Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Well, good morning, church.
[00:00:03] Oh, come on.
[00:00:05] There we go.
[00:00:09] My phone stopped recognizing me. I don't know what that means. That says. I don't know what that says. If that's a good thing or a bad thing.
[00:00:18] It scanned my face too long ago. It doesn't recognize me anymore. Oh, guys, it is a joy to be together. Today we are closing out our series we've been doing the last few weeks called the Pursuit of Happy. I don't know about you guys, but I have been really challenged these last few weeks. I mean, we've been talking about this question, where does a good life actually come from? Right? And so far we've talked about how you are not going to find your happiness in marriage or divorce or even a family or singleness or wealth or spirituality or your own hard work or justice or even by just getting lucky. Like, those are not the things that are going to get you there. And that's a lot, right? I mean, it really kind of strips down the playing field. How do you actually get there then? If all these narratives that we hear in our culture over and over, if they're not the one, how the heck do you actually live a good life?
[00:01:22] How do you find the happiness that we're all actually looking for? Well, today we're going to be in Matthew 20. If you want to go ahead and turn there. We have house Bibles around the room. If you don't have one with you. We really believe in the importance of access to God's word here at Emmanuel. If you don't own a physical copy of the Bible, please take one of our pew Bibles or tell one of the pastors and we'll get you a nicer one. We're going to be in Matthew 20, and as we land out this series, we're going to see Jesus's answer to this question. We're going to see Jesus's gospel centric counter narrative, right? This is Jesus answer to how you pursue a good life. Where does a fulfilling life come from? And man, it is such an appropriate weekend to get to hear testimony of a family stepping out in faith to pursue God on the mission field. I'm glad you guys got to hear about what God is doing in the Harger family for a lot of reasons. Like, it's just really cool to be here and to invite our church family into this. But one of the reasons that I'm excited about this for today is that it gives us such a powerful picture of what Jesus is talking about in our text.
[00:02:32] We're surrounded by False gospels.
[00:02:37] What should we chase to get a good life? But the whole time, the answer is as simple as it is counterintuitive.
[00:02:48] A good life, A life that is fulfilling, A life that is. That is actually what we're looking for.
[00:02:55] It happens when we're connected to God and we seek his kingdom. Now, that does not mean you have to run off and go to Peru. You can, totally can. It would be awesome. But you don't have to. But it is going to look like something.
[00:03:12] A life given over to connection with God and the pursuit of kingdom. It might not get you on a plane to a distant country to deal with fevers in the jungle you've never heard of, but it will look like something.
[00:03:27] It will require you to. To make not just changes in your life, but significant, fundamental changes in your life. Before I get too far ahead of us, you may notice in this whole series, I've been making a really small distinction and I haven't pointed it out, but I think it's actually really important. As we land out today, see the false gospel narratives of this world. They promise us happiness.
[00:03:52] Here's how you get to be happy. But I have noted every time we've talked about this that we won't find our fulfillment outside of Christ. I've used these two words separately and intentionally. And the reason is because this. The entire premise. I know this is hard for us as Americans with the Declaration of Independence, right? But the entire premise of pursuing happiness is flawed.
[00:04:17] It is. It falls short. Happiness is fine. There's nothing wrong with it inherently, but it is fleeting and it is connected to our circumstances. Guys, I hope, as your pastor and as your friend, I hope that you are happy often, right? That's great. It's wonderful. I hope you are happy often. But I promise you, you don't want a happy life.
[00:04:42] You don't want a happy life the same way you don't want cotton candy for every meal, right? We want a meaningful and fulfilling life, A life that matters, a life that has meat to it. A life that means something. And guys, at the end of the day, fulfillment, that kind of life is found in Christ, in Christ alone, not in happiness or in any of the ways our culture convinces us to chase after it. But even so, don't be fooled, beloved.
[00:05:18] The kingdom of God is upside down. It does not submit to the standards and expectations of this world and our culture. Our fulfillment, even in chasing after Christ, will not be found in the trappings of the flesh.
[00:05:32] It's not how it works. Kingdom, life, a fulfilled Life, a meaningful life is a humble life. It is a sacrificial life. It's other centered to say it as simply as possible. It hurts.
[00:05:47] Hurts.
[00:05:49] In other words, it looks a lot like Jesus's life.
[00:05:53] Our fulfillment is found in Jesus and in chasing after the life he models for us.
[00:06:00] It's where we find it. Which brings me to my main point today. Is this the promise of the kingdom of God? Is this cross now, crown later?
