Yesterday my kids were playing the game hide and seek. Anyone play hide and seek growing up or maybe still today, I don't know, Maybe it's like corporate hide and seek. I don't know what you guys doing lunch breaks. But it made me think back when I was a teenager and I would play hide and seek with my friends. But as you become a teenager, your hide and seek becomes more adventurous. And so one of my friends had property. We grew up in a small, I grew up in a small kind of farming town. So there's land everywhere, lots of cornfields, lots of woods and stuff. And so, um, as a teenager, our friends would get together and we'd play hide and seek. And of course we do it at night because that's scarier and we were stupid. So, um, so we would go and we would play And we would take turns and I went and they found me, you know, being 6,5, it doesn't help you and hide and seek. It's like I'd be having a tree like this and like they won't see me okay, it doesn't, doesn't work. Okay. So then my buddy's turn, he goes and we're searching for a while and he besides, you know what, I'm kind of hungry, I'm done. And so he goes back into his house, starts eating Doritos. I'm watching tv didn't tell us that he was done. And so I spent a really long time roaming his backwoods looking for someone that was not there. It was just it was just seek. There was no hide. I just played seek and for a long time until I had to use the restroom, went inside and I saw him sitting right there and I'm like taylor, what's she doing? Whoa! I got hungry and so yeah, good times. But yeah, now anyway, I wasn't in that moment, but here's, here's my fear is that I wonder how many of us when it comes to pursuing purpose and meaning and treasure and going after things of the world. We're trying to actually seek after something that doesn't exist. It's not there. We're trying to live up to a standard or have enough popularity or wealth or money and we're seeking after something that we think we need when we're not going to find it. Think of the Youtube song, you know, and I still haven't found what I'm looking for, you know? And so it's a great song and so um and I actually, and I was researching um just because I was like, song popped in my head and I looked it up and actually when they wrote it, uh they found an inner city Gospel Choir who took it and sang it and there's this really cool collaboration and one of their older Youtube documentaries actually talk about how they collab together with this Gospel choir and how actually there's a lot of spiritual overtones and undertones in the messaging of it, but how many of us are just searching for something that we haven't found it? There's another story about dogs and dog racing and this is a commentary on good or bad with dog racing. Just it exists. Okay. And so these dogs were racing and what they do is they line them up and they put this like mechanical rabbit out in front and when the gate doors go open, the mechanical rabbit takes off and these dogs chased after that rabbit and it goes across the finish line. And you know, first one there wins. Well one time there was a race and the mechanical rabbit broke and it stopped mid race and the dogs caught the rabbit and so they caught the rabbit and they all just stopped And we're just kind of like, mm now, what, what do we do now? And I think on the other side where some people are just seeking, seeking, seeking and not finding it, not finding what they're looking for. I think there are other people who they finally obtained what they thought they needed. And now they're left wondering, what now is this? It? I thought I needed this promotion, this position, this possession. I thought I needed these things. Have what I thought I needed and I still want more this morning. I want to talk to you about spiritual treasure hunting, going after what matters. And specifically, I want to talk about the tension that comes in the connection between two seemingly unrelated ideas. One is treasure and the second is trust this week marks a year a year from when we shut down. It's wild, March 11th, I got home from a small group or growth group Rudy Gobert for the Utah Jazz, got Covid the N B A shut down. and two days later we announced we're not having church, so we didn't do church on March 15 and we're like, we'll get together soon. I think everyone's projection has been off at this point. I remember thinking with our team, I'll have a really conservative projection and say, well we'll be ready in august and september and here we are a year later. See the past 12 months has been a massive test in trust because so much is broken. Think about it. You put your trust and an industry gets shut down, you put your trust in financial stability. So many people lost their jobs, entire industries stopped, you put your trust in health and now it just completely feels and looks different. You can never sneeze in public again. I actually, uh, the other night was out shopping with my wife and which means my wife was shopping, I was trying to find random sports related stuff in the store and we were in the checkout line and there's this cute little baby in front and I love kids, I just love kids and I love making kids laugh and this little baby was there and I and I'm pretty animated and ridiculous and Goofy. So I'm usually pretty successful at making babies laugh. And so I started doing that And like this baby is just like, man, it's really hard. I'm like and like if you don't know, I'm talking to a baby at this point it just looks really weird from a distance and I'm going and then all of a sudden it hit me facial expressions are a lot tougher with the mask on. And so while in my head I'm like