One Thing // Discipleship

In this sermon, we explore what it truly means to live a life of discipleship through the words of Jesus and Paul. Looking at Luke 10 and Philippians 3, we’re invited to examine how we order our lives—what we prioritize, pursue, and ultimately become. While the world pulls us in many directions, Jesus calls us to choose what is better: a life centered on Him. Discipleship is more than knowledge; it’s intentionally spending time with Jesus to become like Jesus. Join us as we reflect on what may be crowding our “to do” lists and learn how reordering our lives in the way of Jesus leads to something far greater.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:03

Welcome to the Refinery Church Sermon Podcast. We're so glad you've joined us today. Our prayer is that this message will help you grow in your pursuit to love and follow Jesus in your life. If you'd like to learn more about the refinery, find ways to get connected, share a prayer request, or explore resources to help you grow deeper in your walk with Christ, visit us online at refineryohio.com. Now let's dive into today's message.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Good morning. Happy Father's Day to the dads in the room. The dads that feel like they're crushing it, the dads that feel like I don't know I'm getting it right. Uh man, just look to your Heavenly Father. And so when you drop the ball, say, God, help me shake this thing, shape this thing up right. And when you feel like you're crushing it, just be like, God, I think I'm doing okay. Let me know if it's not. The work you do is important. Honor your wives and serve them well. Uh show them what it means to love well and uh lead lead your boys, your girls, whatever that might look like. Well, for others, maybe not a dad uh in the sense, but man, you've played that father role, and that's been significant. Maybe it's as a coach, a teacher, a mentor, a neighbor. Uh thank you for how you play that role as well. Um I wanted uh update on our mission trip uh from this past week. Our team just got back last night, about I think about 12:30 or so, um, and or today to this morning. And so, man, a fantastic week. And uh, I wanted to show you some pictures we've got just to kind of update you on the work. Uh we worked at a medical clinic. Uh, it's a state-run situation, and uh honestly it's uh had deteriorated significantly. And so uh El Puente is an organization we partner with called The Bridge, and we said, Hey, can we come in and help partner? We have teams that come, and so they've literally renovated the entirety of this facility in a significant way. We were just doing some paint, uh knocking off some mold, things like that, putting screens back on window covers, and so it looks great, and they're gonna get ready to resituate some things. Next year, our team uh will likely be working on a administration building, and so this serves thousands, tens of thousands of people in the community, and so it's just a way for the church to pour into the community in a significant way. We also poured a concrete floor. Uh, you can see that in the upper middle. This is one of my favorite things to do because we get to work alongside uh the men there. Um, and so the Guatemalan men too, like we mix the concrete, we have a mixer that they rent, and so man, we're running wheelbarrels, lifting the rock, the dirt, throwing shovels, everything else. And so that's just a fantastic work that we get to do, and it makes a significant difference. Uh, the entire village, uh, all who qualify, um, Philly sets those standards. Philly is our partner there in the country. Philly lives in Chisek, he was raised in Chisek, and so uh he helps set that, but they're all done for right now, and so we're we're grateful for that work, and it's been a significant thing. Uh then you see, man, just being with the kids really matters. I was talking to somebody before, they're like, I'm thinking about going, but I don't know that physically I can do a lot. And I said, honestly, being with them means so much. Like it's just a matter of uh when family comes or friends come just to be with you. It's you know, especially like if you're ever in the hospital or whatever, you don't you're not like, hey, would you mind running an IV for me? Uh just presence really matters, and so that's an important thing. You see that photo with Olive. And then the bottom right, um Nydia, that's Philly's wife, had said, Hey, would you be willing to do like a women's conference? And so they have time of worship and some teaching, and so, and then they did a craft and everything together, and just a way to pour into the women um of the village uh in that community, in the church. And so that's going fantastic. If you want to go to the next slide, um we also love to see some of the cultural stuff. Uh, we're really wanting to get Philly and Nydia up here. Uh, we're running into challenges getting helping them to get a visa to get into the states for different reasons. Uh so if you know a Congress person personally, uh I'd love to pick your uh brain about that. Um but when we bring them up here, we don't want to just