Sunday Morning Message - Matthew 16

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Well , good morning everyone . It's good to see you . How are we all doing ? Happy Sunday And it's Sunday And happy summer . Yeah , i mean , here's the thing , you know it's summer . When you got to pull out that winter jacket just one more time And just like I'll tell you what a summertime fire in the fireplace just immaculate . Has anyone thought about like unplugging the weather and plugging it back in ? Maybe I just , i'm just here to solve problems , but it's concerned . I mean , i like a great day , like everybody , but this is , it's a lot .

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My name is Jeff Bachman . I'm one of the pastors here on staff And it is my privilege and my honor and my joy to be here with you on a Sunday morning as we look to God's Word , his Bible , his inspired Word , and then we open that up and to aim our lives towards that , to say this is what that says And hopefully , then this is how we are then called to live . If you are familiar with Northgate , then you know that we have been preaching through the book of Matthew . If not , that we are preaching through the book of Matthew , and so we are up to Matthew 16 . In fact , we're going to close out Matthew 16 this week , so we'll get all the way to the end of 16 . Then we're going to take a little break And we will then , in the fall , we're going to pick up Matthew 17 , because that's what comes after 16 . And we're going to continue on , and then we've got some real fun stuff in the fall .

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But next week we are going to take a pause and we are going to be jumping into a relationship series entitled For Better or For Worse , worse For better or for worse . And though I know that that's a wedding vow , but more than that , it's that we are , as human beings , are , called to live in relationships , and sometimes , for better or for worse , we've got people in our lives that you would cry at their funeral , but you don't want to have Thanksgiving with them . I mean , let's just be honest here , right , i mean ? and so what does it look like for us to step into those relationships ? So next week we're going to be kicking that off . Actually , pastor Ken , our founding senior pastor of this church , is going to be coming back and teaching , which we're very excited about . See , i told you they're excited . Come on , it's good .

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So , but here's the thing we wanted to give you a couple of tools for this , because here we know that you are inviders , we know that you've got people in your life and you're looking for opportunities and ways to maybe share with them to come to Northgate , and so we know that in some of these relationship series is that there are people who may be interested because of specific topics or things . So we actually put it together here , and here's what we're encouraging you to do . This is the kind of the topics that we're going to be talking through . We encourage you to pull out your phone , take a photo of that so that you know . Now , what we ask you not to do is that , when you see the week on conflict , is that you tell your spouse that they need to be here and they need to listen to it . Please don't do that . So take a picture of that , just so that you know . It's also going to be on our website at thisischurch , and it will also be on our social media , which , if you haven't followed that , and while your phones are out , you can follow Ngate CF on our Instagram , and those are just the ways that you're going to be able to see not only updates of what's coming , who's teaching and the topics , but then also you'll get to see the review clips and the things that we talked about . Also , a great way on our social media to know what we're singing . We post our , like the song set list each week And so if you either want to know the songs or it's something that you want to take with you through the week , all great ways to stay up to date with Northgate and all the amazing things that are happening here . So that's that , but for today we are going to finish out Matthew 16 . We're going to jump into this And before I read it , it just I want to give you a little bit of context that this passage right here , it actually starts with the words then Jesus said , which then means that something happened that then made Jesus say the thing that he said .

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So it says then Jesus said but what was there before that ? Remember , larry actually launched two weeks ago kind of this fun little three week series that talks about the confession of Christ . Who do the people say that I am ? And then he turns to the disciples and Peter and she says who do you say that I am ? And Peter declares and confesses . He says as a proclamation you are the Christ , you are the Messiah . And so that was two weeks ago .

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In the last week , we looked at that in light of Messiah ship , in light of Jesus saying yes , that's actually true , that is who I am , but here's what Messiah actually means . That means , when you take on the title , the actions of Messiah must match , so the two of them must be together , which ultimately leads to the cross , and where we get that famous passage where Peter says never , that's not what you're going to do . And Jesus says get behind me . Satan , implying that they're being tempted to derail Jesus from the mission that he's on . That he had a clear path , that Jesus was very aware of what he was supposed to be doing And he was here for that . Now we then get to be a part of that , and that's what we're invited into this week , on the third week of saying that who do the people say that I am , you are the Messiah . This is what that means .

