Would it be okay if we open our Bibles to Matthew
chapter 13? One of Jill and I's dear friends,
Jennifer Smith, sent this passage this morning.
It was comforting to us. As you turn, I'll just
read it. Psalm 112, verse 1 and 2, it says, Praise
the Lord. Blessed is the one who fears the Lord,
who finds great delight in His commands. Their
children will be mighty in the land, and a generation
of upright will be blessed. So, mothers, just
keep going. We love you. Keep fearing the Lord.
Keep following His commands. The Scripture promises
that your children will be blessed, and that
you're bringing about generations that will delight
in the Lord. amazing job that you're doing. Keep
going. Don't give up. I'm going to join you in
Matthew 13. Alright, I told Jill my Mother's
Day gift to you today will be a short sermon,
so I will keep my word on that. It will be concise
and it will be by the power of the Holy Spirit
we hope. Let's pray. Jesus, as we open the Scriptures
and read Your Word, we're asking now, as many
servants have done over the many years, that
Your Holy Spirit would come and demonstrate great
power through these words to create change in
us that will bear lasting fruit for Your glory.
In Jesus' name. If you agree with that, would
you say amen? Let it be so. Alright. Matthew
chapter 13, let's read today verse 45 and 46,
looking at the parables about the kingdom. Verse
45, Jesus speaking, Again, the kingdom of heaven
is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When
he found one of great value, he went away and
sold everything he had and bought it. Let me
read it one more time. Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
When he found one of great value, he went away
and sold everything he had and bought it. A little
bit of context. Or let's just say a lot of context
in a really brief manner. For 400 years, God
was silent on the earth. The Scripture says that
between the Old and New Testament, there were
no prophets speaking the words of God. There
was a covenant change coming. After 400 years,
Jesus is born to the Virgin Mary. He comes. God
comes in flesh to the earth. He's raised by His
earthly mother and father. As he gets to be an
adult man, God has this plan to release him into
the world. And so Jesus comes. He's baptized
by John, water baptized by John in the Jordan
River. Then the Holy Spirit comes upon him like
a dove and remains, the Gospel of John says.
And the Holy Spirit then leads him into the wilderness
where he's tempted by the devil. you know, thoroughly
smacks the devil around with the Word of God
and his authority. He comes out of that into
public ministry, and he begins to teach this
sermon where God sends him. And he says, repent,
change the way you think, for the kingdom of
God or the kingdom of heaven is now here or is
at hand. And one of the main, I know for some
of you, you're like, Do we have to talk about
this every week? Well, for now the answer is
yes, okay? But one of Jesus' main and major assignments,
he had quite a few, but one of them was to establish
the kingdom of heaven on the earth, model that
for his disciples, and then release that assignment
to the New Testament church. And we see that
throughout the Gospels. part of what Jesus was
doing, specifically on these passages we've been
studying for the last few weeks, is he's teaching
his disciples what the kingdom of heaven is really
like. And so he's asking himself this question,
as we have in Mark and Luke, what can I say about
the kingdom? Or how can I compare the kingdom
of heaven? And then... The Holy Spirit is giving
him divine thoughts and ideas, and he's teaching
these things to the disciples. So if you missed
last week, we talked about the treasure being
buried in the field. Catch up on that with some
really good truths. And today we're looking at
truths about the kingdom of heaven through the
parable of the pearl of great price. So let's
look at some lessons, because Jesus came, he
established the kingdom, taught about the kingdom,
conferred the kingdom on his disciples, released
the Holy Spirit on the New Testament church at
Pentecost, and now our job until the Lord Jesus
returns is to advance the kingdom of heaven on
the earth. And so we are, as a church, we're
in a season of supernatural kingdom expansion.
Jesus said, when people say, here's the kingdom,
they're the kingdom, Luke 17, he said, don't
look here and there. Why? Because the kingdom
is within you, right? So in us is the kingdom
of heaven. Everything we need through the power
and the authority of the Holy Spirit to release
the kingdom of heaven is in us. In John chapter
7, Jesus said, and you'll be like rivers of living
water flowing. And he said, and by that he was
talking about the Holy Spirit whom they were
to receive. So Jesus said, the kingdom is within
you, and now the kingdom should flow out of you
as rivers of living water. So that's the lifestyle
that we have. Living, dwelling in the kingdom,
being confident of the kingdom in us, and releasing
the kingdom in supernatural expansion. Why? Why
should we care about the kingdom of heaven being
released and expanded on the earth? Because God
told us to? Okay. That probably should be enough.
