The Costly Gift: Why Love Bears Burdens

Grace may be free to us, but it cost Jesus everything—and that truth upends how we treat our time, our comfort, and each other. We open Romans 15:1–3 and wrestle with a hard call: if we’re strong in faith, we don’t please ourselves; we pick up weight for the weak. From Philippians 2 to Ephesians 2, we trace the costly arc of Christ’s chosen humility and great love, then turn that lens on our habits—our “busy” excuses, our pride that keeps us silent, and our search for happiness in things that can’t fill an eternal gap.

I share raw stories about missed chances, awkward grocery-store conversations, and the subtle ways we drift from mission. We talk about Gethsemane honesty—“not my will, but yours be done”—and how that prayer reshapes daily life: texts that interrupt isolation, dinners that rebuild faith, questions that lovingly intrude, and a quiet, stubborn willingness to carry what someone else can’t lift right now. Contentment, we argue, isn’t found out there; it’s born inside when obedience leads the way.

If you’re strong, initiate. If you’re hurting, raise your hand. Confess, pray, and let healing move through community. Seek first the kingdom at work, in the checkout line, on the drive home. Rest is coming, but until then, there’s good work worth doing and people worth carrying. Listen, share it with a friend who needs courage today, and if this spoke to you, subscribe and leave a review—then tell us: who will you reach out to this week?

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening Prayer & Romans 15 Focus
• 0:24 Salvation’s Cost vs. “Free Gift” Misunderstanding
• 4:30 Christ’s Humanity and Chosen Suffering
• 8:20 Why Jesus Bore Our Sin: Great Love
• 12:15 Strong Believers Bearing Weaker Burdens
• 17:20 Pride, Confession, and Healing Together
• 21:00 Stop Pleasing Ourselves: Contentment Redefined
• 25:10 Not My Will: Everyday Evangelistic Urgency
• 29:40 Practical Steps to Love and Reach Out
• 43:36 Closing Challenge and Prayer