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And now , this is what that means for us , which is not always going to be easy , because we now talk about the cost of discipleship , which is , at points , weighty . It's a simple message that really will have an impact and ring throughout the rest of our life . What does it mean when we say yes to Jesus , and how are we going to live that out ? So we're going to look at the whole passage right now and then we're going to break it up and talk about it from that point on . So Matthew 16 , we're going to go 24 to 28 . Then Jesus said to his disciples whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me . For whoever wants to save their life will lose it , but whoever wants to , whoever loses their life for me , will find it . What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul ? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul ? for the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels , and then he will reward each person according to what they have done . Truly , i tell you , some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom .

The Redefining of Words

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Words carry meaning , and I think that we know that . I also think words carry culture , that it carries history and context , and there are words that have been used in other contexts and other generations and in other seasons that don't mean the same thing that they mean today . So then , when you go and take today's understanding and you read it over words that were used before , sometimes you've got to make sure to clarify some of those things . I think that there are a few words today , especially from things like social media , that have taken and almost redefined words . There were three that came to mind and then one more specific . But there's words like friend . When some people think of the word friend , now it's not that you have an actual friend , it's that you would friend somebody on Facebook , that I'm going to press a button and now we're friends . I'm not actually going to interact with you , but I get to watch you from afar and see how your life is . You see mine , but we never have to talk . So there's friend ? I think that there's . Oh , i like that , oh , i like that And what you're trying to say . I'm in this with you , but I'm going to press that button .

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The one I like is love . If it's more than like , it's love . But then if they're saying , if they're sharing something on social media , that's like bad news . You can't say love , because then you're saying that you love something . You're like my tire got flat And then you go I love that And you're like no , you don't . So now Facebook invented a new button It's care . So it's like mm . Every time I see that I'm not going to go . Mm , just like that , just a hug , just mm . I love that . But it's more of care , like you need care because you got a flat tire . But so those are all terms that I think have been a little redefined And I think we're going to make it out of it .

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But the one that I thought that was interesting not friend , not like , not love but there's this word follow . I think this word follow has been a bit and I think it's unintentional , but I think that this word follow has been very hijacked , especially when you go back and look at it in the context of Matthew 16 , because we now look at it through a 2023 lens And I think that it holds a whole different meaning . That word follow the Greek word for it is akaluthayo , which means , in our context , to walk in the steps of the one who is teaching you . So there's a sense of personal intimacy . It's the sense of that if you are taking steps , everybody okay . Sorry , i thought something was over here , but when you're taking steps that somebody is actually like you're taking steps in the same way that somebody else is . You're following their path , you're going after them , and yet what we now see is that , if you look at it in the context of Twitter and if you follow somebody on social media actually I looked it up just to know following someone on Twitter means that you are now subscribing to their tweets . So that means that whenever you pull up your app of Twitter , or if you look at it on your desktop or anything , is that you're going to get the information , you're going to see the things that they say .

The Call to Follow Jesus

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And I think , unfortunately , now that we live in a world where this idea of follow has become way more passive , way less transformative and for sure I know that it costs us nothing . In fact , i think that we would all argue that we may follow as many people that have a different way of thinking , and then we dislike rather than following somebody who we actually want to look like and become . But we follow them because we don't want to know what they're going to say , so that we can say something back to them . We've been given permission to follow without transformation , and that's what Jesus says is impossible for us to do , and that's what he's calling us into here . I mean , let's be honest , follow was one of the original . It was the original invitation that was given Come and follow me and I will make you fishers of men . So , jesus , from the start he has extended the same invitation that he had given to the disciples from the start is come , be like me , take who God has made you personal and unique and intimate , and to take who God has made you . Follow and learn in my ways and then become that which will then proclaim the gospel and spread the message through his kingdom . And he will expand that idea of follow through a changed life , not sitting behind a desk and just checking on what somebody has said . So let's look back at each one of the verses Matthew 16 , 24 . It says this then Jesus said to his disciples whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me . I thought it was interesting . So this message actually appears in three of the four gospels And for the most part , it's the same message .

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If you were to read it in each , there's two parts that are different and we're gonna point out both of them . The first part that is different is that in Matthew it says that he's talking to the disciples , but in the other two it says the disciples and the crowd . Now that's implied in ours as you look at the original text . It's implied in ours because he says disciples , but then he says whosoever , making it very inclusive that it's not about the religious elite , it's not just about those who are chosen , it's the call that , as we step into saying yes to Jesus , this is what is expected of us , and actually expectations are better than that is that it's an invitation to a full life , because it's not that Jesus is lording this over us and expecting us to do this , but he's saying come and take the steps and live and walk in this like me . And so we see in 24 , one clause , 24 , 25 , 26 and 27, . Then our four explanation statements that then go back and really just reinforce 24 .

