Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Almighty God, you welcome you. Hey there. If you're new to Restored Church, we want to welcome you and thank you for tuning in. You're listening to a portion of our Sunday worship gathering. We believe the church is not an event, but a family you belong to. So we would love the opportunity to connect with you. If you want to learn more about our church or if we can help you in any way, please Visit our website, www.restoredtemecula.church and click on Contact. With all that said, we can. We hope you enjoy the message.
[00:00:36] It is good to be with you on this beautiful morning, this beautiful summer morning.
[00:00:41] Before I get started, I know it's been mentioned, but she's my wife and I love her.
[00:00:47] Happy birthday, babe. You're amazing. You're special. There's nobody like you. I've never met anybody like you in my whole life.
[00:00:53] There's a beauty about you that is just so unique and so wonderful. I just want to honor you in front of you, these incredible people that we call church family, and so bless you.
[00:01:01] Today is her birthday and so if you love her, let her know. Okay.
[00:01:06] Wow. I didn't expect right now. That's cool. I just met. I just met in general, but that's great.
[00:01:13] Okay. So this morning we are jumping back into our series in Matthew called the King and His Kingdom. So you can grab your Bible if you have it with you, but we've been going through the Gospel of Matthew.
[00:01:26] It's one of Jesus disciples, eyewitness account of the life, the death, the resurrection, the ministry of Jesus, God in the flesh.
[00:01:37] And we've been going through this series for quite a while now. And the whole point of us going through this series, there's a reason we call it the King and His Kingdom. That's the name of the series and the reason we call it the King and His Kingdom is because we want to learn as much as we can about the kingdom of Heaven. The kingdom of God. Those phrases are used synonymous in the Bible. The kingdom of God, the kingdom of Heaven. It's not just this, like, ethereal place you go to after you die, although it certainly is. It's not just that.
[00:02:09] When we talk about the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, we're talking about the rule and the reign of a king, the king of the universe.
[00:02:16] One of the phrases that we use often, you've heard me say this a hundred times, but we're talking about the kingdom. We're talking about what does it look like when God gets his way, when his desires are Realized on the earth, in your life, through your life, in my life, through my life, in our lives, through our lives.
[00:02:31] And like I said, it's not just something that you go to after you die. We actually can experience the kingdom of heaven partly in the present moment, not fully.
[00:02:41] Fully comes in the future with the return of Jesus, when all things are made new and right. But we get to experience and taste elements of the rule and the reign of God and the beauty that results from that, even here and now in our lives.
[00:02:54] And so, as a church, we want as much of the kingdom of heaven in this life as possible. We want God to get his way in as much as possible in every single area of our life. So we're learning as much as we can about the king and his kingdom.
[00:03:08] Now, today's passage has a theme, and the theme is something that is probably near and dear to your heart.
[00:03:18] The theme this morning is money, which some of you are like, oh, gosh, I'm in a church gathering, and a pastor's gonna talk about money. Let me just qualify this. I'm just gonna share with what Jesus has to say.
[00:03:31] And I wasn't really planning on saying this, but I feel it. Even right now. I feel like there is rightfully so, a lot of skepticism whenever leaders in the church talk about finances and money, frankly, because there's been quite a bit of abuse in taking advantage of people.
[00:03:47] But the goal here is not to get your money. Okay, I just wanted to put that up front. The goal here is that all of us, myself included, would worship the king and that he would rule and reign in every single area of our lives, especially our wallet, and that we would experience the beauty as a result of that and the benefits of being citizens in that kingdom. You with me in this? Can you nod for me if you are? Okay, cool. If you're skeptical, that's fine. So glad that you're here. I think that you'll see some really good, beautiful, glorious things in today's passage.
[00:04:21] Now, money.
[00:04:23] Is it just me, or is, like, everything crazy expensive right now?
[00:04:28] Dude, we were looking at our car insurance bill.
[00:04:32] We've had the same cars for, like, the last two and a half years.
[00:04:37] And in the last two years, our car insurance has increased by 77.0%.
[00:04:45] And I called them, and I'm like, what is going on? And they're like, this is what it is. And I'm like, I go to the grocery store. I'm like, dude, we do our budgeting together. I'd be like, hey, like, what are you buying at the grocery store? She's like, I'm buying. Like, I see what she's buying. I'm like, oh, that's what we used. That's what we've always bought. But it's, like, way more expensive. Food's expensive. They get hard out there. Am I the only one that's, like, feeling this, like, pinch this crunch? I know. You guys are. That's fine. You guys are good. Okay.
[00:05:11] The reason I bring this up is because, like I said, today's topic, today's theme is money. And how we think about and relate to money. It really matters.
[00:05:24] There's been a couple times in my life where I've had to go into the doctor to get an X ray and an X ray.
[00:05:32] You know, it takes a picture of your body to kind of see what's going on. Anybody ever got, like, an mri, which is like the next level of an X ray? Because many of you. Okay, what does an MRI do? An MRI machine. It takes detailed pictures of the inside of your body.
[00:05:48] And what an MRI machine can do is it can reveal the true condition of what's going on. It can reveal things like infections, it can reveal things like injuries. It can reveal things like tumors, things that you can't necessarily see on the outside, but that are very clearly present on the inside, that, frankly, aren't good for your person, aren't good for your body.
[00:06:09] How many of you know, like, the outside can look just fine while the inside, the condition of the inside isn't what you would want or what God would desire.
[00:06:21] The Bible, like I said, it talks a lot about money and for good reason. Because how we handle money, maybe more than anything else, it reveals our true spiritual condition.
[00:06:34] So I want you to think about money like an MRI machine for your heart.
[00:06:39] Things can look just totally fine on the outside, while on the inside, you might be in bad shape. You might actually be in danger.
[00:06:47] So let's see what Jesus has to say with us. Grab your bibles. Matthew, chapter 19.
[00:06:53] We're gonna start in verse 23. We're gonna go 23, 30. And I'm just gonna give you a heads up.
[00:06:59] Don't feel like you need to read ahead. If you don't have a Bible, that's totally fine. The Word's gonna be on the screen here.
[00:07:04] We're gonna cover the last verse in this passage next Sunday. Cause it goes into this parable, this beautiful parable that Jesus tells. And so if you see. If you're, like, by the end of today, if you're Like, Tom didn't talk about the last verse. We're gonna reference it next week, but we're gonna go 23 through 30.
[00:07:21] But before we do, I just wanna pray for us as we open God's word together.
