SPEAKER_00: I didn't speak over the little intro this time.
SPEAKER_00: That's good.
SPEAKER_00: Well, good morning, everyone, once again.
SPEAKER_00: I uh am super just overwhelmed with gratitude with the opportunity uh to be diving into God's word with you guys on a Sunday morning.
SPEAKER_00: I don't always get to do this uh so it feels like I'm getting called up to the big leagues.
SPEAKER_00: Letting the the next Jinn guy talk to the current Jinn people seems a little crazy, but uh I love watching like the little Instagram videos of baseball prospects getting told that they're getting called up to the major leagues for the first time.
SPEAKER_00: They're always super happy, super surprised, and coaches giving them a big hug saying, you deserve it, you're the best.
SPEAKER_00: Uh it kind of feels like that right now for me.
SPEAKER_00: Like it was just I'm filling in.
SPEAKER_00: I'm getting called up to the big leagues.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I'm getting this opportunity uh because Pastor Bob and Pastor Darren uh are a part of our group who are in uh Turkey right now.
SPEAKER_00: Uh so but what we need to be doing uh is they get in next Saturday, next Saturday afternoon.
SPEAKER_00: Uh so what we all need to collectively be doing as a church is to begin praying that they do not get delayed.
SPEAKER_00: Because if they get delayed, you're gonna hear from me for three weeks in a row.
SPEAKER_00: And nobody wants that.
SPEAKER_00: Uh we're super excited.
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm ready for it, but I don't know if you guys are.
SPEAKER_00: Uh all jokes aside, I am super excited to be up here this morning and honored to be doing so.
SPEAKER_00: Uh how many of us have siblings?
SPEAKER_00: How many of us have siblings?
SPEAKER_00: I have a sibling.
SPEAKER_00: He's the best sibling ever.
SPEAKER_00: No, Ryan's great, but uh he uh he's like three and a half, four years older than me, which means he's pushing 30, and I think that's hilarious.
SPEAKER_00: Uh but growing up, there would be uh times where Ryan, my brother, uh, was getting in trouble for not doing something or doing something he wasn't supposed to.
SPEAKER_00: Uh whatever it was, I felt like it was a good time for me to step in and make it known that I had not done that, that I was not guilty of it.
SPEAKER_00: Like if my parents asked us to clean our rooms and he didn't, but I did, it was definitely something that I felt appropriate for me to say, I cleaned, I cleaned my room, mom.
SPEAKER_00: Uh Ryan didn't, you're mad at him, so what what do I get?
SPEAKER_00: I cleaned my room.
SPEAKER_00: Anyone, anyone do that?
SPEAKER_00: Just me?
SPEAKER_00: Carson, you do it?
SPEAKER_00: I can tell.
SPEAKER_00: Uh love you, Carson.
SPEAKER_00: But in this section of Mark that we're in this morning, we see Peter be that little sibling that wants to step into the conversation.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but before we kind of we dive into where we are today, it is really, really important for us to see the the past couple of passages before uh this one.
SPEAKER_00: The context is extremely important.
SPEAKER_00: It gives us the full picture of what is happening.
SPEAKER_00: So a few weeks ago, uh we were in Mark chapter 10, verses 13 through 16, which is where we get the account of Jesus reprimanding his disciples for not letting the children come to him.
SPEAKER_00: This was a big deal back in those days because people really did not care about children, sometimes quite literally at all.
SPEAKER_00: They were seen as a nuisance and weren't really useful until they could start to work.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus in this passage was breaking down that narrative that even children were able to come to him because Jesus saw them for what they were, and that was made in the image of God and as a soul that needed to know him.
SPEAKER_00: But this was Jesus teaching the disciples a lesson by making it very clear that if people do not come to him like a child, then they will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Because children, they really bring nothing to the table.
SPEAKER_00: And they get and that they most of the time understand that they are fully reliant on other people.
SPEAKER_00: Pastor Bob, when he was preaching on this, used my daughter Annie as an example.
SPEAKER_00: And I would like to make the argument that she brings a lot to the table.
SPEAKER_00: She brings laughter, cuteness, adorableness, and the list goes on and on.
SPEAKER_00: Enough about any, but in reality, she does not bring anything.
SPEAKER_00: She has full faith that Madison and I will be taking care of her.
SPEAKER_00: She does not worry about food because she knows we'll have snacks and meals for her.
SPEAKER_00: She does not worry about safety because she always knows that we are there to give her a hug when she feels scared.