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Our kids are home this summer and we were trying to just figure out how to spread the workload around , and so we have decided that we're gonna be giving our kids chores , we giving chores , and we sat down and we said look , we're gonna give you chores and we're gonna pay you a little allowance all through . The kids sat there and they said , gosh , i'm just not sure if I really like this , this . It's my summer , i just need some time to chill . And I'm like , oh , okay , we'll talk about that one later . And I said , well , here's the options . I said you can do the things that we're asking you to do and we give you an allowance , or you could just do them . Those are the options , like which do you want ? And they're like you know what ? the allowance sounds great . I was like , okay , good , i'm glad that we're on the same page here . This is really exciting . But so we will give them a message and we will say we need you to pick up the house . I will then go back and I will say I'll say , pick up the house , i need you to do the dishes , i need you to take out the garbage , i need you to do your laundry And I need you to clean your room . All four of those are picking up the house .

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But it really is reiterating , it's reinforcing the original statement that we had , and the same is true for what we see in 24 . Is that it says to deny yourself and then take up your cross and follow me . He then , for four more sentences , or four more verses gives it more context and clarification on what that looks like . And so it starts with that idea of saying deny yourself And look . I'm not saying that you shouldn't treat yourself and have a spa day or whatever it is that you need . I'm not saying that we are proclaiming Jesus , isn't even saying that we should proclaim this for the experience of suffering , for suffering's sake . But it's this idea of making sure it's that he is asking us to not live a life where we make sure that we are , first place , forsaking other people and forsaking God and putting ourselves at the front of everyone else . Deny It means to not make yourself the biggest part of your own world , which , let's be honest , that's hard , that's really hard .

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There's a term out there now . It talks about oh , i mean like , when you're in a situation you're like , oh , i'm experiencing main character vibes . Has anyone ever heard that Main character vibes Basically saying that you are the star of your story , and really I mean like , let's be honest , that's what we see , that is what we see on the internet , that's what we see on social media , that's what we see on programming . And if I'm going to be honest , i feel it too . I feel it most when I'm walking through an airport and I put my headphones in And if I'm traveling by myself and I put in my headphones and I'm just walking through there , i got my soundtrack , i'm carrying my luggage and it's just me , man , and I'm like , look at all these characters in my main character , vibe . Just me , huh . Now you're going to know what I'm like When I have headphones in . You're going to know what I'm thinking . But if you don't do it there , you do it someplace . If I were to stand back here and if I were to take a picture of this group and then I were to turn it around and show you , the first person you look for is yourself , to see if you blinked or smiled or what you look like in the context of the group . And look , i get it . I am 12

Self-Denial and Cross-Bearing

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hours off .

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I went to my high school reunion last night . I know , 10 year , by the way , 10 year high school reunion . You're all often just a little too hard , ok , and I would love to see . And again , this was actually my prayer , because I was even at my age . I am still an insecure human being And I care what other people think . And as I was driving to this reunion . I sat there . My prayer was actually that I would just spend more time asking questions of other people . But when I got into that room , man , i was keenly aware of my shirt And I did this , which I don't know what this does to make me feel comfortable , but I just hey , how are you ? It's good to see you . And I mean , i talked about annuities . I don't know what annuities are , i don't know . I don't know my portfolio , i don't know what any of these things are . But again , it's one of those where I really was more concerned .

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If I'm going to be totally honest , i was more concerned about how others were going to perceive me rather than entering into their life , and I think that that's ultimately what we're looking at when we talk about this idea of denying ourselves is to not make ourselves the main character of our story , which is super hard to do .