show them the work that's taking place um through the various churches, but we also want to show them some of the cultural things that matter to us. And so um on the bottom right you see a traditional meal uh for La Planada, and they made that for us and invited us, and that's them making it on the top right. Uh the middle, just the kiddos playing and stuff, just a cute photo. So uh the bottom middle, um the different ties in the girl's hair have different significance about age and things like that and what that looks like. Uh Jenna got more of the conversation on what that meant. And then on the left, uh we went repelling. Um, it was like 800,000 feet uh tall. You weren't there, you don't know. Um so as we were getting down to the bottom, uh not you didn't have to do this, but uh for those that chose to do it, we repelled down to the bottom, and uh as everybody went, it's like, hey, pose for a picture. John Burley, our fearless leader, was our last one, and they're like, John, pose for a picture. So he just hangs upside down, as you see in the photo. Uh nobody else hung upside down. We had like 40 to 50 bats swirling around us as we did this. Uh it was a ton of fun. So great opportunity. Uh, next picture. Um, and so if you are a sponsor and you write letters, you might sometimes wonder, does the letter actually get into anyone's hands? Do they ever see this? These are um, you'll see over the next few slides, these are the people that were a part of the team that are our sponsors. Um, they met with their child. The letter really matters, the photo really matters. Um because like kids will come up with their photo from previous years when they see the sponsors coming, like, oh, is my sponsor here? Like it's a big deal. And so if you want to go to the next one, uh, I got to meet our little girl, and so that's fantastic to get to be with her. Um, we had uh so uh Jenna brought her daughter Olive, Tony Ashley brought his two daughters with him, uh, the whole Sigler family came, and so it really is a cool trip that way. And if you want to go to the last slide of two other teams, and we had a mother, another mother, mother-daughter team, and so it really is a cool thing. The other thing about the trip, so we get to do meaningful work in the community, we get to experience the culture of their community, and then you really do get to bond together as a team. Um, there's something about you know, two flights and a seven-hour bus ride where pretense gets lost pretty quickly. Like you just we're gonna be together, we're gonna spend a lot of time together. And so it was a fantastic team. We had 19 of us there, and we brought all 19 back, which was exciting. There was one moment in a cave that we thought we might be leaving one behind, bless his heart. Uh, but we got we got him back here. And so it was so much fun. Um, there's already uh pre-registration for next year's trip if you'd like to be a part of that. I will tell you, it will cost you. We're gonna ask you to take vacation time, we're gonna ask you to pay your way, and then we're gonna ask you to work for free there. Well, you're not working for free, you paid to work. Um, so but it costs you. We're gonna ask you to set your comforts to the side, your conveniences to the side, your preferences is the side, everything to the side, and to say, God, what do you want to do? How can I be a part of your kingdom in this place? And it really is partnership. And you'll find if you choose to be a part of one of these trips, you'll go to serve to be poured out, and yet you'll come back with just a heart full. And you'll be like, I tried to empty it out, and God just filled it more than He than I could pour out. And so fantastic partnership. We're grateful to have it. And so uh we'll continue to commit to serving in that way so long as the Lord provides us opportunity. But thank you, thank you, thank you. It really does matter. Um, if you're curious, like I just wonder what it'd be like. You saw a few of the pictures of the people on the team. Um, I'm sure they'll put we'll post one to social or something like that. You see anybody on the team, you're like, hey, what was your experience? What was that like? Would you recommend it? Um I ask, I always ask the first timers uh, because the team's usually about half repeat, half first timers. I always ask the first timers, like, hey, would you come back? And like we're looking for a yes. And I got all yeses in one maybe, right? So I'll take that. Uh it's a hard trip, but it is a good trip, and so I'm thankful for the partnership. Uh and one other thing before we get into the uh message specific today, um, next month, I'm gonna be gone the whole month. So if you're like, I feel like I haven't seen Landon much, that's on purpose. Uh, we have a policy here at the church. After you complete six years of full-time service as a full-time member of the staff, we want you to take, it's required that you take a sabbatical. Um we uh anybody familiar with Covey's principle of sharpening the saw? Anybody? Does nobody read? Really? Um so Covey's book is fantastic, it's been out for quite some time. You should pick it up. Uh but in