[00:07:26] And I would love it if you'd join me. Let's pray together.
[00:07:42] Father, we're really thankful for the many ways that you care for us and bless us. Like there's countless ways that we're not aware of where you are actively caring for us, providing for us, developing us, strengthening us.
[00:07:58] And I pray that you would do that through your word this morning. I pray that you'd help me to honor these incredible people, these precious people.
[00:08:06] I don't want to do anything that gets in the way of what you desire.
[00:08:10] And so would you increase your rule and your reign in our lives. And may we all benefit as a result of your leadership and your love and your care and your guidance.
[00:08:23] Make us wise people. Teach us we love you. Show us the beauty of Jesus. We pray in your name. And all God's people said amen.
[00:08:30] Okay, so really quickly, a little bit of context for you. It's been a while. We took, I don't know, probably a few weeks break to do some other sermons, but we're back in Matthew. Like I said, I want to bring you up to speed, okay? We can't talk about today's passage without talking about the passage right before this one, all right? Right before this. If you see your Bible, it'll talk about the Rich Young ruler, right? Right before this, Jesus, he's with his disciples, and he's approached by this man known as the Rich Young Ruler. Okay? And I'll paraphrase this Rich Young ruler, this guy seems like he has it all together on the outside, right? But there's some things. There's some breakdowns for this guy. Now, some of the breakdowns are one of the main. One main. One main ones was this guy had a fundamental misunderstanding of how people relate to God.
[00:09:16] You see, he thought that eternal life was something that one could earn.
[00:09:20] In other words, how he acted, how he behaved, the things he did and the things he didn't do is what would earn him to heaven. It would earn him to eternal life. That's a fundamental misunderstanding of how people actually relate to God. And people still believe this. Maybe you're here and you're like, I actually still. I believe that. I believe that what I do and don't do is actually what earns my way or disqualifies me from. That's not what Christianity teaches. That's not what the Bible teaches. There's a difference between earning. We've talked about this quite a bit. I think we've been even talked about this recently.
[00:09:53] There's a difference between earning and accepting a free gift from God.
[00:09:58] Christianity teaches there's nothing that you could ever do to earn it. We've all disqualified ourselves because of our lack of love for God and our lack of love for people. We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Yet God, in his kindness and is gracious and his love and his mercy, offers us a free gift of forgiveness and salvation if we will just accept it. But it requires humility to accept that. It requires a person goes, I'm actually not perfect. I actually fall short. I actually blow it in some areas of life. And get this, I'm actually kind of selfish. I actually don't put God at the center of my life. I actually choose myself over other people. It takes humility to go. That's my true condition. And so because that's my true condition, I need a savior who, who's willing to offer me this free pardon, this free gift, this gracious, unending, matchless love if I will just receive it. There's a difference between earning and accepting a free gift. This guy, the rich young ruler, he didn't understand that. He thought that it was the earning that caused him to have that earned him eternal life.
[00:11:00] And so what Jesus does is he custom tailors, if you will. He custom tailors a test and an invitation to this man who's wealthy. He's rich, he's young, and he's got authority. He's a ruler. So essentially, this rich young ruler, his wealth and his money was his God. Jesus knows this. And so Jesus, what he does is he invites this guy to give up that false God of money and wealth and worship him instead. And do you remember how the story ends right before this passage we're about to jump into?
[00:11:33] Remember how it ends? It says the man, the rich young ruler, chose his possessions over Jesus right after that, like immediately after that. That's where we pick up here in verse 23. Okay, let's read it. I'm gonna read a little bit, pause, talk. Read a little bit more and pause and talk. Let's go to verse 23.
[00:11:53] Jesus said to his disciples, this rich younger just walked away, chose his possessions over Jesus.
[00:11:59] Jesus says to his disciples, truly, I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.
[00:12:08] Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Okay, pause for a second.
[00:12:20] I don't know about you, but when I read this, I think most of the time I'm thinking of someone else. When he's talking about the rich, I'm thinking about people who have more money than me. Think of people who have more wealth than I do. Maybe you can relate. When you read this, did you instantly think of you?
[00:12:38] Yeah. Okay. So many of you are like, no, it's the same as me. Okay, why? Cause most modern people like us, we don't think of ourselves as rich.
[00:12:46] Cause there's plenty of people who have more than we do. Now it's funny. Cause we tend to compare ourselves to people who have more than us and not to people who have less than us. And I don't know why we do that.
[00:13:00] I don't. But I see it in my own life and maybe you see it in yours too, but. Right. We started in verse 23. In verse 22, when the rich young ruler chooses his possessions over Jesus, it literally says he chose his many possessions over Jesus.
[00:13:22] Many possessions.
[00:13:28] So if you want to know whether the rich label applies to you, just count your possessions.
[00:13:36] Like, all of them.
[00:13:42] Think about this for a second, guys.
[00:13:44] How many things belong to you?
[00:13:48] How many specific items belong to you?
[00:13:52] Start.
[00:13:54] Start in your closet.
[00:13:56] Or how many pairs of socks do you have?
[00:13:59] How many pairs of shoes do you have? How many shirts do you have? Ladies, how many dresses do you have?
[00:14:07] Now let's go to this stuff in your garage.
[00:14:09] We moved recently.
[00:14:11] Our garage is chaos. Okay, maybe some of you just go to. Now go to your. How many items are in your garage?
[00:14:19] Like, I don't want you to. Just think about the big ticket items. Don't just think about the house. Don't just think about the car.
[00:14:24] Like, I want you to get, like, on the granular level, how many possessions do you have? If you were to count them, what would the number be? Can you, like, can you kind of come up with a number in your head?
[00:14:40] UCLA did a study on possessions.
[00:14:44] Okay, check this out.
[00:14:47] According to this study, they said the average person in the United States. The average person in the United States possesses. Get this.
[00:14:56] 120,000 items.
[00:15:04] How many people are in your household?
[00:15:06] Count it up. Do the math.
[00:15:08] So I have four people in my household. That means at least. I mean, probably right around half a million items in our household.
[00:15:16] What is it for? You get this. The study continues. It's wild.
[00:15:23] This is what they concluded. 52% of the world has somewhere between 300 and 500 possessions total.
[00:15:35] That's a majority of the planet. That's 52%. 300 to 500 total possessions.
[00:15:42] 31% of the world has 1,000 to 10,000 possessions.
[00:15:47] So I just get the picture. This blew my mind this week. Okay?