Speaker 1 16:15

It's difficult to do , but it's this call to take you and your needs and then entrusting not only God but others in the community that we live in to care for you in the same way that we care for them . So then it's deny of yourself , and then take up your cross and follow me like a criminal , because that's what he was talking about at those times The most violent , aggressive , murderous picture of shame of saying I'm inviting you in to take up your cross and follow me the way that I will die , jesus , the way that Jesus died , and also making it clear that he's inviting them into the same sacrifice . Now , it may not be it was for some it may not be that they have the same result will happen , but it is this mindset of aiming your lives towards sacrificially giving for the sake of Jesus , for the sake of what God is calling us into . We are asked to carry our cross because Jesus carried the cross . That's what he is doing . Jesus took the cross , the sin and shame and guilt that we could never do , and so , in that , he's inviting us in to live that same sacrificial life , to follow in the ways that he did and to live that way not only for his sake and his worship and his worth , but also as a picture of the sacrifice of Jesus for others , carrying that burden and inviting us into not only the suffering and sometimes even the shame , but ultimately the joy that we may not experience on this side of heaven . But we are now partakers in all of that , in the same way that Jesus said when you call me Messiah . This is what this means , and if you choose to follow me , this is what that means as well . 1 Peter 413 says it like this Yeah , 413 says but rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of Christ , so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed . Saying yes , there may at times be when you are called to deny yourself and take up your cross . There may be seasons , and in fact , what Scripture promises is that there will be seasons of suffering , and what He says is on this , maybe not on the side , but there will be eternal glory that you will experience as well . And so we get to step into that because of the life that we were given , that it wasn't ever ours to begin with , what we deserve and what we earn from sin means that we were headed on a path that Jesus has saved us from because of the cross , and so then , we get to very freely take that life and give that back Whenever , like if I'm going with my kids and we go grab a cup of coffee , or we go to 7-Eleven and get a soda or something , sometimes after we come out , i'll buy them all and then we'll be heading to the car and I've got , my hands are full , and so I'll take my wallet and I'll stick it in my pocket .

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and I've got my keys and I'll have to pull those out . And so I'll ask one of my kids . I'll say , i've got this soda . I'll say will you hold this for me ? They always say yes , they're kind human beings . They want to get into their car , they're grateful for what I gave them .

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At some point I'm going to ask for my soda back , because it's my soda and I want my soda . But there's never a time that I've handed it to them and they're like no , no , this one's not . You gave it to me , it's now mine . It's because they open handedly . I asked them to hold on to it . My friends , jesus has given you this life and He has said I'm going to entrust you with this , to steward it and ask you to hold on to it . But there's going to be a time that I ask for this back and we may not know what that looks like . But at the point that He asked her back , we get to open handedly , say yes , i was just holding on to it for you . Every breath that you gave me was on loan from you , and so I will live very freely with every part of that , deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me to give us purpose , to give us identity , to give us a home , not understanding who we are , but understanding who's we are , because of who made us and who uniquely formed us in our mother's womb , that we are fearfully and wonderfully not made , and we know that full well because of who God made us to be . So , then , we are not only identified with Him , we are a reflection of Him , and as we follow Him , we live like Him . And , my friends , i got to be

Living Out an Expensive Message

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honest .

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This message all week has haunted me . I have hated most of this preparation because it's not a hard message to tell you . I've , in fact , given you the message . We could end right now . I would surprise the band and they would just be running up here and I'd say we could be all done because I've given you the message . It is not a hard message to teach . It is an expensive message to live out , and I would love to get up here and tell you .

Speaker 1 21:11

All week , i was looking for the ways I have denied myself and taken up my cross and follow Jesus . And though there may be some of them , they are limited And I'm going to be totally honest , i've probably chickened out more than I've said yes , which is why , as we look at this , that it says we are called to die to ourselves , because every day we have to come back to a place of saying I am selfish , i am broken , i am a sinful human being and it is only by the grace of God that I am able to do any of these things . Amen , amen . So let's keep going . 25 , verse 25 , it says for whoever wants to save their life will lose it , but whoever wants to , but whoever loses their life , will find it . For me , or save means to rescue , or hold back , even to almost enjoy that it's the most special thing , and so they're holding onto it to save it and to rescue it . I invite you to so .

Speaker 1 22:08

My daughter loves sandwiches And she puts on . This is Bella , my middle child . She puts on a clinic for sandwiches And you should see her . She lays it all out and she has it all It's pickles , it's olives , it's tomatoes , it's lettuce , it's all the spreads and she does this And you really at the end of this thing . You see this thing and it's majestic . And the only thing more impressive than watching the sandwich that she makes is how she very particularly and meticulously eats that sandwich in every bite of it . She saves it and she savers it because of the worth and the effort of putting it into that .

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There is this idea of mindful consideration and active engagement when we come to this idea of saving . Have you ever gotten in the car , maybe from work , like a typical path or a route that you would drive , and you pull into your driveway and you don't even know how you got there , that you sit there and you put on the parking brake , you put it in park and then all of a sudden , you're like how in the world did I get here ? I didn't hit anyone , did I ? And you're like go check your car . You're like , no , everything , i do not remember the drive , but I got there . Or that you're sitting watching TV and by the end of the show you look down , you're like I'd like a chip And the entire bag is empty that you started with at the start of and that you have just gone and that you are mindlessly consuming .

