WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.440 is Jonathan Clark. I've been with you many times. Most of you should know me by this point, but if 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:11.179 you don't, my name is Jonathan. I'm a Presbyterian minister here in Colorado Springs. My calling is 00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:16.820 to college students with a ministry called Reformed University Fellowship. So I minister 00:00:16.820 --> 00:00:22.719 mostly at UCCS, but with other places as well. Man, it's always a treat to come and be with you. 00:00:22.820 --> 00:00:28.859 I've tracked with Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church for a long time now, and it's so fun to 00:00:28.859 --> 00:00:34.960 see y'all growing. And I can see you growing in numbers. I can see you growing in knowledge and 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:39.600 wonder of the Lord, and it's a delight to come every once in a while and to see you again. So 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:43.920 yeah, it's great to be with you. I'm married to my wife, Caroline. We have two little girls, 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:50.140 Phoebe. She's five, and Molly. She is eight months almost. If this is your first time, 00:00:50.260 --> 00:00:56.179 as Matthew said earlier, welcome. We're really, really glad you're here. It is a brave thing to 00:00:56.179 --> 00:01:00.920 come to a church that's new or you don't know well, even if you've come for a little while. 00:01:01.380 --> 00:01:06.819 It's just, I understand it can be strange. It can be awkward. So thanks for taking that brave step. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:13.760 So RUF is Reformed University Fellowship. Y'all as a church are a supporting church. 00:01:14.359 --> 00:01:19.219 And let me just say thank you so much for your support over the last years, in particular in the 00:01:19.219 --> 00:01:23.920 last months. If you get my emails, you've known that the last few weeks or months have been pretty 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:31.579 challenging for our work. It's just been blow after blow after blow. And y'all have really 00:01:31.579 --> 00:01:36.879 supported me in prayer. And so I am so, so grateful. Thank you for that. And please don't stop. 00:01:36.980 --> 00:01:42.340 We really need your prayers. To that end, I'll just quickly give a quick update because I know that 00:01:42.340 --> 00:01:47.879 y'all are interested. RUF is the campus ministry wing of our denomination, the Presbyterian Church. 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:53.180 And the goal is simple. It's to reach students for Christ. That is to tell them that Jesus loves them 00:01:53.180 --> 00:01:58.460 in ways that they find compelling and they want to follow him. And to equip them, which is to send 00:01:58.460 --> 00:02:04.340 them into churches knowing their gifts, knowing how to lead Bible studies, knowing how to serve, 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:09.620 knowing how to love one another. And by and large, friends, we're seeing that happen. 00:02:10.340 --> 00:02:17.400 I have a student who grew up in a Christian context. And she, when she got to college, was like, 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:22.760 I'm just going to go do my own thing and walked away from the faith. And then another friend invited 00:02:22.760 --> 00:02:29.360 her to RUF earlier this semester. She said, you know, I grew up in the church, but I've left and 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:34.300 I want to try this again. I want to try this on again. And she texted me after coming to RUF and 00:02:34.300 --> 00:02:39.960 meeting with some students, meeting with me. She said, RUF is the first church setting in my life in the 00:02:39.960 --> 00:02:45.379 Christian community where I've learned it's okay to be broken and not perfect. That is what God is for. 00:02:45.379 --> 00:02:51.719 I appreciate you and how much you and RUF have helped me to find God again. And so there's a 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:56.299 story of a student who's walking, who was walking away and is saying, actually, no, I think I can 00:02:56.299 --> 00:03:03.319 follow Jesus or Jesus is actually chasing me. Another story of us equipping students. I was, 00:03:03.500 --> 00:03:09.000 I've been sick the last week and I texted my student leaders on the night that we were supposed to meet 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:13.620 and said, hey guys, you know, I don't want you to get sick. I need rest. Let's just not meet this week. 00:03:13.620 --> 00:03:19.020 And then without me knowing it, they got on their own chat thread and said, let's meet without 00:03:19.020 --> 00:03:23.920 Jonathan because we've got stuff we want to talk about and we've got stuff we need to plan. And so 00:03:23.920 --> 00:03:29.659 they, without me, put together the plan for a meeting and they got together and they planned RUF. And I 00:03:29.659 --> 00:03:33.960 was so proud of them and so encouraged because they are, they said, we don't need Jonathan. 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:39.740 And I was like, you're right. You don't need me. You can plan and lead and run this ministry without 00:03:39.740 --> 00:03:44.900 me. And I, my prayer is that these students, when they graduate, would come to churches and say, 00:03:45.020 --> 00:03:49.900 we know how to do ministry. Let's get work done. So thank you for your support. Please keep praying. 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:56.140 Please keep giving. The Lord is at work. Turn with me or scroll with me, however you get to your Bible 00:03:56.140 --> 00:04:03.980 to Matthew chapter 13, Matthew chapter 13. We'll just be looking at a few verses and I, this is my fault. 00:04:03.979 --> 00:04:09.159 I think I texted Matthew, not quite the right verses. We will include verse 46, but we're going 00:04:09.159 --> 00:04:16.319 to start with verse 44. This is Jesus giving a series of parables where he's talking about the 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:24.399 kingdom of God. And the kingdom of God is this great movement, political entity, spiritual reality 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:30.399 that Jesus, when he comes to earth, says, this is here because I am here. The kingdom of heaven, 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:35.000 the kingdom of God is now among you, but it's hard to wrap your head around. And so let me try and 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:40.879 describe to you what it is through a series of parables, which are allegorical and analogous word 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:47.419 pictures that Jesus describes what the kingdom of God is. And in here, he gives us two similar parables 00:04:47.419 --> 00:04:51.519 and we will look at them today and see how and what they have to say about the human experience 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:56.620 and the kingdom of God and how they apply to our life. And so if you have your Bible or your phone, 00:04:56.620 --> 00:05:03.199 please look at Matthew 13, verse 44. We'll read through verse 46. This is Jesus speaking. 