WEBVTT 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:33.920 It is great to have people in the building as we've been back together for a few weeks now. 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:37.920 Um, so I want to say welcome to all of you that are here in the building with us. 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:38.880 My name is Russ. 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:58.320 If I hadn't had a chance to meet you, and welcome to all of you that are watching online, you still haven't got to the point where maybe you're comfortable coming uh and and worshiping in person, or or maybe maybe you're at the beach and and you're vacationing and and it's raining and you can't go outside. 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:02.719 And and so maybe you you had no other alternative than to join us. 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:08.079 And so uh I'm very, very sad that it may be raining while you're at the beach. 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:20.239 But whatever uh the case may be, we're excited that you're with us um in person or online, and we are looking forward to the day where these seats will be filled up again. 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:26.640 Uh, but until then, we're gonna keep worshiping and lifting up the name of Jesus uh the way that we can, right? 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:28.159 We're gonna move forward. 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:41.519 And so I want to encourage you, just like Jonah said, if you haven't already, if you are here for the first time or maybe a second time or third time, you've got permission uh right now to pull out your phone. 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:45.599 And uh, and as a matter of fact, I'd love for all of you to fill out an encounter card. 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:52.000 That's been one of the difficult things is to connect with people during this time as we don't have little programs for you to fill out. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:53.120 So go online. 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:55.439 If you're at home, use your phone. 00:01:55.519 --> 00:02:07.680 We'd love to have a record of your of your time with us, and there's some sermon notes and some places where you can connect and even know how to connect with us as a church as we move forward. 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:09.520 So we're excited about that this morning. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:15.280 We're in this series, um, the Jesus is titled Jesus the Unsafe Savior. 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:23.840 And so we've been talking about the different characteristics and uh of Jesus and how he's not necessarily always safe and how he works. 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:34.240 And and so, as a matter of fact, one of the quotes that we've been referring to the last few weeks is a quote from uh from Susan as she enters the land of Narnia. 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:35.120 This is C.S. 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:38.240 Lewis's classic, um, the Chronicles of Narnia. 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:50.080 And and and and Susan sets her eyes, or they begin to tell her about Aslan before she sees Aslan, and he is a lion, and he's the Christ character in the story, the Chronicles of Narnia. 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:54.000 And they begin to tell her about Aslan, and she she hears he's a lion. 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:59.439 And so she she's a little bit um um uh maybe scared, and she says, A lion? 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:01.840 Um uh is he safe? 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:03.520 She says, I'm nervous. 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:04.240 And Mr. 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:07.439 Beaver says, Who said anything about safe? 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:11.039 Of course he's not safe, but he's good. 00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:13.439 He's the king, I tell you. 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:20.159 And so that's kind of the foundation for this series as we think about who Jesus is. 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:27.199 We need to have an accurate biblical picture of who Jesus is. 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:50.560 As a matter of fact, um one of the books that influenced me as much as maybe any book, especially early on in my life as a follower of Jesus and in my ministry years is a book titled Knowing God by probably one of the greatest theologians that came out of the 20th century, J.I. 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:51.439 Packer. 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:52.159 Now, J.I. 00:03:52.319 --> 00:04:00.639 Packer stepped out of this world and stepped into heaven just this past Friday at the age of 94 years old. 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:02.000 And I thought about this. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:04.960 We're talking about how to know God. 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:14.560 He wrote this tremendous theological work, which one of the things I loved about it, and the reason I recommend it to people is it's an easy book to read. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:20.480 It's not it's not a hard book to understand wherever you are in your journey with Jesus. 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:26.079 But man, he is really understanding the fullness of knowing God at this moment. 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:28.959 And his body does not ache anymore. 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:37.199 He does not hurt anymore, he does not have to deal with the chaos of in the season uh that this world is dealing with now. 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:44.079 He's in the presence of Jesus and he's truly knowing God to the fullest extent that he can know him. 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:47.759 There's no more tears, there's no more pain, there's no more hurt. 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:52.160 He's experiencing the presence of God in its fullness. 