Hidden Treasure | Part 1

Know, we're kicking off a pastor Bill's away for a few weeks. So you have a few different people up here teaching for a few weeks and we're kicking off this series called hidden treasure. Everybody say hidden treasure. Hidden treasure. We're gonna be unpacking some of the parables

of Jesus. And here's something that's really unique about this. It says in Matthew 13, if you're there, check this out. If not, it's on the screen. Verse 35. Speaking of Jesus in fulfilling prophecy by the parables he would teach. It says, I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things hidden

since the creation of the world. Isn't that really interesting? Things hidden since the creation of the world. Maybe you're familiar with scripture, perhaps you aren't. But you realize that one third of Jesus' teachings as recorded in what we call the gospels, the first four books of the New Testament,

one third of them are in the form of parables. That's a lot of content. What is a parable? Well really a parable is just an everyday story used to illustrate a spiritual truth. And when Jesus taught his parables,

he mostly focused on the kingdom of God and the God of the kingdom. Now that's language that we don't really use here in The States very often. Kings and kingdoms kind of stuff. So what is the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God in it's basic sense is God's rule and God's reign. And Jesus talked a lot

about the kingdom of God. And so these everyday stories used to illustrate spiritual truth were so common that Jesus taught using them. The rabbis of the day used them. Why? Why so many parables? Well, think one of the many practical reasons is that Jesus walked amongst a storytelling world. Literacy was very rare

and books or scrolls for their, you know, were rarer still. So memorization was really important. And the thing about parables was that they almost always would bring the listener to a crisis of decision. A kind of a moment going, man, what do I do with what I've just heard? Like immediate application

was often the focus of these parables. But there's some problems with parables. Even the folks that were listening to Jesus, were standing right in front of him as he taught these parables. They would often walk away kinda like,

what was he saying? I don't I don't get it. And they would come back to Jesus later on and say, will you tell us what you meant by that? Like, what are you trying to say? And they were confused about the spiritual application. What they weren't confused about was the story because the story or the illustration,

they knew very very well was a common everyday occurrence. They just couldn't connect the spiritual truth Jesus is trying to convey. Anybody ever like read your bible and you're reading it and you're like, man, really wanna know what it says. But now and then you come across some passages and you're just like,

God I don't get it. What what are you trying to say? Anybody ever do that other than me? Like a few of us? Like, I don't get it. Well, neither did some of them that were right in front of Jesus. And we have a little bit of an extra challenge when you and I look at parables. Not only sometimes the spiritual connection,

but the story itself. We don't really understand some of the cultural context of these stories. So what happens is we tend to oversimplify. And when we oversimplify these stories, we can sometimes miss the depth and the richness that those who culturally understood the the uniqueness of the story would get out of it.

And then there's other times that we don't make the spiritual connection. So we try to take a parable and we basically make it say whatever we want it to say. Well, think that means that and that means that and that means that. And when we do that, we kinda get into theological chaos. And that's very dangerous.

So there's some challenges with this stuff. So what I wanna do today is we get into the parable that we're gonna focus on in this first week, is try to set up a cultural understanding of this parable, set up some context.

So, this is the question. How many of you guys, when you were a kid, owned a piggy bank? Come on, raise your hand. You had a piggy bank. A lot of hands going up. You know what's funny about it is many of you are like smiling,

affectionately like, oh, bank. I remember my piggy bank, what it looks like and all that stuff. And I had a piggy bank. It didn't look like this, but it was a it was a it was like a glass jar. I think it was shaped as a football or something. And what would happen is when my grandpa, my my mom's dad, when they would come over, he would always give me like 2 or 3 quarters.