00:05:04.280 --> 00:05:11.060 He says, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered 00:05:11.060 --> 00:05:18.000 up. And then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:25.060 heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value went and sold 00:05:25.060 --> 00:05:32.560 all that he had and bought it. This is God's word. Would you pray with me? Lord in heaven, we pray now that 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:40.639 as we come to your word and peer into things mysterious, things deep, too deep for us to understand that 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:48.319 your spirit would be with us to equip and encourage and fortify our hearts and our minds and our hands to 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:55.439 faithfully follow you while you tarry, that you would be glorified and we would be conformed to the image 00:05:55.439 --> 00:06:02.279 of your son. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So a few days ago, while I was, I have, like I said, 00:06:02.300 --> 00:06:06.139 a five-year-old little girl, she and I went for a walk. We were going for a walk around our neighborhood 00:06:06.139 --> 00:06:12.600 and we walked past somebody who had done some landscaping on their front yard. Nothing novel. 00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:17.500 You've seen this a million times. And there was a particular, some river rock around this landscaping. 00:06:17.780 --> 00:06:23.800 And she stops and she squats down like little girls will do. And she starts picking through the rocks, 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:29.439 digging through the different rocks. And finally, she finds one particular rock and says, 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:35.660 this is a good one, daddy. And I go, okay, this rock looks like every other rock in this pile of 00:06:35.660 --> 00:06:41.140 landscaping. It's gray. It's a river stone. There's nothing much about it. And pretty much like every 00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:44.579 other river rock you'd ever seen. I said, Phoebe, what makes this rock special? 00:06:46.039 --> 00:06:50.240 And she says, I don't know. I just thought this one was pretty and I want to keep this one. 00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:57.419 And she took and she put it in her little pocket and we kept on walking. And I was thinking as I was, 00:06:57.659 --> 00:07:02.459 you know, of course, I'm a pastor. So you're always looking for something to talk about on a Sunday 00:07:02.459 --> 00:07:06.379 morning. And I was like, you know, what she just did there is something that I think a lot of us are 00:07:06.379 --> 00:07:13.459 probably doing more often than we realize is we're looking for something beautiful. And nobody told 00:07:13.459 --> 00:07:18.879 her to find that rock. Nobody told her to go, hey, find the rock that's pretty. Nobody told her to 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:26.860 stop by something that might look sparkly and find the pretty one here. There was something within her 00:07:26.860 --> 00:07:32.819 little five-year-old heart that just knew to find the one that was beautiful, to find the one that was 00:07:32.819 --> 00:07:37.819 pretty, the beautiful rock, right? And I didn't train her to do that. You didn't train her to do that. 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:43.139 She just knew this intrinsically in her little heart, right? And as I thought on this, I was 00:07:43.139 --> 00:07:47.360 thinking, you know what? You and I are not that different. You and I may be a little bit more 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:53.279 sophisticated. We may get used to a river rock and say, oh, that's, you know, a dime a dozen. But 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:59.360 there's still that impulse within our hearts to find, to search for, to perceive, to desire 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:06.740 beautiful things. Things that we say, oh, this is valuable uniquely in its own right, or this is 00:08:06.740 --> 00:08:12.720 better than all the other alternatives out there. We may phase out of looking for river rocks, but I 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:17.540 would argue that each person is on the same quest as any four-year-old, which is a search for beautiful 00:08:17.540 --> 00:08:24.840 things. The search for beautiful things. And our text today confirms that. And it shows us that this is 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:29.699 not just some random human trait, but it actually gets to the core of what every single person is 00:08:29.699 --> 00:08:37.159 looking for in their journey around the blue marble that we call our earthly home. Our text today shows 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:43.519 us that every person is searching for something beautiful. And Jesus here tells us and shows us what 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:49.539 that beautiful thing is. What the beautiful thing that your heart is looking for. And we'll look at this 00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:56.799 in three ways today. Three ways. We're going to look at, first, the search for beauty. Second, the value 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:02.839 of the beautiful thing. And third, how we respond. So first, the search for beautiful things. Second, 00:09:02.919 --> 00:09:10.079 the value of the beautiful thing. And third, our response. So let's start here with the search for 00:09:10.079 --> 00:09:15.319 beautiful things. And so the context, as I've said already, is in Matthew 13. Jesus is telling a series 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:21.060 of parable to describe the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was more interested in the kingdom of heaven than 00:09:21.060 --> 00:09:27.040 anybody else more often than we are. Jesus was obsessed with saying the kingdom of heaven is now 00:09:27.040 --> 00:09:33.960 here. That is, with the arrival of Jesus Christ, something new is happening on the world. That is, 00:09:34.020 --> 00:09:41.180 the realm and reign of God himself has invaded our world in a special, significant way 