WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:09.599 Well Church, you know, one thing that I think is universal in our culture, probably in y with you and with me, is uh inconsistency. 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:16.800 I think few things are as common as actually being inconsistent. 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:25.120 Logic, reason, and even the way that the universe operates, right? 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:29.920 The seasons and and all these things and the way the way biology works, it's consistent. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.399 It preaches consistency to us. 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:39.119 The creator of God is a consistent creator, because his creation is consistent. 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:43.200 Logic and reason, we know that we can two plus two is four. 00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:44.320 It's consistent. 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:46.079 Math is consistent. 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:52.799 But people are consistently inconsistent. 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:54.640 And we know it. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:58.399 We're just we're inconsistent people, even the best of us. 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:03.600 We'll say one thing and we'll do another. 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:08.799 We'll say what we think is right, but we won't walk that out. 00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:12.879 And we kind of have two ways of getting around this. 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:17.760 And one is that we become legalistic monsters, right? 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:36.560 So we just become so legalistic and we make lists and lists and lists of how you're supposed to do something, and then we impose that on others until that they fulfill our list, our law, so to speak, they're not right people, they're not good people. 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:43.280 Or the other way of dealing with our inconsistencies is we just become tolerance monsters. 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:45.439 Everything's we tolerate everything. 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:53.040 Your truth is your truth, what you believe, that's fine, and everyone is a law in and unto themselves. 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:57.920 And we do this because we have inconsistencies. 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:05.599 And this isn't just a simple thing, this works through our whole nature. 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:18.000 How often do you, is it, you know, it's the Saturday or Sunday evening, and the fresh week is before you, and you think, man, this is the week. 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:27.360 I'm going to exercise, I'm going to get up early and be in the Word and in prayer, I'm going to memorize the Bible passage, I'm going to evangelize. 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:28.719 And you kind of make this list. 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:30.080 Like, this is the week. 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:31.680 You know, this is the new chapter. 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:33.599 It's January 1st. 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:36.400 And those aren't bad things. 00:02:36.639 --> 00:02:46.719 But we just know in our own experience, in our own life, how quickly what we say we want to do and what we genuinely think we want isn't what happens. 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:53.039 And we have a lot of grace for one another in this sense. 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:58.879 But it is interesting how inconsistent we can be. 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:05.199 We can say that we love God, and we're worshiping God, and we're followers of Jesus. 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:12.479 And it's helpful that we live in a culture that doesn't define that, and that can just mean just about anything, right? 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:20.400 You can say, I follow Jesus, and you can be Mormon, you can be Jehovah's Witness, you can be a pagan who just thinks Jesus has good teachings. 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:22.240 Anything. 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:26.400 And so we get to self-define all these things. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:34.800 But it's difficult because deep down we know there's something wrong with that. 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:44.159 Then if we're gonna be logical and take our inconsistencies out and apply them, then what are we left with? 00:03:44.400 --> 00:04:04.159 A bunch of hodgepodge things, and truth is up for grabs, and what we how what a good life looks like is up for grabs, what it means to be a good husband, a good uh wife, a good parent, all those things are just up for grabs if we allow inconsistency to rule the day. 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:11.840 So what we're doing is we're seeking to say, how do we look to something that's consistent? 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:16.879 This is what Jesus does for us. 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:23.120 He is consistent, and he reveals the inconsistencies. 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:45.439 So our quest, if you will, as Christians, walking with Jesus, following Jesus, this is a word for this, it's sanctification, it's us growing and maturing, is we're identifying our inconsistencies and we're dealing with them by God's grace, by his mercy, through his patient love. 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:47.439 We're dealing with these things. 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:54.079 But first and foremost, we must know who Jesus is. 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:58.240 We must know who he is. 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:05.759 Lord willing, this week and next week, we'll go through this passage and the next week, the transfiguration. 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:10.560 And that the title this morning is A Theology Proper. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:13.040 A theology proper. 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:16.879 Got a little theology theme going the last several weeks. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:26.399 And not to get into the nitty-gritty of all these things, but when people talk about theology proper, it doesn't just mean like their grammar is proper, their English is proper. 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:32.879 It's talking about God Himself, His nature, His character, who He is. 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:36.560 So anything related to God falls under theology, right? 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:46.160 So big umbrella theology, then you have the theology of the church, which is ecclesiology, you have the theology of salvation, soteriology, all these big words. 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:50.639 But the point is when someone says theology proper, we're talking about God. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:56.319 We're talking about his nature, who he is, his attributes, how what he what he is. 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:02.560 So this next two weeks we will be talking about Jesus. 00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:04.160 Who is he? 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:06.319 What has he done? 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:12.240 Getting a glimpse so that we have proper theology. 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:17.839 We begin with right knowing. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:21.360 This is the first point this morning, right knowing. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:25.759 And this is what Jesus is getting after in verses 18 through 23. 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:28.959 He's praying with his disciples alone. 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:30.639 He's praying alone. 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:35.199 The disciples were with him, and he asked them, Who do the crowds say that I am? 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:38.399 There's a very, very well-known passage. 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:47.199 And they answered him: John the Baptist, but others say Elijah, and others that that one of the prophets of old has risen. 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:52.560 Then he said to them, But who do you say that I am? 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:59.279 And Peter, who almost always answers first, Peter says, the Christ of God. 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:14.079 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell no one, saying, The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed on the third day. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:22.000 Jesus is asking, he's getting after this very question: Who is Jesus? 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:27.519 So right knowing is the first step. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:34.480 Again, Jesus wasn't saying, get close and you'll be good. 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:44.000 You know, just get a general idea of this idea, a concept of this abstract idea of the Messiah, and then you'll be good. 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:52.480 But he asks the disciples, and the first thing they say is what's kind of common, the ideas that are floating around in the general population. 00:07:53.040 --> 00:08:00.639 John the Baptist, some say Elijah, the prophets of old has risen, a prophet of old. 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:14.720 And you're gonna get all kinds of answers, right? 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:16.639 He was a good teacher. 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:24.639 Um some might say he was a prophet, some might say he was a false teacher or someone who led a cult. 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:27.519 Some people would say he just never existed, it was just made up. 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:31.439 There's all kinds of answers that people have for this question. 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:44.080 And in reality, everyone who has heard of the name of Jesus or is familiar with the ideas or the teachings of the Bible has to answer this question. 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:49.200 Everyone has to have an answer to this question. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:50.639 You just have to. 00:08:50.879 --> 00:09:17.840 And you might not be confident in your answer, and you might not necessarily want to share your answer with everyone, but face with the reality that there was a Messiah, a creator, God Almighty, who came to the earth and dwelt in human form, took on flesh, walked the earth, was crucified, was killed, was buried and resurrected. 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:20.720 You gotta deal with that. 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:21.600 Is it real? 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:22.720 Is it fake? 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:25.039 What is going on here? 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:30.559 And Jesus just goes right after and says, okay, but who do you say? 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:39.679 You who've been following me, you who say that you're my disciples, who do you say that I am? 00:09:44.159 --> 00:09:50.639 Anything, any answer, but God Almighty in the flesh. 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:58.240 And what you get is the continued struggle of the Old Testament narrative. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:11.679 The continued struggle of Israel, who's looking to be made right with God, but then they rebel and then they make sacrifices and then they're judged in this perpetual struggle. 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:19.279 Never righteous, never keeping the law, having God's word, but never following God's word. 00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:30.159 Anything other than God Almighty in the flesh, in this continued struggle of we can't be made right with God, continues. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:38.960 This continued struggle of a people who are zealous for self-praise and self-gratification. 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:41.919 The status quo just continues. 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:50.799 But if Jesus is God in the flesh, then everything changes. 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:53.200 It has to. 00:10:53.519 --> 00:11:12.960 The claims that Jesus has made, the miracles that he has done, the things that he's teaching, if he is the Messiah, if the disciples are saying, the Christ of God, you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God, that's their answer. 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:15.360 It changes everything. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:20.720 That's why this question is so important. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:27.200 Who you say Jesus is matters immensely. 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:28.480 It changes everything. 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:40.320 This is why we know in church history most of the heresies and the church councils in the first few hundred years of the church were about Jesus, about his humanity and his deity. 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:41.679 Who is he? 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:44.480 Get it wrong? 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:46.960 You get this wrong on who Jesus is. 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:48.480 You're a heretic. 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:50.480 That's how big it is. 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:53.039 You get this wrong, you're a heretic. 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:54.960 You're not a Christian. 00:11:57.279 --> 00:12:04.799 Sometimes we like to do this thing in Christianity in this day and age where we just say, let's let's stop all the division. 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:07.840 Let's just be unified around the cross. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:10.799 Let's just come and be unified around the cross. 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:18.320 And we'll put down our differences in our denominations and our doctrine and our theology, and we'll just come to Jesus. 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:20.240 Which sounds great. 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:28.639 And I think the reality is all Christians are doing that, and we'll see that happen in glory with our own eyes, or with new eyes, I should say. 00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:37.039 But the reality is, tell me which Jesus you're wanting us to come and all circle around. 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:42.240 What Jesus is it that you're wanting us all to follow together? 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:48.080 And when you press that question, people don't want to get into that. 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:49.759 Well, it's Jesus of the Bible. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:52.240 Okay, well, is he God? 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:53.759 Yeah, he's God. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:54.639 No, no, no. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:56.159 Is he the God? 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:59.039 God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. 00:12:59.279 --> 00:12:59.919 Division. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:04.240 Well, he's not the God, he's a God, some would say. 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:06.960 And you start pressing in. 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:14.960 And even in Protestant circles, you you press the question of is Jesus the creator of all things? 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:18.799 And that means that we're now, he's the Lord of our lives. 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:25.279 Well, no, he can save you, but he doesn't have to be your Lord or your master. 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:27.600 Well, that's not the Jesus of the Bible. 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:29.120 That's not what He said. 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:31.759 He said, Forsake all and follow me. 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:34.320 Lay down our life and follow him. 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:39.200 So we have to have this right knowing of who Jesus is. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:42.720 Think about your own life. 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:51.200 And I know this is one of those passages we can kind of beat ourselves up with. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:52.480 Right? 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:57.120 Can just, am I following Jesus? 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:00.159 I'm not following Jesus because I'm sinning. 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:11.120 If we're not careful, we can get into one ditch or the other where we just we read this and we think, I'm a sinner, I must not be a Christian, and then off we go into despair. 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:16.240 Missing the gospel, missing God's work of grace in our life, and all those things. 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:21.200 The other ditch is that we say, No, I know who Jesus is. 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:25.919 He's the Christ of God, he's the Son of God, He's the Most High, He's the creator of all things. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:27.120 I know who He is. 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:30.240 And then we just move on. 00:14:32.879 --> 00:14:37.200 It's easy to just acknowledge we know who Jesus is and move on. 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:49.759 And I want to press a little bit on you and say, but when you think about your life, and again, we know the inconsistencies in all of our lives, we're inconsistent. 00:14:50.000 --> 00:15:02.080 But when you when you take your life and you look at it, you say, okay, but over the last five years or five months or twenty years, does it look like I believe in Jesus? 