SPEAKER_00: Maddie and I do everything for her.
SPEAKER_00: And that is the picture of faith that Jesus was trying to get the disciples to understand.
SPEAKER_00: If you're not fully reliant on God with a heart full of faith, then you will not get what you are after.
SPEAKER_00: It sounds harsh, but it's the truth that Jesus was pushing for.
SPEAKER_00: And then last week we saw uh in Mark 10, 17 through 27, uh the section right before this one, we'll see we saw a rich young ruler come up to Jesus with the question of how can I gain eternal life?
SPEAKER_00: What do I need to do to gain eternal life?
SPEAKER_00: What is the one thing?
SPEAKER_00: Because there's gotta be something.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus, being Jesus as he is, and often did, when uh when he was asked a question, was he always answered with a question?
SPEAKER_00: A question that was thought-provoking, a question that really kind of just revealed the heart of the person asking the original question.
SPEAKER_00: He answers back to this man and he says, Why do you call me good?
SPEAKER_00: The only one who is good is God.
SPEAKER_00: And this was Jesus pointing out the fact that this young man was telling everyone around him that he thought Jesus was the Son of God.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus goes on and he he kind of pushes that aside for a little bit and he he mentions the last few of the Ten Commandments that have all to do with how we interact with one another around this, which this young man claims that he had kept all of these things since he was young.
SPEAKER_00: And honestly, he may have kept a good amount of them on the surface.
SPEAKER_00: So we can only assume that this guy was expecting Jesus to be like, okay, you're great.
SPEAKER_00: I'm glad you've been doing that since you were young.
SPEAKER_00: This is what you do next.
SPEAKER_00: You're almost there, this is it.
SPEAKER_00: And he he does not really do that.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't really encourage this guy.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't really say, Good job, man, you're doing great.
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus knows who this person is.
SPEAKER_00: He knows that he is rich, has a lot of things, and rules over people, so he challenges him to something.
SPEAKER_00: He tells this rich young ruler to leave his things and give them to the poor and follow him.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus knew that that was something that this man was not going to be willing to do.
SPEAKER_00: It showed where his heart truly was.
SPEAKER_00: He was okay with not receiving eternal life because he wanted his stuff and his status more than Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And we we think sitting here reading that passage, listening to that passage, and we think, man, that guy missed an opportunity of a lifetime.
SPEAKER_00: Literally talking to Jesus and not getting to the right conclusion.
SPEAKER_00: And in reality, he did miss it to leave all his earthly things behind to follow Jesus himself.
SPEAKER_00: What a great honor that would be.
SPEAKER_00: But this answer from Jesus saddened the man, and he walked away back home because he could not do what Jesus was saying.
SPEAKER_00: Then, Jesus, once again doing what Jesus did, used this conversation as an opportunity to teach his disciples.
SPEAKER_00: He turns to them and says something that if you've been around the church for any amount of time, you've probably heard in some way, shape, or form.
SPEAKER_00: He says, It is harder for a rich man to get into heaven than it is for a camel to get through the eye of a needle.
SPEAKER_00: It's impossible, is what Jesus was saying.
SPEAKER_00: Because I don't know if you've seen a camel next to an eye of the uh a needle.
SPEAKER_00: Camel's not getting through that thing.
SPEAKER_00: It's a little too big.
SPEAKER_00: But this is it is not a a conversation about how we all must get rid of everything we have and give everything to the poor as we should be giving things, but it's it's not about that.
SPEAKER_00: What this is talking about is the placement of our heart, our heart posture.
SPEAKER_00: What are we choosing to worship?
SPEAKER_00: What is getting in the way of you getting to Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: You can be rich and fully devoted to Christ, and your money does not have anything to do with your relationship with your Savior, and you could be poor, and your money could be the one thing hindering you from coming to a saving relationship with Christ.
SPEAKER_00: It is all about our faith in the fact that the Lord is good, that he sent his one and only Son down on earth to die on our cross in our place, so that we could have eternal life with him.
SPEAKER_00: Both of these sections really kind of lead perfectly into where we are this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Where we see that we must come with nothing but full faith, leaving everything behind because all we need is Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So please, if you've not already, flip with me to the book of Mark, chapter 10, uh, verses 28 through 31.
SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 10, verses 28 through 31.
SPEAKER_00: And when you get there, please uh join me in standing in order to honor the reading of God's word.
