WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:03.040 Well, good morning and welcome to Trinity. 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:07.120 If I haven't met you before, my name is Mike, and I'm one of the pastors here. 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:09.519 And the beeping is back. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:19.280 This is like the third time in the last couple months, and of course, it's Sunday, which means the Conservancy employees are all off. 00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:26.480 And so if you know how to pick a lock better than Kevin, feel free to hop up during the sermon and go give it a shot. 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:28.160 We're trying to turn it off. 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:31.519 I think on the flip side, it's also just it's reminding us. 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:34.960 Well, here's what it made me think of. 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:43.359 Um have you ever been into a house that is like too perfect on the inside? 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:46.719 And it looks like nobody actually lives there. 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:48.880 It's weird, isn't it? 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:51.520 It's the same thing if you go to a wedding that's too perfect. 00:00:51.600 --> 00:01:01.359 It's like this does not feel lived in, and I think it's just reminding us, reminding me, we're imperfect, imperfect people, imperfect place, and that's okay. 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:08.719 A little bit of mess just means, well, like real people really live here. 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:10.879 So there we go. 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:11.760 There's my little aside. 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:15.120 This morning I'd like to invite you to turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 10. 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:20.799 If you don't have a Bible, please don't hesitate to hop up and grab one from the stack in the back. 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:28.159 You can find Matthew 10 on page 765 in the church Bibles. 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:38.799 This summer we're sticking with the traditional lectionary readings on Sunday mornings, with the preacher getting to choose which text or texts to teach on. 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:47.599 And I picked the Matthew texts because honestly, uh it's a passage that I've never heard someone preach on before. 00:01:47.920 --> 00:02:00.959 But it's one that I've frequently heard people quote, usually as an excuse to fight a culture war or something, and I've never heard it adequately explained. 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:07.519 I mean, on the one hand, Jesus says, Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:10.240 I've not come to bring peace but a sword. 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:17.120 I've come to set a man against his father, a daughter against his mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:24.960 But the same Jesus tells Peter to put away his sword. 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:31.039 He repeatedly speaks about laying down one's life, even in this passage. 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:35.680 Speaks of turning another cheek, the other cheek. 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:39.280 He's referred to as the Prince of Peace. 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:47.599 And so it seems we have a contradiction here, which I find utterly fascinating. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:50.479 And so here we are, Matthew chapter 10. 00:02:50.639 --> 00:02:58.319 In just a moment, we'll set the context before trying to understand what Jesus means here and then applying it to our lives and our life together. 00:02:58.719 --> 00:02:59.680 But first let's pray. 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:06.879 Gracious God, thank you for this morning for the chance to gather, to worship, to pray. 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:15.840 Thank you for the opportunity you're giving me to practice humility and patience. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:20.560 Even with the beeping in my ear. 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:29.039 And I pray, God, now that as my words line up with your words, that they would fall on ears and hearts ready to receive them and respond. 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:34.879 And gracious God, if I say anything that isn't from you, I pray that those words would quickly be forgotten. 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:40.400 I pray all these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:41.360 Amen. 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:53.520 If you've been here either of the last two weeks, you might remember what's going on in Matthew's gospel account because we're still in the same scene. 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:59.360 Jesus has called his disciples by name, he's set them apart. 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:08.879 He's invited them into his mission, he's empowered them to be sent, he's reminded them that they go in his authority. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:18.480 He's preparing them for what lies ahead, including, as Pastor Mary noted last week, suffering, persecution, fear. 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:23.360 And yet we ought not be afraid because we go in his name. 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:25.600 We're empowered by his spirit. 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:30.000 God knows us and loves us and promises to care for us. 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:34.160 There's a pattern here in these texts. 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:37.199 Jesus calls and then empowers. 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:38.639 We saw that two weeks ago. 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:45.120 And then he makes clear the very real cost of following him, followed by the very real benefit. 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:47.120 We saw that last week. 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:49.759 In this week's text, he does it again. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:56.160 He makes clear the cost of following him while also speaking again to the benefit of following him. 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:06.800 It's almost like he knows how quickly we humans try to avoid anything uncomfortable. 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:21.759 It's almost like he knows our trouble, the trouble we have with keeping the end in mind, especially when the going gets tough, which it inevitably will, Jesus assures us. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:28.800 This is no promise that life will be all sunshine and roses. 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:33.439 In fact, he seems to be affirming the opposite. 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:42.319 If you want a life devoid of suffering, conflict, or pain, then the way of Jesus isn't for you. 00:05:43.519 --> 00:06:01.120 But if you want a life rich in meaning and purpose, a life spent in relationship with God, a life spent seeking the welfare of others that ends in eternal life, it'll come with suffering, but that's the offer. 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:08.319 So Jesus says, starting in verse 34, do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:11.839 I've not come to bring peace but a sword. 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:21.680 I mentioned this at the beginning, but the way that I have generally heard this verse used, at least in public discourse, is as a proof text for the culture war. 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:23.360 Has anybody else heard it like that? 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:26.240 Is that what Jesus is saying? 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:32.879 That he came to fight, to dominate, to hand us swords, to win through the power of the sword? 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:35.279 Here's what I think. 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.439 We know how Jesus won. 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:44.879 And it wasn't with a sword, but a cross. 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:51.600 By making himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant, as Paul writes in Philippians 2. 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:57.279 And yet he says that he hasn't come to bring peace, but a sword. 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:03.439 For I've come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:04.959 We don't need a lot of help on that one. 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:08.000 A person's enemies will be those of his own household. 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:10.720 We don't need much help on that one either, do we? 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:17.600 Whoever loves, hold up, whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:21.759 Oh, and this one gets to our idols. 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:26.879 Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:29.759 Here's my take. 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:30.879 I could be wrong. 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:34.079 So do your own thinking, your own wrestling with others, your own study. 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:36.319 Ask your own questions of God in the text. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:40.160 But here's what I think Jesus is saying. 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:46.560 A life spent following him will not be without conflict. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:49.199 It won't be without cost. 00:07:50.959 --> 00:08:05.360 It won't always be smooth sailing, and there will be times when even those you love the most, parent, child, sibling, may not understand. 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:11.519 Or may stand in opposition to the way of Jesus. 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:16.800 To try to drill it down. 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:27.439 There may very well be a relational cost to following Jesus. 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:30.480 And it may be significant. 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:39.679 A couple years ago, I baptized a woman who'd grown up in Iran. 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:43.279 She moved to the States when she was 18. 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:52.000 She started attending Truro, where I was a priest, because her husband had grown up in the church. 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:55.519 And their son was going to the preschool there. 00:08:55.679 --> 00:09:01.759 And I ran into her in the parking lot one week and I asked her, like, I just stopped and said, How are you doing? 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:03.679 And then I like, I stopped. 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:06.320 And she started telling me. 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:10.720 And then she said, actually, I've got some questions about faith. 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:13.039 Do you think we could talk about that sometime? 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:15.360 And I said, Of course. 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:18.639 We met almost every week for the next 10 weeks. 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:21.600 And then I baptized her. 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:25.679 And she can't go back to a ram. 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:28.960 She has family in a Ram. 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:31.360 She can't go back to a Ram. 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:41.440 There's a relational cost, sometimes, to following Jesus. 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:45.200 Had a similar story of a friend. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:54.000 Went to college, became a Christian, discerned a call to ministry. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:57.120 His parents said if you do that, you're cut off. 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:02.559 I heard a similar story of a friend who grew up in the church. 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:06.320 Went to college, discerned a call to ministry. 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:08.960 His parents really wanted him to be a doctor. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:13.679 Not a lot of money in this work. 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:24.799 He went to seminary, became a pastor, fractured his relationship with his parents. 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:31.840 Sometimes there's a relational cost to following Jesus, and it may be significant. 00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:36.320 A yes to Jesus is no small thing. 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:38.799 So count the cost. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:43.440 Would you still say yes to Jesus if it cost you your family? 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:48.480 Would you still say yes to Jesus if it meant a life of persecution? 