Mark: We've started on parables. We're gonna go to Matthew, if you'll turn to the book of Matthew. also have a treat today because Pastor Gary, our founding pastor, is back from Africa. That's good stuff. So Matthew chapter thirteen, verse forty-four. Verse forty-four. The kingdom of heaven Is like treasure hidden in a field. Which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Let's pray, guys. Lord Jesus, we ask you today, Father, again, that you would speak to us fresh from your word. Lord, that you would carry your truth, that it would be planted into our hearts and it would bear fruit. Father, I ask by your name, by your spirit, that you would do the things that we cannot do in our own hearts. Father, where there's secrets that you'd reveal them. God, where there's barriers that you'd tear them down. Father, I ask that you would open our eyes, open our ears, help us to see in Jesus' name. Everybody said. Amen. So Jesus in Matthew chapter 13, it's recorded. There's a series of parables here. It's just machine gun fire of revelations of the truth. And today I'd like to just pick two parables to pull from. And of those two parables, I'd like for us to kind of focus on two words. One is decision, one's devotion. Decision and devotion. The first parable that we're looking at here is this treasure in the field. And when Jesus shares truth about the kingdom, he's sharing truth about himself. Because Jesus is the King, and Jesus is the truth. And so, as He talks, if we listen, you'll be able to hear not only what is true about the kingdom, but also what is in him, what's in his culture, what's in his way, what's normal according to Christ. And it unveils something about what is open to us as followers. Jesus shares this and he begins by saying that the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. And if you've ever been reading through the Gospels and going very slowly and you're looking at these parables, you begin to ask questions. Now, why would a treasure being in a field to start with? ⁓ For those who were there when Jesus shared this, the elderly Probably would have remembered their parents telling stories of when Rome joined Herod and set up siege works against Jerusalem. And they probably would have remembered this. This was the ⁓ throwing over of ⁓ Antigonus II. When this happened, Rome brought in, you know. catapults and were shooting iron bolts into the city and they finally broke in. The elderly may remember their parents talking about the sh the street to street fighting and then the looting that happened just after the battle. Peter, Andrew, James, John, their parents may have been alive to remember when Herod the Great passed away. And when he died, there were riots throughout Israel. They may have remembered and seen even the armies that ⁓ Varus, the governor of Varus, brought down south, three legions to put down these riots. ended up burning ⁓ two cities to the ground, one of them just four miles from Nazareth. So Mary and Joseph would have known about this destruction. It happened just but just an hour, a little over an hour's walk from Nazareth. Now I say all this to say every time in history there's major cataclysmic change, there's conflict, there's invasion, there's a decision to be made. And that decision is usually whether to run, to hide, or to fight. And after that decision is made, there's another. What to do with one's valuables? Do you take them with you? Do you try to send them to some other place? For most people, they would put it in the safest bank they knew, and that was in the earth. They dig a hole, they put everything that they couldn't take with them in that hole, and they had every plan of returning to it once. The trouble had passed. The problem is, for many people, they never made it back. Either because of capture or disease or death by sword, they never made it back to their treasure. And so treasure would stay hidden for weeks or for years or even for centuries until someone came along and happened to stumble across it. We have this treasure in a field. Anytime you see something like this, it it's good to kind of put yourself back in the perspective of the people that would have been hearing it. Because this almost could sound a little bittersweet to them. It would remind them of the fact that when trouble has come in the past, maybe even family members that they knew of or were connected to could have lost everything, all the inheritance. We have the treasure in the field, and then we have the man. Now, this is ⁓ something that is maybe worth kind of thinking about. Jesus is sharing that this man is digging in a field, or he comes across, he finds this treasure. And the question that I would say is, well, why is this guy in the field that he doesn't own? Poking around, right? There's a couple of options. He could be renting it. ⁓ it's very common in that area for that time of history for people to be leasing land in order to try to make an income, gra raise a crop for their family. It's also very common for individuals that have ⁓ settled into an area to become sharecroppers at some level. Then there's also the chance that this guy's just poking around where he doesn't belong. You know? How many of you guys have ever poked around where you didn't belong? Anybody? There's lots of giggles, no hands going up though. It reminds me of of something that ⁓ happened a a few years back, ⁓ quite a few years actually. My grandparents they lived in a town ⁓ called Fayetteville. It's right right Fort Bragg is located there on the east coast and and ⁓ they ministered and pastored there for years. And Fayetteville is not I wouldn't say God bless Fayetteville, by the way, but I wouldn't say that parts of