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

So I'm gonna just get in with prayer and then we're gonna jump in and that way I can stay on track with time. Father, I just thank you so much for your word, and I ask and I pray, Father, that as we cover your word today, that it be your word, that it not my opinion, not my thoughts, but God, it is all of you. Father, there is no power in my words, but God, your word is more powerful than any two-edged sword. Father, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so Romans 15, on the good side. We only got two more chapters to cover, right? Today we're gonna take out three of those verses. So starting in verse one, we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. All right. So as we jump into this, I want to start by pointing out what Paul is starting with. Understand this the reason I preach so hard against salvation being a free gift is because the Bible speaks so harshly about salvation being a free gift. Now, for those of you that were here when we covered Romans 6, you could have followed that up with, uh, but it says the free gift of God. And yes, salvation is free in the sense that you did not pay anything for it. Like if we went out after service today, and let's just say we went and had some delicious barbecue, and you ordered, and I happen to be standing in line behind you, and I mouthed to the cashier, hey, just put it on mine. That barbecue was free for you. But was it free? No, someone had to pay. And that is what we have to start with this understanding. Salvation is free to you, but it came at a very, very, very high cost for Jesus. And see, and sometimes we get lost in that. We get lost in the fact that there is a huge cost. If you go read Luke 9, it talks about laying down, denying yourself everything, and picking up your cross and following Jesus daily. And see, and we get lost in that. And here is the reason why. Think about I don't know, we got Christmas coming up, right? And your children are gonna get gifts that they didn't buy. How well do they treat those? Oh, okay. So y'all's are just like mine. Like JT, one year he went on and on and on and on and on and on and on about this drone. And it was a year where Christmas was like super tight in our house. And so we were like, hey, cool, like we figured it out, and and we we got some extra funds, and we got him this drone. Do you know how many times he flew said drone? Twice. Two times. And in my mind, I'm like, man, I thought this was gonna be like that gift that blew him away. And it has sat on a shelf in his room ever since. Now, on the flip side of that, when you make your child have to work for and earn something, how well do they treat it then? Then it's not something that just gets left in the living room. It's not something that the dog can get to and chew up, it's something that they literally will fight their siblings because I paid for that. See, and the same thing's true for adults, isn't it? You know, I was talking with someone before service, they're talking about spending a lot of money on a new vehicle. Now, do you think when they get said vehicle that they're gonna be okay if like you get in with muddy shoes and all of that? No. Because they're sitting here going, I spent a lot on this. This is how we treat our salvation, though, because we sit here and we bought into this lie that it's a free thing, it's a free, it's free, it's free, so therefore it doesn't matter. We are the children in that illustration. In 1 Corinthians 6 20, Paul would word it like this. For you were bought with a price. So glorify God with your body. Now he's talking about, like in the Corinthian church, if you know anything about them, they had some things that they really needed to get sorted out, like you can't do those kind of things in service kind of things. And so what Paul is sitting here saying, he's trying to get them to understand, like, hey, there was a weight that came with your salvation. There was something that it cost for your salvation. It wasn't just this cheap little thing. And because it wasn't this cheap little thing, you need to glorify God with your body. You need to glorify God with everything you are. And we have to understand that our salvation cost Jesus everything. And I get it. I know what some people in here are saying because I've had this conversation with some of you in this room. Yeah, but Jesus is God. He knew he was gonna rise from the dead, so really, what did it cost him? And I get that. I can understand where you're coming from on that. That makes sense. Because you know what else we also overlook so often? The humanity of Jesus. See, when Jesus took on flesh, he laid aside other things. In fact, we see this in Philippians 2, starting in verse 7, it says, but he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Jesus chose to humble himself. Jesus chose to become a servant, Jesus chose to take all of glory and wrap it up in finite flesh, and Jesus chose to go to the cross. None of that was by accident. And if we don't understand that he carried that weight, that that weight he carried to Galgotha was not just the cross. It wasn't just a couple hundred pounds of wood, it was the weight of every single person coming after him. Anyone in here, you got a needy friend? If you didn't say yes, you are that needy friend, just understand that. Do you know what it's like to carry someone else's stuff? And that's just one person. Like, think through