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:51.519 As we saw last week in verses 17 to 23. 00:10:52.159 --> 00:11:00.879 Would you still say yes to Jesus if it meant a life devoid of peace and instead full of strife? 00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:03.200 Conflict. 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:05.600 Suffering, pain. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:11.440 That's what we see here in verses 34 to 36. 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:15.360 And then Jesus takes it still further. 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:21.600 Would you still say yes to Jesus if it cost you your life? 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.879 That's because that's what Jesus is asking for. 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:29.120 All of you. 00:11:30.639 --> 00:11:32.080 Your very life. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:37.840 If you've got a Bible open in your lap, underline verses 38 and 39. 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:42.879 Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:46.000 Whoever finds his life will lose it. 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:50.559 Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:56.639 A yes to Jesus means a yes to the ways of Jesus. 00:11:57.279 --> 00:12:00.559 It means a yes to dying to self. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:03.759 It means a yes to the cross. 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:09.600 You can't have Jesus without the cross. 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:21.440 And you can't walk in the way of Jesus without walking the road of suffering and dying to self and submitting wholeheartedly to the will of the Father. 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:26.559 Jesus is asking his disciples to count the cost. 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:32.000 He's asking us to count the cost. 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:34.639 It's like this. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:37.279 Maybe this doesn't happen in your house, but it happens in my house. 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:42.399 One of the conversations we've been having with our boys lately is about taking responsibility. 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:49.279 And I mean lately, like we've been having this conversation for the last, well, let's see, my oldest is 15, so since he could talk. 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:51.919 13 years. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:58.159 It's really easy, and adults we do this too. 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:06.960 It's really easy to say, I'm sorry for talking back, but isn't it? 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:25.519 I'm sorry for this mistake I made at work, but I'm sorry for not doing what you asked me to do, but I'm sorry for being frustrated with you, but we do this with Jesus too. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:34.720 Jesus, I'll obey you on this thing, but I'm gonna do it my own way over here. 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:59.600 I'll come to church on Sunday, be generous with my time, talents, treasures, but I'm gonna do things my way at the office, or on Friday night, or when no one is looking, or when it might cost me a couple hours of sleep. 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:02.639 Or pick your thing, right? 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:09.279 Surely none of us do that, do we? 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:11.039 I know I do. 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:13.200 Jesus is clear. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:15.120 Following him means the cross. 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:17.519 It'll cost you your life. 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:22.399 So count the cost and know what you're saying yes to. 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:28.879 But remember as well, whoever finds his life will lose it. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:33.919 And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:37.279 It'll cost you your life. 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:42.879 You'll get it all back, and then some. 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:50.159 We don't always experience that in this life, but sometimes we do. 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:57.759 Just about 11 years ago, I accepted a call to serve at Truro Anglican up in Fairfax. 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:02.559 My wife and I lived a mile from the beach in San Diego. 00:15:03.679 --> 00:15:08.720 And we lived 15 minutes from both sets of grandparents. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:11.200 We had two boys. 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:12.960 We're four and two. 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:25.600 And if you've never experienced the blessing of grandparents when you have nearby when you have little ones, oh man. 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:27.440 And we we'd spent the last 10 years. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:29.120 We'd spent 10 years in San Diego. 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:30.399 And it's where we'd grown up. 00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:32.080 The Gennady grew up in San Diego. 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:35.200 We left for college in Texas, we moved back to San Diego. 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:36.320 We'd been there for a decade. 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:38.399 We lived a mile from the beach. 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:40.879 We had grandparents nearby. 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:47.840 And then God said, You need to pack up and move across the country to Northern Virginia. 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:50.240 You need to leave all of that behind. 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:55.279 Leave your church behind, your friends behind, both sets of grandparents behind. 00:15:57.360 --> 00:15:58.320 And we did. 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:00.879 Moved across country. 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:07.120 Jenny would probably still say it was one of the hardest things she's ever done. 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:12.320 And you know what happened? 00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:17.759 Seven years later, eight years later, my in-laws moved across the country. 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:23.120 And then a year or two after that, my parents moved across the country. 