00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Good morning, everyone.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 It is great to be back after some annual leave,
00:00:08 --> 00:00:13 particularly great to be back with the full team compliment back as well
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 after annual leave, and the Freestones are back after long service leave
00:00:16 --> 00:00:21 since sometime in December, a while ago now.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:27 And also summer camp last week was fantastic.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 So thanks, Ash, for the update on that.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:31 It was a huge time.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:33 And if you were at summer camp last week,
00:00:33 --> 00:00:39 then you'll notice that this passage was one of the passages that I preached on.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 So that helped me as my preparation for this week.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:45 But hopefully it'll remind you of a few things.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:50 I want to launch in by praying because this is Vision Series.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 Every year I'm excited about Vision Series.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 I buy a new shirt for Vision Series every year.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:56 I've been doing it for 13 years.
00:00:56 --> 00:01:02 So I'm ready to kick off and look at where God's taking us in the next five years.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 So let's pray and we'll launch into that.
00:01:06 --> 00:01:12 Gracious God, we thank you for this opportunity for us as a church
00:01:12 --> 00:01:16 to think about the things of where you might be leading us
00:01:16 --> 00:01:20 because we're looking in the past and what you have commanded us to do.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:25 Lord, we pray that throughout this term and even this day,
00:01:26 --> 00:01:30 that you would captivate each one of our lives
00:01:30 --> 00:01:36 so that we are more dusty from the dust of Jesus' feet.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:38 And we ask it for your glory.
00:01:38 --> 00:01:39 Amen.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:44 So as I've indicated, this is a very important term for us at St. Paul's.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 After closing out 11 years of Vision 2020,
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 at the end of last year,
00:01:49 --> 00:01:53 we're launching into this new stage of ministry and life together
00:01:53 --> 00:01:54 here at St. Paul's with Follow 25.
00:01:55 --> 00:02:00 You've got a copy on your seats of Follow 25 in our strategic plan.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:06 It's a shift in our ministry culture to the deliberate development of disciples,
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 all of life disciples of Jesus by the end of 2025.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:16 And if one of the pages, you'll notice what is the big, hairy, audacious goal.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:21 And that is for 65%, it's towards the back of it,
00:02:21 --> 00:02:28 65% of St. Paul's identifying much growth in faith through this church.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:36 It is my understanding that no church can do that
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 or has done that or is currently doing that.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 So that's why it's a big, hairy, audacious goal.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 And if there are a very small number of churches
00:02:45 --> 00:02:49 that are deliberately developing disciples in that kind of way,
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 certainly in the Western world,
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 that's our big, hairy, audacious goal,
00:02:54 --> 00:02:58 which means this plan is not just,
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 well, let's just work a bit harder what we're already doing.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:09 Every vision, every ministry strategy means there must be some form of change
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 in the way we behave.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 And so this one here is no different.
00:03:16 --> 00:03:20 Whatever stage of the journey you are on with Jesus right now,
00:03:20 --> 00:03:24 whether you are a not yet follower of Jesus
00:03:24 --> 00:03:29 through to someone who has been a lifelong follower of Jesus,
00:03:29 --> 00:03:33 our goal here is for the vast majority of us
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 being able to self-identify
00:03:36 --> 00:03:41 that I am moving forward and grasping more of Jesus
00:03:41 --> 00:03:42 as he's grasping more of me.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:47 So in our preaching this term,
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 we're taking a sweeping look at Christian discipleship.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 Things like it's the foundation of it,
00:03:53 --> 00:03:54 the resources for it,
00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 and what it looks like in practice.
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 We're going to refine the strategic plan
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 and commit to it by the end of the term.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 We're going to pledge our resources to seeing it realized.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 There's a raise a bunch of money
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 by the end of the term to see discipleship
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 amongst our next generation flourish
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 and just a range of other stuff.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 So today we're looking at the key foundation
00:04:16 --> 00:04:17 of Christian discipleship.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 And if you've got the St. Paul's app in front of you,
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 I want to encourage you to open that up
00:04:22 --> 00:04:26 and follow along with the outline.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 There's really two main points here
00:04:30 --> 00:04:32 for us to see that being a Christian,
00:04:32 --> 00:04:33 being a disciple,
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 means that we are following the Lord
00:04:36 --> 00:04:37 and secondly,
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 we are following the crucified Lord.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 So following the Lord first of all.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:44 The word disciple
00:04:44 --> 00:04:48 used in Christian circles nowadays mainly
00:04:48 --> 00:04:54 is a word that was not coined by Jesus himself.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 It's not a uniquely Christian term.
