Thank you for listening to this message from Life House Church.
Good morning, good morning. Turn to somebody give them a high five tell them it's good to see you at
Life House. Come on give them a high five give them a low five give them a I don't
know on the side five if you want but tell them it's good to have you here. We
want to take a moment and do something particularly special. Monday tomorrow a
team leaves to go to Tangier to do some mission work so I'm gonna ask if the
missions team would come up those who are going down to serve this coming
Monday and they're gonna be there for several days. Charlie's coming as he
heads this project this group up and he's gonna just tell you a little bit
about what's taking place in Tangier what this team will be doing and then
what we're gonna do is we're gonna pray over them. They're going out to
minister to people they're doing some work but that always involves
ministering as well so if you would just go ahead and share. I want to get you all
here in front come on you all being shy and go over to the side but let me get
everybody up front and if you would just share what's gonna take place. Yeah so
those you know we go over to down to Tangier Island we've done the trip here
church several times one of the places that we stay there is part of the United
Methodist Church in their education center and we house of the 50 some
members that go down there's about 25 people that stay in that education
center so it is a very busy place lots going on we have all of our devotions
there we eat all of our meals there but that building much like many other
places on the island is in need of some work so while we're there working and
using that space we can't really work on it so we have a small team that's going
to go down tomorrow spend a week down there we're gonna do some flooring work
and work to get some of the restroom facilities in a little better shape so
it's a quick project kind of down and back within a week and then possibly
another trip in the spring just to go down and help take care of things and
the building is a pivotal place on the island they use that for a lot of
get-togethers it's one of the big places that people come into so we're able to
go down and have an impact there and also help out the church the church down
there helps us out so much as a missions team and it's good to give back to them
too so we'll be heading down tomorrow yeah and if I remember the population
on the island is about 300 ish 350 and so a lot of activity happens at this area
so they're going down to have an impact there as well as I know I think working
with some widows right and some elderly those who are shut-ins as well so all
that's taking place so what I want you to do is a church I want you to stand at
this time I want you to put your hands forward and we're gonna pray over this
team some of you want to come up and pray you're not shy we you can come up
here as well but we want to lay hands on this morning and just pray over this
team as they get ready to go we're gonna pray for God's protection and God's
effectiveness as they go to share so father we come to you right now we're
just grateful we're thankful Lord for a team those who answer a call of going
and serving and Lord God this is truly the heart of God where we go and reach
out into communities and Lord we pray as they go God as they make their way
tomorrow God that you would give them ease and travel God that you would give
give them hearts and minds and spirits that are ready and perceiving and Lord
I'm discerning what's going on in front of them that they might not only labor
physically but God that they would minister to every person they run into
and Lord I thank you for the opportunity that you give I thank you for the work
that's ongoing there that this team has been a part of and Lord we just pray
that you will continue to minister that you would touch that you would touch the
people of Tangier and Lord God that people will come into the kingdom and
grow in the kingdom as a result of the work that's going to be done and we just
give you praise we give you glory and we give you honor in Jesus name everybody
say together amen amen listen you may be seated this morning you might want to
talk to one of these team members afterwards they'll give you a lot of them
all been there I think maybe everybody's been there before and they can give you
a little more if you're information you might be interested in going in the
future there'll be more trips in the coming up so there's a great resource to
get together with and talk well this morning I want to talk about something
that took place about 18 months ago the Lord really took us on a journey to
start a campus in the Lingles Town Harrisburg area of Lingles Town area it's
kind of right off of 81 and we followed that call of God fervently and worked to
reach people in that area and we did that through Bible studies that start
off as Bible studies we ended up in a library doing Bible studies there church
gatherings outreach events of all kind glow in the dark Easter egg hunts VBS
family fun nights handing out well listen we were even handing out stuff in
parking lots that's how many know that's interesting right we're in a grocery
store parking lots hanging out bags and neighborhoods and did door hangers
hanging door hangers up and as a result of the efforts we've heard of some really
some wins in the kingdom one particular stands out Judy if you got to me if
you've been up to East Shore and got to meet Judy Judy is a delight and if you
know her story she came there the very first time we launched in October and
the significant thing is that Judy's been there ever since she's been a
supporter but the thing that you don't know is that she had been out of church
for 50 years she had not gone to church and got reengaged and started following
Jesus and it's just been amazing Paul and Mary are a couple who started with
us way back when we launched the church we had two families when this all began
here at Carlisle and we started in our house and then we moved to a skating
