Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Okay, well, hello again.
[00:00:05] I hope that you guys are well. This is Shayna Williams. This is the Grace and Grit mindset podcast.
[00:00:12] And hey, there is. There are no fancy frills or crazy music in my intro right now. I'm keeping things a little bit more simple.
[00:00:24] I did have some little malfunctions going on with my computer and just some technical stuff. So I'm keeping it look like a little more easy and simple right now.
[00:00:36] So sorry about that. Hopefully you don't care. Honestly, I could care less about all that fancy stuff when I listen to someone. So hopefully you care about content and that's probably why you're here. So you just get me and some biblical truths and maybe you might hear my dog in the background a little bit.
[00:00:58] She has a. A bone or something. Anyway, so I hope that you had a good Easter. Resurrection Sunday, rather. That's what I like to call it.
[00:01:07] And you celebrated the Lord and what all he's done for us and.
[00:01:13] And that was a good time for you.
[00:01:15] I am excited because I want to talk about the parables of Jesus. This is the direction I felt led to go. I want to spend some time in a series this over. I don't know how many weeks, but I want to take a parable each week and talk about what that parable means and. And practically how we can live that out or what it means for us now.
[00:01:37] So this first week I want to take some time and just talk about, you know, why did. Why did Jesus talk in these parables so much, these allegories, because that's really what we would call them. Today is more of an allegory and why does it matter?
[00:01:53] And you know, because even the disciples said, like, why do you keep doing this? I think they were a little annoyed, you know, like.
[00:02:01] And sometimes people didn't understand what he was saying.
[00:02:06] So I want to talk about why did he do that? Because there is a reason that he did that and you know, because I think it's important to understand that, to set up this whole series and why he did that. So I'm going to look at Matthew 13 this week, which there's a. I don't know, there's like five or six parables in this chapter. But I also want to look a couple of those parables this week. I want to look at the jewel, the precious jewel that the person found and also the pearl of great price. They're back to back with each other. Those are like, they're super short, but they're like two of my favorite Parables because they really illustrate, I believe, Jesus being the pearl of great price and the great treasure that we find.
[00:02:50] But I'm going to read just a little bit of Matthew 13 and I hope you stick with me through throughout this series and today. And, and I know sometimes when people read scripture, you can kind of zone out.
[00:03:03] I, I do that sometimes too, but it just hang with me a little bit here because I think this is going to be a really good series and a really good message today, Lord willing, if I can stay on track.
[00:03:13] So this is Matthew 13. I'm going to read from the Passion translation because I think that to me, because this is such a strange way for us, I think there's, there's not a lot of information other than it's very factual the way that Matthew writes.
[00:03:33] It's, it's very like, factual. He talks about, okay, well, here's the story that Jesus told and he tells the disciples why he told it. But for us it's kind of like, okay, I'm missing some information here, but I feel like with the Passion translation, a lot of times he fills in a little bit of the, the gaps of this is kind of what that meant.
[00:03:54] So we get a little bit more information. So I want to read from that.
[00:03:57] Later that day, Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeshore to teach the people. Soon there were so many people surrounding him that he had to teach. Sitting in the boat while the large crowd stood on the shore. He taught them many things by using stories, parables to illustrate spiritual truths. So then he goes into a long string of parables.
[00:04:18] So he tells one about the farmer sowing some seeds and things like that. And then the disciples approach Jesus and they ask him, why do you always speak to people in these hard to understand parables?
[00:04:31] Okay, and this is what I wanted to touch on for a minute. And Jesus explained, you've been given the intimate experience of insight into the hidden mysteries of the realm of Heaven's kingdom.
[00:04:43] But they have not.
[00:04:44] For everyone who listens with an open heart will receive progressively more revelation until he has more than enough. But those who don't listen with an open heart, an open teachable heart, even the understanding that they have will be taken from them.
[00:05:04] That's why I teach the people using parables because they think they're looking for truth.
[00:05:09] Yet because their hearts are unteachable, they never discover it. It, although they will listen to me, they never fully perceive the message I speak.
[00:05:20] The prophecy of Isaiah describes them perfectly, although they listen carefully to everything I speak, they don't understand a thing I say. They look and pretend to see. But the eyes of their hearts are closed, their minds are dull and slow to perceive. Their ears are plugged and hard of hearing.