And I'd take those quarters and I'd put them in the piggy bank. And how many of guys remember like dropping the dropping the coinage in the piggy bank. You're like, this is awesome. I'm almost rich. This is so cool. You put them in there,

and you're thinking, man, I'm building my treasure, building my mother lode. And then it'd get to a point where the piggy bank's full. What do you do then? Well, a lot of us, what we would do is we would go dump the piggy bank into the bigger container. And then we would get all the pennies,

all the nickels and the dimes and the quarters, and every now and then the rare 50¢ pieces and we'd put them in there. We'd get a bigger container and then what happened when the the coffee can got full? Well,

maybe mom or dad would set you up with a little savings account at the bank You take it there and you turn it in and they dump it in the machine and would count all that, sort it, and you'd have a little savings account.

What if the bank wasn't available? What if there wasn't a bank? Or maybe you don't like banks You don't trust them. And maybe as a seven year old, you don't believe in FDIC. And you're just like, I'm holding onto it myself. And I'm gonna put it in my closet.

Or maybe I'm gonna shove it under my bed. And I'm gonna hide it so no one gets it. Well, what's the danger in putting your piggy bank and the mother load in the closet or under the bed? When you have a play date with your friends and they come over and you decide to play hide and seek and they run-in your closet.

Or they crawl under your bed, then they go, woah, woah, man, the ice cream man comes by every day at four. I'm gonna be ready for them tomorrow. And they take a little bit of the of what's in the can. We don't want that, do we? So maybe we get this great idea. I don't want my friends stealing

my stuff or finding it. So you go out in the backyard and you you get your shovel. Dig a little hole next to where Fido was buried a few years ago. Take your can, put it in there, and then you just cover it all up. Well, what happens when the years go by, maybe you forget about the $9 worth of coins in the can, And you move

from Queen Creek to Peoria and you sell the house. And twenty years later, someone's living at your old house and they're thinking, man, I wanna plant a garden. Let's go back and let's dig up that top soil and What's this? Woah. Man, the coinage. Who is now the owner of what's in the can? You or them?

Alright. So you get the context of our parable. Look at Matthew 13, go down to verse 44.

And here's what Jesus says. He says in Matthew thirteen forty four, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Then Jesus says a very similar thing with a little bit of a different story to it. The next verse, he says, again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. We're gonna stay focused on

the hidden treasure. The guy in the field comes upon this treasure, he finds it, he hides it again, and in his joy goes and sells all that he has to buy the field. What would happen in their days was much like the piggy bank and the can, but to a greater extent because they didn't have banks that were accessible

to put their stuff and their savings and whatever it might be. And so and fear of for fear of theft or conquest and, like, losing the property, they would actually go out in the field and bury some things

so no one would ever find it. And, but they were the only one who ever knew. So Jesus tells this everyday story, basically saying, hey, there's a hired farmhand

and he's in a field. The kingdom of heaven's like this. He's in the field and he's kinda plowing up the furrow in the field and he comes across something. What's this? And he realizes it's his big treasure. Maybe it's too much for him to haul out in the moment. Or maybe he just wants to rightly and righteously

try to acquire it for himself so he has this idea. I'm gonna go to the owner and I'm gonna say, you know, I've been working for the man for a long time and I've got this entrepreneurial itch

to just do something on my own. I think it's agriculture. Would you be interested if I could drink, you know, get the money, would you be interested in selling the field to me? And he's testing the owner. Because if the owner replies going, oh, no, no, no, no. That field is never gonna be for sale.

I would never let that go. That might reveal that the owner knows the treasure's there and the owner is the owner of the treasure. But if the owner says, hey, you know what? At the end of the day, everything's for sale. I'll sell it to you for this amount. And if that's the response, the guy knows it's not his treasure.

I'm gonna buy it and then the treasure's mine. Simple story, right? So what's the spiritual connection? There are two, historically two interpretations of this parable about the hidden treasure. And one of them is this, one of them says, you know what? In that story, the farmer, it's you and it's me.

And the hidden treasure is Jesus and his kingdom. Because after all, Jesus is worth more than anything the world can offer. And we should give up anything to follow him and put him first in our life. How many you guys say, man, that sounds good to me. A few of you? Yeah. Well, here's the other interpretation.