00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:52.239 to bring God's whole world, his whole presence, his whole reality to earth in an incredibly significant 00:09:52.239 --> 00:09:59.759 and special way. The kingdom of heaven is Jesus's term for the coming and present realm and reign 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:07.599 of God as he rules and subdues his enemies. As his elect respond to him in faith, we've already talked 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:15.759 about effectual calling. And as he brings peace to the whole universe. It's light piercing the universe 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:22.420 and at the speed of light invading the whole universe, invading our lives, invading our world 00:10:22.420 --> 00:10:30.680 with hope and peace. It's water cleaning brokenness. And Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven through 00:10:30.680 --> 00:10:36.720 parables, which are word pictures that give at different angles or different facets of what the 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:43.120 kingdom of heaven is like. And so here we will look at two complimentary word pictures or parables that 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:51.000 Jesus uses, right? And so verse 44, Jesus says, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure in a field. 00:10:53.779 --> 00:10:58.940 He says the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure in a field, which is waiting to be found. It's valuable, 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:05.220 but it's hidden. And it's hidden until someone discovers it. And the second one, he says, 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:11.200 the kingdom of heaven is like a man looking for pearls. And in both of these, they're just, 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:16.840 it's a slightly different twist on the same idea. In one place, something valuable is hidden. In the 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:22.820 other place, someone is looking for something that is hidden. But the idea is the same in both cases, 00:11:22.820 --> 00:11:28.320 that there is something beautiful out there, something valuable out there that someone is 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:35.160 looking for and that is waiting to be found. It's the search for beauty. The right rock is waiting 00:11:35.160 --> 00:11:42.120 around there, waiting for a four-year-old to pick it up. Or the human heart, our hearts are in this 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:49.740 great search for something precious, something beautiful, something of value. And as I think, 00:11:49.879 --> 00:11:56.540 particularly on the idea of a man or the picture of a man looking for pearls, I think, man, that is, 00:11:56.539 --> 00:12:02.120 at least for me, what I spend a lot of my time doing. And if you peel back kind of the reasons 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:07.659 and the behavior of all the things that I do on a day-to-day week, why do I do the things that I do? 00:12:07.699 --> 00:12:14.500 It's because I want to have a sense or I want to find something that is beautiful behind all the 00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:21.519 things I do, right? Like when we were, while it was snowing so much this week and everything closed 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:25.480 down and we all got to wake up because it was, most of us got to wake up and just say, 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:30.519 there's no school today, there's a delayed start on work and we just see beautiful snow. 00:12:31.680 --> 00:12:37.440 And the peace that we all felt in that moment was a powerful feeling. There's something that we all, 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:42.139 I think, pursue. I go on vacations in the mountains or the beach because we want to see something 00:12:42.139 --> 00:12:49.519 beautiful that we don't get to see very often. Something that transports us to something valuable, 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:57.120 right? Or think about the sublime ecstasy of when you first make eye, make and hold eye contact 00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:05.000 with someone you deeply love. And you say, oh my goodness, this is, this is new. This is beauty. 00:13:05.460 --> 00:13:10.620 This is a sublime ecstasy that I, this is what my heart has been looking for. 00:13:10.620 --> 00:13:19.460 Or think about, for me, I love the, I love watching a fire crackle in my fireplace at night and 00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:24.379 everything just feels at peace, right? Everything just feels like it's the way it's supposed to be. 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:29.940 And I'm tired. I've had a hard week, whatever, but there's a fire in the fireplace and some warm tea 00:13:29.940 --> 00:13:34.320 in my hand and it says, it's okay. This is the moment where it all makes sense, right? 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:41.000 Again, the same idea of, I took my daughter to the Natural History Museum in Denver and there's a, 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:45.379 there's a particular exhibit where there's full of all kinds of geodes and gems that have been found 00:13:45.379 --> 00:13:50.040 in Colorado. You've, you've probably seen this and it's particularly fun, again, to go with a toddler 00:13:50.040 --> 00:13:55.720 because they're so honest. And she just runs from gem geode, gem geode displayed and then it's, 00:13:55.820 --> 00:14:00.440 daddy, look at this one. This one's green and blue. Daddy, look at this one. It's triangular and red. 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:06.400 And daddy, look at this one. It's so sparkly. And she's just running from gem to gem, display to 00:14:06.400 --> 00:14:15.300 display, looking for the next beautiful thing. And I would argue that we all do this behind our 00:14:15.300 --> 00:14:21.560 compulsion for another paycheck, for another accomplishment, for love, for people to praise 00:14:21.560 --> 00:14:28.400 us is a deep desire to participate in, behold, and have beautiful things. 00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:37.800 We are a man searching for a beautiful pearl. He knows it's out there. We know beauty when we see it. 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:46.360 And we're looking for it. Now the problem, of course, there's always a problem, is that we live 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:51.340 in a world that has two things, that presents two things to us. First, it says you need to diversify 00:14:51.340 --> 00:14:56.960 your portfolio. And two, it says there's a lot of fakes out there. It says, first, you need to diversify 00:14:56.960 --> 00:15:01.160 your portfolio. I was talking with my money guy the other day, and I like to dabble in stocks. And 00:15:01.160 --> 00:15:06.940 I showed him when he's like, bro, we got to broaden your portfolio. You are very exposed. 