[00:15:52] 83% of the world has less, significantly less than 10,000 possessions, while the average person in the United States has more than 12 times the amount of possessions that the rest of the world has.
[00:16:12] Like real talk, the majority of those of us in this room, majority of this room, you have more than the average.
[00:16:20] That's wild.
[00:16:26] So you tell me, does having 12 times more than 83% of the world make you rich?
[00:16:37] Kyla's the only person in here that's telling the truth.
[00:16:41] Yes.
[00:16:43] Thanks, bro.
[00:16:44] Okay, but here, just listen. Look at what Jesus says in this passage, guys. Jesus says it's hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.
[00:16:58] Here's my first point for you. If you're taking notes, according to Jesus, this is tough. Listen to this. According to Jesus, wealth is a hurdle to heaven.
[00:17:10] Now, does that mean that money is a bad thing?
[00:17:16] Here's the best response to that that I've ever heard. Okay? Is money good or bad? Tim Keller, gifted pastor leader. He's since passed away a couple of years ago.
[00:17:26] He's really.
[00:17:28] His response to this question is outstanding. Is money good or bad? This is what he says. Quote, I think you guys have it. Yeah. He goes, well, let me ask you another question.
[00:17:37] Is fire good or bad?
[00:17:39] It all depends on whether it's in the fireplace or out on the rug.
[00:17:45] If it's out on the rug, at the very best you have a bad scar, and at the very worst, you've lost your house in the same way. Listen to this, friends.
[00:17:56] This is important in the same way. The power of money is something which can be released both constructively and destructively in a person's life. End quote.
[00:18:10] I want you, today, if nothing else, I want you to start to become aware of how you actually view money.
[00:18:20] So what Keller is saying here is that money can have both a positive and a destructive effect on a person's life.
[00:18:27] Do you believe that?
[00:18:32] Keller goes on to say more Ego Chevonomia. This is really helpful. If nothing else, it's really helpful for me. This is what he says. He continues. He says, money is simply a measure of how much of the world you control.
[00:18:46] Money is the measure of how much power you have to choose.
[00:18:51] You see, your wealth and your poverty really is a relative thing.
[00:18:55] It all depends on your ability to choose tonight if you want to go out to eat. The more money you have, the more choices you have when you want to put something on to wear today. The more money you have, the more choices you have when you want to find somebody to help you do something you want. The more money you have, the more choices you have, the more of the world you control.
[00:19:15] The more choices you have, the more power you have. That's all money is.
[00:19:21] It's a measure of how much of the world you control.
[00:19:26] End quote.
[00:19:29] That is so helpful for me.
[00:19:34] Money is the measure of how much of the world you control.
[00:19:39] Now, what are we getting at here? Money is either good or bad, depending on who's in control of it.
[00:19:52] Question for you.
[00:19:54] We're talking about the king and his kingdom. In the kingdom of heaven, who's the king? Who's in control?
[00:20:03] Say his name.
[00:20:04] Jesus. He's the king of the kingdom, Right?
[00:20:08] God. He's the king. Jesus says it's hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Get this. Because a kingdom cannot have two kings.
[00:20:19] Jesus can't be king and Tom be king at the same time.
[00:20:26] Here's the thing, guys.
[00:20:29] Money and wealth come with a unique temptation, a unique temptation to place that crown on top of your head.
[00:20:39] But a kingdom cannot have two kings. Either God's in control or I am. Either God's in control or you are.
[00:20:47] Can I ask you a question in love and in humility? I've been asking myself this question all week, friend. Who's in control of the wealth in your possession?
[00:20:59] Those 120,000 items, every zero, in your bank account, all of the things that are entrusted to you in your possession. Who's in control of the wealth in your possession?
[00:21:12] When I was growing up, I would play video games with my friends.
[00:21:17] And if you've ever played video games, you'll relate to this. And maybe they're not like this anymore. It's been a long time, but youth. Help me with this one.
[00:21:28] When you guys play video games, is there still like a mode in the settings where you can set the difficulty level?
[00:21:34] Okay, cool. So they still do this. So I play video games, whether it be sports games or whatever. And it would be like, difficulty mode. And you'd go in there and you'd be like, I'm gonna put that puppy on easy, and I'm gonna score 100 points in that game. Like, you know, I mean, or whatever. But you could set the difficulty level. It was like. It was usually like four levels. It was like, easy.
[00:21:50] And then there would be, like normal, you know, normal mode. And then there would be hard, and then there would be like a fourth mode that always had some creative name, like hardcore mode or like, you know, death mode or like impossible mode or something crazy like that, right? Insane mode.
[00:22:07] Jesus is saying something here. He's saying, the more wealth you have, the harder the difficulty level.
[00:22:17] The harder the difficulty level to experience and live in the kingdom of God, the rule and the reign of God. God getting his way on the earth, God getting his way in you and through you.
[00:22:33] Because the more you have, the more tempting it becomes to assume control or to believe the lie that you actually can be in control.
[00:22:46] Tell the billionaire with terminal cancer that the money's not going to work.
[00:22:51] You think you're in control, but there's things that are way outside of all of our control.
[00:22:56] And money has this unique temptation, this unique lie that the more you have, you can actually kind of assume the throne.
[00:23:05] You tracking with this.
[00:23:07] Jesus says, that's dangerous.
[00:23:10] Wealth is a hurdle to heaven because a kingdom cannot have two kings. Now, it's not just a hurdle, okay? Jesus, he even goes further. Let's keep reading. Verse 25.
[00:23:24] So he just got done telling them it's hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. He's giving commentary on what just happened with the rich young ruler to his boys. He's letting them, he's teaching them, and then this is how they respond. Verse 25. When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, then who can be saved?
[00:23:41] Jesus looked at them and said, with man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. We'll talk about the possible and impossible in just a second. But I want you to see this.
[00:23:52] During the time of Jesus, when this goes down, well, people had a view of wealth. And oftentimes wealth was equated with God's favor and God's blessing.
[00:24:02] In other words, they thought people were wealthy because they were godly.
[00:24:06] So they see somebody rolling up in their Louis Vuitton and they're like, that guy must be really godly. If he wasn't really godly, he wouldn't be as wealthy as he is.
[00:24:14] That was the prevailing view at the time. Okay?
[00:24:18] Now sometimes that's true, but sometimes it's not.
[00:24:28] Just this week, I was messaging with a Christian friend and wealthy Christian friend.
[00:24:38] And, like, just honestly, I know them pretty well. A very godly person.