smiling, I'm laughing like all the baby season like yeah, I think I'd be freaked out too. And think back to you. I wonder how many Children are gonna grow up and just use like mass or north. Like this is just a weird time. Right? This is a weird time. Some people put their trust in a political system or leader or party. We saw that challenged. We see social norms challenge this culture where it seems like every everybody's getting canceled. Everyone's angry. You idolize one side. You demonize the other side and here we are a year later and we're not sure who to trust. But trust is the currency of relationships. That's why honesty is so important in a relationship. Because if you're not honest, you question whether or not you can trust someone and so mm hmm Trust is actually directly connected to our pursuit of treasure And here's what I mean. If you're taking notes, write this down. Spiritual treasure is measured in trust. Spiritual treasure is measured in trust. In other words, how valuable something is is based on how valuable or reliable something is. Like, how much can you really count on that? Can you really count? And and see that person or that organization or that thing come through? Because in the last year we saw everything come down. And so we're left wondering what are we searching for? What are we seeking after when we get that mechanical rabbit? Like what what do we do now? Like what who do we even trust? Who do we turn to? Does truth even exist? We're in our series adventurous life. We have this guy paul who is writing from prison to a church in philippi and he's trying to tell them how to have joy. And in Philippians chapter one We talked about how difficult circumstances can rob your joy and that the key there is to have a holy mind. And then in Philippians chapter two, we talked about how difficult people can take your joy and the key there is to have a humble mind. and now in Chapter three, we're gonna talk about how things and possessions and materials of this world could actually take joy from you. But the key there is to actually have hopeful minds. Here's what I mean. in Philippians chapter three verse 17 Paul writes this, he says, brothers, he's writing to the church at this point, you're saying, join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk. According to the example you have in us. Who is he referring to? Well, in chapter two, he gives the ultimate example of jesus. And then he even talks about if you want to read the end of chapter two talks about a guy named timothy and a guy named up Aphrodite is and and some awesome examples. They say, look, live like those guys or even follow me. Well, why should we follow paul? Because paul is the extreme on both sides. If you want to measure oppression or you want to measure worldly success, he's got both those things covered. Here's what I mean. In Second Corinthians chapter 11 Paul writes This. He's saying, are they servants of Christ? So I'm a better one. No, I'm talking like a madman. I probably sound like a crazy person, but it says this with far greater labors, far more imprisonments and countless beatings and often near death. Notice what he's gone through five times I've received at the hands of the jews the 40 lashes minus one Three times. I was beaten with rods. I was once stoned three times. I was shipwrecked. I feel like being shipwrecked once would be difficult. He went through three and a night and day. I o and if that wasn't bad enough, I spent the night and day adrift at sea on a door like the titanic. So no, just kidding. There was room on the door, right? I know I've said that before, but come on, all right. So he spent a night and a day adrift at sea. I was on frequent journeys in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people. Danger from the gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and in toil and hardship through many a sleepless nights in hunger and thirst often without food in cold and exposed and apart from other things then there was the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Alright who's ready to get saved. You know what he's saying here is like look I have been through it, shipwrecked, beaten stoned in prison. I have been. There's so much. Yes, I can sit here in prison and tell you, hey, here's how you find joy. That's that's the guy I want to listen to right? I don't want to listen to the guy that has everything going right for him. That's never had any issues. Everything has been given to him. Hey let me tell you how to have joy. Thanks Right, have you ever had that? Someone came on tv and they shared their thoughts or opinion like Yeah, thanks, thanks so much. Yeah. You really understand everyday life. Alright. Do you even know how much like a gallon of milk costs you know what I mean? Like have you ever since that? Maybe it's just me and my bitterness. Um But you know what I'm talking about though. Like. Like do you really know what it's like? Do you know paul knows paul? No, the old Nike commercial about bo Jackson, bono's right paul knows here. Okay, that's one side on impression. But now notice the other side, we're gonna go back to Philippians Philippians chapter 3: verses 4- eight. Now, if anyone thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more. Okay, this sounds really bragging but this makes an incredible point. He says I was circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin a hebrew of hebrews as to a law, a pharisee as to zeal a persecutor of the church and as to righteousness under the law blameless. So he's saying, look, do you want my resume? You want my resume? I was born in the right family. Born in the right house. I was out of all the tribes