The other interpretation says, if you read the whole chapter and all these different parables, we'll consistently see that the field is the world. And I think they'll say, Jesus is actually the farmer and you are the treasure. Because we can't buy our own salvation and he's really the only one who's given everything

to bring us and purchase us back into relationship with Him. So you're the treasure, the field is the world and Jesus, He's the farmer. How many would say, man, that works too. That sounds good. Anybody? So which one is it? Well, how about today, right here at Rock Point Church,

we settle this centuries old debate that very intelligent theologians have had about this text and we just settle it right here. Do you think that'd be cool? It would be cool, but I'm talking. So it's not gonna happen. I'm just not that smart. But what if? What if in God's eyes, because it is just a parable.

What if they're both acceptable? What if you're the farmer, Jesus and his kingdom, that's the treasure. Or what if you're the treasure and Jesus is the farmer? Are they both biblical? Here's our big idea that I think brings both interpretations

into one. And our big idea today for this parable is, God is all in for me, for you and me, so I'm all in with Him. God's all in for me and He's all in for you. He's all in for us. So let's be all in with Him. Let's start with the second interpretation. Let's unpack it a little bit, okay? How could you be the hidden treasure?

You're like, me? The treasure? Come on man. Well here's how you and I could be the hidden treasure. It's because creation or humankind is the crown of creation. Think about it for a minute. Look at that statement. Because I would expect maybe half of you don't believe me. You're like, come on man. The crown of creation?

You don't know me Scott. That's crazy. Let me try to prove it to you. In the bible, in the book of Genesis. Way back in the beginning of scripture. In chapter one. If you're a follower of Jesus, you might be familiar with this. We call it the creation account.

It says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the you know the sun, the moon, the stars, light and day and water and the ocean and all the seas and all this kind of stuff. And then it proceeds saying that he created vegetation and that vegetation was to reproduce after its kind.

And then it says he created the animals of the sea and they're to reproduce after their kind. And then it says he created the mammals and the animals on the ground and on the earth that roam down the earth and they're to reproduce after their kind. And then something very particular and very unique happens.

And it's the first time that we see what is, many of us would say, is revealing of the trinity. The father, the son, and the holy spirit. Another name we call the trinity is the Godhead. Conversing amongst themselves about what they're about to do.

Here's what it says. If you have it in front of you, it's Genesis chapter one verse 26. And here's what it reads. Then God said, let us, That's that inference to Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,

so that they may rule over the fish in the sea, and the birds in the sky, over the livestock, and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. Verse 27. So God created mankind in his own image. In the image of God, he created them. Everybody say image of God.

Male and female, He created them. There's this concept called Imago Dei. Maybe you've heard it. And Imago Dei means the image of God. That you and I are created in his image. Now, let's make sure we're clear. Scripture doesn't say you will be a God.

There's one God and you and I will always be the created. We will always be the creature. But as you go throughout scripture, we see that God has given us, created us with some of attributes. And literally stamped upon us, the fingerprint of God is on you. You've been given an eternal soul.

And I'm gonna read something in Psalm eight that just continues to expand on Genesis one. It's like the Psalmist is reflecting on the creation account. Here's what he says in verse three of Psalm eight. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you set in place.

It's like he's going, man, when I look at all this around me in all of my life, and I've noticed the creation and the amazing thing that this is, he says in verse four, what is mankind that you are mindful of them? Human beings that you care for them. Like in all of this,

what's the big deal about people? Why are we seemingly so unique amongst all of your creatures and all of creation? Verse five. It says that you've made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. What's really interesting about this verse is that if

you go and look at the original Hebrew language, the word angels there is actually the word Elohim. Some of you have heard that. It's a name used for God. So some would suggest that what it really means is that you have made them a little lower than God. Maybe. My translation says, you've made them a little lower than angels

and crowned them with glory and honor. Verse six, you made them rulers over the works of your hands. You put everything under their feet. You and I, what's unique about us and why I would suggest that you are the crown of creation is because you've been given the capacity to reason. Not only do you have an eternal soul,

but you give the capacity to reason, to think, to solve problems, to build things, to create. You also have a free will and have been given a moral conscience. And I think deep down, everybody at some point wants good for humankind in some way. We've been given some attributes that not other that other creatures do not have.

