Speaker:
is there anything, is there anything that you would
2
:
sell everything you own to have?
3
:
Is there anything that you
would sell everything you own?
4
:
Like, imagine that process of
selling everything you own.
5
:
Like, you, you go through your closet.
6
:
You're like, "Nope, I, I don't need
these, I don't need these shirts.
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:
I don't need these pants."
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:
You go to your room.
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:
You're like, "I don't need, I don't
need anything that's on the wall.
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:
I don't need my bed.
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:
I don't need..."
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:
You know, your phone.
13
:
Right?
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:
You don't...
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:
I don't need my phone.
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:
Maybe if you have a car,
"I don't need my car."
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:
You're saying, "I would sell all this so I
have enough money to buy whatever it is."
18
:
Right?
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:
Maybe you have an e-bike or a
video game console or whatever.
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:
Is there anything in the world
that you'd be like, "You know what?
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:
I would, I would be okay if I sold
everything so I could have this."
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:
Maybe it's not a thing you could buy.
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:
Maybe it's you wish you could look a
certain way or be good at something
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:
or be able to experience something.
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:
But is there anything in the world
that you would sell everything to buy?
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:
That's such an interesting thing to think
about because Jesus says that responding
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:
to the gospel well is like that.
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:
It's like finding something that
you would sell everything you own.
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:
Like, just think about
the things in your room.
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:
Like, all of that, I
would trade it for this.
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:
That's what Jesus says is a...
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:
That's how, what it's like to
respond to the gospel well.
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:
That's a good response to the gospel.
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:
So two weeks ago when Pastor PJ
was here, he talked about, like,
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:
how shallow faith is, right?
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:
A bad response to the gospel.
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:
We're gonna talk about a
good response to the gospel.
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:
What does the right response to
the gospel actually look like?
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:
So we're gonna be in Matthew
13, Matthew chapter 13.
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:
So right in the Bible, right, big
numbers, 13, that's the chapter, and
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:
then verses, small numbers, right,
this 44 is where we're gonna be.
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:
Matthew 13:44, okay?
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:
So this is actually Jesus'
shortest parable, by the way.
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:
Matthew 13:44.
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:
He says, "The kingdom of heaven."
46
:
Right?
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:
So, um, the kingdom of heaven.
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:
That's what the, the gospel is about.
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:
It's about the kingdom of heaven.
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:
"It's like a treasure hidden in a field,
which a man found and covered up."
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:
So this guy, he's out, he's in a field.
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:
He finds treasure, and
he's like, "Oh, okay.
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:
I'm gonna cover up the treasure."
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:
And then in his joy, he goes and he sells
everything he has so that he can buy
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:
the field so he can have the treasure.
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:
Right?
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:
Because if he tells someone,
"Hey, I found this treasure in the
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:
field," guess who gets the treasure?
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:
The owner of the field, not him.
60
:
Right?
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:
So he's like, "Oh, I'm gonna buy it."
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:
Right?
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:
Imagine if, uh, I was actually
looking up this recently.
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:
There's, like, if you found buried
treasure, like from, um, you
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:
know, like the, from like the, the
stagecoach, like, bandit people, right?
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:
There's, so there's a rumor that
apparently around in Denton, um, that
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:
this cowboy bandit, um, he, in like 1870,
stole 60,000 gold coins, and apparently
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:
most of them are buried somewhere, and
he died, and no one knows where it is.
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:
Um, and people have found gold
coins in this area, and each one of
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:
these coins is worth, like, $5,000.
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:
So 60,000 of these coins would
be, like, millions of dollars.
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:
So it's like this legend.
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:
So it's kinda like that.
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:
Imagine if you were like,
"Whoa, I, I found this."
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:
Uh, and then you found it, and it
was, like, someone's field, right?
76
:
And you're like, "Well, I'm not...
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:
I'm gonna go ask them, 'Hey,
can I buy your field?'"
78
:
And maybe they say, "Okay, you
wanna buy my, you wanna buy my land?
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:
It's worth $5 million."
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:
Would you buy the $5 million land
to get the $300 million treasure?
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:
You would, right?
82
:
You totally would.
83
:
Even if you went into debt $5 million,
you'd be like, "Yeah, I'll, I'll take
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:
the $5 million loan, and I'll go buy
the $300 million treasure," right?
85
:
That's what's happening here.
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:
This dude, he says, "Hey,
I found this treasure.
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:
It's hidden, it's in a field."
88
:
And so he's like, "I'm gonna sell
everything, because guess what?
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:
What I'm getting, way better.
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:
What I'm getting is so much better
than anything I could give up."
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:
And then Jesus says something similar
the very next verse, verse 45.
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:
"Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like a merchant.
93
:
He's searching for fine pearls."
