And last night,

last night, I thought to myself, You are an idiot.

Because that was the perfect opportunity to say,

you know what? I feel like God brought us here

together so we could help you. Is there anything

I can pray for you about? Do you know who Jesus

is? Do you know how much He loves you? The only

reason why we were stopped to help is because

of the love He's shown. It was like heaven opened

up. with the perfect opportunity. And I'm like,

I'm hungry. Does anybody else feel that way or

is it just me? Okay, thank you for those of you

who just lied to make me feel better. Thank you.

It's non -stop opportunities. God, just give

us eyes to see. Could we just stop right here?

And allow God to move in our hearts. If you need

to repent because maybe you have been living

your life and it's about you and your kingdom

and your progress and your pleasure. I understand.

I do that all the time. Just repent. Repent right

now. Change the way you think. Align your thinking

with Jesus. And if you're interested in receiving

greater sight, greater hearing for kingdom purposes,

and you'd like to, let's just put our hands out

in front of us in a receiving posture. You don't

have to. I'm just inviting you if you want to.

Lord Jesus, we know that our purpose on this

earth is Your kingdom. And we're tired of missing

opportunities that You set up for us. And thank

You for Your kindness, Your mercy. Thank You

for... The ones that we've missed, you've got

a plan to bless them in other ways. We understand

that, but we don't want to miss it. So we're

asking You right now, take the scales off our

eyes. Unplug our ears that we would be sensitive

when Your Spirit prompts us. In Jesus' name,

do you receive that? Amen. Alright, let's close

with this one. Number three. Number one, the

kingdom of heaven should be viewed as a treasure

chest. Number two, the kingdom person is actively

and intentionally seeking the kingdom. And thirdly,

the kingdom person is marked by joyful sacrifice

to put the kingdom and the glory of their King

as primary in their life. The kingdom person

is marked by joyful sacrifice. Can those two

words go together? They can in the kingdom. Joyful

in sacrifice. Let's read again what Jesus said.

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden

in a field. And when a man found it, he hid it

again, and then in his joy, went and sold all

he had and bought that field. You've got to love

it. You've got to love because Jesus is saying,

man, guys, this kingdom is so great. It's like

this. This guy finds a hidden treasure chest

full of the glories of the kingdom. And with

joy in his heart, he goes and sells everything

he has so he can have that treasure. Joyful.

Sacrifice. The word joy in the Greek, the word

kara, it's listed here as cheerfulness, calm

delight, gladness, and exceeding joy. Jesus said

it was His joy to sell everything He had because

He so valued the kingdom. begrudgingly. It wasn't

something Jesus made him do. It was his joy.

The sacrifice to be a part of the kingdom. Could

we just meditate on this for a second? Joyful

plus sacrifice. I genuinely believe that a true

kingdom man, woman, child, person, their life

is going to be marked by these two characteristics.

Yes, it will be costly at times, but even in

the moments of cost, even in the moments of hardship,

they will be people of joy. This is why we spent

so much time looking at maturity in the faith

last year. Because so much of maturity is built

by hardship. And we want to and are going to

be people's lives that are marked with joyful

sacrifice. Because there are a lot of people

that live joyful lives because their lives are

all about pleasing them. Right? Anybody ever

live that way? I had a pastor tell me when I

was young, he was like, if you're not enjoying

sin, you're trying the wrong sin. Because how

many of you know sin is enjoyable for a season?

It gives birth to death, but in the moment, it

feels good. If it didn't feel good, nobody would

do it and we wouldn't have an issue. And so,

there's plenty of people who live these happy,

joyful lives because their world revolves around

them and they're consumed with their own pleasures

and they're having a blast. And then you've got

people who are sacrificial people and they're

big crybabies about it. And they're angry and

they're bitter and they're resentful because

of the sacrifices. that they have to make. And

a lot of Christians live in that camp. Oh, woe

is me. I have to die to myself. I don't get to

do what I want to do. If I live with Jesus, I

have to give up everything I wanted to do. And

there's this issue of sacrifice with no joy.