that. Imagine carrying everybody's stuff. I'll tell you, and I don't understand it. I really don't. But like we get done Sunday mornings, and and like all I want to do is go home and go to sleep. Which isn't like me because I'm not a napper. Like, I really have a hard time napping. And me and Debbie were talking about it one day, and I was like, I just I don't get this. Like, why am I always so tired after I preach? And some of it's I'm an introvert, so some of it is I don't like being in front of a lot of people. But some of it is understand, like, it's going, I need to carry weight. Like I can look at different people and know how your week went and go, man, I need to carry that weight for them. Like, think about this: like, if if you're a boy, if you're a man in here, let me not rephrase that. When you were a boy, what were your parents always teaching you? Hold the door open. Don't let a woman carry stuff that's heavy. Like be a man, take that weight and carry it. Like that's what you were created to do. That's why God made you stronger. Because you're supposed to carry things for other people. But imagine that. See, when Jesus put that cross on his back and he's walking through the streets, he's carrying the burden of all the world. In the very beginning of the book of John, when John the Baptist sees Jesus, he goes, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. You don't think that that was a heavy weight for him? We have a hard enough time with just our spouses most of the time. But imagine the entire world. But why would he do this? If you really stop and think about it, that is the question we should be asking. Why would Jesus do this? I mean, think about it, you know you. I don't need to stand up here and go, like, oh, you know, we're, you know how sinful we are. You know how sinful you are. So why? Because honestly, is there anyone in this room, not in your family, that you're looking at right now and you were like, man, if someone opened that door, I'm jumping in front of that bullet? Like most of us, wouldn't we be like, no, I'm gonna head out the back door where there's not danger. That's why, honestly, people that like in the military, people that are in law enforcement, like they're built different. Firefighters, first responders, stuff like that. We're just built different. Because when you hear loud gunshots, most people don't run to it. In fact, I was I was talking about this with sixth grade, sixth and seventh grade. We were talking about this during our study of the book of Proverbs during Bible time. And they had said something about being afraid or how they're not afraid of anything, and you know, because they're all a bunch of men at you know, 11 and 12. And then a basketball elementary was out back, and a basketball hit the door, and so it was a loud pop. They weren't not afraid, and that was a perfect illustration for me because I was like, if that was a gunshot, understand you guys are trying to get out to the front door because you hear danger out here. Oh no, it was adrenaline. We were talking about our adrenal glands and stuff like that. Some of us, we love that though, right? Some of us are like addicted to that. Like we love when our adrenal glands are just like pumping out all that adrenaline because we like how our heart feels like when it's about to like explode. Like, some of y'all know, at least one of y'all know, judging by your faces. But see, why would Jesus do this? We wouldn't do this for each other. Why would Jesus do it for us? Why would the creator of heaven and earth choose to lay down his life? For a bunch of people who honestly are just rebellious by nature. Who are gonna sit here and look at them and yeah, sometimes we'll go, hey, I love them. But most of the time we're just gonna question why he told us to do this. Because most of us are like rebellious, angsty teens who would rather lock ourselves in the room and just sit there and sulk in our own misery than understand our Father is sitting here going, hey, no, no, no, no. Like, I want better for you. That's why I told you to do it this way. So why? In Ephesians 2, 1 through 3, we see this, right? For we were all dead in our trespasses and sin, in which we once all walked, following after the passions of our flesh. That's who we are. Because we love to satisfy the passions of our flesh. But then when we get to verse 4, we see this switch in what Paul is talking about. And in verse 4, it starts with this but God. Understand that is the beauty of this. Because regardless of how rebellious my heart may be, regardless of how much I want to push away, regardless of how much I want to please myself, but God, being rich in mercy with a great love for which he loved us, made us alive together with Christ, for by grace you have been saved. So why? Because of a great love. Think about it. Like, what wouldn't you do? Would you walk through hell for your child? Would you stand in like would you even have to think about if someone like tried to hurt them standing in front of them? Even if you're sitting here going, I know I'm not gonna win this fight, I'm going to stand here. And I will lay down my life to protect theirs. That's why. That same love is how our Father God looks at his children. Because chances are, if your children are anything like mine, they tend to be rebellious. They tend to take like what you tell them to do and go, oh, that was a suggestion that you wanted me to take the trash out. No, you