WEBVTT 00:00:03.310 --> 00:00:05.429 Dear God, we thank you so much for all that you 00:00:05.429 --> 00:00:09.070 do for us. We thank you for bringing us to this 00:00:09.070 --> 00:00:11.769 place. Lord, we want to pray for the folks down 00:00:11.769 --> 00:00:14.830 the hill that they'll have some meaningful conversations 00:00:14.830 --> 00:00:17.850 and meaningful contacts. And somebody will get 00:00:17.850 --> 00:00:20.350 a book or a Bible study that will help them to 00:00:20.350 --> 00:00:22.829 start thinking about you and their relationship 00:00:22.829 --> 00:00:26.350 with you. And be with us as we open up your word 00:00:26.350 --> 00:00:30.350 today. May you inspire us. May you impact our 00:00:30.350 --> 00:00:33.590 life. And may we leave here more in love than 00:00:33.590 --> 00:00:38.509 when we came. In your name we pray. Amen. So 00:00:38.509 --> 00:00:43.729 Ludivine went out in the morning and didn't return 00:00:43.729 --> 00:00:47.149 for a while. Now, Ludivine's a two -year -old 00:00:47.149 --> 00:00:51.189 bloodhound, a dog, and they opened the door like 00:00:51.189 --> 00:00:53.890 they do every morning, and Ludivine went outside 00:00:53.890 --> 00:00:57.929 and didn't return, but people didn't think too 00:00:57.929 --> 00:01:00.619 much about it. But when... this dog finally got 00:01:00.619 --> 00:01:06.060 back, it had an unexpected treasure. You see 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:09.219 this two -year -old bloodhound as it went out 00:01:09.219 --> 00:01:12.299 into the yard and ventured out a little bit further, 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:16.739 it saw people running. And Ludivine decided, 00:01:17.099 --> 00:01:20.359 hey, I want to run along too. It turned out it 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:23.040 was the Elkmont Half Marathon was happening, 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:26.480 and Ludivine joined this group of people running. 00:01:27.079 --> 00:01:30.819 And they were running 13 .1 miles. And Ludivine 00:01:30.819 --> 00:01:34.379 decided, you know what? I want to run 13 .1 miles. 00:01:34.579 --> 00:01:37.620 And so as these people were running, this dog 00:01:37.620 --> 00:01:41.459 joined in. It ended up actually coming in seventh 00:01:41.459 --> 00:01:45.680 in the half marathon. A few people were a little 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:49.019 faster. And the owner did not know this was happening 00:01:49.019 --> 00:01:52.980 until people's friends started sending pictures. 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:56.079 Hey, your dog is down here. at the finish line 00:01:56.079 --> 00:02:00.019 of the race. And when Ludivine got home, they 00:02:00.019 --> 00:02:03.239 had received a little race medal as a finisher 00:02:03.239 --> 00:02:07.120 of the race. As I said, an unexpected treasure 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:12.740 as this dog came in seventh place. Now, we love 00:02:12.740 --> 00:02:16.159 treasures as humans. We love stories about treasures 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:19.139 and hidden treasures and sunken treasures and 00:02:19.139 --> 00:02:21.979 all the different things. And we as humans, we 00:02:21.979 --> 00:02:26.870 love stories. Whether you're a child getting 00:02:26.870 --> 00:02:29.990 told a story by a parent or grandparent, or whether 00:02:29.990 --> 00:02:33.289 you're the one telling the story. We love stories. 00:02:33.509 --> 00:02:36.389 Whether you're a pastor telling a story or a 00:02:36.389 --> 00:02:40.210 congregation listening to a story, let me just 00:02:40.210 --> 00:02:43.750 remind you or inform you, you may or may not 00:02:43.750 --> 00:02:46.509 realize this, but the part of the sermon that 00:02:46.509 --> 00:02:49.449 you remember is going to be the story that gets 00:02:49.449 --> 00:02:52.150 told. You may remember a story about a dog that 00:02:52.150 --> 00:02:54.550 ran a half marathon. And you may not remember 00:02:54.550 --> 00:02:56.909 much else of what I said, but you're going to 00:02:56.909 --> 00:03:01.610 remember the story because human nature, we love 00:03:01.610 --> 00:03:05.650 stories. And guess what? Jesus told stories. 00:03:05.669 --> 00:03:09.530 Throughout his ministry, one of his ways of getting 00:03:09.530 --> 00:03:14.830 important messages across was to tell stories. 00:03:15.009 --> 00:03:19.509 And so today is our first of a new sermon series 00:03:19.509 --> 00:03:22.930 called Stories of the Kingdom. So over the next... 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:26.439 Several weeks through the summer, when I'm here, 00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:28.979 we're going to be exploring some of the different 00:03:28.979 --> 00:03:34.680 stories that Jesus told and the truths that are 00:03:34.680 --> 00:03:37.419 behind them. So our scripture reading this morning 00:03:37.419 --> 00:03:40.439 that Colton did such a good job was in Matthew 00:03:40.439 --> 00:03:43.300 chapter 13. And let's go back there and look 00:03:43.300 --> 00:03:48.500 at Matthew chapter 13. We'll start in verse 10. 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.159 It said, the disciples came and said to him, 00:03:53.340 --> 00:03:58.000 why do you speak to them in parables? Why do 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:01.740 you tell stories? And Jesus answered and said 00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:05.620 to them, because it has been given to you to 00:04:05.620 --> 00:04:09.319 know, and then it says, the mysteries of the 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:13.759 kingdom of heaven. But to them it has not been 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:16.980 given. And we recognize that as we look at many 00:04:16.980 --> 00:04:21.069 of Jesus' parables, There were times when a certain 00:04:21.069 --> 00:04:25.509 group kind of understood or they recognized what 00:04:25.509 --> 00:04:28.509 was happening in the story. In a couple weeks, 00:04:28.629 --> 00:04:30.930 we'll look at the parable of the sower and the 00:04:30.930 --> 00:04:33.790 different soils that were there. And many people 00:04:33.790 --> 00:04:37.110 were farmers and understood bits and pieces of 00:04:37.110 --> 00:04:39.709 that. Or they understood different concepts. 