WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.379 Years ago, a woman wrote a story in Reader's Digest. 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:06.700 It was a true story from her childhood. 00:00:07.860 --> 00:00:12.620 It was about a summer that she spent with her grandmother in rural Missouri. 00:00:13.500 --> 00:00:17.780 And it was a really hot summer, and she had a job that was her job. 00:00:18.260 --> 00:00:24.120 Every day she had to walk all the way down to the mailbox and get the mail and bring it back. 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:25.800 And the walk was about a mile. 00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:32.820 And on her first day of doing this chore, her grandmother, as she was walking out the door, 00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:36.140 put a bucket in her hand and said, take the bucket with you. 00:00:36.859 --> 00:00:37.719 And she said, why? 00:00:37.780 --> 00:00:39.420 She complained, I don't want to have to carry this. 00:00:39.460 --> 00:00:40.340 It's already a long walk. 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:40.880 It's hot. 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:42.799 There's no point. 00:00:43.380 --> 00:00:47.560 And her grandmother said, well, you never know what you might find along your walk. 00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:48.359 Just take the bucket. 00:00:49.260 --> 00:00:53.240 So she takes the bucket, takes it about halfway, sets it down, gets the mail. 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:56.640 When she comes back, a few pokeberries have fallen into the bucket. 00:00:58.179 --> 00:01:01.179 So she takes the bucket home and says, look, I found some pokeberries. 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:03.340 And the grandmother says, great. 00:01:03.440 --> 00:01:05.859 And she crushes the berries up and makes some ink. 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:08.200 And they spend the afternoon drawing with pokeberry ink. 00:01:09.620 --> 00:01:14.780 Then the next day she goes, and along the way she notices some peppermint that she hadn't seen before. 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:16.140 And so she thinks, well, that'll be interesting. 00:01:16.260 --> 00:01:19.020 And so she picks the peppermint, puts it in the bucket, brings it back. 00:01:19.019 --> 00:01:23.179 And over the next several weeks, every day she goes out, she finds something. 00:01:23.259 --> 00:01:26.780 And she begins to notice all kinds of things that she hadn't noticed before. 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:33.379 Flowers and eggshells and abandoned bird nests and interesting rocks and all kinds of things. 00:01:34.500 --> 00:01:39.060 And then one day, weeks into the summer, she's out for a walk. 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:40.019 She has her bucket with her. 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:42.699 And she notices the monarch migration. 00:01:42.700 --> 00:01:48.000 And if you've ever seen the migration of the monarch butterflies, it's quite breathtaking. 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:51.939 And she sees all these butterflies being carried along by the wind. 00:01:52.060 --> 00:01:55.439 And she's totally taken by the beauty of it. 00:01:56.299 --> 00:02:00.040 And she gets home, and she's breathless, and she's telling her grandmother all about it. 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:05.879 And then she realizes that in all the excitement, she forgot to bring anything back in the bucket. 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:09.840 And she says, I forgot because I was so taken with the butterflies. 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:14.780 And the next morning, she wakes up, and she goes to get the mail, and she grabs the bucket. 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:18.319 And her grandmother stops her and says, you don't need the bucket anymore. 00:02:19.539 --> 00:02:25.000 And I love the story because we see that in this story, it's sentimental and all that. 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:28.480 But in the story, the bucket is a tool. 00:02:28.740 --> 00:02:29.900 It's like training wheels. 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:34.140 It's like training wheels for this little girl to learn how to see. 00:02:34.139 --> 00:02:39.299 How to see things that she was walking right by, not even noticing. 00:02:39.500 --> 00:02:43.079 How to see the magic and the mystery that was all around her. 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:52.419 When Jesus comes into the public sphere, when Jesus, around the age 30, begins his public ministry, 00:02:52.679 --> 00:02:58.199 one of the things that marks his ministry is that he teaches about something called the kingdom of God. 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:05.679 He begins to talk about this new reality that is breaking into our reality, an entirely new way of being. 00:03:05.979 --> 00:03:12.339 It's a new way of relating to God that didn't exist in any of the world's religions. 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:14.899 And it's a new way of relating to one another. 00:03:16.339 --> 00:03:21.379 And the primary way that he teaches about this kingdom of God, this kingdom of heaven, 00:03:21.379 --> 00:03:27.199 is with stories about everyday things, what the Bible calls parables. 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:31.659 And you see, the parables were like the bucket. 00:03:33.180 --> 00:03:40.340 They're tools that are meant to help his disciples see this new reality that was emerging all around them 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:43.759 that they might otherwise completely overlook. 00:03:44.300 --> 00:03:50.019 And so this summer, we're spending, like that little girl, we're going to spend the summer learning how to see. 00:03:50.020 --> 00:03:54.500 Learning how to see this reality called the kingdom by looking at these parables of Jesus. 00:03:55.219 --> 00:03:57.660 And tonight, we're just going to look at two really short parables. 00:03:58.180 --> 00:03:59.700 They're two very similar parables. 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:02.160 It's just three verses, and they're very similar. 00:04:02.500 --> 00:04:04.260 But they teach us a lot about the kingdom. 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:08.800 And these parables are found in Matthew chapter 13, verses 44 to 46. 00:04:09.300 --> 00:04:14.100 So what I want to do is summarize the parables and then ask what they teach us about the kingdom of God. 00:04:14.920 --> 00:04:16.720 So before we do that, let's pray together. 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:23.020 God, I thank you that in this room we have gathered here so many people, 00:04:23.700 --> 00:04:27.100 so many of us from so many different backgrounds and places and sets of assumptions. 00:04:27.820 --> 00:04:29.720 We are all coming out of our own contexts. 00:04:30.640 --> 00:04:37.400 One of our great hopes, Lord, is not that we have words written on a page or even spoken words, 00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:44.019 but that we have you and your promise to speak to us, sometimes through the most unlikely of circumstances. 00:04:44.659 --> 00:04:51.099 And so we pray that you would do that as only you can, Lord, in your wisdom and for your glory and our good. 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:53.219 And we ask this in your Son's name. Amen. 00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:58.000 So first, I just want to summarize these two parables. 00:04:58.140 --> 00:04:59.460 They're very short, a couple of verses. 00:05:00.260 --> 00:05:01.260 He tells two stories. 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:05.080 He says, first of all, imagine you have a man who's out working in a field. 00:05:05.280 --> 00:05:07.420 It's not his field. It belongs to somebody else. 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:09.960 And he's going along. 00:05:10.260 --> 00:05:11.300 He's plowing the field. 00:05:11.380 --> 00:05:14.720 And all of a sudden, the plow bumps up against something that doesn't sound like a rock. 00:05:15.020 --> 00:05:15.740 It sounds wooden. 