And you and I, humankind, even, you know, those who don't believe in God, those who believe, humankind continues to seek spiritual things. Like there's this magnetic force to things spiritual that we look for the divine. We have an awesome dog, his name's Tucker. Cutest dog ever. He's getting old.

In all of his years, he's like 13 years old now. Never have I seen him on two paws looking up to the heavens wondering if there's a God. We just do that. It's in us.

The relationship not only with ourselves but a relationship with God is what we're uniquely wired for. And then we get into conversations about Christian or non Christian, believer or unbeliever. I think everybody would say, man, have a purpose for my life. I wanna find the purpose for my life. Why?

You've been created in the image of God. That stuff is always stirring in us. You're the crown

of his creation. You look back at Genesis chapter one and all of the stuff he created, the very last thing in that chapter is you and I. The culmination of it. And it's the only thing that scripture reveals where the trinity conversed and said, hey, now let us make man in our image and in our likeness.

I think one of the most transformative experiences you and I can have as followers of Jesus is when we begin to see ourselves like God sees us. That'll change you. But sadly, if you're anything like me, we tend to value who we are based on maybe what we have, where we've been,

what we've done, maybe even what someone else has done to us. And instead of seeing ourselves with humility, but seeing ourselves as the crown of creation, we often kinda look at ourselves like kinda like used goods. Maybe even damaged goods. Way back in the sixties. Some of you guys were around in the sixties.

How many guys are proud enough to say I was there when Woodstock happened? Anybody raise your hand. Yeah, the rest of us are going no. I don't wanna raise my hand. In the sixties, this gal named Claire Beckman lived in New Jersey. She liked to go to garage sales.

And she goes to this one garage sale and she sees a table that looks somewhat like this. It's mostly black in color. It's not finished like this and didn't come from like Hobby Lobby. And, but it looks somewhat like this.

And she's like, that will be perfect in my house. I know right where I wanna put it. I'm gonna I'm gonna buy that table. And she walks up to it and it has like, you know, a little garage sale sticker on it. You know, it's half peeled up and gonna blow away if the wind comes across. And she, oh man, she wants $30.

So Claire realizes, she's like, well, I only have 25. I wonder if I can negotiate

and talk her down. So she walks up to the gal who's having the garage challenge. Says, man, love that table. I have the perfect place for it. The only problem is I only have $25 cash on me. Would you be willing to, you know, cut off $5 and just take 25? And the lady says, sure. You can have it. Take it. $25.

She's like, yes. She brings it home, it needs some cleaning, so she pulls out some linseed oil and turpentine,

and she's starting to rub it, you know, scrub it off. She's thinking about stripping it and then maybe resurfacing or painting it or something, but she's like, before I do that, let me just start cleaning it off. And the black starts coming off and she starts to notice some character to the table.

And she sees some etching in the table. It's very unique and she's like, wow, that's really pretty. And she cleans off like, man, that's an awesome table. And she puts it where she wants it in her house and leaves it there for thirty years.

In the mid to late nineteen ninety's, she's like, wonder what that table would be worth. It's antique. So she gets on the show. Well, you bring the antiques. What's that one called? The Antiques Roadshow. Anybody ever watch Antiques Roadshow? Any of you guys willing to admit you've binged on the Antiques Roadshow a little?

You're like, that's just the strangest thing. And so she's on the antiques road show. And you can look this up later. Do it later today. It's it's kinda cool. And she she's on there and there's two guys. Two of the guys in the suits and ties.