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:12.060 We got to get you some other ideas. We got to invest you in some banks, all these things. Because 00:15:12.060 --> 00:15:17.220 if one thing goes wrong, you're in big trouble, right? The world tells us that we need to diversify 00:15:17.220 --> 00:15:22.019 our portfolios. That is, don't put all your value, don't put all your stock in one thing. 00:15:22.019 --> 00:15:28.460 Because if that thing tanks, you are in big trouble, right? And we've all experienced this, 00:15:28.539 --> 00:15:33.539 right? We've found out that sometimes you throw your life into a romantic relationship, 00:15:33.620 --> 00:15:40.899 and when it goes sour, you're devastated. You are left exposed, deeply exposed. Or any of 00:15:40.899 --> 00:15:46.120 you have dabbled in money and thrown everything into one thing, or too much of your money into 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:51.779 one thing, and the wrong news hits the right, hits the media at the right time, your portfolio 00:15:51.779 --> 00:15:59.320 is devastated, right? It turns sour, or things turn into be frauds. Money is easily lost. 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:06.560 Silver tarnishes. And we are taught by the school of hard knocks to hedge our bets, to diversify 00:16:06.560 --> 00:16:14.060 our heart's beauty portfolio, and to even sometimes numb the desire for beauty. To just say, no, 00:16:14.059 --> 00:16:19.439 no, no, no, I'm not going to do this. The other thing, the other threat is that there are a lot 00:16:19.439 --> 00:16:25.000 of rhinestones out there. There's a lot of fake where you can have something that looks really, 00:16:25.099 --> 00:16:30.359 really beautiful, but it's not real. You can go to a jewelry store and get the test on your diamond 00:16:30.359 --> 00:16:35.319 and go, oh my gosh, this isn't real. It's just plastic covering up some aluminum foil. 00:16:36.179 --> 00:16:41.459 It's not real. It's worthless, right? And so we live with this great tension between, 00:16:41.460 --> 00:16:46.080 I want, I need to know something beautiful, participate in something beautiful, but also 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:53.900 the real threat. If I go all in on something and it goes bad, I am deeply exposed. And what if, 00:16:54.560 --> 00:16:59.920 maybe if this isn't real, maybe this isn't actually true, valuable beauty, and I'll get really, 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:07.980 really hurt. And so we get cynical. We never go in on anything. We don't trust. 00:17:07.980 --> 00:17:15.740 We never pursue something all the way. And I find myself here longing for something beautiful, 00:17:16.360 --> 00:17:22.559 longing for something of true value, but also a little jaded, a little resistant, 00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:30.880 a little bit sour, right? And our parable today tells us that it starts with the desire for human 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:36.420 beauty and the search we have. And yet our all too cynical world and my all too cynical heart says, 00:17:36.420 --> 00:17:46.180 don't go all in, slow down, don't trust it. And yet here's Jesus saying, the kingdom of heaven is 00:17:46.180 --> 00:17:52.500 like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. And then in joy, 00:17:52.500 --> 00:17:58.880 he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:04.500 search of fine pearls and who won on finding one pearl of great value went and sold all that he had and 00:18:04.500 --> 00:18:10.079 bought it. So here's Jesus saying in a world where there's rhinestones and cynicism, the kingdom of 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:17.180 heaven is the one thing Jesus says that is a value that you can go all in on. It is the thing that is 00:18:17.180 --> 00:18:24.180 not fake, is of true value. The thing that your heart, this is the contentious claim of Jesus, 00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:29.839 the kingdom of heaven is the thing that is most valuable. The beauty that you, behind all the other 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:37.119 beauties, the value behind all other values that you most need. That is the kingdom of God. Now, 00:18:37.299 --> 00:18:42.959 I've grown up in the church my whole life. And when I hear that, I go, eh, I don't know about that. 00:18:43.199 --> 00:18:50.279 Prove it. What is it about the kingdom of heaven that is this valuable, that is this much beauty that 00:18:50.279 --> 00:18:55.139 it can persuade me? And so this brings us to our second point, which is the value and the beauty 00:18:55.140 --> 00:19:00.280 of the kingdom of heaven, the value and the beauty of the kingdom of heaven. What is it about this 00:19:00.280 --> 00:19:07.220 thing that is so valuable? Well, if you think about it, think about it this way. You are digging in a 00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:12.480 field someplace over here behind the church. You're digging and all of a sudden you feel thunk and your 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:17.520 shovel hits something in you hard and you go, doggone it, another rock. I got to dig this rock out. So you 00:19:17.520 --> 00:19:24.259 start digging the rock up. You realize, oh my goodness, it's not a rock. It's a chest. Oh my goodness, 00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:30.539 this chest is something in it. You open it up and your whole life changed in that moment. 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:38.799 Everything about your perspective, everything about what you value has changed in a moment. 00:19:39.579 --> 00:19:47.680 Your whole life has changed in a moment with the wealth beyond your wildest dreams or you're a merchant 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:53.220 of pearls and you're shucking oysters and most of them have nothing in it. A couple of them have a couple 00:19:53.220 --> 00:20:00.059 ugly oysters, but then all of a sudden you crack one open and this is it. This is the oyster that you 00:20:00.059 --> 00:20:07.059 base your career around. The Greek text says this one is mega valuable. Everything else pales in 00:20:07.059 --> 00:20:14.980 comparison to this pearl, the one that is in this oyster. The best pearl you've ever seen. And Jesus 00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:19.279 says something astounding here. He says, this is what the kingdom of heaven is like. 