the principle of sharpening the saw, the idea is if you have two people both trying to cut down a tree, one stops to sharpen the saw periodically, the other one just keeps going. It's the one that sharpens the saw periodically will be more effective. It's important to take times of rest and renewal. And so my time has come up for this. Uh, we've had several staff members be a part of it. It's been incredibly profitable, not only for the staff member, but for the church. It helps to kind of create those windows, like, oh man, we're leaning into some things there we didn't fully realize. And so it's just a way we invest in our staff. And so, what I'll be doing, I'm gonna spend a week with my parents, take two of my sons with me, uh, Lene and Aiden are busy on another trip. And then our family's gonna take some time together, and then uh I'm gonna spend some time at a monastery in uh Kentucky for three nights, four days for honestly just quiet and prayer. And so I'm super excited about that. And so uh if you email me during that time, um you'll get a reply that says, I'm out of the office, I'm gonna try and sort through email when I get back. If you need anything right now, if it's this, contact the office. If it's this, contact so-and-so. But you can always contact the office, it'll be directed accordingly. Uh, we have great folks lined up uh to take care of the preaching on the Sundays, finances will be covered through Kristen and our finance committee and all the, or if you still just have like a need, like, hey, I need to meet with somebody, we've got a situation in the family, situation uh loss of a loved one, whatever, there'll still be those things. If you text me, because I give my number out to pretty much anybody. Um, if it's church related, I won't answer. If it's fantasy football related, I will answer. So if you can somehow like mask a church question as a fantasy football question, you might trick me into answering. Um, but I will try and direct you just back to the church. I have I serve with such a fantastic team. Uh there's a good chance you won't notice I'm gone. But I will be back in August, and I'm looking forward to this time away. So thank you for that. Um, even if you say, well, we didn't vote on it. Well, thank you anyway, all right? So we're in week three of our one thing series, and so the idea in the series is to kind of look at these passages of scripture that call out how significant one thing can be. One change, one pivot, one decision can make such a distinction, such a difference in the life of any individual. And so in week one, we looked at Psalm 27, 4. It reads, One thing I asked from the Lord, this only do I seek. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. This this primary choice of seeking God first brings all other choices into alignment. There's this peace that comes with this, there's this security, there's a contentment that comes from that decision. When we try and orient all of the other elements of life, it doesn't work. There's this constant competition and difficulty and striving and struggle, but when we orient everything around who God is and who God calls us to be, it makes all the difference in the world. And then last week, while I was with the team in Guatemala, Jay spoke for our week two of the series, and I'm so grateful for the many voices. I have such confidence in Jay and Bailey and everybody that would ever be up on the spot form to speak. And he focused in on Luke 18, 22. It reads, When Jesus heard this, he said to him, You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven, and then come and follow me. And the notion is that we can have a life that we're we're following after the laws, as the religious the rich young ruler was doing, but we can still miss understanding giving all of who we are to God. And in God's economy, from God's perspective, being rich is far more about what we invest than what we gain. And so very true. And so, if I were to kind of summarize the three weeks, uh including where we're at today, week one would be worship orders my heart. Week two was about worship orders my treasure, and now today my focus is going to be looking at what how worship orders my whole life. Um I'm a to-do list guy, and so uh any any list makers with your job, with your home, with the activity. Yeah. So when I'm doing it well, like literally like the end of the week, I'll kind of lay out the next week. Um if I'm kind of doing it midway, sometimes, you know, just the week will get away from you, the end of the day or the beginning of the day, like beginning of the day, I'll write what I need to take care of that day, or I really like the end of the day. Okay, where do I need to be the next day or two? And what you prioritize, like what you most value, shapes that to-do list. And so somebody will reach out to me, they'll email or call, and this has happened many times. Like, we'll get coffee together, we'll get we'll get lunch, and we'll be talking, and so often somebody, hey, I'm so sorry, I hate to dump this on you. I'm like, you realize like this is literally my job. Like, like I love, like I am honored that you would entrust