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:20.860 So he gets out from behind the plow, gets down, looks, and it's a corner of a box. 00:05:20.939 --> 00:05:25.040 And so he digs it away, digs it away, pulls the box up and opens it. 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:31.180 And he realizes that he's stumbled upon, totally by accident, an immeasurably valuable treasure. 00:05:32.400 --> 00:05:38.439 And so he immediately closes the box, puts it back in the hole, covers it up, because it's not his field. 00:05:38.960 --> 00:05:40.340 And you see, the law is dubious here. 00:05:40.699 --> 00:05:42.060 Roman law was unclear. 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:43.879 Jewish law said finders keepers. 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:46.379 If you find it, it's yours. 00:05:46.579 --> 00:05:52.300 But Roman law, and Romans occupied the territory at the time, was unclear as to who that might belong to. 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:55.159 Finding treasure was not that uncommon. 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:58.680 See, you didn't have banks, safety deposit boxes. 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:01.300 Marauding armies were fairly common. 00:06:01.819 --> 00:06:07.740 And so if a marauding, hostile army were to come through your village, it was very common to go and to hide your valuables, 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:09.939 hope to survive, and then you could go get them again. 00:06:10.379 --> 00:06:11.719 And you might survive the looting. 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:17.000 But also, what might happen is that you might hide all your valuables, and then you would get killed, 00:06:17.280 --> 00:06:23.040 and then nobody would know that that stuff was there, and the land might change hands several times before anybody discovered it. 00:06:23.620 --> 00:06:25.180 So this is a likely scenario. 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:28.800 And the man wants to make sure that this treasure will belong to him, 00:06:28.960 --> 00:06:33.140 and so he goes and he sells everything so that he can buy the field just so he can have the treasure. 00:06:33.280 --> 00:06:34.200 So that's the first parable. 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:36.420 The second parable is similar. 00:06:38.139 --> 00:06:43.300 This time, unlike the field worker, see, the field worker, he's working, he's a day laborer, 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:49.259 the field doesn't belong to him, he's probably poor, he's probably uneducated, he's a laborer. 00:06:49.259 --> 00:06:55.779 But the second parable has to do with a pearl merchant, and we know that at this day and age, pearl merchants were very wealthy. 00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:58.079 So this person is in many ways the opposite. 00:06:58.219 --> 00:07:02.399 He's wealthy, he's probably educated, he's probably fairly cultured and well-traveled. 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:07.099 And this man's whole area of expertise is pearls. 00:07:07.799 --> 00:07:11.120 You know, unlike the guy in the field who stumbles upon the treasure totally by accident, 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:12.879 this guy knows this world. 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:18.199 All he does all day long is look for fine pearls, which is the Bible's way of saying good deals. 00:07:18.939 --> 00:07:21.060 You know, buy at a good price and sell at a higher price. 00:07:21.299 --> 00:07:24.639 Pearl he's ever seen, he immediately, and he spends all his life searching for pearls, 00:07:24.719 --> 00:07:27.620 and then he comes across the most beautiful pearl he's ever seen. 00:07:27.699 --> 00:07:29.519 He immediately recognizes what he has. 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:33.620 So he liquidates his entire inventory so that he can buy this one pearl. 00:07:34.699 --> 00:07:35.939 So these are the two parables. 00:07:36.359 --> 00:07:40.620 And now that we kind of know what they're saying, we want to ask a couple of questions of these 00:07:40.620 --> 00:07:44.139 and really look at what they're trying to tell us about the kingdom of heaven. 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:48.019 The two questions we're going to ask are these. 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:50.279 First of all, who is the kingdom of God for? 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:52.979 What kind of person? 00:07:53.099 --> 00:07:53.799 Who is it for? 00:07:54.419 --> 00:07:56.620 And then second, what happens when we find it? 00:07:57.299 --> 00:07:58.740 What happens when we find the kingdom? 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:02.839 So the first question, who is the kingdom of God for? 00:08:05.259 --> 00:08:10.539 As I alluded to a moment ago, these stories are very similar in some ways, 00:08:10.620 --> 00:08:14.819 but I want to notice the differences between these two stories. 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:16.299 There's a number of key differences. 00:08:17.879 --> 00:08:20.959 One man is poor, and one man is rich. 00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:25.539 One man is probably most likely fairly uneducated. 00:08:26.219 --> 00:08:30.779 One is probably pretty educated and well-traveled and worldly and cultured. 00:08:31.739 --> 00:08:35.939 One man finds the treasure by accident, totally by accident, just in the course of a normal day. 00:08:36.699 --> 00:08:42.419 And one man is actually seeking something just like this, and he knows it when he sees it. 00:08:42.419 --> 00:08:47.539 And these differences are striking because this really, from these differences, 00:08:47.740 --> 00:08:53.339 emerged the first point of these parables, which is this, that the kingdom of God, 00:08:53.979 --> 00:09:01.620 the spiritual treasure of Jesus, we might say, is not just for one kind of person. 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:05.000 It's not just for poor people. 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:06.879 It's not just for rich people. 00:09:07.100 --> 00:09:09.960 It's not just for educated people or uneducated people. 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:15.519 It's not just for any one race or ethnicity or country or culture. 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:22.659 And the reason is actually, the reason that it's not for any one person or any one group of people 00:09:22.659 --> 00:09:27.460 is because of the nature of the kingdom, the nature of how it comes to be. 00:09:27.699 --> 00:09:33.139 Because Christianity is the only religion in the world that's based not on anything we are. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:38.980 See, many of the world's religions, especially at the time Christianity came into being, 00:09:40.039 --> 00:09:43.480 were very closely tied to an ethnicity or a people group. 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:48.940 And part of what it meant to be that religion was that you were born into it. 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:52.139 With Christianity, it's not the case. 00:09:52.460 --> 00:09:57.200 It's not based at all on who we are, and it's not based on anything we do for God. 00:09:57.300 --> 00:10:03.740 It's the only religion there is that's based entirely on what God has done for us, for human beings. 00:10:04.379 --> 00:10:08.399 So becoming a Christian happens not when we pledge ourselves to God. 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:16.799 It actually happens when we recognize and believe and accept that God has actually pledged Himself to us. 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:20.019 That God has pledged Himself to us. 00:10:20.539 --> 00:10:22.799 That He's sacrificed Himself for us. 00:10:23.539 --> 00:10:28.340 And it's been said that the gospel, the news of this, is like the ocean. 00:10:28.340 --> 00:10:33.600 You know, it's shallow enough for the smallest of children to splash around in, 00:10:34.060 --> 00:10:37.780 and yet it's deep enough to confound the most skilled of mariners. 00:10:38.820 --> 00:10:41.300 You know, this is something that a child can understand, 00:10:41.560 --> 00:10:46.379 and yet it is so profound that it has challenged the most brilliant minds across the ages. 00:10:47.420 --> 00:10:51.639 This sense that God has done this for us and what that means. 