For those of us who need motivation, right? This
is why, right? These are all the initials of
people in our life that are unsaved. We're not
here to release the kingdom to grow a megachurch.
We're here to release the kingdom of heaven on
the earth so that desperate and dying people
can see who the true king is. And if it's a kingdom
of righteousness, peace, and joy that's unshakable
in the Holy Spirit, and they experience that,
they're going to want it. And they're going to
bow their lives before that king just like many
of us did. And they're going to get set free.
And they're going to get healed. And they're
going to get purpose in their life. And then
they're going to go out into their spheres of
influence and release the kingdom. And those
people are going to get saved, set free, healed,
and given purpose. And then they're going to
go out. And that's how revival in the kingdom
works until Jesus comes back. And hopefully there
won't be any names on the cross. Because as we've
been saying, the return of Jesus, thus sitting
in this room, we can't wait. But for these people,
it's going to be a horrible day. It's a horrible
day. And so, we've got a job to do. We're kingdom
people, living in the kingdom, releasing the
kingdom. Right? And so this is why we're talking
about the kingdom of heaven, studying Jesus'
parables and learning lessons. Number one, if
you're writing these down, take notes. This will
be good. Number one, the kingdom of heaven is
a message of ridiculously good news. You and
I are the pearl of great price or great value,
and God paid the highest price to purchase us
back. to himself. The traditional interpretation
of this passage is that it's us seeking the kingdom,
and I think that that's right and good and holy,
and we're going to talk about those lessons.
But there are plenty of theologians, reputable
ones, who see and interpret this passage in a
different way, saying that God is the merchant.
And we are the pearl that he discovered. And
we were of such great value to him that he paid
the highest price to purchase us. And whether
you agree with that interpretation or not, that
message is screamed all throughout the Holy Scriptures
from Old Testament to New Testament. to revelation
listen the whole message from the garden to the
new jerusalem is that god wanted friends he created
us to love him and to be loved by him sin robbed
him of his friends and the whole point of the
gospel message is that he purchased us back he
wants us loves us finds us valuable and did everything
He could and did to have us back. Let's open
our Bibles to Romans 5. You're in Matthew. If
you can turn over to Romans 5. It's just one
of those glorious passages that in a concise
way tells the story of redemption. Romans 5,
verse 6. And I'm just... picking this passage
out for the sake of time, but if you want to
read all of 5, 6, 7, and 8, it's some of the
most powerful chapters in the whole Bible about
redemption and the power of the Holy Spirit in
the life of the believer. Alright, but for the
sake of time, chapter 5, verse 6. You see, at
just the right time, When we were still powerless,
Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will
anyone die for a righteous man, though for a
good man someone might possibly dare to die.
But, in contrast, God demonstrates His own love
for us in this. While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us. And since we have now been
justified, what? By His blood. We've been made
innocent, justified of all of our sins by His
blood. How much more shall we be saved from God's
wrath through Him, Jesus? For if when we were
God's enemies we were reconciled to Him through
the death of His Son, how much more having been
reconciled shall we be saved through His life?
Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we
have now received reconciliation. I mean, you
could camp out right there until Jesus comes
back. We were far away. We were enemies. We were
sinners. And He came and rescued us and reconciled
us back to Him. Do you know where you harvest
pearls? It's not Kay's jeweler. That's not where
you harvest pearls. Where do you harvest pearls?
You harvest pearls in the deep water where it's
the darkest, buried in the mud in a gross, slimy
clam. If you dig around in enough of those, you'll
find a pearl. And we, somehow, religion has hoodwinked
us to think that our God cannot lower Himself
to even be around our sin. And I think that there
is a misunderstanding and a false humility that
might even have some good intentions in that.
But the reality is if God could never be sin,
we're all going to hell. If God could never be
close to sin, we're all going to hell. He went
to the depths, in the mud, in the slimy things,
and he found us, the pearl of great value. And
then he said, you are so valuable to me, I will
pay the highest price. I will give my life. What's
the only thing harder than giving your own life?
Would be watching a son bleed out for people
who hated him. Do you know what I'm saying? How
many of you have ever seen your children's blood
outside of their body? It's a horrifying thing.