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:35.440 And we've spent the last three years, four years, grandparents even closer than they were before while our boys grew up. 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:45.039 Sometimes when we offer our lives to God, He He gives it all back and then some. 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:49.279 He gave it all back to us and then some. 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:55.120 Sometimes He doesn't do that in this life. 00:16:56.720 --> 00:17:02.480 Sometimes we don't see those blessings even within years. 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:06.559 But the promise is clear. 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.720 Whoever finds his life will lose it. 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:15.680 And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:28.559 The promise is, at the end of the day, he promises to give it all back to us, and then some. 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:34.319 Even more than grandparents down the road. 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:37.519 And then Jesus switches gears. 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:42.960 Surely there will be some relational cost of following Jesus, but just as surrender and you follow Jesus. 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:45.119 Some may reject you, but others will receive you. 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:46.240 Look at verse 40. 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:50.480 And if you have a Bible open in your lap, circle every time you see the word receive. 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:52.720 Whoever receives you receives me. 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:55.680 Whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:59.839 The one who receives a prophet because he's a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:05.440 The one who receives a righteous person because he's a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:08.720 Anytime we see repetition in the Bible, we ought to pay attention. 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:09.920 And here we see it. 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:12.319 Over and over and over again, receive. 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:16.079 Many of you have heard me say this before. 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:21.200 The posture of a disciple of Jesus is like this: open hands. 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:24.480 This is the posture of a disciple. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:31.839 The way of Jesus is marked by giving and receiving. 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:36.079 We give our lives, we receive a new life. 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:47.359 Likewise, when we surrender our relationships and our peace to Jesus, he in turn gives us those who do and will receive us. 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:50.160 And in doing so receive Jesus. 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:53.039 This is his way. 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:57.680 Receiving and giving and giving and receiving. 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:03.920 Not just because someone is righteous or a prophet, but because the way of Jesus is the way of grace. 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:08.880 Of freely giving and freely receiving. 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:14.000 In Matthew 10, Jesus is sending his disciples out to participate in his mission. 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:19.039 He knows they're potentially walking into persecution, suffering, rejection. 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:29.039 Not into an easy, peaceful mission, but a costly mission, one that requires them to take up their cross, surrender their lives, to give themselves away to others. 00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:35.119 Giving yourself away in service to others is risky, isn't it? 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:40.880 Approaching any other person like this is vulnerable. 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:45.759 It opens us up to all sorts of rejection and hurt. 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:50.240 It's risky. 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:53.359 But it's the way of Jesus. 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:56.400 Offering yourself for the sake of others. 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:08.079 And when we do it, when we offer ourselves to one another, to our neighbors, our friends, coworkers, well, we certainly give them the chance to reject us, to hurt us. 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:09.680 For sure. 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:14.000 But we also give them the chance to receive us. 00:20:15.039 --> 00:20:16.720 To receive Jesus. 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:24.400 I have a mentor who used to always encourage me to take the risk and have spiritual conversations whenever possible. 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:28.559 To invite people to consider Jesus and to receive Jesus. 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:41.440 And he used to say that when they said no or not yet, or ah, I don't know, or that sounds like a good thing for you, I don't know, but for me, he used to always remind me, Mike, they're not rejecting you, they're rejecting Jesus. 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:54.400 But when I didn't ask, when I didn't invite, he used to say, when I didn't have the conversation, I never gave them the chance to receive what I had to offer. 00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:59.359 I never gave them the opportunity to receive Jesus. 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:02.799 I effectively said no for them. 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:20.079 When we offer ourselves to others, when we offer Jesus to others, we give them a chance not just to reject us and what we have to offer, but we give them a chance to receive us and what we have to offer. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:26.559 That's what Jesus is saying in verses 40 and 41, which brings us to verse 42, which I love. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:27.279 Look at this. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:35.759 Whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward. 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:39.440 I think this is so important, so listen closely. 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:46.640 Jesus wants to make it clear that saying yes to him comes with big, real costs. 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:51.279 But it's not all dramatic gestures. 