A) Each person finds something of great ______________ that is in plain sight.

1) The man in the field is not actively looking for treasure, but he ___________________ upon it.

2) The merchant ____________ found the fine pearl that he had been looking for.

3) Others did not _________________ the value of the treasure or the value of what they saw.

B) Both were _____________ willing to give up everything they had to obtain their item.

A) The _________________ (Kingdom of God) is the treasure.

The kingdom of God is the presence and powerful lordship of Jesus! This kingdom is known and seen wherever Christ is acknowledged, where his subjects are saved, where his enemies are vanquished, and where his ways are obeyed. (I adapted this from a blog post by Sam Storms)

1) The disciples __________________ Jesus’s value. (Matthew 4:18-20)

2) Others did not. We should not be ________________ when the world does not understand our Christian values.

B) To obtain the kingdom of God, we must give up everything.

1) We must give up the idea that we can do anything to _________ God’s love.

2) We must give up __________ of our lives. Jesus is now our Lord.

C) The kingdom of God brings__________ into believers’ lives.

John Piper: “Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.”

Rick Warren: “Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.”

A) Have you given your life to Christ?

B) What things in your life are you hanging onto or trying to control?

1) Solitude Test: When your mind is not distracted, where does it go? William Temple “Your religion is what you do with your solitude.”

2) Nightmare Test: What are you most afraid of losing?

C) Are joyfully celebrating the times when you see the kingdom of God at work around you?