00:04:40.310 --> 00:04:43.829 But there were players to the stories that Jesus 00:04:43.829 --> 00:04:46.769 told. So he could tell a story, and whether it 00:04:46.769 --> 00:04:49.370 was a young person, They could get a moral from 00:04:49.370 --> 00:04:51.370 it, whether it was someone who was wanting to 00:04:51.370 --> 00:04:53.889 follow God, they could get a lesson from it. 00:04:53.930 --> 00:04:56.389 And even one of the religious leaders who were 00:04:56.389 --> 00:04:59.290 maybe opposed to the ministry of Jesus, they 00:04:59.290 --> 00:05:03.209 could gain some kind of lesson if they would 00:05:03.209 --> 00:05:06.889 listen to it, if they would hear that message 00:05:06.889 --> 00:05:10.029 that was there. But Jesus said they could understand 00:05:10.029 --> 00:05:14.490 the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Now that's 00:05:14.490 --> 00:05:18.079 an interesting phrase, kingdom of heaven. Because 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:22.079 only, only the Gospel of Matthew talks about 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:24.779 the kingdom of heaven. There are other Gospels 00:05:24.779 --> 00:05:27.899 that talk about the kingdom of God, but only 00:05:27.899 --> 00:05:31.000 Matthew talks about the kingdom of heaven. And 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:35.160 that phrase is used about 31 times in the Gospel 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:38.040 of Matthew. Let's look at one of those. Let's 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:41.379 go to Matthew chapter 4. So way back to the very 00:05:41.379 --> 00:05:44.439 beginning of the Gospel, to the beginning of 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:50.970 Jesus' ministry. Matthew 4, verse 17, as Jesus 00:05:50.970 --> 00:05:54.810 is just starting his ministry, notice what his 00:05:54.810 --> 00:05:58.610 message was. John, excuse me, Matthew 4, verse 00:05:58.610 --> 00:06:03.970 17. It says, from that time, Jesus began to preach 00:06:03.970 --> 00:06:08.069 and to say, this was his message, repent, for 00:06:08.069 --> 00:06:11.750 the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom 00:06:11.750 --> 00:06:16.779 of heaven is at hand. And so as Jesus was beginning 00:06:16.779 --> 00:06:20.079 his ministry, he said, this is the message. The 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:25.160 kingdom of heaven is here. As the people of that 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:28.420 day had studied those prophecies from the prophet 00:06:28.420 --> 00:06:32.959 Daniel, where it talks about 70 weeks, 490 years, 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:36.399 they could begin to do some math and realize, 00:06:36.579 --> 00:06:41.000 hey, we're coming down to a close of that prophetic 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:43.920 time period. Something... must be happening. 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:47.560 There must be this Messiah, and Jesus came, John 00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:51.439 the Baptist came, the disciples proclaimed this 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:55.519 message, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is 00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:57.660 at hand. Now, this is a different kind of kingdom 00:06:57.660 --> 00:07:00.240 than maybe what the people were anticipating. 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:04.879 This was not a kingdom of armies, not a kingdom 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:09.879 of swords, not a kingdom of victory, of conquering 00:07:09.879 --> 00:07:13.329 nations. not a kingdom of castles or anything 00:07:13.329 --> 00:07:17.870 like that, but this was a kingdom of grace, a 00:07:17.870 --> 00:07:22.170 kingdom of love, a kingdom of acceptance. As 00:07:22.170 --> 00:07:26.930 Jesus came, he reached out to various ethnicities, 00:07:26.930 --> 00:07:31.050 to various socioeconomic levels, to various, 00:07:31.250 --> 00:07:34.009 whether it was a leader or a servant, whether 00:07:34.009 --> 00:07:37.649 it was a soldier or a priest, Jesus could reach 00:07:37.649 --> 00:07:40.959 out to people across the spectrum. with this 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:44.300 kingdom of grace, with this kingdom of acceptance. 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:48.759 And he says, now the kingdom of heaven is at 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:51.399 hand. Now that was a message, this kingdom of 00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:53.560 grace that goes all the way back to the Garden 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:56.639 of Eden. As soon as Adam and Eve fell, there 00:07:56.639 --> 00:07:59.199 was a sacrifice that took place. There was a 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:02.779 promise of a Messiah, of a Savior that was to 00:08:02.779 --> 00:08:06.480 come. And it was a, throughout the Old Testament, 00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:10.470 this idea of a coming. kingdom of grace was there. 