Speaker 1 23:29

And I think as we look at this idea of saving and losing a life , is it Jesus is saying enough , shake yourself awake , live the life that I have given you and to be active and present in it ? we have become asleep and lazy And there is a world out there dying to know about what Jesus has done for us And I'm not talking about the other side . There's an element of this is that we must care for our own community And I'm not talking about the conservatives or the liberals or the other church , and that is a part of our journey . But what I'm talking about is that there is a world heading straight towards a life without Jesus , and that there's a world thinking that this life that we live is cheap and that it costs nothing , and we must show them how not only expensive it is , but worth it it is , and that there's an element of caring for both other Christians and those who are outside of the faith , and that we get a chance to straighten out each of those lives by living in community with that .

Speaker 1 24:26

But the beautiful combo of this comes when we go back and look at this and not live in the fact that this is not done with the exclusion of those who are outside of the doors of the church . I mean , if you look at the passage , the passage actually has nothing to do with a verbal proclamation . Now , there are parts that we're supposed to do that , so we don't forsake that either . But in this one alone is that you look and it says to deny yourself . That's all internal . And again , that's not looking at somebody else and saying you should be denying , it's deny yourself . And then you have a physical response to that . And the problem is is that I think that we have gotten ourselves into a place in a world where there's a world that is increasingly hostile towards Jesus , and not only does Scripture indicate that that's the way that it's going to go , but we , my friends , have done ourselves no favors . But if we can because if we continue to live a life , we will proclaim that we are denying ourselves , and then , at the point you pull back the curtain and recognize that we are an absolute bunch of hypocrites , then of course they're going to walk away from that . So it's got to be both word and deed .

Speaker 1 25:33

I was looking at Philippians . Do you know what I mean ? like ? picture what it would look like if we in these chairs , as we spent time together , that we engaged in having the same mindset And that we weren't so worried about trying to be right in the eyes of other people here , because it's pride . It's pride , it's that we recognize that we don't want to look less than even in the context of a church culture . And yet what I see in this is that , as we step out and deny , as we step out , take up our crosses , we step out and proclaim in love and truth . Is that the one thing that scripture promises is that we will be pushed away . It will be counter-cultural , but it will be counter-cultural with love , and so it must be both . It absolutely must be both . And yet I think that our focus has been redirected .

Speaker 1 26:33

I for my free time . Probably one of the things that I love to do most is watch cooking shows . Not only do I like reality TV , i like to watch cooking shows . I learn things , it's just , it's engaging TV for me . I also recognize it's pretty disposable TV . I was sitting here this week , though , and I was thinking about this idea that , as you watch these cooking shows for the most part unless it's like a Gordon Ramsay show and they've got all the awful cooks or something like that . For the most part it's usually five very talented cooks and they're debating over who has the best frosting . And let's be honest , is that if I I'm sitting there and I'd eat any of those frostings and I would not complain about any of them , but that we're sitting here and picking these things apart .

Speaker 1 27:05

It was pointed out to me I was sharing this message with one of our pastors on staff , megan , and she just pointed out not convicting to me , but I just said interesting that as I'm watching this hour-long TV show , statistically 1,050 people are dying from starvation , which that's a different message for a different day and something that we should be concerned about . But the point is is that I think we are focusing on the wrong thing . As we occupy the seats in this church , we have become spiritual foodies and that we have come to a place of going that song , that downbeat it just , and then we sit here and we're talking you're like this Bible study that person , this copy that and we've come to a place of preference , whereas , as we see in Philippians , it says that we are to live of the same mind . What would it look like if we were all on the same page of relentlessly caring for one another and heading out there because hell's hot in time short and Jesus loves his creation . What would that look like ? Because I believe that I would rather do that rather than argue about spiritual duck confit in which one was best . That just feels like a better use of my time 26 .

Don't Make a Bad Trade

Speaker 1 28:26

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul ? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul ? I looked this up in a different translation . There's a modern translation called the message , which is a . It's a paraphrase , but I liked how it said . It said what kind of a deal is it to get everything that you want but lose yourself ? What could you ever trade for your soul ? My friends , don't make a bad trade . Don't make a bad trade .