Fayetteville were, you know, maybe the most safe areas to live in. And so these individuals ⁓ that that made up the community where my my grandparents lived, they were, you know, they were sold out. They were sold out believers. ⁓ but they were surrounded by ⁓ some some trouble. Okay. How many of you guys have ever lived in a rough neighborhood? Anybody? Okay. And so you kind of learned the difference between what's firecrackers and what's gunfire and all that jazz, you know, listening to it. So one night, my ⁓ grandparents they went out to have dinner, they come back and they discover their home's been broken into. The home's been broken into, and as they're going through, you know, the burglar probably just skipped out right before they got back, and he didn't get away with much, but he did get a tape recorder. And in the tape recorder, Was a tape? Now, I kid you not, guys, this really happened. The tape had a, you know, my grandparents, so they love the Lord, they were listening. It was a sermon, it was a message. A couple days later, their house was broken back into, but the tape recorder was returned. Kid you not. And the only thing they could re they could figure, I think there was a note left, if I'm not mistaken, that they could figure that he got home, tried out his new stolen merchandise, and got convicted. And came back to the scene of the crime to make amends. ⁓ and and I would just say this, guys, there is no telling where the kingdom of God is gonna find you. You could be in very odd situations. When you get the knock. And that's the master wanting in. And you have an opportunity. Just out of this, this man who comes across this treasure in the field, he realizes what he's found. It's extraordinary. And in a moment in time, his pulse quickens, probably, and everything becomes clear, everything becomes rational. He hides it, covers it up. If any of you guys have ever had like the investment opportunity of a lifetime, you're like not telling anyone, you know, whatever it is. And then he he he he goes off and he the only way to get this treasure legally is to own the land. That's the only way to do it. But this land costs two to three years wages, and most folks just don't have that laying around. So he does the only thing he knows to do. He starts Facebook marketplacing everything. Right. He starts getting rid of it as fast as he could. He gets the money and he goes and he buys the field. He buys the field. He gains the treasure, but he buys the field. Now, there's a few things that we can see right off of the surface with this. Number one, the kingdom might the kingdom might be hidden. In other words, you may not have eyes to see it. In fact, Jesus said to Nicodemus, he said, unless you've been born again, you cannot see the kingdom of heaven. There's an awakening sometimes, it has to happen before someone can even see it. Number two, the kingdom is valuable. It's valuable. It means that it should be esteemed above other things. Number three, it's attainable. It's attainable. It means you can have access to the kingdom if you want it. That brings us to number four. It may cost you a change in the way you live. That may cost you a change in the way you live. Those four things. Before we dive any deeper into this, I just want to have you consider for a second the mutual investment. This this idea that maybe we're looking at two different sides of the equation. And for many of us. You know, we read this parable and we see ourselves. We see that see the man that is looking for the treasure in the field, and he comes to it. He he he does whatever he has to do to in order to get it. But before we look at it that way, I'd like for you to consider from Christ's perspective. Because this is a parable about the kingdom, and he is the king, which means there's something about this. Discipline, there's something about this culture that's actually a part of Christ. It's a part of his way. Jesus is the one who seeks and saves the lost. He's the one who redeems. Acts 20 and Titus 2 tell us that he purchased and redeemed us with his own blood so we could be his people. We could belong to him. Hebrews tells us that he endured the cross for the joy that was set in front of him. 1 John 2:2 tells us that Christ died not just for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world. In other words, Anyone who wanted his way, anyone who wanted the kingdom could have access to it if they wanted. He paid everything that was necessary. He didn't just acquire the treasure, he bought the field. Does it make sense? If you're here today and you've ever wondered if Jesus really loves you. The end evidence, the end proof, the end reason is that Christ, while we were sinners, he died for us. He died for us. That's it. He bled out for you. That is the proof. And if there's ever a time where the enemy's whispering weird stuff in your head, go back to the fact. That your savor bled out for you. Why? Because he saw something in you that he wanted. He loved us first. He chose us first. He did what was first necessary so that we could then be with him. This story is a story of the how the kingdom works. When you find it, when you see it, you're willing to trade anything for it. ⁓ have you ever found something and you were so taken by it that you figured out any number of ways to acquire it? Has this ever happened to anybody? ⁓ I you know, I mentioned Facebook Marketplace just a minute ago. I'd love to see like fail footage of of individuals trying to pick up sofas without, you know, they they found the thing but they didn't have a way to transport it home. And they're like, no, this'll fit. This I'm sure this'll fit. there's something that happens to us though when we make