uh what you're dealing with here to me and say, here's what this looks like, and because I value you. Like I value your story, your life, your family, like what's going on there. And so we want to figure those things out. But what doesn't make the to-do list are the things we don't value. Oh, yeah, I'm gonna get around to that. But it never gets on the to-do list because we don't genuinely value it. And so, as a church, we want to just follow after Jesus with everything we've got. And so we want to order our lives accordingly. We're called to love God first, yet we're not called to only love God. So if you got up and you said to-do list, love God, and you put nothing else, like it's short. We're called to love God first, but it's not just only love of God. A love of God inevitably leads to a love for people. Like you can't help it. If you're growing in a deeper love for God and you find yourself more and more distanced from people, you live in a conflicting way with the scripture. In fact, in 1 John, it talks about this idea, it says if you say you hate your brother whom you've seen, you can't say you love your God who you not who you've not seen. And so God says, Listen, I want you to love me because then you can love people rightly. And when you love people rightly, you can't help but make the introduction of the two. Let me tell you about the God I serve. Let me tell you about the God I know. When our first love is clear, everything else is relegated to a less important position in our life. It's the priority. So for years, I was talking to somebody earlier, like, what are you doing for Father's Day? I'm hopefully gonna sleep, truthfully. I want to take a nap. Um, but for years for Father's Day, what we would do is we would just go out, me and Lene, or Mother's Day, the same thing, we'd get a babysitter and we'd go out together. Like, what are you doing with Father's Day? I'm like, I'm gonna go out with my wife. And they're like, Don't you want to spend time with your kids? No, I want to spend time with my wife. Like to celebrate, like being a father. Kids, you go stay with them. And here's why because I want my kids to move out someday. So we would go out on dates and they'd be like, Do you love mom more? I'm like, yes, 100%. Like, I don't want her to move out. I want you to move out. Like, and I'll help you, right? I mean, if she starts moving out, I'll just take the things off the truck and put it back in the house. Like, or if she goes, I'm going with her. You know, that kind of thing. You guys go, deuces, right? I'll see you. Um but it's that priority. But but listen, if I prioritize that well, if I love my wife really well, then I can love my kids. If I don't love my wife first, I really can't love my kids the way I'm called to. There's this prioritization. It doesn't mean things don't matter, it just means I need to, they need to matter in the right order. When I love God really well, I'm gonna love people. If I try and love people without a love of God, have you tried loving people? You know yourself. Sometimes you're hard to love, bless your heart. And we need this in our lives. It's when our first love is clear, everything else gets relegated to a second position. So we need to make wise decisions in how we love. And so Paul addresses this very notion, and what it what does it look like practically to do this? Like how do we actually live this out? And so he writes about this in his letter to the Philippians. He's writing from a jail. And the start of the letter, man, I'm so thankful for your work, for your partnership. This all matters so much. That's how I greeted the our church in La Planada last week. They afforded me the chance to speak, and I said, Man, I'm just so grateful for this partnership. And he gets into Philippians chapter 3, verses 7 through 16. This is what he writes practically of what this looks like to order loves well. He says, Whatever were gains to me, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. Like, there's a lot of great things you could chase in life, but truth be told, I count them as lost compared to who Christ is in my life. Like He's He's number one, He's the priority. Everything is situated after that first love. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, not based on, oh, look at these amazing things I've done, look at how much I've worked, look how hard. No, it's not based on that, but which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith, to be in right relationship with God, to be in right relationship with one another because of this love for God. I want to know Christ. I want to know him. Yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, because when we love people, like we're all in with them, not just when life is easy, when life is messy, when life is difficult, when life is challenging. This is why sometimes people push away. People, um, you go through something hard and it's like you push away because you're trying to keep some kind of facade. Real love, like, I mean, it's through the mess and the grit and the grime of life. Becoming like him in his death. And so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Verse 12. Not that I've already obtained all this or I've already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do. This one thing I do. I forget what is behind and I press on toward what is ahead. I strain for this. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us then who are mature should take such a view of things. Paul's not saying I'm not I he's he's saying I'm not exceptional. I'm I'm I'm not like this crazy example. Like this is what we're to do. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Because we I I get maybe you don't see this right now, but God's gonna make it clear. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Right before this passage, Paul's listing off kind of some of his achievements, some of his credentials. Listen, I'm from this tribe. Like I was following the rules before I even knew the follow-up rules. My parents made sure of that. And then as I got older and I'm making my own decisions, like my passion, my zeal, it's unmatched. But I'm telling you, all that stuff that I thought was so significant, once I gazed upon the beauty of the Lord, like it pales in comparison. Like it's nowhere near the same. He's he's not throwing out his past, rather, he's just looking at it in a new light. This is love language. Paul has chosen what he most desires. He he longs to know God and to be known by God. This God is who he loves, and so all the other stuff, it's like, but don't these things matter to you like they used to? I think about like when somebody falls in love and like they were a great saver, and then all of a sudden, like they're spending all their money. Like, why are you spending all your money? I thought, man, I thought you really loved like seeing that account grow. It's like, yeah, I found someone I love more. You think about like when parents welcome home that child, man, I thought you loved having a clean house. I did, but I love this little messmaker more. When you find passion, I I thought you loved your comforts. I thought you loved, yeah, but I found a work that's more meaningful, and so I love that more. Two weeks ago, we said what captures our heart captures our time and our talent and our treasure, and Paul would agree with this notion. And so what captured his heart was Jesus, and so Jesus captures his future. But it's not just enough to say it, words without actions, they really don't mean much at all. And so Paul wants to put action to what he says. It's not done begrudgingly, love can't be done begrudgingly. I was struck uh Thursday afternoon, we were in La Planata in the village, and um the morning we had gone and did kind of the tourism thing, and uh and then that afternoon we were gonna be with the kids one last time um for this trip until our next trip. And so uh we were passing out letters uh that you you saw, and we're taking pictures, and they're doing their program, and like we kind of hang out and just observe, and then at the end we serve a meal because that's a part of it. It's an educational development, faith development, and physical um nutritional development. And so we're serving the food, and so me and a couple other members of the team hopped on with three of the gals who had prepped the food. And I'm serving the drink, and they've got beans and um some kind of like a beef, uh, some rice, tortillas, salsa, always salsa, um, and what looked like coleslaw, I'll be honest, from KFC, but I don't remember seeing a KFC close by. And so we're serving the food, and I honestly was kind of distruck uh by a moment, like I was kind of grieved, honestly. I was like, it's just not enough. Not that the work we were doing wasn't important or not to diminish the work they were doing, it just didn't feel like enough. But I don't I'm not upset by that because like if you ever felt like you loved enough, oh I've loved my kids enough today. Just you go figure something out. Oh, I've loved my spouse enough. You you can't love enough, like you just love just keeps. It keeps pouring, it keeps giving. When we fall in love with someone or something, we pursue with our time, with our talent, with our treasure. We just we chase after. That's what Paul's describing here. This love of God, it changes who we are. Love of God changes what we do. Love of God changes what we're about. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, when when Paul chose to love and follow Jesus for life, that one decision, that one relationship, that one move literally restructures his to-do list all the time. Listen, I used to think it was about all these things, and I'm grateful for them, but I count them by garbage compared to this. Man, I I I enjoy like when my kids bring home a good grade. Man, that's great. Fantastic way to be. When my kids compete in something, whether musically or athletically, like it's fun like to see them do well. When my kids have healthy relationships, like I'm glad to see those or they get an acknowledgement or achievement. But more than anything else, I long for my kids to know Jesus. Like I want that because all that other stuff pales in comparison to what a life rooted in Christ will do. Like I want to achieve good things