[00:06:12] That's how it works. That is what Jesus promises us. Which raises, I think, a really direct and really necessary question. How can that possibly be true?
[00:06:23] How can the best life to live possibly be found in suffering and sacrifice and humility in the path of Christ?
[00:06:34] If you're anything like me, every fiber of your flesh screams that suffering and pain are bad. Pleasure, comfort, good. Right? Right.
[00:06:48] So how can the kingdom actually be the desire of your heart if it hurts, if it's painful? And beyond that, I'm not foolish enough to not realize that in a room like this, some of you are listening and going, I'm be honest, Pastor, my life is already hard enough.
[00:07:07] I don't need any more suffering or loss in my life. This gospel does not sound all that good or all that appealing. That doesn't seem worth it. And if that resonates with you this morning, please stick with me, because I get it. I get it. I promise I do. But I believe that God has an amazing word of freedom and invitation for all of us today, those of you who are suffering and doubting included. So let's pray and let's jump into this text. Jesus, we need you this morning.
[00:07:43] We need you to be our discipler. We need you to be the one who illuminates the text to a spirit who challenges us, who convicts us, who reminds us. Lord, let us, let us hear your voice in your word today.
[00:07:59] Let us be brought to the truth of your love for us, your sacrifice for us, and let that actually change us. God, point us to the design you built into us from the beginning. We need you for this work. So we pray it in your name, Jesus. Amen.
[00:08:16] Okay, Matthew chapter 20. We're going to start in verse 17.
[00:08:21] And we read this while going up to Jerusalem, Jesus took the 12 disciples aside privately and said to them on the way, see, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes and they will condemn him to death. They will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged and crucified. And on the Third day he will be raised.
[00:08:47] Now, if you've been walking through Matthew with us for the last eternal eternity here in Emmanuel, then you're greeted with a familiar scene. Remember that narratively in Matthew, all the last few chapters have taken place as Jesus makes his way from Galilee in the north to of Palestine to Judea and Jerusalem in the south. I'm going to put up the map. We've seen this a bunch of times over our course of our time. In Matthew, Jesus is working his way southward from Galilee down to Judea, where Jerusalem is. And he's close. He's almost there, right? And once Jesus openly acknowledges his messiahship, once that part happens, and there's the whole scene with the transfiguration, he begins this final journey to Jerusalem. And he does so with this, with this resoluteness and this intentionality that Matthew wants to make sure you as the reader take note of. See, Jesus has taught as he's traveled his whole ministry. This was really normal for rabbis in Jesus day. But in this final journey, this last time that Jesus is going from Galilee down to Judea, there's something new happening. You see, Jesus popularity and notoriety have grown immensely. He's gathering really large crowds, many of whom are, are following into Jerusalem literally just to see what happens. Like ostensibly Jesus is traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. This was really normal. But we know it's more than that because he's not just a Jewish rabbi going to Jerusalem for a feast. He is the Messiah. He is the rightful King of Israel, and he's about to enter into Roman occupied Jerusalem and render his judgment.
[00:10:38] This trip has weight, this trip has purpose. And that stood out to his followers. They knew this was a big deal.
[00:10:48] And the most obvious way we see this in this part of the narrative is that Jesus keeps speaking really clearly about his upcoming suffering, betrayal, confrontation with religious and political leaders, and death. Your Bible likely says in the little heading that this is the third prediction of his death. This is actually the fourth time that Jesus talks about his coming Passion to his followers just on this trip, but it's the third time that he pulled them aside to specifically talk about it. He's also just kind of worked it into his teaching. As we step into the actual Passion Week, that's where we're at in the story. The next couple chapters all happen in a seven day span of time while Jesus is in Jerusalem. As we step into this, I really want you guys to begin to take note of all the times Jesus brings this up. He's going to Bring this up more and more the closer we get to his actual suffering. And there's a practical and a narrative reason Matthew is emphasizing this to us. See, Matthew wants to make sure that, you know, that Jesus was very clear on what was happening. His passion, his suffering, his work, his death and resurrection. That was not a fluke, that was not a failed coup where he tried to take over Jerusalem and failed. That was his plan heading into Jerusalem.
[00:12:08] The way it works out is exactly what Jesus wants to have happen.
[00:12:14] It also shows, I think, mysteriously, how his followers completely fail to read what's happening. That's nuts to me. Jesus is telling them as plainly as you can, right? Hey, this is what's going to happen. Just so you know, when we get there, it's going to go down like this. And they're like, cool, nah. And that's so strange to me. But here's the thing, guys. Like, Jesus is actually pretty famous. Not even within Christianity, within history. Jesus is pretty famous for speaking cryptically, like, that's kind of his deal. But not here.
