Easter Baptisms and Financial Idolatry

Speaker 1 0:30

It's good to be with you . It's good to be with you if you're with us online , especially if you're with us in the room . It's just good to be in community together . Real quick , before I hop in , easter is this month . It's in March this year . It's the last weekend of this month .

Speaker 1 0:44

So , just as a heads up , we're doing baptisms on Easter . So if that's something you're interested in , we would love to partner with that . It's so much fun and so beautiful to actually go through the process , like physically , of what baptism is representing resurrection , new life and doing that on Easter and celebrating them together . We're going to be doing three services at seven . It's kind of like a sunrise . We might have some special things . Those of you who are like my people shown up early . If you can do that and you have space to do that , we'd love for you to make the commitment to seven . That creates space , especially when we're doing baptisms for new people who are coming and , honestly , the whole family to show up . Easter is like a family reunion . It's like when everybody shows up , we're like we're going to go on that one day , right , so we're all going to hang out together . It's going to be great , we're going to celebrate , so it's going to be at seven o'clock and then our normal times , 9 and 11 .

Speaker 1 1:37

Ok , so for today , as I'm getting into this , if you're newer with us or haven't been with us in a while we've been walking through the book of Matthew . This is the first book in the New Testament written by a disciple of Jesus I was given the name Matthew and it chronicles the life of Jesus , and really it's Jesus showing us what God is like and who he likes , what he's about and how he would talk to us and how he would look at us and how he would care for us . And so we've been walking through this book , literally verse by verse . We've been spending a lot of time in it . Today we find ourselves in chapter 19 of Matthew . So if you want to turn your Bible on or open it up , whatever kind of form you have , you can hop into chapter 19 . We're going to be ending chapter 19 today , so congratulations . Next week we'll be in chapter 20 . And then the story that we're finishing up today is actually found in three accounts or three of the gospels , which is the first four books of the New Testament . It's found in Matthew , it's found in Mark and it's found in Luke , and so I'll reference some of those today . But if you want to be able to look yourself , we'll hop in .

Speaker 1 2:43

But before I get into the scripture that we're going to be tackling today , I wanted to actually first start with a story that happened 505 years ago . This is a story that took place in 1519 , where Hernando Cortez lands on the shore of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico with 500 soldiers , 100 sailors and 11 ships . With this force , and his goal was to take over the Aztecs . He had heard of their fabled gold and was going to capture their gold , and then he actually had to give a fifth . The fifth of it was called the Royal Fifth . He would then send back to the King of Spain , and the deal was that they were coming to capture and take over the Aztecs to get their gold .

Speaker 1 3:31

The problem was is the Aztecs were like the superpower of Middle America for like 600 years , and so it was likely that they're not going anywhere . There was no realistic chance that they could actually do this , and so some of the sailors and their soldiers , realizing this , exhausted from their trip here , was starting to realize this is like a death sentence , this is a suicide mission . And so they hashed this plot to capture some of the ships and sailed back to Cuba on the ships and leave Hernando Cortez stranded . Well , he catches wind of this plot and he gathered all of the soldiers , all of the sailors , on the beach and he gave this order burn the ships . He kept one ship for the Royal Fifth and so he could send that back to Spain , and he was so confident that he was going to get the gold . And he eventually did . Some of the soldiers asked him now that we've burnt the ships , how are we going to get back home ? And I love this , this is crazy . And he said if we ever get back home , it'll be on their ships . And I'm like woo dang , come on Now . I don't love what he did , killing all of those people , but I love how he surrendered everything and really created no other option than to depend on what the outcome was going to be in this situation .

Speaker 1 4:54

So we're going to hit on a few verses that really impact , I think , us in an interesting way , because Jesus raises this really compelling , controversial , scandalous type of issue for people like us in Western culture . We've talked about it actually the last couple weeks , this particular story or this particular idol that Jesus puts his finger on and calls us out , specifically for a lot of us about money . For the last two weeks we've talked about how , if we hold on to it , he pushes up against us and says , hey , you need to start asking questions . Is this actually an idol in your life ? And , of course , an idol is anything that you actually put above God . It can be a good thing , but if it starts to actually get elevated and become more important to you than God , it starts to drive your life . It's an idol . It might not be money for some of you Some of you meaning the last two weeks , you're saying I think I'm pretty good there . It doesn't sit in that level for me .