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:15.279 Does it look like if Jesus were to say to me, Who do you say that I am, that we would say the Christ of God. 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:19.679 And we would say, You're our Lord and our master. 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:22.320 We belong. 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:26.960 See, there is this right knowing. 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:29.279 This is really, really important. 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:33.360 And then there is this right living. 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:39.759 See, we must believe and follow Jesus. 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:42.320 Believe and follow Jesus. 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:57.840 I was talking with some people in our uh community group this week, and we're talking about evangelism, and we were just talking about how there's a lot of people who, when you're just sharing about Jesus with them, they just acknowledge, I believe in Jesus. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:59.279 And they genuinely do. 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:03.279 Like they believe that Jesus is who he says he is, he's God. 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:03.919 Right? 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:06.960 So they've kind of done that first step. 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:09.840 They have right knowing, just like the demons do. 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:11.759 They know, they believe. 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:16.879 And it's a scary spot, but it's a spot I think a lot of people live in. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:18.960 It's like, yeah, I believe in Jesus. 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:22.720 But then there's this right living. 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:25.840 Are you following Jesus? 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:27.840 Are you following him? 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:29.279 This is the right living. 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:30.159 This is my second point. 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:31.360 Look at verse 24. 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:42.480 And he said to all, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:51.200 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:17:03.679 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:12.960 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory. 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:18.319 In the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:28.160 But I tell you, truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God. 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:33.599 So Jesus asked the question, Who do you say that I am? 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:37.119 And they answered correctly. 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:48.000 And then he gives this instruction about what it means to follow him, this right living. 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:56.000 What's interesting is Jesus going just back up to verse 22 for a moment. 00:17:57.359 --> 00:18:08.880 He's telling them that he's going to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:15.279 Jesus begins here in Luke's account. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:25.920 He begins, Jesus is starting to tell his followers more consistently and clearly that he will suffer and he will be crucified and then he will be raised from the dead. 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:36.400 But before he gets to what he's asking for his followers, he's saying, listen, the Son of Man must suffer, be rejected. 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:38.160 Rejected by who? 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:50.079 Well, the elders, the chief priests, and scribes, so all the kind of religious elite, if you will, and be killed. 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:54.000 And on the third day be raised. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:58.960 And then he gets into this when he's calling his followers to. 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:13.279 If anyone would come after me, if anyone's saying, No, I know who you are, you're Jesus, the Son of God, the Christ of God, and I want to follow after you. 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:15.440 I want to be your disciple. 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:18.640 Jesus saying, This is what it looks like. 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:24.799 And you read a passage like this, very again, if you've grown up in the church, very familiar passage. 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:31.680 If you've been in the church for a long time, denying yourself, take up your cross, follow me. 00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:39.680 Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:47.440 And you take a passage like this, and we again there's kind of two instincts in our flesh. 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:53.759 And one is to be judgmental, to be, again, legalistic. 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:58.559 And you start to measure people against your own standards. 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:03.279 You say, Well, I'm doing this. 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:06.799 I'm the one who's following Jesus faithfully. 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:11.599 And now I have the right to say how other people are following Jesus faithfully. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:18.799 And you make this about yourself, and you think in some ridiculous world that you're the standard bearer for this. 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:22.000 But that's what we do in our pride. 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:29.039 We make our own little standard, and then we judge other people against it so that we can feel good about our standard. 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:34.799 And we meet someone else who maybe acts more holy than we are, or they know more the Bible than we do. 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:35.839 Then it's easy. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:42.880 We just kind of tweak our standard a little bit, and now they're they're guilty and they're sinners and we're still good. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:45.279 Our hearts are crazy like that. 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:48.000 They just do that that judgmental thing. 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:53.920 Or you take this and you you just evaluate yourself and you despair. 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:57.279 And you think, man, I forfeit? 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:04.000 Like I don't want to, I don't want to give my I don't want to go to hell to forfeit my life. 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:06.160 I don't know if I can do that. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:07.680 Deny myself? 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:09.920 Take up my cross daily? 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:23.039 Like I like genuinely, you know, it's like those times where you're just really hungry and you're standing with the fridge open, you know, it's like 10.30 at night. 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:24.880 What should you do? 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:27.119 Deny yourself, right? 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:28.799 That's what you should do. 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:40.160 Just, you know, it's it's tired, you're it's toward the end of the day, you just want to sit on the couch, kids are screaming, they can't even find a sink because it's piled in dishes. 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:41.440 What should you do? 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:47.279 Ah, you should go do the dishes, you should spend time with your family, but you want to turn on TV, you want to watch football or something. 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:47.920 Right? 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:50.240 It's the denying yourself. 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:52.400 And it's easy. 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:59.279 This is where I think so many uh pop culture ideas seep into the church. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:03.519 This is where so many Christians can get sucked into pop culture ideas. 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:04.960 And the idea is this. 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:08.640 Well, if you just were more disciplined, right? 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:12.240 If you're just more disciplined, if you actually did get up at 5 a.m. 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:18.799 and did all these things and ran a mile every day, and you know, if you just did all these things, then you would be a better Christian. 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:22.559 If you just would be more of a disciplined person. 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:27.680 And the thing is, that's there's there's truth in that, right? 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:50.400 Like if I did get up early every morning and spent quality, substantive time in the Word and in prayer, if I memorized scripture, if I was consistent in my prayer life, if I was disciplined in my evangelism, if I was denying myself, it would lead to more greater holiness or righteousness in my life, conquering sin, all those things. 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:52.160 It would lead to that. 00:22:53.359 --> 00:23:02.640 But what where we get confused, church, where we get this backwards, is we quickly make this a works-based thing. 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:12.240 You read in the book of Galatians, and the church is there, and Paul rebukes them for becoming works-based salvation churches. 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:15.119 He says, Who has bewitched you? 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:21.759 He said, if angels come down from heaven, giving you a different gospel, it's anathema. 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:23.680 Don't fall for it. 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:31.359 But in our day and age, in our culture, this is that subtle. 00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:45.920 Well, if I was just better, if I was just more disciplined, then I would be following Jesus and life would be better, and my finances would be better, and all those things. 00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:48.240 And there is just, there is some truth to that. 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:49.440 There really is. 00:23:50.640 --> 00:23:54.480 But we talk about this a lot, like the fruit and the root. 00:23:54.720 --> 00:24:01.519 The fruit might you might see your schedule get better and your body be healthier and more rhythms and all those things. 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:13.440 But if the root of all that is in your own behavior, if the root is anchored in your own behavior, you're just perpetuating a false gospel to yourself. 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:21.920 You're saying, if I could be better, then God would love me more, or if I could be better, then more blessings would come my way. 00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:27.680 And you wouldn't, you miss the amazing beauty of the gospel. 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:40.960 Then if you're gonna look at verses 23 through 24 or through 226, you have to do that in light of verse 20. 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:42.960 But who is Jesus? 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:44.480 Who is Jesus? 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:45.519 What has he done? 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:50.559 Well, he's taken a dead sinner, me and you, and he's given us new life. 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:52.400 He's made us right with God. 00:24:52.559 --> 00:25:03.759 He's taken a heart of stone out of us and put a heart of flesh in us, and he's given us the Holy Spirit to indwell us so that we can then walk in obedience and joy. 00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:06.799 The root is in Christ. 