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You know, with each other, but especially with uh with God, you know, and in a minute we'll get a study a little bit of what Jesus uh taught us. If it's your first time here, um we're so glad you're here. I'm sitting on my cord here, so I'm gonna have to either fix it or my neck's gonna be sore for the rest of the day. Um glad you're here. Hope you can tell that uh you can just relax and uh and be yourself. I got a couple quick uh things to share. One is uh is I just uh wanted to say how much I appreciated uh Ben speaking the last couple Sundays. I mean, what uh what he shared to me was just so personally meaningful, and uh I'm a little frustrated with him because he was funnier than me. And so I guess I'm gonna have to come to grips with that sooner sooner or later. But uh we're really blessed just where God has us as a as a family, you know, to have uh um just great teachers like Ben or like Bill Thrasher or Justin, and then have uh members of our extended family like Tommy Newberry, you know, spending a few weeks with us. And Ken Kington, I get asked every now and then, is gonna be back uh the last two Sundays uh in July. So we can uh look forward to that as well. We uh, as you know, if you've been here long, uh we're a volunteer church. I volunteer, everybody we s everything we see getting done uh this morning is done by just people serving and helping out. And during the summer, we had so many people traveling, it leaves a a couple of uh um spots, I think, where we could use some some extra help. And one of them is really uh uh a pretty simple way. And we've got a uh a big group, a big room brigade. And so right after we're done, you'll see uh people grabbing vacuums and and picking up after us and that type of stuff. And it takes 10 or maybe between 10 and 30 minutes, depending on the uh the day. Today looks like a 12-minute day. But uh and uh it's once a month, and we also uh clean up after the Lord's Supper each Sunday. And so if you could help in that way, uh Shelby will be back behind the sound booth uh as soon as we're done, and and uh that'd be uh that'd be great. We've got an opportunity again this year to help uh a bunch of kids in our area, which is one of the things I think that excites us uh the most. And we're hoping to provide school supplies and backpacks for at least a couple hundred uh needy children in the area. And so if you weren't here when we announced that uh a couple weeks ago, it's uh really simple. Go to the info desk and there'll be a list there, and you can go to Walmart or Target or wherever and choose a backpack and then just buy the supplies on the list and then bring it back uh no later than July 4th uh when we'll be here to uh watch the fireworks together. And that has really kind of turned into a family, big family picnic, I guess, and a slice of Americana, you know, at the same time. But that's always really a good time. And the Woodstock's nice enough to shoot their fireworks off right over our building, and uh so we'll enjoy that uh together. And again, you can get uh a list of those school supplies um at the info desk. Well, let's pray. Fathers, thank you for this morning, thank you for uh just how you you filled us with uh with your presence and in worship this morning, and we praise you for that. Thank you for adopting us as your own children, uh desiring that we would even call you Abba, Father, Daddy Father, and we just praise you uh for that. Holy Spirit, we thank you for being our our comforter and our encourager and teacher, and just ask you to teach us each this morning that we'd all leave with one thing at least that we know uh was specifically from you and for us. And uh, Jesus, we just praise you for being the greatest teacher ever. And we look forward to looking at some of what you taught this morning. We thank you so much for uh loving us and being your friend and making the ultimate sacrifice for us. And it's in your name we pray. Amen. So there's a a group of us um that are getting together in a little bit to celebrate our uh friend uh Will Like who uh went home early this uh this week. Um if uh especially if you come in on this side, you know, drop off kids, or you come out on this side of the big room, you would have seen Will every uh every Sunday. And he had a light up uh necklace and an even brighter smile. And uh just a great uh encouragement. And he had uh had a about with a stomach cancer and was in remission and and he was feeling great. And about three weeks ago he started having uh some pain in his stomach and went to the hospital, and I went to uh hang out with him on um Thursday morning, Wednesday had been his 69th um birthday. And I got there just after the doctors had come in and they'd done a bunch of tests, and it was just after they'd come in and um given him the results of the test, which uh was that the cancer was back and spread and they couldn't uh couldn't treat him. And he had, they said, three to six um months to live. And I share that with you to tell you we had the greatest time that morning, one of the more fun conversations I've had in a long time. For one thing, Will was drinking a Coke, and he'd been on a strict diet for two years, and he figured, well, well, I might as well go back to drinking Cokes. Uh it's not gonna matter that much. And we talked, you know, his his uh kids were coming to town, he was excited about that, and and we talked a couple logistic things, but mostly we just daydreamed about heaven and uh you know the adventure that he was about to to uh enjoy and um what that uh was gonna be like, what the trip itself was gonna be like, the moment that he passed from this life to to the next, and you know, and and seeing angels and being physically with with uh with uh Jesus. And it was just such a um it was such a great time. And and what would that be worth? Kind of a strange question, but it's you'll see it's in an overall