rink and then we ended up in this location and Paul and Mary were
originally with us and because of job changes they for a couple years in they
could no longer attend and we had not seen him touch base once in a while for
over 10 years and they moved again and found out that they were only one or two
miles away from the campus and got reengaged up there and just came back
home to life us so it's been amazing we've had small groups that have met
and there's a group of warriors there's a group of core people up there who've
been super faithful and serving it East Shore but today for many reasons that I
can't go into right now I do need to make the announcement though we are
closing that campus and we just didn't get traction there it's not a bad thing
all those who are there have committed to come back they're gonna be here you
don't see him here at Carlisle next week they're gonna engage here at Carlisle
but we've just had not enough growth to continue there so we're gonna come back
we're gonna contract back to this statement to this area to this location
we will regroup and go forward in the future we don't know when and what that's
gonna look like and it's a chapter that we're gonna close and reopen another one
and I know some of you might have questions you might be wondering what's
taking place I'm gonna ask you just if you have questions I'd be glad to talk
with you after the gathering you can call me at any point in time be glad to
discuss it with you and along with those who are serving up there and have been
serving the the seven or eight who have been super faithful in that location
also pastor Eric and Abby are coming back and they're gonna be here with us
serving as well so I know it might be a little bit of a shock for some of you
it's not been an easy process but we're trusting God and what he's gonna do
we've had amazing stories up there but we're gonna come pull back into this
area and continue on okay so is everybody okay good take a deep breath
breathe in all right God's good he's on the throne he's in control and again if
you have questions I would be glad to take time with you and just really
explain okay amen everybody's good man y'all got quiet on me I'm getting
nervous all right well listen I'll go into the message this morning I got into
a conversation this week with a person that I didn't know real well it's a
place I frequent to get coffee and actually not coffee I drink chai tea and
I sat down and spent a little time talking and and this person we've chatted
once in a while and they had a prayer request and they you know with this prayer
request they said you know I want you to pray for my daughter and I was kind of
waiting I was thinking well you know it's you know here comes whatever the
physical need is or maybe there's an emotional need some kind or financial
need and she and she this person goes on she says no my daughter my youngest
daughter who is quiet and shy and she's kind of timid and she's going to Turkey
to serve as a missionary and I'm like that's what I said I said wow huh you
know and I don't know if you know anything about Turkey but there's less
than 1% of the population that's Christian in Turkey 80 I think somewhere
in the neighborhood 78 to 99% of the country is estimated to be Muslim so
they're not real friendly towards Christians evangelical Christians and I
have two daughters you know and I'm thinking man if one of my daughters got
called to Turkey I'd be Jesus can we talk can we renegotiate you know you know
and I started to think about you know what makes a quiet introverted you know
young woman who's not married and you know and has no friend going along with
her she's just going to do missions what causes young woman to follow in that
kind of crazy way follow Jesus and do what she's gonna do you know but two
weeks ago Dixie and I were in Atlanta and we were down there to visit our
middle daughter and her husband and our two granddaughters and we're down there
we got to go to a place called City of Refuge and and there's the House of
Cherith and it's a ministry located in one of the most it's actually the most
impoverished area in Atlanta and they're doing ministry there and it is actually
so impoverished that it's one of the most impoverished areas in all of the
country most people there make well below the poverty level and income and
we got to visit this facility it was a 200,000 square foot warehouse that was
converted into this ministry center and you know and it's so bad in this area
that they don't have any stores nobody will move into this area do business
because there's that much crime in this area nobody's there it's just housing
and we went there and we began to walk through and I'm thinking what kind of
individual comes to this kind of area well Bruce Dill does and Bruce went
there as a youth pastor probably I think of 15 20 years ago he went there as a
youth pastor just to help out at a church that lost their pastor he went
in temporary for just a few weeks he ended up calling his lead pastor back
and saying I'm not coming back God called me here he brought his wife and
four young daughters to live in the middle of this and while he was there he
decided he wanted to they needed to do a ministry center so he found a local
owner who of a warehouse it was a beat-up dilapidated warehouse 200,000
square foot warehouse and he went to buy it with no money I mean no that doesn't
work out well a lot of times yeah he went to buy it with no money and he got
talking with the owner and the owner said you know what I'm gonna gift it to
you and he gave him that and since that time to now it's an incredible place
where they help women that are victims of domestic violence they
literally house them there they have children children and teens who have
been sex trafficked have a place to come and escape to they have a safe house
they have a free medical clinic for the community absolutely free people can
come in they've got men who come out of prison and they've got housing for them
it works like a halfway house to help them get introduced to Jesus and to