Speaker 1 28:55

I was thinking back as I was a kid . I you know now that we live in a world with the internet , as far as like that you can . They've got collectibles and things like that I've got . I have an attic full of collectibles that are worth nothing Star Wars figures that I shot my BB gun at and buried them and glued them together , like you know . So I did all that , but I was thinking there were two that really kind of broke my heart as I was looking at it .

Speaker 1 29:17

There used to be these things in the book . There used to be these things and this is going to tell your age very quickly . There used to be these baseball card type things called garbage pail kids . Does anyone remember those ? Okay , i was trying to show , i was trying to find a couple to show to people . They're not really church ready , can't really show many of them . This is probably the best one , and even this one I was like I think I should really cover some of that up Really quickly . There used to be dolls called called cabbage patch kids that are super weird . But they then went and did a parody kind of like a mad magazine parody of that to make it this like jokie thing And they would do all these cards and they would have all these funny and silly and kind of gross names of all these kids that are not cabbage patch kids , they're garbage pail kids . It's funny to collect them all .

Speaker 1 29:57

As a kid I did . I collected the first . I mean these came out when I was in elementary school and I collected every one of the first set . Fun fact the first set is valued on eBay for $172,000 . I sold it for $40 because I needed some cash when I was in like fifth grade . That's a bad trade , but I would like to talk to you about some amazing financial opportunities . The other one when I was in junior high . I was really into skateboarding elementary school and junior high . It's really into skateboarding .

Speaker 1 30:33

I love Tony Hawk and I bought a Tony Hawk board and I invested probably hundreds of dollars . Mine was black , but that's what it looked like . It had the nose and the tail and all that . I had the independent trucks . I had the slime ball wheels . I had it all and it was beautiful . So that $45 , thank you very much because I needed the cash for what I'm like . You live at home with your parents . It's fifth grade . It was Slurpees , i'm sure of it . I absolutely know it's Slurpees , but I sold that thing for $45 . Goes on eBay for $5,000 .

Speaker 1 31:06

It's a bad trade , my friends .

Speaker 1 31:09

Let's play pretend . Look at it . Take an inventory of your own life , because I know I'm not the only one making a bad trade . Let's play pretend that you have everything that you could want in this world . What are the things that you think about and yet to go . Those have the potential to cost you your eternal relationship with God . What's the cost of the most precious thing to you Your soul , your eternal being being in the presence of God forever ? Because what I know in my life is that when I have those things , when I make the bad trade , is that I'm worshiping the wrong thing . I mean , think about the things in your life that take away your time and your attention and your talents and your treasures from following Jesus . And , to be clear , this is not about telling you to give more money , because money is not a sin and stuff is not a sin , it is a love of . It is your heart and your affection that is directed at that .

Speaker 1 32:12

I met a man this last week . He is wildly generous and they were talking about doing some youth ministry in this area . He goes what do you need ? I can fund that . And he was just talking and they were tossing out numbers that I'm just sitting here looking at this , going , yeah , maybe someday . And he goes if that's what you need to fund God it's kingdom , i will do that . So again , it's not money that's sinful . God uses and leverages everything that we have for his glory . But when we cannot stop thinking about the thing that we have . Then it becomes worse and full and it becomes an idol And it takes a place of who God is supposed to be . And it's hard . And what's hard about that is that there's very , very good things that can become very idol-ish Transportation to work is needed , and you can obsess about that . Your job , which we need to have , your kids all of these things can become idols if you allow them

Embracing Perspective, Letting Go

Speaker 1 33:07

to .

Speaker 1 33:07

We , in the last couple of months , just got a new car And I've got to be honest and tell you I hate this new car because I had a 2013 Honda Odyssey van and I love that thing . First off , because it was paid off And I could drive that thing anywhere in a parking lot And I would get into the most compact spots and I would just snuggle myself in there like excuse me , and then I would climb out the moon roof . I just go out that way , like here we go , like that , and I would just sit there . I didn't care , you could write your name on my van , i didn't care what you did in my van . And now my new car I drive that in And the first thing I look for is how far away I can park or where's the most expensive car in the parking lot , because I'm going to park next to that one , because that car over there they've got the most to lose and they're probably not going to hit me . That feels like an idol . That feels like an idol And so I would ask I need your releases , but don't help release this by like ding it up the side of my door Like that's not how I want to let that go , but I know it's when those things start to pop up , you know what's the value of your soul . Put a price on it And then think about all the things that you are collecting in this world . Are they equal ?