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:
And he finds one that's the
best pearl out there, right?
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:
Of great value, and so he went, and he
sold everything he had so he could buy it.
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:
Because what he's saying is, "If
I sell everything, guess what?
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:
This pearl is worth more than everything."
98
:
Right?
99
:
So and it's actually a, when
you think about it, it's a,
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:
it's a good trade, right?
101
:
Just like buying the $5 million field
to get the 300 million treasure.
102
:
Like, that's great.
103
:
That's actually good business, right?
104
:
That's good math.
105
:
That works well.
106
:
And so what we're gonna see is we're gonna
see three, three things, three kind of
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:
aspects of a good response to the gospel.
108
:
Jesus is saying, "A good response to the
gospel is being like one of these people."
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:
I'm gonna give up everything so
I can have this awesome thing.
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:
And the first one that I want you
to see is, see the commitment here.
111
:
Right?
112
:
Both of these people, what do
they have in common, the merchant
113
:
and the guy buying the field?
114
:
They sold everything.
115
:
Right?
116
:
They didn't sell some of their things.
117
:
They didn't sell most of their things.
118
:
They didn't sell the things
they kinda didn't want.
119
:
They sold everything
so they could get this.
120
:
What Jesus is saying is the,
the person making the decision
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:
has to, they have to do it.
122
:
They have to commit.
123
:
They have to go all in.
124
:
They're not just saying, "Well, maybe
I'll, I'll sell some of my stuff that
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:
I don't want and I'll, I'll get..."
126
:
This happens sometimes.
127
:
I'm in the, I'm in the fantasy baseball
league with the high school boys, and,
128
:
uh, sometimes you get a trade offer
and you're like, "All right, dude,
129
:
you really don't want my players.
130
:
'Cause if you wanted my players,
you would offer good players.
131
:
But instead, you're offering me, like,
your worst player off your bench,
132
:
you're offering me your backup second
baseman," and you're like, "Okay, I...
133
:
You really don't want this," right?
134
:
It's gonna get hot.
135
:
If you really wanted it,
you would offer your...
136
:
You'd give your best offer, right?
137
:
You would say, "Here's my...
138
:
Here's m- here's, here's the good offer.
139
:
This is what...
140
:
This, I really want your guy.
141
:
Here's what I'm gonna offer you."
142
:
So what's happening here is he's
saying there's no going in halfway.
143
:
A good response to the
gospel isn't half-hearted.
144
:
A good response to the gospel isn't
saying, "Jesus, I kinda trust you,
145
:
but let me see how it goes for a
bit, and then I'll really trust you."
146
:
A good response to the gospel isn't
saying, "Jesus, I, I know that you
147
:
say some good things, and I like some
of the things you say, but I don't
148
:
know about all the things you say."
149
:
Or, "I agree with most of what
the Bible says, but I'm not
150
:
sure about this one part."
151
:
Or, "I, I like Jesus, but I don't
like church," or, "I like church,
152
:
but I don't like Jesus," or, "I
like some church people, but I
153
:
don't like the Bible," right?
154
:
There's no, you know,
dividing it up, right?
155
:
It's a all or nothing.
156
:
So the first respon- or first part, I
guess, of what responding to the gospel
157
:
look like is, uh, no backup plans.
158
:
No backup plans, right?
159
:
This guy doesn't have any
hidden reserve of money.
160
:
He's selling everything, right?
161
:
Savings account, gone.
162
:
Checking account, gone.
163
:
Right?
164
:
Maxed out the credit
card, sold his car, right?
165
:
Everything's gone.
166
:
He doesn't have any ... 401, empty, right?
167
:
He has, he's got nothing left.
168
:
Everything is on the table.
169
:
He's not saying, "Well, just in case
it doesn't work, here's my, my secret
170
:
stash of money that I'm saving up."
171
:
Um, recently I played this
game, um, with fake money, and
172
:
it's a, it's a gambling game.
173
:
I played it with a, at men's
retreat actually, and it's,
174
:
uh, it's called Camel Up, okay?
175
:
Um, it's called Camel Up.
176
:
And, um, it was, it was Clay's
first time playing actually.
177
:
We were playing with Clay.
178
:
His first time playing.
179
:
And, um, Clay's strategy wa- So
essentially the way this game
180
:
works is, uh, there's a bunch of
camels on a racetrack, and you're,
181
:
you're betting your fake money on
the camels to see which one wins.
182
:
All right?
183
:
And, um, if you choose wisely, you win.
184
:
If you choose poorly, you don't.
185
:
And Clay's strategy was to go
all in on, like, every camel.
186
:
All his money on every
camel finishing first.
187
:
And after the first game- Clay had
twice as much money as the rest of us.
188
:
Now, I don't know if he got
that money legally or...