re-enter into life right they've got training centers inside of this for
auto mechanics welding all kind of different trades that people in the
community can come in and get trained and get better jobs they have a they
have a school there that that's a high quality school for kids and and they go
for free it's a private school and it's an amazing thing what causes perfectly
sane people to step in the most dangerous perilous crazy situations for
Jesus step into the unknown go where no one else will go do what no one else
will do right and no one what no one else wants to do what causes them to do
that well I believe it's this and I believe Jesus told us this in Scripture I
believe it's treasures and pearls right tell turn to somebody right now tell
me it's treasures and pearls today treasures and pearls today that's what
we're talking about if you got your Bibles I want you to turn to Matthew
chapter 13 we're gonna go to verse 44 and Jesus talks about what this looks
like right how this happens as you're turning this morning I'm gonna pray over
the God's Word not because God's Word needs prayed over but because your heart
does right to receive it so Father we come before you God open our hearts open
our minds God your words blessed it is amazing it is truth God it is whole it
is righteous Lord just help us to absorb it God help us Lord then it'll
penetrate our hearts and right on our souls and God that we might be changed
by your Word and Lord we just give you praise and glory and everybody said
together amen amen 13 Matthew chapter 13 verse 44 and it says this and again
right again the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a
man found and hid and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and he
buys that field and what I want you to do this morning is I want you just to
take a moment and use your imagination how many can do that early in the
morning use your imagination come on some of you got one coffee in you right
you might need to but I want you to use your imagination this morning and I want
you to think about a field whatever you feel you want your field to look like
you can make it whatever you like right but I want you to think in your mind
about a field a very large field and you walking into the middle of that field
and I want you to picture yourself as you go in and as you go into that field
for some reason you find out that there's something priceless in that field
it could be that you come into that field and somehow you know that there's
great oil reserves underneath that field you somehow you sense it you see it right
come on it's like the Beverly Hillbillies I remember that show right
shoot into the ground little oil comes about right you know you know somehow
you're the only one but you know that there's great oil reserves and it's
priceless or you know maybe you get on there and you know real estate you
realize hey in the condition in the place this is in this is gonna be the
highest selling real estate in the market in a very short period of time you
realize that it's priceless right maybe there's a you scrape a little dirt away
and there and there it is the Hope Diamond jammed into a rock all right and
you're wondering how much more of that's underneath the surface and you go home
and you're dreaming about that field you're thinking about that field you're
you're kind of obsessed with that field and what's taking place in that field
right the priceless treasure in that field we're not talking about a little
box right they got some trinkets in it that's not what I'm talking about here
it's priceless what's in that field and you get you go to sleep you go to
thinking you're thinking about it all night long you get up the next morning
you hop in your car to go to work you drive by that field and there it is a
for sale sign right in the front you wheel around in your car you go back home
and you say honey you tell your wife you tell your husband we're buying us a
field it says five hundred thousand on the on the sign but we're buying us a
field right and you start selling off everything you own to buy that field you
sell you right come on you get on you get on Facebook marketplace you're
selling your couch you're selling your chairs you're selling the dishes you're
selling the house you're selling the cars you're thinking about selling one
of the kids come on you know you're gonna get five hundred thousand dollars
you're gonna buy this field you sell everything you can you're all-in you're
you're committed you're it's a never look back moment you ever have one of
those moments you just never gonna look back you're just going forward Jesus
said this is what it's like if you find the kingdom of God if you find me this is
what it's like when you believe in the King this is what it's like when you
believe in the kingdom of God and all that it represents this way is what it
is when you understand what the kingdom is worth how much how valuable right
when you start to understand the value of the Father the Son and the Holy
Spirit when you start to get engaged on what the kingdom of God is worth and how
many know the kingdom revolves around God himself right he is the light of
heaven he is the presence of heaven it's this when you start understand this
you'll sell it all you will sell out you will do whatever thing whatever is
necessary to follow the King you can see this in Philippians 3 7 where Paul's
talking and he says this but what things were gained to me and he's talking about
worldly things and position and you gotta understand this is the Apostle Paul
he was a Pharisee of Pharisees he was a chief Pharisee he had position he had
power you can go into God's Word he was there when Stephen was martyred and he
gave the okay for that to take place so he had position he had power because he
was a chief Pharisee he probably had wealth he had all these things and when
he came to Jesus he said this but what things were gained to me these I have
counted loss for Christ yet indeed I also count all things loss for the
excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things and count them as rubbish come on it's garbage say amen
then I may gain Christ and be found in him not having my own righteousness
which is from the law but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness
which is from God by faith and I may know him and the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death but if by
any means I may obtain that to the resurrection from the dead people who
arrive at this place and this understanding and actually believe that
the kingdom is worth this much right that that everything outside of the
kingdom in comparison is absolute rubbish these are the people that Jesus
was talking about these are the people that were willing to walk away from it
all right just to know the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord
right it's true Dixie and I just a couple weeks back we had lunch with a
couple who were in ministry and we went to a really fancy place what was name
that place it was down in Chambersburg it's like a Chuck E cheese kind of
thing I don't know we met they had kids were like we're ready to have some
cloggies we went there and had some cardboard pizza and you know that's what
you get in those places and you know so we met with this couple and and you know
and they were talking and I knew one of them pretty well but his wife I didn't
know very well and she talked she talked about her dad who was an NFL football
player right and of course we're all leaning in right he played in the NFL
and he played for several teams and and one day God spoke to him and told him
he's done in football and God had things for him to do and it had to do with his
family as well and he walked away from the NFL how many of that's a deal that's
a deal if you know anybody you know it's easy to pick up on the people that
understand the kingdom in this way that believe in the kingdom this way because
everything else is rubbish to them it they can let go of whatever it is right
and it's even easier to pick out those who don't it's easier to pick out the
ones who don't believe in the kingdom that it is this valuable those who
aren't all in right once one will be be talking about how they get how they can
get closer to God and attain and come up closer in any way they can and whatever
they got to leave behind to get closer to Jesus and the other ones will talk
about how close they can live to the world right they'll talk about how
close they can live to sin yeah I used to get this all the time when I was a
youth pastor pastor Alyssa I got this all the time like pastor so what can I
do with a girl huh that's the boys talking to me right or what can I do
with that guy and I'm okay with Jesus right they're like can I dance up to the
line or whatever whatever sin is you know without hopping across right they
would do that kind of thing and I'm like you're not all in you don't understand
you don't get it this is about getting as close as you can to God and thinking
that everything else should just stay right back here right you'll drop it all
you'll toss it aside like trash in your life right how many know how many know
it's easy to toss trash if you got trash what do you do right let me make sure it
went in all right worked on that this week no I didn't okay right that's what
you do with trash you don't even think twice if it's trash to you right now
this might be super valuable to Charlie I don't know write this piece of paper it
might be super valuable to somebody else but if it's trash to you or me what do
we do with it we don't think another thing of it that's what Paul was saying
he said that the kingdom of God is so much value it is so important in our
lives it is everything in our lives that everything else in your life will be
like trash and you'll lay it down you'll walk away you'll separate from it
right can I tell you do not hang out with the cheap substitute in your life
God has amazing things right the enemy Satan brings sin into our lives because
it's a cheap substitute for anything that God has for you it's just true
right if we fear God right if we have fear how many know fears a cheap
substitute for for you know that it's kind of a self-preservation thing you
know I don't want to go to Turkey because Turkey's dangerous right and fear
will be this cheap safety sometimes he can even be a cheap substitute for where
God really wants to do in your life where he really wants to take you God's
and I hate to say it this way but God he pulls us into dangerous things
sometimes it like risky things maybe that's a better word risky things all
right that's a little more palatable he pulls it what am I saying the kingdom
kingdom people sell out it's kingdom it's treasure say treasure they sell out
for Jesus and what Jesus was so clear about this when he was talking with
those individuals that he goes into Matthew 13 45 and he and he says it
again he says it once and then he said and he tells another parable and he says
it all over again just so they get it in Matthew 13 45 he says again the kingdom
of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls who when he had found
one pearl great price went and sold it all that he had and bought it I want you
to think about it again use your imagination you're a pearl merchant all
right you're selling and buying wholesale or maybe a pearls and you've
seen it all you've been dealing in pearls your entire life you've been
making jewelry out of pearls your entire life and and you've seen it all you've
seen cheap imitation you've seen medium-grade jewelry made with medium
grade pearls you've seen all these things and you've done this for years and
years and years and all of a sudden one day you find a pearl of all pearls you
find the highest quality pearl you've ever laid your eyes on and you can't
even believe that it exists you can't even get your head around what this
thing might be worth and you go back and you sell the inventory you go back and
sell your business right you go back and sell the house you sell the car you sell
the dog you sell the cat and this time you're thinking about selling two of the