[00:05:40] And they have deliberately shut their eyes to the truth. Otherwise they would open their eyes to see and open their ears to hear and open their minds to understand.
[00:05:51] Then they would turn to me and I would instantly heal them.
[00:05:55] But blissful are your eyes, for they see. Delighted are your ears, for they are open to hear all these things.
[00:06:03] Many prophets and godly people yearn to see these days of miracles that, that have that you've been favored to see.
[00:06:11] They would have given everything to hear the revelation you've been favored to hear.
[00:06:17] Now you are ready to hear the explanation, the parable of the Se. And then he explains the parable of the se.
[00:06:24] I think this is amazing because he's setting up this stage of why in the world he keeps telling these parables. Cuz I think at this point everybody's like one. He tells these stories to teach because honestly, no one had ever taught like that. Think about that.
[00:06:39] The Pharisees, they didn't teach like that.
[00:06:44] They taught Torah, they read Torah, they gave the law, they said it over and over.
[00:06:50] They gave rules, regulations, this is how you do it. They didn't really teach and story. And honestly, when you look at the way that people learn, we know this now, people learn better by hearing stories than any other way.
[00:07:07] That's one of the reasons we sing to kids.
[00:07:12] People learn by reciting, by learning ABCs. That's kind of a story in a way. We learn things by singing. We learn things by hearing stories better than any other. I mean, honestly, why is it that we remember lines in movies better than anything else?
[00:07:32] Like if you're talking to somebody else and something they say reminds you of a line in a movie and you can quote it, but you can't remember, like, I don't know, something super important from yesterday that you really need to remember.
[00:07:44] It's because we remember stories better than anything else. And I think Jesus knew that and I think that was part of it. But I think his main reason is because he needed to conceal from those that weren't part of the kingdom or that didn't want to be part of the kingdom. He concealed it from those that didn't have a pure heart. And those that really wanted to understand and truly perceive and understand and know God, they had an open heart. And as they opened their heart, it was revealed more and more. And More. And that's how it is with us today even.
[00:08:24] It's like it's all based on this humility of having an open heart, right? That's how we learn. It has nothing to do with intelligence. It has nothing to do with academia or your IQ level or, you know, have you been to school to learn all this information?
[00:08:45] Jesus doesn't care about any of that because these stories in and of themselves were simple, but yet they were profound and they couldn't understand them because there was this spiritual correlation that had to be revealed by the Spirit. And you can't understand them without the Spirit revealing that truth to you. And if you don't have an open heart, then the Spirit can't reveal it to you. And I think it's interesting that he says things like their hearts were closed, you know, they had to have an open heart and they didn't have an open heart. And it says in the, you know, on, on the day that Pentecost fell in the upper room, that that's when the Holy Spirit came and wrote his law on their heart.
[00:09:32] And I think that's interesting because for us that's when everything changed. It's like then our hearts became open and pliable to the Lord. And I think that's why we can see things spiritually. But before then our hearts were hard like stone.
[00:09:50] And that's what, that's what was going on in that day. They were so hardened and they were so stiff necked and prideful and they didn't want to hear what he had to say. They thought they knew.
[00:10:03] They knew. And who is this guy from Carpenter son, from Galilee to tell me who God is? To tell me what God wants to tell me how God is? He is no one. And that's how they treated him.
[00:10:18] And so Jesus comes and he tells these simple stories and it makes them angry. And so I think that's one of the reasons. It was the outcast, it was the poor, it was the broken, it was the people like that, the people like you and me probably that had an open heart who could actually receive from him. And it's like that today, isn't it?
[00:10:42] It's people like us who just don't have it all together.
[00:10:46] I was reading one of my blog posts last night. Sometimes I go back and read some of my old stuff and I was talking about just being a broken, weak person. And I think I started with saying something like, I'm just a broken girl in a messed up world and I'm probably like you. I walk out of the bathroom stick stall, you know, at Target or Walmart, with toilet paper stuck to the bottom of my shoe or something like that. Can you relate? I mean, that's just the kind of person I am, you know, And I think that that's. That's why I think he's so drawn to me. Because I'm just so imperfect. I'm just so flawed. I'm just so weak in my natural state. And I can't live without him. But that weakness is what created me to have such a humble. And I don't mean that. Gosh, people could even get prideful in their humility. But I just needed him so badly that it caused me to have an open heart. You know, my weakness is what drove me to him. And so that's even a sermon in and of itself or teaching in and of itself was just to be thankful for your weakness.