Counting the Cost of Following Jesus

Speaker 1 5:57

But think about this what's the thing that gives you joy and satisfaction beyond God ? You have a thing . Think about what's the thing if you've lost it , like life would be so miserable . It's kind of terrifying to think about that . You would feel so empty without that particular thing and we need to be careful because that can be an idol .

Speaker 1 6:27

And Jesus comes at these things consistently in his ministry and talks about total surrender , utter surrender , and that's like foreign to a lot of us . You can think following Jesus or Christianity isn't just about adding something to your life . It really turns things upside down when we realize it's actually about subtracting some things in our lives . It's not that you just add Jesus on top of your beliefs and behaviors and the other things that have been going on in your life . It's that there's things that you actually need to give up , that you actually need to have go by the wayside Now . There's things that you have to leave , like some of our worldviews or ideas or beliefs or dogmas , that there's things that we actually have to walk away from or repent of sin in our lives that we actually need to drop .

Speaker 1 7:15

Remember Jesus a couple of stories ago he looked at a rich young ruler and he said in order for you to follow me , you've got to give all your money away and then give it to the poor and then come follow me . And what we see is this young man heard this in the weight of the cost and then he says he left sad because he didn't want to walk away from his stuff . He just wanted to figure out how to obtain more and , specifically here , obtain life , and he didn't like what the cost was . And for some of you you may have said to yourself I don't know if I actually want to follow Jesus , because the cost is just too high . It's very difficult and I don't know if I actually want to do this .

Speaker 1 7:58

And I think that part of the difficulty for us , part of the reason that we do that , is because we exist and we experience the things in our life . And I think that God oftentimes for us can kind of be on audio and the rest of the world is in like HD video . It's like listening to a book or watching a movie , and they experience there . When you look at the things around you in the world , it's so much easier to just do those things , whether it's like a sexual encounter or cheating on your taxes or being greedy or something that gives you pleasure because you see it right , the world's in high definition all around you for us . And so as we walk around and we see colors and taste and we feel , but God , because we're not sure how to see him or because we can't fill him in his fullness , it oftentimes is just unlike audio for us , which is why it's very difficult , why it's so difficult for us to choose him in the midst of temptation , why it's very difficult for us to be a kingdom person to say I actually wanna follow Jesus in the midst of the world that I exist within . And that's why this rich young ruler goes I'm just not gonna do it . I think I'm just gonna go after money and possessions and fame and wealth and youth because they think can make me happier than God can make me , and more quickly .

Speaker 1 9:26

Here's the thing about following Jesus . Here's the thing about Christianity . Here's the thing about the kingdom , friends , is it's the long game we need to understand . It's a long game . So if you do want , if you want the short , immediate pleasure right now , then you're gonna choose sin and money and whatever else that you're tempted with every single time . If that's what you're going for is the short game . But Jesus comes along and goes no , no , no , no , no , no . Hold on , wait a minute . If you're gonna understand the kingdom , if you're gonna be a kingdom person , you've gotta be someone who has the long game in mind , who says to themselves I don't just want a good 15 minutes , I want good months , I want good years , I want a good life , I want a good like 15 million years . And if all we do , if all you and I do is make decisions for 15 minutes , then we're gonna be like lost . You're never gonna be a kingdom person , you're never gonna be able to count the cost and it's always gonna feel like the cost is too high . It's always gonna feel so hard . It's always gonna be like who can actually do this ? That's always gonna be the question which is actually one of the disciples' questions , which was who can actually do this ?

Speaker 1 10:40

Peter says we left everything to follow you . What is there gonna be Like who can actually do this ? And then , what do we get from this ? Now recognize this question . I love this because this so represents us . He's saying we've left everything to follow you . Then what do we get ? Like ? What's the reward ? What comes from this ? This question is very raw . This is so real and it's the question we all ask . Right , if I'm gonna leave this stuff , I'm not gonna be a follower . If my friends are gonna make fun of me or work's gonna look at me sideways because I do the church thing , or I'm a follower of Jesus , if my family is gonna turn their back to me or become like the black sheep in the family , you're gonna tell me that there's this cost to this thing , and it costs something . But what do I get ? Like , what do I get out of it ? And this is a natural question for each of us . Now , the reason he's asking this is because he's already in verse 25 . They've asked a different question , so just a backup . So quick review . It says in verse 25 , when the disciples heard this , this idea of sell and surrender everything , they were very astonished . They said , like then , who can be saved ? We'll get to that word in just a second . And so then he said looking at them , jesus said to them this is in the disciples . With people it's impossible , but with God all things are possible .

