← ArchiveSunday, October 14, 2018DateOctober 14, 2018Speaker—TextMatthew 10Passages in this sermonMatthew 100:29Matthew 60:42Matthew 85:20Matthew 513:47Matthew 920:341 Thessalonians 224:46Matthew 1628:10Matthew 1929:14Matthew 2829:39TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00If you have your Bibles with you this morning, and I hope that you do, turn or click to Matthew chapter 10 this morning.0:29Matthew chapter 10. If you have one of these really neat tabs in your Bible, go ahead and mark that in Matthew because we will look at Matthew 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Don't worry, I'm not going to read all those chapters, but we're going to look at the Word of the Lord together. Matthew chapter 10. I heard this on the radio several months ago. A man named Scott Foster had not played competitive hockey in over a decade.0:59And there's a funny rule in NHL, professional hockey, that every game they have a designated emergency goalkeeper. And again, Scott was the emergency goalkeeper. And what that usually entails for him is he can go to the press box and he gets free food. And so he was there. He has not played. He played in college, not played since. And so he goes. He's an accountant by trade.1:29And he was at the Chicago Blackhawks game. Well, the funny thing happened before the beginning of the game, goalie number one was hurt. So the backup goalie began to play. At the end of the second period, another funny thing happened. Goalie number two was hurt. And so he gets across the intercom. He hears this. Will Scott Foster please report to the ice? And so this man goes from eating his popcorn and peanuts to literally walking down the stairs,1:57suiting up, putting his helmet on and going into the game. So fan, second period, third period. I know this is Alabama and we don't, do we have a hockey team anymore? Weren't they called the ice dogs or the, the bulls, the ice bulls. Birmingham bulls. What's better than a bull in the skating rink? There used to be one called the mud dogs.2:27But just stick with me, right? People in the South, there's something called ice and they put it in a ring. And there are people that skate on the ice and they play a game called hockey. He went from being a fan in the second period to on the ice. Now listen to how the game ended. I don't know where his mental zone was, but he stopped all seven shots attempted in the third period. He earned the team belt, which was reserved for the game ball, the hockey puck ball. And he set social media ablaze with tweets and posts about how this man went from being a fan to in the game.2:56Just like that. Can you imagine? Here's his quote after the game. He said, this is something that no one can ever take away from me. It's something that I can go home and tell my kids. Some of you went to the game last night or yesterday, a college football game. Can you imagine one of the coaches over the loudspeaker saying, will Josh Burnham please report to the ground?3:21We need a quarterback. You're thinking someone's going to have to hold my nachos. That's exactly what happens. He says he will always tell his family about this. You see, today's message is the final installment of a series we've called Back to the Basics. We've looked at some very basic functions of grace in our life.3:50We looked at how we share the gospel evangelism. We looked at the church, what that actually is. It's not what you see around you. It's who Christ has made you to become. And today we will look at discipleship. See, the reality is that most of us will never have the chance to be a fan and actually part of the game at the same time. And yet we live that way. We try to become that way spiritually.4:19And so this is a weighty sermon. I want to warn you. This is not easy. This is, you're not going to find this in How to Grow a Church 101. Because Jesus says some very difficult things that we need to hear. And he says those difficult things to the crowd. And we need to internalize those and live those out. How can we become disciples of Christ? You see, if we're not careful, what you hear in the American church is make a decision, make a decision, make a decision, make a decision.4:42With the implication, incorrectly, that you can make a decision and nothing ever changes. And that's what we tell people. And maybe not, we don't intend it that way. But we say, here, here's your helmet. This will protect you from hell. Here's your hockey mask. Here's your glove. But you just stay in the stands and be a fan.5:10Jesus says to the crowds things like this. One man wanted to follow him in Matthew 8. And Jesus says, foxes have dens and birds have nests. But the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. In verse 21, another man comes right behind and says, Lord, I want to follow you. But first, let me bury my father. And Jesus says to him, let the dead bury their dead.5:38That doesn't sound like building a following to me. You see, if we're not careful, we allow people to say this. And for some of you who are not young, you won't get this reference. And ask this group later after church. But there's a song and even now this meme called, sorry, not