00:08:10.589 --> 00:08:13.629 Now, it was kind of intertwined sometimes with 00:08:13.629 --> 00:08:17.290 this kingdom of glory, which is also talked about. 00:08:17.750 --> 00:08:21.149 And that's a kingdom that's not quite here yet. 00:08:21.269 --> 00:08:24.170 That's the one we're still anticipating. That's 00:08:24.170 --> 00:08:27.290 the one we're looking forward to. That's the 00:08:27.290 --> 00:08:30.209 one that the Bible mentions and Jesus also talks 00:08:30.209 --> 00:08:34.429 about. But this kingdom of heaven, Jesus could 00:08:34.429 --> 00:08:39.539 say, is here. It's at hand. And as Jesus proclaimed, 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:42.700 as he told stories, as he preached messages, 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:48.019 he talked about this kingdom of heaven. For instance, 00:08:48.179 --> 00:08:51.519 the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6, and 7. 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:54.620 Those three chapters are almost entirely those 00:08:54.620 --> 00:08:57.200 red letters. Those are the words of Jesus, and 00:08:57.200 --> 00:08:59.379 we refer to that as the Sermon on the Mount. 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:02.159 And as Jesus begins that Sermon on the Mount 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:07.250 with what we refer to as the Beatitudes, Beautiful 00:09:07.250 --> 00:09:09.870 passage, maybe you've memorized it at some point. 00:09:09.970 --> 00:09:12.909 The very first one, the very first beatitude, 00:09:13.049 --> 00:09:18.730 it says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for 00:09:18.730 --> 00:09:24.570 theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is proclaiming 00:09:24.570 --> 00:09:27.090 and talking about this kingdom of heaven. Just 00:09:27.090 --> 00:09:29.549 the chapter before that we read, repent for the 00:09:29.549 --> 00:09:32.409 kingdom of heaven is at hand. Blessed are the 00:09:32.409 --> 00:09:35.409 poor in spirit, for theirs is... the kingdom 00:09:35.409 --> 00:09:38.210 of heaven. And if you were to read through that 00:09:38.210 --> 00:09:40.789 Sermon on the Mount, a great Sabbath afternoon 00:09:40.789 --> 00:09:44.769 activity, you would find there a description 00:09:44.769 --> 00:09:48.490 of what it means to be a citizen of the kingdom 00:09:48.490 --> 00:09:51.809 of heaven. It doesn't mean we have to wait until 00:09:51.809 --> 00:09:54.450 we're in the clouds of glory, but we can begin 00:09:54.450 --> 00:09:57.970 to live out that citizenship in the kingdom of 00:09:57.970 --> 00:10:02.789 heaven even now. Because the Bible tells us You 00:10:02.789 --> 00:10:06.870 are the salt of the earth. You are the light 00:10:06.870 --> 00:10:11.250 of the world. The city set on a hill cannot be 00:10:11.250 --> 00:10:13.929 hidden. He goes on and talks about we need to 00:10:13.929 --> 00:10:18.090 turn the other cheek. If someone is mean to us, 00:10:18.129 --> 00:10:20.710 if someone speaks ill of us, we don't have to 00:10:20.710 --> 00:10:24.370 fight back. We can turn the other cheek. He talks 00:10:24.370 --> 00:10:28.409 about being a people of prayer. And he shares 00:10:28.409 --> 00:10:31.059 the Lord's prayer, which we... shared together 00:10:31.059 --> 00:10:33.559 just a few moments ago. That's part of what it 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:36.919 means to be a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:41.820 He talks about the law of God, but in the Sermon 00:10:41.820 --> 00:10:45.679 on the Mount, Jesus actually expands it. It's 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:49.240 not just 10 things to do or not do, thou shalt 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:53.259 not, but Jesus expands it. So it's not just those 00:10:53.259 --> 00:10:57.320 actions, but it's our thoughts and our attitudes. 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:02.980 You've heard it said, Do not kill. But I say 00:11:02.980 --> 00:11:06.080 to you, don't be angry with your brother. Don't 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:08.139 be angry with the people around you. So it's 00:11:08.139 --> 00:11:11.220 not just an action, but it's a thought, and it's 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:14.639 an attitude, and it's an intent. And he goes 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:18.740 on and says, seek first. Seek ye first the kingdom. 00:11:20.059 --> 00:11:23.480 We can live out our lives as citizens of the 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:26.700 kingdom even now. And as we begin to look at 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:29.779 some parables today, we're going to see how Jesus 00:11:29.779 --> 00:11:33.019 talks about these parables of the kingdom of 00:11:33.019 --> 00:11:35.700 heaven. And we're going to look at two different 00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:39.320 ones, very short little parables, but both of 00:11:39.320 --> 00:11:41.120 them are about the kingdom of heaven. And we 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:44.320 can understand that as Jesus talks about these 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:46.399 different things, they're not contradictory. 