[00:12:51] He is as plain as he can be. He says, no, no, no, no, no, guys, the religious leaders, they're going to condemn me to death. And then the political leaders, they're going to torture me to death. And then I'll be super dead. That's how it's going to go down. And a couple days later, I'll rise from the dead. Beloved, never mistake the truth here.
[00:13:10] The abject horror of the cross is Jesus's plan.
[00:13:16] It's his plan. He set out to do this.
[00:13:21] He fully intends to be abandoned by his closest friends, to be betrayed by his followers, to suffer horrifically and unjustly. He's walking into this on purpose. Beloved, your Jesus loves you.
[00:13:39] He planned his passion for the glory of God and the salvation of you.
[00:13:45] He did this for us. Never lose this truth. Your beloved sweet Jesus is strong and mighty and resolute. And the cross is his plan for your redemption.
[00:13:58] Was not a plan B, it was the plan.
[00:14:02] But it still raises these two big questions for me.
[00:14:06] First, why do his followers seem to miss this obvious teaching that he's repeated multiple times? Like, that just seems strange to me because he keeps coming back to it and they behave and act and react like he just didn't say it. I think it's strange, right? And the second question is this. Why the heck is this Jesus's plan? This seems outside looking in, mind you, like a terrible plan.
[00:14:32] I'm going to go and suffer and be tortured and die. That's kind of what I'm aiming for here, that. That's really strange to me.
[00:14:39] Why is he walking resolutely toward his own suffering?
[00:14:45] Very few of us make those kind of life decisions, right? Let's look at how Matthew answers these two questions in turn. As the text continues. In verse 20, we read this.
[00:14:57] Then the mother of Zebedee's sons approached him with her son. She knelt down to ask him for something. What do you want? He asked her promise, she said to him, that these two sons of mine may sit one on your right and the other on your left in your kingdom. Jesus answered, you don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? We are able, they said to him. He told them, you will indeed drink my cup. But to sit at my right and my left is not mine to give. Instead it is for though it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my father.
[00:15:32] So now the story shifts. Jesus is really close to Jerusalem. He's almost there. Whatever is about to go down is about to go down. And so the sons of Zebedee begin posturing, like at this moment. Now, I'm not going to get too far into this today, but James and John, the sons of Zebedee, they were some of Jesus's first followers, and they were amongst his closest followers. They were among the three who got to witness the transfiguration. They may actually have been like second cousins to Jesus, depending on who some aspects of church history and church traditions. We don't know that for certain, but we do know is that these two brothers are in Jesus's inner circle. And now they and their mom come to Jesus with a proposition. Let James and John be your number one and your number two in your new kingdom. This is what their mom asks. And before you get too harsh being like, gee whiz, guys, you had your mom ask your boss for you. Like, before you go there, let me remind you that she was among the women who followed Jesus. They've all been in this ministry together for a long time. And so the thing she asks for, like, it's kind of sleazy, but it's also actually not an unreasonable request to sit at. The right and left hand is a picture of an ancient king's court. The right and left seat were the seats of the highest honor and the highest authority. These were for princes and advisors. She's asking for her sons to have the special closeness and relationship with Jesus that they already have. She's asking for that to be concreted into positions of power and honor in his messianic kingdom that he's bringing about. Again, kind of sleazy, but also like, oh, that makes sense. Makes sense. These guys are already really close to Jesus. And I think this really answers our first nagging question. How did Jesus's followers miss his obvious and plain teachings regarding his death? Well, guys, it's as simple as this. They didn't have a category for a messiah who would be rejected by religious leaders and killed by Rome. They didn't have a mental category for that. We have the benefits of hindsight. We only know this stuff in the context of Jesus story. But they had a totally different perspective. This is what Jesus is describing to them is so far outside their expectations that they simply didn't register. Imagine it like this. Imagine we're talking after church and I go, man, I'm so stoked for the super bowl next week. Are you stoked for the super bowl next week? I can't wait to see the Chiefs win the Super Bowl. Does that resonate with anyone in the room real quick? Anyone? Anyone, Anyone? I can't wait to see the Chiefs win the Super Bowl. I can picture it right now. They're going to walk out on the field, they're going to set up their easels and get their canvases out, and they're going to paint these beautiful landscapes while the Eagles just run touchdown after touchdown. They're going to slaughter and win the Super Bowl. You would go, wait, wait, I was with you, but then you said something about painting. Yeah, dude, they're gonna get out there, paint these gorgeous landscapes. They're gonna win. You would go, that. That's nonsense. Right? That's not how that works. We don't have a mental category for a Super bowl team that walks out on the field and paints landscapes. They go out and play football, right? Like that's how it works. Guys, this is the level of strangeness to how Jesus was talking about his messiahship. There's some similarities here. The Messiah was supposed to unite the Jewish people. He was supposed to bring together the divided religious leaders who debated and argued about theology. He was the new David who would lead God's people not just in worship, but in battle. And he would overthrow their oppressors. He would kick out Rome and lead God's people to become a sovereign nation again.