Speaker 1 11:55

Ever have you ever been to church or you've heard the saying ? Maybe you've been said it before ? Like someone said like I got saved , or like when did you get saved ? And for some of you who are totally new to church , you're just like what does that even mean ? It's like some Christian-ese vernacular . You're like you guys are weird . What do you get saved from ? Right , what does that mean ? So let me tell you real quick , biblically speaking .

Speaker 1 12:20

First and foremost , it's not just that you are saved from sin , which is true , it's that you get saved from the immediacy of sin . That's one aspect of being saved . Where it drives you . Sin drives you to like the stupidity of like this immediate , where you just go like I've got to have this , like I need this right now , I need this encounter right now , I need to drink this much right now , I need to cheat in this thing , like I need to do this and that's what sin does . So that's what , when Jesus is saying that you can be saved and I love this he's meaning saved from what sin does and how it destroys your life . He's saying like time out , whoa , whoa , whoa , whoa . You don't have to live like this . He says like I'm gonna give you freedom , like I can actually give this to you . I can give you peace , shalom , I can calm some storms , just parenthetically , real quick .

Speaker 1 13:08

For those of you who are familiar with this story , when Jesus was sleeping in the boat and the disciples were caught in this mega storm and they were freaking out because the ship was starting to sink and they were waking him up , being like why are you sleeping ? He didn't help us , you know he wasn't . They weren't waking him up for him to like fix the storm right . They were waking him up to like bail water with him , like , hey , we're all gonna die , like , come on , let's get after this . How many of us just look at him as a resource to bail water , rather than letting him do what he really wants to do , which is to calm your storm ? And that's ultimately what he does . He says peace , be still and the storm stops . That's what he wants for our life . He wants to help you stop the thing that's destroying you , not just bailing it out . He wants to give you freedom .

Speaker 1 13:56

Then the other level of this is that we actually get you , actually get saved from God himself , and I think that's an interesting thing to say . You know , what do you mean ? Saved from God himself , right ? So here's the problem . We prioritize ourselves . We are really good at this . We are really good about thinking about ourselves and what will feel good and our desires , and then also the impacts or our relationships around us .

The Cost of Following Jesus

Speaker 1 14:18

So we live life mostly just horizontally and then we become a follower of Jesus and we're like , okay , yeah , so it's really all about the horizontal stuff . Like I'm supposed to , you know , get connected and I'm supposed to love your neighbor , and if my relationship's broken , I'm supposed to kind of figure that out or forgive you and what those things look like . And that's not just the end of all here's . Actually , the problem with that is that we have a different , deeper issue , which is that you and God , or me and God , vertically are not reconciled . We can too often just focus on the horizontal stuff and forget that , the God of the universe , the creator , we , are not reconciled .

Speaker 1 14:59

And then , if you don't know Jesus , god is actually against the sin in your life and it's difficult for us to understand because we're all about us Like that feels good . And so what you actually need to be saved from first is the wrath and judgment of God . This is why in another gospel , in the gospel of John , chapter three , when John the Baptist is preaching , he says you know what the great thing is ? He says whoever believes in the sun has eternal life , but whoever rejects the sun will not see life , for God's wrath remains on them . So when you come to know Jesus , what happens is you get to like stand behind him and the wave of wrath from God hits Jesus like this protection right , that's what you get saved from . You get saved from this eternal separation from God . You get saved from the wrath of God . You get saved from your own sin . You get saved from yourself . And the problem with yourself is we . In our hearts , we have this proclivity right To move towards the things that give us pleasure , the things that give us comfort . That it's like , whatever the routine is for us , whatever the easy thing for us , and he's saying I want you to save yourself . And it's going to be difficult , it's gonna be difficult , it's gonna be hard .