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:25.500 This is what the kingdom of heaven is like. It's not only that the kingdom of heaven of the Christian 00:20:25.500 --> 00:20:30.399 faith is true, which it is, not only that the Christian faith is good, which it is, but it's 00:20:30.399 --> 00:20:37.799 beautiful. It's valuable. Well, what is it about that? Jesus says the kingdom is more valuable than even 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:44.099 our wildest imaginations. And this makes me question, what is it? It's two things. It's the beauty of the 00:20:44.099 --> 00:20:49.639 kingdom and the beauty of the king. The beauty of the kingdom and the beauty of the king. So what is 00:20:49.639 --> 00:20:53.240 it about the beauty of the kingdom? What is the kingdom of God? Well, we've said already, but I'll 00:20:53.240 --> 00:21:00.659 say it again. The kingdom of God is the rule and the reign and the realm where God is recognized for 00:21:00.659 --> 00:21:08.359 who he is and he is enjoyed for that. He is enjoyed for what he is. It is the space and the place 00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:18.399 of total peace, of total and complete joy, of purity. And this is so hard for us to understand 00:21:18.399 --> 00:21:23.919 because we never in our wildest imaginations can even get an inkling of what this is like. 00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:30.740 Our imaginations are too small and our best moments are tarnished by sin. And so we have to use parables 00:21:30.740 --> 00:21:36.099 and stories to understand this. And so I'll use one. I grew up working at a wholesale plant nursery 00:21:36.099 --> 00:21:42.179 for 14 summers. It was great work. It was hard work. And we pushed carts all day long. 00:21:43.079 --> 00:21:47.519 And we would load plants and we were outside and we would walk eight to 10 miles a day. And we had 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:53.219 dried and cracked hands and we were covered in dirt. And then every Thursday afternoon, 00:21:53.980 --> 00:22:01.179 we would have wine tasting. And we would go and sit by a pond. And we would drink one or two bottles of 00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:07.400 wine as a team. And we would eat meat and cheese. And we would laugh about the day. And we would talk 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:14.680 about stories about who flipped a cart and what happened. It was shade. It was drink. It was friend. 00:22:14.779 --> 00:22:21.519 It was food. And friends, that's about as close to heaven as I can think. After a hard day's work of 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:28.200 just resting with friends and drink. It was peace and it was rest. There was no anxiety. There was no 00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:36.119 to-do list. There was just a full stomach and wine to make the heart glad. That is a tiny piece of what 00:22:36.119 --> 00:22:41.019 the kingdom of heaven is like. And you have a story that's like that too. Maybe it's a ski retreat. 00:22:41.019 --> 00:22:49.779 Maybe it's a weekend on the beach. You have that story of peace and tranquility. That is what the 00:22:49.779 --> 00:22:55.220 kingdom of heaven offers. The kingdom of heaven is a place of total peace. We read about this in 00:22:55.220 --> 00:23:01.619 Daniel chapter 2 that there's this coming presence and rule and reign of God. It's friends gathered 00:23:01.619 --> 00:23:09.500 together for eternity in joy and laughter and love. It is a land flowing with milk and honey, 00:23:09.500 --> 00:23:15.720 which is in the Bible's terms, sweetness and fat put together, which is really all we want, right? 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:22.900 Sweetness and fat. That's all we really want. And even scripture struggles to describe how glorious 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:29.019 the kingdom of heaven is. One of the best places it gives us is in Isaiah 11, when it says that 00:23:29.019 --> 00:23:34.799 sworn enemies will be friends. Carnivores and herbivores, right? Will rest together. 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:41.119 Sure. I grew up in, I mean, I was a pastor in southern New Mexico for a long time. And if there's 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:46.740 anything you know about southern New Mexico, there are thousands of rattlesnakes. Thousands of 00:23:46.740 --> 00:23:52.059 rattlesnakes. But you know how the kingdom of heaven is described in Isaiah 11? It says a small child will 00:23:52.059 --> 00:23:58.259 play by the snake's hole. I was terrified in northern, when we lived in southern New Mexico, that my daughter 00:23:58.259 --> 00:24:02.539 would go toddling around and she would stick her hand in a hole and there would be a rattlesnake there. 00:24:02.539 --> 00:24:10.200 In the kingdom of heaven, that will not exist. There will be peace between sworn enemies. Isaiah 11 says 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:17.420 that every boot soaked in blood will be burned. In contrast to that, think of the violence and the 00:24:17.420 --> 00:24:24.460 horrors that we feel exposed to every time we check our phones. Any part of the world of war, of children 00:24:24.460 --> 00:24:31.200 and women bombed, of oppression, our doorstep and around the globe of corruption, of injustice, of abuse, 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:36.400 of trauma piled on trauma, the kingdom of heaven is the promise that all of that is gone forever. 00:24:38.140 --> 00:24:41.059 Eradicated from the face of the earth. No more tears. 00:24:42.120 --> 00:24:47.200 That the promise of total political and economic and racial and gender peace, 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:51.259 not just the absence of violence, but the presence of peace. 00:24:51.259 --> 00:24:58.980 If that is true, if that is what the kingdom of heaven really offers, it is the most beautiful and 00:24:58.980 --> 00:25:03.700 valuable thing that we are desperately, all of us, longing for and searching for. 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:11.339 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that our hearts are desperately looking for. 00:25:11.339 --> 00:25:19.639 It's the hope of all our politics. It's the hope of all our economics. The hope of our social agenda. 00:25:20.139 --> 00:25:24.339 The dream of all of our lives. That's what the kingdom of heaven is, Jesus says. 00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:26.939 But second, it's the beauty of the king. 00:25:28.379 --> 00:25:33.159 Even if we sought out just the kingdom for what it is, we would still be instrumentalizing 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:36.180 or using Jesus for what we could get from him. 00:25:37.019 --> 00:25:37.180 Right? 