Good morning. It's good to be with you. I recognize many of you from Sunday school. For those of you who had to sleep in or get little kids out of bed and ready, I get it. We have five kids of our own. Well, three of our own and two foster kids. We have three daughters, Sophie's seven, Maggie's four, Emmaline is one and a half. Our foster kids Antoine and Omar are twins that are almost six months old. So we have three kids in diapers and two of them are currently teething and pray for us. Pray for my wife who is at home. One versus five, all on our own today. Our hope is to be able to adopt these little boys, but if you've ever worked with DSS and the foster care system, you know that it's just a headache for as long as you have to work with them, because there's a lot of red tape and legal mumbo-jumbo and delays and all of that. This morning we're going to be looking at Matthew chapter 13, just a few verses in here. These are a couple of the parables that Jesus told and, you know, in the realm of parables, they're pretty short, right? You know, we're looking at two parables that cover three verses, so one and a half verses apiece. Whenever I preach on a parable, I like to preface it by saying that I think we often think about the parables incorrectly. We often think about the parables as these almost cute little stories that Jesus told to wrap up truth nicely and present it to a way that just makes it go down easy, right? It's like when you need to give your dog a pill and you coat it in peanut butter and it just gets in there easier because dogs love peanut butter, right? In reality, I think parables are this strategy that Jesus uses, because we all love stories. And so when Jesus tells a story, he's able to get around behind the way that we normally think. It's like a wrecking ball that swings past, and when it comes, it knocks down our assumptions about how we work, how grace works, who God is, what Christ is like, and then Jesus can rebuild them in a way that are actually true. But stories get behind our defenses, and they get into us in a way that just mere teaching doesn't. So this morning, I think these parables answer for us the question, how can I change? How can I be different? Is change possible? And if so, what does it take? Maybe you already know the answer to this question yourself, right? Maybe you think that people don't really change, right? You've been hurt by someone over and over and over again, and each time they promise, this time it will be different. But a few weeks or a few days later, you're hurt again. And maybe you have been struggling with some sin in your own life, a perpetual issue with anger or impatience or frustration or entitlement or pride or any number of things, and you've been fighting against it so long with so little to show for it that you're just ready to give up. You're ready to say, like, this is just who I am. I think we'll see in our stories this morning that these patterns are not so ingrained in us. These struggles have not been going on for so long that change really is possible and we'll see what it takes to change. I'm going to read for us Matthew 13, 44 through 46. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then, in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. It's pretty short. I'll read them again for us. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then, in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word and the truth that it reveals to us about who you are, who we are, and what you've done to bring us back to yourself. Father, as we look at these short parables this morning, I pray that you would give us eyes to see, give us ears to hear the goodness of the gospel, and what it means for us and our possibility of change. Do this we pray, for we ask it in Christ's name. Amen. So again, these parables, like I think all parables do, confront something about the way we think. And I think what this parable does is confront the way we think about ourselves. If you've ever taken any philosophy class, if you happen to go drive up the mountain to App State or down the mountain to Asheville and peek into a class at UNC Asheville, if you're sitting in a philosophy class, you're going to hear about this guy named Descartes. Descartes, the great philosopher, you might not remember him, but your life has been impacted by him. Because Descartes was trying to figure out, how can I know what really is going on? How can I construct a way of thinking and living that I'm absolutely certain is true because Descartes, for some reason, was plagued by this question. What if I'm dreaming right now, like all the time? What if I'm crazy? What if I'm not standing in a pulpit in the church but behind a Dollar General preaching to a bunch of squirrels? How do I know that's not really going on right now? He was so filled with self-doubt and self-confusion that he was just plagued by this question and he said, how can I know anything for sure? But deep down at the bottom of everything, he found one fact, one, in his mind, unassailable truth. I am thinking, therefore I exist. If you've taken Latin, cogito ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. I