00:04:57 --> 00:04:59 John the Baptist had disciples,
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 Pharisees had the disciples,
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 Greek philosophers had their disciples,
00:05:04 --> 00:05:05 Jewish rabbis had their disciples.
00:05:06 --> 00:05:11 It was common word in Greek and Roman empires.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 And the word disciple literally means
00:05:13 --> 00:05:14 to be a student,
00:05:14 --> 00:05:15 to be a learner.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 That's its core meaning.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:20 In the Jewish context,
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 a disciple would take the posture
00:05:24 --> 00:05:28 of sitting and learning from their teacher,
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 sitting at the feet of their teacher
00:05:30 --> 00:05:31 and learning from them,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 not just a set of doctrines,
00:05:34 --> 00:05:35 but all of life.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:37 But also,
00:05:38 --> 00:05:41 that disciple would follow closely
00:05:41 --> 00:05:45 as they watched their teacher
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 live all of life.
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 And so the saying
00:05:50 --> 00:05:55 that a disciple should become dusty
00:05:55 --> 00:05:56 with the dust of their rabbi
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 was a Jewish saying
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 in the first century.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:03 That is,
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 they are to follow them so closely
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 in all of life
00:06:07 --> 00:06:11 that they would be covered in the dust
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 stirred up from the feet of their teacher
00:06:13 --> 00:06:14 as they walked.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 Now,
00:06:17 --> 00:06:17 one notable thing
00:06:17 --> 00:06:21 about the disciple-teacher relationship
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 in Jewish tradition
00:06:23 --> 00:06:27 is that the disciples chose their teacher.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:28 Disciples chose their rabbis.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:31 The Christian, however,
00:06:31 --> 00:06:34 is chosen and called by Jesus.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 From the moment his public ministry commenced,
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 Jesus called disciples
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 to leave everything,
00:06:45 --> 00:06:46 your family,
00:06:46 --> 00:06:47 your fishing nets,
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 and follow me.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 And from those early,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 early disciples,
00:06:57 --> 00:06:57 those fishermen,
00:06:59 --> 00:06:59 tax collectors,
00:07:00 --> 00:07:01 he has changed the world.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:02 And he continues
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 to call people
00:07:04 --> 00:07:05 from every tribe,
00:07:05 --> 00:07:05 language,
00:07:06 --> 00:07:06 nation,
00:07:06 --> 00:07:06 and people
00:07:06 --> 00:07:07 to follow him today.
00:07:07 --> 00:07:11 So who is it
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 that has the authority
00:07:13 --> 00:07:14 to call people
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 to leave everything
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 and fully align themselves
00:07:19 --> 00:07:20 to him?
00:07:21 --> 00:07:22 Who is it
00:07:22 --> 00:07:23 that the Christian follows?
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 That's the question.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:27 That's the question
00:07:27 --> 00:07:28 posed in front of us
00:07:28 --> 00:07:29 in Mark 8.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 Who do you say I am
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 is the question
00:07:33 --> 00:07:34 that Jesus asked
00:07:34 --> 00:07:35 his closest followers.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 But before he asked
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 that question,
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 he asked them another question.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:41 Who do
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 others
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 say I am?
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 What's the general consensus
00:07:48 --> 00:07:48 out there
00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 about who I am?