[00:19:29] That was the Messiah. That's what he does.
[00:19:33] So a Messiah who was rejected by the temple and killed by Rome, because that wasn't just weird. That just wasn't a Messiah.
[00:19:44] There wasn't a mental category for that. So when Jesus says this stuff, the text tells us it upsets them. But here's the thing, guys, Jesus said a lot of confusing and upsetting things, right? He's kind of known for that. He walks into a party and is like, hey guys, you think this is cool? You have to eat my body and drink my blood if you want to be a part of this.
[00:20:05] And people are like, any further clarification on what you mean by that? Nah, like that's. Jesus is known for saying stuff that's weird and confusing. And so when he says, hey, I'm the Messiah, but instead of uniting the religious leaders and overthrowing Rome, I'm going to divide them so much much that they'll condemn me to death for heresy and then Rome will kill me. They hear that and go, okay, I don't know, it must be like a. Is this like another one of his parables? Like, is that. Was that what this is? And they just move on because they don't have a category for this. Guys, we know the truth because we have hindsight, but you weren't raised as a first century Jew filled with messianic fervor, awaiting this literal physical redemption of your people.
[00:20:54] So here Jesus again tries to lovingly point them to the truth. When they say something that is very dumb, he says, you don't know what you're asking, man.
[00:21:06] Have truer words ever been spoken?
[00:21:09] You don't know what you are asking. They have no clue what they're asking for. And so Jesus actually gives them this warning, are you able to drink the cup that I'm about to drink? So they don't know this yet, but this is Jesus reference to the wrath of God.
[00:21:27] This is the cup that he sits sweating blood in the garden saying, I don't want to drink from this God. Is there any other way to do this?
[00:21:38] This is the wrath of God being poured out for the weight of sin.
[00:21:43] This is the cup that Jesus resolutely sets himself to drink, knowing full well what it will cost him. This cup is the glory of Jesus's messiahship. This suffering is his elevation, his being lifted up.
[00:21:58] And this is what they're asking for.
[00:22:01] They have no clue. They have no clue what that means. And so like complete idiots, they go, yeah, we're here for it. That's nuts. Because they think Jesus is asking him if they can handle his coming revolution. Can they handle all the public scrutiny and all the power and all the authority? Like they think Jesus is asking him if they have it what it takes to handle all the awesome that he's about to experience.
[00:22:27] But the cup they're asking for is suffering.
[00:22:30] They have no clue. No clue. That's what they're asking for. And if they did, they wouldn't be so cavalier about it.
[00:22:38] And Jesus gives them this really haunting, prophetic answer. You will drink from my cup. But honestly, all the glory stuff, position stuff, I'm not really into that. I don't really do that part. Someone else does that. Which I think is great of Jesus just being like, look, I'm really here for one thing. I'm not worried about that other stuff. So I don't know, I can't really speak to it. You'll have to ask God the Father, like that's his deal. Which I think is a great answer. But. But just so we're synced up here, by the way, James and John would have a unique portion of suffering for the glory of Jesus.
[00:23:13] The apostle James was the first apostle to be martyred, martyred before the New Testament canon was even closed by Herod agrippa in Acts 12. And John had another unique suffering for the kingdom because he lived to know the that all the other apostles had been killed.
[00:23:30] He lived long enough to be in isolation, rejected, and left on a prison island, Right?
[00:23:38] In other words, they have no idea what they're actually asking for. But Jesus says, once you do, you'll gladly jump in.
[00:23:48] Which is wild, wild for us on the other side going, but we know, we know what they're signing up for. But Jesus says, right now, you have no clue what you're asking for, but you will. And when you know you'll be all in, you'll jump in and you will, you will drink from the cup just like I am.
[00:24:09] Which brings us back to the second question.