And they're like salivating over this table. And they're telling her the, you the distinctions and like, look at the etching around here and the the and the way it all blah blah blah. And down the legs and and the label underneath says the label of the company, it looks like it was made in like eighteen sixties and this is a beautiful piece of furniture. And then they ask her, what do you think it's worth? And she says, you know,

it's almost like she's stretching in a little bit, hoping. She says, well, know, paid $25 for it and that was thirty years ago. Maybe it's worth $20,000 And they look at her and they're like, no actually, you'd be a little closer if you were to say $220,000.

That's what we think it would sell for if you were to bring it to the auction today and sell it. And she's like, wow. You know, like, awesome. Three years later, Claire puts it up for sale at the auction and it sells for $561,000. Now, I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking, it's awesome to be Claire. I mean, dollars 25 investment turns into half $1,000,000. That'd be awesome to be Claire. That's not what I'm thinking. I'm thinking it would suck to be the lady who sold it to her for $25 Are you kidding me? That's my table. I sold it for 25. She gets a half 1,000,000.

She didn't realize what she had.

May I just suggest we don't realize who we are. You're the crown of God's creation.

Just try to take the illustration and make it really work, right? Yeah, but you got the black soot on you from you know, years of life. You know what I mean? The wear and the tear and you know, all that kind of stuff and just beaten down and that we live so much life and so many disappointments have so many regrets,

so many mistakes, so much sin, broken relationships. And we're like, man, you know what? I'm kind of worried. I'm like a, I'm a Hobby Lobby $40 table.

But really scripturally,

God starts doing that work in your life and you begin to see yourself like He sees you, you realize, wow, I'm the crown of God's creation. And I'm telling you this, when you and I begin to see ourselves like God sees us, it'll transform your life. All of that self image stuff and self doubt and self talk and

inferiority and insecurity and all the stuff we all struggle with, we're going, I got a lot of weaknesses. But I'm the crown of God's creation. That's why I think when we say Jesus is the farmer, you're the hidden treasure, God is all in for you. He's all in. And

we kinda get that, right? Because even if you've never read the bible, you've heard John three sixteen, for God what? So loved the world that He, He gave it all, man. No matter what you have, no matter what you've done, where you've been, even what others have done to you or me, or the crown of God's creation.

Or the crown of his creation.

What about the other interpretation? What if you're the farmer, I'm the farmer. Jesus and his kingdom, that's the hidden treasure. Well, that works too, right? How does that work? Because everything pales in comparison to Christ.

And those of you who've been following Jesus and seen Him work in your life, you just easy, you know, nods. That's really true. Everything pales in comparison to Christ. There's this guy named Paul, the apostle Paul that wrote something that goes with this,

aligns with this thought on this parable. Let me read it to you. It's in Philippians chapter three.

He writes in verse eight. I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness. Now just pause for a moment. You know what he said? He doesn't say everything in the world is bad.

Everything in the world is sin. It's all bad and you know, don't touch anything. He didn't say anything like that. He just says, he considers everything a loss when he compares it to, when he holds it up against who Jesus is.

When compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I've lost all things. Now this guy did lose a lot in his life to follow God's call on his life. And then he continues and says, I've con I consider them what? Rubbish that I may gain Christ. And I read that and I'm thinking, man,

I wanna be like that guy. I wanna be like the Paul who's kinda like, God, know that you're all in for me so I'm gonna be all in with you and living that all in life like him. And I read that, I'm inspired, I'm encouraged but I'm also kind of discouraged at the same time.

This is a crazy tension because I read that and I'm like, man I'm not always all in with Jesus. I mean honestly, I'm not. Some of you are like, yeah, but you're like one of those pastor guys. You're just like, aren't you like one of the all in people? Man, last time I checked pastors come from the seats.

I struggle being all in. I'm not always all in.

You know, I've had the opportunity over the last few years of coming to Rock Point now and then and sharing some of the, you know, the stories of what God's done in my life to try to encourage you. And say God can do the same thing and even greater in your life. And I think about some of those things and every single story that I say about what God's done in my life is absolutely true without exaggeration.