might be behind a dollar general preaching to squirrels, but at least I'm doing it. Descartes said, I know that I exist. And from that, his philosophical project was to build up a world that's based on the recognition of self and the primacy of thought. And that is what our world is based on. We believe that knowledge, that information, that thinking is the way to change. Because how do we solve the problems of the world? Education, right? If the problem of the world is X, then we need to teach people about X. And so every once in a while, in my work on campus, I'll be walking around, and there will be a table set up with some banners and flyers and information. And I'll strike up a conversation with students, because that's my job, and say, what are you guys doing out here? They say, well, we're raising awareness about the plight of beavers in the Pacific Northwest. I'm like, well, you can mark me down as aware. That doesn't change anything about my life. We see it in cartoons, right? Anybody ever watch G.I. Joe growing up or many, many years ago? They would always end, right, after the episode was done, there would always be this little factual nugget, right? Here's how a bill becomes a law or here's, you know, whatever it is. And their slogan at the end was, and now you know, because knowing is half the battle, right? Or how do we keep people from texting while driving? We make sure they know what could happen to them if they do something like that. And so we'll make a bunch of commercials that show maybe the aftermath of what happens in a car wreck when someone's texting while driving. And so there's ambulance lights flashing in the background, and there's a car upside down, and somebody's worried on the phone. And all of my students see this, and they get in their cars, and they text while they drive. We assume, we believe, that if you know better, you do better. Right? How's that worked out for your New Year's resolutions? Right? That sugar that you were going to avoid. You know it's not good for you. Right? But, man, peanut butter pie, like, I just want some. And then I want another piece because peanut butter pie is not just good for dogs, it's good for Andrew. We believe that what we know, what we think, determines who we are and what we do. But our stories this morning, Jesus tells us that that's not actually true. Jesus teaches that it's what we love that governs who we are and what we do. Love is what governs what we think and what we think about. See, we are not primarily thinking things. We are primarily loving things. All of our actions, all of our energy, all of our time is spent in pursuit not of what is reasonable or logical, but in what we treasure, in what we revere. This is what we see in this story. They're striking in their brevity. The story of the prodigal son reels you in. There's characters, there's plot, there's development, there's this surprising twist, but all we get in this story is the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up, then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has, and he buys that field." We don't know where the field is, we don't know what the treasure is, we don't know anything about the man or his other relationships. All we know is that he finds something valuable, hides it, and goes and sells everything that he might possess it. Same thing with the pearls. We don't know where the merchant is from or how long he's been searching for these pearls or his other relationships. All we know is that whether they're looking for it or not, the merchant in search of pearls is looking for it, the man in the field is probably not. They find something that they find incredibly valuable and they immediately without consulting friends or parents or spouses, probably not a great idea, liquidate all their assets and buy the whole field. It's an obsession. There is nothing that will stand in the way of obtaining this thing. And this is a picture of us. When we treasure something, our entire self is bent toward it. You might have noticed by now that I have several scratches on my arms. I don't know what the weather was like here the past two days, but back at home in Silva, it was wonderful for mid-February, like mid-60s, almost 70 degrees on Friday, and so I spent it doing yard work. And the yard work I was doing was we have this stand of hemlock trees that kind of go along one side of our property, and they've been growing there for what must be decades. We've only lived in this house for five years, but they are very, very tall, and they are very, very overgrown with vines, right? There's all these creeping vines that have worked their way up saplings and branches and are choking the life out of these hemlocks. Why did I spend three hours with my sleeves rolled up yanking on these vines to get them out of the tree and trimming off the branches that are dead on the bottom and clearing it out and loading up in my truck and taking it to the dump only to find that the dump was closed and so I had to drive back and then go Saturday morning? Is it because, like, intellectually I know that it's not good for a hemlock tree? No. Like, I can know that it's not good and