[00:24:44] Nobody's Perfect. But, like, they genuinely seek to honor God with all of their life. And they just so happen God's blessed them financially significantly. Really cool. Really beautiful, right?
[00:24:56] Same exact day, later that evening, okay, I'm on the phone, I'm counseling a situation involving another very wealthy person who claims to be on Team Jesus. Right.
[00:25:12] Whose behavior, frankly, I'm not gonna water down, is evil.
[00:25:17] Evil.
[00:25:20] And yet in the same kind of economic situation, both of them claiming, Jesus, what's going on there?
[00:25:32] These disciples, in this passage, they thought wealth was a sign of godliness and God's blessing. But that's not always the case.
[00:25:42] You see, they clearly had a different view of money than Jesus did.
[00:25:47] Note takers. That's my second point. God views money differently than people do.
[00:25:54] God views money differently than people do.
[00:26:01] How do you view money?
[00:26:03] It's important.
[00:26:06] We tend to think of, like, this concept of, like, just a little bit more. If I could just have a little bit more, I don't need to be a billionaire.
[00:26:13] I could just have a little bit more.
[00:26:16] And that would be, like, the solution to all of my problems, all of the things that I face. Cause if I'm honest, if I really think about it, the main issue is that I lack the control in my life that I really desire. And money is the vehicle that will get me there. Right? Like, we don't want to talk about that, do we? I just. I just. A little bit more. You know, I'm gonna be real with you right now. I was talking to the guys this morning. I was like, should I share this? I think I'm supposed to.
[00:26:43] This week. I was doing my taxes, you know? Cause tax season's coming up. I was doing my taxes, entering in all the forms, turning in all the stuff.
[00:26:52] And before I had. I had one more form that needed to be entered in.
[00:26:58] And before I entered. Before that form got entered in, dude, we were gonna get a tax return. That was awesome.
[00:27:07] So great. So wonderful. I'm excited. I'm like, dude, this is gonna be great.
[00:27:12] Enter in that last form.
[00:27:19] It was like someone kicked me in the nuts. Like, it was like, How could you do this to me? Like, it was. There was an emotional feeling thing happening in. Some of you are offended. I'm sorry. That's just how I felt, dude. It was real. Like, it was like, oh, my God.
[00:27:38] It went from us getting a significant amount of money back to now owing the government thousands of dollars.
[00:27:46] One form.
[00:27:47] Because I had to take money out of my retirement early.
[00:27:51] That's my. That's our money.
[00:27:53] They're going to penalize me and tell all this stuff. I'm not going to rant about taxes and stuff, but you know where I stand. Probably.
[00:27:59] But I'm like, come on, man. Like, it was awful, the temptation to lie for me this week.
[00:28:11] I'm just being. I'm being totally real with you.
[00:28:14] What if I just lose that form?
[00:28:20] What if I just. What if I just. What if I just don't include that form?
[00:28:30] Listen, man, it was real for me.
[00:28:32] That was a very real temptation for me.
[00:28:38] What was going on in that moment for me. Let's just see what was going on in my heart.
[00:28:45] Because I'm not the only human being in here that isn't perfect, that isn't tempted to think that my security is found in how much money I do or don't have. I know you're just like me, but what was going on? Let's just play it out for a second. Okay? So to avoid this tax bill and to get the tax return money, it would require a lie.
[00:29:09] Now, let's just say I actually go through with it. Let's just say I'm like, trash can. Throw the form in the trash can. I don't know what happened to that one.
[00:29:17] Let's just say I go through with the lie.
[00:29:20] If I choose that an exchange just took place.
[00:29:26] An exchange just took place. I exchanged God's kingdom in that area of my life, his rule and his reign, him getting his way. I exchanged his kingdom in that area of my life, specifically honesty, to get the money.
[00:29:43] If I did that, what would that reveal about where my allegiance really lies.
[00:29:55] With the money? Right.
[00:29:59] Do you get it?
[00:30:03] God views money differently than people do.
[00:30:08] God says our allegiance ought not be to money or wealth or possessions because it's a false God that will inevitably really let you down.
[00:30:19] He says our allegiance ought not to be to money, ought not to be to wealth and possessions. And when it is, it's a hurdle to heaven.
[00:30:28] Do you remember what Jesus said earlier in Matthew, Matthew 6:24? Listen to what Jesus says earlier. He says, no one. Can everybody just say, no one? No one. That means, like, nobody. I don't care how cool you are, how wealthy you are, how pretty you are, how intelligent you are. No, Nobody can serve two masters since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
[00:31:06] This is exactly what Jesus and the disciples just saw go down with the rich young ruler that they just witnessed it happen in Real time in life.
[00:31:19] I love you. What about you?
[00:31:24] How real talk. Be honest, like you don't have to say it out loud. I just want you to think about this. How often is money your master?
[00:31:35] How often does it control you?
[00:31:39] How often does it control how you feel?
[00:31:46] I laugh, I joke around about getting kicked in the nuts when you see your tax. How often does it control how you feel? That was involuntary for me.
[00:31:55] That's not a good sign.
[00:31:57] How often does it control how you feel? How often does it control what you do or what you don't do?
[00:32:09] Guys, did you catch what Jesus just said here in verse 26, Jesus says, shifting allegiance from money to God is not just hard, it's humanly impossible.
[00:32:28] So what on earth do we we do?
[00:32:32] Let's keep reading. Verse 27.
[00:32:36] Then Peter, one of the disciples, responded to him.
[00:32:40] See, we've left everything and followed you, Jesus. So what will there be for us?
[00:32:47] Okay, so pause for again.
[00:32:50] That rich young ruler.
[00:32:52] This is Peter's logic. That rich young ruler, he just chose his possessions over Jesus. And now Peter's like, yo, like, Jesus, we left everything to join you.
[00:33:02] What are we going to get?
[00:33:07] Side note, you've heard me say this before, but I want to say it again this morning.
[00:33:14] Jesus is not a do what I say all the time, like leader. That's not his primary leadership style. He gives commands. Don't get me wrong, he's the Lord, but his primary leadership style is join me.
[00:33:25] He's a join me leader.
[00:33:28] Best leaders in the world are not the leaders who just command and do all the. And that's exclusively what they do. The best leaders in the world are like, come join me in how I do things.
[00:33:38] They operate with an integrity that is transcendent. That's the kind of leader Jesus is. He goes, join me. He doesn't just give out commands. He says, join me. He goes, be holy as I am holy. Join me. Join me in this. He goes, be loving as I am loving.