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:55.680 That's what I want for all of us in this room. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:57.839 But we first have to know him. 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:03.199 We've got to be introduced to him, we've got to be willing to commit our lives to him. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:08.399 And in this season, I I many of you have been around Church of the Grove. 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:29.199 You know, I'm I'm a huge sports fan, and I've always kind of just enjoyed sports, and so I've there are no sports, and so I'm kind of embarrassed to tell you that in the midst of a sportless world, I have resorted to going online and watching old college football games. 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:33.600 Almost as if I've never watched them before. 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:38.240 I mean, I know how they're gonna end, but I still, it's just this, I miss sports. 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:46.879 But one of the things I have enjoyed during this season that came out earlier this year was a documentary called The Last Dance. 00:05:47.279 --> 00:06:00.720 And it's a documentary about the Chicago Bulls, and it was, it was, it was uh the they followed their season as they attempted to do something that sports teams probably have never done before. 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:09.120 They were trying to accomplish a three-peat, winning a third world championship, not for the first time, but for the second time. 00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:24.720 And so this documentary follows all the Bulls for the whole year and all their games, and and of course it's got Dennis Rodman in the story, and it's got it's got characters like Scottie Pippen, and it's got characters like Steve Kerr and all the other Bulls. 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:32.160 But when you think of the Chicago Bulls, there's one name that comes to mind when you think of the Chicago Bulls, and that name is what? 00:06:33.600 --> 00:06:37.120 Absolutely, the greatest basketball player of all time. 00:06:37.279 --> 00:06:41.839 And some of you in this generation might disagree with me, and that's okay if you do. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:53.759 But but regardless, here's what we see in this story that Jordan has this has this super intensity and competitive nature about him. 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:54.560 He he does. 00:06:54.720 --> 00:07:06.800 As a matter of fact, even though the documentary is about their that season, it gave us a little insight into Jordan's early part of his career when the Bulls really weren't that good. 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:09.439 And as a matter of fact, they were losing a lot of games. 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:16.639 But in the middle of the season, they kind of got went on a hot streak and they were on the verge of making the playoffs. 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:31.920 And what we now know is that the front off, the front office, and all the executives and the leaders of the uh of the entire um uh team wanted them to lose so they would have a higher draft pick. 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:38.879 And you can imagine how that made Michael Jordan feel because his whole purpose was to win the games. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:42.480 As a matter of fact, I put a quote in here from Michael Jordan. 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:51.360 He says, you have to be uncompromised in your level of commitment to whatever you are doing, or it can disappear as fast as it appeared. 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:56.079 Excellence isn't a one-week or one-year ideal. 00:07:56.319 --> 00:07:57.600 It's a constant. 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:06.399 There will be days when you don't feel on top of your game, or meetings in which you aren't at your best, but your commitment remains constant. 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:08.639 No compromises. 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:16.639 Now, you've got to take somebody like Michael Jordan at his word. 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:26.879 I mean, not only does he talk about commitment, he's a man who understood the value and the results of commitment. 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:39.279 Six-time NBA finals winner, six-time MVP from the NBA finals, five-time NBA uh year-long MVP. 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:51.440 He also was a 14-year NBA All-Star, and I think he won the MVP of the All-Star game three times, and you could go on and on and on about the excellence in his career. 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:54.080 So, so so he's talking about commitment. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:57.120 And we all understand commitment to a degree. 00:08:57.360 --> 00:09:03.440 We understand commitment when it means when it means that we show up on time and we're committed to be a good employee. 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:16.000 We understand commitment when we when we do a good job and we we we earn what we're being paid, and and we understand commitment when we have a business or own a business or work for somebody that owns a business. 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:18.159 We understand commitment in all of those areas. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:19.360 We understand commitment. 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:37.279 Maybe when we exchange vows with our spouse and we are committed to our marriage, and and we understand commitment when we are committed to our children, and we're committed to making sure that they are educated and they're they have uh well-rounded uh you know, different types of activities. 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:49.919 We understand commitments in all of those areas of life, but I think there's an area where sometimes we have fallen short in a full understanding of commitment, and it's following Jesus. 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:56.320 I believe we live in a world where maybe maybe our ideas about following Jesus have been warped. 