that decision that now we've become devoted to carrying this decision to its end. And this can work against us, right? It can it can go the wrong way. You can might maybe dig in your heels on the wrong side of something and go a little too far without realizing that you're wrong. But with the kingdom, once you latch on to it, once you've made the decision. The devotion that got you to the point to decide this is it, that now is something that is laid at your feet to choose. Whether are you going to carry this out on and on? Is this going to be a moment of devotion that happens just for a minute? Or is this going to be something that you carry throughout your lifetime? Devotion. Jesus shares this parable and he switches verb tenses halfway through. And in the in the Greek, when when the man decides to go and to buy, sell everything he has so he can buy the field, everything happens very quickly. It's in the present, it's it's happening. It's almost as if Jesus is saying, look at this man, there he goes. There he's going. He's selling everything. Now he's gonna go and he's gonna buy the field. Everything is happening in in a little bit quicker pulse. And it's it's if if this were a romantic comedy, this would be the montage at the end where the guy realizes that the woman of his dreams is about to leave. Her plane is is about to take off, all right? And ⁓ he's in the meeting, right? And he stands up and he's like, I'm so sorry, I have to leave. And maybe his boss is like, if you leave right now, you're fired, you never come back. He was like, I'm sorry, I gotta go. And he runs down, he gets in his car, he breaks every speed limit on the way. He illegally parks at the airport, he pushes his way through security. And as he arrives at the gate with torn jacket and sweat rolling down his face, he says. Something really inspirational. He says, I don't want to grow old with anybody else. I know this is bad timing. You got a plane to catch. But I'm just hoping. I'm just praying that you'll spend the rest of your life with me. He gets down on one knee and then he gets maced and tased by TSA. And you know what? It was worth it. It was worth a decision. A decision like this comes with an expectation that it will cost you something if you really go all in. If you go all in, it's going to cost you something. Now, I want to be clear: salvation is free, it's a gift. The man didn't go to find his treasure. He didn't pay to have that treasure in the field, it was just there. He found it. But in order to embrace it, in order to own it, in order to live with it forever and ever, amen. It's great country song, by the way. ⁓ Almost broke out into it right there. It just came. It's actually very fitting with this. In order to walk that out for your whole life, it's gonna require something of you. It's gonna require something. And the point that Jesus is making here is that it's worth it. It's worth it. Jesus makes this point. throughout the gospels in multiple ways, you know, one of them would be saying this, you know, if your I offend you, what? Pluck it out. If your hand offends you, cut it off. Now, no one go out here today and maim yourselves. But Jesus' point is it's better to acquire that which is eternal that you cannot lose. Listen, guys, you can't lose it. It's better to acquire that than to keep the attachments you have to stuff that are just weighing you down. I want to look at three people that said yes when they found the treasure in scripture. And there's lots of these folks, but for time's sake, Zacchaeus. Zacchias was, as the song says, a wee little man. But he's a a wee little wealthy man. And that is a difference. So He he hears Jesus is coming, and this to him, this is the treasure. You know, this this he has found a treasure that he did not buy with his wealth. Think about that, guys. You know, we live in a really blessed time, but every now and then you come across something that you actually it's way more valuable and you actually didn't. Purchase it with what you had. It was a gift, it was grace, it was mercy. Zacaius, he he he comes on the road, he finds out where Jesus is coming, the guy climbs a tree. How many of you guys are climbing trees recently? He's willing to be humiliated. Jesus comes to his house and he says, if I've defrauded anyone, I'm gonna pay it back and some. And Jesus says, salvation's come to this house. He was willing to let go of his business model. He was willing to let go of his pride and his appearance and his arrogance, his position of power, in order to hold on to something that he knew was permanent. The thief on the cross, here he is. He's a broken man. But at his last moment, He's got just one shred of dignity left. He'd love nothing more probably than to just stick it to whoever just stuck it to him. You guys ever been in a bad mood? You felt like you've been betrayed or caught the wrong end of the deal. And instead of holding on to that pride, he says, Have you no fear of God? We I deserve to be here. This man has done nothing wrong. How many criminals do you know that are making that kind of come to Jesus statement? It requires a humility. He gives of his last dignity. Christ says, Today, you and me, bud, we're gonna be in paradise. Joseph of Arimathea. He followed Jesus. And I want you to think about this. He's he's a Jew. He is a believer in Torah. He is surrounded by a people who are ready to be free. And because of that readiness, they want someone who's strong and powerful and capable that can stick it to Rome. That's what they're looking for. And Joseph Once Christ is crucified, doesn't run and hide. He goes and buys linen. And he goes to Pilate and he begs for the body. How many how many of you guys think that