[00:24:12] Why suffering? Why pain? Why death? Like, why is Jesus resolved to this cup?
[00:24:20] Read on with me. In verse 24, when the ten disciples heard this, they became indignant with the two brothers. Go figure. Jesus called them over and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be servant served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
[00:24:57] As soon as the other disciples figure out the convo that Jesus is having, they're upset. Yeah, big surprise, right? They start grumbling. These guys are trying to jump ahead of us in line. I wanted the top spot, not James. Right. Like that's kind of what's going on here. And so Jesus stops the whole thing. He calls them over to him. And I want you to really imagine this scene. Remember, they're traveling, right? And so this conversation likely happened over a campfire at night or as they're walking down the road. Jesus gathers them around him and he speaks to them and settles this dispute. And notice, by the way, I think this is interesting, notice that Jesus does not call them out for wanting to advance in the kingdom of God.
[00:25:41] The ambition to be fully invested in the kingdom of God is a good thing. It's a good thing to want to be all in for what God is doing in this world. It just doesn't look like what these disciples think it looks like. It doesn't look like posturing and power grubbing. And so Jesus corrects them and he basically says this. Look, people in power abuse it.
[00:26:07] That's it. That's normal. That's how the world works. The folks with the power and the authority lord it over those without it. And if you doubt this, this is something even now that you're like, I'm not so sure if that's always true. I would challenge you. Go to a house the first time the oldest sibling gets to babysit the younger siblings. You will find that power corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. That is how it goes. We all immediately know that this is true because we've experienced it. That boss, that committee head, that neighbor, that teacher, that doctor, that team leader, that fill in the blank, person who got a little bit of power over you and it went straight to their head.
[00:26:52] None of us blink when it turns out that politicians are self serving, self absorbed and corrupt. None of us blink at that. That's the name of the game. Those news stories come up, oh, Senator so and so. Brought up on charges of corruption and you go, dang, yeah, makes sense. And you move on because that's the name of the game. We know this as easily today as the disciple in Jesus's day did.
[00:27:17] But Jesus points out something, let's be honest, brutal.
[00:27:22] His followers are using the broken and distorted standard of the world to define their ambition for the kingdom of God. And that won't work.
[00:27:32] The powerful of this world abuse their power. But Jesus says, it must not be like that among you.
[00:27:42] It must not be beloved. The church of Jesus is not the world we are set apart. We're different. We don't live into the petty power plays and mistreatment of others like this world. We do not live like that. The church cannot be like that. It cannot and we must not.
[00:28:06] But even as I say that, I know that many of us in this room have lived evidence that that is not true.
[00:28:15] Beloved, if you've had this kind of worldly mistreatment in your faith story, if brothers or sisters or pastors or faith leaders use their authority to mistreat or shame or tear you down, I want you to hear. I am so sorry.
[00:28:31] I'm so sorry. That is a part of your story. It should not be that way. Know that this is not the heart of Christ for you. It is not the way of his kingdom. It is not how the church ought to be.
[00:28:45] We're passionate about this at ifc.
[00:28:49] We are a church made up of people, which means we're all broken sinners like everyone else. Which means we fail at this.
[00:28:57] And I guarantee that people in this room have been hurt or wounded emotionally and spiritually by our pastors, by me. I know that's true. We try our best and we fail because of our flesh. But you need to know, we labor. We labor that this church would be a loving, serving, safe, inviting place for folk to be loved like Jesus and to grow in their faith. Because that is how the kingdom is supposed to be.
[00:29:24] That is what Christ has called us to. That is what his church should look like. Jesus kingdom is different. It's different than the world and his followers are to work out their kingdom ambition differently.
[00:29:38] We don't climb the ladder of the kingdom by pushing others down. No, quite the opposite, guys. To become great in the kingdom, you serve others to be first. In the kingdom, you take the lowest position.
[00:29:54] Beloved. The kingdom of God is about lifting others above yourselves.
[00:30:00] It is other centric. And here Jesus answers the key question that's been lingering. Why would a messiah willingly die?
[00:30:11] Why would he do this?
[00:30:13] Why would he walk into his own suffering?
[00:30:17] It's this.
[00:30:19] Because Jesus came here to serve us, not to be served. And that's what we needed.
[00:30:24] Jesus came here to lift us up, to serve us. And what we needed was a perfect, sinless person to die in our stead and to drink the full cup of God's wrath that sin might be atoned for. And because Christ came here to serve rather than to be served, he resolutely set himself to that task and he served us.