189
:
'Cause it was his first time playing,
so we didn't know if he was just
190
:
taking money he wasn't supposed to.
191
:
Uh, we're still not sure.
192
:
Right?
193
:
Bryce was there.
194
:
We're still not sure what happened.
195
:
Um, but Clay had twice as
much money as the second place
196
:
person, so it worked, right?
197
:
Clay went all in on the camels, right?
198
:
He was like, the blue camel, first place.
199
:
Green camel, first place.
200
:
Everything, first place, right?
201
:
He just bet on every camel, and he won.
202
:
Right?
203
:
Um,
204
:
when you're following
Jesus, there's not a...
205
:
You can't, you can't
go half-hearted, right?
206
:
You can't say, "Well, I'm gonna
put some of my money on Jesus and
207
:
some of my money on myself," right?
208
:
I'm not gonna put some of my
money on Jesus to make me happy
209
:
and some of my money on the
world to make me happy, right?
210
:
I'm not gonna give some of my heart to
Jesus and some of my heart to the world.
211
:
I'm not gonna give some of my heart
to my sin and most of it to Jesus.
212
:
I'm not gonna follow Jesus and
hold onto some of my sin, right?
213
:
There's no 90% Team Jesus, 10% Team Me.
214
:
That's not how this works.
215
:
It's 100% Team Jesus.
216
:
And also, no one else
can do it for you, right?
217
:
This isn't, "Oh, well, my parents
follow Jesus, so they can just
218
:
kinda, kinda bring me along."
219
:
Right?
220
:
It's, you know, you have to give up
everything to follow Jesus too, right?
221
:
You have to sell everything
for yourself, right?
222
:
This guy didn't go say, "Hey, um,
there's this treasure in the field.
223
:
How about I sell half of my stuff,
and I'm gonna get my best friend
224
:
to sell half of my stuff, and we're
gonna go in together on this Jesus
225
:
thing in case it doesn't work out?"
226
:
Right?
227
:
There's y- y- your parents being
Christians doesn't save you.
228
:
Your parents going to church, your
parents being pastors, whatever it
229
:
is, that doesn't impact you, right?
230
:
In terms of whether
you're a Christian or not.
231
:
And it happens to a lot
of, a lot of people, right?
232
:
You grew up in church.
233
:
You say, "Oh, we do church things.
234
:
I like church."
235
:
And but you've never actually
decided to follow Jesus yourself.
236
:
You've just kinda been dragging
along with your parents, right?
237
:
Kinda like, um, Bryce was telling me,
um, he was trying to save gas by, by
238
:
drafting behind a, a big truck, right?
239
:
Um, you ever...
240
:
Or like think of like when you're
in the water behind a boat, right?
241
:
You can kinda float along in the current.
242
:
Right?
243
:
Sometimes that's what young people
like you guys try to, try to do,
244
:
not intentionally sometimes, but,
"Oh, my parents are Christians.
245
:
They go to church.
246
:
I go to church.
247
:
I like it.
248
:
It doesn't bother my life.
249
:
Nothing about it really offends me.
250
:
So I'll just go along with
it and see how it goes."
251
:
Right?
252
:
That's not what following Jesus is like.
253
:
Right?
254
:
There's no, there's no backup plans.
255
:
There's no, no going in, in
halfsies with following Jesus.
256
:
Right?
257
:
It's a full 100% commitment.
258
:
So the second thing I wanna show you
is in the second part, second parable.
259
:
Verse 45, "The kingdom of heaven is like
a merchant in search of fine pearls.
260
:
He finds one pearl of great value.
261
:
He went and he sold everything
that he had and bought it."
262
:
Now, the reason, right, this is a, a, a
good deal is because the pearl is worth
263
:
more than everything he sold, right?
264
:
Just like the $5 million y- field,
you're like, "Okay, that's fine.
265
:
I'll, I'll sell all my
stuff for the $5 million.
266
:
I'll buy the field."
267
:
Great, 'cause it's worth...
268
:
It's a good deal.
269
:
It's actually a...
270
:
Like, that's a good decision.
271
:
No one would tell you, "Oh yeah, that's
a, that's a bad financial decision."
272
:
Right?
273
:
Like, if you had a financial advisor,
he might even say, "Yeah, that's a...
274
:
Maybe that's a good thing,"
'cause your, your, your return
275
:
on investment is, is huge.
276
:
The treasure is worth more
than everything, right?
277
:
The cost is super high.
278
:
The cost is everything, right?
279
:
You remember that, um, scene from Endgame
or Infinity War where they ask Thanos,
280
:
like, "Hey, what did it cost you?"
281
:
And he goes, "Everything."
282
:
Right?
283
:
That's what I'm thinking right now.
284
:
Um, the cost is really high.