00:07:54 --> 00:07:55 Jesus of Nazareth,
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 Jesus the Christ,
00:07:58 --> 00:07:59 is undoubtedly
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 the most popular,
00:08:01 --> 00:08:02 the most recognized,
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 the most quoted,
00:08:05 --> 00:08:06 the most admired,
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 and the most controversial figure
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 in all of the history
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 of humanity
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 and human society.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:16 No other person
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 has been more scrutinized,
00:08:20 --> 00:08:21 more studied
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 than Jesus of Nazareth,
00:08:23 --> 00:08:23 ever.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:26 No one.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:29 Entire philosophies
00:08:29 --> 00:08:30 and religions
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 have been founded
00:08:32 --> 00:08:32 on his teaching.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:33 More books
00:08:33 --> 00:08:34 have been written
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35 about him
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 than any other person
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 who has ever lived.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:39 Every day,
00:08:40 --> 00:08:41 his name
00:08:41 --> 00:08:41 is spoken
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 more than any other name
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 from affectionate
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 admiration
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 to absent-minded
00:08:48 --> 00:08:48 curses
00:08:48 --> 00:08:49 and denouncements.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:52 The large figures
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 of history
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 have had to
00:08:54 --> 00:08:55 acknowledge him.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 John Lennon
00:08:57 --> 00:08:59 couldn't think
00:08:59 --> 00:08:59 of anything
00:08:59 --> 00:09:00 bigger
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 when he said
00:09:02 --> 00:09:03 at the height
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 of their fame
00:09:04 --> 00:09:05 that the Beatles
00:09:05 --> 00:09:06 were bigger than Jesus.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:07 He couldn't think
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 of anything else
00:09:08 --> 00:09:09 to name.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 President George W. Bush
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 cited Jesus
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 as his favorite philosopher.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:18 The French Emperor
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 Napoleon Bonaparte
00:09:20 --> 00:09:20 said,
00:09:21 --> 00:09:21 Alexander,
00:09:22 --> 00:09:22 Caesar,
00:09:23 --> 00:09:23 Charlemagne
00:09:23 --> 00:09:24 and myself
00:09:24 --> 00:09:25 founded empires,
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 but on what foundation
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 did they rest
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 the creations
00:09:29 --> 00:09:29 of our genius?
00:09:30 --> 00:09:31 Upon force,
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 Jesus Christ
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 founded an empire
00:09:34 --> 00:09:35 upon love
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 and this hour
00:09:37 --> 00:09:39 millions of men
00:09:39 --> 00:09:40 would die for him.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 The Cuban
00:09:42 --> 00:09:43 communist dictator
00:09:43 --> 00:09:44 Fidel Castro
00:09:44 --> 00:09:44 said,
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 I never saw
00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 a contradiction
00:09:47 --> 00:09:48 between the ideas
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 that sustain me
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 and the ideas
00:09:52 --> 00:09:52 that symbol
00:09:52 --> 00:09:53 of that
00:09:53 --> 00:09:54 extraordinary figure
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 Jesus Christ.
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 No message
00:09:58 --> 00:09:59 has been more
00:09:59 --> 00:09:59 used
00:09:59 --> 00:10:00 and exploited
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 than Jesus Christ.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 Politicians
00:10:03 --> 00:10:04 grab from him
00:10:04 --> 00:10:05 quotable quotes
00:10:05 --> 00:10:06 to prop up
00:10:06 --> 00:10:07 their political platform.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:08 Every religion
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 in the world
00:10:09 --> 00:10:09 too,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 Christian or not,
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 has to factor
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 to some degree
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 an appraisal
00:10:15 --> 00:10:16 of Jesus himself.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 It might be
00:10:18 --> 00:10:19 to honor him
00:10:19 --> 00:10:19 as one of God's
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 great prophets
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 or an enlightened man
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 or to reject him
00:10:23 --> 00:10:24 as a fraud
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 or to hail him
00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 as the king of kings
00:10:27 --> 00:10:28 and the savior
00:10:28 --> 00:10:28 of the world.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:29 No person
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 is more misunderstood,
00:10:31 --> 00:10:32 marginalized
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 and commercialized
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 than Jesus Christ.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 He's been fictionalized
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 by the last temptation
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 of Christ,
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 humanized by the passion
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 of the Christ
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 and he's been
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 satirized by the Simpsons
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 and South Park.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 Even the Christian church
00:10:48 --> 00:10:48 is guilty
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 of marketing Jesus
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 as we have put
00:10:51 --> 00:10:52 our own spit
00:10:52 --> 00:10:52 on him.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:53 He is viewed
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 as either a stern
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 taskmaster
00:10:55 --> 00:10:57 or as a moral jellyfish
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 willing to hand
00:10:58 --> 00:10:59 our forgiveness
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 and turn a blind eye
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 to anyone
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 who prays a shallow
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 prayer of confession
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 only to live lives
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 devoid of his presence.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 Get Jesus wrong,
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 you get discipleship wrong.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:20 It is incomprehensible
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 to me
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 that Fidel Castro
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 saw no contradiction
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 between his life
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 and the life of Jesus
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 except
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 that he has put
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 a spin on Jesus
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 that is not true.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 He has not engaged
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 to the true Jesus Christ.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 Who is Jesus?