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:14.079 The fruit is self-denial, the fruit is obedience, the fruit is a transformed life. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:17.119 But the root is Christ. 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:25.039 And when you get that backwards, you're chasing after everything the world is chasing after. 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:30.880 You want this ideal life, and you kind of want Jesus sprinkled on top. 00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:32.799 That's just not how it works. 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:38.079 And Jesus gives these hard words in verse 26. 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:50.720 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory. 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:53.839 In the glory of the Father and of his holy angels. 00:25:56.240 --> 00:26:03.759 The impulse even for me in this moment is to soften that for us. 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:06.240 To give a caveat. 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:12.079 Well, you know, if you're this, then this isn't really what it means. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:15.119 Or if you're if you grew up in this kind of environment. 00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:18.640 But church, let God's word speak. 00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:26.079 For whoever's ashamed of me, this is Jesus saying, whoever's ashamed, ashamed of Jesus or his words. 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:28.079 Connected. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:30.880 You can't separate him from his words. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:34.960 Of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:37.680 There's just no way around that. 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:50.400 And what's amazing is if you have eyes to see and ears to hear, and you as you read that, and you think, man, I can't do that. 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:55.759 There are things that I just I can't do this on my own. 00:26:56.960 --> 00:26:57.759 That's right. 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:03.039 You can't live as a Christian on your own. 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:07.839 You need the grace and the power of Jesus Christ. 00:27:08.079 --> 00:27:08.720 Amen? 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:12.079 You can't do this on your own. 00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:22.319 So if you're sitting there and you're thinking, well, I'm just gonna be someone who drives around with Bible verses on my car and I'm gonna wear some Christian Bible verse t-shirts. 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:25.680 And if I get persecuted, I get persecuted. 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:28.400 I'm gonna do that, okay. 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:45.200 But what about when you're alone, when you're by yourself, when temptation is calling at you, when the lies of the enemy are being spoken to you, the lies of your flesh? 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:48.880 Are you clinging to God's word? 00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:52.480 Are you running from it? 00:27:53.599 --> 00:28:05.839 When God says that all mankind is sinful and without hope, there's no other way of salvation but through Jesus Christ. 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:08.000 Are you ashamed of that? 00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:21.599 When you're around friends, coworkers, people, and they're talking about how narrow-minded Christians are about issues of gender and sexuality, or how narrow-minded they are on issues of marriage? 00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:23.920 Are you ashamed? 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:25.680 Are you pulling back? 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:32.640 What's interesting is Jesus is saying this to his disciples. 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:37.279 And what are they gonna do in just a matter of probably months? 00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:41.920 Within a short time frame, what are all the disciples gonna do? 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:44.240 They're all gonna deny him. 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:46.079 Every last one. 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:50.640 They're all gonna flee, they're all gonna run, they'll all deny him. 00:28:52.960 --> 00:29:03.599 But the Lord in his mercy and his grace is maturing them, and he is preparing them for that when he does go. 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:11.200 Because we stand on this side and we know how their lives ended and their testimony and their faithfulness to the Lord unto death. 00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:15.200 The Lord was faithful. 00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:20.559 But it's only through his power were they able to do these things. 00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:25.759 When you think about the question, who is Jesus? 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:27.920 Who do they say that I am? 00:29:28.079 --> 00:29:30.400 And you think about your own life. 00:29:32.400 --> 00:29:37.599 If you say he is the Christ, the Son of the living God, then you need to walk that out. 00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:49.680 You can't say, yes, I believe in Jesus and I want to follow Jesus as long as it's convenient and it's not awkward, as long as the world doesn't despise me, as long as it's hip and cool. 00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:58.319 But also into our own lives, our own walk with Jesus, not just publicly out there. 00:30:00.400 --> 00:30:01.759 But are we clinging? 00:30:01.920 --> 00:30:03.039 Are we submitting? 00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:07.200 Are we governed by Jesus, his words in our life? 00:30:08.799 --> 00:30:10.400 Are we willing to forfeit? 00:30:10.720 --> 00:30:12.480 Are we willing to deny? 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:16.079 To let dreams die. 00:30:17.680 --> 00:30:22.799 To let things that we've hold on, we've held so tightly let them go, let them die. 00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:31.759 Went to Ecuador in the 1950s. 