One of my daughters had to get a fingernail removed
that she slammed in the door this week, and my
wife sent me the bloody picture of when they
took it off. And I'm like, ah! There's something
about seeing your children's blood not in their
body that's horrifying. Try watching every drop.
come out. I want you to know today that you are
the apple of His eye. And not on your best day,
on your worst day. He considered you the pearl
of great value on your nastiest, grossest, filthiest
day. And he said, you're worth every price to
me. And some of you need to hear that. First
of all, some of you need to get saved. Some of
you are hearing this and you're like, man, that
sounds good, but I've never even had my sins
forgiven. All you have to do is call out to him.
Say, forgive me of my sins. Take me into your
family. I want to love you and be loved by you.
Get saved. What are you waiting on? You think
this is a game? Nobody's promised tomorrow. Don't
leave this building without getting saved. I'll
be here after service. I'll be talking to people.
If you need to get saved, you push them all out
of the way and say, I need to get saved. I'd
rather talk to you. Find my wife. Find any of
the pastors, any of the ministers, any of the
ministry team. Say, I need to get saved. Most
of you are saved. But I really felt strongly
in my heart that there are some of you today
that have walked in such compromise. You've been
swayed into such sin and weights of the world.
And you do not feel like a pearl of great value.
And I want you to hear the Gospel message today.
He loves you before you're shiny. He loved you
before you were shiny. Even in your struggles.
Even in your hardship. You're the pearl of great
price to Him. We sang the song, your blood is
enough, but do you believe it? Do you believe
it? Is it enough for you? Is it enough for you
to silence the lies of the enemy that says you'll
never be worth anything? You've compromised too
much. You have no future in God. Who do you think
you are? Is His blood enough for you? It is.
Go to this pause right here. I'm just going to
ask the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, would You just
begin to minister? Right now, I'm just asking
humbly, Holy Spirit, for those that are just
struggling with receiving love, with worth, with
receiving forgiveness. Right now, Father, Your
Word says that You pour out Your love into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, come.
Break up those hard places. Silence those lies.
If anyone needs to be saved, Lord, draw their
heart to You right now by Your kindness. Lead
them to repentance. If any Christians just need
to let go and let Your blood be enough, would
You do it right now, Lord? In Jesus' name, Amen.
Alright, number two. Lessons about the Kingdom.
The pursuit of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
must be more than a secondary matter of convenience
a christ follower diligently seeks the kingdom
and requires it as the primary pursuit of their
lives switching directions back to kind of the
traditional view of interpretation of this passage
that we are the merchant seeking after the kingdom
The pursuit of the kingdom of heaven on earth
must be more than a secondary matter of convenience.
A true Christ follower diligently seeks the kingdom
and requires it as the primary pursuit of their
lives. Here in verse 45, it says again, the kingdom
of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine
pearls. The word looking here, I think we have
this up there. In the Greek, zateo. Listen to
this. It means to seek after, to desire, to endeavor,
to require. You see, that's more than a casual
glance. Do you see that? When Jesus says to His
disciples, I want you to seek first the kingdom
of heaven, the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
And everything else, don't worry about everything
else. The pagans worry about those things. If
you'll seek first His kingdom, He'll make sure
you have everything you need. It was a command
as He's teaching His disciples about the priorities
of their life and how to follow Him in kingdom
mandate. And then we see this story in which
the parable of Jesus saying, the kingdom of heaven
is like a merchant. Could we go to that next
one? Merchant. The Greek word emporos, a merchant
as opposed to a retailer or petty tradesman.
This is someone that gets their life. Their whole
life's purpose, right, is to find pearls. Their
whole livelihood depends on it. This is not some
petty retailer. It's not somebody part -time
doing this thing. A merchant is a full -on tradesmen
all right and then the other definition one on
a journey whether by sea or by land especially
for trade so what jesus and and we don't really
have this in our culture But in Jesus' culture,
you had all these trade routes in the biblical
history in which people were coming across the
globe in these trade routes, and they were bringing
these possessions that they're going all over
the world and finding, and they're bringing these
fine possessions for trade. And Jesus is saying,
listen, the kingdom person is like that merchant
that has set their face. Their life is to find
fine pearls. And they're out there, and they're
not just casually glancing around. Hey, I wonder
where I could find a nice pearl today. No, because
their life depends on it. They are seeking. They're
endeavoring. They're desiring. They're even requiring.