like, well, it'll fall on its own someday. I spent all that time because I love the way that a well-maintained forest looks. I love a stand of hemlock trees, like clear up to 20 feet and then exploding with branches, right, with shade underneath and place for shrubs and maybe like some fruit bushes and a place for my girls to play. I have this picture, I have this vision of something that's beautiful and so I'm willing to go through the pain of hidden thorns and sweat and a sore upper body in pursuit of that vision. It's not because I know that vines are bad for trees. It's because I love what they will look like once I've gotten my hands on them. When we treasure something, our entire self is bent toward it. And any time we spend on it will be time well spent. Any money we spend on it won't be considered expensive. Anything else we have to give up to get it will be deemed a worthy sacrifice. A couple other examples of what this looks like in our life. For me, I went to NC State for my undergrad and really enjoyed my time there. And by the end of my five years there, because I was a double major, not because I was a slacker, I loved NC State football. Like, it was what Saturdays in the fall were for, right? NC State football, tailgating, home games, it was what that day was for, right? Sunday was for worship, but Saturday was for football. And so it was not a sacrifice for me to get up at 7 in the morning to get things ready to go tailgating, because we would take our grills and make breakfast or flip burgers or something like that. And it wasn't difficult for a college student to get out of bed at 7 in the morning on a weekend. That's shocking, because none of my students do that. It was not expensive. to buy a canopy to give us some shade for those afternoon evening tailgates in the September heat of Raleigh. It was not crazy for me to put red paint on my face in support of NC State. It was a reasonable act of devotion. Right? Maybe you think like this about your grandkids. Right? How far do I have to drive? Doesn't matter. I want to see my grandkids. How many toys do they already have? Doesn't matter. I'm getting them a truckload of stuff for Christmas. Right? They are something that you treasure and yourself is bent towards it. And this is how we tell what we love. What are those non-negotiable things in your life? What are the things that no matter what else is going on, this will get my attention? It doesn't matter how sick I am. This work, this job, this thing needs to get done. It doesn't matter who I'm with. When this person calls, I answer the phone. It doesn't matter how much work I have to do. I'm going to pursue this thing, to do this thing, to achieve this goal. What are the non-negotiable things in your life? The secret that I tell my students is there really aren't any. There are just things that you love. that you're unwilling to set aside for something else. And Jesus is telling us in these stories that what we love, what we treasure, we will give anything and everything for. But there's something else that happens. What we love actually starts to change us. This is why parents are so concerned with who their kids are friends with. right, because who you love starts to change you. Or maybe some of you are familiar with the little mobile game on your phone, Candy Crush, or any of these like match three games where you switch jelly beans and match three in a row and there's like confetti and lights and happy music. Sociologists did studies on people who were addicted to Candy Crush and they found that even when they weren't playing the game, when they were laying in bed at night to go to sleep and they closed their eyes, superimposed on the back of their eyelids was this grid and they were like thinking about different combinations of moves they could make in Candy Crush when their eyes were closed and they were about to go to sleep. Like what we love changes us. One theologian put it this way, what we revere, we resemble, either to our ruin or restoration. What we revere, we resemble, either to our ruin or our restoration. So this is what Jesus is saying, this is the way things are, right? You're not primarily a thinker, you're primarily a loving thing. You are made to worship something, to find something incredibly valuable and give yourself to it. And the problem for us is that we often love the wrong things, or we love the right things in the wrong order. Another word for this is idolatry. And what we revere, we resemble. What we idolize, we imitate. An idol is usually a good thing that we've made into an ultimate thing. It's the kind of thing where we say, unless I have that, I'm nothing. Or if I lose that, I've lost everything. So one thing that would be a good use of your time this afternoon is, as you think through, what are those non-negotiables in my life, ask the question, has it become an idol? And if it becomes an idol, why is it a good thing? For many people, family is an idol. Why is family a good thing? Well, Jesus tells us to love our families. Jesus works through families. God tells us to provide for our families, right? The fifth commandment is about healthy family relationships. The seventh