[00:30:48] This is not what kings do, right? Kings conquer. Kings take what they Want and bask in the glory of their victory.
[00:30:58] But that is the way of the cursed world.
[00:31:01] Strong take what they want and live how they desire.
[00:31:04] And as if to give the ultimate answer to this whole thing of how we actually live a good life, Jesus rejects the entire philosophy of this world. He has no need of servants. He came here to serve, serve, to give, to lower himself. Beloved, remember the Christ hymn in Philippians 2. Paul says, Adopt the attitude, the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead, he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant and taking on the likeness of humanity. Jesus lowered himself to incarnate and live among us. He's the embodiment of this other centered way of life.
[00:31:49] And beloved, this has always been his plan. The cross was always Jesus plan. In Genesis 3, when sin entered the world and God was describing the consequences of sin, he prophesied Jesus in his work. Because the cross was always the plan. Even in the garden. That's where God was heading. Every sliver and hint of the gospel in the Old Testament, from Genesis all the way up to Matthew 26 and just a few chapters. When the cross happens, it all points to and culminates in the cross of Jesus.
[00:32:23] God made this world perfect, made us for relationship with Him. It was sin that broke this perfect design. And God was not content to allow sin the final word on his good creation. So he promised that he would fix what sin broke, that he would take responsibility for our sin. Beloved, the cross is the solution. It is how God fixes the problem of sin. Because, beloved, this is the promise of the gospel cross. Now crown later.
[00:32:58] This is how it works. Jesus modeled this. He came not to be served, but to serve. He came to the earth not to luxuriate, but to die on the cross.
[00:33:11] Listen, guys, Heaven is real. It's coming and it's going to be awesome. It'll be amazing. But it is only on the other side of the cross.
[00:33:21] That's how we get there. The author of Hebrews says it like this. For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross.
[00:33:31] This is the life our Christ lived. And again, beloved, remember the Christ hymn.
[00:33:39] Jesus invites us not just to know this beautiful truth about him, but to join him in this way of life. Our hearts, our minds, our attitudes, our lives are to be like Jesus. Now listen, you don't have to die on the cross for the sins of the world. That's awesome. That's not our role, but we do take the same attitude we take. The attitude that says cross now and crown later. Our lives, our energies are best spent glorifying God by loving and serving others.
[00:34:13] You and I get to build our lives around Kingdom service.
[00:34:19] This, beloved, is the good life.
[00:34:23] It is the life that sees others as above yourself. The life that seeks glory through sacrifice and honor through service. This is what you were made for.
[00:34:36] It is inherent to your design. It is where you will find fulfillment in loving and serving others and glorifying God through it.
[00:34:45] So what does that actually look like? How do you do that? Today I'm going to give you three quick thoughts.
[00:34:55] And this isn't, this isn't all of it, right? There's a million different ways this truth can worm itself into your soul and your lifestyle. Let me give you three practical things that popped in my head as I was thinking about this and thinking about our church. What it looks like to live lives that are other centered. How about this? Have you gone all in with your church family?
[00:35:16] Have you joined your church as a member? Do you attend regularly? Have you jumped into a gc? Have you shared your story? Have you been confessional and actually invited people into your faith journey and let people speak boldly into it? I know these are hard things. I know by the way, these are inconvenient things.
[00:35:34] But the reality is, beloved, we're in this together.
[00:35:37] So be a part of it.
[00:35:39] Let's grow together. Church, it's one of the ways you glorify God by putting others above you is pushing past the inconvenience of the Christian life and actually joining in the Christian life because it's communal, because it's committed in the same vein. Are you discipling someone, beloved? I'm going to say this as clearly as I can. If you are a believer today, it's because a lot of people poured their faith into you.
[00:36:06] That's how it happened. Whether it was your parents, whether it was friends, whether it was Sunday school, teachers, pastors, a college group leader. I'm sure the list goes on. But you have been blessed by the gift of discipleship, beloved.
[00:36:20] So pour your faith into someone in need. Put others above yourself and consider how you might disciple others. And you go, oh no. I feel like I'm really bad at faith. I don't think I'd be good at that. I have great news for you. Great news for you. The kingdom of God is for people who are bad at faith. Blessed are the poor in spirit. You have the Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead. Dwells within you. If you are a Christian, I'm pretty sure you're qualified to tell someone else about Jesus to help people grow in their faith. I promise you are.
[00:36:54] 2.