didn't really mean to clean my room. What you meant was to hide everything in a corner so it looks clean on the inside. But yet try to hurt my child. And you will see a viciousness and a violence that you have never seen before with a smile on my face. Why? Because of the great love I have for them. So why did Jesus choose it? Because of the great love he had for us. What motivated Jesus to lay down everything was this great love he has for us. And what Paul is driving at here is he's sitting here going, Do you love your brother and sister like that? Because that's what he's called us to. And I'm gonna go out on a limb and go, most of us don't. We're church friends, we see each other once a week. And for some of you, you might be sitting in here going, hey, that's more than I see my brother and sister. And I get that. We got the holidays coming up, so you get a couple more visits in this year. However, understand that that's not what we're called to do, right? Like God instituted family because he went, hey, you can't do this alone. So here's a family to help you do it. You go back a hundred years in our country, the Hollies would be the only ones in here actually eating because the rest of us, I mean, a third of your children were gonna die anyway. So you're not gonna have the manpower in your household to do anything on the farm. And see, and what Jesus is motivated but motivated by is this deep love. And what Paul is driving at here is we who are stronger, we who know better. We need to come alongside of our weaker brothers and sisters. Here's what that means. Some of you in this room need to start taking leadership seriously. Because if you're sitting here going, hey, I'm further along, prove it. Because that's great. You can sit here and go, oh, I got all the answers. We had our first Bible test this week in high school. Guess what? Most of them had all the answers. Some of them did not, though. And it was kind of sad because it's always open notes. But understand what Paul's driving at here is he's sitting here going, if you're claiming to be stronger in your faith, what are you doing to help your weaker brother and sister? How are you coming along the side of them and how are you lifting the burden off of them? What are you doing with your time to be able to build them up? Because let's be honest, most of us are really good at looking good. Not saying that like appearance-wise, right? You know what I'm talking about, actions. And all of us know the real churchy things to say. And on Sunday mornings, we're good with that. But what are we really doing? What does this really look like? Because again, I'm not answering worried about like the churchy answers you could give me. I'm gonna, I'm gonna. I sit here and go, let's talk about this. What's that really look like to come alongside of a weaker brother and sister? Because Galatians 6.2 even says this, right? Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. So it's not just in one place we see this. In fact, Jesus would say this: they will know you are my disciples by what? By what you do? By all the amazing things and outreaches we do, by how packed we can make this room look? Is that how Jesus says they'll know you're my disciples? No, it's by the way you love each other. So, what does that really look like? Well, let me ask you this. Over this past week, how much time did you make for someone outside of your household? Like what phone call did you make? What text message did you send? What dinner did you put together and invite people over to? What activity did you go, hey, let's let's get together and let's go do this? Because I'm gonna tell you right now, we got some people in here who probably could have used a hand this week, probably could have used some encouragement, probably could have used someone going, hey, I know it sucks, but I'm here for you. But how much time did you actually take to do that? And again, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, most of us, we kind of missed that, right? Like, what did you do for someone else this week, not just yourself? Because most of us, here's your excuse, you ready? I can already answer for you. Man, this week was crazy. You have no idea how busy I was this week. Yeah, I get it. You know, in Colossians, right? In Colossians 1, it talks about the preeminence of Christ. And right around verse 15, 16, it says that he is that that all things were made through Jesus, for Jesus, and are held together by Jesus. You want to talk about being busy? Like, could you imagine holding every atom together in the universe while you're being nailed to a cross? Because Jesus is doing those both simultaneously. He's sitting here going, hey, the nails that you're using to drive into my arms here, my hands, those nails only exist because I created them and I'm currently holding them together. And I am literally laying here allowing you to do this to me. So if we want to talk about being busy, I don't have to hold anything together. I don't even hold together myself sometimes. And yet, most of us, that's gonna be our first go-to, right? You have no idea how crazy my week was. And I get it, your week may have been busy. But here's the thing. I'll bet money at some point you watch TV. I'll bet money at some point YouTube called your name. I'll bet money at some point you went and did what you wanted to do. Why? Because we always make time for the things we want to do. Because we're really good at pleasing