What's Getting In The Way On Your Table?

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Illustration

Scenario #1

Imagine you sit down at a dinner table with a plate that has Filing (starch), Green beans (vegetables), Turkey (meat).

If you start by eating the Filling, you will fill your stomach very quickly because those carbs digest quickly and make you feel full sooner.

Key Point: What’s ends up happening is that you will lose your appetite for the main part of the meal.

Scenario #2

Imagine you sit down at a dinner table with a plate that has: Filing (starch), Green beans (vegetables), Turkey (meat).

If you start by eating the Vegetables, you will not feel full right away because your blood sugar will rise slower and steadier compared to when you eat carbs first.

Key Point: What’s ends up happening is that you will retain your appetite for the main part of the meal.

Takeaway: The same meal, eaten in a different order, produces a different result.

Advent Introduction

The Focus of Advent

Advent is not just about remembering Jesus' first coming—it’s about preparing for His return.

Advent includes preparation, urgency, and living with purposes

Title - Come To The Table

Each week, we’re going to explore one of Jesus’s parables to that call us to prepare, to live with urgency, and with purpose.

Today’s Message

Title

What’s Getting In The Way On Your Table?

Key Idea

He did not let anything get in the way.

Key Problem

We let things get in the way.

Explanation

We believe that we’re going to lose.

We believe that what we will receive will not be better than we already have.

Failure to recognize value.

Solution

Faith! Faith is a starting point belief.

Even if I don’t recognize or understand the value of what’s in front of me, I believe it’s worth it!

Encouragement!

The pain is worth the gain! Phil 3:8

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Value - Open to Matthew 13 #968

What are Parables?

Simple Definition

Short story that takes an accepted truth from one area of life and applies that truth to a different area of life.

Example

In order to shape with Iron, you must strike it while it is hot.

Everyone knows that you can’t shape iron unless it’s hot (truth from one area of life).

One of the best times to shape your character is in the midst of trying times (applied to another area of life).

What Parables Do

A parable takes a truth from one area of life and applies to another area of life.

Jesus took a truth from area of life and applied it to the Kingdom of God

The Purpose of Parables

Matthew 13:10-17

“Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

The shallow consequences of sin: God will be mad at me.

We think that sinfulness is just simply about disobedience to God.

God said, “Do this” or “Don’t do this.”

I didn’t obey him and therefore he put a mark on my report card or performance review.

We think that the consequences of sin are simply that God’s going to be mad at me.

The deep consequences of sin: loss of understanding.

Jesus is telling his disciples that the consequences of sin go much deeper.

The consequences of sin are not simply that God puts a mark on our report cards or performance reviews.

Instead, Jesus says to his disciples, the consequences of sin in your life means that you lose all ability to understand the things of God.

Illustration

Think of mathematics for just a moment. There’s basic addition and subtraction, division, multiplication, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, string-theory, finite math. Imagine a math teacher wanting to teach a student about the deepest part of mathematics but only being able to teach them addition and subtraction because they never applied themselves.

When Jesus teaches in parables, he’s not trying to be witty. Instead, he’s saying I’d love to explain so much more to you, but you’re only suited to hear the basics.

You can imagine Jesus saying, “Peter, Andrew, James, and John. You guys needs to understand that the more people live with anger, animosity, hatred, and jealousy. The more people look at porn, smoke dope, take THC gummies, get drunk, cheat on their taxes or spouses, they lose their ability to understand the things of God.”

The Hope

That may sound bad, but there’s a lot of hope in this.

There’s so much more!

When we walk away from sin (Stop eating junk food) and start pressing into God, there’s so much more to him, to his word, to understanding the things that he is doing today.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure and The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

Matthew 13:44–46 ““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.”

Background and Exegesis

Illustration

When my older son was younger, I buried a handful of coins in the dirt because he received a metal detector for Christmas. He was so excited when he found buried treasure! Who doesn’t want to find buried treasure?!

Analogy

In the ancient world, there we no banks. It was common for people to bury their wealth underground to keep it safe.

The First Guy

The first guy is a tenant farmer. He’s plowing a field, the plow hits a large box. He says, what in the world is that?!

He opens the box, full of treasure. He cannot believe what he’s found.

He looks around to make sure no one is watching him. He covers up the box and then goes home to get all his money together.

He joyfully sells everything he has to buy this field.