00:10:51.899 --> 00:10:54.980 But because of this, the early church was radically diverse. 00:10:54.980 --> 00:10:59.200 You know, if you ever want to read a great book, and I mention this all the time, 00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:01.220 but Rodney Stark's The Rise of Christianity, 00:11:01.920 --> 00:11:04.840 he's a historical sociologist and wanted to answer the question, 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:07.420 why did the early church grow at the rate that it did? 00:11:08.100 --> 00:11:12.000 How did it go from being this tiny nothing of a sect of Judaism 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:14.519 to being the dominant religion in the Roman Empire? 00:11:15.420 --> 00:11:17.460 And it was profoundly diverse. 00:11:18.560 --> 00:11:21.180 One of the great examples of this is the city of Antioch. 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:23.200 I mean, imagine if they did this today. 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:26.759 So when they built Antioch, Antioch is, by the way, 00:11:26.820 --> 00:11:28.500 where they first started calling Christians Christians. 00:11:28.680 --> 00:11:29.480 It's where they got the name. 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:31.900 It was originally a derogatory term. 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:35.879 But Antioch, when they first built it, they didn't just build a wall around the city. 00:11:36.500 --> 00:11:38.320 They built walls all throughout the city. 00:11:38.400 --> 00:11:44.660 They actually divided the city with walls into 18 individual kind of ethnic ghettos. 00:11:44.659 --> 00:11:50.600 And the idea was to separate and give each ethnic group, each culture, 00:11:50.719 --> 00:11:54.860 their own section of the city, and the walls divided it. 00:11:55.939 --> 00:12:00.399 And so each kind of quadrant or quarter or ghetto had its own culture, 00:12:00.500 --> 00:12:03.000 its own customs, its own language, its own religion, 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:07.179 because religions were very closely tied to culture and ethnicity. 00:12:07.539 --> 00:12:10.240 And that was the case in Antioch until the gospel came. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:17.019 And for the first time in history, the Christians went over the walls 00:12:17.019 --> 00:12:21.440 because they recognized that the gospel was something that was meant for everybody, 00:12:21.680 --> 00:12:24.060 that it wasn't just limited to one people group. 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:26.680 And so they began to cross the walls. 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:28.019 They were the wall crossers. 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:31.480 And they began to tell everybody about the kingdom of heaven. 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:35.379 And so you have this amazing little place in Acts chapter 13 00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:38.659 where we actually see the leadership team of the church in Antioch. 00:12:38.759 --> 00:12:42.139 Imagine this leadership team of a church in our day, 00:12:42.279 --> 00:12:43.960 not to mention in a place like Antioch. 00:12:44.840 --> 00:12:47.879 The leadership team includes a Jewish Pharisee, 00:12:48.500 --> 00:12:51.159 a black African, a Roman, 00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:54.159 a Levite who's ethnically Greek, 00:12:54.559 --> 00:12:56.740 and then a Greek person who's a Roman prince. 00:12:57.740 --> 00:12:59.440 That's the leadership team of the church. 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:03.480 So John Stott says these five men represented three continents 00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:05.540 and four different ethnic groups, 00:13:05.900 --> 00:13:07.580 all part of one church. 00:13:07.680 --> 00:13:10.340 That was unheard of in this time. 00:13:12.640 --> 00:13:15.120 So the kingdom of God is not just for one kind of person. 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:15.900 It's for all people. 00:13:16.020 --> 00:13:17.480 Another way that this applies is this. 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:19.460 It's not just for religious people. 00:13:21.380 --> 00:13:23.200 You know, being in D.C. for the last eight years, 00:13:23.300 --> 00:13:25.040 one of the most common conversations I have 00:13:25.040 --> 00:13:27.640 with people who aren't a part of any church, 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:30.139 when they ask what I do and I tell them, 00:13:30.779 --> 00:13:33.460 many times the conversation goes in this direction. 00:13:33.559 --> 00:13:34.379 People say, well, that's great. 00:13:34.419 --> 00:13:36.360 I'm so glad that you can believe that, 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:39.139 and that obviously is great for you and your family, 00:13:39.259 --> 00:13:41.159 but I'm just not a very religious person, 00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:43.279 or I'm not a spiritual person. 00:13:43.980 --> 00:13:46.100 And that's a kind of a way of saying, 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:48.500 you know, some people have religious needs and inclinations, 00:13:48.500 --> 00:13:50.319 and some people are not inclined in that way. 00:13:50.699 --> 00:13:52.240 And religions are good for those people 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:53.360 that are inclined that way, 00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:56.419 but religions, you know, really are irrelevant 00:13:56.419 --> 00:13:58.099 for people who aren't religiously inclined. 00:13:58.599 --> 00:14:00.240 And that's kind of the assumption underneath that. 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:01.939 But what this is saying, 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:05.139 the idea behind this parable, 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:08.740 if you compare the pearl merchant and the day laborer, 00:14:08.740 --> 00:14:09.279 what do you see? 00:14:09.959 --> 00:14:12.659 The pearl merchant is the religiously inclined person. 00:14:13.299 --> 00:14:14.579 This is the person who's seeking, 00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:16.120 who wants to know, 00:14:16.419 --> 00:14:18.399 who's evaluating the world's religions, 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:19.659 who has that, you know, 00:14:19.740 --> 00:14:21.079 God-shaped hole in their heart, 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:21.919 and they're aware of it, 00:14:21.939 --> 00:14:22.740 and they want to fill it. 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:24.419 And so they're reading the philosophers, 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:26.440 they're reading the truth claims out there, 00:14:26.539 --> 00:14:27.440 and they're wanting to know, 00:14:27.560 --> 00:14:28.879 is there anything real for me? 00:14:30.259 --> 00:14:31.340 But the day laborer, 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:32.240 what is the day laborer? 00:14:33.580 --> 00:14:35.220 This is the person who doesn't care. 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:37.519 They don't care about religion. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:39.340 At best, they tolerate it. 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:41.299 People tell them, 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:42.560 you have a God-shaped hole in your heart, 00:14:42.700 --> 00:14:44.039 they have no idea what they're talking about. 00:14:44.120 --> 00:14:44.899 They've never felt that. 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:45.820 They don't really think about it. 00:14:45.860 --> 00:14:46.460 They don't really care. 00:14:46.680 --> 00:14:47.899 They don't really ask these questions. 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:51.000 They're not religiously or spiritually inclined 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:52.379 in any way that they're aware of. 00:14:53.639 --> 00:14:55.820 This is the guy who just shows up at work one day. 00:14:56.419 --> 00:14:57.700 He's not thinking about anything 00:14:57.700 --> 00:14:58.919 other than what he's going to do on the weekend. 