ourselves. Like I will tell you right now, I hit up some YouTube this week. Sometimes a little too long. Because when you get into some of these conspiracy theories, you need to watch the part two and part three, otherwise, part one doesn't make a whole lot of sense. And I need to know the whole theory so I can see if the government really did find aliens and are reversing the technology of UFOs. How else did we get the F-22 Raptor and stealth technology and vector steering? You think someone was just smart enough and thought of that? No. But what that means is, is I myself did not make the time to reach out. Now, hopefully, and you men in here got a text at at least twice this week from me going, hey, just thinking about you, praying for you, hoping you're having a good day. Now, how long do you think that text took me to write? Because it literally was just those three sentences. Maybe, I mean, I'm pretty quick with text and I have shortcut uh like keyboard shortcuts. Maybe 15 seconds by the time all was said and done. And I go and think about this. There are people in this room, for those of you who are stronger in your faith, just in case you're totally oblivious to this, who are silently dying inside. There are people in this room who needed you to reach out to them. There are people in this room who were sitting here going, I just need to know someone loves and cares about me. So if you were in here and you are stronger in your faith, understand you let someone down. And I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed. We can laugh and joke, but we should be, right? Because someone in here has a heavy burden. Someone in here feels like they're carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. Someone in here is sitting here going, I don't know how I'm gonna put one foot in front of another tomorrow. Someone in here is having like problems at home, someone in here is having financial problems, someone in here is having career problems, and and some of these people might be one person that has all of these problems. And I'm sitting here going, if you're stronger in your faith, why did you not reach out to them? Because you were too busy? Because your week sucked? How do you think Jesus felt? Like, how do you think Jesus felt when he's sitting there eating with the disciples and goes, one of you will betray me tonight? One of you is going to send me to the cross tonight. Do you think he was like, hey, Judas, get your crap, get out of the room. Don't want to see you again. Nope. He went, and with this burden, this is what I'm going with. Because I know you're gonna be the one that betrays me, but understand I'm going for everybody else too. So if you're stronger in here, maybe this week we can reach out to someone else. Now, I want I do want to look at the other side of that coin though, because if you are someone in here who has been silently like dying all week long, here's what I want you to understand. James 5, 16 says this. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has what? Great power as it is working. Now, most of us hear that verse, and the only thing we heard was, therefore, confess your sins. All right, and if you grew up Catholic, you know exactly what that meant, right? Like I'm not sitting here going, hey, you guys come up here throughout the week, and we can sit over here by my desk, we'll put a little curtain up and you can tell me all the terrible things that happened this week. And how you just can't get it right. But that's also not what James is talking about here. This isn't just like confess your sins, because why does he say in prayer that you may be healed? Healed from your sin? See, what this is really driving at is a lot deeper than that. Some of us in this room, I'm gonna tell you right now, you have way too much pride, and your pride is what is killing you. Because in your pride, you will not reach out to someone. In your pride, you're sitting here going, hey, I just have to look like I have it all together. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna take all of this stuff I'm struggling with, and I'm gonna ball it up, and I'm gonna put it up under my shirt, and I'm gonna hide it. And your pride is what is killing you right now. Because you you're just too ashamed to go to someone else. Because you're sitting here going, if I were to open up to someone else, how is that gonna change how they look at me? And here's the deal: you want someone to open up with that it ain't gonna change how they look at you? I'm here for you whenever you need it. Because you want to know how I look at each and every person in the world, myself included, when I see that in the mirror, you are a wretched, black-hearted, dirty sinner. That is who we are, that is our default position outside of Christ. Every single one of us. And once we accept that, we can move past that. Once we get to the point where we go, hey, I don't want to do this anymore, we can actually start doing things that are different so that we don't keep getting the same result. But see, some of us in here, yeah, you have been carrying this burden, and I'm sitting here telling you right now, there is a brother or a sister in this room that has just been waiting for you to come to them. Because there are people that I talk to every week that sit here and go, hey, I wish I could do more. What else can I do? Here's what you can do this week, if that's you. Nope, not inconvenience. Be intrusive