285
:
The cost to follow Jesus is super high.
286
:
Following Jesus costs you everything.
287
:
Everything's on the table, right?
288
:
There's not any part of your life that
you can say, "Jesus, you can do your stuff
289
:
with most of my life, but not this part."
290
:
Cost is really high, but it's worth it.
291
:
The cost is super high, but it's worth it.
292
:
And so even though the trade is giving
up everything, what you get back is
293
:
even better than everything you gave up.
294
:
So the second aspect of the right response
to the gospel is there's no regrets.
295
:
No regrets.
296
:
It's worth it.
297
:
I really wanted to misspell it and put,
"No regerts," and see if anyone noticed.
298
:
If you're gonna get a tattoo
that says, "No regrets," make
299
:
sure it's not, "No regerts."
300
:
Speaker 2: What is this?
301
:
I, I think I see
302
:
Speaker: where it is.
303
:
But the whole point is even though
the cost is everything, it's worth it.
304
:
Even though when you follow Jesus,
you're telling Jesus, "Hey, you have
305
:
full authority over my life," right?
306
:
"Jesus, if you ask me to do
anything, you're the boss.
307
:
I'm not."
308
:
Huge cost, right?
309
:
But it's worth it.
310
:
What you get is worth it.
311
:
Um, I don't know if you
know who this guy is.
312
:
Um- This guy's a lot of money.
313
:
But so, um- It's Jordan's
dad ... in- Jordan.
314
:
Jordan's dad.
315
:
Um, in 2002- Before you all existed.
316
:
Um, he was actually...
317
:
I don't know if you guys know
what PayPal is, but sometimes when
318
:
you're trying to pay for something
online, you run into PayPal.
319
:
He was involved with PayPal, and so he
million in:
320
:
Okay?
321
:
So I mean, if you do that, you got enough
money for the rest of your life, right?
322
:
He could have sold, sold his, his PayPal
company and been like, "Great, I'm set.
323
:
Don't have to work anymore.
324
:
I'm good.
325
:
I got all the money I need
for the rest of my life."
326
:
Um, but instead he, you know, he
wanted to, to do other things like
327
:
make spaceships and cool cars.
328
:
And so he, he starts, you know, he's
working on Tesla and SpaceX, right?
329
:
Those are his companies.
330
:
And by 2008, he's put all of the money
from PayPal, $180 million, into these
331
:
companies, into Tesla and, and SpaceX.
332
:
And by 2008, um, our friend Elon
was unable to pay rent because
333
:
his companies were doing so bad.
334
:
So h- six years, $180 million, gone.
335
:
Um, and he, he was borrowing money from
friends, like, for groceries and for gas,
336
:
like, for living, 'cause his electric
car wasn't working, so he had to buy gas.
337
:
Um, but...
338
:
And both his companies are about to fail.
339
:
So people told him,
"You can't support both.
340
:
You have to...
341
:
You gotta, you gotta at
least get rid of one."
342
:
And he's, like, barely making it.
343
:
But he put all of his money, all of
his resources into these companies,
344
:
and now his net worth is $700 billion.
345
:
So his $180 million, PayPal,
he gave it all up, right?
346
:
He gave up $180 million.
347
:
Would any of you...
348
:
If, if I said you could have $180
million for sure right now, or maybe
349
:
you can have $700 billion later, right?
350
:
Some of you would probably
just take the 180.
351
:
You'd be like, "I'm
good with $180 million.
352
:
I'm fine.
353
:
That's...
354
:
Sign me up.
355
:
I'm cool with that," right?
356
:
But he said, "I'm giving up $180
million," and he didn't know
357
:
what was gonna happen, right?
358
:
He's...
359
:
He can't even buy groceries.
360
:
But now he's worth $700 billion, right?
361
:
The cost, super high, $180 million.
362
:
But the treasure, far better.
363
:
That's kinda like following Jesus.
364
:
The cost is super high, right?
365
:
Following Jesus means you're not in
charge of your life anymore, right?
366
:
God is.
367
:
Right, following Jesus,
the cost is very high.
368
:
Jesus says, "Take up your
cross and follow me."
369
:
Right?
370
:
"Deny yourself."
371
:
Essentially, he's saying, "When you
follow me, you and your ambitions
372
:
and your dreams, those die."
373
:
But guess what?
374
:
What Jesus has for you is better.
375
:
It's better than the dreams you have.
376
:
It's better than the plan
you have for your life.
377
:
It's better than what you want your
life to look like in 10 years, or the
378
:
way you want your career to go, or even
the way you want your middle school
379
:
or high school or college time to go.
380
:
What Jesus has for you is better, even
though you might be giving up your dream
381
:
college experience or your dream career
to follow him, or your current friends
382
:
to follow Jesus, or your lifestyle,
or that thing you love so much.