his his dinner invitation ⁓ list over the next few months were just chock full? People wanted to all why don't we bring Joseph over and and ⁓ see what see see hang out with him because he always knows what to do. And here he is embracing the shame. Of a murdered messiah. He takes his wealth. And then he says, I I wanna bury him in my tomb. What I had prepared for my family, I'd actually like Kim there. He saw something and it was worth giving everything for. Now we look at his story and we say, Man, that guy he chose right. He chose so well. But in the moment, probably didn't feel like that, except for his love and the fact that he had eyes to see. He had eyes to see. The man that sells all that he has and buys the field, he has the treasure now. He finally has it. But he also has the field. And the thing about fields is, how many of you guys have a field on your property? What happens if you just let that field just go? It grows up. Animals start coming in. Before you know it, you've got problems. And what once may have been a profitable crop of land is now an eyesore. The responsibility that we have when we embrace Christ and His kingdom is that we now are working in His field. We're working in His field. We have the treasure, and now we have the responsibility, the duty, the privilege of working with Him. There are things that you will need to say no to in order to say yes to Christ. Some of you guys have already experienced this. Some of you may be heading into a fresh season of it where you know there's something that's kind of tickling at the corner of your heart that you'd rather not look at, or you'd rather not let go of, or you'd rather it not change. But yet, in order for you to take the next step with Christ. You're gonna have to let it go. And for some of you you'd be like, I I I wanna let it go, but I I I can't. I can't, I c I I I don't know how. I kinda like it. I hate it, but I like it. You sound like Paul. I want it, but I don't and My advice to you is to get honest with God. Get honest with him. If you don't want something that you're supposed to want, tell him. Jesus, I'm supposed to want this and I don't want it. I need your help. Or if you want something that you're not supposed to, be honest, tell him. Jesus, I want this thing and I'm not supposed to want it. I need your help. His spirit will work in you. His spirit will work in you. Matthew 19, Jesus is talking with his disciples, and someone has just come up and they've said, You know, hey, what what else must I do to inherit eternal life? And and Jesus says, Well, you know the commandments. They go through them. And ⁓ Jesus said, Well, look, this here's here's one more thing. Sell everything you have and come follow me. And the guy is wealthy, he can't do it. He walks away, and Jesus says, Truly I say to you, only with difficulties is Matthew 19. Will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven? Again, I tell you, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. The disciples heard this. They were greatly astonished, and they said, Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, With men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. Peter said, See, we've left everything and followed you. What are we gonna have? Have you guys ever thought that? Like you're you maybe you're like provoked by the Holy Spirit to give something or to say yes to something, but it it means it's just gonna be a sacrifice for you. And you're like, well, but how am I gonna? Who's gonna take care of me? Jesus said, Truly I say to you in the New World, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel and everyone, everybody say everyone. Who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for my name's sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be all right. Now, just word of wisdom. If the Lord isn't asking you to do something, don't do it. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Okay? The Bible is very clear. Let each man determine what he's going to give from his heart. Manipulation, this is not a place. This is a manipulation free zone. We just want you a solid hand in hand with the King. Amen? All right. Jesus has invested everything in you. And he is looking for you to invest everything in him. It's bi directional. It's bi directional. One thing that is kind of an uncomfortable truth though with this is that Jesus is a very shrewd investor. He is he expects fruitfulness. He expects a return on his investment. He's not foolish. He's passionate, but he's not foolish. That comes into play as we head into this next parable. But before we do, I'd like to read Titus chapter 2, verse 11 through 14. If you've got your Bibles, you can turn there. It says this: for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce. Everybody say renounce. Ungodliness and worldly passions. To live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people in his own possession who are zealous, everybody say zealous. Zealous for good works. Hebrews tells us that Moses had to make this choice. He enjoyed the riches of Egypt, but then he denied that to identify with what looked like shame. so that he could be attached to the glory that was to come. In other words, guys, not everything might look like it's played its full hand in this life. And the question is Are you still gonna be devoted? Is your faith still in the treasure? My Jesus sees, my Jesus knows, my Jesus understands, my Jesus is watching, and He's worth it. He's worth it knowing that on your last day when you close your eyes. It'll all be worth it. Jesus is invested and he's doing what's necessary to give you the best chance to grow. How many of you guys have ever been through something kind of