00:09:56.480 --> 00:10:02.639 We live in a culture where we have settled for just maybe seeing Jesus from a distance. 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:08.399 We've settled for even religion rather than having a relationship with Jesus. 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:21.919 We settle for so much less than what God wants to give us and provide us and show us in his presence and in his identity and who he is. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:34.879 And so as we as we get into this series, this week's big idea is this is that Jesus requires total dedication, not half-hearted commitment. 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:42.399 Jesus demands total dedication, not half-hearted commitment. 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:59.679 And we're going to look at a little passage of Scripture in Luke chapter 9, and you'll see where Jesus is going through these little stories, just little story and parable after one after another, where even he has these just really brief conversations with these people that are following him. 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:04.000 Now, right around him in this story would have been the 12 disciples, right? 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:08.320 They would have understood, they would have already left everything they had. 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:34.480 They would have left their livelihoods, they would have left their families, they would have left everything that they knew, they would have left comfort, they left their homes, and they were following Jesus, and they, even though it was pre-crucifixion, it's pre-resurrection, to a degree, to the best of their ability, they understood commitment as much as they could at this point in their life. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:38.480 But there were a lot of other people that were following Jesus at that time. 00:11:38.559 --> 00:11:40.960 And it was, it was the people on the peripherals. 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:42.720 They had heard his teaching. 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:59.679 They had seen him heal people, they had watched him cast demons out, they had they had observed just how he had lived, and many of them were following him for maybe a little while, but maybe they were still deciding, is this something I'm all in on? 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:04.720 Am I gonna cash everything in and invest my life in and follow him? 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:15.120 And so we're gonna look out from the peripheral from our vantage point at a couple of these conversations and the different responses that people give to Jesus. 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:17.919 So Luke chapter 9, verse 57. 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:19.919 That's where we're gonna start. 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:29.440 It says, As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, I will follow you wherever you go. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:32.000 Now that sounds like commitment, doesn't it? 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:34.799 That sounds like this guy's all in, maybe. 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:38.240 We don't know his name, we don't know who he was. 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:43.200 But but he he says, Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go. 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:46.000 But Jesus gives an interesting response. 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:48.159 And look at the response in verse 58. 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:56.159 Jesus responds, this, he replied, Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. 00:12:56.320 --> 00:13:06.080 And here's the first response that we see in following Jesus, this unsafe Savior, and it is a distorted response. 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:08.799 Why do you say it's a distorted response, Russ? 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:09.679 I mean, what do you mean? 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:26.159 This guy seems to be all in, he seems to be committed, and Jesus maybe seems like he's being a bit rude to this guy or he's being harsh to this guy, and he says, foxes have dens and birds have nests, but but the son of man, he's talking about himself, has nowhere to lay his head. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:34.559 And here's how we know it's a distorted response because this man comes across as what we would call an idealist. 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:48.320 He's like, I love, I love the excitement of following this guy as he heals people, as he casts out demons, and and as he performs all these miracles, but he has no idea what the cost is to follow Jesus. 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:50.559 Jesus is trying to help him understand. 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:53.679 Listen, I I don't even know where I'm gonna sleep tonight. 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:56.480 My disciples don't have a roof over their head. 00:13:56.639 --> 00:14:00.399 We're not sure exactly where our next meal is gonna come from. 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:02.559 And you say, you want to follow me? 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:04.399 So he's an idealist. 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:09.039 He's the crowd follower, he's the people pleaser. 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:11.200 He he he here here's the example. 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:14.399 He's a fair-weathered fan. 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:19.759 And see, those of us Atlanta sports people, we know what that is, right? 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:25.679 I mean, I know that my father bought season tickets to the Atlanta Falcons in 1966. 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:34.000 I mean, I was one year old, and when he should have been contributing to my college education, he went and invested in season tickets to the Atlanta Falcons. 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:34.960 That was a joke. 