I've got to find the pearl of great value. What
am I going to do? How am I going to provide for
my family? How am I going to have any kind of
inheritance? My whole life's purpose is to find
that pearl. And in contrast, Unfortunately, we
have American Christianity that says, I can live
like the world, talk like the world, watch what
the world watches, entertain myself with what
the world entertains myself. Oh, and by the way,
in the name of Christ. And it's just not true.
It's not Christianity. Do you understand that?
That's not Christianity. If you're defining Christianity
the way Jesus defined it in the scripture, that
is not it. He said the kingdom of heaven is like
this. It's like a merchant whose life depends
on finding fine pearls is seeking, endeavoring,
requiring to find it. Where are those people?
You are them. Don't give up and don't go backwards.
The kingdom first lifestyle has to be the primary
direction of our lives. Yes, we got jobs. Yes,
we got families. Yes, we got bills to pay. All
of them are only tools to advance the kingdom
of heaven. And we have to have that perception.
I know we've talked about this a lot. You're
like, my goodness, Jesse, how many times are
we going to talk about this? Repetition is good
for us. It's good to learn. All right. Like I
said, going to be quick. All right. I'm going
to give you the choice. This is crowd participation.
Would you like to hear a quick story about one
of my daughters that was lost in an industrial
park in the Metroplex? Or would you rather hear
a story about how I lost the Army's keys to the
Armory and almost got an Article 15? All right.
Raise your hand for the daughter. Raise your
hand for the keys. All right. I'm going to tell
you the key story then. All right. For a very
brief time, when I was stationed at Fort Hood,
the training NCO moved to a different position.
And some of you will think this is funny. For
a very brief time, I was Corporal Tunnel. They
all thought that was a great joke, Corporal Tunnel.
But for a very brief time, I was a Corporal Tunnel
for about six months before I made sergeant.
During that time, the training NCO left, and
I was appointed by the commander as the training
NCO for our unit. Very brief time, just so they
could find a better replacement than me, which
was highly needed. But as the training NCO, you're
given the keys to the armory, all right? The
armory and... And they give you, back when they
printed out things on paper, do you remember
it had like the printouts with the holes all
down the side with the terrible thing? The terrible,
you could tear it off. Anyway, it was just pages
and pages and pages. And I'm talking millions
and millions of dollars of equipment. And then
a 24 -year -old is signing their name at the
bottom, Corporal Tunnel. Yes, I'm taking charge
of these millions of dollars of equipment. It's
an infantry unit. We got it. I mean, we got Bradley
fighting vehicles. We got saws, 249, Bravo. I
mean, we got all, you get it, a lot. So I had
the keys. Get the weekend off. Go down to hang
out with my family in Brownwood, Texas. It's
on my key chain in the cars. Go out on the swimming
dock because I'm an idiot. And I take off my
hat, my shirt to go swimming. I put my keys in
my hat, lay it on there. go swimming, we're having
a good time with family, get out, go to draw
off, go to put my clothes on, put my shirt on,
take my hat, go like this, and I hear a kaplunk,
all right, and those keys go to the bottom of
Lake Brownwood off the swim dock. And honestly,
it really is an article 15 if you lose honor.
It's not like you can go have another one made.
Do you know what I'm saying? Like, it's an Article
15, which is reduction in rank, reduction in
pay, and possible jail time. Right? It's kind
of a big deal, especially when you're a corporal,
you know. And so I was like, holy moly. What,
you know, full -on panic mode. Well, a couple
years earlier, I got my scuba diving certification
in Brownwood, actually, because that's where
I went to college. And I knew they had a scuba
diving shop, so I went. and I rented scuba diving
gear. All right, so I put on scuba diving gear.
I go down to the bottom of the lake underneath
the swim dock. Do you know what the visibility
in Lake Brownwood is? About two millimeters.
That's about it. It doesn't matter. Like, you
can't see jack squat. It's brown. That's all
it is. And so I start where I think they fell
off, and just by feel, I'm looking for these
keys. Minute. Five minutes, 10 minutes, 20. First
tank of air, gone. Go back into town, get a second
tank of air. Come back out. I'm trying to make
concentric circles. By the grace of God, I found
the keys to the armory on the bottom of Lake
Brownwood, all right? And I didn't get an article
15. And actually, you know more than my commander
knows because I never told him either, all right?