But in maturity, it comes to this place that

we are people of joyful sacrifice. We're people

that aren't living for ourselves. We've laid

down our lives. We no longer belong to ourselves.

We've been bought. We are slaves. We are servants.

And we're happy about it. Yes? I was thinking...

Let me see if I can do this correctly without

getting in a lot of trouble. Alright. Jill and

I, we've been married for 25 years. Glorious

25 years. And looking forward to at least 25

more. Let me see. I think this is an honest statement.

It doesn't matter how good your marriage is,

it's a lifestyle of sacrifice. I got the best

wife in the world by far. By far. Glorious. And

it's still a laying down my life relationship

to be married to her. And her to me. But you

know what? I love my marriage. My wife is my

best friend. I love sharing the beautiful times

in my life with her. I love weeping together.

All of it. It is wonderful. And even though,

yes, it is sacrificial. Yes, the time is hard.

Yes, I have to continually say no to myself because

my job is to honor the king and honor her. I

don't sit around and begrudgingly count all those

costs because of the joy that's in my life for

getting to be her husband. And here's what I

want to say. If you're struggling with joyful

sacrifice, could it be that you're operating

in a religious system and not one of intimate

love? Because as long as your sacrifice for Jesus

is a religious system or a checklist, it's going

to be really hard for you to be joyful about

all the sacrifices you're going to make. But

if it's a bridegroom whom you adore, then all

the sacrifices are no sacrifice at all to get

to be with Him. It's like kids. It's like having

kids. If you were to logically and analytically

list out how much they're going to cost, how

much sleep they're going to cause you to lose,

how much fear and anxiety they're going to potentially

cause, and you list out all the things of why

it's not a good idea to have children. You would

never have any. It makes no human sense why you

would ever choose to have children on the books.

Right? But then, you hold them. And it's cheek

to cheek. And you watch them run to you at the

end of the work day and embrace you. And you

go fishing with them and you go hiking with them.

And never once do you count how many dollars

you spent to raise that kid. Or how many hours

of sleep you lost. You never once think about

it. Because the joy of being their parent outweighs

all the sacrifice that went in to have them.

And that's what I'm talking about in our relationship

with Jesus. It has to be one birth out of intimate

relationship. Listen, if Jesus isn't your friend,

good luck living a life of sacrifice and not

being a bitter, old, resentful person about it.

Because it's a duty you're going to have to do

tomorrow and the next day and the next day, and

that's going to get old when it's a religion.

But if He's a man that you're madly in love with,

That you adore? That you cherish? My aunt had

this debilitating disease. As a young teenager,

she began to lose her balance and fall down a

lot and that progressed until I think she died

at 36 or 37. She slowly lost her legs and the

bottom half of her body and upper torso. was

a paraplegic, no arms, but could use her hands,

lost hands, but could still talk, lost talk.

And eventually, the end of her life, all she

could do was blink to communicate until she died.

And my grandmother took care of her her whole

life. And you know, some of you have been caregivers

in a really difficult situation, but we're talking

about 24 -7 and she never hired out care. That

was kind of in the days before you did that.

24 -7, she lived. And when my aunt died, I'll

never forget my grandmother standing up at her

funeral and she said, for all those that have

been thanking me for my sacrifice, I wanted to

go on record and say it was never a sacrifice

to me. Right? Because when you love someone,

The hardship, the cost is so outweighed by the

joy and the beauty of getting to be with them.

And we are invited to partner with the King of

Kings. And not just to advance His kingdom, but

to be His friend. Hardship. What hardship? It's

eclipsed by the joy of being called His. It's

all about perspective. Because let's be real.

That's a good sermon, bro. I like that. That

was good. But tomorrow my job is crappy. And

I work with people that get on my nerves. Or

maybe tomorrow you wake up. And your marriage

is crappy. You're like, Jesse, good for you.