00:11:47.379 --> 00:11:49.519 They're not saying different things, but they're 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:53.620 looking at the same object, the same truth from 00:11:53.620 --> 00:11:56.220 a different angle. So we can perhaps get a fuller 00:11:56.220 --> 00:11:59.730 picture. of what it means to be part of the kingdom 00:11:59.730 --> 00:12:01.830 of heaven. So let's turn back to Matthew chapter 00:12:01.830 --> 00:12:06.490 13. Matthew chapter 13. And as I said, we're 00:12:06.490 --> 00:12:08.009 going to come back to the beginning of Matthew 00:12:08.009 --> 00:12:11.429 13 on a future week, but we want to just look 00:12:11.429 --> 00:12:15.549 at two short little parables here, starting in 00:12:15.549 --> 00:12:22.129 verse 44. Matthew 13, starting in verse 44. Notice 00:12:22.129 --> 00:12:26.549 what it says. Again, the kingdom of heaven is 00:12:26.549 --> 00:12:30.710 like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man 00:12:30.710 --> 00:12:35.730 found and hid. And for joy over it, he goes and 00:12:35.730 --> 00:12:40.549 sells all that he has and buys that field. That's 00:12:40.549 --> 00:12:43.090 it, just one verse. The kingdom of heaven is 00:12:43.090 --> 00:12:47.009 like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man 00:12:47.009 --> 00:12:51.549 found and hid. And for joy over it, he goes and 00:12:51.549 --> 00:12:55.519 sells all that he has and buys that field. So 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:58.360 you could imagine perhaps someone who doesn't 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:01.759 own a plot of land, but maybe rents it for a 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:04.360 season. I'm going to pay someone some money. 00:13:04.620 --> 00:13:08.620 I'm going to plant some seeds, some wheat or 00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:11.539 some barley into this land, and then I'm going 00:13:11.539 --> 00:13:13.539 to harvest it, and I'm going to make a little 00:13:13.539 --> 00:13:16.019 profit even though I'm paying for the land. And 00:13:16.019 --> 00:13:20.019 so as this man is turning the soil, plowing up 00:13:20.019 --> 00:13:23.679 the soil, moving rocks out of the way, getting 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:26.740 everything ready, But suddenly, you know, he 00:13:26.740 --> 00:13:29.899 hits something, and it doesn't sound like a rock. 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:33.059 Maybe it clinks a little bit. Maybe it sounds 00:13:33.059 --> 00:13:36.220 like metal or something. And so maybe he takes 00:13:36.220 --> 00:13:38.960 his spade or his shovel, and he digs around, 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:43.440 and was it a chest? Was it an old leather bag 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:46.519 that maybe had some holes rotted out in it? But 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:51.360 he sees something of value, a treasure, as it 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:54.659 says, that had been hidden. A treasure had been... 00:13:54.730 --> 00:13:58.929 hidden. Now think about the day and age that 00:13:58.929 --> 00:14:01.450 they lived in. They didn't have, you know, an 00:14:01.450 --> 00:14:05.009 ATM that they could go get cash from. They didn't 00:14:05.009 --> 00:14:07.049 have a credit card to use at the marketplace. 00:14:07.750 --> 00:14:10.230 There weren't even banks. You couldn't, you know, 00:14:10.230 --> 00:14:12.649 go deposit your check into the bank where it 00:14:12.649 --> 00:14:16.309 would be safe. And so people would want to protect 00:14:16.309 --> 00:14:19.190 their valuables, their treasure that they had. 00:14:19.309 --> 00:14:22.610 And one way that they would do that, they would 00:14:22.610 --> 00:14:27.159 bury it. In the ground. And so the way this seems 00:14:27.159 --> 00:14:31.240 to be written is this wasn't new. This wasn't 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:34.820 newly placed. Perhaps somehow you could tell 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:38.559 it had been there a long time. So you could imagine 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:42.360 if someone hid some treasure, what happened to 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:46.480 that person? Maybe raiders came and killed them 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:50.100 in some sort of battle that took place. Or maybe 00:14:50.100 --> 00:14:52.850 they had gone on a journey and... and died of 00:14:52.850 --> 00:14:55.889 sickness or disease or whatever happened. Whatever 00:14:55.889 --> 00:14:58.870 happened here, this man recognized that this 00:14:58.870 --> 00:15:01.409 money, no one knew about it. It had been there 00:15:01.409 --> 00:15:04.490 a long time. And you would think, well, he could 00:15:04.490 --> 00:15:08.669 just take it and got some money now. But apparently, 00:15:08.750 --> 00:15:13.250 he wanted to make sure that he had an honest 00:15:13.250 --> 00:15:18.179 deed, an honest right to this land. And so he 00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:20.480 doesn't just take the money, but it says he hides 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:25.220 it again. He buries it again. And then, for the 00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:30.340 joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has 00:15:30.340 --> 00:15:34.659 so that he has enough money to purchase that 00:15:34.659 --> 00:15:37.899 field. Think about it if your spouse came home 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:41.980 tomorrow and started selling everything in your 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:45.230 house. you know, pitting on Facebook Marketplace 00:15:45.230 --> 00:15:50.549 or a giant yard sale. Silverware, yeah, we could 00:15:50.549 --> 00:15:53.129 sell that silverware, couldn't we? And the couch, 00:15:53.309 --> 00:15:55.830 we could sell that. That'd be worth, you know, 00:15:55.830 --> 00:15:58.610 50 bucks, 100 bucks. What about the bed? What 00:15:58.610 --> 00:16:01.029 about the quilt that your mother gave you? We 00:16:01.029 --> 00:16:03.429 don't need that. And the spouse would be like, 00:16:03.529 --> 00:16:08.370 have you gone crazy? What are you doing? Why 00:16:08.370 --> 00:16:11.029 are you doing this? Well, there was a reason. 