in my life. Like there's there's hopes I have and desires I have, places I'd like to visit, all that stuff. But none of it, none of it is even close to hearing one day, well done, good and faithful servant, come share my happiness. And if that's the goal, if that's the dream, if that's the desire, if that's the passion, then I have to structure my life around that. I have to structure my home around that. In theological language, we call this discipleship. People sometimes confuse discipleship. They think discipleship is like courses or classes in what you're learning. That's not what discipleship is. Discipleship is spending time with Jesus to learn from Jesus how to be like Jesus. So the work of the church is discipleship because we want to help people love and follow Jesus for life. We want to make and mature disciples of Jesus Christ. A disciple chooses to spend time with Jesus, to learn from Jesus, how to become like Jesus, and then as we become more and more like Jesus, we just do what Jesus did. It's not about just head knowledge where you get to heaven someday and like, all right, multiple choice test, 70% you're in. No, it's like, come share my happy. I know you. You were doing the things I did, you spent time with me, you longed to be with me. One contemporary author, he says, being a disciple of Jesus is being an apprentice of Jesus. You spend time to learn from the master how to do what the master did. Our lives are to be ordered, they're to be structured, they're to be set by the teachings and the commands and the example of Jesus. All of our life. This past week on the flight to Guatemala, I read a powerful example of what this looks like in the midst of just kind of very real busy lives. We live in a broken, messed up world. And so sometimes it's like, yeah, that'd be nice. I mean, I'd love to, yeah, order my life around Jesus, but listen, I'm working a job and I'm dealing with hard stuff. And yeah, Paul was in prison in Philippi, but man, that feels like too long ago. And so this was within the last hundred years, last 75 years, of an example of what it looks like for someone who's chosen to order their life according to the way of Jesus. Said, they were going through a really challenging season, a really difficult time. The last instruction was given by someone they love, it just said, The Lord be with you. And this person writes, From that moment forward, everything in our lives was changed. And if you know Corey's story, you'll know what that means. If not, I'm gonna tell you in just a minute. From that moment forward, everything in our lives was changed, and that's not hyperbole. We did not know what was ahead of us, but I was certain of one thing. That Jesus would never leave us nor forsake us, and that for a child of God, a son of God, a daughter of God, a child of the king, the first orientation around which we build our lives, no pit could be so deep that Jesus was not deeper still. Corey Tenboom, she was a Christian during the time of the Holocaust. And her family, because they ordered their lives around the teachings of Jesus, saw that the atrocities that were taking place and they hid Jewish people in their home to protect them until a neighbor betrayed them and shared what they were doing, and as a result, they were imprisoned and then later sent to concentration camps. When she says everything in our life would change, literally everything in their life changed. Jobs are lost, health is lost, her dad dies within nine days of arrest, her sister and her are separated, she would later die in a concentration camp, her sister. Everything in their life was changed. But the one thing I was certain of no pit could be so deep that Jesus was not deeper still. Just in the last 75 years. Because all my financial resources had been stripped from me. Those can always be taken from you. My health was not near so as important as my fixation on who Christ is. Even my family, because she loses her family, she's literally placed in isolation. None of it is what could anchor her, only Christ. That's a powerful perspective. We sometimes wrestle to navigate the opportunities and challenges in our world. Man, I'd love to honor Christ first, and I'd love to live according to his standards and his commands and his but you gotta understand, like it's hard like being a mom or being a dad or being a spouse, or listen, you don't get it, like in my field, in my world, like if I it's this is what you gotta do. I don't think it is. Like a disciple is someone who spends time with Jesus to learn from Jesus, to do what Jesus did. And if you find a way that you can't do that, do it anyway. What happens if I lose my job for it? Then lose your job. What happens if it costs me my comfort, my health? I mean, Ina, I've got plans, submit them to Christ. Corey Ten Boom's example is a profound picture of the peace that's present in deep relationship with God. All of life can fall apart. Literally, all of it can. You can get bad news from the doctor next week. In our family, we have a someone recently who was just diagnosed with a cancer, and it's just like, man, it's just kind of one of those things where it