383
:
It might cost you everything,
but everything you give
384
:
up for Jesus is worth it.
385
:
You're never gonna regret something
you gave up to follow Jesus.
386
:
Right?
387
:
No one in heaven is like, "Man,
I'm so disappointed right now.
388
:
I'm so disappointed that I did that.
389
:
I'm so disappointed that I loved
sacrificially instead of being selfish.
390
:
I'm so disappointed that I was patient
with that person instead of lashing
391
:
out and being angry and vengeful."
392
:
That's really hard to do,
and it might cost you, right?
393
:
Maybe that person gets to feel like
they're walking all over you because
394
:
you're forgiving them and you're
turning the other cheek, and it costs
395
:
you a lot, and maybe people at school
think you're weird because you like to
396
:
talk about Jesus and share the gospel.
397
:
Maybe you have to walk away
from some friends, right?
398
:
Maybe you have to wake up
earlier to read your Bible.
399
:
Maybe you have to give up on what
you wanted to do with your life.
400
:
But you're never gonna get to heaven
and say, "That wasn't worth it.
401
:
I shouldn't have done that."
402
:
You're never gonna ... Like,
no one in heaven is even,
403
:
like, a tiny bit disappointed.
404
:
No one's even underwhelmed in heaven.
405
:
Like, "Oh, man, Jesus, I know I,
like, followed you my whole life,"
406
:
and now it's like, "Oh, okay.
407
:
Cool."
408
:
No one, no one's even saying that.
409
:
Now, I'm not saying that following
Jesus means you won't make mistakes
410
:
and you won't have questions, you won't
have doubts, you won't have problems.
411
:
Right?
412
:
But what I am saying is that
Jesus is better than anything
413
:
else you could live for.
414
:
Right?
415
:
The treasure in this parable is Jesus.
416
:
The kingdom of heaven is like
a treasure hidden in a field.
417
:
The treasure is, is not a place, right?
418
:
It's not, "Oh, I get to go to heaven."
419
:
The treasure is not, "Oh,
I get to not go to hell."
420
:
Right?
421
:
Maybe that's why you're, you
wanna be a Christian is just,
422
:
"I don't wanna go to hell."
423
:
Right?
424
:
Well, then what's your treasure?
425
:
If your Christianity is about you not
going to hell, what's your treasure?
426
:
You are, 'cause you're doing it for you.
427
:
You're trying to protect yourself,
428
:
right?
429
:
But if your Christianity is
about, "I wanna be with Jesus.
430
:
I love Jesus.
431
:
I need more Jesus," He's
your treasure, right?
432
:
So, don't make your Christianity
about solving your problems or
433
:
getting life coach advice from Jesus.
434
:
Or, you know, "Oh, I'm sad
about something, so I should
435
:
trust Jesus, and He'll help me."
436
:
He, He will, but don't
make it about you, right?
437
:
'Cause if, if no hell is your treasure,
your Jesus isn't your treasure, right?
438
:
So the, the treasure here is, is Jesus,
and the point is that He's better,
439
:
and what He has for you is better.
440
:
And maybe you're thinking,
"Well, the world has so much
441
:
to offer, though," right?
442
:
'Cause like, uh, I, I hate to say
this, but I was your age, right?
443
:
And I I know what it's like
to say, "Well, I wanna try it.
444
:
I wanna go to college and do that.
445
:
I wanna not be with my parents
and, and try to do that," right?
446
:
What if it is?
447
:
Because maybe you've never gotten to...
448
:
Maybe your...
449
:
You know, your parents have rules,
and, and they're saying, "Oh, well..."
450
:
You know, you're like, "Well, if I just
tried it, I just wanna see how it is.
451
:
Maybe it is better than,
than what Jesus says."
452
:
There's...
453
:
And th- that's why you have us, right?
454
:
That's why you have your leaders.
455
:
'Cause some, a, a lot of them, right,
I think we, uh, we all in some degree
456
:
can say we've been there and tried that.
457
:
We've done that, and
it's not worth it, right?
458
:
The world will always
leave you dissatisfied.
459
:
You're always gonna say, "Well,
I, I wish I had more of this.
460
:
I wish this went differently.
461
:
This wasn't as good as
I thought it would be."
462
:
Even if you embrace your sin and you
say, "Man, I get to do all these fun
463
:
things and all these great things,"
you get really happy for, for a little
464
:
bit, and then afterward, you're l-
you, you're empty, and you want more.
465
:
And you're, "Where did it go?
466
:
Why did, why, why didn't it last?"
467
:
And so when you're at your position,
it's easy to look forward and say,
468
:
"Well, I want that, and I haven't
had it yet, and I need to try
469
:
it, and I wanna see how it goes."