sorry. You say something, you're not really sorry about it, but you want people to know.6:06So it's either a barb at someone or you can say, hey, you look rough today. Sorry, not sorry. Because they do look rough. And you really want to tell them that, but you want to be nice about telling them that. This is what Jesus says. We have no right to say, Jesus, I'm following you, but I don't want to follow you. I'm going to decide to follow Christ on Sundays, but no, not really on Mondays.6:31That's what we do. And Jesus has no part of that in his kingdom. So today, let's read the word of God in Matthew chapter 10 with this in our minds. The word decision is used in the New Testament about 10 times. The word disciple over 250 times.6:58Jesus says this, Matthew 10, 24. Matthew 10, 24. A disciple is not above his teacher. And a slave is not above his master. It is enough for a disciple to become like his teacher and a slave like his master. If they called the head of the house, Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household.7:28So what was Jesus referencing here in verse 25? Well, the Pharisees, which we'll learn about later, they see Jesus casting out demons. And they say, well, he's casting out demons by the power of Satan. And Jesus says, if they called the master that, how much more will they call the followers that? Let's pray. Father, may we bear the weight and the cost and the cross of a disciple today.7:52May we not suit up and merely stay in the stands or sit in our seats. But Lord, may we live out the mandate to go and to follow as you have called us to. Lord, there's someone here that's part of the crowd and not part of Christ.8:19I pray that you would break through their spiritual pride and the fear that keeps them hanging. That they would set that aside this morning and run to the cross where they will find mercy in their time of need. Lord, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. Discipleship 101. This is the exclamation point on our series Back to the Basics. So we see in verse 24 that Jesus is saying, look, the teacher is not, the student is not above his teacher and the slave is not above his master.8:49And where is this coming from? Well, if you look, if you flip your Bible real quick, you'll see that this is on the heels of what we call the Sermon on the Mount, which we will walk through shortly. But if you look several verses up, verse 22, Jesus has his disciples around him and he's speaking to them very difficult words.9:10And look what he says in verse 22. And we need to understand this. Western church, this is what Jesus says to those who are following him. Are you listening? Right? Verse 22. He says, don't be surprised. You will be hated by everyone, all people.9:32Why? Because of his name. So we should not be surprised when we're hated by people. Why? Jesus has already told us you will be hated by all people because of whose name? His name. So what does Jesus say? Why is he reminding us of this?9:59Because the central truth is that disciples have a master. Disciples have a master. Jesus is speaking to his disciples here and he's telling them. And if you were with us several weeks ago, you saw this rich young ruler comes to Jesus Christ. And he said, Jesus, I want to follow you. And Jesus says, well, just keep the commands. And he lists them off. Don't commit adultery and do all these things.10:28And this young man, rich young man says, man, I've kept all the commands since childhood. And Jesus says, okay, done. If you really want to receive eternal life, do one more thing. Sell everything that you have and follow me. And what do we see in scripture that the young man goes away sad? Look, Jesus tells him, you will have eternal life. And he goes away sad. Why? Because he's unwilling to let go and follow Christ.10:56But what we see in Luke in that passage, what does Luke, what does this man call Jesus? And we see this throughout the Gospels. He comes to Jesus and he says, hey, good teacher. Anytime you hear that in the Gospels, that is on the lips of someone who has an inadequate understanding of Jesus Christ. Disciples don't call Jesus teacher in the scriptures. Disciples call Jesus master.11:24Master. Hey, Western church, you know what we need to hear? American church, we shouldn't call Jesus this good teacher. Well, if I just come to church and listen, I will learn how to be a good parent or a good kid or a good student. And I will have some nice teachings to apply in my life. That is great. That's what non-disciples say. And that's not what I'm saying. That's what the word of God says. Disciples call Jesus master.11:54You say, well, what is a master? This is how master is defined. It's a person. A master is someone to whom a person or thing belongs. If Jesus is your master, you belong to him. You belong to him. And it furthermore is developed this way. About which the master has the power of deciding. So if Jesus is your master, he has complete authority to speak into your life.12:24Some of you right now think, well, I don't like that. You know why you don't like that? Because he's not your master. But Jesus, he's offering you that. Let's keep going further. Part of