SPEAKER_00: Mark chapter 10, verses 28 through 31.
SPEAKER_00: It reads, Peter began to say to him, See, we have left everything and followed you.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time.
SPEAKER_00: Houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: But many who are first will be last and the last.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Heavenly Father, Lord, you're good.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, be with us as we dive into your word this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Allow us to focus in on you and what your word says.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, you're good in my name.
SPEAKER_00: I pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: As we we walk through this great passage uh together, I want us to see three different things.
SPEAKER_00: The first is what we leave for Jesus, what we receive for from Jesus, and where we stand with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So I think these three points are exactly what Jesus was really trying to get at while he was talking with this rich young ruler.
SPEAKER_00: When we leave certain things, we receive certain things and are placed in the presence of the Lord accordingly.
SPEAKER_00: So my goal today is to walk through those things and to show what that actually means.
SPEAKER_00: So point number one is what we leave for Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: What we leave for Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We see this passage open up with Peter being Peter, not being able to hold in his thoughts and asking a question, which normally means he he puts his foot in his mouth.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but he he saw Jesus just give the lesson about the children, how they need to have faith like them, bringing in nothing.
SPEAKER_00: He heard Jesus literally just minutes ago talk to the rich young ruler about how he must leave everything behind, and he is thinking, man, it it really kind of sounds like we've done all of these things.
SPEAKER_00: What what does that mean for what does that mean for us?
SPEAKER_00: Which I can I can only assume that the other disciples were maybe thinking the same exact thing.
SPEAKER_00: They were probably putting two and two together, placing themselves in the equation, because if we're all honest, we do that when when we compare ourselves to someone who is struggling with something.
SPEAKER_00: But Peter, being Peter, was the one who was actually going to speak up and say something.
SPEAKER_00: He could not help but get it off his chest.
SPEAKER_00: So he waited until Jesus is done talking to the rich young ruler.
SPEAKER_00: He he sees the rich young ruler walking away with sadness, and Peter says, Jesus, hey, hey Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I was doing some some thinking, and to me it really kind of seems like we we the disciples, me, whoever has have kind of done all of the things that you are asking these people to do.
SPEAKER_00: Like we've come empty-handed, we've left everything behind to follow you.
SPEAKER_00: Uh so like what what's what's going on?
SPEAKER_00: And it that alone, like we've seen the past few passages, is something that is extremely difficult to do.
SPEAKER_00: There's different circumstances, there's different things in our lives that make doing those things extremely difficult.
SPEAKER_00: There are people who are in legit legitimate circumstances that if they come to a saving relationship with God, they will be disowned.
SPEAKER_00: They will literally be kicked out from their family, they will not be welcomed back for holidays, they will never speak to their families again because of their families' hatred for Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Their families were yell at them, curse at them, physically harm them, and spit on them as on the way out the door.
SPEAKER_00: Never to interact again.
SPEAKER_00: That is the reality for so many people.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe not as common in America, but in other countries, that is a very common occurrence.
SPEAKER_00: And something that is extremely difficult to overcome.
SPEAKER_00: Because naturally, there is always going to be a pool to be with family.
SPEAKER_00: And making a decision that completely leaves you without your family as one that is hard to make.
SPEAKER_00: It really challenges your love for God.
SPEAKER_00: It really challenges your faith in the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: There was a movie that came out in 2014 titled God's Not Dead.
SPEAKER_00: If you were a believer back then or your family was, you probably have seen this movie.
SPEAKER_00: It blew up and became super, super popular.
SPEAKER_00: Think what you want to think about it.
SPEAKER_00: I think some of it's cheesy, some of it's really good, but whatever.
SPEAKER_00: Uh but there is a scene that just genuinely makes me tear up every single time I see it.
SPEAKER_00: I rewatched it the other day.
SPEAKER_00: I watched it in my office and teared up like a little baby, but it's fine as I was prepping.
SPEAKER_00: Uh but this scene, we see one of the main characters, which is a college student who is a daughter of a devout Muslim who has forced her to live out a Muslim lifestyle, dress like a Muslim her entire life.
SPEAKER_00: But when she got to college, she met a few Christians who were able to show her the truth of the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: And praise the Lord, she converted to Christianity.
SPEAKER_00: But she was scared.
SPEAKER_00: She hid it from her father, she hid it from her family because she knew what would happen if she told them.
SPEAKER_00: It was not until one day where her little brother saw what she was doing, found out what she was doing, and he told their father.