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:41.240 And so in that sense, it would just become, the kingdom of heaven would just become another form 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:42.000 of consumerism. 00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:45.320 We would just be using Jesus for what he can give us, which is peace. 00:25:45.360 --> 00:25:49.019 Which is beautiful, but the kingdom of heaven is more than that. 00:25:49.120 --> 00:25:52.200 The kingdom of heaven is peace with our God. 00:25:53.779 --> 00:25:56.080 It is fellowship with our creator. 00:25:56.079 --> 00:26:03.299 The real deepest value of the kingdom of heaven is its king, which is Jesus. 00:26:04.439 --> 00:26:10.039 It is the delight and the joy and the euphoria of knowing and being known by God. 00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:15.299 Of being welcomed into, this is the great mystery of the Christian faith, 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:20.240 welcomed into the delight and the giving of the Trinity itself. 00:26:20.379 --> 00:26:23.220 And somehow mysteriously, we are brought into that. 00:26:23.220 --> 00:26:27.019 C.S. Lewis talks about this in The Weight of Glory. 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:33.000 He talks about the desire for the human soul, that there is a desire within each human soul 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:38.600 that is beyond anything that this world can satisfy, that we have desires that nothing on earth can satisfy. 00:26:39.380 --> 00:26:40.339 And he talks about this. 00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:40.920 He says this, 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:46.779 We want something which can hardly be put into words, to be unified with the beauty we see, 00:26:46.779 --> 00:26:54.000 to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become a part of it. 00:26:55.200 --> 00:27:00.200 Friends, that is what is offered in union with Christ, which is the Christian faith, 00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:02.299 which is the kingdom of God. 00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:06.899 A miracle of becoming so closely connected to Jesus, 00:27:07.539 --> 00:27:11.119 that where Jesus starts and we stop is indecipherable. 00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:16.959 We are no longer, we are not just citizens of this beautiful, peaceful kingdom, 00:27:17.079 --> 00:27:20.199 but we are one with beauty and peace himself. 00:27:21.579 --> 00:27:24.099 I think this is what Peter is getting at when he says, 00:27:24.199 --> 00:27:26.659 We become partakers of the divine nature. 00:27:28.399 --> 00:27:30.399 That is what the Christian faith offers. 00:27:30.579 --> 00:27:35.279 That is why Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is of this incredible value, 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:40.940 because it offers everything that you have been, will be, and ever could desire. 00:27:41.399 --> 00:27:42.759 Everything that you're looking for. 00:27:43.639 --> 00:27:47.259 And if that's true, friends, then there can only be one response. 00:27:48.180 --> 00:27:53.059 One response, which brings us to our third point, which is joyfully selling out. 00:27:54.819 --> 00:27:56.460 Joyfully selling out. 00:27:56.579 --> 00:27:57.539 Look at the text again. 00:27:57.539 --> 00:28:06.420 When the man finds the treasure, in his joy he goes and sells all that he has. 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:11.319 In his joy he goes and sells all that he has. 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:13.559 Here's the question. 00:28:13.899 --> 00:28:19.960 What would it take for you to go and sell literally everything you own? 00:28:20.819 --> 00:28:24.619 All that you have so that you can have that one thing. 00:28:24.619 --> 00:28:30.379 Your house, your home, your clothes, your cars, liquidate your stock portfolio. 00:28:30.819 --> 00:28:34.219 Everything you have, gone because I want that. 00:28:34.919 --> 00:28:36.679 I want that treasure. 00:28:36.899 --> 00:28:38.319 I want this pearl. 00:28:39.899 --> 00:28:43.459 He went and sold all that he owned so that he could have of that. 00:28:44.479 --> 00:28:47.599 The Greek in our text here emphasizes that. 00:28:47.679 --> 00:28:48.299 It says this. 00:28:48.299 --> 00:28:54.940 Because of the joy or from the joy, out of the joy that he has, he goes and sells everything. 00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:58.919 He's not begrudging like, man, this is going to be a really good investment. 00:28:59.139 --> 00:28:59.879 I don't want to do it. 00:28:59.899 --> 00:29:01.599 It's going to sting, but I'll do it. 00:29:02.159 --> 00:29:04.659 No, he says, easy, done, easy choice. 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:07.440 Selling everything I have to have that treasure. 00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:10.240 I need this treasure in my life. 00:29:10.240 --> 00:29:16.440 The merchant, when he finds the pearl, sells everything he owns to have that pearl. 00:29:17.059 --> 00:29:17.960 And here's the reality. 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:23.440 When we find something of beauty and of value, we will do anything to get it. 00:29:24.759 --> 00:29:26.359 We'll do anything we get it. 00:29:27.740 --> 00:29:32.500 And to our cynical, diversified little portfolio hearts, this is strange. 00:29:32.500 --> 00:29:40.799 Because I just, I struggle to imagine anything so valuable in this world that I would sell out completely. 00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:45.619 Head, you know, get rid of all my other bets and just go all in, right? 00:29:46.140 --> 00:29:47.420 All the chips on the table. 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:48.279 This is it. 00:29:48.420 --> 00:29:50.039 I'm following this, right? 00:29:51.220 --> 00:29:52.799 A loss of the sake for everything. 00:29:52.900 --> 00:29:54.740 And I ask, what can motivate that? 00:29:55.940 --> 00:30:00.160 What can motivate our hearts to follow this so recklessly? 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:02.800 And the only thing that it can do is beauty. 00:30:03.740 --> 00:30:04.980 That's the only motivation. 00:30:06.740 --> 00:30:10.240 The analogy I can only think of to compare this with is falling in love. 00:30:10.320 --> 00:30:14.259 Think about all the rash, impulsive, silly things that we do when we fall in love. 00:30:15.180 --> 00:30:15.940 We'll just say, I'm in. 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:16.500 Doesn't matter. 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:17.680 Whatever you want. 00:30:19.180 --> 00:30:19.540 Right? 00:30:19.800 --> 00:30:21.360 And that's why I love this quote. 