00:16:11.070 --> 00:16:14.169 There was a purpose. It wasn't just to get rid 00:16:14.169 --> 00:16:16.590 of the things that he had, but it was to get 00:16:16.590 --> 00:16:20.029 something better. It was to get this treasure. 00:16:20.210 --> 00:16:23.330 And it says the kingdom of heaven is like this 00:16:23.330 --> 00:16:28.509 treasure that is hidden in the field. This treasure, 00:16:28.690 --> 00:16:32.610 this kingdom of heaven is of more value than 00:16:32.610 --> 00:16:36.210 anything that we could possibly have, that you 00:16:36.210 --> 00:16:41.110 have in your presence, in your existence. That 00:16:41.110 --> 00:16:43.629 is what we need to do, even if we have to get 00:16:43.629 --> 00:16:48.649 rid of everything else. It was about the 1940s, 00:16:48.649 --> 00:16:54.269 and there was somewhere in the vicinity of southern 00:16:54.269 --> 00:16:57.610 Israel, there was a young boy who was taking 00:16:57.610 --> 00:17:00.350 care of the sheep, and one of the stories says, 00:17:00.429 --> 00:17:02.970 well, one of the sheep was missing, and he was 00:17:02.970 --> 00:17:05.990 trying to find it, and well, maybe it went up 00:17:05.990 --> 00:17:08.799 into that cave up there, and so... Let me throw 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:11.240 a rock up there and see if I can make this sheep, 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:13.440 you know, make a sheep noise. And then I'll know 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:16.039 that that's up there. And so he's throwing rocks 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:18.440 into different caves looking for this lost animal. 00:17:18.900 --> 00:17:22.099 And he doesn't hear any sheep noises. He just 00:17:22.099 --> 00:17:24.359 hears the rock clanking on other rocks until 00:17:24.359 --> 00:17:27.680 he throws it up into one. And it's not the normal 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:33.079 sound, but it's a crash. Something broke. Something 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:37.119 that you wouldn't expect to be in a cave. And 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:41.339 so he scales up into the cave and they find a 00:17:41.339 --> 00:17:45.940 broken pot, big clay pot, and in fact there's 00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:49.640 many, many of these clay pots. Not just in that 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:53.440 cave, but in many of the caves around this area 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:57.099 of Qumran. And it turns out this was the beginning 00:17:57.099 --> 00:18:01.019 of the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls. These 00:18:01.019 --> 00:18:04.559 scrolls that had been handwritten by the Essenes 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:07.190 had been... placed into these caves for protection 00:18:07.190 --> 00:18:10.089 and had been sealed up into these clay pots. 00:18:10.809 --> 00:18:14.829 And in the 1940s, they began to discover these 00:18:14.829 --> 00:18:19.750 dead sea scrolls, these handwritten pages of 00:18:19.750 --> 00:18:22.789 God's word. They were valuable as historical 00:18:22.789 --> 00:18:27.549 artifacts from, you know, BC time, like 100 BC 00:18:27.549 --> 00:18:31.170 in that time frame. They were valuable as artifacts, 00:18:31.269 --> 00:18:34.880 but they were priceless. Because they showed 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:41.299 the process of copying God's Word, of copying 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:44.539 the Scripture. Because these Dead Sea Scrolls 00:18:44.539 --> 00:18:48.160 were a thousand years older than any other manuscripts 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:50.700 that people had. And when they compared them, 00:18:50.819 --> 00:18:56.440 this is Isaiah, this is a page from Isaiah, they 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:59.920 found that what they had discovered from a thousand 00:18:59.920 --> 00:19:03.200 years previous to what they had, matched almost 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:08.539 completely exactly that as people were copying 00:19:08.539 --> 00:19:13.799 these biblical pages by hand that they were doing 00:19:13.799 --> 00:19:18.359 such a meticulous job that changes had not taken 00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:21.579 place because as they went back and study it 00:19:21.579 --> 00:19:23.759 when when the people were writing by hand when 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:26.339 they finished well they would like count how 00:19:26.339 --> 00:19:29.640 many words and how many letters they had And 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:32.160 if they had, you know, sometimes, oh, you skip 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:35.500 a word, you write the same word twice, you leave 00:19:35.500 --> 00:19:38.859 out a letter. Oh, if they had messed that up, 00:19:38.859 --> 00:19:41.599 then that page, guess what they did with it? 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:45.180 They trashed it. They got rid of it because this 00:19:45.180 --> 00:19:48.930 was God's word. This was a hidden treasure, and 00:19:48.930 --> 00:19:51.349 they wanted to make sure that it was preserved. 