And

I look at those stories, I'm like, man, that's awesome. What a treasure Jesus is and his kingdom in my life. But then I kind of forget about it and I just get distracted or I get lazy or I get apathetic towards the things of God. I look at that story in my life and I'm like, man, that was the most precious thing in the world for God to bring me through that.

That was priceless what He did in my life. And then, you know, I go on my way in life and I look at that story and I'm like, yeah, you know, it's a $40 piece of compressed wafer board or whatever it is. I devalue what God's done in my life. I don't if you ever struggle with that.

Or I get like, you know, I look at the scriptures. I'm a I'm passionate about the Bible. But I'm not always passionate about the Bible. I've got like 10 printed Bibles at my house. And then I have it buried in my apps, on my my iPad, on my phone and all that kind of stuff. I have the bible so accessible to me it's crazy.

But often I find myself going, that's I've read that before. Been there, done that. It's kinda dry, kinda lifeless and it's just really not doing it for me right now. Inside this, you know, I'm like, ugh. And I look at it as kinda like, you know, garage sale goods. Or maybe like prayer. Like, I realize

prayer is we get to talk to our creator.

And as we practice the presence of God, we begin to cultivate the ability to hear the voice of the spirit of God speak to our heart through the scriptures and by the holy spirit. We're like, man, God can guide me and affirm and confirm things in me and give me wisdom and help me guide, you know, guide me through this life. This is awesome. And then there's times I'm like, man, prayer's so boring. I, why don't I do that?

Doesn't do anything, man. And you know, it's kinda like used goods, devalue it. Church. Gosh, this is Rock Point. It's just that church down there. There's some Yahoo named Scott that bill for some reason has there now and then, and it's like garage sale goods, you know, I don't know.

And then, you know, it's just Bill Bush. It's just I don't like We devalue what God's doing, who He is in our life. And then I think of Paul, and I consider everything rubbish compared to Christ. I'm like, God I wanna be that guy. You ever heard anybody else like that? You're like, man, you're like human? Here's how I,

that's a good word to say, fight against it. I read scriptures like that and I think of things like this hidden treasure. And I think man Jesus and his kingdom truly is a treasure. More valuable than anything. So I do this. I go, God help me to be all in in this moment. Like, right now. That's it. That's it.

I've spoke at like camps for men and kids and students. You know, you have this crescendo, you know, this spiritual crescendo like, Jesus, my whole life is yours. I'm willing to go anywhere. I'm even willing to go to the West Valley for you, Jesus, and be on mission for you. I'm all yours. And then Monday comes.

And I'm telling you, Monday will strip the Jesus out of everybody. Right? Like, I was all in at camp. I was all in at church now. So I've kind of changed my approach. It's my intent to be all in

down the road all the time. But you know what I'm gonna do? I'm just gonna decide to be all in right now. Right in this situation, in this moment, with this decision. You know, at this moral crossroads, Jesus, I can go this way, I can go your way. God, I'm all in with you. Just in that moment. That's enough. Ethical dilemma.

Man. Do I do that? Do I do Jesus, send this is you. I'm all in right now. Just in that one decision.

Me and my wife is driving me crazy and I'm telling you what I've got my speech put together. When I get home tonight from work, I'm gonna tell her what the truth is and I'm gonna set her straight and I'm gonna just take control and I'm gonna wear the pants of my family. I wanna be all in with Jesus.

Maybe I approach this with a little more love and grace. God help me. I'm gonna go on with you in this moment. Just be all in in the moment. Just like right now. You know, the parable always brings its listener to the crisis of decision. What am I gonna do right now with what I've just heard?