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:39.039 You could laugh just loud enough where they can hear online, okay? 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:40.320 Yeah, thank you. 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:40.960 Thank you. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:45.600 And so he started going every Sunday to the Falcons games. 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:47.600 As a matter of fact, I didn't grow up going to church. 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:59.679 I went, I grew up going to sporting events, and and so my father went week after week and he put on his Falcon gear and he wore the Falcon hat, and they would lose game after game after game. 00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:01.279 And he was a real fan. 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:02.559 He wasn't a fair-weathered fan. 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:13.039 He wasn't like all the fans that jump on the bandwagon in the early 1980s when Steve Barkowski started winning games for the Falcons and they went to the NFC Championship game. 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:14.399 He was a real fan. 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:16.960 Many, many people are fair-weathered fans. 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:25.200 They jump on the bandwagon when everything is going good, but as soon as things go bad, we jump off the bandwagon. 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:28.320 I mean, everybody loves the Braves right now, right? 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:29.840 Everybody loves the Atlanta Braves. 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:31.759 I mean, they won the World Series in '95. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:34.080 They have all the division championships. 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:38.480 My son today is wearing a vintage 1995. 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:39.759 It was my shirt. 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:44.080 He took it from my closet, a World Championship t-shirt. 00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:53.519 But see, I remember being a Braves fan when you could buy the cheap seat tickets, but you could sit right behind home plate. 00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:54.480 You know why? 00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:57.600 Because nobody else was going to the games. 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:00.720 Except those few of us that were real fans. 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:06.559 I mean, sometimes it felt like it was me and Chief Nakahoma were the only people in the stadium. 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:09.519 And most of you don't even know who that is. 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:15.279 And this guy's an idealist. 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:22.639 He's like, I love the crowds, I love all the miracles, but he doesn't understand the cost. 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:33.519 He doesn't understand that following Jesus means leaving the comforts of the world. 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:44.559 That following Jesus means that maybe your family is not going to have all the attention. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:47.600 Maybe you've got to walk away from an inheritance. 00:16:48.080 --> 00:17:00.960 Maybe in some cultures, even around the world, when people when people walk away from the religion they were raised in to follow Jesus, they're disowned by their family. 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:12.400 And Jesus, listen, we know that what throughout the whole story, Jesus says, Hey, you listen, Jesus requires total dedication, not half-hearted commitment. 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:16.559 It's all in everything. 00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:23.359 We know that some of the disciples, some of the people that followed Jesus, they didn't understand that his kingdom was not of this world. 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:35.279 That's why they came up to him and said, Hey, Jesus, the mother of James and John says, Hey, Jesus, when you come into your kingdom, can can my son sit on your right hand and your left hand, can they be at the top of your administration? 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:38.559 And she said, You don't understand what you're asking. 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:43.680 If you want to be great in this world, it's not about being at the top, it's about being a servant. 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:45.759 It's about washing feet. 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:52.319 It's about walking away from the things that you may think are worth investing in. 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:56.160 In a sense, here's what this idealist man wanted. 00:17:56.400 --> 00:18:00.079 He wanted the crown without the cross. 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:11.440 He wanted to have the crown and all the benefits that come with following Jesus and putting your faith in Jesus without experiencing the cross. 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:18.240 Now, this is pre-cross, and so even the disciples maybe didn't understand the full extent. 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:20.160 But Jesus doesn't stop there. 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:29.920 He continues on in this passage and he begins to have a conversation with another man, and it's verse 59, and he says to the another man, he says, Follow me. 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:37.119 Now this doesn't seem out of out of the ordinary because Jesus would walk along, and that's how he called his disciples. 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:46.240 He's walking along the Sea of Galilee, and he turns to his disciples and he says, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:55.839 And so he he looks to this man that's on the peripheral and this man who's watching, this man who's been walking, and he says, Follow me. 00:18:57.839 --> 00:18:59.279 Calling him out. 