[00:33:53] Join me.
[00:33:55] I mean, you guys read your Bibles. You know, the list goes on and on and on. He goes, join me in honesty when you're filling out your taxes, Tom. Join me in sexual purity. He says, join me in generosity. And not just the generosity that's impressive to others, like, the generosity that kind of hurts, the generosity that's sacrificial. The generosity that goes like, I'm gonna be without something I really want so that someone who's in need gets something that they need.
[00:34:20] He goes, join me in that. He goes, join me in humility. Join me in serving others. Join me in obeying the Father.
[00:34:27] Even if I don't agree, he goes, join me in depending on the Holy Spirit. Apart from me, I can do nothing, nothing of eternal value.
[00:34:38] But with you. Oh, we're gonna get into this in just a second. It's really good.
[00:34:43] Jesus is a join me leader. So, Peter, he goes, jesus, we left everything to join you, Jesus. What? What do we get? Look at it. Verse 28. Jesus said to them, truly, I tell you, in the renewal of all things, that's the kingdom of heaven coming to earth. Jesus is coming back. He's gonna renew all things. The Bible doesn't teach that we, like, go to heaven when we die. The Bible teaches that heaven comes to us and God judges the planet.
[00:35:14] And anybody and everybody who has accepted his free gift of forgiveness and love is with him for eternity. They themselves are fully renewed.
[00:35:23] You're being renewed now. If you're in Christ, you will be fully renewed. All of creation will be fully renewed. Everything will be the way it's supposed to be, the way that God designed it to be. No suffering, no sin, no pain, no death. Yes. Awesome. Jesus goes, truly, I tell you, when that happens, it's coming in the renewal of all things when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne.
[00:35:48] That's kingly language. Ruling, reigning, right.
[00:35:51] You who have followed me will also sit on 12 Thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. He's giving specific things to these 12 guys of what it's going to look like for them. And then look what he says, verse 29.
[00:36:03] And everyone say, everyone.
[00:36:07] Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last and the last first.
[00:36:35] I'll touch way more on that last verse next week, but I'm going to. There's a hundred sermons right here. But I'm going to try my best because I don't have a whole lot of time left.
[00:36:49] Recently, I had a. I feel like a really meaningful conversation with my eldest daughter, Amelia.
[00:36:57] It was just a conversation around money.
[00:36:59] There was things that she really wanted to. She really wanted to earn some money so that she could buy some specific things.
[00:37:06] And they weren't like small ticket things. They were like larger ticket things, which isn't wrong. It's not a bad thing. It's great. I'm like, cool, let's talk about this.
[00:37:13] And we got to have the classic conversation around what you can do with money. There's four things that you can do with money, my girl.
[00:37:22] You can spend it, you can save it, you can give it, or you can invest it.
[00:37:31] Those are the four things that you can do with money.
[00:37:34] And I started to show her, like, I started to show her and give her examples of all four of those things.
[00:37:42] And then we got to the investing part and I got to show her examples of, of the difference between saving and investing.
[00:37:53] Saving, you stock it away.
[00:37:55] Investing is. You are like relinquishing that resource in hopes of a what? It starts with an R.
[00:38:02] A return. You guys know this. So you wanna get a return on your investment.
[00:38:06] And it was fun for me. Cause I got to pull up some different stock things. And I go like, hey, let's just look at Costco for the last 20, 30 years.
[00:38:14] If you had invested in Costco and just sat there for 20, 30 years, the return was like, boom. It was like exponential returns. And she's like, oh my gosh.
[00:38:24] I'm like, yeah. So I started going through all these different things. I'm like, so that's the difference. You can spend it, you can save it, you can give it, and you can invest it. And hear me, all four are important. But this is what you can do with money, right? And so it's so funny, I was like, so those things that you want to buy, how much value do you really place on them?
[00:38:45] And she's so. I love her, man. She's gonna change the world. She goes, dad, I want to invest my money.
[00:38:53] I was like, yeah, babe, it's a wise choice.
[00:38:57] Listen, what if I told you there was a guaranteed 100x investment on your money?
[00:39:07] Would you invest?
[00:39:09] Some of you were like, the pastor's gonna, I'm not gonna sell you Amway right now. Okay, but like, think about this for a second.
[00:39:18] Hundred X on your money. You knew it was gonna happen.
[00:39:22] Would you invest?
[00:39:24] Close friend of mine, he's told me this story a dozen times. I've heard it so many times.
[00:39:29] He tells me the story of several years ago.
[00:39:32] He had another friend who kept harping on him.
[00:39:37] He kept harping. He's like, hey, just buy a little bit of bitcoin.
[00:39:42] It was like a doll, it was a dollar at the time. He goes, just put 100 bucks in and forget. Just put 100 bucks in. He's like, nah, man, it's a scam. Whatever.
[00:39:51] Hey, listen, say what you will, that would be worth millions of dollars. That hundred dollar investment would be worth millions of dollars. Today, I'm not telling you you need to invest in crypto. I'm just using that as an example.
[00:40:06] I got another friend a few years ago, lost $100,000 for making the wrong investment.
[00:40:13] Gone.
[00:40:17] You don't need me to tell you, but what you and I invest in really matters. What you choose to invest in, it really, really matters. Now, did you catch what Jesus said in verse 29? Bold claim.
[00:40:32] And he doesn't just like say it, he promises it. This is a promise from God in the flesh.
[00:40:39] He says, everyone who invests their life into my Kingdom will receive 100x on their investment. Did you see it?
[00:40:49] It's not my opinion.
[00:40:50] It's the word of God.
[00:40:53] Note takers point 3. Joining Jesus is a 100x investment.
[00:41:00] Joining Jesus is a 100X on your investment.
[00:41:12] You know the most valuable resource you have is not your money.
[00:41:16] The most valuable resource you have. The older I get, the more it becomes abundantly clear. It's time.
[00:41:24] Do you realize?
[00:41:25] You realize you're investing your life? Every moment.
[00:41:29] Every moment you're alive, you are making an investment with your life.
[00:41:37] Think about it. When you invest money, what are you doing? You are surrendering that money. You're handing it over in hopes for that return.
[00:41:48] Some investments don't work out.
[00:41:52] Like my buddy who lost $100,000 on a really foolish, poor investment friend.
[00:42:01] Do you realize this?
[00:42:04] Every moment you're alive, your life is precious, man.
[00:42:09] Every moment you're alive, you're investing your life.