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:01.460 He's got nothing on his mind 00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:03.120 that has anything to do with anything, 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:04.360 and then all of a sudden, boom, 00:15:04.659 --> 00:15:05.840 he slams into something. 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:08.340 He investigates, 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:11.059 and then it changes his life. 00:15:12.019 --> 00:15:13.799 You know, I read about this guy, 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:17.299 and it reminds me of this story of John Shore. 00:15:17.299 --> 00:15:19.699 And I don't, you know, 00:15:19.859 --> 00:15:21.279 these days I wouldn't agree with everything 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:22.639 Shore puts out there, 00:15:22.779 --> 00:15:24.500 but when you read the story of his conversion, 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:25.459 it's pretty amazing. 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:26.839 He wrote a book about it. 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:28.719 I read about it in the Huffington Post 00:15:28.719 --> 00:15:29.799 a few years back. 00:15:30.859 --> 00:15:32.359 But the title will tell you a lot. 00:15:32.419 --> 00:15:34.039 The title of the article is this, 00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:36.319 I, a rabid anti-Christian, 00:15:36.599 --> 00:15:37.599 very suddenly convert. 00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:38.419 Right? 00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:40.120 So here's a guy, John Shore. 00:15:40.359 --> 00:15:41.879 He just turns up at work one day, 00:15:41.899 --> 00:15:42.259 and he says, 00:15:42.479 --> 00:15:43.419 at this point in his life, 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:43.979 he, 00:15:43.980 --> 00:15:47.060 not only is he not religiously inclined, 00:15:47.139 --> 00:15:48.180 he's pretty anti-Christian. 00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:49.460 He thinks Christianity is stupid. 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:51.139 He thinks it's for kind of immature, 00:15:51.300 --> 00:15:52.240 weak-minded individuals. 00:15:52.560 --> 00:15:53.700 He hasn't thought much about it. 00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:56.039 His view of himself is pretty good. 00:15:56.139 --> 00:15:57.800 He's, you know, 00:15:57.860 --> 00:15:58.680 high self-confidence, 00:15:58.800 --> 00:15:59.500 high self-esteem. 00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:01.580 Thinks he's a pretty decent person. 00:16:01.940 --> 00:16:03.120 And he just goes to work one day, 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:05.460 and he's like sitting there at his job, 00:16:05.800 --> 00:16:06.399 and all of a sudden, 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:07.920 he says this feeling comes over him. 00:16:08.680 --> 00:16:09.800 And he says he couldn't describe it. 00:16:09.820 --> 00:16:10.879 It's like he was being filled up 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:11.620 with warm water. 00:16:11.620 --> 00:16:13.740 And he says that he knows 00:16:13.740 --> 00:16:14.799 that something's happening to him, 00:16:14.820 --> 00:16:15.179 and he knows, 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:16.139 he doesn't know what's going to happen, 00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:17.159 but he's got to get out of there. 00:16:17.379 --> 00:16:18.419 So he tells his co-worker, 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:19.659 I'm going to go use the bathroom. 00:16:19.860 --> 00:16:20.419 He gets up, 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:21.560 and the only place he can find to go 00:16:21.560 --> 00:16:22.720 that's private is a broom closet. 00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:24.899 So he runs into the broom closet, 00:16:25.060 --> 00:16:25.580 slams the door, 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:26.580 and he just kind of stands there. 00:16:27.580 --> 00:16:28.220 And he says, 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:28.879 and he says this, 00:16:28.940 --> 00:16:29.299 he says, 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:30.720 and what happened, 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:32.340 as he's standing there in the broom closet, 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:33.899 rather all at once, 00:16:34.340 --> 00:16:35.519 was that I saw 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:37.159 what a complete a-hole I was. 00:16:38.460 --> 00:16:38.980 And he says, 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:39.759 isn't that awful? 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:41.159 And he says, 00:16:41.220 --> 00:16:41.759 all at once, 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:42.860 the truth was before me 00:16:42.860 --> 00:16:44.179 that instead of being a good guy 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:45.279 who's basically always trying 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:46.080 to do the right thing, 00:16:46.259 --> 00:16:47.179 I was a selfish, 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:48.419 emotional weakling 00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:49.919 who was always doing and saying 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:50.840 whatever best served 00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:52.080 my own needs at the time. 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:53.939 And then he goes on 00:16:53.939 --> 00:16:55.460 to just reflect on 00:16:55.460 --> 00:16:57.779 this new view of himself. 00:16:58.500 --> 00:16:58.960 And he says, 00:16:59.019 --> 00:17:00.159 what was worse than realizing 00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:01.240 that I was a total a-hole 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:02.519 is realizing that I was 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:03.559 never going to change. 00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:04.700 He said, 00:17:04.740 --> 00:17:05.500 all these illusions 00:17:05.500 --> 00:17:06.720 that one day I'll be more mature, 00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:07.879 one day I'll be more selfless, 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:08.879 one day I'll be more caring, 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:09.820 one day I'll be more charitable. 00:17:10.100 --> 00:17:10.440 He says, 00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:11.260 that's not going to happen. 00:17:12.060 --> 00:17:12.420 And he says, 00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:12.960 what's more, 00:17:13.040 --> 00:17:14.360 I realized that I was going to die 00:17:14.360 --> 00:17:15.180 and I was going to die 00:17:15.180 --> 00:17:16.160 just like this. 00:17:16.940 --> 00:17:17.420 And he says, 00:17:17.460 --> 00:17:18.920 shouldn't I at least like myself 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:20.720 before I die? 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:21.980 But that's not going to happen. 00:17:23.040 --> 00:17:24.280 And he starts to cry 00:17:24.280 --> 00:17:25.880 and he falls down to his knees. 00:17:26.340 --> 00:17:26.900 And he says, 00:17:26.940 --> 00:17:27.700 can you picture it? 00:17:27.800 --> 00:17:28.700 I never cry. 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:30.240 I've never had anything 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:31.180 like this happen to me before. 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:32.220 And there I am on my knees 00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:32.820 in the broom closet 00:17:32.820 --> 00:17:33.420 at my job 00:17:33.420 --> 00:17:34.560 weeping like a baby. 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:37.099 And then he says, 00:17:37.139 --> 00:17:38.059 he hears a little voice 00:17:38.059 --> 00:17:39.799 not unlike a little cartoon voice 00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:42.079 say into his mind, 00:17:42.419 --> 00:17:44.019 isn't this what Jesus is for? 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:46.019 And he says, 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:47.039 and just like that 00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:47.879 I stopped crying. 