[00:11:57] And when you look at the disciples and who he chose, none of them were highly educated. I mean, he's got fishermen and tax collectors and tradesmen all around him, and none of them highly educated. And it's just. It's crazy who he chose, you know, and they were looked down and despised by the world and by the educated scholars of the day. He didn't choose any of the Pharisees or any of the priests or anything. And they were just. They were.
[00:12:28] They were offended by that.
[00:12:30] You know, who is this man and who are they?
[00:12:35] And I think it's just. I think it's beautiful that he. He looks at the heart and they had open hearts and they would receive him. They would receive him in the hour of his visitation.
[00:12:47] So just keep in mind that as you have an open heart, he. He will begin to show you more and more and more and more about him. That's the only prerequisite that when you look at these parables and the way he's talking to them, he's saying, my only prerequisite is that you have an open. A teachable heart that's flexible. That you don't come to me acting like you know everything, but you come to me saying, I don't know anything. Like.
[00:13:21] And I think the older and the more mature you get in Christ, the real. The more you realize how dumb you are. And you're like, man, I don't know anything.
[00:13:32] In my 40s, I'm just like, holy cow, what was I thinking? In my 20s and 30s, I thought I was going to change the world. I thought I knew everything. And I realize now I don't know anything. I don't know anything. And. And I just. I'm just like, lord, I cannot believe you've used me for anything, to be honest with you.
[00:13:52] And. And that's. I think that's wisdom.
[00:13:55] You know, I just. Honestly, I just. I just want to serve him in whatever way he thinks is best. I don't even really care about positions of honor or titles or anything like that. I. I just want to serve him in whatever way he thinks his best. I don't care what that looks like.
[00:14:14] Okay, So I think I've set that up decently enough to say that, you know, what he was trying to do is more about, hey, just keep your heart open. That's what it's all about. And as you do that, I'll show you more and more and more.
[00:14:31] So he goes through a series of parables here. Talks about the sowing, the seeds and what that means. He talks about the parable of the weeds. All these are so good. And we're going to talk about a lot of these. I can't do every one of them because there's so many of them. Talks about the mustard seed, talks about the yeast, talks about prophecy of the end of the age and how he's gonna. Or the angels are gonna separate the weeds from the. The wheat.
[00:15:04] And he talks about the parables again.
[00:15:09] The disciples, like, explain this again.
[00:15:12] And they're like. He's like, okay, I'll explain this one to you. Because they're even. They're confused. Even though he told them earlier, hey, here's what these mean. They're still like, what in the. What are you talking about?
[00:15:23] But then he goes into this parable, and I love this one. He talks about how the kingdom of heaven is a treasure.
[00:15:33] So he says, heaven's kingdom realm can be illustrated like this.
[00:15:37] A person discovered that there was hidden treasure in a field.
[00:15:42] Upon finding it, he hid it again. Because of uncovering such treasure, he was overjoyed. I love that. And sold all that he possessed to buy the entire field just so he could have the treasure. Heaven's kingdom realm is also like a jewel merchant in search of rare pearls. When he discovered. Discovered one very precious and exquisite pearl, he immediately gave up all he had in exchange for it. So these. These two parables are different.
[00:16:12] They sound the same, but they're different. So the first one, he says that this man finds a treasure in a field. And when he finds it, he realized that. Realizes that this treasure is so valuable that he hides it so nobody else can get it. And then he goes, he's so overjoyed by this, by the way. This was not like, oh, this might be kind of valuable. I think I'm gonna go just sell a few things. But he's overjoyed. He cannot contain himself. He sells everything. He has everything to buy this entire field. He buys the entire field just so he could have the treasure. He didn't take the treasure and go sell it and cash it out, but he sells everything he owns just so he can keep this treasure.
[00:16:58] Right? So I think this is beautiful, and I love the fact that he does it joyfully, because I think in this parable, what Jesus is saying, remember Jesus says, you got to have an open heart, you know, a very pliable spirit here.
[00:17:16] Because I think of so many Christians, and I think their approach to.
[00:17:21] Their approach to Christianity is great. What do I have to give up?