Speaker 1 16:17

Cs Lewis , writer , theologian , said when he started exploring Christianity , this thing , the following Jesus , who he is , what it looks like . He said that what he realized is Jesus , when he lays stuff out like this , when he's saying like the hard stuff , that Christianity , just in following him , just isn't like kind of important , like , oh , he's a good teacher , like that's great . But Lewis said that that's one thing is that it can't be moderately important , it is the most important . And here is Jesus laying it on the line , saying you know what the cost is gonna be Everything , it's gonna be everything , it's gonna be everything .

Speaker 1 17:01

Now the pause for a second . This is kind of the space we've been in for a cool minute in Matthew and we're gonna continue to be in . I got an email from a dear friend this last week that was like hey , can you start teaching on ? Like rainbows and puppies and stuff like that ? It's like nice and comforting , cause the things that we keep talking about in Matthew are really hard things . And I'm like , yes , I know , the crazy part is it gets harder and harder and harder , cause see , right now Jesus is on his way down to Passover and is journeying down to Jerusalem to ultimately sacrifice himself for us . And you know , like , have you ever thought about , like hey , if you just had a short bit of time , what would you do ? Like ? So he has leaned all the way in trying to help these guys and ultimately us , understand what this looks like and what we can get from it and how to fully experience all of this .

Speaker 1 17:52

And so now we find Peter , like the representative of the disciples . He's asking the question that we're all thinking . He said to him we left everything , like we did this whole surrender , sacrifice thing . Can you tell us , like , what we're going to get , like , what's there going to be for us ? Luke , in his version , was a bit more descriptive about what everything was . He talks about , you know , including their homes and , it was true , the disciples , these 12 , like Peter , that began to follow Jesus , left their occupations , so their jobs , their homes , their families , that we're in and around Galilee , and the disciples were dedicated . They had given up everything for a chance to be great in the Messiah's kingdom at hand , and Peter then seems to skip over the last part . Jesus had just told him that all things are possible with God .

Speaker 1 18:41

Peter seems , though , to be seeking , like what we would all see like tangible assurance related to the price that they've been paid , like he wanted assurances that there's gonna be , like this , ample reward available for him and his followers . Right , peter wants to know , just honestly have we done enough , like , have we done enough to enter into life ? And I love that Jesus treats this as a fair question . And after denying themselves so much and then hearing what Jesus told this young ruler he wanted to be , they wanted to be assured that their sacrifice was one enough and two worth it . Is it worth it ? They were , you know . If they were gonna be ineligible for the kingdom , then what was the point of leaving everything behind ? And Jesus does not rebuke Peter or the other disciples for asking this question . He doesn't try to scold them or shame them for considering their own self-interest . And I find so much freedom in that , you know , because in the midst of that we still have a part of us . It's just like I need to understand me , like what comes of this .

Speaker 1 19:56

And so we see Jesus here , assured them as only he could , and he began by giving them this divine guarantee . He said truly , I tell you , truly , I say to you , at the renewal of all things there's some of your translations say , at the regeneration of all things when the Son of man sits on his glorious throne , you who have followed me now this is talking to just the disciples right here will sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel . So Jesus said that , in the fullness of the reward it would come in the renewal or the regeneration . In this Greek word , which is the original language , this was written in for regeneration is this compound word meaning again or the end . Genesis meaning beginning or creation . So again , it's gonna happen , again , this start over .

Speaker 1 20:48

It describes this total reconfiguration of nature and political realignment , this like cosmic event that brings about a new heaven and a new earth . And we see some of this in the writings in Revelation . This , for them , was an exciting promise , right , because a throne has great authority . It's a seat of great authority . Thrones were literal and symbolic seats of power . You know , only those in authority had the right to sit and exercise political power from the throne .