I'm gonna be all in with you Jesus. God, you're all in for me. I mean, he's he's all in for you and for me. Humanity is the crown of creation. Because that's the truth. When I'm when you know when someone is just bugging me and driving me crazy and I'm like, oh,

and they don't think like I do, they don't even believe like I believe and I'm like, well, I'm gonna tell them the truth. Then I gotta go, man. Even if they don't agree with me and I don't agree with them, they're still the crown of creation. They've been created with dignity.

And I need to treat them with respect and dignity because they've been stamped with the image of God. I'm all in with you Jesus in regard to this person right now. God, you're all in for me. I wanna be all in with you. Just be all in with him in the moment because everything pales in comparison to him.

I wanna read you something out of the bible and we're gonna pray. And then we're actually gonna take communion together and we're gonna be out of here in about ten minutes. Okay? This is different for me and maybe it's different for you. But I wanna give you an invitation, an opportunity to receive Christ into your life.

If you've never made that decision before. And here's why. Just can't imagine about the reality that God is all in for you. That you and I are the crown of his creation. That he so loved you, he gave everything for you.

And not only that, everything pales in comparison to him. He's a treasure, You're the treasure. Let's go all in with Him. I can't even imagine having this conversation without giving you the opportunity to actually do something with this and go, you know what? I didn't walk into this place with an anticipation

that I wanna walk out being a person of faith. But man, God's stirring something in me right now.

And it's not because of some speech some guy like me has given. No, that's not enough. But something stirring in your heart. I think it's the Holy Spirit saying, just be all in with me in this moment. Here's what happens when you and I make the decision

to surrender to Christ. Colossians three, it's Colossians one. It's not on the screen on purpose. Why you just listen to this. Let it speak to you. Colossians one thirteen, for he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves. There's a Christ in the kingdom.

Verse 14 says, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. That's what happens when you and I make that decision. Jesus, I walked in here without you being the center of my life but I'm gonna walk out of here with you being the focus of my life.

Scripture says and you probably won't feel it but scripture says that spiritually God literally takes you and plants you into His kingdom. That's awesome. Let's bow our heads. Let's close our eyes. And just be still for a moment. I'm not gonna try to be emotional or manipulate anything. Just a still,

honest, authentic moment. Allowing God to stir in your heart. And maybe God's just saying, hey man, I know that you haven't really believed in me before.

Or you believe in me, but you've never really surrendered to me. Just in this moment, just be all in. Put your faith in Christ in this moment. And I'll lead you into the future. It's all good. Just put your faith in me right here, right now. Heads bowed, our eyes are closed. This is between you and God.

But I wanna be selfish, to be honest with you. Because I'm gonna pray a prayer that we're all gonna pray. And it's a prayer of surrender.

And I just wanna see who's actually gonna, who says, you know, Scott, I wanna pray this prayer. I wanna give my life to Christ right here and right now for the first time. I'm a, Jesus, I'm all in with you. I place my faith in you.

And if that's you, our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. I just wanna see who I I get to include in this prayer. If that's you like, Scott, I'm giving my faith to Christ right now. Raise your hand real high. Just say, Scott, that's me. I mean, I've got like one hand to my right. Two,

three, a person there. Praise God for you. I see you guys here in the middle. That's awesome. So glad you're here, sir. Ma'am, I see you guys here in the middle as well. Who else? Scott, include me in this prayer. I'm gonna put my faith in Jesus right now. Ma'am, I see your hand go up here.

Man, I see your hand back there. Awesome. Praise God for you. Yeah, saw your hand over here. Ma'am, I see you just raise your hand there. Sir, against the near the wall over there. That's awesome. Yeah, I saw your hand go up back there. We don't need to guarantee to God

of what we're gonna do down the road. We just say, God, right now I'm all in with you. Help me to be all in as I go forward. Who else has got included me in this prayer? Wanna give my life to Christ today. He's the treasure. And in his eyes, I'm the treasure.

Who else? Before I pray, Scott include me in that prayer. Ma'am, I see your hand right here in the middle.