[00:42:14] Every moment you're alive, you're surrendering to something.
[00:42:18] You're handing yourself over to something. For some of you, it is money, man.
[00:42:24] You're making big life decisions.
[00:42:28] Big for money.
[00:42:32] Some of you, it's not money. Some of you, it's pleasure.
[00:42:36] Some of you, it's control. I just want to be in control.
[00:42:39] Some of you, it's power. Some of you, it's just comfort. Some of you, it's entertainment. The list goes on and on. We are broken people.
[00:42:46] Our worship is mixed up.
[00:42:48] We give our worship ascribing ultimate worth. We give our worship to all sorts of things that aren't worthy of our worship. Why? Because they will inevitably let us down.
[00:43:00] What is it for you?
[00:43:02] Do you know what it is?
[00:43:04] What are you investing your life in?
[00:43:09] You can't opt out.
[00:43:11] You're alive.
[00:43:12] Every moment you're alive, you're investing your life in something.
[00:43:19] Can I just tell you?
[00:43:22] There is no greater investment than the Kingdom of Heaven.
[00:43:27] Like nothing even comes close.
[00:43:32] There's no greater investment than the kingdom of Heaven. Promoting the kingdom of Heaven, preaching the kingdom of Heaven, living it out.
[00:43:43] What does it look like when God gets His way, his rule, his reign. That's what we're talking about. There's no greater investment. Because guys, when God gets His way, the world is renewed.
[00:43:54] When God rules and reigns in an area of life, in a person's life, in a sector, in a business, in every area of life, when God is ruling and reigning, things happen.
[00:44:05] The world is renewed. That means it's restored to its original glory.
[00:44:12] When God is ruling and reigning, when he gets his way, the King of Heaven, right? People are transformed. Like they're literally made new. They're like become a new person. They're transformed by his grace, they're transformed by his forgiveness, they're transformed by his love.
[00:44:28] Not even unconditional love, counter, conditional love.
[00:44:31] Like, counter to the condition that I'm in. He still loves me. It's crazy.
[00:44:37] When that reality captures a person, it transforms them. When his rule and his reign shows up and it's yielded to. When you bend the knee to the king, spectacular things happen. Sinners become saints.
[00:44:52] Like marriages thrive, married couples. You want your marriage to thrive. Both of you prioritize the kingdom of God. Prioritize, Yield to God's desire for you and watch your marriage flourish.
[00:45:09] When the kingdom of heaven, when it's embraced, marriages thrive, children, they flourish and they grow in spectacular ways.
[00:45:19] Get this. People, ordinary people like you and me, become like Jesus.
[00:45:31] There's no greater investment in the kingdom of Heaven.
[00:45:36] Joining Jesus is a 100x investment.
[00:45:42] Dude, let's go.
[00:45:46] Now. That sounds cool, but what does that even look like?
[00:45:49] Let's keep going. Passage tells us, verse 29.
[00:45:55] And how'd you say it before? And everyone who has left, huh?
[00:46:03] My next point for you is a big one.
[00:46:07] Sometimes the kingdom of heaven means letting go.
[00:46:13] Sometimes the rule and the reign of God in your life, it means leaving some things behind. And hear me, not always bad things, sometimes good and valuable things, even sometimes really destructive things. Some of you, the main thing that's holding you back in your life is you're not leaving behind things that are keeping you, like, chained.
[00:46:36] You're not able to experience and pursue more of the kingdom of God in your life because of some of the things you're holding onto.
[00:46:45] Now, what Jesus does here, I don't know if you saw it, it's really, really beautiful. He references three things that each and every person was made for. Okay?
[00:46:54] He says houses. He's referring to home.
[00:46:57] Home.
[00:47:00] You ever Felt homesick.
[00:47:02] You travel or you go away or you move or you just feel that, oh, man, you're made for home.
[00:47:08] Okay, the first thing he references, the second thing, he lists all these things. They're familial relationships, very, very close relationships.
[00:47:20] And then he says, fields, huh?
[00:47:25] You're like, tom, I'm tracking with you three really important things that every person was made for home.
[00:47:30] Yeah, I get that. Familial relationships. Yeah, I get that. Fields.
[00:47:36] So the Greek word there, which was originally written in Greek, the original Greek word, it means cultivated field or farmland.
[00:47:45] Some of you are like, I still don't get it.
[00:47:48] Here's the idea.
[00:47:50] Property with the potential to yield provision, you were made to steward. Property that has the potential to yield provision for you and for other people, whether it's farmland or something else.
[00:48:14] And Jesus says, when a person invests their life into the kingdom, when a person surrenders themselves to Jesus, when a person lives under his rule and his reign, sometimes it means letting go of good and valuable things.
[00:48:29] I referenced it earlier, but I want to say it again. For some of you, you want to experience the kingdom of heaven in your life. You want to, but there are things in your life that you aren't willing to let go of, and it will prevent you from experiencing the kingdom of heaven in your life.
[00:48:50] Maybe, just maybe, money is not the only hurdle for some of us in the room this morning.
[00:48:56] What is it for you if it just popped into your brain right now? That's the spirit of God speaking to you.
[00:49:04] He's not condemning you, he's convicting you, which is a really loving thing to do, because he wants to free you from something that you're a slave to at times.
[00:49:19] Sometimes the kingdom of heaven means letting go. But that's not all. Jesus is also saying something really profound and beautiful here. He's saying that the kingdom of heaven is a superior reality.
[00:49:32] In fact, he says it's 100x superior.
[00:49:39] The kingdom of heaven is a superior reality. Get the picture here, guys. When a person invests their life into God's kingdom, Jesus promises they will receive a superior home that is 100x better than the best home that you could ever have here.
[00:49:58] You know that feeling of home that you have sometimes you're like, I long for that. Some of you feel displaced. Some of you feel that, like, I want that feeling of home. Some of you, like, you haven't felt that since the house you left, the house you grew up in.
[00:50:15] Jesus is making a promise. He says, anybody, everyone who invests in the kingdom of heaven that there's a superior home.
[00:50:23] It's 100x better than the best possible home here. And he doesn't stop there. He goes, there's a superior relationships that are 100x better than the best relationships that are possible here. Some of you, I don't have time to get into this, but some of you have tasted this in this church.
[00:50:42] You've gone, holy smokes. I've had some good relationships in my life, but I have the most deep and meaningful relationships, dare I say, like a transcendent, dare I say godly family.