kind of stops the world. All of a sudden the boss can call you and, hey, we've been bought out, your position, honestly, it's higher paid, we're getting rid of you. All kinds of circumstances can change, but one thing, an abiding relationship with God, can hold us steady in the midst of it all. There's another part of her story that I just thought was powerful for our consideration today, knowing where we'd be. Listen to this. This is when she's actually in the concentration camp. I am no longer so tired in body and soul. Forgetting what lies behind, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. This is why you've got to root yourself in the scripture, because the scripture can't come out if it never went in. Corey was raised in a home where the scripture was poured in. Corey had patterned her life in such a way that the scripture was anchored to who she was. So when life goes crazy, everything's taken away, and she is pressed on. What comes out is the scripture. It's the Savior who has a task for us. He will lead us. Now, listen, listen to this last statement in light of where she is. I'm not sure where you are today. But none of us have faced anything near to the degree she has, nor will ever most likely. And here's what she writes in that place. Therefore, how wonderful our life will be, whatever the future may bring. Corey. What on earth allows you to remain so steady in the midst of such insurmountable odds? If we were to ask her the question, I think she would say, Well, before I ever got to those odds, I'd pattern my life after the way of Jesus. And a life that's patterned after the way of Jesus. Well, I guess I wrote it earlier, doesn't it? There's no pit so deep that God's love isn't deeper still. We go back to Paul and Paul, you're in a Philippian jail. You've been doing everything right. You went from positions of power to positions of persecution. Like, Paul, what are you doing? How do you do this? Like, how do you even look back and diminish some of the like great things you'd accomplished in your life prior to this? He said, Well, I'd reordered my life around the things of Jesus. And honestly, it was just a better way to live. I've asked uh Bailey and Kristen, they're gonna join me in a moment and lead us in a song, just kind of as uh as words of prayer for us. So Corey Tenboom made the choice to order her life around the way of Jesus, and her example and testimony is powerful. Paul made the decision to reorder his life around the things of Jesus. His testimony is powerful. You and I are called in the midst of our lives today to reorder our lives around the things of Jesus in all things, no matter the cost, no matter the way. We're called to fall in love because listen, when you fall in love with God, like how do you how'd you make that decision? I love him. How could you give that thing up? I love him. How are you processing all this? Love is I don't know, it doesn't feel like work. Well, we order our lives in the way of Jesus. All of our lives. Is there any area of my life I'm not willing to say yes to whatever God would have? I'm convinced that following after Jesus in every area of our lives is not always the easiest way to live, but it is the best way to live. Corey Ten Boom would have never gone to prison, she would have never gone to the concentration camp, her dad would have lived, her sister would have lived, if they just would have compromised a little bit. Not once in the writings that I ever read where she regretted not compromising for a little bit easier life for her ways. It seems the cost would have been too great to forsake her love for God. I don't read anywhere in Paul's writings that, man, I wouldn't be in this prison. I'd actually be in a position of influence. I could leverage my voice differently if I just hadn't gone all in, but I don't read that anywhere. In fact, I've yet to meet somebody who dearly loves God, who's found themselves in a tough place as a result of their love for God, who regrets anything they did because of the love of God. And so, two questions for us to consider. One, if if you don't know God in this way, are you ready to become a disciple of Jesus? Say, man, I want to spend time with Jesus to learn from Jesus how to be like Jesus so I can do what Jesus did in every area of my life. In a moment we'll pray, and I'd invite you to pray with me. And then the second question if you're already made that decision, are you willing to continue ordering your life around Jesus and following him first in all things? All things. You say, well, I'm going, I want to, but nope. It costs Corey Ten Boom literally the life of her father, the life of her sister, and her freedom. And the Lord only knows literally the mental anguish and everything else she would have experienced. But no pit is so deep that God's love isn't deeper still. Would you stand with me? I'd ask you to just kind of close your eyes. They're gonna lead us in this tune. It's a very simple little tune. Let it be your prayer for a minute and then I'll close this in prayer, and then we'll go. Would you guys lead us?

SPEAKER_00 35:21

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