context. But but what would that be worth to someone to have no fear of death, to be excited about the possibility uh of the adventure, to to be uh thinking about seeing loved ones that went before and and looking forward to seeing loved ones again, uh knowing that you're never gonna have to go through something like this again, because God's promised that uh you'll live forever. I mean what uh what would we pay for something like that? Um, you know, Will didn't have m much in physical possessions, but what he did have was real treasure, you know, a relationship with the living God that created him and uh and loves him. So we're taking a uh a few weeks, and this is I love it when we do this, because we're really focusing on what Jesus taught, you know, the red letters, if you will. And that's what we're all wanting to follow Jesus, you know, and see what he did and see what he said and see what was most um important to him. And Jesus taught uh most often through stories. You know, he would use different metaphors and different analogies. Uh when we're speaking Christianese, we call them parables. Um and uh they're simply stories that explain a great truth, a profound truth. You know, there's also an observation in most of the stories because there's just kind of Jesus making observation about life. And so there's a practical truth, everyday kind of kind of truth that are usually wrapped within these stories that are uh mostly intended to share a profound uh truth. In Matthew 13, it says, Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. Now, this particular chapter, Matthew 13, has a bunch of uh stories. It's actually kind of a good representation of what a day for Jesus must have been like. His day started in the middle of chapter 12, when a bunch of religious scholars and Pharisees show up at his door, and uh they give him a pretty hard time, you know, and they don't believe him, and they want to see a miracle, and so he kind of deals with all that, and then a bigger crowd starts uh gathering, and then his family comes over, and uh then eventually the crowd grows and grows, and uh people can't even hear him. And so they move to the to the lake shore, and he gets in a boat and and moves out a few feet, you know, or yards maybe from the shore, and now everybody can gather around. This huge crowd gathering around, listening to Jesus uh um talk and and teach. Uh eventually they go back home and uh and he shares even a couple more stories. And in this one section, there's there's seven um stories in all. And they're all about the same topic. They're all about the kingdom of God. And you know, for whatever reason, the his, no matter who it was, his closest friends, his followers, uh the religious crowd, the big crowds, none of them understood the kingdom of heaven. And so Jesus shared a lot of stories trying to get them to explain. And what they and the reason they didn't understand is because they saw the kingdom of God or heard the kingdom of God through a filter they had. And that is that they wanted a physical kingdom. They desperately wanted a physical king and a physical kingdom. Israel had been a proud, mighty nation, and now they were just humiliated. Uh, they were occupied by uh the Roman uh government and uh taken advantage of, mistreated, and and what they longed for was that day where they could return to power and that God would bring someone, you know, similar to a Moses, someone that would uh lead them back to be a great and mighty nation. And so that's what they saw, or what they heard when Jesus talked um about the kingdom, and that's what they uh were looking for and hoping would happen. So Jesus is telling them it's a different type of kingdom, you know, and and he says it's like uh the kingdom of God's like a farmer scattering seed. You know, it it's gonna land a different soil, there's gonna be different results. He says the kingdom of God it's like a field, you know, and there's gonna be crops and there's gonna be weeds uh growing in the uh in the in the same field. He says uh the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, you know, it's just almost uh imperceptible, but it's gonna grow into something huge and mighty, or it's like yeast when you're making bread, where it's just gonna permeate and affect um everything. And two of the shortest stories he tells ever, but uh particularly in this chapter, is about how the kingdom of God is a truly life-changing experience. And we're gonna look at both of these stories uh this morning. In Matthew 13 and 44, it says, God's kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. Okay, so Jesus would use common relatable stories to make a bigger point. And this is something everybody would get. You know, they didn't have banks back in uh in those days, they were in uncertain times. And so what would you do with your money, with your treasure? For them, it would be silver uh coins. Um, they wouldn't want to hide them in their house because the Romans could seize that house. But if they had property, they would fill a jar with these coins and then they would go hide them somewhere on the property. And that would work great unless someone would, you know, uh unexpectedly die without someone else knowing where the treasure is. And occasionally people would would buy new pieces of property and they would find a uh a treasure. In fact, it was common enough that they had very strict laws about what would happen if you found uh uh a treasure or or coins on uh on someone else's property. And the thing is you couldn't take the treasure. You know, whoever owned the property owned whatever was found. Yeah, so what so what's he gonna do? He's got a problem. For one thing, he doesn't have enough cash to buy the land, um, even though he knows that there's a treasure there. And so quickly, probably without having to do a whole lot of uh of thought, he goes back and he sells everything he has. It says in in uh the rest of that