00:17:48.779 --> 00:17:49.500 And do you know 00:17:49.500 --> 00:17:50.579 what I knew at that moment? 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:53.179 What instantly imprinted itself 00:17:53.179 --> 00:17:53.759 upon me? 00:17:54.679 --> 00:17:56.079 That the story of Jesus 00:17:56.079 --> 00:17:57.399 is historically true. 00:17:58.059 --> 00:17:59.000 That it happened. 00:17:59.539 --> 00:18:01.259 That God desiring above all else 00:18:01.259 --> 00:18:02.539 to show people he'd created 00:18:02.539 --> 00:18:03.279 that he loved them, 00:18:03.579 --> 00:18:04.299 became a human, 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:05.339 came to earth, 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:06.859 and sacrificed himself 00:18:06.859 --> 00:18:07.480 and in every way 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:09.039 did everything he possibly could 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:10.000 to show people 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:11.240 exactly how deeply 00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:12.599 and terribly he loves them. 00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:14.299 And he says, 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:15.359 that's what my conversion 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:16.139 consisted of, 00:18:16.180 --> 00:18:17.759 a sudden sure knowledge 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:20.399 that the historical story 00:18:20.399 --> 00:18:21.539 of Christ is true. 00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:25.279 How many times 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:26.759 had that day laborer 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:29.240 been working in that field, 00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:31.319 walked across that field, 00:18:31.319 --> 00:18:33.000 been there 10, 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:34.200 12 hours a day, 00:18:34.879 --> 00:18:37.839 having no idea 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:39.779 that the priceless treasure 00:18:39.779 --> 00:18:41.359 that would change his life 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:42.419 was right there 00:18:42.419 --> 00:18:43.079 under his feet? 00:18:44.619 --> 00:18:45.659 And it makes me think, 00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:46.339 how many times 00:18:46.339 --> 00:18:47.539 had John Shore 00:18:47.539 --> 00:18:49.059 heard the gospel? 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:49.379 I mean, 00:18:49.419 --> 00:18:50.740 he grew up in the United States. 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:52.279 How many times 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:53.139 had he heard this? 00:18:54.159 --> 00:18:54.500 You know, 00:18:54.859 --> 00:18:55.879 Jesus died for his sins, 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:56.379 blah, blah, blah. 00:18:56.460 --> 00:18:56.619 You know, 00:18:56.659 --> 00:18:57.639 we could all repeat it. 00:18:57.639 --> 00:18:58.159 You can go out 00:18:58.159 --> 00:18:58.960 to anybody on the street 00:18:58.960 --> 00:18:59.480 and ask them 00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:00.619 and they could probably repeat it. 00:19:00.619 --> 00:19:01.479 How many times 00:19:01.479 --> 00:19:02.379 had he heard this 00:19:02.379 --> 00:19:03.839 and had no idea 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:05.059 that just under the surface 00:19:05.059 --> 00:19:05.959 of those words 00:19:05.959 --> 00:19:06.779 that he had heard 00:19:06.779 --> 00:19:07.539 all his life 00:19:07.539 --> 00:19:08.819 was a priceless treasure? 00:19:10.459 --> 00:19:11.399 And it makes me think 00:19:11.399 --> 00:19:11.959 about us, 00:19:12.059 --> 00:19:12.299 you know, 00:19:12.379 --> 00:19:12.619 I mean, 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:13.599 as I have said 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:14.079 a couple of times, 00:19:14.139 --> 00:19:14.679 one of the great things 00:19:14.679 --> 00:19:15.259 about our church 00:19:15.259 --> 00:19:16.359 is there are so many people, 00:19:16.479 --> 00:19:17.000 some are Christians, 00:19:17.139 --> 00:19:17.659 some are not. 00:19:18.539 --> 00:19:19.579 So I'll ask those of you 00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:20.979 who would not consider 00:19:20.979 --> 00:19:21.939 yourselves to be Christians, 00:19:22.939 --> 00:19:24.359 is it possible, 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:26.159 have you ever considered 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:28.759 that you spend your life 00:19:28.759 --> 00:19:29.820 on the threshold 00:19:29.820 --> 00:19:31.920 of this immeasurably 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:32.740 valuable treasure? 00:19:33.220 --> 00:19:34.519 If only you would stop 00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:35.220 and look and see 00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:36.180 what's in that box. 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:38.300 And is there any way 00:19:38.300 --> 00:19:39.580 that your life is knocking up 00:19:39.580 --> 00:19:40.820 against that box right now? 00:19:41.120 --> 00:19:42.200 Is it worth a look? 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:46.040 So the first question is this, 00:19:46.140 --> 00:19:48.040 who is the kingdom of God for? 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:48.360 Well, 00:19:49.060 --> 00:19:49.840 it's for everyone. 00:19:50.019 --> 00:19:50.759 It's for rich people 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:51.360 and poor people 00:19:51.360 --> 00:19:52.200 and educated people 00:19:52.200 --> 00:19:53.200 and uneducated people. 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:54.840 It's for the religiously inclined 00:19:54.840 --> 00:19:56.240 and the non-religiously inclined. 00:19:56.920 --> 00:19:57.120 You know, 00:19:57.200 --> 00:19:57.880 most of the people 00:19:57.880 --> 00:19:58.779 that came into the church 00:19:58.779 --> 00:20:00.420 were not the religious people 00:20:00.420 --> 00:20:01.900 of Jesus' day. 00:20:02.200 --> 00:20:02.799 They were the people 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:04.000 who didn't fit into the religion. 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:04.700 They were the people, 00:20:05.120 --> 00:20:06.259 the slaves 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:08.140 and the eunuchs 00:20:08.140 --> 00:20:08.960 and the widows 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:09.700 and the orphans 00:20:09.700 --> 00:20:10.640 are the people 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:11.380 who didn't really feel 00:20:11.380 --> 00:20:12.080 that they had a place 00:20:12.080 --> 00:20:13.039 in proper society. 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:15.080 But they found a place 00:20:15.080 --> 00:20:15.559 in the kingdom. 00:20:16.920 --> 00:20:18.100 So that's the first question. 00:20:19.180 --> 00:20:20.700 Second question is this, 00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:22.259 what happens when we 00:20:22.259 --> 00:20:24.220 find the kingdom? 00:20:25.339 --> 00:20:26.599 How do you know you found it? 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:27.259 What happens? 00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:29.859 To go back to the parables 00:20:29.859 --> 00:20:30.319 for a second, 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:31.940 imagine what people were saying 00:20:31.940 --> 00:20:32.599 about the two guys 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:33.039 in the parable. 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:34.140 Just imagine for a second. 00:20:35.180 --> 00:20:35.400 Like, 00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:35.799 hey, 00:20:35.859 --> 00:20:36.660 you know that lot 00:20:36.660 --> 00:20:37.500 on the edge of town? 00:20:37.859 --> 00:20:38.640 That empty lot 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:39.660 with all the rocks 00:20:39.660 --> 00:20:40.259 and the kudzu 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:41.039 and the poison ivy? 00:20:42.180 --> 00:20:43.519 Did you hear what Joe did? 