SPEAKER_00: He thought he was doing what was good and had no idea what would actually happen.
SPEAKER_00: The father one day stormed into the daughter's room, finding her reading her Bible, listening to worship music, and he got angry.
SPEAKER_00: He first, he slapped her, he followed her throughout the house, demanding that she denounce his God, and she stood her ground, saying, Jesus Christ was her Savior.
SPEAKER_00: And he hits her again, picking her up, taking her outside of the house, where he says no words and just stares at his daughter crying, and he leaves her there.
SPEAKER_00: Both of them were absolutely crushed.
SPEAKER_00: That is the reality for so many people in today's world.
SPEAKER_00: We just simply have no idea.
SPEAKER_00: I cannot imagine being in a situation like that where I'm placed in the middle between my family and my Savior.
SPEAKER_00: Many of us in this room today have not and will not ever have to face a situation like that, and I praise the Lord for that.
SPEAKER_00: But there are things in your life that when you finally fully commit to living a life with Jesus, you will need to leave behind.
SPEAKER_00: There are things that you are still doing to this day that you need to get rid of, you need to run away from, you need to forget about and move on.
SPEAKER_00: Because when you come to a saving relationship with Jesus, you will truly gain eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: And you will have to leave everything behind.
SPEAKER_00: Everything that you used to be, everything that you used to do, the person that you used to be, the people that you were around is no longer.
SPEAKER_00: There are things that you are doing that are still from your former self.
SPEAKER_00: For some of you in this room, you need to refocus your mind when it comes to finances.
SPEAKER_00: Just like the rich young ruler, you are sitting here today, either subconsciously or on purpose, holding back from the Lord things that are his.
SPEAKER_00: The rich young ruler would not follow Jesus because he did not want to leave his money and his things behind.
SPEAKER_00: Are you not closely following after Jesus today because you are scared of what he is going to ask you to give?
SPEAKER_00: Are you not closely following Jesus because you do not want to give up the comfortable lifestyle that you live?
SPEAKER_00: Is that what you need to leave behind?
SPEAKER_00: For some of you in this room, you need to leave behind sexual immorality.
SPEAKER_00: Whether that is on the screen or in your bedroom, there are people in this room that need to stop sleeping with their boyfriends, with their girlfriends, with random people.
SPEAKER_00: There are people in this room that need to restrain their access to the internet.
SPEAKER_00: Are you not closely following Jesus because the instant gratification feeling that you get is too much to resist?
SPEAKER_00: For some people in this room, you need to leave behind relationships.
SPEAKER_00: There are people in your life that are hindering your walk with God.
SPEAKER_00: They are causing you to stumble.
SPEAKER_00: They are pulling you away from Jesus more than you are pulling them towards Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Are you not closely following after Jesus because you are too shy to go and make new friends?
SPEAKER_00: Are you not closely following Jesus because you do not want to be that Jesus freak?
SPEAKER_00: What are you struggling with today that is holding you back from a true saving relationship with Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Whether you've been in church for 60 plus years, for this is your 60th time, or you have been in church for 60 minutes, what is holding you back from Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: What are you refusing to leave behind?
SPEAKER_00: What would be your reason to walk away saddened like the rich young ruler?
SPEAKER_00: What is Jesus asking you to leave behind in order to follow him that you are holding on tightly to?
SPEAKER_00: We see this same account in the book of Matthew as well, and we get a little bit more detail in the conversation when we look at Matthew's account, because Mark is writing his book of accounts to non-believers who just at this moment kind of want to see the highlight reel of what Jesus did.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew is more detailed because he is writing to the Jewish people that would have more background in Scripture and the small details mattered more to them.
SPEAKER_00: But in the book of Matthew, we see Peter kind of ends this statement with a question.
SPEAKER_00: He asks, so yeah, we've kind of done all these things that are that you're asking others to do.
SPEAKER_00: What does that get for us?
SPEAKER_00: What do we gain because of the things that we have already done?
SPEAKER_00: On the surface, that kind of seems a little self-centered.
SPEAKER_00: It kind of seems like the little little sibling saying, I clean my room.
SPEAKER_00: But you can kind of see the thought process.
SPEAKER_00: Because if you were if they were to do what Jesus said, they would get eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: And so we've we've done those two things.
SPEAKER_00: What does that mean we get?
SPEAKER_00: I think this is a really similar question to that of the rich young ruler.
SPEAKER_00: It's similar, but it has a different heart behind it.