470
:
But ultimately, if, plenty of people,
right, have tried what you want to
471
:
try, and none of them have found
that it's worth it compared to Jesus.
472
:
And so the point is that the
treasure makes the difference, right?
473
:
What you treasure makes
it worth it, right?
474
:
If you, if you love Jesus, it's worth it.
475
:
Of course you'll give up
anything to follow Him.
476
:
So when we think about, when you
think about being a Christian,
477
:
maybe you think about being a
Christian, oh, it's a bunch of rules.
478
:
It's a bunch of stuff I have to do.
479
:
It's a bunch of things I don't like.
480
:
I don't like reading.
481
:
I don't like singing.
482
:
The Bible's boring.
483
:
Jesus is lame.
484
:
The point is that that's not, like your,
your treasure is in the wrong spot, right?
485
:
You're putting your treasure in
other things that aren't worth it.
486
:
And if you put your...
487
:
You, like, you know, in Matthew 6, right?
488
:
Your, where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
489
:
Right?
490
:
What you think is important
is a magnet for your heart.
491
:
And so when you treasure Jesus, your heart
follows that, what you think is important.
492
:
You think Jesus is important, your heart
follows that, and that's when you end up
493
:
satisfied because it makes it worth it.
494
:
Now, if you're trying to be a Christian
outside in on your own, you're
495
:
not gonna like being a Christian
'cause Jesus says, "Deny yourself."
496
:
And if you're doing, if you're
denying yourself for you,
497
:
you won't like that . Right?
498
:
If you're trying to be self-controlled
and, and put off sin for you, of
499
:
course you're not gonna like that.
500
:
But if you're doing it for Jesus,
then it, it, it makes it worth it
501
:
because your self-control, your denying
yourself gets you more of him, right?
502
:
John the Baptist said, "I
decrease, he must increase."
503
:
Right?
504
:
No one likes that unless they love Jesus.
505
:
And so if your Christianity is about you,
of course it's hard and you don't like it.
506
:
But the last thing I want you
to see from this parable is the
507
:
attitude we see in verse 44, okay?
508
:
First, first one, right?
509
:
"The kingdom of heaven is like
a treasure hidden in a field.
510
:
A man found it and covered it up.
511
:
Then, in his joy, he goes and sells
all that he has and buys that field."
512
:
Right?
513
:
I just talked for a bit about
how Christianity is hard and
514
:
it costs everything, and maybe
you're like, "Doesn't sound fun."
515
:
Well, this guy thinks it's
the best thing ever, right?
516
:
He's not like, "Man, I'm gonna
really miss all my stuff.
517
:
I'm so sad."
518
:
He's not walking over to buy the field
like, "Oh my goodness, I have to do this.
519
:
I have to give up everything.
520
:
I'm so..."
521
:
He's not like over there crying about
all the stuff he'd lost, and he's
522
:
like, not like, "Oh, I really miss,
you know, my whatever, my, my e-bike
523
:
that I sold to buy the field," right?
524
:
He's not like, "Oh, my goodness."
525
:
He's excited.
526
:
He's like, "I get to...
527
:
I just sold everything, and
I get the best thing ever.
528
:
I'm so happy I get to do this."
529
:
Right?
530
:
He's smiling.
531
:
He's singing.
532
:
He's skipping, right?
533
:
He's, he's on his way to buy
the field like you are leaving
534
:
school this week, right?
535
:
You're like, "I'm done.
536
:
I'm free.
537
:
I'm gone.
538
:
See you later."
539
:
Right?
540
:
Especially Carly, 'cause
she's like, "Peace out.
541
:
I'm a senior."
542
:
Which we'll miss you, Carly.
543
:
We love you, and we'll miss you a lot.
544
:
Um, but this guy is excited, right?
545
:
His, his journey to buy this
field is not like, "Oh, great.
546
:
I gotta do this.
547
:
But you know, it's good for
me, so I really have to."
548
:
So the last thing I want you to see
about following Jesus and responding to
549
:
the gospel is there, it's not reluctant.
550
:
You guys know what reluctance is, right?
551
:
It's like when you don't
wanna do something.
552
:
No reluctance.
553
:
Um, I did something very
reluctantly recently.
554
:
Um, so Shay was like, "You know,
you need to eat healthy stuff,
555
:
you need to, you know, be, eat
things that are good for you.
556
:
So I'm gonna try to help you like
fish, 'cause fish is supposed
557
:
to be like good for you."
558
:
I don't like fish.
559
:
I hate fish.
560
:
Um- You do?
561
:
It's awesome ... I don't like seafood.
562
:
I, uh- What?
563
:
Oh, yes ... don't like sushi.
564
:
What?
565
:
Oh.
566
:
Oh.