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:46.900 Joe sold his house, 00:20:47.180 --> 00:20:48.039 he sold his car, 00:20:48.259 --> 00:20:49.759 and he cashed in his 401k 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:50.900 and he bought that lot. 00:20:51.619 --> 00:20:52.119 And people would say, 00:20:52.119 --> 00:20:52.859 that's insane. 00:20:52.959 --> 00:20:53.639 Who would do that? 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:54.259 You know? 00:20:54.459 --> 00:20:54.779 I mean, 00:20:54.819 --> 00:20:55.679 maybe in D.C., 00:20:55.679 --> 00:20:56.659 but in most places, 00:20:56.819 --> 00:20:58.639 most places 00:20:58.639 --> 00:20:59.399 that's not going to happen. 00:20:59.699 --> 00:20:59.899 Right? 00:21:01.219 --> 00:21:02.619 And then imagine people 00:21:02.619 --> 00:21:03.639 talking about the pearl merchant. 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:05.599 Did you see the collection 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:06.279 that guy had? 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:06.859 That guy had some 00:21:06.859 --> 00:21:08.079 of the most rare pearls 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:09.539 in the world. 00:21:09.659 --> 00:21:10.319 He had the most amazing, 00:21:10.500 --> 00:21:11.000 have you ever been 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:11.819 to his pearl seller 00:21:11.819 --> 00:21:12.799 and seen his pearls? 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:13.559 Right? 00:21:14.699 --> 00:21:15.419 Did you know that 00:21:15.419 --> 00:21:16.419 that guy liquidated 00:21:16.419 --> 00:21:17.799 his entire inventory 00:21:17.799 --> 00:21:19.119 for one pearl? 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:20.859 And people would look 00:21:20.859 --> 00:21:21.419 at them and be like, 00:21:21.459 --> 00:21:22.319 they got hosed. 00:21:22.719 --> 00:21:23.659 They got taken advantage of. 00:21:23.679 --> 00:21:24.559 They got ripped off. 00:21:24.959 --> 00:21:25.759 They had no idea. 00:21:26.699 --> 00:21:28.159 It was a huge loss. 00:21:28.239 --> 00:21:28.719 Why would they do 00:21:28.719 --> 00:21:29.399 something so stupid? 00:21:29.539 --> 00:21:30.059 I thought he was 00:21:30.059 --> 00:21:30.639 a good businessman. 00:21:32.239 --> 00:21:32.539 See, 00:21:32.579 --> 00:21:33.179 on the outside, 00:21:33.179 --> 00:21:34.359 it looks like these men 00:21:34.359 --> 00:21:35.779 are making a huge mistake. 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:38.480 But the whole point 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:39.119 of the parable is this. 00:21:39.180 --> 00:21:40.039 They know something 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:42.680 that everybody else 00:21:42.680 --> 00:21:43.339 doesn't know. 00:21:44.740 --> 00:21:45.960 Because they alone 00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:47.740 see that this treasure 00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:48.619 that they found 00:21:48.619 --> 00:21:50.480 is worth infinitely more 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:51.740 than anything else 00:21:51.740 --> 00:21:52.299 in their lives. 00:21:52.420 --> 00:21:53.000 And that's really 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:53.879 the point of these parables. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:54.279 It's this. 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:54.920 Here's the point. 00:21:56.299 --> 00:21:57.359 The kingdom of God 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:58.399 is so valuable 00:21:58.399 --> 00:22:00.359 that it is worth 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:02.119 sacrificing anything 00:22:02.119 --> 00:22:05.399 to gain it. 00:22:05.779 --> 00:22:06.539 The kingdom of God 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:07.399 is so valuable 00:22:07.399 --> 00:22:08.019 that it's worth 00:22:08.019 --> 00:22:09.559 sacrificing anything 00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:10.899 to gain it. 00:22:11.740 --> 00:22:12.519 What that means 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:13.319 is it touches 00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:14.920 every part of your life. 00:22:16.839 --> 00:22:18.259 It calls every aspect 00:22:18.259 --> 00:22:18.920 of your life 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:19.619 into question. 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:21.420 You know, 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:21.759 it's interesting. 00:22:21.859 --> 00:22:22.680 I think we live 00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:23.160 in a culture 00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:23.819 where we love 00:22:23.819 --> 00:22:25.319 to take religious ideas 00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:27.019 and sort of refashion them 00:22:27.019 --> 00:22:28.359 in a way that fits 00:22:28.359 --> 00:22:30.240 our sensibilities, right? 00:22:30.420 --> 00:22:30.619 I mean, 00:22:30.660 --> 00:22:32.460 think about mindfulness, right? 00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:33.359 I used to be a therapist 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:33.980 and mindfulness 00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:34.899 was all the rage 00:22:34.900 --> 00:22:35.920 when I was a therapist. 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:37.560 Mindfulness comes out 00:22:37.560 --> 00:22:38.340 of the Buddhist tradition 00:22:38.340 --> 00:22:39.820 and it's a way 00:22:39.820 --> 00:22:40.700 of cultivating 00:22:40.700 --> 00:22:41.940 a sense of detachment 00:22:41.940 --> 00:22:43.340 from the material world, 00:22:43.500 --> 00:22:44.220 right? 00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:47.420 But it's taken off 00:22:47.420 --> 00:22:48.000 in our culture 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:48.920 primarily where? 00:22:49.780 --> 00:22:51.160 In huge corporations 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:52.880 that have learned 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:53.480 that if they teach 00:22:53.480 --> 00:22:54.080 their employees 00:22:54.080 --> 00:22:54.580 mindfulness, 00:22:54.920 --> 00:22:56.480 it will increase productivity. 00:22:57.519 --> 00:22:58.660 Isn't that a bit ironic? 00:22:59.660 --> 00:23:00.380 Or, you know, 00:23:00.420 --> 00:23:01.220 many of us do yoga 00:23:01.220 --> 00:23:01.940 and we love yoga, 00:23:01.940 --> 00:23:02.759 but, you know, 00:23:02.840 --> 00:23:04.000 yoga came from a tradition 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.600 that yoga was originally 00:23:06.600 --> 00:23:07.320 used as a way 00:23:07.320 --> 00:23:08.519 to enable your body 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:09.779 to stay in the same position 00:23:09.779 --> 00:23:11.259 so you could meditate longer, 00:23:11.600 --> 00:23:12.600 so that you could transcend 00:23:12.600 --> 00:23:13.660 any sense of yourself. 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:17.779 But yoga has kind of become 00:23:17.779 --> 00:23:20.500 fodder for Instagram feeds 00:23:20.500 --> 00:23:22.460 and a market for 00:23:22.460 --> 00:23:24.740 $100 Lululemon yoga pants. 00:23:24.740 --> 00:23:27.200 We as a culture 00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:28.859 like to take religious ideas 00:23:28.859 --> 00:23:30.920 and repurpose them, right? 00:23:31.019 --> 00:23:32.259 Along the lines of our values. 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:33.500 And we've done the same thing, 00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:34.180 maybe even worse, 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:34.819 with Christianity. 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:35.819 You know, 00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:36.640 Christianity is good, 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:37.500 but let's infuse it 00:23:37.500 --> 00:23:38.620 with some materialism 00:23:38.620 --> 00:23:39.380 and commercialism 00:23:39.380 --> 00:23:40.160 and individualism, 00:23:40.700 --> 00:23:41.000 you know? 00:23:41.180 --> 00:23:42.220 Then it'll fit us. 00:23:42.579 --> 00:23:43.819 And what this parable shows us 00:23:43.819 --> 00:23:45.039 is that the kingdom of God 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:46.140 doesn't work that way. 00:23:46.299 --> 00:23:47.460 It can't, by definition, 00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:48.620 work that way. 00:23:49.819 --> 00:23:50.759 The kingdom of God 00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:51.299 is not something 00:23:51.299 --> 00:23:51.859 that we take 00:23:51.859 --> 00:23:53.140 and fit into our lives. 