00:30:22.040 --> 00:30:23.320 Oh, I left my bulletin down there. 00:30:23.660 --> 00:30:26.680 On the back of your bulletin, there's this quote by Jonathan Edwards. 00:30:28.140 --> 00:30:29.080 Read that quote. 00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:36.259 He says, the only thing that can motivate our hearts is to be moved deeply from within. 00:30:37.899 --> 00:30:45.699 That's what it takes is to perceive something so beautiful, to be moved by that thing, by beauty. 00:30:47.220 --> 00:30:49.179 And friends, this is the power of grace. 00:30:49.559 --> 00:30:51.480 The kingdom of heaven is a gift from God. 00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:52.799 And we call that grace. 00:30:52.899 --> 00:30:55.179 And Jesus, the king, is grace to us. 00:30:55.799 --> 00:30:56.639 We don't deserve it. 00:30:57.279 --> 00:30:58.199 We just don't. 00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:01.500 And yet he gives himself to us. 00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:08.980 And that grace, that beauty, when your heart encounters that for the first time or for the thousandth time, you sell out. 00:31:09.080 --> 00:31:10.000 You say, I'm all in. 00:31:10.819 --> 00:31:12.840 The response is to sell everything. 00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:18.099 Perhaps you're here today and you're saying, I don't know what the Christian faith is. 00:31:18.179 --> 00:31:23.639 Maybe you've grown up in church for your whole life and you're just wondering, what have I been doing all my life? 00:31:23.699 --> 00:31:26.919 And perhaps you're here for the first time and you're wondering, I'm curious. 00:31:28.220 --> 00:31:29.399 Hear me say this. 00:31:29.400 --> 00:31:34.019 The Christian faith is so much more than Jesus died for your sins. 00:31:34.660 --> 00:31:35.860 That is the start. 00:31:36.700 --> 00:31:38.340 That is just the tip of the iceberg. 00:31:38.340 --> 00:31:51.100 More accurately, the Christian faith is the conviction, the joy that Jesus is ushering a new world ordering of peace and of joy and of celebration and of delight. 00:31:51.099 --> 00:31:52.980 And you get to be a part of it. 00:31:53.919 --> 00:31:56.000 You are welcomed into it. 00:31:56.319 --> 00:32:04.259 All that your heart has longed for, for as long as you can remember, Jesus offers that to you freely in the kingdom of heaven. 00:32:05.219 --> 00:32:06.799 So come get in on it. 00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:08.839 Come follow him. 00:32:09.500 --> 00:32:12.240 Come be a part of that kingdom that he is bringing. 00:32:13.099 --> 00:32:16.839 Sell all your other assets that you've been looking for and come to the kingdom. 00:32:16.839 --> 00:32:26.179 There's a challenge here for those of us who are searching, who are not sure if they believe this, right? 00:32:26.220 --> 00:32:27.079 And here's the challenge. 00:32:27.419 --> 00:32:34.000 If Jesus isn't the most beautiful or compelling thing you've ever seen, then to be honest, you haven't encountered Jesus fully yet. 00:32:35.559 --> 00:32:37.199 You haven't quite got there yet. 00:32:37.220 --> 00:32:37.819 And that's okay. 00:32:37.899 --> 00:32:39.799 But my exhortation is to press in deeper. 00:32:40.439 --> 00:32:41.000 Keep going. 00:32:42.599 --> 00:32:44.480 You can hear persuasive arguments. 00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:47.740 You can be met by warm and welcoming people in and out of the church. 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:58.319 But until you feel yourself caught up into something bigger than you, until you see that this is everything that your heart has ever longed for, until you see the beauty of the kingdom, you're not there. 00:32:59.460 --> 00:33:06.000 When you see that Jesus, the king and the savior is more radiant than you ever imagined, then you will say, that is the kingdom of God. 00:33:06.039 --> 00:33:07.839 And I must be a part of that. 00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:14.359 That is why we confess effectual calling, where he works in your heart to say, I'm in. 00:33:14.459 --> 00:33:15.559 How would I not be in? 00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:17.179 We call this irresistible grace. 00:33:17.980 --> 00:33:22.439 Jesus doesn't strong arm us into the kingdom, but he says, here is beauty on display. 00:33:22.619 --> 00:33:23.879 And you say, yes, I'm in. 00:33:24.419 --> 00:33:25.799 I must be a part of this. 00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:39.319 For those of us who are Christians, there's also a challenge here, because I would ask you and I would ask myself, what parts of my heart have grown cold to the beauty of the king and the kingdom and want to hold back a little bit? 00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:47.000 What parts of your heart are still trying to diversify your portfolio and say, yes, I'll give. 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:51.279 I'm in on this Christian thing, but I need to hold this still. 00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:55.920 What part of your heart is still a little cynical? 00:33:57.180 --> 00:34:01.359 What part of your heart is still not sure that the kingdom is all it's cracked up to be? 00:34:02.759 --> 00:34:03.740 Is it with your money? 00:34:06.980 --> 00:34:09.380 Is it with your romantic life or your marriage? 00:34:09.980 --> 00:34:11.400 Is it with your political position? 00:34:12.980 --> 00:34:14.039 What is it for you? 00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:17.559 Is it with your recreation? 00:34:17.820 --> 00:34:18.739 Is it with your education? 00:34:18.739 --> 00:34:26.059 We all have places in our hearts where we're still trying to find value and beauty and something other than the kingdom of God. 00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:28.419 And it's not going to measure up. 00:34:29.479 --> 00:34:30.899 It will disappoint you. 00:34:31.559 --> 00:34:35.339 And to those of us, to myself, I would say, go back to the kingdom. 00:34:36.299 --> 00:34:40.759 Look anew at the value, the beauty of the king and the kingdom and sell out. 00:34:40.760 --> 00:34:45.640 For the joy of knowing and being known by God. 00:34:45.720 --> 00:34:51.100 For the joy of participating and being caught up in what God is doing to save your life and our world. 00:34:52.080 --> 00:34:52.820 Sell out. 00:34:55.020 --> 00:34:56.320 Reexamine the kingdom and the king. 00:34:56.980 --> 00:34:58.040 I'll finish with this. 00:34:58.500 --> 00:35:03.080 In the 1800s, there was a natural scientist, a man named Louis Aguiz. 00:35:03.079 --> 00:35:06.000 And he was a master of studying the natural world. 00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:07.279 He did everything. 