567
:
You're Japanese.
568
:
I know.
569
:
I'm only half Japanese, though, but-
Sushi's good ... I don't like seafood.
570
:
I just, I've tried it.
571
:
Uh, my favorite sushi
that I tried was eel.
572
:
You haven't had any fish.
573
:
But, um, I don't like fish.
574
:
Wait.
575
:
So anyway.
576
:
There's awesome sushi.
577
:
I, uh...
578
:
So she was like, "Okay, I'm gonna, you
know, I'm gonna make it, and I'm just
579
:
gonna, we're gonna see if you like it."
580
:
And I was like, "Okay, fine.
581
:
I'll do it."
582
:
And so she, uh, she made fish tacos
'cause, you know, that way it's not
583
:
as like fishy, you know, whatever.
584
:
And it was a good idea.
585
:
And, um, I ate it.
586
:
I ate the fish taco.
587
:
Um, but I was not enjoying
the fish taco, right?
588
:
I was reluctantly eating it.
589
:
And I, I did it 'cause I
was like, "It's good for me.
590
:
I love my wife.
591
:
She made this.
592
:
I'm gonna do it," right?
593
:
Um, so I did it very reluctantly, right?
594
:
But, and there's a meal I had recently
that I didn't eat reluctantly.
595
:
I, I savored it, right?
596
:
I, I enjoyed every bite.
597
:
Um, we were with Shay's parents
and they're super generous.
598
:
They took us to this really
fancy steakhouse, right?
599
:
And we got to eat, you know, this isn't a,
this isn't a picture of the actual steak
600
:
I ate, but we got to eat stuff like this.
601
:
You know, and it's so good, right?
602
:
The flavor and it was perfect.
603
:
They cooked it perfectly,
the seasoning, right?
604
:
I'm just gonna show you more pictures
of stuff to make you feel hungry, right?
605
:
It was delicious.
606
:
Why are you doing this?
607
:
Right?
608
:
So good.
609
:
Oh, yes.
610
:
Right?
611
:
I wasn't like, "Oh, okay, I gotta eat.
612
:
I, I guess.
613
:
You know, I, I guess if you bring
this out, I'll eat it," right?
614
:
"Maybe I'll have some," right?
615
:
No reluctance on my part.
616
:
I'm, I'm excited.
617
:
I'm like, "Okay, when are we eating?"
618
:
I like, made sure I ate a light lunch
so I could eat more steak, right?
619
:
Um, I'm excited about
this and I'm enjoying it.
620
:
I'm like, I'm like sad that I'm eating
it because that means it's going away.
621
:
You know what I mean?
622
:
Like, I was very excited, right?
623
:
Enjoying it, savoring it, right?
624
:
Going slow, and then luckily
Shay didn't finish hers, so I was
625
:
like, "I get to have even more.
626
:
This is great."
627
:
It was awesome, right?
628
:
Um, here's some more, right?
629
:
Isn't it so good?
630
:
So good.
631
:
Like, can't you just like taste it?
632
:
It's so good.
633
:
Um,
634
:
I don't want your Christianity to be
like me eating a fish taco, right?
635
:
And Jesus doesn't want
that for you either.
636
:
Jesus says following him- Even
though it's really hard, is joyful.
637
:
It's not like eating a fish taco,
it's like eating a steak, right?
638
:
You, your relationship with Jesus
shouldn't feel like all the time
639
:
I'm just eating my stuff I don't
like because I have to, right?
640
:
Jesus wants you to savor Him, right?
641
:
To enjoy Him.
642
:
That's the point.
643
:
The point is your response
to the treasure is joy.
644
:
Your response to the treasure isn't,
"Oh, I guess I have to do this,
645
:
guess I have to follow Jesus."
646
:
Jesus is saying the response to
the gospel is this guy is excited.
647
:
He's thrilled.
648
:
He's so happy he, he gets this treasure.
649
:
Right?
650
:
He, he wants...
651
:
If there was another treasure,
he'd buy that one, too, right?
652
:
He, he's so excited about it.
653
:
Now, what I'm not saying is that
being a Christian means you feel happy
654
:
all the time and you never feel sad.
655
:
That's not what I'm saying.
656
:
I'm not saying that you never
need to use self-control.
657
:
I'm never saying that obeying Jesus
always comes easily and naturally
658
:
to you when you become a Christian.
659
:
But what I am saying is that
basic Christianity is being
660
:
super excited about Jesus.
661
:
That's not for your leaders, that's not
for the super spiritual people, that's not
662
:
for, you know, s- the pastors or whatever.
663
:
That's for ev- every Christian.
664
:
There's, there's no tiers in this
Christianity thing where it's like, well,
665
:
freshman Christianity, you just kinda do
it and you don't like it but you have to.