Speaker 1 21:21

And Jesus tells the disciples that when all things are made new , that when the Son of man , the Messiah Jesus himself , sits on his glorious throne , that then he will have , like this , personal administration to serve alongside of him in this kingdom , that there will be 12 members of his personal cabinet who have their own tribes to sit on , and those thrones will be endowed , within these important responsibilities and power of the Messiah . So Jesus is telling these 12 disciples that those of you who have left everything , these 12 , this group of men right here , will be granted one of these 12 thrones . And the 12 thrones are over the 12 tribes of Israel , and the responsibility of the ones who sit upon these 12 thrones will be judging and making decisions and leadership decisions for the 12 tribes of Israel after the regeneration has occurred . And this promise to them would have assured them that there will be for them this that is greatly worth it , far more than everything that they had left behind and sacrificed . Now , this was just for them . Now . I'm also not going to spend an hour and a half explaining to you everything else that's behind that , like culture , history , theology . This is some of the work that you can do . If you want to dig in here in commentaries or in your small group , have some of those questions about what that looks like in tribes of Israel , understand those things . There's some beauty in that . This is something they were waiting for , but that was just for them . That's just for these 12 guys .

Total Surrender and Eternal Life

Speaker 1 22:52

Now Jesus continued . If you look at verse 29 , he talks about he expanded it now to everyone . All of us who have left houses have left houses and brothers and sisters , and mothers or children , or farms , places , occupations , land , for my sake . And he invites any and everyone now to join him in total surrender . And what do you get ? Look at these last words eternal life .

Speaker 1 23:22

You know what that means . It's not just a quantity of time . Our language , again , is very limited . The Greek word eternal doesn't mean just length of time only . It's more . It means quality of time or quality of life . It means that you get eternal life , and what it's referring to is that you get the life that is in the coming age and you get to experience that in the present . When it talks about the kingdom of heaven is at hand , that the kingdom of heaven was supposed to be this , where everything's reconciled and done and new and fresh , this regeneration . But it's talking about its hand , that you actually , that we actually are invited to experience some of that right here , now , in the present . We get to experience less shame , less guilt , more freedom , more love , more mercy , kindness , joy , gentleness . That we can actually not have to wait until the end , but we can experience some of that right now . That you get this kind of freedom and joy and power in the present . That we get eternal life where we're like back and connected with God of the universe through Jesus and the work he has us doing .

Speaker 1 24:36

In Mark it expands on this a little bit more . Jesus also describes what the return is for this . It's enjoying a fellowship with God's family that we gain brothers and sisters and Christ and parents and children that we follow in Christ . We gain houses and homes that were hosted by the brothers and sisters of Christ . We gain harmony and community . We gain unconditional love of the other faithful believers . I got a little bit of a reminder that we're supposed to give unconditional love to other faithful believers . And Mark Jesus says that we gain these things in this present age , that you get that kind of life which means that you have the power to actually be righteous , to be holy and have the freedom that God lays down for you .

Speaker 1 25:28

But without it , you can't . Without it , everything just becomes a burden , and that's what Jesus has called for you is . It's radical , it's really radical , it's all in , it's completely in it's uncompromising demand that you give your life to Him . And I want to be clear For those of you who are feeling the burden and overwhelmed of like how do I even start that ? What does that look like ? Zero to hero , you start where you are and then it's baby steps . Think of it this way that you're facing one direction and you're just going to turn up wind and you began taking baby steps walking towards that . Just like them , they're taking baby steps walking right towards us . This is great . All you guys are looking at it's headwind right here . It's one of our values here that we would be a people in process , which is this idea of the spiritual journey that we're just taking steps . But ultimately , when we're doing that and we're heading that direction .

Speaker 1 26:33

We have to learn that we've got to burn the ships , and there are some ships that we need to burn . So today I'm going to share three of these with you . These are ships that I deal with . So the first ship that I feel like we need to burn this was a very intense example for you . This took a lot of building for my kids . They're going to be upset when they burn this thing down .

Speaker 1 27:02

Excuses this is the first ship . I think You've got a dozen that you can do . The first ship is like look , we all have excuses , right , we've all got excuses for why we're not doing what we should be doing . We know we should be doing something and we've got an excuse for why it didn't happen . And you can think of how extensive you want to answer that question . Whether it's just like I'm lazy that's an excuse . I just don't want to . I just got distracted , or I'm just busy . I'm so busy my schedule doesn't have time , or I haven't taken the time for just whatever the excuse is .