[00:17:26] And they keep this, you know, this little notepad or notebook of, okay, I've given this up. I've given this up. I've given this up. And there definitely is no joy in it. It is more of a, oh, great, what do I have to give up? Type of situation. And they don't see the joy of. Of what.
[00:17:46] Of what this treasure is all about.
[00:17:49] And that's because they don't know him.
[00:17:52] Because if there's a kingdom, that means there's a king.
[00:17:57] And I would say this. If you find yourself feeling like all I do is give up, all I do is give things up. And I'm gonna be honest. I've known people like this.
[00:18:08] I've known people very closely like this, and that's all I'm gonna say.
[00:18:13] But they lived in this agony of being a miserable Christian because they really just wanted to go live in the world because they felt like the kingdom of God and Jesus just wasn't enough.
[00:18:26] And there definitely wasn't a joy. They felt like they were missing out.
[00:18:30] And that really breaks my heart.
[00:18:32] And, I mean, honestly, there's probably been a few moments in my life where I felt that way, where I just wanted to go be like everybody else and not have this, you know, I don't know, this calling, which I believe all Christians have, to be honest with you, this calling of just. Just being a pure believer who devotes themselves to him and who has a calling to tell everybody else about him. I mean, really, that's what we're supposed to do.
[00:18:58] That's. It's not like we all are called to be on this big platform, but shouldn't we all be evangelizing the world? That's what we're called to do. But I think that we can get really.
[00:19:11] I don't know, we can grow kind of grow cold towards the Lord and forget about this treasure.
[00:19:19] I mean, realizing that it's not just the kingdom of heaven, but if there's a kingdom, there's a king, and he is what makes it the treasure.
[00:19:29] Knowing him, I was even telling my husband last week, I said, you know what?
[00:19:35] Heaven's gonna be wonderful. I am so excited about that. I'm so excited about all the cool things that we're gonna get to experience there. I mean, it's gonna be amazing. We all know that. We can't even fathom what heaven's gonna be like. But what makes heaven heaven for me is the fact that we're gonna get to be with Jesus forever, who gave his life up for us. We're gonna get to see.
[00:19:57] To get to be in God's presence.
[00:20:00] We're going to get to. We're going to see our Creator.
[00:20:04] That is what makes it heaven.
[00:20:06] Not all the things there, not all the houses and whatever, whatever. We get to experience the streets of gold and mansions and gray. All that's wonderful. It's the presence of the king that's going to make it amazing. It's who's there with us, and that's the treasure. And being overjoyed about that, realizing what the treasure really is, I think is what makes it so worth it. And it breaks my heart when there are Christians who look at this and the perspective is so off as they're having to give things up.
[00:20:44] And I would just say to you, if you find yourself in that place, it's because you don't know him the way that he wants you to know him, not bringing condemnation against you. I'm saying, hey, there's an open invitation for you to get to know him in a much deeper way than, hey, you know, your spouse dragged you to church and you don't want to be there, or, hey, your. Your mom has drug you to church your whole life, or you feel guilty if you don't go to church. Or that's not what this is. Is about. This is a relationship thing. And he wants you to be overjoyed about it. Like, yeah, I know we all have moments where we don't feel like going. I get it. I've had those, too, where you're tired or you're just hurt or you're disappointed. Because, like, I've been. I've been disappointed. I've been hurt by things that God has said no to or he has done. I feel like he has, you know, allowed in my life.
[00:21:39] Yeah. And they've caused me pain, and I just want to go, like, why did you do that? I get that.
[00:21:47] But over time, once I got, you know, okay, dust myself off.
[00:21:53] Okay, Lord, help me see this rightly.
[00:21:56] And then, you know, I come back to a place of being overjoyed again. Because everything I've ever been through and everything I've ever had to give up, I've had to give up relationships, had to give up living in the world.
[00:22:13] I've had to give up just choosing my own path.
[00:22:18] He's been worth it. He's been worth it every single time.
[00:22:22] Because there is nothing like knowing him.
[00:22:26] And this other parable, kind of, you know, tell.
[00:22:32] What is the word I'm looking for, jumping from this parable about the treasure. And you go right into the pearl of great price. Heaven's kingdom realm is also like jewel merchant in search of rare pearls. So he's looking for many pearls, but what he discovers is one very precious and exquisite pearl. He immediately gives up all he had in exchange for it.
[00:22:55] So he finds one great pearl, great pearl of great price, and he gives up everything for it.