verse, the finder is ecstatic, what a find. And he proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field. You know, so he goes back, sells everything. It's gonna be a bit of a change for him. He's gonna have to move, you know. And uh, but he's ecstatic. What a find. What a life-changing experience to buy this field, knowing that in it's a treasure. Jesus says the kingdom of God is like that. And to me, that's one of the coolest things about Jesus. Um if you if we just thought about all of the libraries of theological books and treatises and full of Greek and Latin and long explanations of uh people trying to explain the kingdom of God. Jesus says, well, there's this guy trespassing across a field, bumps into a treasure, goes back, sells his stuff, buys the field, the kingdom of God is like that. You know, and that's one of the things that that Jesus does so well is takes profound, deep truths and then makes them simple for us. The kingdom of God is like that. Literally, two sentences. That whole story. Two sentences to explain the kingdom of God. And he goes on, he says, or God's kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for excellent pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it. And that's it. Both stories. Four sentences, an explanation of the kingdom of God. Um I got a pearl story, it's actually Susan's Pearl story. But um the uh before our first Sunday, uh, our very first Sunday at uh at his hands, um, Susan and I uh went and visited a uh a Charismaniac uh church that we'd been uh excited about uh going to in Toronto, and uh and we had a great time, and it was so cool because what God had kind of deposited in us about just the love and and and what he would have us to be as a church, and you know, our kind of spot in the in the kingdom was just so reconfirmed. I mean, almost word for word while we were there. And we go to dinner um after that, and Susan uh orders oysters, and in her oyster she finds a perfect pearl. And you know how things are, they're they're you know uh especially meaningful uh to uh to the person, but it was just such a confirmation or affirmation for us, you know, as we started his hands the next Sunday, that we're kind of on the right track and we're hearing from God. And and really, even more than that, it was just the sweetest thing God did for one of his daughters, you know, to give her a gift like that. And so she brought it home and had a necklace made. And I was actually gonna bring it and show it to you, but I just don't have that much guts because if I lost it, I would uh I'd be in big trouble. But uh but really there's not a pearl on earth she would trade for that, you know. It's it's uh to her, it's a pearl of great price. Um in this story, it the Jesus tells here's somebody who's a pearl merchant. I mean, they know all about pearls. Uh they probably came from a long line because that's how it usually worked back then, of people that were in the in the pearl business. And so this guy is searching all over for the perfect pearl. And um and he finds it and the exact same thing. Uh sells everything. He doesn't have the money. He can't just get this pearl, even though he's on a mission to find a pearl. He has to make a decision. He's got to go all in, if you will, sell all of his pearls, sell everything he has, and to obtain this perfect pearl that he'd always been searching for. Now, this story would really resonate with uh Jesus' followers and the people of the time because the most famous piece of jewelry in the world of that time happened to be a pearl. And uh it was uh Cleopatra's. Uh she had a pearl that would have been worth over two billion dollars uh in today's money. You know, and she had died about 60 years before uh Jesus told the story. And so they would have that picture of what a pearl, you know, of great price uh might be like, might be worth. You know, taking a shortcut across someone else's property and stumbles upon a life-changing treasure. Another person's in the business searching, they're on a search for that particular treasure, and they find one greater than they could have um ever imagined. But the same reaction, you know, season the moment, going all in, going for it, um so they can have this uh this treasure. And Jesus told, I think, the two stories because it basically is the two types of people that find the treasure that's the kingdom of God. You know, the the people most of the the folks Jesus talking to would have been the first one, you know, just uh stumbling across the treasure. Uh Matthew, for instance, we call him Saint Matthew, but he was no saint at all when Jesus uh Jesus met him. He was a tax collector. You know, he wasn't out actively searching probably for anything other than more money, because that's the way the tax collectors were. But he stumbled across a great treasure. Same with you know, same with Peter, same with uh with many of uh of Jesus' followers. But they did go all in. I mean, for them, Matthew had uh a franchise, you know, he had a monopoly, he was the tax collector for for the region. You know, Jesus said, follow me, and that was that was that. Peter was a small business owner, he was a commercial fisherman, just had his biggest catch ever. Jesus said, Drop the nets, follow me. And he did, um, just like that. But there were others, more like the pearl merchant, that had been on a lifelong search for God, like Nicodemus, you know, or or Paul, you know, that that had looked and looked and tried to find God through rules and the law and religion, and then ultimately found the true treasure of a relationship with God. You know, their prophet Jeremiah had promised him. He had said that if you seek me with your whole heart, you would find Me. And they did in a life-changing way, different than they'd expected, but they traded all that in for the ultimate treasure. You know, God's good either way. He just wants a relationship with us. It's kind of interesting just how God