No need. No harm, no foul. We found them. But
you talk about someone frantically looking for
something of great value to them. The kingdom
of heaven has to be more than a casual pursuit.
It has to be our life. And people are like, Jesse,
that sounds too serious. Take it up with Jesus.
I don't know what to tell you. I don't know what
to tell you. You don't get to live your life
for yourself anymore. We're bought with a price.
We don't belong to us anymore. We surrendered
all our dreams and visions and plans for our
lives at the foot of that bloody cross. And now
it's... How do I further your kingdom, Jesus?
How do I live for your kingdom? How do I bring
salvation to the lost? How do I bring the power
of the Gospel to people's lives? How do I bring
unshakable righteousness, peace and joy in the
Holy Spirit? And everything else will be added
to you, right? Moms, I want to encourage you.
I want to highly encourage you because the kingdom
of heaven... is right there in those babies.
That is your primary and most beautiful assignment
is the kingdom of heaven being built up and released
in these disciples that live in your homes. One
of my daughters rides with me to church every
Sunday morning. I cherish it. And today I was
just... I was driving and I was thinking about
this whole concept. And honestly, Jill knows
I have the worst memory in the world. But things
that are precious, I can remember. And I was
just thinking about the years because we've been
pastoring this church for 18 years. My daughter's
only 14. And for years, we've been driving this
route to church. And I just started thinking,
man, I can remember when she was tiny and asking
me about questions about things outside the window,
right? And then they get a little older and they
want your phone. And I can remember driving,
watching her over there playing games on the
phone. And then they get their own phone and
you're driving, you're watching them on their
own phone. And today I was just watching her
put on her makeup. young lady, and I'm just thinking,
this is the kingdom. This is the kingdom of heaven.
Right? Moms, dads, you don't have to look very
far to see the kingdom. They sleep in that room
next to yours. It's valuable. It's precious.
You've got to be seeking first that kingdom.
Does that make sense? Alright, let's close with
this one, number three. Before we do, could we
just pause? If you need to repent for a casual
kingdom lifestyle and be like the merchant whose
life depends on finding precious pearls, let's
just respond to that. Lord, help us. Help us
to perceive what is primary and priority. Amen.
Alright, let's close with this. Do not undervalue
the kingdom of God. It's not illogical or irresponsible
to sell everything you have to purchase that
which has exponentially greater value. It is
a wise investment and excellent stewardship.
Can I read that again? Do not undervalue. the
kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God. It is
not illogical or irresponsible to sell everything
you have to purchase that which has exponentially
greater value. It is a wise investment and excellent
stewardship. So this merchant, he finds a pearl
of great value and then he goes and sells everything
he has to buy that pearl. And you say, Well,
that's crazy. I mean, what guy's going to go
sell everything, everything he has, household,
everything he has, to buy a pearl? Well, if you're
asking that question, you're thinking too small
about the pearl. Right? Because how many of you...
If someone offers you an investment to sell everything
you have which is worth $600 ,000, your net value,
and you get to trade that in to purchase something
worth $2 to $5 or $6 or $10 million, you're not
going to think twice about that investment. You're
like, duh. Right? I have this picture. Can I
show this picture? This is the world's most valuable
pearl. I thought the teenagers would like this
because Gig is such a... fun word right now,
but it is literally called the giga pearl, all
right? And it's valued at 100 million dollars,
okay? It is 75 pounds of pearl discovered by
this fisherman off the coast in the Philippines,
all right? Now, I was just doing the math this
week. I was thinking, Did anybody get their tax
assessment here in the last couple of weeks?
Did anybody else cuss? Okay, just me. All right.
Just kidding, children. I didn't cuss out loud.
Only in my mind, which is not much better. All
right. So I'm just looking at my tax assessment.
It says my house is worth $250 ,000. I'm just
rounding these numbers. It says my land is worth
$100 ,000, so that's $350 ,000. I'm thinking
like... The cars that we have, the gun collection,
the KitchenAid mixer, and the wiener dog, I'm
putting all that together. I'm thinking maybe
another $100 ,000. So I'm thinking, you know,
the tunnel net worth right now, I'm thinking
around $450 ,000, all right? If somebody says
to me, hey, what do you think about selling everything
you have and it'll buy this? You're thinking,
yes, please. I will spend that for the $100 million
pearl. Right? When the world says, what are you
doing? Why are you giving up career in the pursuit
of riches or whatever it may be? Or why are you
giving up this priority? Because we ought to
look different to the world. The Christ follower
should look strange to the world we live in.