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:02.000 And here's what the man says to Jesus. 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:03.759 Here's the response. 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:09.119 Lord, first let me go and bury my father. 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:18.480 In verse 60, Jesus responds to him and said to him, Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. 00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:21.039 Now that does that not seem a little harsh? 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:26.160 Because at first glance it appears that maybe this man's father has passed away. 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:29.200 And it would be normal for him to go and bury his father, right? 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:30.160 Jesus is harsh. 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:31.759 Let the dead bury the dead. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:33.680 You go proclaim the kingdom of God. 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:44.000 Now what you need to know is that Jesus is confronting, like he confronted the distorted response, Jesus is confronting what we would call a delayed response. 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:56.799 And here's what else you need to know about this passage is it's if you understood the culture in which Jesus lived, it would not have meant that this man's father had already passed away. 00:19:57.119 --> 00:19:59.440 It would have been a normal part of Jewish culture. 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:04.160 If his father had passed away, that he would have been with his family. 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:07.200 That was a normal part of the Jewish culture. 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:09.039 It's a normal part of our culture. 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:13.039 If you lose someone close to you, you go and you grieve. 00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:14.480 You go and you comfort. 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:23.440 In Jewish life, they call it sitting Shiva, where they just go and they grieve and they sit silent with their loved ones who've lost someone. 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:38.000 Here's what's going on in this story is this man is telling Jesus, Jesus, listen, my dad, my dad at some point is gonna die, and I'm gonna have an inheritance. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:42.880 So here's what I I let me wait and let me get the inheritance. 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:51.519 He's healthy right now and he's alive right now, but at some point he's gonna pass away and I'll have access to my inheritance. 00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:56.319 Once I have access to my inheritance, I will come and follow you. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:02.079 So he's saying, hey, hey, I'm I wait till wait till some point. 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:15.359 Now his dad may have been healthy, it may be years down the road, but he's saying, Listen, I'm gonna hang out with my family, and I'm gonna wait till my father passes away, and then I'll come and follow you. 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:18.880 It's a delayed response. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:30.799 It's not what is acceptable for Jesus, and here it's not what Jesus is worth. 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:33.839 He's worth so much more. 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:37.920 We think, well, that man, that seems kind of insensitive. 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:56.319 See, we have the vantage point to know where we sit today, this morning, that Jesus has has given his life on the cross to absorb and to take upon himself all of the sin, all of the injustice, all of the evil. 00:21:56.640 --> 00:21:59.599 He took it upon himself when he died that cruel. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:04.559 Death, so you and I would not have to take it ourselves. 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:13.920 And so that makes Jesus worthy of following Him and walking away from everything else we know in life. 00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:16.960 And so that's the vantage point. 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:21.839 See, here's what I would write down here in my notes. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:29.039 It says, you can't be content to postpone your followership of Jesus until a time that it's convenient. 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:42.000 Because he is worthy of all our worship, all of our followership, all of our praise, all of our sacrifice, all that we are. 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:46.400 So the delayed response is not acceptable. 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:48.400 He goes on in verse 61. 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:58.640 And it says, still another said, I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family. 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:09.599 And Jesus says in verse 62, no one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:17.759 So intensely he's saying almost the same thing as he said to the previous man. 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:23.440 He's saying, Listen, it's it's total dedication, not half-hearted commitment. 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:25.920 You've got to be willing to leave. 00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:32.880 When I read this, I thought of the story of Lot's wife. 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:36.559 As she was told, don't you turn back. 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:39.119 But she turned back, and what happened to her? 00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:41.599 She turned into a pillar of salt. 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:46.720 There's a cost to turning back rather than going forward with Jesus. 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:49.680 We would miss what Jesus offers us. 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:54.640 Now listen, I need to make sure you understand something this morning. 