uncomfortable or tough? Mm-hmm. Sometimes those are attacks from the enemy, but the Bible tells us that God can actually turn all things for our good. If we belong to him, if we're called according to his purpose. He can turn everything for our good. There are some times the Lord might put you in uncomfortable situations just to get you to grow. We have a parable here in Luke chapter 13. And it says this, he told this parable, a man had a fig tree and planted it in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and he found none. And he said to the vine dresser, Look for three years now. I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground? And he answered him, Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it. and put on manure, then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good. But if not, you can cut it down. Jesus is patient. But fruitfulness is expected. This is not cheap gospel, you know? John the Baptist said it this way that when he was preaching repentance, he said, bear fruit of repentance. You know, and we would work with kids for a while, and ⁓ you know, a kid would get caught in something or you know, hitting another one or whatever, and we'd say, Hey, you you guys come together, we need to make this right. And the kids would say, sorry. Guys ever since sorry. And so the older the kids got, I would stop and say, Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, what are for what are you experiencing all this sorrow? I mean, I know your heart is rent. You know. Tell me what and so I started encouraging him, said why why don't you ask for forgiveness instead? I need for forgiv I need forgiveness for what? For what do you need forgiveness? Jesus said something that it like it kind of offends us a little bit, but it is a reality we need to lock on to. He said, if you come to give your offering and you remember that you have ought against your brother, leave your offering. Go and be reconciled with your brother. State of your heart is so important and it's worth protecting. It's worth protecting, and our expressions of worship will not outperform the state of our heart. Do you guys understand? Your your expression of worship will not outperform the state of your heart. Meaning whatever we do here is one thing, but what are you doing when no one's looking? You know? How are you living? What choices are you making? Because that actually determines who your king really is. This something about these this topic kind of reminds me of a story I remember hearing when I was a kid, and I've never seen this. I should look up, I'm sure someone has a video of it. But if ever you need to catch a monkey. I hear that you can make a monkey trap, and the monkey trap is a hole that's big enough, just big enough for the monkey to slide his hand in. And then there's something in there he wants, he grabs hold of it, but it's not big enough for him to pull out again. And for some of us today, you may have a choice. Do you want to be free? Do you want to walk with the king? There's a real simple way. Let go. Let go of whatever is tying your heart down. Maybe it's unforgiveness. Maybe it's addiction of some kind. Maybe it's some form of porn or greed or divisiveness. Hurt. Let go of it. Let go of it so that you can take on to the treasure that never runs out. Do we all stand this morning? We're not gonna have an altar time this morning if if whatever's happening I I altar times are good, let me preface that. But whatever's happening in your heart between you and the Lord is as real where you're sitting here and the fruit of that will play out after today's service is over with. Question is Is there anything that's standing in between you and the ultimate treasure? Is there anything that you need to let go of? Is there anything that you need to say no to? So we're gonna take just a second. You guys can bow your heads, you can close your eyes. Just ask the Lord, Lord, is there anything in me that I need to let go of? Father, I ask by your Spirit, I ask by your name that you would anoint us as your people. Holy Spirit, I ask that you would convict us to righteousness. Father, if those if there are those today that feel trapped, Lord, I ask that you, the freedom bringer, Would begin to set them free. Lord, I ask also, Father, that as we're going through this week, every day, as we wake up, if there's something you want to bring in front of us to address, if there's something we need to go make right, Father, I ask and I give you permission to lean on our hearts. To submit in the Lordship of you because of the treasure. Father, for those who have a hard time saying no to things of the flesh, Lord, I ask that you would give them a vision of the future. For you young men, what kind of dad do you want to be? What kind of man do you want to become? For ladies, what kind of legacy do you want to leave? Father, I ask that you would give them a vision so that it would be set in front of them just like you. Joy set in front of them so they could endure and say no to whatever needs to be rejected. Name of Jesus. We trust God, you are the author, the finisher of our faith. We know that your spirit goes with us. Father, we take your word today in the truth, knowing that you are our source, you're our provider, and you're the one who works in us, God. You will present us pure and spotless for that day. Father, I ask that in Jesus' name for all of us. Everybody said, Amen. Listen, folks, on your way out today, please take time, whether you're giving on your phones, giving to the offering, to give to the truers, their final work. Stop by the table, say hello to them, and ⁓ just celebrate their last Sunday. You guys be so blessed today. Have a wonderful week.