[00:36:55] One of the ways you can put others above yourself and live the sacrificial kingdom life is to give to your church community. And when I say give to your church community, I mean your time, your talent and your treasure.
[00:37:06] Your time. You show up when there are needs, your talent you look for opportunities to use your unique strengths to meet needs around you. And yes, your treasure. You tithe if you're part of the family here, you help support the work financially as you're sacrificially able to do so.
[00:37:24] And then a third one, a really practical way that you can live this kingdom life where you put others above you is this. Share the good news.
[00:37:31] Share the good news. Beloved, I want you to hear something. There are plenty of empty seats at the wedding feast of the lamb. There is room for more and there's always room for more. So think about your own life. Who is that one more?
[00:37:47] Who is that person? Who is your one more? Who should it be? How are you helping them get there? This is that person that you choose to pray for regularly. That person that you are inviting to be a part of kingdom life in your gospel community or at Sunday gatherings. This is the person that you're having into your home and sharing time and meals with the person that you're discussing life and faith with you. Beloved, hear me. You are the missionary God has sent to that person. And you have a role to play in their faith journey.
[00:38:20] Think of those who faithfully played their role in your faith journey. You get to be that for someone else. And here's the thing.
[00:38:27] None of this is easy. Like, I just gave a couple examples and we could come up with a million more if we were workshopping it. None of it is easy.
[00:38:36] All of it hurts. It costs you. It means you won't be able to live a life pursuing the things of this world.
[00:38:44] Because let me. Let me say that one again.
[00:38:48] You cannot chase these kingdom things and chase the fleeting pleasures of the world. Hear that, beloved? We live in a world, in a cultural moment where religious practice is so protected and so privileged that we forget this truth. We forget this because there's not societal and government sanctioned persecution. We have the freedom to practice our faith however we want. We forget that the kingdom of God and the world of the curse and sin are at odds.
[00:39:20] We live in a culture where you can live out a thin, selfish Nominal faith, and no one around you will blink an eye.
[00:39:28] You can pay lip service to Jesus with your Joy FM sticker once a month, church attendance and Christian wall art in your living room. And most people won't care.
[00:39:38] In fact, many will think that's a perfectly good way to live out your faith.
[00:39:43] Seek out all the pleasures, all the sins, all the escapes, all the comforts that you would have anyway. But then we also sing these really cool songs that, like, get this little emotion in us and let us think about Jesus and make us feel good in our culture. You can keep your feet on both sides of the fence for a long time, long time. And you can deceive yourself into thinking that that works. But I promise you, beloved, the reality is eventually you will run face to face with the reality that you have to choose.
[00:40:15] Eventually, your feet will spread too far apart.
[00:40:19] You won't be able to keep it going, and you will have to pick. Do you want this world or do you want Christ?
[00:40:25] You can't have both.
[00:40:27] They're at odds. You can't pursue both. And beloved, you need to hear this to choose Jesus.
[00:40:34] That means a harder life, means a life where you don't chase after your own glory, your own comfort, your own success, means a life of giving, a life of sacrifice, a life of service. And let's get real down and dirty for a second, if you're chasing after the lost for the sake of the kingdom, you will likely damage some friendships and maybe even family connections as some folk reject Christ. If you sacrificially give of your time and your talents and your treasure, that means you will have less discretionary income. You'll probably miss out on some of those family trips or vacations that all your friends and neighbors take.
[00:41:14] You might even lose out on some extra evenings in your calendar because you're too busy pouring out your life to love and serve your brothers and sisters who are in need.
[00:41:23] To pursue Christ costs you.
[00:41:26] It looks like something means something. It means a different kind of life. I have a really good friend who's a pretty outspoken atheist, and we actually studied theology together in our undergrad. And he rejected Christ and walked away from his faith. And one of the things he told me when we were meeting together is he just said, here's the thing, man. The risk is too great for me because if I. If I give my life to Christ, then I am saying no to all the pleasures and all the things I want. And if that turns out to be not true, if I get to the end of it all And I spent my one life loving and serving others instead of giving myself the best life possible. That sounds miserable. It's not worth the risk, so I'm not going to do it.
[00:42:10] And here's the thing, guys. He's right.
[00:42:13] That's true. Paul said this. If Christ has not been raised from the dead, our preaching is worthless. Your faith is worthless, and we should be pitied.
[00:42:24] Guys, if the Gospel is not true, we should not be celebrating what the Hargers are doing. We should be begging them not to.
[00:42:30] Right?
[00:42:32] Because to follow Jesus means sacrifice.