[00:50:55] The family of God. You've tasted that. Like, you've tasted it in this community and gone. So you know what I'm talking about. You're like, oh, yeah, there's a superior thing happening here that transcends even biology. Don't get me wrong. Biology is amazing. I'm so thankful for my biological family. But there's a transcendent superior relationship that Jesus is talking about. He says it's 100x better than the best relationship you could have on earth.
[00:51:17] And he doesn't stop there. He says this is a superior property that's 100x better than the best property that's available here that's possible here.
[00:51:30] Do you believe him?
[00:51:37] Confession this week, there were moments I didn't believe him.
[00:51:54] And then he says the best thing.
[00:51:57] He says, those who invest their lives into his kingdom will inherit eternal life.
[00:52:05] Man, The life that we long for, the life that we know we were made for.
[00:52:19] Do you know what I'm talking about?
[00:52:23] Does your heart ever just ache?
[00:52:25] You turn on the news and it's just propaganda everywhere. No one's telling the truth about anything anymore. The world's not the way it's supposed to be.
[00:52:33] On every front, ladies and gentlemen, some stuff's come out in like, the kind of the charismatic church of leaders, like, covering up abuse, like, just triggering things in me of, like, how dare you blaspheme God that way as a leader in the church. There's no perfect leaders. Like, you guys know me, I need Jesus bad, but holy smokes to like, abuse people and then cover it up. I'm just like, it just, ugh, it genuinely. There's a few things in life that really cause me to, like, frankly, get sinfully angry. And that's one of them. And I'm not justifying sinful anger.
[00:53:14] Jesus says those who invest their lives into his kingdom will inherit eternal life, life with no death.
[00:53:21] Like, life that isn't just expiring life with no sin, no suffering, no division, no brokenness. Like real life, man. Like the way it was made, meant to be life that doesn't end life the way it's supposed to be. The. The way that he originally intended for it to be before we all sinned and just continue to add poison into the planet.
[00:53:45] Eternal life.
[00:53:47] And maybe the most spectacular word there is the word inherit.
[00:53:52] I referenced it earlier. The rich young ruler, he didn't get it. That was an inheritance.
[00:53:58] He thought it was salary. He thought it was a paycheck. He thought it was something you could earn.
[00:54:04] But Jesus says here, no, it's not. You don't earn it. It's an inheritance.
[00:54:08] It's not a reward you earn. It's inherited. That means it's a gift. It's grace. Is there a better word that's ever been spoken than grace for people who are messed up like me and like you? Like, it's grace.
[00:54:20] It's undeserved eternal life. Guys, do you realize eternal life is something that God wants to give to you?
[00:54:30] That's phenomenal.
[00:54:32] Like, I think about my life and I go, gosh, man, the things that I've done in my past, the things that, like the imperfections, the brokenness, the selfishness, the like, all the things I'm like, and you want to give that to me?
[00:54:46] And he's like, yep, that's how glorious I am.
[00:54:51] That's how powerful of a king I am. I have the power to. To transform sinners like you, Tom.
[00:55:01] Show me another power that even comes close to the power of King Jesus.
[00:55:10] Internal life is something God wants to give you, friend.
[00:55:14] You're looking for motivation to take the crown off of your head and put it on his. There you go.
[00:55:18] There's no other leader like him.
[00:55:21] There's no other leader like him.
[00:55:26] He's good.
[00:55:27] He's gracious, like he literally died to give it to you.
[00:55:34] The scriptures say that no one took his life from him. He willingly laid it down. Why? So that losers like me could have eternal life, could inherit it.
[00:55:46] And not just eternal life in the future, but experiencing the beauty of the rule and the reign of King Jesus in my life here and now.
[00:55:58] And watching the ripple effects of that, watching the transformation in me and the power of God through me to do the same thing to the people that I'm around. And it's not just me. It's all of us.
[00:56:09] It's God's brilliant plan to redeem and renew the planet.
[00:56:14] There's no leader like him.
[00:56:16] He's wonderful. He's good. He's gracious.
[00:56:22] Can we just. Can I just. Can I just talk about the gospel for just a second before I close?
[00:56:27] I'm doing okay. On time.
[00:56:30] That this king would leave the riches in his throne in heaven.
[00:56:37] Heavenly beings worshiping him and praising him non stop.
[00:56:43] Listen.
[00:56:44] It feels good when people say nice things to you, huh? Some of you get uncomfortable. Cause you're like, oh, no, don't be nice to me. You know, like, don't.
[00:56:54] What's the word? Like, gosh, I'm going blank right now.
[00:57:00] Affirm. Yeah, don't affirm me. Like, you know, like, don't praise me.
[00:57:05] No, but your heart, it feels good.
[00:57:10] It feels good to know there's good things about you.
[00:57:14] Now imagine that on the scale of heaven, like the king of the universe, the riches of heaven, heavenly beings praising him all the time.
[00:57:25] Unbroken fellowship in the Trinity, Father, Son, Spirit. Each person, one God, three persons. Each person existing to exclusively glorify the other two. Like there's no unmet need. There's perfect love and harmony. Like the king of the universe leaves his throne and comes to Earth. Why? To live the perfect life that you and I never could. In your place, he shows up to a planet where nobody wants him. They don't want his rule and his reign. They want their rule and their reign. And yet he still comes, knowing it to be that substitutionary life and then that substitutionary death for every poor choice I've ever made.
[00:58:08] So he willingly lays down his life.
[00:58:11] He lives the life, he dies the death.
[00:58:16] Dare I say he invests it all.
[00:58:20] Why?
[00:58:22] For the return, baby.
[00:58:25] You invest for the return, don't you?
[00:58:28] Do you realize what the return is for him, his beloved?
[00:58:37] Ooh, you, you, me.
[00:58:45] There's no greater investment than the blood of Jesus for his beloved.
[00:58:52] All right. Ben, would you come up? I'm going to close.
[00:59:00] All right. We're doing okay.
[00:59:05] So how do you view money?
[00:59:10] How you view money says a lot about your true spiritual condition. Now, what Jesus teaches here in this passage, it's not just limited to this passage, it's all over the Bible.
[00:59:23] This idea of wealth being a hurdle to heaven, it's not a bad thing, but it can be a dangerous thing.
[00:59:31] But it's all throughout the Bible. Let me just Read you Proverbs 37, 9. This is the NLT.
[00:59:39] Proverbs is a book of wisdom.
[00:59:42] Wisest man ever.
[00:59:44] Solomon.
[00:59:46] It's a book of wisdom.