Speaker 1 34:19

One of my favorite songs and it's actually a cover of another song is a song that Johnny Cash covered . It's a song called Hurt , and the original song was written by a gentleman by the name of Trent Reznor from a band Nine Inch Nails . I not only like this version better , but the first version has some nice lyrics And has some words that you may not want to pronounce in church . So let's just so , if you're going to go , look for it . This is my version , this is the one I prefer , and he has a phrase in the chorus that just resonates with me , not only because this was one of the last songs that he released He died about six months after he released this song But the words that echo in my head .

Speaker 1 34:56

As he said you can have it all , my empire of dirt . And you get this picture of a man almost from , like a Solomon authorship , please . He asks these perspective of saying I have had everything and you can have it all , because it's dirt , it's a mess , it's , it's valueless compared to what God is offering . My friends , what's your empire of dirt ? Because you're thinking about it right now . Since I started talking about this , you've thought about that Your house , your kids , your job or relationship , a thing You're thinking about it And the . And the problem is , if you hold on for too long , you will lose that life that you were trying to save .

Speaker 1 35:45

There's a story that goes that hunters in Southeast Asian jungles , if they're trying to capture monkeys , will do it a very specific way They'll take clay pots and they will mount these pots on trees or on the ground . And it's got a wide bottom and it's got a very narrow mouth And the mouth of the of the jar that they put up there is small enough for a monkey to put their hand in , but then inside the jar is is fruits and nuts and treats and things that are going to entice them , and so the monkey reaches their hand and then they close their hand around all of these things And then the hunter starts to walk up and the monkey sees the the hunter and they want to leave , but they're not willing to get rid of the things that their hand is in their jar . And this and this thing that they are holding onto so tight is leading to death , and the closer that it comes , the more frantically they they start pulling at this , and yet they're never willing . In fact , they're gripped Titans and they hold onto it tighter and they say , no , i can't afford to lose this thing , i must hold on to that . And it leads to death . 27 , for the son of man is going to come in the father's glory and with his angels , and then that he will reward each person according to what they have done .

Speaker 1 36:54

The other accounts actually speak more of saying that if you in Mark and Luke , it says if you deny me in this world , that I will then deny you in the next , saying I will give you what you , if that's what you want here , i will give that to you . But I also think that this message is telling his disciples and the people that are listening are saying this world that we live in is temporal And so hold on . Help is on the way . I will return , but there's time still . There's time Now And I would , i would , i would .

Speaker 1 37:27

So there there's a , there's a movie clip that that echoes in my , my brains . It's a movie called Schindler's list , which is actually 30 years old . So congratulations to that one , 30 years old . And at the end , oscar Schindler , a man who was historically known to save he saved 1100 juice from the Holocaust . And at the end is their their gift , and they give him a ring And he keeps saying these words I didn't do enough , i didn't do enough . And he looks at his ring and he says I could have saved another life with that . Look at my car , i could have saved 10 more .

Speaker 1 38:01

And I get the sense that Jesus is saying , not from shame and guilt , but to say there's still time . Dl Moody says it like this our greatest fear should not be of failure , but of succeeding in life at the things that don't really matter And that , again , that is not for shame and holding over you , but saying my friends , there is still time for both denial and a taking up of the cross . 28 says truly , i tell you , some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom . To me , this is actually kind of a bad break as far as how they break down the chapters , because this is actually alluding when we come back in August and we talk about chapter 17, . It's going to talk about the transfiguration of Jesus , him revealing to some of his disciples Jesus in full glory , and we think that this is what that's alluding to . So , ultimately , he's saying you will actually , before you die in this lifetime , very soon you are going to experience and receive the full glory of the Son of Man , and so I think that that's what this is about . It doesn't necessarily push that forward , other than to continue to say have perspective on what this life is for and about . So then , for us , i think that there's three things that I'd love to leave you with . The first is this don't be creepy for Jesus . Let me explain that . I'm going to give some context . I'm not just going to say that and let's pray .

Following, Love, and Denial

Speaker 1 39:24

When you follow with no engagement , that's creepy . When you follow and you're watching from the bushes and you're sitting over here on the side and there's no engagement and you're looking , that's really odd . Last night again , i was at this at my five-year high school reunion . It's changing . We were joking because everyone found themselves standing from across the room and looking at that person going I think I know you , i think you know me . Oh no , you're just a spouse , okay , no . And then you look at that But and I felt super creepy And that's what it is . Standing at a distance and just staring with no transformation is just creepy . So don't , don't do that , don't do that . That's .