the definition, even the conclusion says this. Or universally, it's used as the possessor or disposer of a thing. The owner. You see, slaves, disciples are owned by their master.12:51And the one thing that we push back in the American church, that's who we are. It's our culture. You were birthed into this. We are our own people. The same reason that when you're without an egg or sugar, you don't go to your neighbor anymore. You're going to the Dollar General. You would rather drive to the store. And I'm the same way. We would rather drive to the store than ask someone.13:18Why? Because we said, we got this. We don't want anyone to own us because we don't want to owe anyone anything. A disciple is a follower of the master. And we see this tension building in Scripture. That's what we're going to look at right now. Over and over again, we have these two groups battling in the Word of God. One is the crowd and the other are disciples. And we see this unfolding, especially in Matthew chapter 5.13:47We have the Sermon on the Mount. Some of you have been to that hill where they believe the Sermon on the Mount was spoken or given. I would say one of the most beautiful locations in all of Israel. You're overlooking the Sea of Galilee. It's just a powerful. If you can't hear Jesus and the Mount of Beatitudes, you just can't hear Jesus. And Jesus is speaking in verse 1 of chapter 5, the Sermon on the Mount. And he says this in verse 1. He says, when he saw the crowds, he went up to the mountainside.14:16And after he sat down, his disciples came to him. So do you get the picture of what Scripture is saying up here? We have this crowd. And within the crowd, we also have who? We have disciples. And Jesus begins to teach both groups. Here's the reality, though. It's possible to be part of the crowd and not be a disciple. It's possible to sit under the teaching of Jesus Christ, to sit by him, see him face to face,14:42to have your ears hear Christ on one of the most beautiful settings in all of Israel, and yet be part of the crowd. This is what we need to hear. If someone can be part of the crowd and be in the feet of Christ, how much more can we do that? How much more can we come to a church and hear the words of Christ and still be part of the crowd?15:09This is what Jesus says to the crowd. Look at verse 18 of chapter 8. Still part of the same portion of Scripture. I've already referenced it earlier. When Jesus saw the large crowd around him, he gave order to go to the other side of the sea. And before he could even do that, a scribe comes to him and says,15:38Teacher, verse 19, I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus says this, a very peculiar thing to this man who's part of the crowd. Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. Not to be deterred, another guy from the crowd, Lord, one of his disciples said, First, let me go bury my father.16:06And Jesus says, No, follow me. Let the dead bury their dead. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says this, Discipleship is not an offer that man makes to Christ. Discipleship is not an offer that you make to Christ. So the take home today, I don't want you to be enthusiastic about the sermon and say, Okay, I'm going to be a disciple. Jesus, I'm offering you discipleship.16:36That's not something that you can offer. It's something that you become by the precious shed blood of Jesus Christ. And what we see about this crowd-disciple dilemma is that the crowds are in it for them. It's easy to be part of the crowd when things are really good. Jesus is healing people. He's feeding 5,000. So they get a free meal and a free heal, all in the same thing. But when times get tough, they fall away.17:07Because the crowds are in it for them, they're not in it for him. Disciples say this, Lord, we've left everything for you. God, if the food goes away and you never heal me, God, you are enough. That is what disciples say. And we're reminded. So I've read to you chapter 8. I've read to you chapter 5. Well, look at chapter 7 of Matthew. In the same Sermon on the Mount passage, what Jesus says to the crowd.17:36Verse 21. You want to talk about running away people? I mean, they're gathering and they're excited. And Jesus says, listen, guys, not everyone who says to me, Lord. It's the word master. Not everyone who says to me, master, master, will enter the kingdom of heaven. But only the one who does the will of the Father.18:02See, if we're not careful, we say, well, do you just preach decision? Just say with your mouth. Just make a decision with your mouth. Call him Lord. If you believe and you call him Lord, you will be saved. Jesus says, hold on now. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. Only the one who does the will of my Father. I want you to know this morning that I've shed tears over many of you.18:29Because my worry is that many of you have said to Jesus, Lord, Lord, when you are not doing his will. And you will hear one day, if you do not turn from your sins and find forgiveness in Christ, you will hear, depart from me for I never knew you. And part of the reason that you will hear that is because the church has lied to you. And we have told you, if you just make a decision when you're three months old, and if you're baptized, if you just grow up in church, then you call him Lord, you will be saved.18:55And Jesus says, you're part of the crowd. Disciples are not in it for them, they're in it for Jesus. Oh, that we would not be part of the crowd. That we would not be part of the crowd. You see, there's another tension in scripture, though. Not only the crowd disciple conundrum, but we also have these group of people called Pharisees.19:23And they struggle with disciples also. And so Pharisees were not from the priestly line, they were lay leaders, but they had several things going for them that the church appreciated. One, they were ritualistically pure. They loved church. And they believed, well, if we can make ourselves pure by ritualism, then we're going to do that.19:49And of course, the church loved these people because they were traditionalists. There's another thing they did that was just great for the church. They were known for their tithing. Right? So they loved going to church and being pure by the church's standards, their idea of church. Right? Not what God says is the church, but their idea. And they gave a lot of money. What church would not want those people?20:18But they had a peculiar struggle in their lives. They looked good. On the outside, Jesus even calls them, they're whitewashed. They look really good, but this is what they start to ask. They're in Matthew 9 again. In verse 11. Same portion of scripture. The crowds and disciples. Now we have these Pharisees and disciples. And they're asking questions like 9-11. Look at verse 11 of chapter 9.20:45They're asking the disciples. And so the Pharisees are not the disciples, but they're asking the disciples things like, why does your teacher eat with these people? People we would not eat with. Right? The tax collectors who were, these are not IRS agents. They're known for their greed and their pride. They were known for stealing and cheating. And they also worked for the government. And so they were the scourge of society for the Jew.21:16And they said, well, your teacher is eating with these people. We would never eat with them. And then they're eating also with, what is, look at verse 7, verse 11, what he says. They're eating with tax collectors and sinners. And your master should know as a good teacher of the law that no good teacher of the law eats with sinners. But they don't get it. And they say, well, no, no good, morally outstanding person would eat with that group.21:45And then they're also asking questions even further. Look at 9-34. We see these group of Pharisees crop up again. They're saying about Jesus that he drives out demons by the ruler of the demons. We're saying, look, he doesn't have the power that we gave him. So you know what? He has to be of Satan. And then look at chapter 12, verse 2. Same group.22:14Same group. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, see, Jesus, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. If they only knew they were talking to God at this moment. It's a good thing that I was not Jesus Christ. Because I would have said, do you not realize I created the Sabbath? But Jesus is grace-filled and is full of mercy.22:42But we see that these Pharisees, these legalistic, morally righteous, and pious individuals who tithe are not disciples. And they struggle because they look at the teachings of Jesus Christ and they don't know how to act. They know how to play the church game really well. But they don't understand who Jesus Christ is. And my second worry for many of you is that you've been Southern Baptist all your life and you have checked every box that the Southern Baptist have asked you to check.23:11But you've walked in here today with dirty hands and ugly hearts. And I just want to tell you with love, you don't have to leave that way. Because Jesus is very clear, you're not his disciple. And there are things, if you're honest, you read scripture and you struggle with.23:38You say, well, Lord, I'm separating myself from the tax collectors and the sinners. I can't eat with them. Lord, you know, no good respecting Christian would eat with that group. And Jesus says, watch me. Watch me. Well, Jesus, I mean, no one would do this. We can't cast out demons. And Jesus says, watch me. Are we followers in the crowd or are we disciples of Jesus Christ?24:05The hallmark of a disciple is that disciples have a master. See, if the crowd was unwilling to leave their comfort, these Pharisees are unwilling to give away their power. May we not be like that. May we not. May we live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The second truth we see in scripture is not only do disciples have a master, but disciples have a meaningful commitment.24:35And there's lots of passages here in Matthew that we could unfold this. But I want us to turn to 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 8. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 8. And this is what Paul says, writing to the church at Thessalonica. He says, we cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very own lives, because you have become dear to us.25:05Paul says, we not only share the gospel with you, but we shared our lives because you were dear to us. What is Paul saying is that we've poured out our lives. We've committed meaningful commitment to the sake and for the sake of Christ for you. And the struggle that we have is that we want to share the gospel.25:34We don't want to commit our lives to people. And disciples commit their lives for the sake of Jesus Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer again. You might ask, well, why do I keep referring to Bonhoeffer? Bonhoeffer died April 9th, 1945. He was a Lutheran pastor, but he died because he was unwilling to look at World War II and the atrocities in Germany and stay silent.25:56So he tried to overthrow. He actually tried an assassination attempt on Hitler, and that cost him his life. But while he was in jail, he wrote about suffering and the cost of true discipleship. This is a man who's dying for his faith, and I still think he's speaking to the church and saying, look, don't sit in the comfort of your pews, but give your life as meaningful commitment to Jesus.26:18He says, costly grace is a treasure hidden in a field. For the sake of it, a man will go and steal all that he has. Costly grace is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out his eye, which causes him to stumble. Costly grace is the call of Jesus Christ, at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.26:47True disciples live a life of meaningful commitment. Meaningful commitment. And you say, well, what does that look like? We see that the disciples shared life with Christ. We saw, we've already read in Matthew 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. We have the crowds, but what does Jesus do with the disciples? He pulls them away from the crowds, and he spends time with them.27:17You see, disciples meaningfully commit their lives to closeness and intimacy with the Father. And if you have to take time out of your busy day and say, I don't have time, but I'm going to spend time with Christ. It is not wasted. There is no wasted time alone with the Savior. Meaningful commitment. You say, well, we don't have time to do that. We don't have time not to. Crowds say, we don't have time.27:48Disciples say, Lord, I can't help it. I can't help it. You see, the disciples say, Lord, we've left everything to follow you. Life that was shared with Jesus. They held nothing back. Now, disciples are not perfect. I don't want you to think, well, if we're going to become a disciple of Christ, then we have it all figured out. We see with these very disciples in Matthew chapter 16 and verse 13. Jesus asked them, well, who do people say that I am? And they get together and they say, okay, you speak.28:19Tell Jesus this is what people say that he is. Some say you are John the Baptist. And then someone else raises their hand and says, no, no, no, no. Some say that you are Elijah. And then some, Jeremiah, are one of the prophets. And I can imagine Jesus is saying, do you guys still not get it? I'm not Jeremiah. I'm not John the Baptist. And finally, Peter, praise God for Peter, who give people like me that speak before they think, there's hope.28:49Peter says, you are the Christ, the Messiah, the son of the living God. Peter says, you are our master. Because if we are disciples, you own us. We see disciples saying things like this in Matthew 19, 25. That the teaching of this rich young man, and he goes away sad, the disciples say, well, who can be saved?29:18Jesus says, this is what you're asking, who can be saved? Disciples are not perfect. We're redeemed. We're righteous. We're looking at the one who is the author and perfecter of our faith. Disciples in Matthew 28, verse 17, when they see Jesus, they worshipped. But some doubted. They're not there yet, but they have submitted their life to meaningful commitment to Christ.29:48So what does that look like practically? Let me encourage you. We have a graphic here, what we call the discipleship pathway here at Bethel. And we have committed our lives. If you want to grow and flourish in your faith, commit your life to do these things. To gather around the word of God regularly. Let me just say this. Great job, guys. You've done that.30:18This is what we're doing today. We're gathering not around the words of man. I have no good wisdom that will help you in life. But we have the words that are eternal and can save your soul. We gather around the word of God, but that's not enough. It's not enough just for us to gather and scatter. We have to gather and then we encourage you to be into a life group. Get into a close group where you can hear more the word of God and ask questions and dialogue. If you're not in a life group, you are missing out.30:48You're missing out. And you're not growing like God wants you to grow. You say, well, I don't have time on Sunday morning. That's great. We have one at our house on Sunday night. You say, well, I work on Sunday nights. We have people that have some at their house on Thursday nights. You say, well, I'm only available on Monday night. We'll start one, right? And you're the leader. That's leadership 101.31:17It is vital to