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:53.980 The kingdom of God 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:54.700 is a reality 00:23:54.700 --> 00:23:56.319 into which we fit. 00:23:57.039 --> 00:23:57.700 And that's why 00:23:57.700 --> 00:23:58.740 it calls everything 00:23:58.740 --> 00:23:59.579 in our lives 00:23:59.579 --> 00:24:00.380 into question. 00:24:01.079 --> 00:24:01.299 You know, 00:24:01.319 --> 00:24:02.019 this reminds me 00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:02.579 of the story 00:24:02.579 --> 00:24:04.920 from Rosaria Champagne Butterfield 00:24:04.920 --> 00:24:06.839 who wrote a book 00:24:06.839 --> 00:24:07.059 called 00:24:07.059 --> 00:24:07.860 The Secret Thoughts 00:24:07.860 --> 00:24:09.039 of an Unlikely Convert. 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:11.880 She's a bit like 00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:12.620 the pearl merchant. 00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:15.259 If John Shore 00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:16.299 is like the day laborer, 00:24:16.339 --> 00:24:16.880 she's a bit like 00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:17.460 the pearl merchant. 00:24:19.019 --> 00:24:20.339 She describes herself 00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:21.059 in her book 00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:22.900 as an agnostic, 00:24:23.539 --> 00:24:23.920 liberal, 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:25.259 lesbian activist 00:24:25.259 --> 00:24:26.460 university professor. 00:24:27.140 --> 00:24:28.200 She, at the time 00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:28.839 that this happened, 00:24:28.920 --> 00:24:29.700 was writing a book 00:24:29.700 --> 00:24:30.799 about the Christian right. 00:24:31.420 --> 00:24:32.799 And she was doing 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:33.700 a lot of research, 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:35.120 not only on the Christian right, 00:24:35.180 --> 00:24:36.019 but on the Christian faith 00:24:36.019 --> 00:24:36.440 as a whole. 00:24:36.599 --> 00:24:37.299 And she's essentially 00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:38.180 looking for dirt. 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:39.460 She's looking for anything 00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:40.819 that she can kind of use 00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:41.559 to make the points 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:42.319 that she wants to make 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:43.259 in this book. 00:24:44.599 --> 00:24:46.480 And she's looking for fodder, 00:24:46.539 --> 00:24:47.059 and she says 00:24:47.059 --> 00:24:48.480 that she very unexpectedly, 00:24:49.620 --> 00:24:50.220 through a number 00:24:50.220 --> 00:24:50.900 of relationships 00:24:50.900 --> 00:24:51.819 that she developed, 00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:53.039 came face to face 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:53.759 with the reality 00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:54.539 of the living God. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:56.119 And this is not something 00:24:56.119 --> 00:24:57.000 that she was looking for. 00:24:57.200 --> 00:24:57.819 It's actually something 00:24:57.819 --> 00:24:58.519 that she was attempting 00:24:58.519 --> 00:24:59.279 to disprove. 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:01.480 And that led 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:02.220 to what she says 00:25:02.220 --> 00:25:03.259 she can only describe 00:25:03.259 --> 00:25:04.940 as a train wrecked life. 00:25:05.940 --> 00:25:08.019 A train wreck, right? 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:10.359 And here's what she says 00:25:10.359 --> 00:25:10.779 about it. 00:25:10.899 --> 00:25:11.259 She says, 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:11.819 that night, 00:25:12.180 --> 00:25:12.879 that night, 00:25:12.879 --> 00:25:14.559 I prayed and asked God 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:15.700 if the gospel message 00:25:15.700 --> 00:25:17.019 was for someone like me. 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:18.859 I viscerally felt 00:25:18.859 --> 00:25:20.019 the living presence of God 00:25:20.019 --> 00:25:20.660 as I prayed. 00:25:21.379 --> 00:25:22.420 Jesus seemed present 00:25:22.420 --> 00:25:23.059 and alive. 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:24.940 I knew that I was not alone 00:25:24.940 --> 00:25:25.440 in my room, 00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:25.980 and I prayed 00:25:25.980 --> 00:25:27.379 that if Jesus was truly 00:25:27.379 --> 00:25:28.619 a real and risen God, 00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:30.180 that He would change my heart. 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:31.799 And if He was real, 00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:32.660 and if I was His, 00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:34.119 I prayed that He would give me 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:35.000 the strength of mind 00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:35.759 to follow Him 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:37.220 and the character 00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:38.279 to become a godly woman. 00:25:38.279 --> 00:25:39.519 I prayed for the strength 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:40.059 of character 00:25:40.059 --> 00:25:41.420 to repent for a sin 00:25:41.420 --> 00:25:42.139 that at the time 00:25:42.139 --> 00:25:43.500 I didn't feel like sin at all. 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:46.399 At the time, 00:25:46.460 --> 00:25:47.639 my sin felt like life, 00:25:47.740 --> 00:25:48.399 plain and simple. 00:25:49.339 --> 00:25:49.700 She says, 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:51.139 I prayed that if my life 00:25:51.139 --> 00:25:52.480 was actually His life, 00:25:52.680 --> 00:25:53.859 that He would take it back 00:25:53.859 --> 00:25:54.680 and make it 00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:55.859 what He wanted it to be. 00:25:56.660 --> 00:25:58.039 I asked Him to take it all, 00:25:58.299 --> 00:25:59.059 my sexuality, 00:25:59.240 --> 00:25:59.819 my profession, 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:00.539 my community, 00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:01.299 my tastes, 00:26:01.460 --> 00:26:01.980 my books, 00:26:02.259 --> 00:26:03.059 my tomorrows. 00:26:03.859 --> 00:26:05.119 And then she says this, 00:26:05.160 --> 00:26:05.599 and this is why 00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:06.480 I really like this quote, 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:09.160 two incommensurable worldviews 00:26:09.160 --> 00:26:10.279 clashed together. 00:26:11.099 --> 00:26:13.200 The reality of my lived experience 00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:15.700 and the truth of the Word of God. 00:26:17.180 --> 00:26:19.099 So this is the kingdom of God 00:26:19.099 --> 00:26:20.900 breaking into somebody's life. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:22.799 The kingdom of God 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:23.740 is a reality 00:26:23.740 --> 00:26:25.559 that is not commensurate with 00:26:25.559 --> 00:26:27.539 our experience. 00:26:27.620 --> 00:26:28.120 In other words, 00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:29.059 they're not equal. 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:31.519 That when this reality, 00:26:31.700 --> 00:26:32.400 the kingdom of God, 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:33.279 breaks into your life, 00:26:33.360 --> 00:26:34.460 it is the reality 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:36.700 into which we are taken. 