00:23:55.759 --> 00:24:00.880 Absolute commitment does not necessarily mean absolute obedience. 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:15.200 Now, God wants us to walk with Him obediently, but He also knows that we still live in this human flesh, that we still have to deal with living in a broken, fallen world where we're never going to be perfect. 00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:19.200 And so I don't want to dump shame and guilt upon you. 00:24:19.359 --> 00:24:33.279 I don't want you to mistake what we're saying this morning as a works-based salvation, that if you live obediently, you live with enough commitment, that you will be assured of living eternally in heaven with God. 00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:35.359 That's not what I'm saying. 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:44.240 We still live on this earth in a human, frail flesh that will fall short of the glory of God. 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:51.920 As a matter of fact, that makes what Jesus provides for us that even the greater, right? 00:24:52.079 --> 00:25:02.559 Worth following Him, worth worshiping Him is that even in our brokenness, He provides for us an eternal hope through a relationship with Jesus. 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:04.000 That's good news. 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:05.440 That's what the gospel means. 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:12.000 It's good news for those of us who have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:14.559 Because we're messed up creatures. 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:16.880 We're living in a messed up world. 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:20.640 And we're in a messed up, broken season in this world. 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:34.480 And the last response comes from a different place in Scripture. 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:37.920 And it's Matthew 13, and it's just one verse. 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:41.279 And you see the difference. 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:44.400 Different feel, different perspective. 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:52.160 Where Jesus is still talking, he says, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. 00:25:52.720 --> 00:26:03.680 When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:09.759 So this is the response that should shake us to our core. 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:14.720 See, he Jesus says the distorted response, the idealist is not acceptable. 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:16.559 It's not the plan. 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:22.480 The delayed response is obviously not what Jesus has in mind, but it's this response. 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:25.839 It's the response called the delighted response. 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:36.720 And it's this idea that Jesus is a treasure worth investing our whole heart, our whole life, and everything we are in. 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:38.720 Jesus tells this story. 00:26:38.880 --> 00:27:20.319 What a strange story where this man is just walking through a field and he stumbles upon a treasure in a field, and it says that he finds that treasure and he's excited and he's full of joy to the point he would take that treasure and he would take it out of the ground and he would go find another field and he would bury that treasure in that field, and immediately he would go and he would sell everything he had and take all that he owned, all that he had in his life, every every bit of his wealth, everything he had, and he would cash it in so he could go buy that field that contained that treasure. 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:30.160 And that's a strange kind of story, but you you've got to understand that they didn't have Wells Fargo on every corner or Bank of America. 00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:35.440 They didn't store their money in places like we know. 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:42.400 They couldn't go down and make an appointment with Edward Jones and begin an investment retirement account. 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:45.839 They didn't have Roth RRAs in that day. 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:55.039 And so it was common if people had any wealth or any means for them to take that wealth and to bury it in the ground. 00:27:55.759 --> 00:28:08.160 And many of us have seen the caricatures or or or the cartoons or or the drawings that go way back where people would bury their money. 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:13.680 Or they would put it under their mattress or they would hide it somewhere. 00:28:13.920 --> 00:28:16.400 That's what my wife does with our money. 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:20.640 She hides it from me because I like to spend it. 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:26.960 And so this guy stumbles on this treasure. 00:28:28.079 --> 00:28:43.839 And he and he takes it and he goes and buries it, and then as soon as fast as he can, and with all the joy that he had in him, he cashed in everything he had and he bought that field. 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:46.480 So what is it saying? 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:49.039 Jesus is the treasure. 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:53.519 Jesus is the treasure, the gospel, the good news. 00:28:53.759 --> 00:29:09.039 Jesus' life, his death on a cruel Roman cross, and his resurrection, the gospel news that you have hope in a season of chaos and hopelessness. 00:29:09.359 --> 00:29:13.200 That is the treasure that Jesus is talking about. 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:31.680 And that we serve him, we love him, we worship him not out of duty, but we do so out of delight because he gave his life so we could not only have hope and joy in this world, but we could have life in the world that's yet to come. 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:39.279 That's why we worship. 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:44.240 That's why we say, Jesus, you are majestic. 00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:46.720 You are great. 