SPEAKER_00: The rich young ruler was working off of who he was, his status, the fact that he claimed to follow all of the law, and he thought he was a shoe-in for eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus kind of flipped it back around on him, exposing the truth.
SPEAKER_00: Peter, on the other hand, uh is kind of reacting to this interaction in a seemingly curious way.
SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, we we've done all these things.
SPEAKER_00: Does that mean we get something?
SPEAKER_00: He's not necessarily like squaring up to Jesus saying, we did this, now what are you going to give me?
SPEAKER_00: But more of a realization that they will receive something from following Jesus so closely.
SPEAKER_00: From actually leaving everything behind.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus begins to show them what they will receive for what they have done.
SPEAKER_00: So point number two is what we receive from Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: What we receive from Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And verse 29 opens up with the phrase, truly I say to you.
SPEAKER_00: There's a very clear sign that Jesus is about to spit some truth.
SPEAKER_00: He is about to drop a truth bomb.
SPEAKER_00: Not like he's not always telling the truth, but he really wanted these men around him to get what he was saying.
SPEAKER_00: He's like, focus in.
SPEAKER_00: This is the truth.
SPEAKER_00: It's kind of like the people we have in our lives that know a lot of things.
SPEAKER_00: And when they hear something that they they know is wrong, they they like to throw out a little will actually, uh, and they say what actually is going to, what actually it means, what actually is happening, which is something I kind of respect because I think I know some things, but I often don't have the confidence to say something about it when I think something's wrong.
SPEAKER_00: But these people, they've got the confidence, they know it.
SPEAKER_00: And most of the time it's not meant to be rude, it's not meant to be a boast or anything.
SPEAKER_00: They just want the the correct fact out there.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Jesus isn't isn't standing there with his disciples.
SPEAKER_00: Well, actually, guys, this is the truth.
SPEAKER_00: But he he's really just making sure that the disciples heard Peter's question and he is making sure that they are going to hear his answer.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Truly, I say to you, when that happens, something big is about to be said.
SPEAKER_00: He looks around the men in the circle, knowing their stories, knowing who they are, knowing where they came from, what they have done, knowing where they will go and what they will do, and he answers the question at hand.
SPEAKER_00: And not exactly in the way that we uh may have been expecting.
SPEAKER_00: He didn't turn to Peter and and roast him for asking a similar question to the rich young ruler.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't rebuke him for thinking about receiving things, because in reality, when we are loyal to the Lord and closely following him, you will receive things.
SPEAKER_00: God is not asking us to completely avoid anything that gives us something in return.
SPEAKER_00: God is not telling us that we should avoid them, that it should also not change our heart.
SPEAKER_00: It should not change our motive.
SPEAKER_00: Because we should not be following after Christ because we get something out of it.
SPEAKER_00: We should not be serving the poor because it makes us feel good about ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: We should not be fighting for the unborn because we get a fun shirt and some friends.
SPEAKER_00: We should not be running to Jesus because it means we are happy.
SPEAKER_00: But we should do all of these things because that is what we are called to be doing as Christ followers.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is not telling these men that there is a reward, that they will receive something for what they have done to bribe them, but he challenges them.
SPEAKER_00: He says, whoever leaves behind everything will receive a hundredfold.
SPEAKER_00: I had to look that up.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't know what a hundredfold meant, but it's just kind of a fancy word for maximum or like abundance of fruitfulness.
SPEAKER_00: So think the absolute peak amount.
SPEAKER_00: That is what a hundredfold is.
SPEAKER_00: But that should not change the heart behind the action.
SPEAKER_00: Our heart is to praise the Lord and to share his word and his love.
SPEAKER_00: Our heart should not be focused on the reward.
SPEAKER_00: Now there's a there's a very popular TV show uh that I'm not recommending, but it's fun to watch.
SPEAKER_00: Uh that many of us in this room have probably watched through completely.
SPEAKER_00: Uh some of our more wiser folks in here probably were watching it as it was coming out uh episode by episode.
SPEAKER_00: Uh Manny and I is one of our favorite shows to watch through is Friends.
SPEAKER_00: Uh and there is an episode where one of the main characters, uh Phoebe, was in a situation.
SPEAKER_00: Uh it's a really good situation, if you ask me, uh, but where her bank randomly gave her$500 extra dollars in her bank account.
SPEAKER_00: And she wanted to make sure that uh they knew, so she she walked down to the bank and told them of what was happening, and and she kind of they the bank ended up letting her keep the five hundred extra dollars.