is. And uh even these two stories that Jesus tells, uh, when Jesus was born, you might remember that God announced it to the world in a similar way. He had one group of people that came searching for him. You know, and uh and on a long trip looking and finding Jesus. Another group of people, the shepherds, were the least respected people of the day. They were just minding their business out in the field. And what they got was the greatest light show in history. And then they both ended up there with uh with Jesus. And so it's true of us too. You know, I mean, some of us uh have searched our whole life for God. Some of us stumbled upon him, you know, on accident. You know, for me, I'm I I guess I'm somewhere in between. Um if uh if you've been here long, you kind of know, I guess, my story, but I had to spend a third of my first 32 years in a church building somewhere. You know, it was Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, other meetings, and but man, you know, I got to 32 years old, and I just knew there had to be more. You know, I had a lot of head knowledge, but but that was about it. And so it took until I got into a really desperate situation, or it was a financial situation, and I just called out to God, and it was like, you know, if you're real, I just I need help. And I had one of those experiences, and something just like changed me. I went home and I read the Bible most of that night, and it literally was like I'd never read it before. Um actually I read Romans over and over, and uh and it was just it was just amazing. And then then I read the whole Bible, and and one of the things that jumped out to me was when Moses uh is talking to God, and it says that that they talked face to face like um a friend talks to a friend. And that blew me away because I never knew you could actually be friends with God. And um, but then as I read and read and read, I could see that that's exactly what God wanted. And so, in a sense, I guess I'd spent my life kind of searching for truth and God and that type of stuff. But eventually I just stumbled on the truth and onto the treasure. You know, a real freeing, life-giving relationship with God. It doesn't really matter how we find God, as long as we recognize the treasure when we see it. Jesus says that's what the kingdom of God is like. We search for it, we stumble upon it, but if we can just recognize it and go all in with God. I mentioned that in these parables, there's usually some practical things, uh, and then a more important, profound truth. Uh it's good to take just a minute and look at what could be the practical things because we never know what Jesus might be wanting to talk about with us uh um today. Uh you know, the commonality in these short stories is that both people recognized treasure and they immediately made an investment in it. And I would say if we're talking about a practical everyday application, the without a doubt, the treasure that we most often miss is our own families. You know, it's our spouses and and and it's our kids. Um I think that's why grandparents can be so goofy, you know, like uh like Susan and I with Brighton. It's because we realize that maybe I realize, I'll speak for myself, I didn't treasure the time with my children like I could have. You know, and so now with Brighton, it's not like looking forward to what he does next, it's enjoying what he's doing now. And and and whether it's our our marriages or our close friends or our relationships, they're worth that investment. You know, the commonality of those stories is it didn't just happen, they had to make an investment. And so when we recognize some of our true treasures uh in life, we just want to go go for them. And that's most true, I think, in our own uh families. You know, it's true in the business world. I'm kind of a contrarian business-wise, and I think that the common approach is diversification. And um and I think that's and I'm not talking about investments, that would be good. But from a from a business standpoint, uh each of the businesses I've been involved with, we've had a unique opportunity, uh a unique relationship or a unique product, and made the decision that we're gonna go all in on this one and really focus on what that unique opportunity is. And um and it's true, I think, in our careers, even, that God's wired us and gifted us in unique ways. And at some point, if we can recognize what that is, you know, what our our individual unique strength is, and then maximize that as much as possible, then we see God really using that as uh as he blesses um what we're doing with our work. And so there's like three quick things about noticing something valuable, making an investment, and go for it. And it's pretty quick because clearly this story, what Jesus is focused on is the profound truth. And um that a relationship with God is the ultimate treasure. And it's such, I guess, a good reminder for us because we're not in the same position as Jesus' followers in the day or the groups or the religious people. You know, he was trying to get them to see that the kingdom of God is something different than they're expecting. You know, uh for us, we know that, but I think it's just an opportunity to remind us how valuable it is. And so I was thinking about me personally. What could my response be to these two quick stories, just these four senses that uh that Jesus shares? And you know, I think that for me, one is just to stay thankful. You know, I tend to take my relationship with God for granted and to remind myself what a great treasure it is. Who would have ever thought that we would have a relationship with God, not based on our own goodness, but based on faith in Jesus and Him making the sacrifice, and that God, the creator of the universe, would want to adopt us as his own kids and would uh love us and take care of us and just to be thankful for that. And we're gonna have an opportunity, you know, we finish most Sundays