Illustration

This summer we went to Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. We saw the Hope Diamond, estimated at $350M.

Analogy

In the ancient world, pearls were like our diamonds. Women wanted pearls and so men did all sorts of crazy things to find pearls.

The Second Guy

The second guy is a seeker, he seeks pearls.

You can imagine that he’s seeking pearls in some far-off corner of the world. He happens to come across a pearl that is priceless.

The person selling the pearl is offering it for peanuts. It’s the deal of a lifetime!

He goes home as quickly as possible. Liquidates all his assets, and runs back to buy that single pearl.

Understanding Parables

A parable takes a truth from one area of life and applies that truth to another area of life.

Key Idea - They did not let anything get in the way.

Recognition of Value

They saw the treasure and the pearl, they immediately recognized its value compared to everything else that they had.

Transfer/Trade

They traded everything they had, for one thing that was worth everything.

They didn’t let the things they already had get in the way of pursuing this greater thing.

Instead, the bible says they joyfully sold all they had.

Transition

We read this parable with people like you and me in mind.

Some people say this parable could also represent Jesus.

Key Idea - Jesus did not let anything get in his way.

Recognition of Value

Jesus recognizes the value of human beings because we are created in his image! There is nothing else in the entire creation that is made in the image of God.

Transfer/Traded

He didn’t even let the glory of heaven stop him.

Philippians 2:6–7 “though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

Hebrews 12:2 “Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Key Problem - We let things get in the way.

Honesty & Humility on our part

We let things get in the way of buried treasures and expensive diamonds.

This may not be true of me all the time, but it’s true some of the time.

Why? Explanation: Failure to Recognize Value

Illustration

In 1799 (decades before the California Gold Rush), a 12-year-old boy discovered a gold nugget weighing 17 pounds.

His father didn’t know what it was. And so, he used that gold nugget as a doorstop.

A few years later, in 1802, some guy came along and recognize the gold nugget for what it was and bought it for $3.50.

Key Point: The family had a treasure, but they failed to recognize its value and capitalize on that value.

We oftentimes fail to recognize the real value of things.

This is the one the fundamental problems in you and me that is described for us in the opening pages of the Bible.

Adam and Eve turned away from the Living God of all creation to a lesser, created thing. Failure to recognize value.

Key Truth: When we value things the wrong way, we tend to let those things get in the way of what’s most important.

Then (Them)

In Jesus’s day, the most religious people were great people in the sense that they obeyed the law, tithed regularly, they mowed their grass, wore nice clothes.

But they were some of the worst people because they valued the laws that they had written more than their personal relationship with God. They let their laws get in the way of what was most important.

Now (Us)

For us today, there’s something good about valuing the heritage and traditions of where we’ve come from, but we can let those things get in the of what’s most important - growing in Christlikeness and making disciples.

Illustration

There’s a guy named Mark Rober who did a social experiment.

He put ten pounds of feathers into plastic bags and ten pounds of gold into another bag.

As people came walking by, he gave them the choice of either option all these bags or this small bag.

Not knowing what was in them, almost every single person chose the bags of feathers.

Key Point: Given the choice between more or less, we will often choose more even though more is much less valuable.

The Rich Young Ruler is the classic example is this. Here’s a guy who a lot of stuff, lots of money. He asks Jesus about eternal life and Jesus says, “sell everything you own and come follow me.”

His struggle was that he immediately believed that he was going to lose.

He believed that what he was going to receive in return wouldn’t be better than what he was giving up.

Key Truth: We will choose what we believe is most valuable.

This is what temptation is all about, right?!

Guys you’re sitting there alone. You’ve been stressed out all week. And then you’re tempted by something on the internet or your phone.

Now you must choose between some girl on the internet or your bible.

And how many times have you disregarded this because you don’t believe its valuable!

What ends up happening is that something gets in your way

The Tenant Farmer and The Merchant

Neither of those guys failed to recognize the value of what was in front of them.

You could imagine people saying, “You’re going to give up what for a dusty old field?!”

The farmer and the merchant did not believe they were losing. They believed that they were getting the better end of the deal, which is why they joyfully gave up everything for one thing.

While it might seem that they were losing everything, what they were gaining was of so much value that they could buy back everything that they gave up one hundred times over.

The Wisdom of Jesus

Matthew 16:25 “whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.”

