Sunday First Service | Parables: Mirrors of the Soul #3 | Pastor Rob Thomas

Empty hands. You're free. And then what Jesus does, he comes and in those empty hands, he places himself. He places his spirit. He places the kingdom. He places the joy that you can't find in anything else in life. And here's reality, guys. In in all that, we gotta recognize that are any of these things bad? Not at all. They're not bad at all. But if we give them what if we give them to the Lord and we allow him to be in control of all those other things in our life? [01:25:02] (30 seconds)  #EmptyHandsFullOfJesus

So the question isn't how much do I have to give up? The joy is the question is how much joy am I missing by holding on? People say that. Well, what do I have to give up if I'm gonna come to Jesus? No, it's not the question. The question is, what have you been missing? What is the joy that you're missing by holding on to all those other things? [01:16:22] (23 seconds)  #StopHoldingFindJoy

Guys, Jesus isn't just asking for the scraps of your life. He's not asking for your leftover time. He's not asking for your spare change. He's not asking for your occasional obedience. He's offering the greatest treasure in exchange for everything that you have. Let me tell you, you're getting a good deal. An incredibly good deal. [01:12:18] (24 seconds)  #TreasureInChrist

Jesus said He said, I'm worth more than your comfort. That's what he's saying to us today. I'm worth more than your security. Worth more than your reputation. I'm worth more than your plans. I'm worth more than your possessions. And instead of feeling burdened, your heart floods with joy because you can see clearly. He is the pearl. He is the treasure. And there is nothing else that can ever ever compare in a thousand lifetimes. [01:15:39] (44 seconds)  #JesusOverEverything

CS Lewis wrote this. He said, aim at heaven and you'll get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither. Y'all get that? Everybody pause for a second. What? That's exactly what these parables teach. Guys, when we aim at Jesus, the pearl, the treasure, we gain everything worth having. When we aim at the Earth, we end up empty handed. In the end, we have nothing. [01:14:32] (39 seconds)  #AimAtHeaven

Guys, both of these parables together communicate really the same truth. That surrender to Jesus is not tragic loss. It's the happiest, most joyful exchange you will ever make. The man in the field and the merchant, they both acted with joy, not with reluctance. They didn't sell everything they had because they had to. They sold everything they had because they found something infinitely greater. [01:10:18] (37 seconds)  #SurrenderIsJoy

So this parable tells us that when somebody discovers the kingdom, it's like stumbling upon a great buried treasure so valuable that that everything else looks expendable, dispensable. It's so valuable that nothing else matters anymore. Nothing else that you have. Nothing else you possess. This man, we see, he doesn't hesitate. He doesn't stop and count the cost. He's filled with joy, not regret. He sells everything he has to possess that treasure. [00:58:11] (35 seconds)  #FoundTheTreasure

Now that sounds very similar to the last parable that Jesus had just told, but there's a distinct difference here. This man is actively seeking. The other man discovered a treasure. They didn't have metal detectors back then. He wasn't going around trying to find a treasure in a field. He'd stumbled upon it. He discovered it. This guy is searching. How many of you have ever been searching before? He's searching. And when he finds that pearl that's greater than all the others, worth more than everything, he sells all that he has, and he does so without hesitation. [01:04:43] (35 seconds)  #SeekAndFind

Maybe you've been searching for purpose, for peace, for joy, like we were talking about. Maybe, I think for many people today, it's identity. Maybe it's for something that finally feels like enough. Jesus is saying, keep searching because when you find me, the search ends in the most satisfying way possible. It'll cost you everything else, but when you see it's worth, you will gladly pay it. [01:06:53] (33 seconds)  #SearchEndsInChrist

Guys, your breakthrough is on the other side of your surrender and your obedience. Let go. Unclench your fist. Let it go and allow him to lead you and guide you. Stop holding on. What are you clinging to that's not yours? Actually, I would say that to somebody. What you're clinging to is not yours. [01:34:54] (28 seconds)  #SurrenderToBreakthrough