Speaker 1 27:38

Now I don't know what your next step is . This is something for you to decipher and figure out , but maybe it's to be generous in your giving , and I know you've got a great excuse as to why you're not Totally , or maybe you haven't been consistent in coming to worship or going to small groups or getting into the word or just spending time with Jesus . I know you've got a great excuse . I totally right . You've got one right . Or maybe your excuses , you know , like you got an excuse because you're like I know I should be like serving in , like a church or people or in the community . I should be in the community , I should be doing stuff , I know . But and I know you've got a great excuse , I bet your reason is a really good one , isn't it ? Like , if you think about it . But let me just show you how Jesus responds to really good excuses .

Speaker 1 28:24

And I'm going to warn you , put on your seatbelt for this one , because he gets right there . So there's a man who comes to Jesus and he said I will follow you wherever you go , but I think we're going to do a series one time called the butts of the Bible . It's going to be great . I will follow you wherever you go , but let me first go bury my father Right Now . This is a big deal because , like for a Jewish man like this is one of the most important things that he can do . It's more important than a lot of times the Sabbath or sacrifices . For a Jewish person , burying his father is a sacred thing and it was one of the duties that was given . Now he's saying let me just , I'm going to follow you , let me first just go bury my dad . Now why ? What you need to know is they didn't have formaldehyde back then , and so burial stuff took like same day stuff , because you know the body was started to deteriorate and you could have odor , et cetera , and so it would be same day and so it started pretty quickly and so they would bury him . So there's an idea .

Speaker 1 29:34

Potentially there's a couple here . One first is that his dad's not passed away yet and so he's like near the end of his life and he's like look it , I don't know where you're going to go , I will follow you wherever , but hold on time out . Let me just finish this part of my life . Let me just finish this part of the thing that I'm a part of that I'm going to do like this thing first , and then we'll go do your thing . Right , my dad might be on a sick bed . Just wait until he passes away and I finish what I'm doing and you're like well , how long is that going to take ? Well , who knows how long that's going to take , or maybe his father had already passed away .

Speaker 1 30:11

There was a thing in the Jewish culture called a double burial , where you would wrap someone in cloth . Their flesh would deteriorate and they'd go back a year later , they'd collect their bones and then they would put it in an osherwary box which is about a foot and a half by foot and a half by about a foot , and then they would go put it in a family tomb and put that in the crevices where they could get a dozen or more of their family members in a tomb in these crevesses . And so Jesus is saying , right here , maybe he's saying , well , maybe he's saying to Jesus actually , can you let me finish the mourning process ? Can I finish this one thing that I've got going on , or can I just wrap up this job that I'm doing , or can I just finish the sport season ? Or , like you , pick your thing ? Uh-oh , I just spoke to something . You're like , whoa , right , here's okay , go on .

Speaker 1 31:01

Here's Jesus' response . Here's his response to your good excuse . He says at Luke 960 , follow me . Let the dead bury their dead . He's saying hey , follow me , they can take care of their thing , your excuse .

Speaker 1 31:18

And some of us are like that's offensive . I don't think he cares . I think he's like yep , like it's an all the way thing , there is no excuse . He's saying , there is no excuse for not following me . So , friends , we need to burn the ship of excuses , all right , I mean , maybe we're not actually burning it , but close , okay , we're just going to put this over here , all right . The next ship whoa . All right , I can do this , it's good , all right . The next ship is the ship of loyalty .

Speaker 1 32:04

I'm going to tell you right now , this one pokes out a lot of us . Have you thought about the things that you're loyal to ? Like you could probably just dig into this one for yourself , like , what are the things that have your loyalty , that have our loyalty ? And again , this is just number two of probably a dozen ships that need to be burned in our lives . Right , here's the deal with loyalty . He wants to be the only one that is allowed to give direction in our life . He's saying look it , I will be the only one and I will be Lord of all or I will be nothing at all . You got to choose . What are you loyal to ? You know ? Here's what he actually said . This one again . He's poking in here deep .

Speaker 1 32:49

This is what he said to a Jewish community who puts a lot of value on family , like we all do . Right , he says anyone who loves their father and mother more than me is not worthy of me . What he says anyone who loves their son or their daughter more than me is not worthy of me . Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me . Whoever Finds their life will lose it . Whoever loses their life for my sake will find it .