of Israel. I was in the best one went to the best school, got the best grades. Like here's my resume and here's what he goes that's how much it's worth, he says. But whatever I gained I had counted as loss for the sake of christ indeed I count everything as lost because of the surpassing worth of knowing christ, jesus, my Lord for his sake. I have suffered the loss that's all the suffering we just talked about, I suffered the loss of everything of all things. And I count them as rubbish in order that I may gain christ he's saying this world is not gonna satisfy I've had extreme pain and I've seen extreme profit. The only thing that matters, it's jesus Solomon in the old testament, who was seen as the wisest, richest man who ever lived, got to the end and said, everything under the sun is vanity. Now paul doesn't just simply say everything is completely worthless what he says. I count them as worthless compared to compared to the treasure that is of knowing jesus Matthew. Chapter six says where your treasure is your heart is also it doesn't say the reverse. It doesn't say where your heart is, then you'll find treasure and what you treasure is what you love. And then the gospel that compares the Gospel, the Kingdom of God to a man who finds a treasure in a field. And he goes and he sells everything that he has and goes back and with joy buys that field because he knows it's so much greater than anything he could ever imagine. In the middle of Chapter three, who goes on to say, not that I've obtained everything, but forgetting what's behind me, I press on to what is ahead. So it's almost like I count everything in the past is lost. I count everything in the future as I press on forward and then we're gonna see his focus on the future and he and he and he says and notice this pleading, this heartfelt cry. He's not mean, He's not, he's not going like Simon off the old school american idol who just have someone would sing and just tear him to shreds and all of America would go, Yeah, get them like, oh, that's kind of harsh. You know what I'm talking about? Not. Okay, can we move on? Watch what he says here in verse 18, he says for many whom I have often told you and now tell you with tears, there are people that walk as enemies of the cross of christ. We're going to pause here for a second notice this verse. Their end is there destruction, Their God is their belly and their glory is their shame Fast Forward, 2000 years present day. Their destiny is their destruction, Their God, is their desire or craving. And then people actually glory in things that are shameful. Does this not describe our culture right now? How often do you turn on shows that are promoting a lifestyle or choices that's based on, you can't tell me what to do Church. We live in a culture where someone just posted this week that they weren't gonna have a gender reveal party for their baby because they're gonna let them decide, oh, okay, we live in a culture that not only tolerates sinful behavior, it celebrates it glories in it. It says, I don't care if I'm going to hell, it's gonna be a party while I go. But if you've seen that, if you walk that, can I just ask you a very genuine question? I don't mean this in arrogance, I don't mean this and just very genuine pleading. How's it working for you? Not talking like publicly successful, like you just bought your fifth Tesla and everyone's jealous and you're everything on the gram you're getting liked and shared. You're like, oh yeah, I'm successful. No, I'm talking about when you put your head down on your pillow at night, how's it working for you? Because see possessions in the pursuit of possessions actually ends up flipping the story to where now your possessions ultimately own you and either you buy stuff that you can't afford to impress people that you don't like for a future that you don't even know what that you want. What paul is saying here is that's hide and seek without an object to actually find. You're just gonna seek repeatedly. Their minds are set on earthly things. But scripture teaches us the bible teaches us to treasure, God to treasure him to seek. First. The kingdom of God. He doesn't call money and possessions evil. He's saying, don't put your trust in them. This is where treasure and trust is valuable because your treasure, your earthly possessions here will not save a marriage will not save your kids. They cannot and will not save your soul. Egyptian kings would oftentimes be buried with their treasure thinking they can take with them into the future. I can't I've shared this before, but I'll say it again. Living life is a lot like playing the game of monopoly. It doesn't matter who wins or loses. At the end of the day, all the pieces go back in the box. Yay, I'm so inspired. Thanks for coming to church. You're dismissed? No. Um Mhm john that's not super joyful. Okay, but until you understand what you need, you're not necessarily gonna know that you want it because I'm glad he doesn't stop there, paul doesn't stop there and say the world's coming to the end. Everyone's glorying in their own craving and they're glorifying their own shame and everyone's gonna die. No, he doesn't stop. He goes on in verse 20, he says, but our citizenship, our value, our allegiance. It is in heaven and from it, we await a savior. The Lord, jesus christ who will transform our lowly pathetic earthly bodies to be like his glorious body by the power. The same power, mind you, that just conquer death itself by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. It's by that power, we are saved. It is by that power that we live, that we are sustained and it's in the power of God and in the spirit of God that we find joy? Spiritual treasure is measured in trust. And so the question is how much do you trust God? Again? Having possessions, not having possessions. It's that's not it. That's the point. Right? That's not it. You're asking something maybe even good to be God and they're gonna fall short every time. So how does how do we apply this? How do we find joy? How do we not be possessed by our own possessions? 