00:29:46.880 --> 00:29:47.839 You are worthy. 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:52.079 We sing these songs because you have died. 00:29:52.400 --> 00:29:53.599 You rose again. 00:29:53.839 --> 00:29:55.599 You have provided us. 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:58.559 You have set us free from our sin. 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:08.880 I like things that I can wrap my arms around. 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:12.960 And y'all know that if you've been around long, you know I'm a dog person. 00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:15.519 I'm not a cat person. 00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:19.200 Dogs represent the kingdom of God. 00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:23.440 Cats represent the kingdom of darkness. 00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:25.599 They do. 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:33.359 And I and I, if you have a cat and you I've met one or two cats in my whole life that I thought were actually nice. 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:44.000 But listen, you feed and you take care of a cat, and the cat thinks, man, I must be great. 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:49.039 And as soon as you turn your head, it will claw your eyes out. 00:30:49.200 --> 00:30:49.519 Okay? 00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:55.359 I am the center of the universe because you feed me and you take care of me. 00:30:56.720 --> 00:30:59.440 But you feed and you take care of a dog. 00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:01.759 You know what the dog thinks? 00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:05.359 The dog thinks, man, my master is great. 00:31:06.720 --> 00:31:12.640 And the world revolves around my master because he takes care of me. 00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:18.640 Now that is overly simplistic and maybe a bit utterly ridiculous. 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:24.000 But it's just a little bit of an insight in how my mind works sometimes. 00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:30.640 And so what Jesus is calling us into this morning is not religion. 00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:58.319 He's calling us into a relationship with our master that has our best interest in mind, that cares about us, even in a season of chaos, in a season of COVID, in a season where there's tension and injustice, and there are things that are wrong in our world that need to be made right, and the racial issues that we have in the midst of all that. 00:31:58.640 --> 00:32:13.039 Jesus says, I'm calling you into a relationship where there is hope in the midst of hopelessness, where there is joy in the midst of chaos, and I am a treasure worth investing in. 00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:26.319 As a matter of fact, you should cash everything in in your heart, anything that you would place value on that is above Jesus, you need to walk away from that and invest it all in Jesus. 00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:35.039 Now that may that might mean different things for different individuals. 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:42.079 Some of you it might mean that you need to answer God's call to go to a foreign mission field and to share the gospel. 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:54.640 Some of you it just means you need to be willing to walk across the street and to love a neighbor that maybe you've never spoken to, that looks different than you, that may have a different lifestyle than you. 00:32:57.680 --> 00:33:00.720 But Jesus is worthy, is what it's saying. 00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:03.359 I love this quote from Diedrich Bonhoeffer. 00:33:03.440 --> 00:33:09.920 And if you don't know who Diedrich Bonhoeffer is, please go do a little biological research online with Diedrich Bonhoeffer. 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:32.079 But he was a German theologian and pastor in the 1930s and 40s, and he actually left Germany under the Nazi occupation, and he was spending time in the United States of America, and God spoke to him, said, You go back, you go back to your people, you go back to the church in Germany, and you go serve those people. 00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:56.960 And he worked, he even actually worked almost as a spy in a network in the country of Germany to the point that he was arrested and he died as a martyr, being hanged just weeks before the Allied forces would have freed him as he was in prison in Germany. 00:33:57.279 --> 00:34:05.920 And Dietrich Bonhoeffer says one of those famous quotes, he says, When Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die. 00:34:07.599 --> 00:34:18.880 That we're to walk away from anything that we would think that had life for us outside of Jesus and invest all into Jesus. 00:34:19.119 --> 00:34:30.960 And I don't know where you are in your spiritual journey this morning, whether you're in this room or whether you're watching online or maybe you're watching this at a later date, wherever you are, Jesus is calling you. 00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:46.480 Jesus is asking you for a response that is the delighted response for you to put your faith and put your trust and put your belief, put your hope, put your joy into him, and he promises to fill every void that we have. 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:53.280 He promises us hope, and he is not one that will fall short of fulfilling his promises. 00:34:53.519 --> 00:34:55.760 He is good for his word. 00:34:58.400 --> 00:35:10.559 And so whether it's finances or a secret sin or whether it's obeying some step that you think Jesus is maybe speaking to you, listen, Jesus wants you to fall in love with him. 00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:16.159 And he wants you to be excited about him, he wants you to be on fire for him. 00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:28.079 As a matter of fact, I don't know where this quote came from, and I didn't have time to look it up, but but I wrote in my notes set yourself on fire with the passion for Jesus, and people will come for miles to watch you burn. 00:35:30.079 --> 00:35:36.239 And see, we find ourselves right now in this season of life. 00:35:37.679 --> 00:35:39.360 We're so difficult. 