Going All IN
For what would you make a drastic and life-altering act?
For what would you be willing to go ALL IN?
I don’t know about you but it seems to me like we go ALL IN for a lot of things.
If you watched any sports this weekend… maybe you watched your favorite college team play on Saturday. If you did, you might have seen something like this…
Or something like this…
Or maybe this?
And of course, some of you will be like this guy when the Cowboys play later today…
We go ALL IN for all kinds of things.
From sports, to cars, to sports cars, to houses, to vacations, you name it. Someone once told us we should go big or go home and so we’ve spent our lives going BIG, going ALL IN, with all the world has to offer.
And please hear me when I say, that’s not all bad. But I do want to just raise the question:
Are we willing to go ALL IN with God?
Are we ready to GO BIG with God?
What does that even mean, what does it look like, to go ALL IN with God?
Heaven is like…
Jesus was famous for telling stories and many of his stories painted a picture of what life is like when we go ALL IN with God.
In Matthew 13.44-46, Jesus tells two similar but different stories about what life is like in the Kingdom of Heaven. These are short stories but they are packed with power.
Here’s the first story in Matthew 13.44:
Jesus says…
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like…
Now before we finish that line, let me just hit pause and ask you how you would finish that line. What do you think the Kingdom of Heaven is like?
What do you think about when you think about Heaven?
If you’re like most people, you probably think about a place. You’re thinking pearly gates and streets of gold, right? I mean, that’s what heaven looks like. And you’re not wrong. There are beautiful descriptions of Heaven throughout the Bible, none more beautiful than the descriptions we have in Revelation.
But when Jesus talks about Heaven he often talks about a Kingdom. And I want you to hear how Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven here…
He says,
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure…
That’s a really interesting statement. How is the Kingdom of Heaven like a treasure?
When you think about treasure you probably think about things you have or that you can possess in one way or another. Treasure is all about what we value. We all value different things. Whatever we value, for us that is treasure.
The One Thing Worth Risking Everything For
I always love watching a good heist movie. You know, where a group of thieves with different talents all come together to pull off the impossible in order to steal something worth millions of dollars.
I recently watch The Italian Job with my son. It’s the classic heist movie with all the key elements. A group of unlikely people come together to steal an enormous amount of gold and they pull off the impossible and walk away millionaires with big plans to spend all their money on outrageous things they’ve always wanted.
But then there’s betrayal. And then there is the plot for revenge which includes another heist and pulling off an even more impossible task to retake the treasure that was taken from them before.
They’ve all agreed that whatever the treasure is, it’s worth risking everything for.
And of course, the fact that everyone is driving the mini coopers 100 miles an hour makes it even more fun to watch!
What we sometimes forget is that we’re all after some kind of treasure. It’s probably why we love these kinds of movies so much. We all know what it is to find something of value and pursue it.
Jesus says that…
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.
You may have heard this story a 1000 times or you may be hearing it for the first time today. It’s a parable. It’s a short story that is meant to disturb us on some level.
The worst thing we can do is to read this story and not let it bother us. Jesus told these stories so that we would be affected in some way.
So he tells this story about a man who could be anyone who finds a treasure of ultimate worth and is willing to sell everything, liquidate all of his possessions, to buy the field and obtain the treasure of immeasurable worth.
And I don’t know what this story does to you or in you, but I think it begs the question…
For what kind of treasure would you make a drastic and life-altering act?
What is it that you prioritize over every other thing so much so that you would leverage everything you have to obtain it?
Is it your health? Is it the protection of your assets? Is it your children? Is it your lifestyle? Is it your image? Is it what other people think about you?
What is it that you prioritize above everything else?
Jesus, Prioritizing & Identity
What we sometimes forget is that Jesus cared deeply about prioritizing.
One thing this story should teach us is that Jesus cares deeply about what we prioritize above all else. And maybe we should push pause from time to time to take stock of our priorities.
Anyone feeling a little bothered yet? A little disturbed? I hope so only because this is what the parables are intended to do. Jesus told these stories in order to make us pause, reflect, question, and rethink everything we thought we knew.
Here’s the second story, it’s similar to the first in some ways but very different in other ways.
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.
Almost every English translation says something close to this. But if you look at what is written in the original language, the Greek, you’ll notice that a word is missing.
And don’t worry, this isn’t going to alter your salvation. This is purely a matter of translators making a choice about how to translate the meaning of a passage and what we have isn’t wrong but what is missing does, I believe, have the opportunity to impact how we understand this story Jesus told and how it can impact our lives.
In the original language, it reads like this….
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like A MAN, a merchant, on the lookout for choice pearls.
You may say, what’s the big deal. The only word that was left out was the word “man.” In the Greek, the word “anthrōpos.”
And maybe it’s not a big deal. But I think what Jesus might have been suggesting was that in the first story, the man who finds the treasure in the field could have been anyone. Who among doesn’t hope to one day find a treasure buried in a field, or maybe win the lottery, or find a $20 bill laying on the ground!