commandment too, right? All the commandments, to some extent, are about healthy functioning within families. Family is a gift of God. But what happens when family becomes an ultimate thing for you? When it is the most important thing to you? What happens to your other relationships, to peer relationships and friendships? One of the plagues on our world or on our nation right now is not COVID, but men who do not have friends. I talk to my students all the time, and one of the questions I love to ask them is, did your parents have friends? Overwhelmingly, the answer is no. They only knew one another, and they spent all their time together watching TV. And so my challenge to them is, what are you going to do now so that in 20 years you have friends? People who you can walk beside who know you and love you and will challenge you to grow in your faith. Because when we're alone, we suffer. What happens to our other relationships when family becomes all-encompassing? What happens to our time? What happens to our faith and obedience? If the success of my kids becomes an idol for me, what happens when that tournament or that dance performance conflicts with Sunday worship? Is God more important than my daughter's future success, the way I define it and determine it? What if respect of other people is an idol for you? What if excellence in your job is an idol for you? You see, what we idolize, we imitate. What we revere, we resemble, either to our ruin or restoration. So ask yourself, this thing that I've given maybe too much weight to, if I let it keep running that way, what happens to my relationships, to my time, to my faith? You see, because what we love, what we treasure, governs what we do. governs how we think and what we think about, how we spend our time and our money, and how we define a good week, how we define success, and on and on and on. And this truth, that we are what we love, is why rules actually aren't that helpful. Think again about your New Year's resolutions. How often have they actually made a change in your life? You can set yourself all the rules you want to, but unless you change what you love, unless you have a picture of where you're headed that is more beautiful than where you are right now, unless that image of hemlock trees unencumbered by vines is more beautiful than the mess that you currently see before you, you won't change. Because rules, if you follow them, wear you out. And rules, if you break them, just make you feel more and more guilty. And rules for everybody are just an invitation to disobedience. This is what Paul says in Romans 7. I would not know what it was to covet unless the law had said, thou shalt not covet. He says, but as soon as the law said, don't covet, covetousness appeared in my heart. There's a bell tower like lots of campuses and they have this like student urban legend that if you walk under the bell tower before you graduate, you won't graduate on time. But if you were to be on campus at any time, two in the morning, for some reason. I'm not, but you could. And you, like, hid in the bushes near the bell tower. What you would be able to watch is groups of students, like, walking past and looking at the bell tower and, like, elbowing one another and daring one another to go through it. Like, 80% of my students have walked under the bell tower, right? Because the rule is don't do it unless, right? Don't walk on the grass. Wet paint, right? Don't touch this. What do you want to do? I want to go into the bell tower. I want to walk on the grass. I didn't want to touch that wall before, but now it says wet paint. Don't touch. I have to touch it. We're trying to teach our daughters this. They'll write something and say, Mom, this is a secret. Don't look at it. And we tell them, as soon as you tell me not to look at something, it's all I want to do. Rules invite disobedience for us because our hearts are twisted by sin. They're comfortable and they let us measure how well we're doing, but they'll never actually change you. Change in our actions, change in our thoughts, change in our lives, real change only happens when there's a change in what we love. How do you do that? Right? How do you change what you love? Isn't this the premise of every romantic comedy you've ever seen? There's no way that these two people should end up together. On paper, they're horrible. They love one another and they can't change that. There's no reason that in You've Got Mail, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks should end up together. He drives her out of business. The heart wants what the heart wants. She loves him. She can't change that. How do we change what we love? In a sense, this objection is right. Our heart is designed and wired to love something. There will be something in our life that we treasure above all else, and that fact is never going to change. But maybe you've heard of the sermon by a Puritan named, I believe it was Thomas Chalmers, called The Expulsive Power of a New Affection. The Expulsive Power of a New Affection. The illustration I give to my college students is this. If you've ever had your heart broken, you've ever been dumped out of the blue and just like