kids right come on it's what it is you buy in and some call it an obsession
some call it tunnel vision right some call it playing crazy and you don't care
what they call it you're gonna follow Christ you're gonna get to the prize no
relationship no possession no position nothing in your past nothing in your
future nothing gets in the way of selling out to Jesus right it's all
rubbish it's all rubbish I know I know it's kind of those messages that makes
people listen I got uncomfortable preaching it all right I got uncomfortable
preparing it I always end up preaching to me and repentant for anybody else
does so just so you know that right man it's radical abandon for Christ it
really is Paul says this one more time in first Corinthians 6 9 and 9 through 11
it says do you not know that the unrighteousness will not inherit the
kingdom of God do not be deceived and he goes into list a bunch of sins he says
neither fornicators but I want you to pay attention to the second one which is
idolaters and he said not not adulterers but he will mention that one
too but I want you to focus on that second one neither fornicators nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves or covenants
nor drunkards or revelers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of
God and such were some of you but you were washed you were sanctified you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of God and I wanted you to
take a look at that second term because the root word of that term is idle and
I know is anything that we put before God right anything that we love more
than we love God in our lives anything that keeps us you know anything that
suddenly is not trash in our life and we'll hang on to it with everything we
got and it's the pearl in our life it's a treasure in our life and we'll we'll
we'll put God somewhere on the shelf and hang on to that thing and it's an easy
way to figure it out if something's an idol in my life right it's not a hard
thing if I've got an idol all I have to do is ask myself the question what what
would what would I sell off right am I willing to sell off everything in my
life except for God what or is there something that I would keep I wouldn't
sell off and I'd sell God off first maybe just a way to put it right what
would I sell off in my life would I sell everything off in my life and hang on to
Jesus even myself right or or is there something I would hang on to and I would
sell God off first before I'd let go of that thing right even the personal
things in our life you know my wife Dixie sitting right here and she can't
hang on to me right and sell me she should sell me off before she sells off
Jesus I'm serious right I should be in second place under Jesus in her life she
said she'd be willing to sell me off I don't know what you get for me but she
should be willing to sell me off before she'd sell off Jesus in her life it's
true and you know what I don't even want to be in that first place position
because that's above my pay grade I mean I I wouldn't be able to handle it up
there I really I can't I should be in second place
can I categorically say that I would sell everything off of my life except for
Jesus if I had to it would everything else in my life be like trash that's deep
isn't it I know it's tough right it's the pearl it's the treasure it's kingdom
it's why people go do the craziest things for Jesus and they go off and
they become missionaries and they do these amazing things for God and I'm not
saying everybody needs to be missionaries man right that's not what
I'm saying at all I'm getting ready to close I'm gonna ask the worship team
would come I got to give you one last scripture because Pearl and treasure
people also understand something else about selling out to Jesus you can stand
up you if you if you would this morning I want to read this last scripture and
this is important to understand Matthew 625 says this therefore I say to you do
not worry about your life what you will eat what you will drink nor what you're
about your body what you will put on is not life more than food and the body
more than clothing look at the birds of the air for they neither sow nor reap
nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feeds them are you not more
valuable than they which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his
stature so why do you worry about clothing consider the lilies of the
field how they grow they neither toil nor spin it yet I say to you that even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these now I've got so close
the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow's thrown into the oven he
will not so much more clothe you oh ye of little faith right selling out for
Christ therefore do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink
what shall we wear for after all those things that Gentiles seek for your
heavenly Father knows that you have needed these things and then this is a
key scripture right lays it all out in one verse but seek first the kingdom of
God in his righteousness no idols no idols and all these things shall be
added to you kingdom people know that if it's all Jesus and you don't sell out
and you're willing to sell everything else off except him right then all the
things that everybody has those idols they're chasing after God said I'll add
it on to you anyway I'll bring into your life what you need you don't got to
worry about what you're eating what you're drinking what it's gonna look
like I'll cover it all so this morning I want you to just to sell out maybe you
haven't ever thought of it in this way or in this light this is about selling
out it's about putting him in first place so I want you to close your eyes I
want you to begin to think about is Jesus in that position will I sell
everything else off of my life first my opinions come on right my ideology my
theology but my possessions my relationships well I sell all that off
to make sure that he's first in my life
this message from life house church
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