This is awesome. You know, you've raised your hand. Now, I want you to lift your voice. And we're all gonna do that together. And we're gonna pray a prayer of surrender. And the scripture says that when we believe in our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, that we are saved, we're born anew,

we're spiritually given new life, and we're brought into the kingdom of the son he loves. Let's all pray this. Say, Father God, today I surrender my life to you. Forgive me of my mistakes, of my sin. Jesus, I believe you're the son of God. You've died on the cross for me so that I don't have to die for my own sin.

And I believe that you've risen from the dead to prove you're the son of God. Fill me with your spirit. Thank you that I'm forgiven. I'm in your kingdom. You're my Lord, my savior, my king. Jesus, help me to live an all in life for you. Thank you for being all in for me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. You know,

where I come from, we all get happy about that kind of thing when people make that decisions. Come on Rock Point. That's awesome. Congratulations.

You know, I I didn't even I couldn't I didn't keep track of the count. Like 15 ish hands, you know. When honestly. And, you know, we kinda keep an eye on that because we're like, man, look what God's doing. And this being the fourth of five services,

we're probably at like forty, forty five people have said, I want Christ in my life. That's so cool. That's so cool. Here's the deal. Here's what's awesome about this. I mean, really, I believe the Bible when it said talks about this stuff. That those people, you, many of you walked in

not knowing where eternity was gonna be for you. You're leaving knowing that you get to spend eternity with Christ, your creator, God, your maker, and then you get to live an all in life and see what he does for you in this lifetime. That's

awesome church, man. That's why we're here. Right? I mean, come on. Praise God for that. It's so cool. So what we're gonna do is just, we'll be out of here in like four, five minutes. We're gonna take communion together.

And we're just gonna worship him. And here's here's what communion is. You receive the elements when you came in the little cup. If you haven't, raise your hand. Folks are walking around and they'll they'll get you one. Just hold your hand high. It's fine if you don't have one. And if you just ask Christ in your life, you participate in this. This is something that believers in Jesus do. So if if you're not there yet, just don't worry about, you know, this moment. Let it pass. You don't have to take communion. But if you're a follower of Christ, man, I encourage you to to join with us. The cup, first of all, is childproof.

It's kinda hard to get into sometimes. There's two lids. One is a cellophane on top that opens up to the wafer, and then there's another peel back for the juice. Let me explain it, then I'll lead us through taking it. The wafer, we look at these as symbols. And the wafer is this symbolic

of the body of Christ on the cross that was brutally beaten for us and hung on the cross. We look at it as the broken body of Christ. You can read this in first Corinthians chapter 11. And then the juice represents the blood that was shed that Jesus shed on the cross for you and for me.

That's what this is all about. And as we take it, scripture says, remember what he's done. Do this in remembrance of me. And here's what I want us to focus on. Let's remember that he's all in for you. He's all in. It doesn't matter what you've done, where you've been. He's all in. And then, let's renew our faith and say, Jesus,

help me to be all in for you in each moment that comes my way. Let me pray. We'll take the wafer and then I'll lead us in taking the juice. Father God, thank you so much that you're all in for us, God. Jesus, thank you that your body was broken on the cross for us.

Lord, we take this remembrance of you and we thank you for the price you paid for us. Go ahead and eat the wafer.

Lord, we thank you that scripture also tells us that the blood of Christ is more precious than silver and gold because it's the only thing that could satisfy a just and holy God for our transgression, our sin. Thank you, Lord. It's your blood that's paid in full the price for our sin.

So Lord, we take this juice in remembrance of what you've done. Go ahead and drink the juice.

And Lord, God, you for what you're doing here at Rock Point. Thank you for all these folks who've made the decision to follow you. Lord, I pray that their next few days, weeks, months, even years would be so transformative that you'd light them on fire for Christ and use them to show others who you are

and what you can do. And we thank you for that God. In Jesus name, amen. Let's stand for just a moment. We're gonna worship and Connor's gonna dismiss us.

Crowns before the Lord.

Let this be my confession.