00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:39.880 That's why it's all or none. 00:26:41.340 --> 00:26:42.819 Everything gets redefined 00:26:42.819 --> 00:26:43.440 by this, 00:26:43.539 --> 00:26:44.160 by the kingdom, 00:26:44.340 --> 00:26:46.079 because it's so much bigger than us. 00:26:47.340 --> 00:26:47.620 You know, 00:26:47.700 --> 00:26:48.039 personally, 00:26:48.120 --> 00:26:48.960 one of the great privileges 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:49.980 of what I do 00:26:49.980 --> 00:26:50.900 is the people I know 00:26:50.900 --> 00:26:51.840 and the people 00:26:51.840 --> 00:26:53.160 whose stories I get to hear. 00:26:53.740 --> 00:26:54.799 And I've known personally 00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:55.579 and know personally 00:26:55.579 --> 00:26:57.440 people from Hindu backgrounds 00:26:57.440 --> 00:26:58.400 and Muslim backgrounds 00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:00.779 who have had to sacrifice 00:27:00.779 --> 00:27:02.119 friends 00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:04.859 ever seeing their families again, 00:27:05.539 --> 00:27:07.700 ever living in their home countries again, 00:27:08.420 --> 00:27:10.940 and have had to live in exile 00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:13.359 for the sake of the kingdom of God. 00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:15.579 And they feel thankful 00:27:15.579 --> 00:27:16.539 compared to what many 00:27:16.539 --> 00:27:18.339 of their brothers and sisters 00:27:18.339 --> 00:27:20.299 have had to experience. 00:27:20.299 --> 00:27:22.339 I've known 00:27:22.339 --> 00:27:24.039 single men and women, 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:25.799 straight and gay, 00:27:26.700 --> 00:27:27.779 who have 00:27:27.779 --> 00:27:29.359 decided 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:30.419 with joy 00:27:30.419 --> 00:27:31.139 and voluntarily 00:27:31.139 --> 00:27:32.480 to give up the possibility 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:33.099 of family, 00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:34.139 of kids, 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:35.539 of all of those things 00:27:35.539 --> 00:27:36.919 that we so value 00:27:36.919 --> 00:27:38.000 for the sake 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:38.819 of the kingdom of God. 00:27:38.899 --> 00:27:40.119 And I hear these stories 00:27:40.119 --> 00:27:41.960 and I look at these acts of faith 00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:45.180 and I immediately ask myself, 00:27:45.720 --> 00:27:47.960 what have I sacrificed? 00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:51.279 What would I be willing 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:52.019 to sacrifice 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:53.360 if it came to that? 00:27:54.140 --> 00:27:55.019 And I sometimes wonder, 00:27:55.100 --> 00:27:56.519 do I have the foggiest idea 00:27:56.519 --> 00:27:57.360 of what the kingdom of God 00:27:57.360 --> 00:27:58.140 really is 00:27:58.140 --> 00:27:59.880 compared to somebody like that? 00:28:03.180 --> 00:28:04.840 The world looks at things like this 00:28:04.840 --> 00:28:05.420 and the world says, 00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:06.360 that is crazy, 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:07.039 that's insane, 00:28:07.120 --> 00:28:08.200 those people are getting ripped off, 00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:09.140 they have no idea, 00:28:09.380 --> 00:28:10.559 I thought they were smarter than that, 00:28:10.579 --> 00:28:11.500 I can't believe they would do 00:28:11.500 --> 00:28:12.019 something like that, 00:28:12.059 --> 00:28:12.720 they got hosed. 00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:16.500 And the question is, 00:28:16.500 --> 00:28:18.619 why do they do this? 00:28:20.859 --> 00:28:21.880 Why do they look at something 00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:22.500 like the kingdom 00:28:22.500 --> 00:28:23.759 and why do they see it 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:25.299 as being something so valuable 00:28:25.299 --> 00:28:26.680 that it's worth sacrificing 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:27.799 anything to gain it, 00:28:27.900 --> 00:28:29.059 regardless of what it is? 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:31.400 And the answer is this, 00:28:32.779 --> 00:28:35.059 that the core of the kingdom of heaven 00:28:35.059 --> 00:28:35.740 is this, 00:28:37.220 --> 00:28:38.640 Jesus is king, 00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:40.559 which means his opinion 00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:41.960 is the only opinion that matters. 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:44.000 But here's the thing, 00:28:44.099 --> 00:28:44.599 to him, 00:28:44.599 --> 00:28:46.159 to him, 00:28:47.159 --> 00:28:49.419 you are the priceless treasure, 00:28:50.419 --> 00:28:52.839 you are the pearl of great price. 00:28:54.059 --> 00:28:54.980 To him, 00:28:55.240 --> 00:28:56.659 to the one who is king, 00:28:57.539 --> 00:28:58.980 when he looks at you, 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:04.599 when he looks at you, 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:09.279 he sees someone who is so 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:12.359 immeasurably valuable, 00:29:13.059 --> 00:29:15.079 that you're worth sacrificing 00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:15.799 anything 00:29:15.799 --> 00:29:18.480 to gain. 00:29:19.539 --> 00:29:21.339 And the gospel is exactly that, 00:29:21.399 --> 00:29:21.799 that Jesus 00:29:21.799 --> 00:29:24.019 is that sacrifice. 00:29:25.420 --> 00:29:26.460 And when we look to him 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:27.680 and look what he's done for us, 00:29:27.740 --> 00:29:28.299 we realize 00:29:28.299 --> 00:29:30.700 you are God's treasure, 00:29:30.859 --> 00:29:32.059 you are God's pearl. 00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:34.799 And he's given everything 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:36.059 so that he could have you, 00:29:36.220 --> 00:29:37.920 so that you would forever belong to him. 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:40.259 And knowing that 00:29:40.259 --> 00:29:42.480 is worth anything 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:44.160 to have. 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:45.700 Let's pray. 00:29:49.880 --> 00:29:50.480 Father, 00:29:50.620 --> 00:29:51.860 we do not pretend 00:29:51.860 --> 00:29:53.180 to fully understand 00:29:53.180 --> 00:29:54.400 these mysteries. 00:29:55.380 --> 00:29:55.980 Lord, 00:29:56.060 --> 00:29:57.779 we dabble on the edges 00:29:57.779 --> 00:29:59.060 of deep mysteries. 00:29:59.059 --> 00:30:01.019 and Lord, 00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:03.139 as we stick our toes in 00:30:03.139 --> 00:30:05.099 and attempt to grasp 00:30:05.099 --> 00:30:05.980 what is before us, 00:30:06.019 --> 00:30:07.019 we pray that you would make 00:30:07.019 --> 00:30:07.819 that which is 00:30:07.819 --> 00:30:09.500 not knowable, 00:30:09.619 --> 00:30:10.039 knowable, 00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:10.879 that you would make 00:30:10.879 --> 00:30:11.700 that which we cannot 00:30:11.700 --> 00:30:12.440 understand 00:30:12.440 --> 00:30:13.519 clear, 00:30:13.960 --> 00:30:15.679 that you would impress 00:30:15.679 --> 00:30:16.500 upon our hearts 00:30:16.500 --> 00:30:17.759 the reality of your love 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:18.679 until it breaks 00:30:18.679 --> 00:30:19.639 our hearts, 00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:20.519 until it melts 00:30:20.519 --> 00:30:21.139 our hearts. 00:30:23.700 --> 00:30:24.059 Lord, 00:30:24.119 --> 00:30:24.899 we pray that this would be 00:30:24.899 --> 00:30:25.519 for your glory 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:26.339 and for our good. 00:30:27.419 --> 00:30:28.480 In your son's name, 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:28.799 Amen. 00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:28.900 Amen.