00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:53.119 Praise the Lord. 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:59.039 Sometimes it's giving or receiving a cup of cold water. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:00.720 It's like this. 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:10.559 I've been married for a little over 19 years now, and my love for Jenny is sometimes clearly expressed in grand acts of love and service. 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:15.440 Like last fall, I took her on a surprise trip for her 40th birthday. 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:17.359 Grand gesture. 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:24.319 But even more than the big grand acts of love and service. 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:41.440 A marriage is built on a thousand small acts of care and love and service and attentiveness to her and to our marriage over a long period of time. 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:46.000 So it is with following Jesus. 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:49.039 So it is with any relationship for that matter. 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:51.119 Jesus wants his disciples to know it. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:53.359 He wants us to know this. 00:22:53.440 --> 00:23:00.160 And so he says, give what you can, even if it seems small, a cup of cold water. 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:03.839 Just take that one little step every day. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:07.039 Have a thoughtful follow-up conversation with a friend. 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:08.640 A little prayer. 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:10.720 A ride to the airport. 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:12.559 An invitation to the pool. 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:16.240 Be truly attentive for a moment when someone speaks. 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:17.759 Set up the chairs. 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:19.119 Put the phone down. 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:20.240 Make eye contact. 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:21.359 Write the note. 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.079 Receive from others. 00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:26.240 Give to others. 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:28.720 Live open-handedly. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:31.920 And do it with the small things. 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:36.640 Yes, we're called to offer Jesus our very lives. 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:38.960 And that's huge and overwhelming. 00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:41.680 And frankly, most of the time I don't know how to do it. 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:49.039 But I do know how to get Jenny a cup of water when she's already in bed. 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:53.839 And as the cover is tucked tight and is thirsty, I can do that. 00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:54.880 Right? 00:23:57.039 --> 00:24:01.680 Receive from others, give to others, live open-handedly. 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:08.880 The way of Jesus, the way of the cross, does require us to count the cost and make big decisions. 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:11.279 That's what we see in the opening verses of our text today. 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:27.920 But the way of Jesus is not all big, dramatic acts of sacrifice and service, but a thousand small acts of giving and receiving, of learning to give and receive grace. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:30.400 And it takes a lifetime to learn this, doesn't it? 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:42.960 It's these seemingly, seemingly small acts of service done in service to Christ that form us into his likeness, just as much as the big acts of sacrifice. 00:24:43.759 --> 00:25:00.240 Just as it's the small acts of attentiveness and love that grow in marriage, so the seemingly insignificant acts of service compound, forming us and transforming us when they're done with open hands. 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:10.079 When done in a posture of open-handedness towards God and others, there is no small act in the kingdom of God. 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:11.759 Let me say that again. 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:23.519 When done in a posture of open-handedness towards God and others, there is no small act in the kingdom of God. 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:25.440 Okay, so what? 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:28.079 Two big questions, two main takeaways this morning. 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:33.359 First, have you counted the cost of saying yes to Jesus? 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:36.720 Have you counted the cost of saying yes to Jesus? 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:40.960 We need to do this each and every day. 00:25:41.920 --> 00:25:48.799 Second, there's an invitation here in the text to a little life of grace. 00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:51.519 Maybe you notice I do the little with the quote marks. 00:25:52.880 --> 00:26:00.799 Because the little acts of grace, a little life of service in the kingdom of God is no small thing. 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:06.960 But it's a big, beautiful thing that compounds forming us into the image of Christ. 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:23.119 So the invitation is to say yes to the way of Jesus, giving and receiving with open hands and open hearts in all the seemingly small and unseen places of our lives that form us in his likeness. 00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:25.599 Will you stand and pray with me? 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:50.559 Gracious God, would you form us to be this sort of people in our life together with our neighbors, coworkers, friends, classmates, the sort of people who serve and love and give ourselves away? 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:55.359 Oh gracious God, would you unclench our fists? 00:26:56.799 --> 00:27:04.880 Teach us to live a life of grace, of open-handedness, giving and receiving for the sake of others. 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:12.960 Would you remind us how great the prize waiting for us at the finish line? 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:21.200 And would you teach us to walk in your ways this day and every day? 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:24.720 Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:26.000 Amen.