What did the merchant know? The merchant found something that was worth more than anything. In fact, he found ONE thing that was worth EVERYTHING. What is worth everything? Have you ever entertained the idea that ONE thing could be worth EVERYTHING? Are you looking for something, and you don’t know what it is? When we are honest with ourselves, we will have to admit that something VERY important is missing from our lives.

John was on a Mission. John spent his life looking for a savior. It was literally his God-given mission. He spent the days of his adult life calling people to follow God. He challenged their unloving and unworthy behaviors. Every day he preached, “Return to God. Prove it with baptism and be ready for God’s answer.”

But, John was also looking for something, or rather, someone. Every baptism was special for John, but he was waiting for a specific baptism. One that caused something unique. He knew that when that ONE baptism came, he would see God descend on that person. He probably didn’t really know what to expect. Be that as it may, he knew that he would know it when it happened.

So, You can Spend your Life Looking. But do you know what you are searching for? You believe you will know it when you find it. You may have even “tried” Jesus, but it didn’t pan out. Well, John didn’t know Jesus was the answer he was looking for until he did what Jesus told him to do. AND, he didn’t want to do it. He didn’t want to baptize Jesus.

What is Consuming Your Life? What is the fire that is eating away at you? What do you expect your faith to be like? Comfort? Hope? Love? Fun? Power? … But… Fire? I think fire sounds exciting. I think fire sounds unpredictable. What if you were saved for FIRE? What if a fiery life is just on the other side of doing what Jesus tells you to do?

Jesus Was on a Mission. Jesus gave His life to save us. He spent His life to SHARE real life with us. Of course, He shared the truth with us. His message and descriptions of. His kingdom established an entirely new paradigm for life. He taught us how to live as citizens of His NEW Kingdom. He taught us how to live as the free Sons and Daughters of God.

We are all Sharing Something. Sadly, when we rely on our own resources, we end up with a lot of “grumpy” and “complain-y” stuff. We then find ourselves sharing from a place of lack and discontent. Soon anger, fear, and punishment-oriented thinking appear. Do we really want to share out of lack? Out of fear?

What if Something NEW was Sourcing Your Life? What if you could replace fear, anger, insecurity, loss, etc with… love, hope, joy, gentleness, kindness, and patience? What if you could not only fill the voids of your life and heart with them but also share them with others?What if the Holy Spirit made you a ray of “SON-shine” in this dark place?

No More Shaking. The Father sharing His life with us gives us a NEW way to live. You don’t have to live based upon what you can see or experience from the house of clay you live in. You are now sharing from WHO Jesus is, and WHERE Jesus is. You exist in two places at once. You dwell in heaven and exist on earth. All because Jesus is in you and you are in Him. (Col 1:27; 3:1)

Does this take some getting used to? Do you have a lot to learn? YOU BET!

So, what Consumes You? Worry? Fear? Your problems? I’m not dismissing them. I’m just saying God is bigger than them. Just wait, God will show up. Jesus is going to do something you did not expect. How do I know? He said he would. He said He saves those who call on Him.

Yes, that ONE thing is Your Real Faith IN Jesus and your Journey WITH Jesus, HOWEVER,… Many have begun a life of faith and have never really gone anywhere. MANY have walked away from their faith. Others have become PRACTICAL ATHEIST because their faith has no or very little influence on their daily existence. They only come to God when in need, and miss the miracles of following Jesus daily.

Either Your Life will Overwhelm Your Faith. or Your Faith will Overwhelm Your Life. Either your circumstances will cause you to question God, or your God will cause you to question your circumstances.

What if your big problems are just an opportunity for a BIGGER miracle?

1. Have 3 people in your group read Matthew 13:44-46 from different translations of the Bible. Highlight any words or phrases that you find interesting. Discuss your selections.

2. Describe an experience from your life when you would looking for something, but weren’t quite certain as to what it was.

3. Consider Luke 3:16. What was John’s search? What did he know about it? What did he not know? Have you ever had anything “consume your life”?

4. What are some Positive things we share with others regularly? What are some negative things? How could we improve the quality of the things we share with others?

5. Does your Faith overwhelm your problems or do your problems overwhelm your faith? Why or Why not? How could your Faith have a larger influence on your daily life?

6. What did you discover today that you would be excited to share with a friend?

How May We Pray For You?

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