[00:59:51] Look at what it says. O God, I beg two favors from you. It's a prayer.
[00:59:59] Let me have them before I die.
[01:00:02] First, here's the first thing he wants.
[01:00:05] Help me never to tell a lie.
[01:00:09] That convicted me this week because I was tempted, too, man.
[01:00:15] Second, look at what he says here.
[01:00:19] Give me neither poverty nor riches.
[01:00:23] Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
[01:00:27] For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, who is the Lord?
[01:00:34] Do you realize what he's saying?
[01:00:38] If I have too much money, I'll be kind of. I'll start to be a little fuzzy on who the Lord really is.
[01:00:47] Maybe. Maybe I should wear the crown.
[01:00:49] Maybe I should call the shots. And I have this resource that gives me a lot of power and control.
[01:00:58] For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, who is the Lord? And if I'm too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name.
[01:01:17] Sometimes when I preach, I can, like, feel the fear of the Lord in my life where I'm like, lord, like, this passage pops up. We're like, in a series. Oh, this is what it is.
[01:01:29] And without fail, without fail, every single week, God will be working on the very thing in my life that he is assigning me to preach.
[01:01:42] It is humbling, man.
[01:01:45] Because I struggled with these truths this week.
[01:01:48] I like, wrestled with this stuff.
[01:01:56] The reason I wrestled, because I was like, money's got a bigger grip on my life than I thought it did before I prepped this message. And there's a little bit of shame in that.
[01:02:05] But Jesus reminded me his blood covers my shame.
[01:02:10] You can judge me. I'm actually free to share this with you and not to be mean, but not give a rip what you think about me.
[01:02:16] I care about you and I care about your opinion of me, but I care more about his opinion of me. And that's not a slam. Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I'm not this, like, high and mighty, better than you person at all.
[01:02:28] But I struggled this week with these truths.
[01:02:31] If I just had a little bit more.
[01:02:35] If I just had a little bit more. And here's what I realized.
[01:02:39] I realized just how weak my belief in heaven really is.
[01:02:48] This week, I struggled to believe my Jesus and his words about heaven both here and now and the fullness of heaven when it comes, that it really is a superior reality.
[01:03:03] It's not a fairy tale, that it really is worth investing all of my life in every area.
[01:03:20] So why don't we do this?
[01:03:24] Why don't we.
[01:03:25] Why don't we break out the MRI machine and why don't you and I, in humility Allow God to show us what's really going on in the inside of us spiritually.
[01:03:39] That's going to take courage.
[01:03:42] It's going to take humility.
[01:03:44] And most importantly, it's gonna take faith, which is just trust.
[01:03:48] Trust that he doesn't wear the crown to just harm you and your life, but that God is a loving father who disciplines those he loves to free them from bondage and give them eternal life. A superior life that we cannot earn. We can't get. You can't get it.
[01:04:10] You can't obtain it.
[01:04:13] You can't accept it.
[01:04:18] Money's like an MRI machine for your heart.
[01:04:21] How you handle money reveals your true spiritual condition. So, friend, how do you think about it? How do you handle it? What's it like for you? It matters.
[01:04:33] So maybe you're here this morning, and if you're honest, your relationship with money, it's not what it should be, it's not what it could be.
[01:04:46] Maybe if you're honest. Money's become your master in this season.
[01:04:53] It controls how you feel.
[01:04:57] It controls what you do, it controls what you don't do.
[01:05:04] You're not meant to live that way.
[01:05:08] And you can be free.
[01:05:10] It's one of the beautiful. That's what salvation is, is freedom. Right?
[01:05:14] You can be free, but it requires a new master.
[01:05:18] It requires a new master.
[01:05:20] If nothing else.
[01:05:22] Jesus this morning is inviting all of us. He's inviting you to go try on my leadership for your life. Join me.
[01:05:31] Join me.
[01:05:37] Maybe you're here and you've been investing your life in lesser things instead of superior things.
[01:05:45] And I just want to challenge you.
[01:05:48] What you choose to invest in matters.
[01:05:52] And joining Jesus is that 100x investment, man.
[01:06:00] Some of you. There's some things you need to let go of in order to grab a hold of the kingdom of heaven.
[01:06:06] Imagine if you did that today, man.
[01:06:10] The possibilities.
[01:06:12] Hear me.
[01:06:13] Jesus said it's humanly impossible.
[01:06:17] But with him, the impossible God becomes possible.
[01:06:21] You can experience life the way it's supposed to be.
[01:06:26] You can. You can. Your relationship with money and with wealth and possessions can be the way it should be, where you're leveraging it for the kingdom of God. You're not afraid of it. You're not. You're. You're not like, oh, man, it's good or it's bad. You're totally free to steward it the way that Jesus would if he was you.
[01:06:54] Yeah, why don't you do this? Will you stand with me if you're able?
[01:06:58] I want to pray for us.
[01:07:00] We're going to spend the next 10 or so minutes and I want to give you the opportunity and the chance to respond this morning.
[01:07:09] Respond to God's word, respond to him individually, you and corporately, if anything that I shared with you, maybe you're this, maybe you're that. If that's you. If you're on the prayer team this morning, would you make your way to the front? Make yourself available? There's trusted men and women up here that would love to pray over you, that would love to facilitate you encountering God through prayer.
[01:07:30] Because hear me, He's a really good leader. He wants to lead your life and he's not trying to lead you into dangerous, awful, terrible places. Actually, I take that back.
[01:07:39] Sometimes he will lead you into danger.
[01:07:42] However, he doesn't just lead you to, he leads you through because he's got an agenda that is good for your life.
[01:07:50] And to the degree that you and I believe that's true, we will yield to that and we will experience the fruit of it, the beauty in it, if anything, that God's word has sparked in you, any words that I've said have sparked you. Come for it anytime to come, right? You can come right now if you want to come receive prayer. There's trusted men and women that would love to pray for you. The rest of us, we're gonna fill this room with praise because he's worthy, because he's good, because he's faithful, because he's kind, because he's so flipping generous to us.
[01:08:20] There's nobody like him.
[01:08:22] You want joy unlocked in your life?
[01:08:25] Fix your eyes on Jesus and watch him reveal his glory in ways that will blow you away way.
[01:08:33] It's what you're made for.
[01:08:35] That's what we're going to do. Okay? I love you very much. We'll do that for 10 minutes or so and then one of the guys will be able to pastor us and close us. Okay? Love you very much. Enjoy him.