your soul that you get in a life group. Whether you call that Sunday school that meets on Thursday night, whether you call that on campus or off campus, I cannot tell you the love that our life groups have for one another and for the Lord. But I would encourage you to even do more than that. So if you're not in a life group, the takeaway today is you need to find one. You haven't found one because you're not looking.31:46Find one. Join. Be a part of what God wants to do in your life. But I encourage you to be part of a discipleship group. Go even further. We have a group of men that I meet with weekly. Early mornings that we have met consistently for a couple months. And I have another group that we've met for a year or more, maybe two years at this point. And it's nourishing for our soul. Because we've committed our life to, Lord, we need a meaningful life of Christ following.32:13And then lastly, we encourage you this way. To scatter. To live missionally. You say, well, what does that look like? We have people. And my wife's one of them. She's not here in the service right now. She's watching other kids. She's watching some of your kids. Why? Because she loves you and she loves your family. And she wants them to know that Jesus saves. We have people serving throughout the church. And listen, if you are a life group leader, you are living missionally.32:42Thank you. If you change diapers in the nursery, you are living missionally. Thank you. You get crowns in heaven for every diaper that you change.33:01For those of you who are serving at CR, Cooks for Christ, and I could go on and on and on again. The ways that you're serving. Look, you do that for the glory of Christ. You're not doing that to receive a reward. You're doing that because you want to live a life of meaningful commitment and do something with your life. Discipleship begins this way. You have to have a master. And you have to meaningfully commit to follow Christ. And about an hour from now, when we dismiss, I don't know how long it's going to be.33:30That means you need to get up out of your pew and love our community to Christ. To meaningfully commit. You say, well, you don't understand. I am weak and I am worn out. You don't understand the power of our Lord. He can take people who are weak and worn out and frail and change the world through you.33:51Lastly, disciples not only have a master, they not only meaningfully commit, but they have a mandate. We see this in Matthew 28, a verse you know well. Matthew 28, 19. Jesus simply says, go, therefore, and make disciples. Not decisions, not good church members, not Pharisees.34:21Disciples of where and who? All nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them all that I have commanded. That's why our mission statement is that we believe of sharing the whole gospel to the whole person, to the whole world. That's why we have preached through Leviticus this year. You say, why would any crazy person preach Leviticus anymore? Because we believe that the power of the gospel is seen throughout the word of God.34:50We believe in the entire counsel of the word, the word go here. This mandate for disciples to go and make disciples means to move from one place to another. I know that was very deep, right? Which tells me, if you're not moving from one place to another, if I'm not moving, we're not going. And so you are disobeying God's command in your life.35:18If you say, well, I don't want to do that, that's fine. But the promise of scripture is that if we go, what does Jesus say that he will do? I will be with you to the ends of the age. Anyone want Jesus to be with them? Me. Sign me up. Right? Well, we have to live out the word of God in our life. The crowd say, Lord, Lord, but don't obey.35:46The disciples say, Lord, where are we going? Father, you set the agenda. And if we go to the hard-hearted, we trust that the Holy Spirit can break down the walls. And if we go to the hard-headed who hate you, we trust that the Holy Spirit has prepared the way. Lord, but we'll go. Disciples have a mandate.36:16Let me read what, I was on vacation this week, and if I were checking my emails, I would have read this email. Received from someone I don't even know who they are. They said, hi there. Some of your church members saw my friend desperately moving her son from the car up the stairs into the house in his wheelchair. To my friend's surprise, your church member showed up and asked if they would be okay if they built her a ramp. She could not believe the people would do this for a non-church member.36:45I have no clue who this person is. I have no clue who helped them. But when you go, the world sees. The world sees. And we just had a microcosm of that. Even yesterday, seeing people serve for the Miracle League with no strings attached. And we had people there that were not young serving, and we had six and seven and eight-year-olds there.37:10And let me just say this as a dad. For some of you who served yesterday, you had an influence on my son because I asked him after the soccer game. We had to leave early. For those of you who don't know, the Miracle League is a fantastic program in Moody where they have a