SPEAKER_00: And she hated it because she did not like having the money for no reason.
SPEAKER_00: So she went on a little journey to find a way to get rid of that money without her receiving any good in return.
SPEAKER_00: She wanted to find a true selfless act to where she gained no benefit and the other person or people involved gained everything.
SPEAKER_00: She tried a plethora of things and kept finding that she either got something in return or felt good about herself for doing something.
SPEAKER_00: So she finally ended on one thing, and that one thing was to give it to a homeless lady that she had talked to before.
SPEAKER_00: So she walks downstairs from her apartment, she gives all the cash to this lady, uh, and it turns out that even that gave her something in return.
SPEAKER_00: Because the homeless lady turned around and bought uh her a drink with the money that she had just given her.
SPEAKER_00: Point of mentioning that uh is one to definitely not recommend the show, but it's it's a funny show.
SPEAKER_00: Um but if you are truly doing things for the Lord, if you have left everything behind and are at the feet of Jesus empty-handed, the things that you were doing for Jesus will bring you blessing.
SPEAKER_00: You will be blessed here on earth with cars, houses, money.
SPEAKER_00: No, I'm kidding.
SPEAKER_00: Uh but Jesus does mention two specific ways that we will be blessed here on earth.
SPEAKER_00: He says that we will receive a hundredfold homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and lands.
SPEAKER_00: Because when you become a follower of Jesus Christ, you are immediately adopted into the family of God.
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians 1 5 tells us.
SPEAKER_00: If you are coming to Christ, that meant that means that you uh have potentially lost your earthly family.
SPEAKER_00: You you lose them in a literal sense, but you also gain so many brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, because you are part of the family of God.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I I don't I don't know many of your family situations.
SPEAKER_00: You could have grown up in a broken home, you could have grown up on the streets, you could have grown up as a single child, you could have grown up with 15 siblings, you could have had the most loving family, or you could not have seen any of your family for 20 years.
SPEAKER_00: No matter the situation that you grew up in or you're currently in, when you come to Christ and leave all that behind, you are at a net gain.
SPEAKER_00: There are some losses, honestly, that just are, but what you gain, those losses are nothing.
SPEAKER_00: Like, look, look around you this morning.
SPEAKER_00: There are anywhere from like 350 to 500 people in this room, just based off the numbers we get randomly.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but I guarantee you that no one in this room has an immediate family as big as this room.
SPEAKER_00: No one.
SPEAKER_00: And yet we all do because of our relationship with Christ.
SPEAKER_00: We all gain brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers when we join the family of God.
SPEAKER_00: We gain.
SPEAKER_00: Think about Paul.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, before Paul uh came to know Christ, his name was Saul, and he was super well known, loved, and respected and feared in a lot of ways.
SPEAKER_00: He had a lot of things, he had a lot of status, he was in the perfect position for him.
SPEAKER_00: And when he turned to Christ, he lost all of those things.
SPEAKER_00: You can also imagine that his family was very on board with what he was doing as Saul, the Pharisee, Christian, killer.
SPEAKER_00: But when God transformed his life, uh, Paul in Philippians 3, uh 13 through 14, he says this.
SPEAKER_00: He says, But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You see, a lot through his journeys, through his missionary travels, people welcoming him into their homes, treating him as their son and as their brother.
SPEAKER_00: He may have lost some things from who he was before, but he gained so much more once he was devoted to Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: We also receive something uh that does not necessarily seem like a positive thing uh when you first look at it.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't sound so nice uh when you're in it, it doesn't sound so nice when you're thinking about it.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus adds in persecution.
SPEAKER_00: He adds in persecution to what we are going to be receiving.
SPEAKER_00: He's kind of taking what people thought to be wealthy and good, and he kind of turns it on its head.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying that we will receive all of these things, family, uh, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, houses, land, but we will also receive persecution as good in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: If you truly value the Lord and truly following after his word, then you can see the joy and persecution, as crazy as that sounds.
SPEAKER_00: But if you were able to remember that God is working out everything for our good and his glory, like Romans 8.28 says, facing persecution becomes a little bit easier because you know that God is working in it.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus talking about persecution being something that we receive on earth as a good thing completely debunks and the whole thought process and falseness of the prosperity gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Never once did Jesus promise an easy life, never once did he promise you all of these great items to have on earth because you gave some money to some guy.