Speaker 1 40:07

That's where this idea of saying , when you follow me , that you will follow so closely that you will become and look like me This is where you get your hands dirty and you will take up your cross and follow me . That's the first . The second is that we have the opportunity , as we navigate through this idea of denying and then also taking up a cross , is that we get to live in what I call the beautiful gray , because it's not black and white And it's going to be that , as the Spirit is dwelling in us to lead and teach and guide and convict , it's going to be different for every person , so it's not always poverty and it's not always prosperity , it's not always suffering or it's not always material possessions . This is one of those things that I think that we will grow in . That's why we talk about things like generosity . I think that I have learned to live in a growing understanding of generosity . I am more generous today than I was yesterday , but hopefully not as much as I will be the next day .

Speaker 1 41:04

So I think that there's this idea that we get to grow in this beautiful gray and ultimately , the issue is love , that we get to grow in love for both God and others , which then comes to then the taking up of the cross and also putting other people first . When we come to this idea of denial , we glorify God when we love each other because , ultimately , what's the greatest commandment ? We'll see it in Matthew 22 in a few years . We'll see that it says to love God and love other people . That's the greatest . There's other things to do , but that's what we're called to do . So deny yourself and save , to protect and savor a life that God has given to you , but you're called to savor his heart . That's why we have patiently preached through Matthew and looking at Matthew 5 through 7 , where God says that what his kingdom is about because the first thing he says is repent , for the kingdom of God is at hand , there's a life of love and allowing Christ , love to transform us , so then we can do that for other people .

Speaker 1 42:04

Notice where it began . For Jesus , it starts with repentance , but it's this idea of love in both word and deed , and when we lead with love and then when we care and have concern , not only for Jesus but also an intention and focus on other , because love assumes the best of other people . Love cares for people . Love puts other people first . Love puts you second , trusting that somebody else is going to be loving you in a way that you get to experience that same thing . John 13 says it like this a new commandment I give to you . A command I give to you love one another as I have loved you , so that you must love one another . By this , everyone will know that they are my disciples .

Speaker 1 42:45

If you love one another , my friends , don't miss out on what God is calling you into . Have you ever heard of FOMO , f-o-m-o , fear of missing out . It's as an extrovert , it's how I live every day of my life And even going back to last night , every conversation I was like , what are you guys talking about over there ? And so if you experience FOMO , you understand that there's a little bit of panic involved in it because you don't want to miss . It's the fear of missing out on anything . Don't miss out . I want you to live with spiritual FOMO , don't miss out on what God is doing , and recognizing that if we go and put ourselves back in that first place , we may miss what God has for us and what He's calling us to step into . Say I want to be a part of that , i want to be a part of what you're doing . That Jesus came to be with us so that we could be with Him .

Living a Discipleship Life

Speaker 1 43:36

It's a manual . It's the Christmas story , so maybe the weather outside is fitting , but it's the story of Jesus saying I so much want to be with you so that you can be with me , and every part of his life is about with . He is with God in relationship and he invites people to be in with him , for God to love the world , that he gave his Son , so that we could be with God . Northgate exists to help unchurched people become wholehearted followers of Jesus . All are welcome and we love you too much to exclude you or leave you there . God is inviting us all on that .

Speaker 1 44:19

And so what if we loved the life that we live , but also to then hold it open-handedly , say God , it's yours , here it is , i'm just holding onto it , and I think that the best way that we can do that is this It may come to you No surprise to you that I hold an AA in theater from a junior college . Thank you very much . 30 whole units . But I took an improv class and the first rule in improv is always yes and Yes , and That if somebody presents you with an idea , you don't shut that down . You say yes .

Speaker 1 44:50

And then what ? And I think God has invited us into that same thing as to say yes . And what am I to do with that ? Allowing His Spirit to lead us , allowing the right and proper position of denial of ourselves , trusting that God will care for our every need , and saying God yes . And How can we live that life , that beautiful , costly , discipleship life that is worth all ? I'm going to pray for us And then we get to spend some time in response in light of that very thing . It's a father . We don't take your call to our life lightly And we will spend every day pursuing that , recognizing that in and of our own ability we can't obtain that . Would you be a kind and generous God to not to stretch , not break , challenge , not overwhelm , giving us just enough so that we recognize that we are in desperate need of you ? And may we live a life where we put you first and only and aim our lives towards that . You know we pray .