666
:
And then, like, JV Christianity,
you kinda like it most of the time.
667
:
And then varsity Christianity,
you're, like, really excited
668
:
about Jesus and on fire.
669
:
That's not a thing.
670
:
Like, level one Christianity is Jesus
is the most awesome person ever, and
671
:
I love Him, and I wanna be with Him.
672
:
That's, like, level one Christianity.
673
:
Right?
674
:
That's what Christianity
is really about, right?
675
:
It's about a person.
676
:
It's about getting Jesus, right?
677
:
And maybe when you think about
all the things that Christians do,
678
:
maybe you've never connected that
to, "This is how I get Jesus."
679
:
That's why when we talk about
reading the Bible, right?
680
:
Pastor PJ's doing this whole series
about the Bible in the summer.
681
:
Why do we care so much about the Bible?
682
:
This is old books, hard to read,
doesn't make sense sometimes.
683
:
What do I do?
684
:
I...
685
:
What does it have to do with Jesus?
686
:
Well, the point is the Bible
is how you get to know Jesus.
687
:
Jesus is talking to you.
688
:
This is how you hear Him.
689
:
This is how you get to t- to hear
what He's like and, and see what
690
:
He does and that's the whole point
of the Bible, is to get Jesus.
691
:
It's not just so you can get smart
or impress people or do some things
692
:
and, and be good enough for God.
693
:
The point of the Bible is to get God,
not to perform something for God.
694
:
Same with prayer, right?
695
:
I was talking with, uh, one of
you earlier this week, and we were
696
:
talking about how prayer is not
about getting things from God.
697
:
Prayer is about getting God.
698
:
You get to talk with God.
699
:
You get to enjoy your
relationship with him.
700
:
That's the point of prayer.
701
:
It's not just about, "Oh, well,
God, do this stuff for me, please."
702
:
'Cause then it's about you, right?
703
:
So your relationship with God isn't
really like, "Oh, yeah, this is for me."
704
:
It's for God.
705
:
You just wanna be with God, right?
706
:
Just like someone you really love, like a
f- a, a really good friend that you love.
707
:
You're not hanging out with them for you.
708
:
You just wanna be with them.
709
:
You're like, "I, I really like
this guy," or, "like this girl.
710
:
I just wanna...
711
:
I just like hanging out with them.
712
:
I enjoy their company."
713
:
So responding to the gospel, right?
714
:
We talk about...
715
:
Maybe y- you think about
repentance and faith, right?
716
:
That's what you hear.
717
:
Oh, how do you respond to the gospel?
718
:
You repent and believe.
719
:
Maybe that's what you've
heard your whole life.
720
:
Tr- it's true.
721
:
But repenting and believing is not
a eating fish tacos experience.
722
:
All right?
723
:
Repenting and believing is
a eating steak experience.
724
:
Right?
725
:
Turning from sin, it's really
hard, but it's so worth it, right?
726
:
And trusting Jesus is not just
trusting Jesus to get what you want,
727
:
it's trusting Jesus to get God.
728
:
That's the whole point.
729
:
Right?
730
:
The point of being forgiven is not so
you can be forgiven of your sin, right?
731
:
The point of y- being justified,
like we talk about in Romans,
732
:
isn't just so you can be justified.
733
:
The point is, you get God, 'cause
now th- your barrier between
734
:
you and God is, is away, right?
735
:
Jesus took away your sin, your guilt.
736
:
He removed God's wrath from you.
737
:
Before, God was opposed to
you, so you couldn't get God.
738
:
Now, Jesus takes away your sin.
739
:
Now God is for you, so
you get to enjoy God.
740
:
That's the point.
741
:
So the point of all of this, all
of this stuff is you get God.
742
:
And as a Christian, that's the point of
all the Christian things you do, right?
743
:
That's why we sing songs.
744
:
That's why we read the Bible.
745
:
That's why we pray.
746
:
That's why we serve.
747
:
It's to get more of God,
'cause He's the treasure.
748
:
So let's pray, and we'll talk
about that more in small groups.
749
:
God, you are better than
everything and anything.
750
:
And I know it's hard to believe
sometimes because we can't see you.
751
:
We can't touch you.
752
:
Um, you don't audibly
speak to us very often.
753
:
Um, and so I pray that you help
us to, um, feel that you're real.
754
:
I hope that you h- I pray that you
help us to, um, believe what you say.
755
:
I pray that you help us to not just
know facts about you, but to experience
756
:
the things that you talk about, right?
757
:
And when we read your Word, we see
people who are really excited about you,
758
:
really happy about you, and enjoying you.
759
:
And so I pray that you help us to, um,
walk those same paths, to, um, enjoy
760
:
you and to treasure you and to love
you We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