Love that 25 years. Or maybe your marriage is

over. And you're struggling with what's left

of that. It doesn't matter what the difficulty

is. It's great. Rah, rah, rah. Let's preach a

good sermon anointed. Yeah, let's all cheer.

But tomorrow, tomorrow, what's going to sustain

you in joyful sacrifice? You have to remain.

with Him. That's what Jesus said. If you want

to bear much fruit, you've got to stay. Stay

attached to the vine. Remain. Dwell. Stay. Endure.

It's the only way that the kingdom person is

going to be able to say, I will sell everything

I own to buy that treasure. It's got to start

with relationship and it's got to be maintained

by relationship. It's all about your perspective.

People ask me all the time, how's the PD or how's

the church going? And I'm sure I've responded

to you. You've heard me in this way. I tell people

all the time, I've got the best two jobs in the

world. I've got the best two jobs in the world.

To get to pastor and preach the Gospel and wear

a gun and have lights and a siren, it's like

the two best jobs in the world. I mean, honestly,

I go, really, this is my life? But guess what?

There's a whole lot of crappy things about being

a pastor. I don't know if you've ever been around

one closely. But there's a lot of really crappy

things. Just like there's a lot of really crappy

things about your job. There's a lot of ones

that make me want to quit all the time. Being

a cop is so fun. About 30 minutes out of a 12

-hour shift. And the rest... I had a DWI this

week with a person that didn't speak English.

So it went from a 3 -hour call to a 5 -hour call.

And I was just like... But when you ask me, I'm

not lying. When you say, how's the church? I

say, I've got the best two jobs in the world.

It's not like I'm lying. It's because I have

the perspective that yes, those things involve

sacrifice, hardship, but it's the joy of my life

to be able to serve the Lord in these two ways.

And it doesn't matter how crappy my job is for

the week, I try that always as my response because

it reminds me. This isn't something you have

to do. This is something you are blessed to get

to do for the King. Perspective. Kingdom perspective.

Joy in the sacrifice. Does that make sense? Alright,

could we close in this way? Do you mind if we

all stand together? Just stand one more time

for me. Visitors are like, man, this guy asked

us to do all kinds of stuff. I had someone tell

me this past week, we saw a visitor come into

service the other day and we said, just give

us at least three times to try us. She said they

left during worship and that was it. So I don't

know. So if you're a visitor, maybe one more

time. I don't know. We want to be the kind of

people, right, that are operating out of an...

unshakable joy because of an intimate relationship

we have with the Lord. And so, could we just

pause for a moment as we close? And would you

just talk to Him and tell Him, I'm sorry I've

been living as a bitter, angry person. I'm sorry

that I've been begrudgingly doing the duty of

Christianity. And Jesus, I'd really like to fall

in love with You again. Jesus said to the church,

hey, I see you're doing all kinds of great things,

but this one thing I have against you, you lost

your first love. I feel like that's some of us

today. Somehow it morphed into a religious duty

and we lost the intimacy. Come back home. He's

not mad. He wants you back more than you want

Him. Proven by His blood. Alright, and then can

we take a moment and just commit, Lord, we're

going to live sacrificial lives and we're going

to do it with joy. It will cost you to advance

the kingdom. Don't be mistaken. It will cost

you to live a kingdom -first lifestyle. But it

pales in comparison to the reward. And His name

is Jesus. So Lord, here are Your sons and daughters.

We've really messed this thing up in a lot of

ways. Thank You for Your mercy and Your grace.

We receive it. And we're committing to be kingdom

people. Being willing to sacrifice anything.

to have You and Your kingdom purpose in our lives.

Would You please give us eyes and ears to see

every opportunity. I pray for us this week, not

one missed kingdom opportunity. Not one. By Your

grace, Lord. Would You bless my friends today

with wonderful encounters with You that their

hearts would be welded to Yours this week through

the Word, through worship, through walks, all

of it. Just encounters with You. Would You protect

their marriages, their lives, their bodies until

we meet again? I ask in Jesus' powerful name,

Amen.