baseball field built for those with special needs. Some are blind. Some are in wheelchairs.37:40And my son, I gave him the option. I said, we can go to lunch or we can go back to the ball fields. And he said, Daddy, we need to go back and help those people. I said, wow, he gets it. And a chance to tell him, so we're doing this not because of, to say, look at us. We're doing this to say, look at Jesus. Look at the world. Because disciples have a mandate. The mandate is to go. We had a life group this weekend that helped repair a floor for someone that's not even part of our church.38:08Actually, they're a covenant member of another church and we help them with no strings attached. Why would we do that? Because disciples go. And if you're not going, you should really question whether you're a disciple or not. If you sit here today and we fold our arms and we'll say, well, I know Jesus said go, but I really don't want to do that. That's what the crowd says. And one day the crowd will hear this.38:39Many will say, Lord, Lord, we've done all these things in your name. Lord, we've, didn't we prophesy? And Lord, didn't we drive out demons? And Lord, didn't we do miracles? And didn't we even serve at the Miracle League? And then Jesus will say to them, I never knew you. Depart from me.39:09The greatest burden I carry as a pastor is that there are men and women who sit in this church and churches throughout the world every Sunday. And they hear the gospel. And they call him Lord. But they're not. And I simply ask you, search your heart. Search your heart.39:39Man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart. He knows. But we see this in scripture. Disciples have a master. Does Jesus own you? Or is there something in your life that today you put up the red stop sign? You say, Jesus, I'll give you everything, but don't touch my kids. I'll give you everything, but don't touch my money. I'll give you everything, but don't touch my time.40:09God, I'll give you everything, but you don't touch my church. That's the way that I love it. By the way, that's what Pharisees say. Is Jesus your master? And is Jesus asking you to follow him and live for him and reconsecrate your life today? Say, God, I'm weak and I'm weary, but you give me the strength.40:39To be fully committed to the purposes of Christ. And I want to be honest for our youth right here that are sitting. I pray one day that none of them are in America. I pray that some of them are going to the Amazon. And they're going to Scotland. And they're going to South America. And they're giving their lives at the sake and maybe at the cost of their life. To make the nations hear the good news.41:05That's my prayer for y'all. That you don't get a degree and you stay safe. That maybe you get a degree and you say, God, it's yours. God, I'm an accountant. But if you won't be in the game, I'm in. And parents, they won't do that until you let them go. There's a pastor in North Carolina. He says the greatest hindrance he has to college students serving Jesus Christ overseas.41:33Parents. Who are clinging to their kids because they are scared that God can't provide like they can. Are you willing to lose all for the sake of Christ? Maybe today you've been part of the crowd. You say, I'm tired. I don't want to hear, Lord, Lord. But depart from me.42:02I want you to know scripture is very clear. If you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, that one day you will end up in a place called hell. Not because God sent you there, but because our willing rebellion. We choose that because God desires that no man perish, but that all have everlasting life. You want to know God's plan for your life? Is that you do not die, that you do not perish, and that you know him and you flourish in relationship. But because of our sins.42:32And the Bible is very clear that all have sinned and fallen short. And I will gladly confess that I am the chief of sinners. And if you are counting on this church to save you, it will not. If you're counting on this sermon to save you, it's not that good. It's not. If you're counting on walking the aisle and we proclaim you, you made a decision, now you're holy. It's not about a decision.43:02But it's about a Savior who lived a sinless life. That he who knew no sin became sin for you. That you might become the righteousness of God. That the crowd would say, Lord, I'm not in it for me, but I'm in it for you. Maybe today that's the decision you need to make. Lord, just say, God, I'm in. I will confess my sin and I will trust that Jesus Christ is everything I need.43:30Even if he gives me nothing else, I have all I need because Jesus is everything. Are you a disciple? Are you part of the crowd? Search your hearts. Say, Lord, fan into flame the spirit that is within me. We'll have counselors down front. If you've made a decision or want someone to talk to you and counsel you, you can take out that Green Connect card and put it in the offering plate at the end of our service.43:59We would love to talk to you about the grace that is so freely offered. That right now, if you confess him as Lord, you will be saved. Father. Father.More sermons on Matthew →