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:36.160 Him and several other Christians, missionaries were martyred, right? 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:38.880 They were speared to death. 00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:54.480 One of the things that he said in his life, that one of his legacy, things that have been carried on from his legacy, he says, He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. 00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:57.839 Is that not a summary of what Jesus is saying here? 00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:07.359 He is no fool to give up what he cannot keep, this life, this world here and now, to gain what he cannot lose, eternal life in Jesus Christ. 00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:12.319 It's easy for me and for you to behold this. 00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:17.279 And we see with our eyes, we hear how magnificent Jesus is and all the things that he's done. 00:31:17.440 --> 00:31:19.519 And we just like, yeah, I want to follow Jesus. 00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:21.039 I want to die for Jesus. 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:24.079 I want to lay my life down for Jesus. 00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:33.359 And in just a few hours, you go home and there's an opportunity for you to deny yourself. 00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:41.759 Maybe it's in your marriage or with your children or with a roommate or the situation going on, and what you choose is self. 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:43.680 I want to serve me. 00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:45.200 I want to please me. 00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:47.119 I'm going to pick myself. 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:54.160 I just want to encourage you, Christian, don't despair. 00:31:56.079 --> 00:32:04.799 It's Jesus' power and mercy through the Holy Spirit that will carry you on, that is maturing you and growing you. 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:07.759 So don't just despair. 00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:15.759 But if there is something in you where you're like, hey, I'm cool with Jesus, I like Jesus, but just he stays over there and I stay over here. 00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:20.400 I'm happy to have the salvation, that's cool, but he just needs to leave my stuff alone. 00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:33.119 If that's in your heart, if you have things that you're unwilling to surrender to Jesus, dreams, desires, you're just not willing to turn those over to him. 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:35.920 I want to call you to repent. 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:54.960 I want to call you to follow Jesus and to know the joy and the mercy that he has, and to call you to a lifetime on this side of glory of stumbling and falling and taking a step forward and two steps backward and a step forward and another step backward. 00:32:55.440 --> 00:33:05.200 But this is what it means to follow Jesus, to keep failing forward, to keep moving forward as we're messing up. 00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:10.559 And Jesus reveals himself to us. 00:33:12.240 --> 00:33:13.920 We've been given God's word. 00:33:14.319 --> 00:33:16.640 Jesus reveals himself to us in his word. 00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:25.359 Lord willing, next week we will cover the passage on the transformation where some of the disciples get to behold Jesus in his glory. 00:33:26.319 --> 00:33:32.000 If you're a Christian, you too will behold Jesus in his glory. 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:34.880 That is our hope. 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:49.920 So the promise that some will standing here, as Jesus says, truly in verse 27, but I tell you truly, there is some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God. 00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:58.559 But that's, in a sense, for all who are believers, we will see the kingdom of God. 00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:10.639 We will see all the promises fulfilled, all of our hopes in Christ met and fulfilled, all of our desires taken care of, satisfied. 00:34:11.360 --> 00:34:22.079 Toward the end of Luke in chapter 21, verse 27, speaks of the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:31.360 What was before the disciples was seeing their Savior crucified, buried. 00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:39.199 What was before them is seeing tremendous suffering and difficulty in their life. 00:34:39.519 --> 00:34:49.039 And they would see their Messiah raise again from the dead and then an ascend into heaven, where he will come again. 00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:53.199 Brother, sister, he will come again. 00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:57.679 If you're not a Christian, I'm telling you, Jesus is coming. 00:34:58.079 --> 00:35:04.960 Might not be in your lifetime, might not be in your children's lifetime, it might be later today, but he is coming. 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:12.719 And what your answer is to the question of who is Jesus really matters. 00:35:13.760 --> 00:35:15.920 And are you following him? 00:35:17.760 --> 00:35:23.440 Jesus said in the beginning of Mark that today is the day of salvation, for the kingdom of God is at hand. 00:35:23.599 --> 00:35:24.639 So repent. 00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:27.599 I want to encourage you to repent. 00:35:27.920 --> 00:35:30.400 For today is the day of salvation. 00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:42.400 And Christian, brother and sister, today is the day that we stop looking to the things of the world, the ideas of the world to make us into something that only Jesus can do. 00:35:42.880 --> 00:35:46.000 So now we walk in obedience because of Christ. 00:35:46.719 --> 00:36:04.639 Not to earn favor, not to get to a status with God, but because we're already His, because of the finished work of Christ on the cross, we walk in joyful obedience, putting to death the deeds of the flesh and following Jesus. 00:36:04.960 --> 00:36:06.480 Church, let's pray.