00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:10.719 Ecology, geography, geology. 00:35:11.340 --> 00:35:13.159 But one of his real passions was fish. 00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:14.119 He was an ichthyologist. 00:35:15.559 --> 00:35:21.739 The story goes that he asked one of his students, a man named Samuel Scudder, to study a fish. 00:35:21.739 --> 00:35:26.500 And so the student, Scudder, looks at the fish and says, oh, that's easy. 00:35:26.579 --> 00:35:27.359 That's a sunfish. 00:35:27.619 --> 00:35:28.779 I know this fish really well. 00:35:29.419 --> 00:35:30.199 And he moved on. 00:35:31.159 --> 00:35:34.519 And Aguiz says to him, he challenges him, he says, well, I know you know what the fish is, 00:35:34.579 --> 00:35:36.479 but I want you to write a description of the fish. 00:35:37.799 --> 00:35:41.399 And so the student, Samuel Scudder, he studied the fish for about an hour. 00:35:42.239 --> 00:35:46.439 And he studied, he wrote everything he could see about it and waited for his professor, 00:35:46.739 --> 00:35:48.719 for Louis Aguiz, to return. 00:35:49.179 --> 00:35:50.559 But Aguiz didn't return all day. 00:35:50.559 --> 00:35:52.119 He was gone all day. 00:35:53.139 --> 00:35:55.000 And in fact, he didn't return for an entire week. 00:35:56.019 --> 00:36:01.759 He just left this fish on the table for Samuel Scudder to study. 00:36:02.500 --> 00:36:04.659 And so Samuel Scudder says, well, I'll write us to the challenge. 00:36:04.739 --> 00:36:07.199 And he made notes for the entire week. 00:36:07.279 --> 00:36:10.799 He spent over 100 hours studying this fish. 00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:14.139 And finally, Aguiz returned. 00:36:14.679 --> 00:36:16.320 And he says, well, what have you learned? 00:36:16.360 --> 00:36:17.400 And he says, well, I've learned this. 00:36:17.480 --> 00:36:18.960 And he presents all his notes. 00:36:18.960 --> 00:36:23.800 And everything that he had learned, and Aguiz just said, that's not right. 00:36:24.260 --> 00:36:26.000 And left him there and says, go back to it. 00:36:26.519 --> 00:36:27.699 So Scudder was furious. 00:36:27.699 --> 00:36:30.460 And he went back and he studied the fish for 10 hours a day. 00:36:30.619 --> 00:36:32.119 He threw out all his notes. 00:36:32.460 --> 00:36:35.539 He poured himself into studying this fish. 00:36:35.539 --> 00:36:40.980 And after several days, finally, Aguiz comes back in and asks him, do you see it? 00:36:42.800 --> 00:36:47.039 And Samuel Scudder in his frustration says, no, I certainly do not. 00:36:47.099 --> 00:36:49.059 But I see how little I saw before. 00:36:50.199 --> 00:36:51.420 I certainly do not. 00:36:51.420 --> 00:36:53.280 But I see how little I saw before. 00:36:55.200 --> 00:37:03.159 And this student eventually moves from glancing at the fish to hating the fish to marveling at it. 00:37:03.320 --> 00:37:12.820 And to saying, this is a specimen that is full of beauty, that is full of intricacy, the detail, the design. 00:37:13.079 --> 00:37:13.519 Right? 00:37:13.519 --> 00:37:16.340 And he says, there's more here than I ever thought. 00:37:16.440 --> 00:37:18.119 And I must keep looking. 00:37:18.780 --> 00:37:20.500 I see how little I saw before. 00:37:21.880 --> 00:37:25.940 And at the risk of sounding irreverent, this is how the kingdom of God is. 00:37:26.559 --> 00:37:31.739 For us to say, I must go back to it again and again and again. 00:37:31.739 --> 00:37:35.000 I see how little I saw before. 00:37:36.019 --> 00:37:41.419 To throw out the old notes and to pour ourselves into knowing it more deeply. 00:37:41.899 --> 00:37:46.319 The grace of God in your heart and in your life and in our world. 00:37:47.359 --> 00:37:50.839 The love of God for creating you, for sustaining you. 00:37:51.699 --> 00:37:57.459 The mercy of God for creating the people of God for you could be sustained and nourished and grow. 00:37:57.460 --> 00:38:03.720 The courage of God in sending his son to redeem us at the cost of his son. 00:38:05.179 --> 00:38:11.619 The sorrow of Christ poured out on the cross so that you would never feel eternal sorrow. 00:38:12.480 --> 00:38:18.420 The joy of God being raised from the dead on the third day and saying, the kingdom is now here. 00:38:19.019 --> 00:38:19.619 Rejoice. 00:38:22.199 --> 00:38:26.760 Go and examine the kingdom anew this day, the rest of your life. 00:38:27.460 --> 00:38:31.440 This is the beauty of Christ, what Jonathan calls the excellencies of Jesus. 00:38:32.220 --> 00:38:34.760 To satisfy our hearts in every way. 00:38:38.380 --> 00:38:44.900 Friends, our world will tell you to calcify your heart to beauty or to diversify your portfolio. 00:38:45.579 --> 00:38:47.300 To never go in all up for everything. 00:38:47.400 --> 00:38:53.039 But our parable today shows us that when you encounter beauty, true beauty, you go all in. 00:38:53.039 --> 00:38:56.159 Have you encountered that beauty? 00:38:57.500 --> 00:38:58.639 Go all in. 00:38:59.739 --> 00:39:03.099 Dostoevsky in your quote on your bulletin says, beauty will save the world. 00:39:03.340 --> 00:39:06.039 If you know anything about Dostoevsky, he was a Christian. 00:39:07.239 --> 00:39:11.059 And he knew that beauty is and comes from the person of Jesus. 00:39:11.759 --> 00:39:13.039 Beauty will save the world. 00:39:13.559 --> 00:39:14.639 Jesus is that beauty. 00:39:14.759 --> 00:39:17.179 He is the kingdom with us. 00:39:17.179 --> 00:39:18.819 The pearl of infinite value. 00:39:18.940 --> 00:39:25.339 And as you see that, when you see that, as you are moved in joy to that, to following him, you'll sell out. 00:39:26.299 --> 00:39:30.859 So study that for the first time, for the thousandth time. 00:39:31.859 --> 00:39:33.339 And then go sell out. 00:39:34.239 --> 00:39:37.739 To know and love and be loved by your king. 00:39:38.379 --> 00:39:39.139 Let me pray for us. 00:39:39.139 --> 00:39:44.519 Father in heaven, our hearts long, as Lewis says, too little. 00:39:46.440 --> 00:39:51.879 We satisfy ourselves dabbling with mud pies when there's a full feast. 00:39:53.359 --> 00:39:54.539 We look at phones. 00:39:55.619 --> 00:40:01.759 We numb ourselves when there's the great excellencies of Jesus on full display. 00:40:01.760 --> 00:40:11.720 Forgive us for that and give our hearts new and greater courage and diligence to look again into the value of knowing and being known by you. 00:40:11.840 --> 00:40:15.240 Of being caught up in the great king and the kingdom that he is bringing. 00:40:15.980 --> 00:40:24.400 That the value, beauty, delight of Jesus and his kingdom would transfix our hearts, hypnotize us once again. 00:40:24.400 --> 00:40:31.639 And that we would serve you with every breath that we have for your glory until you come. 00:40:32.820 --> 00:40:35.059 And then forevermore after that, it's in Jesus' name we pray. 00:40:35.180 --> 00:40:35.360 Amen.