you were so in love and then now you're so alone, what does it take for you to get over that breakup? Is it your friends gathering and telling you, oh, he wasn't that good anyway? Is it them coming and saying, oh, you're so much better. You're better on your own. You'll meet somebody else. Does any of that help? No, the thing that helps you get over a breakup is falling in love with somebody else, right? Because as soon as that new person comes along, then like, who was that other guy that I was, like, why was I so broken up about that? Why was I so upset about Jeremy? Like, Tyler's great, right? It takes falling in love with something else, falling in love with something new to drive out that old love. It's the expulsive power of a new affection. This is what it takes to change. We must fall in love with something else. We must fall in love with someone else. The only way that you will know any kind of lasting change in your life for the better is to fall more in love with Jesus. That's what these parables are about. Do you treasure the kingdom of heaven? Do you treasure Christ? Do you treasure his people? Do you treasure the word? and are you willing to give up anything for it? How do you grow in love for those things? Well, the same way you grow in love for anyone, spend time with them. How do you grow in love with Christ? Speak to Him in prayer and hear from Him in the Word. Admire the beauty of Christ in His world. Admire the beauty of Christ in one another. One of the great blessings of Christian community is that we get to hear from one another and tell one another about how great Jesus is. about how he's loved us so faithfully, so perfectly, despite our failures and shortcomings and our mess. And as you get to know Christ, as you spend time with his friends, as you talk to him, your love for him will start to crowd out those other loves in your life, will start to reorder them. You'll view Christ as the treasure hidden in a field. You'll view Christ as this pearl of great value. And you'll find that the things you give up for him aren't a sacrifice. They're reasonable. He becomes the new non-negotiable in your life. And you start to change. Because who we revere, we resemble. One more layer I want to give to this, and then I'll wrap it up. If I stop there, I'm gonna feel bad because it feels like what I've given you are rules, right? And I just said rules weren't that helpful, right? but I gave you the rules of spend time with Jesus and pray and read the Bible and spend time with one another and And I do think that this parable causes us to ask the question. Do we value the kingdom of heaven? but I think there's a deeper more fundamental meaning to this and it comes from this observation that Usually when Jesus is giving a parable and he says, the kingdom of heaven is like, he starts talking about himself. So what if in this parable, it's not primarily about how your heart works, but how Christ's heart works. What if he found something of incredible value, his church, you, and gave up everything for it? What if he went out seeking a bride and upon finding her sold all that he had that he might make her his own? What if thou who was rich beyond all splendor all for love's sake became poor? What if he gave up everything that by his poverty we might become rich? Doesn't that stir your hearts and like make you love him more without having to do a single thing? Look at Jesus's love for you. Look at the value that he sees in you. Him valuing you above the glories of heaven. Him valuing you above the comforts of the Father's right hand and coming and taking on humanity, giving up everything, being found in the form of a servant and being humbled to death, even death on a cross, that he might make you his own. Doesn't that help you to love him more? Doesn't that stir in your affections a deeper love for Christ? This is what C.S. Lewis says, the Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because he loves us. I think seeing the love of Christ for us in these parables, that he's the merchant coming after you and me, the treasure, helps us to see him as beautiful and to love him more and change. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the great love that you have shown us in Jesus Christ. That this is love. Not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Father, there's nothing lovely in us. As we look at our own hearts, as we look at our own lives, we are consistently and constantly confronted by sin, by failure, by shortcoming, by suffering and struggle. And yet you have looked at us and said, beautiful. You have looked at us and said, valuable. You have looked at us and said, my people. You have made us for Yourself, Father, and I pray that You would help us to see and remember this Christ giving up all for us, giving up the glories of heaven to make us, unbelievably us, a treasure, a pearl, His own. Father, humble us by that, encourage us by that, drive us to love You and to love one another, and above all, to love Christ more because of that. And as we see Him and fall more in love with Him, would you change us to look more and more like Him? Do this, we pray, for we ask it in His name. Amen.