00:19:51.589 --> 00:19:54.509 And so this Bedouin shepherd boy, he wasn't looking 00:19:54.509 --> 00:19:57.150 for a treasure, but when he threw that rock and 00:19:57.150 --> 00:20:02.750 broke that jar, this incredible treasure of priceless 00:20:02.750 --> 00:20:07.009 value was discovered, was found. These words 00:20:07.009 --> 00:20:10.609 that reveal to us this kingdom of heaven, as 00:20:10.609 --> 00:20:13.650 we can have this word of God preserved, that 00:20:13.650 --> 00:20:16.269 we can examine it, that we can... explore it 00:20:16.269 --> 00:20:20.009 that we can seek after that incredible treasure 00:20:20.009 --> 00:20:24.170 and so that's one aspect of the kingdom of heaven 00:20:24.170 --> 00:20:27.670 it's like a treasure hidden in a field and whatever 00:20:27.670 --> 00:20:31.289 we do we need to try to to get that in our life 00:20:31.289 --> 00:20:34.930 but notice the next couple verses verse 45 it 00:20:34.930 --> 00:20:39.230 says again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant 00:20:39.230 --> 00:20:42.849 it's not hidden this time but he's seeking he's 00:20:42.849 --> 00:20:46.079 looking for something seeking beautiful pearls 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:49.980 who when he had found one pearl of great price 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:54.619 he went and sold all that he had and bought it 00:20:54.619 --> 00:20:58.680 so this is a merchant this is his job this is 00:20:58.680 --> 00:21:03.640 his his employment he goes to to purchase things 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:05.680 from different places and to bring them back 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:08.859 and to sell them and this particular trip he's 00:21:08.859 --> 00:21:11.700 looking for things of value he's looking for 00:21:11.700 --> 00:21:14.240 beautiful pearls Where does he go on this journey? 00:21:14.619 --> 00:21:17.539 I don't know, but he's seeking something of great 00:21:17.539 --> 00:21:22.180 value, and it says that he found one pearl of 00:21:22.180 --> 00:21:26.960 great price. Was it bigger? Was it more perfect 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:30.400 in its form and its shape? Whatever it was, this 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:33.200 was the one that he had to have. This was the 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:36.460 one that he needed. And just like the man with 00:21:36.460 --> 00:21:39.259 the hidden treasure, as he was seeking for this 00:21:39.259 --> 00:21:42.740 beautiful pearl, he found the one pearl. of great 00:21:42.740 --> 00:21:46.440 price. And it was of more value than everything 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:50.880 else that he owned. And so again, he went back 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:53.960 and he began to sell all the things that he had. 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:57.700 He began to get rid of everything else so that 00:21:57.700 --> 00:22:01.299 he could get this thing, which was of more value 00:22:01.299 --> 00:22:04.400 than anything else. And we can understand that 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:09.400 salvation through Jesus Christ is a free gift. 00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:14.700 We don't have to money to purchase that free 00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:17.720 gift of salvation. But what this understanding 00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:21.579 is that we must be willing to surrender all that 00:22:21.579 --> 00:22:26.940 we have in order to accept this free gift that 00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:31.079 Jesus gives us. We cannot earn salvation, but 00:22:31.079 --> 00:22:34.180 we are to seek for it with as much interest and 00:22:34.180 --> 00:22:37.140 perseverance as though we would abandon everything 00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:42.589 in the world for it. We can't pay for it, but 00:22:42.589 --> 00:22:45.509 we have to seek after it. We have to understand 00:22:45.509 --> 00:22:48.970 that that is the most important thing in the 00:22:48.970 --> 00:22:52.569 world as we seek after that incredible treasure. 00:22:52.869 --> 00:22:56.309 Let me tell you one more treasure story. This 00:22:56.309 --> 00:22:59.609 was from the 1920s. There was a gentleman named 00:22:59.609 --> 00:23:02.769 Howard Carter. He was seeking for something in 00:23:02.769 --> 00:23:05.349 a place called the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. 00:23:05.930 --> 00:23:08.349 And he thought for sure that there was at least 00:23:08.349 --> 00:23:12.480 one more tomb. of the ancient pharaohs, which 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:15.460 had not yet been discovered. And he had someone 00:23:15.460 --> 00:23:20.000 who was sponsoring his archaeological expeditions 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:22.359 there in the Valley of the Kings, but he'd been 00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:25.380 told, you've got one more season. He'd been at 00:23:25.380 --> 00:23:27.819 it for about 10 years. You've got one more season, 00:23:27.900 --> 00:23:30.359 and then I'm not going to sponsor you anymore. 00:23:30.599 --> 00:23:34.279 And so they begin in November, and they had one 00:23:34.279 --> 00:23:38.380 more season to hopefully find this. which they 00:23:38.380 --> 00:23:39.900 thought was there, but they didn't know where. 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:43.420 And just a couple days after they started this 00:23:43.420 --> 00:23:47.819 last season, the story is that there was a young 00:23:47.819 --> 00:23:51.880 helper, a young servant who was off at another 00:23:51.880 --> 00:23:54.779 part of the camp and stuck something in the ground 00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:57.099 and it hit something hard. And when they dug 00:23:57.099 --> 00:23:59.599 just a little bit further down, they found a 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:04.619 step. Just one step. But then, well, they started 00:24:04.619 --> 00:24:06.660 going a little further. And there was another 00:24:06.660 --> 00:24:09.220 step, and they started clearing out the dirt 00:24:09.220 --> 00:24:11.380 and debris, and the steps went down. I think 00:24:11.380 --> 00:24:14.559 it was 17 or 18 steps that they went down until 00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:18.519 they found a wall. This was a tomb. This was 00:24:18.519 --> 00:24:23.119 a tomb. And so they call the sponsor, Lord Carveron. 