Honesty & Humility

How often I struggle to believe this and to live this way.

Summarize

Parables

The parable for the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price.

Key Idea

Neither of them let anything get in the way of purchasing that field and that pearl.

Key Problem

We let things get in the way.

Why? Explanation

We often believe that what we’re going to receive is less than what we’re giving up.

We think that we’re giving up bags and bags of feathers for a tiny bag. But that tiny bag is worth so much more. Failure to recognize value.

The Sinful Human Problem

Part of the problem in sinful human beings.

It’s why we choose gossip over encouragement.

It’s why we choose hatred over love.

It’s why we choose division over unity.

It’s why we choose adultery over faithfulness.

Failure to recognize value - goodness.

Solution

Faith

Genesis 15:1-6 #13

Genesis 15:1–6 “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”

Abraham says, “What’s up God?! Things aren’t working out according to the plan. How you ever felt that way in your life?!

4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Oh yeah right?!

How is that even humanly possible?!

Do you have a plan for all this?!

What happens if this happens?

What are you going to do when this happens!?

What’s your contingency for this situation?!

Abraham didn’t say any of that. He heard God and said that’s good enough for me.

6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

Hebrews 11:8

Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

Faith is a staring-point belief

What Faith Says

“Even though I don’t understand what’s up ahead. Even though I don’t recognize the value of what’s in front of me, I believe it’s worth it!”

“Even though this girl on the internet looks great, I believe that faithfulness to the word of God is worth a hundred times more despite the fact that I don’t fully understand how.”

And my belief that what’s in front of me is worth it, even when the rest of the world tells me I’m nuts, this belief - FAITH - is going to move me and the mountains in front of me.”

Application

What gets in the way on my table?

My life is this table. And the stuff in your life is represented by all the stuff on a table at dinnertime.

When I eat food in the wrong order, it will prevent me from getting to the main course - The prime rib, the Turkey.

What’s getting in the way on my table?

Even though I don’t completely understand how this is better for me, I’m choosing to believe it!

What prevents me from making space for others at my table?

“Thanksgiving Day in the US. Many of us ate too much food and probably spent too much time watching football games—but it was a sweet day with family and friends. But for many others, thanksgiving was a tough. Their world is in chaos. Their family is torn apart. Their job in tenuous, at best—if they even have a job. For some, bad choices have led to agony after agony. Instead of being a day of thanksgiving for them, yesterday was simply another day of survival.

I make that point to remind us that ministry is often the blessed ministering to the blessed, with too little attention to the hurting and the dying around us. Or, sometimes it’s ministry to the hurting because it’s a holiday, but that ministry doesn’t always extend beyond the calendared holiday season. All around us this weekend are directionless, unhappy people in need of a Savior – so, out of our blessedness, let’s work to get them the gift they most need and will most ultimately appreciate: the gift of Jesus. "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Cor 9:15)

Encouragement

The Pain is Worth the Gain

Philippians 3:8 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”

Gospel Gain is worth it!

Maybe you can’t even see clearly right now.

Yeah but Ryan, there’s a mountain of anger in front of me that I can’t get past. I can barely see the treasure ahead.

Yeah but Ryan, there’s a mountain of depression and hurt weighing me down. I can barely see the light.

The Smallest Belief is a Glimmer of Hope

Jesus said even if your faith is as small as a tiny seed, it can grow to become something so large that entire communities are impacted by your faith.

But we must be willing to lay aside those things that get in the way.

Lay them aside, right now. because we’re coming to the table of our King!

Communion

We’re coming to the table of our King!

Remember the example from the beginning of this message.

The same meal, eaten in a different order, produces a different result.

When you put Jesus first, you will have room for more.

Jesus established communion

One of the neat things about communion is that it reminds us who we are, who we belong to, and who we worship.

We’re followers of Jesus Christ, we belong to him, and we worship him as the resurrected Lord and Savior of our lives.

At the first communion, we read that Jesus laid aside his outer garments. Whatever you need to lay aside, you may do so knowing that Christ has already paid the price for your sins. Which we can come joyfully to his table to eat the main course of this meal.

Jesus gave thanks, broke bread, and then gave it to his disciples saying this bread represents my body which is broken for you.

The bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ.

He then took a cup and said this cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you, do this is remembrance of me.

The cup which we bless is the communion of the blood of Christ.