Speaker 1 33:19

And this phrase that we just heard about taking up our cross and follow me is actually the most Frequently cited sayings of Jesus and all of the Gospels . Why it's ? Because this is at the core of what it means to follow him . It's complete sacrifice and surrender , and that gives us the visualization of that . And so you don't have to be perfect . You don't have to be perfect , but you do have to make him Lord . That's what he's saying . You got to make him Lord , and if you are loyal to anyone but Jesus , if you're loyalty at last anyone above Jesus , they have their spot . We all have our spots . But if anything , anything at all , a thing , a person , a place Becomes and it raises above Jesus . If anyone else can determine the direction of your life other than Jesus , you've got to burn the shit . That one is kind of cool , all right . Last one and this one . I'm just gonna be straight up with you . We'll be transparent

Surrendering Control to Jesus Christ

Speaker 1 34:29

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Speaker 1 34:30

This one by far , for me personally , is my hardest control . I don't want to burn this up , but we go into control . You know like I'll do it myself . I got this . I'm gonna do my job myself . I'm gonna do my finances myself . I'll do my relationships myself . I'll do my mental health myself . Like I got me , I'm gonna take care of me .

Speaker 1 34:59

Do you realize that your control , our , our Desire to be in control in life , actually goes back to like the primordial sin of Eve in the garden , like this , this moment , when she took the fruit in this forbidden fruit fruit and in Satan said look , it's a delight to the eyes . That's not what actually tricked her up . It wasn't because something was beautiful and like oh , fruit , it looks so pretty right , it was when he told her , when he said it will make you like God . All of us , friends , have these little thrones in our heart and and there is only one of them and it's either you're gonna sit on it or he's gonna sit on it . I and we have got to decide who's in control . Who's gonna control that throne ? And we want to control our lives and be in control of our own lives . But until you yield control , you will never , I will never fully , fully make Jesus my Lord . Let him be Lord of my life . And so , friends , you gotta burn the ship of control . Following Jesus has cost and sometimes it's painful . Like you gotta burn ships you don't want to burn , you gotta like say I can't get back home unless I'm with you . I'm on your ship .

Speaker 1 36:44

Now , let me just conclude this way , because I know there are some of us in the room that feel this burden of the weight of all that of like I have , like the cancer of pride or whatever else is that I'm holding on to , and I feel like that's the only thing that gives me comfort . Is control , is the things that I'm loyal to is my excuses , because it creates distance and hedges me between like failures or shame . Maybe you're like I've never even done this and I don't even know what it looks like to picture myself actually surrendering and giving things up . Let me just tell you this , friends the beauty of the gospel , the beauty of the cross , is that Jesus Christ has already done this for you . He already came as your substitute to take the sin upon himself , the good that we cannot produce on himself , and he died to pay that for you . And so when you don't listen , when you're not good enough , when it's not good enough , when we go sideways , when we can't figure out how to carry it , he's standing right there saying I'm carrying you , I'm gonna take this off of you , my yoke is easy , hop in , I will plow the line . And he's already done this for you , friends , and that's what we get to rest in and that's what some of us today need to grab hold of and hold onto .

Speaker 1 38:13

Tim Keller he's a pastor that we lost this last year to cancer in New York . The office said one of these phrases that I love says religion at his core is like this do and then God will accept you , but Jesus , christianity . The following of the God man , jesus at his core , says God has accepted you in Jesus Christ . Now you get to live like this . So , to end chapter 19 , and to set us up for next week as we start chapter 20 , because , by the way , it's not just like , oh , we ended chapter 19 and we put it to bed like it's a bedtime story and next week we'll get up . No , it continues on . This is actually a setup to chapter 20 . Verse 30 ends like this and it just encapsulate everything that Jesus just talked to us about . But many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first .

Burn the Ships Prayer

Speaker 1 39:14

So , as my friends from King and Country wrote a song called Burn the Ship . They said light a match , leave the past , burn the ships . Would you pray for me , with me , or for me to Geez , I got some ships to burn . God , would you just fill this place with courage , would you fill this place with release ? Would your spirit just move through this place and give comfort and healing and empowerment . God , may we sacrifice , may we learn what it looks like to surrender all and make you Lord of all , even right now , as you're undoing things in our heart and our mind and our soul . May we confess to you in those places and receive your grace in those spaces , and may this response and worship , trusting in you , be a gift as it's been given to us . We love you and we pray amen .