00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:25.119 I'm not sure if I'm saying that right or not. 00:24:25.240 --> 00:24:28.319 And when he comes, they wait for him to arrive 00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:30.920 from England a couple weeks later. And when he 00:24:30.920 --> 00:24:35.299 finally gets there, they get to this wall, and 00:24:35.299 --> 00:24:39.180 they... they break open the seal and they open 00:24:39.180 --> 00:24:43.339 up the room and Howard Carter shines a candle 00:24:43.339 --> 00:24:47.480 and he holds it up and his sponsor says, do you 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:51.140 see anything? Do you see anything? And he says, 00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:55.380 yes, I see wonderful things. That was the phrase 00:24:55.380 --> 00:24:58.099 he used. I see wonderful things because that 00:24:58.099 --> 00:25:01.619 flicker of the candlelight was glinting off the 00:25:01.619 --> 00:25:06.990 gold and the treasures. of King Tut, King Tutankhamen. 00:25:07.089 --> 00:25:09.950 That was the tomb that was discovered in the 00:25:09.950 --> 00:25:12.630 20s, and it was full of these treasures, and 00:25:12.630 --> 00:25:14.789 this was the one tomb that had never been touched 00:25:14.789 --> 00:25:18.230 by grave robbers. And so in all of its wonder, 00:25:18.390 --> 00:25:21.069 in all of its glory, they began to pull all of 00:25:21.069 --> 00:25:23.230 these things out, and it became one of the most 00:25:23.230 --> 00:25:27.509 famous archaeological discoveries in modern time, 00:25:27.609 --> 00:25:32.660 because they found this treasure. of a boy king 00:25:32.660 --> 00:25:38.440 who had died, and they saw wonderful things through 00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:43.000 the glitter of that candlelight. They were seeking 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:47.119 for a treasure, and they found what they were 00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:49.640 hoping for. They found what they were looking 00:25:49.640 --> 00:25:55.440 for. I want to tell you the story of Joyce. She, 00:25:55.500 --> 00:26:02.079 not too long ago, about a year ago, saw an advertisement 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:05.960 on the internet for some Bible studies. And she 00:26:05.960 --> 00:26:09.799 sent in, yes, I want to take some Bible lessons. 00:26:11.140 --> 00:26:15.400 She lives over in Chickamauga. And I showed up 00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:17.680 at her door a couple of weeks later with some 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:20.460 Bible lessons. And she began to do some Bible 00:26:20.460 --> 00:26:22.700 lessons and did one set. And do you want the 00:26:22.700 --> 00:26:25.519 next set? Yes, I would like to look at some more. 00:26:26.980 --> 00:26:29.619 And then she said, hey, where do you go to church? 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:33.299 So I mentioned the Rossville Seventh -day Adventist 00:26:33.299 --> 00:26:36.079 Church, which is close to where she lived. And 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:39.440 a few weeks later, she came to church. And about 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:42.400 a month ago, she decided that she wanted to get 00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:47.299 baptized. She was seeking after something. Whether 00:26:47.299 --> 00:26:49.640 it was a hidden treasure, whether it was a treasure 00:26:49.640 --> 00:26:53.640 that she was seeking after, she was able to find 00:26:53.640 --> 00:26:57.279 something and begin to have a new connection, 00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:02.079 a new walk. a new relationship with Jesus. And 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:05.380 she found this treasure that was hidden that 00:27:05.380 --> 00:27:08.319 she was seeking after. Now, so many people in 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:12.660 Jesus's day, even though they had these prophecies, 00:27:12.660 --> 00:27:16.259 even though they were anticipating a Messiah, 00:27:16.599 --> 00:27:20.059 they missed it. Notice what this says. It says, 00:27:20.119 --> 00:27:24.220 the Jews misinterpreted and misapplied the word 00:27:24.220 --> 00:27:27.779 of God, and they knew not the time of their visitation. 00:27:28.299 --> 00:27:31.359 The years of the ministry of Christ and his apostles, 00:27:31.559 --> 00:27:34.660 the precious last years of grace to the chosen 00:27:34.660 --> 00:27:38.420 people, they spent in plotting the destruction 00:27:38.420 --> 00:27:41.759 of the Lord's messengers. Here's the Son of God, 00:27:41.799 --> 00:27:44.579 Jesus Christ himself, and they're planning, how 00:27:44.579 --> 00:27:47.720 can we get rid of this guy? Earthly ambitions 00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:50.880 absorbed them, and the offer of the spiritual 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:56.200 kingdom came to them in vain. So today, The kingdom 00:27:56.200 --> 00:28:00.319 of this world absorbs men's thoughts and they 00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:03.920 take no note of the rapidly fulfilling prophecies 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:08.500 and tokens of the swift coming kingdom of God. 