Yes? We should look different. They should look
at us and go, why do you live that way? Why are
those your priorities? When the world looks at
us and says, it is crazy that you're trading
in the things of the world for faith to a God
you can't see, they just don't understand how
priceless the pearl is. And sadly, most Christians
don't either. That's why we haven't sold everything
for the kingdom. Now when I talk about sell everything,
please don't go give away your house today unless
God tells you to. Don't go give away your property.
Don't quit your job. That's not what I'm talking
about. God has no problem with wealth and careers
and fantastic things. They're just all second
in priority to the kingdom. They're all intended
as tools for the glory of the king on the earth.
But if your life is still about you and your
kingdom, I'm telling you, it's only because you
have not seen the... unspeakable value of His
kingdom. Because it would only make logical sense
for us to put everything on the back burner for
the kingdom of heaven. Does that make sense?
Does anybody know who Jim Elliot is? He's an
American missionary, was martyred for the gospel
in Ecuador in like the 1950s. He says a quote
that a lot of people know, but maybe you don't
know the context he later gave his life. He is
no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain
what he cannot lose. And there's a kingdom concept
that says, My King is so glorious and His reign
is so important to the salvation of the world
that I will give up every right to myself and
to this world if I can have that kingdom. If
I can be a part of that kingdom. If I can give
that kingdom to one other desperate, needy person.
What's interesting about the giga pearl, you've
got to go research this story. It's fantastic.
The guy was fishing. That guy was fishing in
a storm, and his anchor got caught on something,
and it was putting his boat in peril during the
storm. So he dove down to the bottom of his anchor.
and he found his anchor on this huge clam. And
in those areas, they say clams get 100, 125 pounds,
these mussels. And his anchor in the storm is
stuck on this pearl. You can't make this stuff
up. How many of you know that the pearl of the
kingdom is often found when you're anchored in
a storm? It is so true. It's the storms. It's
when everything is going crazy. that that's where
you find yourself anchored on what is truly important.
So this fisherman finds the pearl in that muscle,
and he doesn't know what it is. And for 10 years,
he keeps it in a burlap sack underneath his bed.
And in his mind, he's thinking it's a good luck
charm. So every morning, he rubs the pearl on
his way out for his fishing trip for good luck
on the fishing day. Ten years. He's possessing
a hundred million dollar pearl in a shack in
the Philippines under his bed. Is that you? Is
that you? Do you have the greatest collecting
dust under your bed spiritually? Is it your good
luck charm? Or is it the kingdom of heaven on
the earth? Being advanced. Violent men take hold
of it, it says. It's violently advanced on the
earth with intentionality, with purpose. You
know how they found out about this pearl? Fire.
The guy's house caught on fire. And the pearl
was revealed. And someone in his family, I was
reading that some of his family was a tourism
director and they put it on display in that little
village and then it became known to the world.
Isn't it amazing that the pearl of greatest price
in the world was revealed to the world by fire?
I can't make this up. Fire. Fire of hardship
and purity. fire of the Holy Spirit, and one's
coming greater than me that will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Fire will
reveal the priceless kingdom of God to the world.
Both the hardships we walk through and the fire
and passion of the Holy Spirit in us, on us,
and through us. Yes? Alright. Well, I mean seven
minutes early. That's early. Could we stand and
be released? Anybody want to be that merchant
that has found it and now everything is second
place to the kingdom? Do you want to be that
person? Anybody want to take the kingdom of heaven
out from underneath the bed? And let fire reveal
it to the world. They want to see it. They don't
even know how bad they want it. They need it
so bad. So Father, here are your sons and daughters.
We were the pearl of great price that you bought.
And we say thank you. And now you are our pearl
of greatest price. You and your kingdom. And
we say, God, take us. Rewire our brains to think
about Your kingdom first everywhere You send
us. And God, we're asking right now for fire.
Fire through the Holy Spirit. The fire of faithfulness
through difficulty and hardship. Purify us, God.
And set us on fire so that this world can know
You as their King and experience the beauty of
Your kingdom. Do anything You want with us. We
are a coin in Your pocket. Spend us any way You
want. And bless our mothers. In Jesus' name,
Amen.