into someone else's life. Find someone this week and go, you know what? Here's the deal. I'm gonna make them uncomfortable on purpose because I am going to call them and go, hey, what's going on? What are you struggling with? Kayla is the best example of this of anyone I've ever met. Kayla has no qualms, regardless of what the conversation is, to at some point in that conversation look at you and go, hey, tell me the worst sin you've ever committed. To your parents. To which I look at her and go, no, we're not talking about that. Because mommy and daddy had a life that existed way before you, and it wasn't always guided by the spirit. But see, you have a brother and sister that is sitting here and they're just waiting, going, man, I want more to do. And I'm telling you, if you're a weaker one, stop being ashamed of that. Because you want to know the difference? I am weak from time to time. Ask Debbie. And if she lies and goes, no, he always has it together. She, I'm telling you right now, that's a lie. Because there are plenty of times where we get home and we're in the bedroom, and I sit here and go, Deb, I don't I don't know if I can keep doing this. I don't know if I'm strong enough for this. I don't know if I can do all of the things that my brain tells me I should do. Sometimes it's just overwhelming. Sometimes I'm just sitting at the house and I'm like, Deb, I just I gotta go do something else because this ain't working. I'm gonna call Joe, and if that offer's still on the table, like you find another teacher, I'm going to work out in the woods. Because that to me sounds more appealing than what I'm doing right now. And I go, and what is that? That's the devil, right? That's the enemy sitting here just understand this. I don't care how in shape you are, if someone told you you were fat all day, every day, guess what you will eventually believe that you're fat. Especially if you have no one else in your life counteracting what the devil is sitting here just pouring into your ear. Understand this. He knows he's on a timetable. He may not know when, but he knows eventually here's what's gonna happen Jesus is gonna come back and throw him in the lake of fire. And so he knows, hey, I gotta do this as quick as possible. I have no time to waste. You know what the devil doesn't do? Sit and binge watch shows on Netflix. The devil doesn't have a YouTube premium account because he can't stand advertisements. The devil isn't sitting here going, hey, I have this hobby, so I'm just gonna go out and fish for a couple of hours and then I'll get back to doing devil things. Here's what the devil does. I only have a certain amount of time, so I need to have some urgency, and I need to take over and prowl and roar and devour like a lion as many as I possibly can at all times. The devil is on mission, and I think we forgot that. Because some of us in here are under attack a lot, and those who are stronger have the obligation, which means Jesus isn't sitting here going, hey, this is if you get around to it and can make time in your schedule. You are obliged to do this to bear one another's burdens, to come along the side of them, to lift them up, to make time. And I want us to understand that both sides of these coins is just as bad. The one who doesn't make time for their brother or sister, or the brother or sister who's sitting here trying to hide everything in the dark. Both of them are equally as destructive and equally bad because both of these are reasons we do not see breakthroughs. Both of these are reasons we do not see chains breaking. Both of these are reasons why the gates of hell seem to be prevailing sometimes, because both of these are the opposite of what we're commanded to do. And when we do things opposite of the Bible, guess what? It doesn't work. Don't believe me if you're a married man in here, go out today and get a girlfriend. Tell me how that works in your household. Because when we do things opposite of the way they're supposed to do, it doesn't work. And yet we have no problem living a life like that. So the verse three, Paul said this, for Christ did not please himself. But as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. Jesus' goal wasn't a happy life. Too many people in the church, that's our goal. I just want to be happy. Here's the thing. Number one, happiness doesn't come from the outside. In. It comes from the inside out. How do I know this? Because there is nothing in your life that you could get that would make you happy. And I know he hates it when I do this, but I'm gonna use Joe as an example. A couple months ago, Joe got the most awesome toy known to man. A brand new bulldozer. And it is gigantic. It is way bigger than any Tonka toy you ever played with as a child. And if you are a male in here, at some point, you sat in a sandbox and you went, like Joe gets to do that for a living, right? So that day, that day, that's where I was going with it. That day, he had a big smile on his face. Look at how awesome this is. Do you think he's smiling though when he goes, oh crap, I have to buy a cat uh part from cat? Probably not, right? Because happiness can't come from out here. There's nothing out here that can make me happy in here. There's not a woman that can make me happy, there's not a toy that can make me happy, there's not a fish that can make me happy, because happiness doesn't come out here. And those of you that have been searching for it, how's it worked out for you?