[00:42:36] It means your life is on hard mode.
[00:42:39] It means you miss out on some of the fleeting pleasures of this world because you have said, look, guys, yeah, cross now, but crown later. I have eternity in perfection with my Creator ahead of me, and that's worth what it costs here and now.
[00:42:54] Which, by the way, it is. It is.
[00:42:57] But you have to consider that, beloved.
[00:43:00] You have to consider that we live in a culture in a moment that will lie to you until you don't have to sacrifice anything for Jesus. You can live just like everyone else. But you got the Joy FM sticker. You're good, beloved. It's not true. It's not true. The kingdom of God requires of you. Now, back at the very beginning of this, Chris, if you want to come back up, I had this bit where I said, I know some of you in the room are like, I don't know. My life's already hard enough. I don't know if I want that. And I feel like I've done a pretty poor sales job for you for the last 30 minutes.
[00:43:34] If that's you, I really want you to zone in on this with me because I get what I'm saying to you. I get what I'm saying to you.
[00:43:42] Many of you are going, my life is really hard. I don't have anything in the tank. I'm hurting, I'm wounded, I'm spent. And you're telling me I got to do more.
[00:43:52] That doesn't seem worth it.
[00:43:54] If that's you, Beloved, thank you for being here. Thank you for sticking with me and listening. But let me give you an encouragement. Two things. The first one is this. Yes, cross now, but don't skip crown later. Right? That part's amazing.
[00:44:13] That part's amazing. This has always been the promise of Christianity. You know, in the first couple centuries when the Roman Empire would critique Christianity, they didn't really get it. They were trying to figure it out. And we can read some of these letters that political and governmental leaders sent Back and forth, trying to dissect Christianity. And one of the most famous ones, the guy says, I don't know, I don't get it. It seems like it's a religion for slaves and women, and we kind of laugh at that now. But what he was saying is this. It's a religion that only makes sense if your life's already really hard.
[00:44:44] It's a religion you'd only chase after if you don't have anything better.
[00:44:48] And I would tell you guys, there is, as hard as that may be, there is truth in that.
[00:44:54] Paul calls our sufferings in this world a light and momentary affliction. And listen, I am not downplaying your suffering. Suffering is real, changes us. It molds us.
[00:45:04] But when you put 60, 70, 80, 90 years of hardship on this earth, next to endless eternity, trillions upon trillions upon trillions upon trillions of endless, perfect, connected, fulfilled, joyful years with your Creator, I promise you, beloved, it puts some perspective on your suffering.
[00:45:28] Your suffering is here. It's real, shapes you. It's hard, it's painful. But what Christ has for you is so much better.
[00:45:36] Promise you it's worth it.
[00:45:38] And I would say that even here and now, even right in this moment, even in the midst of the suffering of this world, Christ is still worth it.
[00:45:49] Even though it makes your life objectively harder, it's still worth it for two reasons. First off, you're not alone in your hardship because the Spirit of God is with you.
[00:46:02] He's with you. He walk. He does not leave us alone to suffer. Christ modeled this. He could have luxuriated in his glory up in heaven with his own personal seraphim flying around the throne and lighting on fire with his glory and singing about how awesome he was. But he chose to come and live amongst us, to show us the God of the universe, the God who forms black holes and stars, cares about you and me and is willing to be in the trenches of our life with us.
[00:46:29] He's willing to feel the pain of the curse with us. Beloved, you are not alone in your suffering if you are in Christ.
[00:46:38] But then beyond that, and this is, I think, even more important, you were made for Christ.
[00:46:45] You were made for Him.
[00:46:47] And a life of following him may be harder.
[00:46:50] But it's what you were made for.
[00:46:53] It checks every box. Something in your very DNA calls out for the Lord because He made you. He stamped his image in you. He longs for you.
[00:47:04] It is a life worth living, beloved. It is worth it.
[00:47:11] This is where you find your fulfillment in life.
[00:47:16] This truly is a life worth pursuing. Beloved, let's take a few minutes to connect with the Lord and to respond.
[00:47:25] I want to encourage you to find a way, wherever you are in your seat, to sit, to pray, to consider if you can do that in your chair. That's awesome. If you want to find one of the pastors, that's awesome. We're going to sit here, honestly, for just a minute. I went over today. I'm sorry. We're going to sit here for just a minute. But I want to encourage you to connect with Christ, talk to him, share your real pains with him, your real suffering.
[00:47:48] See what he says to you, and then we'll continue with communion in just a moment.
[00:47:56] J.