33 helpful tips here, number one remember your true identity, your citizenship, your allegiance, your value, your name is based in a relationship with God and there is nothing satan can do to touch that. No pandemic, no persecution, no resume, no promotion. It's going to change that you are loved as you are right now changes everything, doesn't it? If you seek first the kingdom of God, you don't have to seek your value and your worth from other places you can now go into your business, into the neighborhood, into whatever conversation into your family and not try to get something from them. But you can walk in and give something to them. Sometimes life feels like that Tv show the game the wall. Have you seen that? Super stressful by the way it's like people are winning and losing millions of dollars based on how the ball falls. Mhm Sometimes that's life on one hand my eight year old son I was in a parking lot found $20 on the ground. That's a great day. Right? The next day I know it, A friend of mine, 23 year old out of nowhere goes in for an appointment to get something else checked out. Oh, just kidding. It's not routine. You have leukemia, it's in chemo boom overnight changed. That's life though. The good, the bad, the surprise, the pandemic. But when your trust is in christ that is secure and you are anchored for the future, second thing you can do, you can create a spiritual trust fund. Trust funds work on the basic level. I'm not a financial guy, but basically you want to create a legacy of your wealth and so you invested or you entrust somebody to invest it for you so that you have future beneficiaries, right? What if you created a spiritual trust fund, you prayed for and you invested in and you shared and your DeVos with and versus with and worship with and took him to church. What you're doing is you're creating a legacy a trust fund, a hey, you're putting some spiritual deposits in the bank. So that when the world hits the fan, I'll just leave it at that. You have years of investment, hang on to to carry you through and that last well beyond you. That's what paul did. He said, I count everything loss compared to knowing the God who created and saved me. The last thing is make the right trade offs, life is a series of decisions and tradeoffs Approed Yes to one thing means you have to say no to others and that's across the board, right? If you're in a dating relationship, say no, you go too far physically. It means you're saying yes marriage saying no spending money financially now because you're saving is because you're saying yes for what I want later. No, I'm not going to do this so I can do that. Yes, I'm gonna read my bible and it's not necessarily gonna make sense right away. But if I start making that habit and that rhythm pretty soon, that changes and shapes my character. I think the church has been too worried about being relevant when what paul is saying here is truth is always relevant. And if you hang on to that no possession, no thing, no suffering, no position, no title, good or bad can touch you because your identity is secured in him because your spiritual treasure is ultimately measured and trust. Will you pray with me? Dear heavenly father, I thank you for your son. God. We live in this tension of this divided world and a culture that celebrates sinful behaviors in a culture who celebrates destruction and shame. I'm not angry at that. I'm I feel sorry because we have a world of people searching and searching and searching but got nothing in this world was satisfied. The only thing, the only person that will satisfy our souls for eternity is you jesus. Because when we get that it changes everything, it changes our attitude. It changes our lifestyle. It changes our generosity. We are no longer possessed by our possessions. But we give freely because you gave freely to us. That when we face difficult health battles and financial battles and relationship battles, we can have perseverance and endurance because God you are with us. Can we magnify your name? We lift up your name. We know that if we are in a fire, you are with us. Yeah. We know that if we go through suffering, it is to transform us to become more like you. And that is why we come God. We don't watch online or gather in a room just to say hi to someone. We wanted our lives to be transformed. It's been a year since this pandemic started God. But made this remind us this world is short. This life is a missed but God with you. Everything can change and eternity has just begun because eternity with you doesn't start the moment we diet starts the moment we know you as Lord and savior. That means we can have joy now. That means we can have life now and purpose and love. And so we give everything we have to you. We sing to you. We we give to you we serve people that frustrate us. We love people that might ignore us or frustrate us. Why? Because you loved us. You didn't sit on the sidelines and wait for us to come to you. That while we were sinners, you came to us, you died for us. And because you rose, we can rise God. And so it's in that power and that strength and that eternal blessing that we find our treasure. And we fully trusted you. We love you God. We give this day in this life to you. You are our treasure. Thank you. And since then we pray.