SPEAKER_00: Never once did he say that.
SPEAKER_00: But what he did say is you do these things, you live your life for Christ, you will be persecuted.
SPEAKER_00: But that is a good thing.
SPEAKER_00: Because if you can remember one of the Beatitudes, Matthew 5, 10 through 11, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
SPEAKER_00: Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
SPEAKER_00: They're not only rewards on earth, but we will receive things eternally.
SPEAKER_00: One commentator says this, and I think it's fantastic.
SPEAKER_00: He says, He, God, did not call men to win the rewards of time.
SPEAKER_00: He called men to earn the blessings of eternity.
SPEAKER_00: God has not only this world to repay.
SPEAKER_00: When we leave everything behind and we lay at the feet of Jesus empty-handed, we receive something far greater than anything that this world has to offer.
SPEAKER_00: When we are truly repentant follower of Jesus Christ, we gain eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: That is what the rich young ruler was searching for, and he was asking what he must do to receive it, and he was just a step away, and it was a step that was too far for him to take.
SPEAKER_00: Dying in our place, on our cross, showing the power over Satan, over the grave, and over death by raising three days later, fulfilling his divine role so that we can be with God forever, have eternal life, and what a gracious God our God is.
SPEAKER_00: To give us something that we do not deserve, to give us a hundredfold of what we give.
SPEAKER_00: What a gracious God.
SPEAKER_00: Point number three.
SPEAKER_00: Where we stand with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: If you look back in the passage in verse 31, uh this is the last verse in this section, and you could argue that it is the most popular verse in this section.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 31 says, If uh you who are first will be last and the last first.
SPEAKER_00: This verse is very popular because it's funny to throw at the kid who's always jumps in line to be first to get the food.
SPEAKER_00: Remember, buddy, the first will be last.
SPEAKER_00: But in all seriousness, this is a verse that is kind of bringing the disciples back down to earth in a way.
SPEAKER_00: This was encouraging because they will be receiving so many great things from the Lord because of them coming to Christ in an empty-handed faith, but so will many others.
SPEAKER_00: And I praise the Lord for that.
SPEAKER_00: But what this verse is talking about is that Jesus is not literally saying the last person will be the first person and the first person will be the last person, but what he is saying is that everything will be equaled out in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Once you are in heaven, you are on a level playing field.
SPEAKER_00: There will be no last, there will be no first.
SPEAKER_00: We are all there for one reason and one reason alone, and that is to worship the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords eternally in his presence.
SPEAKER_00: The best thing that we could ever receive.
SPEAKER_00: That is what it what's in it for us.
SPEAKER_00: That is what we get when we do the things that Jesus is saying.
SPEAKER_00: Coming to him empty-handed, leaving everything behind.
SPEAKER_00: In closing, uh, which you're welcome, by the way, uh, in a few moments, we don't tell Pastor Bob.
SPEAKER_00: Uh we're going to close in a song.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but for now, I I would love it if everyone would just bow their heads and and close their eyes and and just take this moment to really to really think.
SPEAKER_00: Um there are things in your life that you need to get rid of, that you need to leave behind in order to be fully devoted to Christ, in order to realize that we really do not bring anything into the relationship between us and God except sin that He has already forgiven.
SPEAKER_00: For some people, that is literally their family that God, that which is what God was telling the rich young ruler to do.
SPEAKER_00: For others, it's it's addiction, it's money, it's status, it's you fill in the blank.
SPEAKER_00: What do you need to leave behind today?
SPEAKER_00: And you know what's so remain amazing?
SPEAKER_00: When we finally leave that behind, fully devoting ourselves to Jesus, God gives us something that we receive.
SPEAKER_00: He gives us a peace that is unexplainable, he gives us a joy that is unmatched, he gives us a family that we could never imagine, and he gives us the free gift of eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: And if you do not know him in here this morning or listening online, I invite you to take this moment now to take a step closer to God.
SPEAKER_00: Leaving behind the things of your former life and fully committing to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: If you're a Christian here today, I invite you to take this moment to take a step closer to God.
SPEAKER_00: Run away from the things that were before Christ in your life.
SPEAKER_00: Stop holding on to your former life and fall at the feet of Jesus empty handed.
SPEAKER_00: Learn this song.
SPEAKER_00: You can use the steps as an altar, you can stay seated, you can stand up and worship.
SPEAKER_00: But I just ask that you do not waste this opportunity that is before you.