All In

Illustration

Value of my wedding ring

Symbolizes my marriage

Was Grandpa’s ring

Romans 14:17 ESV

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The value of the Kingdom

Matthew 13:44–46 ESV

“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.

The Kingdom of Heaven is Like

I love this phrase

How exactly do you do you describe something so huge and important of the kingdom of heaven to people who don’t have a concept for it?

Jesus used parables, analogies, and metaphors to give us an idea of the kingdom of heaven

We know the kingdom to be an actual place that we will enjoy for eternity

The kingdom of heaven is also more than just a place, it’s an attitude, a way of living with God as the King of your life

Let’s talk about a couple of different aspects of the value of the kingdom of heaven

Personal Worth

One aspect is what is required of you to obtain the kingdom

In short, it costs you everything

Are you willing to give up everything?

Empty your bank account

Be imprisoned

Maybe even die

These examples might seem extreme, and to us in America they are. However, there are people in many parts of the world where this is a reality.

I love the book of Hebrews and its main message is to stand firm in your faith in the face of these trials. Also, it is so worth it to give up everything else to obtain the kingdom.

So what is more practical for our daily lives?

Are you willing to give up friends?

Are you willing to give up a job?

How about this, are you willing to give up your pride, unforgiveness, jealousy, fear, selfishness?

We try to hold onto things of this world because we have this sinful desire to hold onto those things. We also have pressures from society that can sway us.

What God tries to get across to us, what Jesus is talking about here, is that He has something to offer that is far more valuable.

Do’s and Don’ts or a Treasure Map

Sometimes we can look at Scripture, these commands of God, as a list of “do this” or “don’t do that”.

With your children, do you give them rules just because you like telling them what to do?

We give our children rules because we love them and we know better than they do.

I like to explain to my kids why I tell them to do things, like a bed time. However, they don’t always understand and sometimes you just have to tell them, “Do it because I said to do it.” We know it is for their good but they don’t quite understand that yet.

Likewise, God created the world and set the systems in place. In His grace He gave us the directions we need to live life well. Why? Because what He wants for us is to live life well.

God wants us to have the treasure in the field, He wants us to have the pearl of great value. God is not a tyrant, He is a loving Father.

So the question comes down to are we willing to give up the fading things of this life or are we willing to give those up to obtain the abundant life He is offering?

R.O.I.

Return On Investment

Let’s talk about the value of the kingdom of heaven in regards to ministry.

Every business person knows the importance of return on investment. Return on investment is fairly easy to figure out in business, some things are little more difficult, but it’s usually pretty cut and dry to figure out how much money you spent on a certain thing and what the return was.

For ministry return on investment can be a little more difficult.

Example, what did it cost for VBS? We had the supplies to buy, food, electricity, volunteers had to give up their time and time is valuable. So, what was our return? Well, we had about 45 different kids come through that week. That’s great, but was their life impacted? Sometimes in ministry we can point to concrete things and say, 5 kids accepted Christ as their Savior, or, we have a new family in church because of VBS. But what if we don’t?

Story of Daddy. They called him the Bulldog.

We don’t always know what impact we are making or the extent of that impact. That can make the folks involved maybe feel it wasn’t worth their time or the Board feel it wasn’t worth the money. And let me be clear, sometimes there are things that we have to think about cutting out or doing differently to have more impact. But what I’m really saying is that ministry is always worth it. We may not ever see the impact or it may be years down the road.

The Kingdom of God is worth everything

The kingdom of heaven is what we are searching for

The kingdom of heaven is what the world is searching for

The kingdom of heaven fulfills and satisfies our soul

The kingdom of heaven is worth everything in our personal lives and the ministry of the church