00:35:40.400 --> 00:35:43.760 I liken it to almost like a scene in a movie. 00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:47.519 Or a book or a story. 00:35:48.480 --> 00:36:08.960 I don't know if any of you have ever heard of John Grisham, but he's an author that I used to enjoy reading his books, and many of his books were made into movies, and and and I just enjoyed his style and the historic backgrounds, and and and there would be scenes and little uh spaces in the stories that he would write. 00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:25.039 In the movies, there would be scenes where there was so much tension, and you felt for a moment as if uh the the bad guys would triumph over the good guys, where injustice would win out over what was just, where evil would conquer what is good. 00:36:25.199 --> 00:36:27.519 You would feel that tension in the movie. 00:36:27.599 --> 00:36:33.119 You would feel it, you would think, and it's not right, this is not right, this is not the way it's supposed to be. 00:36:33.440 --> 00:36:47.840 But after reading a few of those books and after watching a few of those movies, and I would get to those scenes, and I wouldn't feel quite as much tension because I knew how the story would end, because I had become familiar with the writings of this particular author. 00:36:48.719 --> 00:36:53.599 And I think we're living in a scene right now in the grand story of God. 00:36:53.760 --> 00:36:58.320 We're living in a scene where we feel that tension. 00:36:58.800 --> 00:37:01.679 And it doesn't feel good, it doesn't feel right. 00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:07.360 Things are happening that we know are not right, things are happening that we know aren't good. 00:37:07.599 --> 00:37:16.000 It feels at times as if injustice will win out over what is just, where evil will triumph over what is good. 00:37:16.159 --> 00:37:22.000 That's what it feels like emotionally to us right now in these days that we live in. 00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:27.199 But here's the good news, here's the hope, here's the gospel. 00:37:27.679 --> 00:37:33.440 Is if you've read the author of this book, you know how the story ends. 00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:41.039 And better than just reading his book, you can become intimately acquainted with the author of this book. 00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:47.440 And the writer of Hebrews says that Jesus is the author and the finisher of our faith. 00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:51.119 And we know how the story ends, don't we? 00:37:52.000 --> 00:38:04.159 And that's why in this scene, where it doesn't feel right and there's tension, we can live our lives with a hope and a joy and a delight. 00:38:05.760 --> 00:38:12.239 Because we know that Jesus wins. 00:38:13.679 --> 00:38:15.360 And there's victory. 00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:24.079 And so here's what I ask you if you're on watching online, or if you're in the room, if you never put your faith in Christ, there's no better day than today. 00:38:24.320 --> 00:38:28.559 When I say that, what I mean is you you you say yes, I'm gonna follow. 00:38:28.639 --> 00:38:34.320 But but I'm not gonna be like these these men or or or women in the peripheral part of this story. 00:38:34.400 --> 00:38:35.679 I'm gonna say yes all in. 00:38:35.760 --> 00:38:42.159 I'm gonna, I'm gonna be the I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the guy or the or the woman that that goes and finds the treasure, and I'm gonna cash all all in. 00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:46.960 I'm gonna I'm gonna say yes to Jesus my whole life, my whole heart, everything within me. 00:38:47.599 --> 00:38:49.440 I want Jesus. 00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:52.480 You simply say, you admit that you need him. 00:38:52.960 --> 00:39:02.719 You admit that you you fall short and that you need a redeemer, you need somebody that will restore you, redeem you, save you. 00:39:04.159 --> 00:39:06.400 And he promises to come and live inside of you. 00:39:06.480 --> 00:39:14.960 As a matter of fact, he promises a power that comes through the Holy Spirit to live like Jesus in this broken world. 00:39:15.199 --> 00:39:17.760 And we confess him as our Lord and our Savior. 00:39:18.000 --> 00:39:21.599 So if you've never prayed that prayer, I want to encourage you to join. 00:39:21.920 --> 00:39:24.480 And let's let's just pray right now for a second. 00:39:24.559 --> 00:39:26.639 Let's bow our heads right now, all of us together. 00:39:26.800 --> 00:39:40.400 If you've never put your faith in Christ this morning, a simple prayer, and there's not a there's not it's not a mantra, it's not a set of words that are repeated, but it's where you just honestly say, Jesus, I need you. 00:39:41.199 --> 00:39:43.119 And I depend on you. 00:39:43.440 --> 00:39:47.519 I come to you to be my Lord and to be my savior. 00:39:47.760 --> 00:39:49.760 I trust you fully. 00:39:50.239 --> 00:39:54.079 I want to follow you completely. 00:39:55.599 --> 00:39:57.280 Thank you, Jesus. 00:39:57.840 --> 00:40:04.159 And for those of us that are part of the church this morning, maybe maybe God needs to speak something different to you. 00:40:04.320 --> 00:40:07.519 I don't know what that is, but you you and God can decide what it is. 00:40:07.599 --> 00:40:12.880 But I know it's it that God wants us to be able to say, you know what, there is nothing else. 00:40:13.840 --> 00:40:18.320 There's nothing else that can provide me the joy and the satisfaction. 00:40:18.480 --> 00:40:22.239 There's nothing else like sitting at the feet of Jesus. 00:40:22.400 --> 00:40:27.039 There's nothing else that can give us uh the sense of purpose. 00:40:27.199 --> 00:40:31.679 There is nothing else worthy than the name of Jesus. 00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:44.079 And so this morning we come and we bow and we we we we sing and we worship and we lift up because nothing else compares to Jesus. 00:40:44.880 --> 00:40:51.840 So Jesus, would you work in our hearts this morning as we as we come and we declare this song to you? 00:40:52.719 --> 00:40:54.800 And maybe say, I'm sorry. 00:40:55.440 --> 00:40:58.960 I'm sorry for for not following you. 00:40:59.119 --> 00:41:08.639 I'm sorry for the delayed response, I'm sorry for the distorted response, but we say, Jesus, we delight in you like nothing else.