unknown: 33:54

It's temporary.

SPEAKER_00: 33:56

Now, when I'm happy in here, then out here doesn't matter. I don't care about my circumstances anymore. That is the secret to being content that Paul talks about right before he says, What? I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. You want to be content? It starts inside and goes outside. Because then when it sucks, guess what? You have peace to hold on to. You know why? Because you're not trying to please yourself. Because look at this. We all have a God-sized hole inside of us. Ecclesiastes tells us very clearly in chapter three that God has placed eternity into the heart of every man. Well, here's what that means: you can't fill up eternity, it's infinite. So I don't care what drugs you take, I don't care what you drink, I don't care how many women you want to be with, that is not going to bring you happiness because you're trying to fill eternity. And the only one who can do that is an eternal God. Which is why we spend a lifetime trying to please ourselves, but that is the opposite of what we see Jesus do. See, it wasn't a pleasure for Jesus to leave glory, to come to earth, die. In fact, the night Jesus is betrayed, where is he? No one? He's hanging out in a garden praying. And I'm not talking about like how we pray, where it's like, hey, do you got a prayer request? And then we kind of just like say our prayer requests, and then you know, it's like, oh, please Jesus, help us get this. Jesus is playing with a uh praying with a fervent where he is literally, listen, pushing blood from inside his body through his skin and sweating blood. Anyone in here? Have you ever been in prayer like that? Have you ever done anything in your life like that? Like, do you understand the amount of stress it takes to literally push blood through the capillaries, out of the pores of the skin? A lot. And here's what that prayer consisted of. You ready? In Luke 22, starting in verse 41, we see this. And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. For those of you that sit in here and you are under the false impression that Jesus wanted to go to the cross, what did he just ask the Father? Take it from me. I don't want to do this. Jesus didn't live his whole life going, skipping through Galilee and Judea and Samaria and going, you know what, I can't wait to be a sacrifice. It's what I came here for, I just want to die. We don't serve a suicidal savior. Jesus, the night he's betrayed, goes, Father, take it from me. I don't want to do this. That's where most of us live. Most of us did not get to the second part of that prayer, though. But nevertheless, not my will. Your will be done. You know what that means? Not my fishing trip. Jesus, your fishing trip be done. Not my idea of a relaxing night, Jesus. Your idea of a relaxing night be done. Not my dinner, Jesus. Your dinner, Jesus, be done. Not my idea of just sitting at the house and chilling, Jesus, but but your will be done. What is the will of Jesus? It ain't real hard. You ready? Luke 19, 10 says it very clearly. I came to seek and save what is lost, which means if I want to be doing the will of Jesus, what should I be doing? Seeking and saving what is lost in everything I do. Does that mean at work? Yeah, it does. Does that mean at the grocery store? Yeah, it does. I'll be honest, I was beyond tick the other day. Because I went to the grocery store and I bumped into our butcher. And the dude kept me there for like half an hour. And we started talking about like different cuts of meat and what he could order me. And then next thing I know, we're talking about like classic cars, and he's telling me how he knew we had a puppy, and I'm like, how do you know that? Like, and then it dawned on me, oh, he has social media, and Debbie posted stuff. But this same guy, the last hurricane we had, literally reached out on Facebook and was like, hey guys, if you need some water, because I know you guys are always giving stuff out, I put a couple of cases on the side. So if you guys have like people you need to pass out water to, like, come get it for me. And you know what I didn't do one time in this 30-minute conversation? Not once did I go, Jesus, let your will be done. Because one or two things normally happen when you start talking about Jesus with someone. Either the conversation gets real awkward and it shuts down, or the conversation becomes beautiful and you get the opportunity to pray with someone, you get the opportunity to walk with someone. Those are usually the only two things. Like, most people, like, once you start bringing Jesus into the conversation, for you introverts in here, this is gold, okay? Back in the day when I wanted people to leave my house, all I had to do was put on a sermon. So we would go on YouTube, I would look up either Chandler or Joby, and next thing you know, like the people that have dug in on the couch are like, all right, well, you guys have a good afternoon. I'm like, cool. And half the time, I'm like, you know what? Now I want to finish watching this one because this sounds kind of interesting. Win win. You get stuck talking to someone at the store, just bring up Jesus. Because it's gonna go those two ways. I'm telling you, the conversation will shut down or it'll be like a blessing in disguise. But see, what we gotta stop doing is we gotta stop pleasing ourselves. Because life isn't about us. Life isn't about my happiness, life isn't about my comfort, life isn't even about my plans. You know what life is about? Jesus. And Jesus alone. And see, and when I have that mentality, everything else in my life just kind of falls into place, right? Matthew 6, 33. Seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these other things will get added to it. So as we close this morning, maybe this means you can't just sit home and binge watch a show that you've seen a thousand times. Maybe it means you can't just go sit at the same barbecue with the same people every weekend because that's what you're used to doing. Hey, maybe for me, it means I can't just fish. By the way, that's why I always invite people out fishing because it makes me feel better about going fishing. Okay? It's not a loophole. We do talk about Jesus. Anyone want to go this week? Alright, I'll figure it out. Because it's not about my will, it's about seeking and saving what is lost. I don't need to rest now. Because a day is coming, and I don't know when it'll be here. Could be today. Where I get to enter into my everlasting rest. And here's the thing: I know where I'm resting at. But what about my neighbor? Do I know where they're resting at? What about my coworkers? What about my family members? What about that guy at the store that I see all the time? See, that's the will of Jesus, and that's what we need to be doing. Am I making it all about me or am I carrying the burdens of others? So we need to ask ourselves, what side are we on? Do you need to ask someone today, hey, can you make time for me this week? Can we do a dinner? Maybe, maybe you don't need a whole dinner. Maybe you just need like a tea or something. Notice how I didn't say coffee. Because not all of us drink coffee. Maybe you just need a phone call. Maybe you just need someone that that's gonna reach out a couple of times just to keep you on track throughout the week. Maybe you need to inconvenience yourself though and take that first step and go, hey, so-and-so. What do you need? How can I come along the side of you? How can I bear this burden with you? How can I let you know that you are seen and loved? If you ain't got no one else, reach out to me. I I will gladly make time to sit and talk and tell Debbie she has to watch all of middle and high school because this is more important, because this is about Jesus. So I would actually appreciate this now that I think about it, on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Those are my free days. But whatever side you're on, change it today. Do not call Debbie on those days, though. Okay, it doesn't go both ways. But whatever side you're on, you can change it today. You could reach out to someone or someone you can reach out to. That didn't make sense. Yep. Hopefully you got it, because it's not my words anyway, right? It's the power of the spirit.

unknown: 44:04

Somebody heard it, right?

SPEAKER_00: 44:06

Someone. But whatever it is, take a step. Whatever side you're on, move more to where Jesus is. So, Father, I ask and I pray that if there's someone in here, Father, who who heard this message and needs to, Father, do something, that that God, you lay it on their heart to do it. Father, if there's people in here who are sitting here going, I'm hurting, I ask and I pray that you give them the courage to fight their pride and step out and go, you know what, I'm gonna let someone else carry this with me. Father, I ask if there's people in here who are sitting here going, hey, I'm I need something to do. That God, you put it on their heart to reach out to someone to do that. Father, I ask and I pray that we get to know each other in a way that we never even imagined possible, so that the rest of the world can see that we are your disciples by the way we love one another. So, Father, I ask and I pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.