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:11.420 Because Jesus came and he said the kingdom of 00:28:11.420 --> 00:28:14.539 heaven is at hand and he showed us what it means 00:28:14.539 --> 00:28:17.440 to live as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. 00:28:17.539 --> 00:28:21.039 But as we said, the Bible also talks about another 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:24.539 kingdom and the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. 00:28:25.309 --> 00:28:28.710 Matthew 24 and other places, they point to the 00:28:28.710 --> 00:28:31.450 fact that I think Jesus is coming very, very 00:28:31.450 --> 00:28:36.589 soon. And as it says in Matthew 24, at the end 00:28:36.589 --> 00:28:38.990 of Matthew 24, it gives a little description 00:28:38.990 --> 00:28:42.809 here, starting in verse 30. It says, then the 00:28:42.809 --> 00:28:46.490 sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 00:28:46.650 --> 00:28:49.990 and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, 00:28:50.049 --> 00:28:53.369 and they will see the Son of Man coming in the 00:28:53.369 --> 00:28:56.759 clouds of heaven. with power and great glory. 00:28:57.259 --> 00:29:00.339 And he will send his angels with a great sound 00:29:00.339 --> 00:29:03.200 of a trumpet, and they will gather together his 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:06.460 elect from the four winds, from one end of the 00:29:06.460 --> 00:29:10.220 heaven to the other. That's not here yet, but 00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:13.119 that's coming soon. And could it be that we are 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:16.460 so absorbed in the things of this world, in our 00:29:16.460 --> 00:29:19.900 daily work, in our daily routine, that we're 00:29:19.900 --> 00:29:22.700 missing out on this? pearl of great price on 00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:25.380 this hidden treasure we're missing out on the 00:29:25.380 --> 00:29:28.960 most important thing and we're surrendering that 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:32.200 for the busyness of life i want to look at one 00:29:32.200 --> 00:29:35.759 more verse here in revelation chapter 11 way 00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:38.740 back to the very last book of of the bible revelation 00:29:38.740 --> 00:29:43.940 chapter 11 and verse 15 and we see what it says 00:29:43.940 --> 00:29:47.900 here in revelation 11 15 then the seventh angel 00:29:47.900 --> 00:29:52.500 sounded And there were loud voices in heaven 00:29:52.500 --> 00:29:57.460 saying, The kingdoms of this world have become 00:29:57.460 --> 00:30:02.019 the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and 00:30:02.019 --> 00:30:06.460 he shall reign forever and ever. If you're into 00:30:06.460 --> 00:30:08.980 music at all, you may have heard those words 00:30:08.980 --> 00:30:11.460 sung probably around Christmas time because that's 00:30:11.460 --> 00:30:15.720 a line from the Hallelujah Chorus. If you were 00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:17.980 listening to that song, it would go on and say, 00:30:18.039 --> 00:30:21.809 Hallelujah! hallelujah the kingdoms of this world 00:30:21.809 --> 00:30:24.630 have become the kingdoms of our lord and of his 00:30:24.630 --> 00:30:28.730 christ and he shall reign forever and ever and 00:30:28.730 --> 00:30:32.410 yes i think we can say hallelujah to that and 00:30:32.410 --> 00:30:35.210 so we must make sure that as we are living out 00:30:35.210 --> 00:30:37.890 our life as we are seeing how prophecies of this 00:30:37.890 --> 00:30:41.549 world are being fulfilled that we are pursuing 00:30:41.549 --> 00:30:46.349 that greatest thing that treasure that is hidden 00:30:46.349 --> 00:30:49.500 let's be willing to get rid of anything in our 00:30:49.500 --> 00:30:52.079 life which is preventing us from grabbing hold 00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:55.779 of that hidden treasure. Let's do anything that's 00:30:55.779 --> 00:30:58.059 going to prevent us from grabbing hold of that 00:30:58.059 --> 00:31:01.240 pearl of great price as we look forward to the 00:31:01.240 --> 00:31:03.920 day when Jesus comes again in the clouds of glory. 00:31:04.259 --> 00:31:07.160 I hope that as you go through this week, as you 00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:09.380 live out your life, that you will say, Lord, 00:31:09.460 --> 00:31:12.480 thank you for this precious gift. Help me to 00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:15.279 receive it and accept it each and every day. 00:31:15.420 --> 00:31:18.410 Let's bow our heads for prayer. Dear God, we 00:31:18.410 --> 00:31:22.769 thank you that there's promises that you are 00:31:22.769 --> 00:31:26.190 coming again. That there's promises that the 00:31:26.190 --> 00:31:29.390 kingdom of heaven is like something, maybe we'll 00:31:29.390 --> 00:31:33.049 find it unexpectedly. It'll be brought into our 00:31:33.049 --> 00:31:36.029 life. But when we see it, Lord, may it bring 00:31:36.029 --> 00:31:39.289 us great joy. Or Lord, maybe some here are seeking 00:31:39.289 --> 00:31:41.309 after something different, seeking something 00:31:41.309 --> 00:31:45.089 better. And Lord, I just hope that you will show 00:31:45.089 --> 00:31:47.809 them that incredible gift of salvation. like 00:31:47.809 --> 00:31:49.549 a pearl of great price, that they're going to 00:31:49.549 --> 00:31:52.950 be willing to set everything else aside in order 00:31:52.950 --> 00:31:55.690 to receive that free gift that you want to give 00:31:55.690 --> 00:31:57.950 them. God, thank you for all that you do for 00:31:57.950 --> 00:32:00.809 us, and may we live our life for you. In your 00:32:00.809 --> 00:32:02.349 name we pray. Amen.