And here's the reality. We have all had issues in our life with clinging to things and not letting go. Some of us are clinging to comfort, some to control, some to reputation, some to affirmation, some to a relationship, some to success, and like I said, even some to hidden sin. Why? Because we're afraid of losing those things. And we don't see the true value of Jesus. We don't recognize that if we would just release those things, we would be handed something infinitely greater. [01:27:44] (36 seconds)  #LetGoToReceive

that that that's what this is what generous believers have tapped into. We talked about we talked about generosity. We talked about giving to the lord. Guys, it's not hard for people who've tapped into generosity. Why? Because they've already handed all that to the lord. They already have given him complete control. And so they're just saying, god, I trust you. Do with it what you will. There's no fear in it. There's no duty. There's no obligation. It's already his. They've already released it to him. [01:26:12] (34 seconds)  #GenerosityThroughTrust

When this man sees the treasure, he doesn't stop and start calculating loss. He celebrates gain. Yeah. So let me ask you personally. When's the last time you felt that kind of joy over knowing Jesus? When's the last time you were filled with overflowing delight, unspeakable exuberant joy over Jesus? Not duty, not obligation, not guilt driven service, but pure overflowing delight that makes you glad to give everything for him. [01:00:36] (40 seconds)  #OverflowingJoyForJesus

More than that, I consider everything to be a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my lord. Guys, Paul had an impressive resume, and he had a title, and he had status. This dude had educational degrees. This guy was a pharisee. And he said, with all that and all my achievements, it's all garbage compared to knowing Jesus. All those things that people count as valuable, it's trash. When you truly see the treasure, surrender isn't loss, it's gain. [01:01:34] (44 seconds)  #ChristSurpassesAll

This shows us, guys, that knowing and following Jesus is not a duty. It's not an obligation. It's a discovery that makes us makes that makes our surrender feel like the best decision of our entire life. People look at surrender as a bad thing. Oh, I know. I gotta surrender everything to Jesus. No. It's what it's the great joy we find that makes the surrender the best decision you could ever make. [00:58:46] (30 seconds)  #DiscoveryNotDuty

the parables, do you see any condemnation there? The parables don't condemn you for holding on. It it's not condemnation. It's an invitation to see something so valuable that letting go becomes the most joyful thing that you've ever done. Becomes the best choice that you could ever make. [01:14:13] (18 seconds)  #ParablesInviteNotCondemn

And when you look that up, when you look that up in the Greek, the translation of it, it means exceedingly precious, costly beyond calculation. It may it can be translated the most valuable thing in existence. How many of you would say that if suddenly you had the most valuable thing in existence, you'd probably be more than glad to give up everything you currently have for the most valuable thing in existence? [01:06:01] (27 seconds)  #ExceedinglyPrecious

I just felt like there's a few of you here as parents and you're afraid to let your child go or your children You're desperately trying to hold on to control. You're personally taking responsibility for their actions and they may be groan and gone. You're allowing yourself into this position where you're trying to dictate their future under the guise of protecting them. [01:32:26] (45 seconds)  #ReleaseYourChildren

I had a few people tell me they were stepping into new seasons in their life and how scary it was. I believe there's some of you here today. The lord's trying to move you into a new season like he moved Abraham from Er. You are kicking and screaming, and you don't wanna let go. Again, makes you think of Abraham in Ur. Makes you think of Elijah in the cave. You're fighting it. [01:34:26] (29 seconds)  #TrustTheNewSeason

Am I afraid to release because I don't trust that he's worth it all? That's really what it boils down to, isn't it? When we're afraid to let go for him, it's because we don't understand that he's worth it. So let these parables remind you that he is worth everything, and the joy on the other side of surrender is greater than anything that you could ever hold on to in life right now. [01:17:56] (31 seconds)  #HeIsWorthItAll