[00:23:04] Everything. Now that.
[00:23:06] That is Jesus.
[00:23:09] That is Jesus.
[00:23:12] I will never regret my decision to give up everything for him.
[00:23:17] And I was met with a decision I had to make about five years ago.
[00:23:24] And it was hard, and I can't go into a lot of detail, but I had to choose.
[00:23:31] Who was I going to pick?
[00:23:34] Was it going to be Jesus or this other person?
[00:23:39] And it was hard when it comes down to that relationship. And I chose Jesus.
[00:23:49] It's one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, really.
[00:23:54] But I couldn't deny him.
[00:23:56] I just couldn't. I couldn't deny him.
[00:23:59] And I mean, it costs. It cost me greatly. Cost me greatly.
[00:24:05] Messed my family up for sure. But he's still the pearl of great price, and I can't ever deny him.
[00:24:15] He's so worth every.
[00:24:18] Every painful, horrible thing we have to go through. And I've been. My husband and I just finished. We just went through the entire five seasons of the Chosen. That's been out for a while now. And, yeah, I know there's so many things about it that are not accurate. And I don't know, it says, you know, there's a disclaimer, hey, this is not accurate. And I, you know, sometimes I struggle with. Gosh, there's so many things in these episodes that are just completely, like, misleading a Little bit. So I know all that. But there's also things about it that I think are great and they do, they do make you seek God more and they do soften your heart. So I'm glad about that. But just to. Just to see. Be reminded, I guess, of his great love for us and what he had to face and what he had to go through and the constant rejection that he faced the entire time he was here by so many of his own people is just. It's crazy and it's appalling and it's.
[00:25:21] And when I think about that and I think about what he's worth, and I just. The other night I just. I just cried before him and I said, I'm so sorry for what we did to you. I'm so sorry, Lord, because you are the pearl of great price.
[00:25:37] You are the jewel of heaven. He's the jewel of heaven.
[00:25:41] Imagine that.
[00:25:43] God sent his most precious jewel and he comes down here and he's treated horribly.
[00:25:52] He's treated horribly.
[00:25:56] And it breaks my heart. And I just.
[00:26:00] I don't know, I don't know how you feel about that, but I want to stay in a place of joy about giving things up for him or seeing it not even as like, oh, great, I have to give it up. But, oh, I get to give it up.
[00:26:16] I get to sacrifice for you, Lord. It's not even a sacrifice. I don't even want to use that word.
[00:26:22] I willingly lay this down for you. You know, So I wanted to talk about those two parables this week and kind of set up a good foundation for as to why Jesus taught this way.
[00:26:35] So I just pray that as we go through this series and even this next week, that you have an open heart before for the Lord, because as you do that he will continue to reveal more and more and more to you because that's how he is.
[00:26:51] I. I think that that's beautiful that he does that for us. And we are getting, just getting started. Here we are April already this year. It's already spring already, what, a quarter into the year, basically.
[00:27:07] So, hey, I just want to just throw this out there real quick to you.
[00:27:11] This basically. You know, I just finished my book, Choosing Better. It is out there on Amazon. Choosing better Leaving the mountains we were never meant to circle. Please go buy that thing. I mean, I'm so ready for you to get your hands on it. I think that it could be life changing for some people.
[00:27:29] And I just want to say that the reason that we choose, we want to choose better is because we want to walk this out in such a way that we're advancing the kingdom of God. See, we don't just want to choose better because we want to make our life better. Yes, that's great, but we choose better because we want to honor God, because we want to advance his kingdom.
[00:27:57] That's what this is about. We want to take Dominion back.
[00:28:01] We want to honor him with our choices. This is really about him and serving his kingdom.
[00:28:07] Right. We can't make this all about us and have like this selfish motive. So this is almost like we are continuing choosing better, but we're turning it back into, okay, why am I choosing better? Oh, I'm doing this unto God.
[00:28:24] So I want to keep that going. But we're just turning it and we're, we're turning our eyes upon Jesus and we're remembering why we choose better. I hope that encourages you this week. And hey, come back next week. I will drop some some links in the show notes. Of course, if you want to find the book easy way to do it, it's on Amazon both in Kindle and paperback. I am about to make the audible version as well. Please pray for me. I've never done that before, but I will figure it out. I always do. Until next time, have a great week.