But in the second story, Jesus says that there was a man, who was a merchant… This person has an identity, a vocation. And through this parable this man who is a merchant may have his identity changed by what he discovers!
This is a specific person with a specific identity who is looking, by the way, for a specific thing of value.
That word looking, on the lookout, seeking, by the way is the word “zeteo” in Greek and it’s the same word Jesus would use when He said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6.33
And…
“Keep on seeking, and you will find. Everyone who seeks, finds.” – Matthew 7.7-8
So Jesus says that this man who is a merchant is seeking choice pearls, pearls that are of great worth today, but especially valuable in ancient times. Only the ultra wealthy would have choice pearls. Only Kings and Queens and the like would have such fine jewels.
But listen to what happens when this man who is a merchant finds something of ultimate worth.
46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
This merchant sells more than just his merchandise that he has in stock, he sells everything in order to buy the one thing that is more valuable than every other thing. In so doing, he is no longer a merchant, his identity is changed when he lets go of all that he had and takes hold of that which is of immeasurable worth.
Again, the question that Jesus’ audience is left to think about is this…
For what kind of treasure would you make a drastic and life-altering act?
What is it that you prioritize above everything else?
What treasure has the power to change your identity?
He never verbalizes that question, but it’s the one question everyone who hears Jesus speak is left asking themselves.
Another Story about Treasure
It may remind you of the time Jesus was confronted with a question from another man who apparently had great wealth kind of like the merchant in this parable.
Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”
“Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”
The young man responds to Jesus by asking Him which commandments. The Pharisees had come up with 633 different commandments in the Law of Moses people were supposed to keep. Jesus listed a few familiar ones from the 10 commandments. And the young man was excited as he told Jesus that he had kept all of these! And then, this happened…
Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
For what kind of treasure would you make a drastic and life-altering act?
What is it that you prioritize above everything else?
What treasure has the power to change your identity?
These parables Jesus told and even this story about Jesus’ interaction with the rich young man all raise questions about the desire deep within all of us to have and to acquire more. We are continually SEEKING. We are always on the LOOKOUT.
What are you seeking?
The question is, what is your treasure? What is your pearl? What are you seeking?
For some of us, we’re looking for a new job, another degree, we want a platform, or recognition, or just to be liked. Others of us want status, some of us want our kids to have status. In fact, we think we are measured by what our kids do or don’t achieve. Their success becomes our success so we leverage everything for them to achieve everything they can because it somehow makes us feel better about ourselves.
We are continually SEEKING. We are always on the LOOK OUT for treasure.
What is your pearl?
For what would you leverage your life?
What is really important?
Fake Pearls & Fools Gold
Here’s what you need to know…
Not all pearls on the market are cultured; some are fake. Their cost can still be exceptionally high and often they will cost you too much and it will be too late when you find out that they are not real and not really valuable at all.
Not every treasure chest is filled with real gold. There is such a thing as fool’s gold. Fool’s gold looks like real gold but it’s not gold and it is completely worthless.
Jesus teaches that there is a treasure that is worth giving up everything for, there is a pearl so valuable that you would be wise to sell everything to obtain it. For Jesus, this treasure, this pearl, is the Kingdom of Heaven.
But it’s not so much something you possess as it is something that posses you.
It’s not a commodity to be bought and sold so much as it is a way of living and a way of valuing life. Discovering the Kingdom of Heaven changes your identity. It changes your priorities.
Once we know that material goods will only collect rust and dust, and once we know that the only thing that counts is treasure in heaven, or that the treasure is the Kingdom of Heaven, what we discover is a new way to live.
It doesn’t just offer a better way of life (although I would suggest that it is the BEST way to live), the way of Jesus offers us a different way of living in relationship with God, with others, and with the world. A way in which we divest the things of this world so that we can be FREE to INVEST all we have and all we are WITH GOD.
Good News about God’s Treasure
And here’s the Good News… When we find this treasure, when we experience what life is like, really like, in the Kingdom of Heaven, it’s like finding a treasure hidden in a field!
When we truly experience grace and forgiveness it’s like, WOW! Am I the only one? Has anyone else ever experienced this? This is life changing!
Whenever we give generously and sacrificially in faith and love and then we experience God’s provision and blessing in our life we’re like, WOW! How awesome is God? How great is our God? We sing in worship. We pray with gratitude. Everything changes. Why?
Because we found it!
We discovered what life is like in the Kingdom of Heaven. We don’t know how we missed it for so long, but now we found it! And we’re willing to go ALL IN with God over and over again because…
When we put our trust in God with open hands and open hearts we are able to take hold of a treasure of ultimate worth.
When we go ALL IN with God we discover the Treasure of immeasurable worth.
The Treasure is Jesus.
And I know that some of you have found the treasure Jesus was talking about, many of you have found the pearl. You’ve decided to go ALL IN with God because you’ve discovered something of immeasurable worth.
What is it? It’s the WAY, the TRUTH, the LIFE. It’s Jesus.
It’s faith, hope, and trust in Christ alone. It’s depending on and fully relying on God and God alone.
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