with worship, and uh we're gonna do that here in a few minutes. And um usually I don't have anything to do with the songs that that we sing, which is which is great. And uh the Holy Spirit often, uh because I'm not good at that, but the Holy Spirit often works it all together. But this time it's actually kind of different. Uh Nathan was putting together the the songs for this morning. I asked him if we could finish with this song. And it's really an opportunity for us to be thankful, you know, and so the last song together really is how uh we're gonna finish what I uh wanted to share this morning. Um you know, in Jesus' story, the uh the man was ecstatic, it says, that he'd found that treasure. And that's usually our reaction at first, but over time sometimes that can wane. So just a reminder of what an amazing thing a relationship with God is. Um both guys had to invest. You know, they had to do something. And um, and so for me, you know, Nathan talked about time. And so I think that that's a good reminder for me is to not get so busy, which is something I constantly fight, but make sure I'm reinvesting uh time in that relationship. Just praying or or or even just hanging out with God and noticing you know the what he's doing all around and the wonders of his creation and uh and all that. And finally, I think a response Jesus would like to the story that that he saved for us would be simply to relax. Um just to relax. You know, what is it what what is it that we might be uh searching for? You know, I mean, could it be significance? I mean, could it be uh value? Could it be living forever? Could it be love? All of that is in the greatest treasure, the pearl of great price, a relationship with God. Jesus said this, he says in Luke 12, he says, What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax. Not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things. But you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God reality, God initiative, God provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don't be afraid of missing out. You're my dearest friends. The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself. Jude says, I, Jude, am a slave to Jesus Christ and brother to James. Writing to those loved by God the Father, called and kept safe by Jesus Christ. Relax. Everything's gonna be alright. Rest. Everything's coming together. Open your hearts. Love is on the way. In 1989, there's a guy named Donald Schear, and he lives in uh Pennsylvania. And he went to a flea market and uh bought a painting for four dollars. And he didn't really like the painting, it was the frame that he thought was a little bit unique. And so he gets it home, pops out the painting, notices a piece of paper back behind the painting. Turns out it's an original copy of the Declaration of Independence. Um there's only up to that point 24 that existed in the world. Um he sold it a couple months later for $2.4 million. Now, who would like to have that story? Anybody? Um Jesus is reminding us is that's all of our stories. We all have that story, but so much more. The the treasure of great price, a relationship with the living God. And so if the worship team wants to come up, we'll finish here. Let's stand and we'll get ready for that last song together. And if you if you can, you know, I know some of us we've got to go do a coffee shop and different things to help out, but hang around and and and let's uh let's all just sing uh this uh this last song together. You know, both of those stories talked about investment. And sometimes we think God is so um harsh, you know. I mean, for years I was honestly kind of afraid to totally go all in with God because I wasn't sure what he was gonna ask of me. You know, the uh if I was gonna end up swabbing baby's butts somewhere in uh another country or or what the deal was gonna be. And and he does ask us different things at different times, and it is a stretch, you know, in a good way, uh, how he grows us and changes us. But but the investment God asked for, the price for the pearl, the price for the treasure, is simply our trust. It's simply that. Is that in our own words, in our own way, we say to Jesus, I trust you. You know, I want to follow you. It could be other things, it could be like for me, you know, help me, save me. I'm sorry, you know, all those different different types of things. But but the cost is simply our trust. You know, and with that, we're all created in the image of God. Talk about value, each of us created in the very image of God. And like God, we have a spirit. And so when we take that step and we place our faith in Jesus, that spirit comes alive and it connects with God's spirit. And then the most incredible thing is he starts doing the heavy lifting. You know, I'd been told my whole life, up to a certain age, that I just had to do more and more and more and more. Come to find out that God's spirit changes us from the inside out, that he's the one that does the hard work, he's the one that changes us as people. And then eventually our whole lives change around us. And that is Jesus' story. The kingdom of God is like that, he says. It's like a treasure, it's like a pearl. Whether we've been looking for him our whole life or whether we stumbled upon him this morning, that treasure is ours if we just go all in with God. So let's pray. So, Father, we thank you for being such a great God. We thank you for preserving this story for us. I just ask you to stir up our hearts, just to uh uh maybe take a step of faith if that's where we're at, and obtain that treasure, or maybe just uh to remind us of what a treasure you are and what an opportunity it is to live with you, to be friends with you, to be your children. There's so many of us going through so many different things this week, God. You know what we need. I just ask you to bless each of us with whatever that is. And we love you and we trust you. It's in your name we pray, Jesus. Amen.