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 What did he do
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 and what does it mean
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 to follow him?
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 How do we live
00:11:46 --> 00:11:48 as committed disciples
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 of Jesus today?
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 Those are the sorts
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 of questions
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 we're delving into
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 over this term.
00:11:57 --> 00:11:57 Now Mark
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 does not want us
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 to be vague
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 about the Christian faith.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 He longs
00:12:03 --> 00:12:03 that we get
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 an accurate picture
00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 of who Jesus is
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 and what he came
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 to do
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 and chapter 8
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 is the pivotal chapter
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 in this gospel.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 The disciples
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 finally begin
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 to see
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 who Jesus
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 actually is
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 and in verse 25
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 Peter answers
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 the big question
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 of the identity
00:12:24 --> 00:12:24 of Jesus.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 You're the Christ.
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 Peter is using
00:12:31 --> 00:12:31 a word
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 that literally means
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 you are
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 the anointed one.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 The anointed one,
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 the Messiah,
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 the king
00:12:38 --> 00:12:38 to end
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 all kings,
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 the king
00:12:40 --> 00:12:40 who will put
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 everything right
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 in this world
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 that has gone wrong
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 and when Peter
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 says that
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 Jesus accepts
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 the title.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 That is
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 Jesus does not
00:12:55 --> 00:12:55 call people
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 to be curious
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 onlookers.
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 Can I say
00:12:59 --> 00:12:59 that he doesn't
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 even call people
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 to be converts?
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 He calls them
00:13:04 --> 00:13:04 to be disciples.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 He calls them
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 to be fully
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 committed followers
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 and the name
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 gives it away
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 Christian.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:14 The term
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 was first used
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 in the city
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 of Antioch
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 in Acts chapter 11.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 It's part Greek
00:13:20 --> 00:13:20 part Latin.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:22 It means
00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 followers
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 of the Christ.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 Christ.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 For the early
00:13:29 --> 00:13:29 Christians
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 Christ was so
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 much on the
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 lips of these
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 believers
00:13:33 --> 00:13:33 and they lived
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 so like Christ
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 that the pagan
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 city of Antioch
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 said
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 there's no
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 other name
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 but to call
00:13:43 --> 00:13:43 them
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 of the name
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 Christ.
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 No other name
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 would do.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 Christian,
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 disciple,
00:13:49 --> 00:13:49 follower,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:50 they're all
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 interchangeable words
00:13:52 --> 00:13:52 to describe
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 a relationship
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 with Jesus
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 Christ
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 in such
00:13:56 --> 00:13:56 a way
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 that he
00:13:57 --> 00:13:57 is your
00:13:57 --> 00:13:57 Lord
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 and he
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 shapes
00:13:59 --> 00:13:59 and impacts
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 every
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 corner
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 of your
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 existence.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:09 And so
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 discipleship
00:14:10 --> 00:14:11 speaks of a
00:14:11 --> 00:14:11 lifelong journey
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 of following
00:14:13 --> 00:14:13 Jesus,
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 100%
00:14:15 --> 00:14:15 dedication
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 to him
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 where he
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 shapes
00:14:19 --> 00:14:19 every
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 aspect of
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 you
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 into
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 his
00:14:23 --> 00:14:23 image.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 However,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:26 the one
00:14:26 --> 00:14:26 thing that
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 comes out
00:14:27 --> 00:14:27 of Jesus'
00:14:28 --> 00:14:28 mouth
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 that Peter
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 and he's
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 a spokesman
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 for the
00:14:33 --> 00:14:33 disciples
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 that they
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 find appalling
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 and shocking.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 Take a look
00:14:37 --> 00:14:37 at it with
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 me.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 Mark 8
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 verse 31.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:42 He then
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 began to
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 teach them
00:14:44 --> 00:14:44 that the
00:14:44 --> 00:14:44 Son of
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 Man must
00:14:45 --> 00:14:45 suffer many
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 things
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 and be
00:14:47 --> 00:14:47 rejected by
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 the elders,
00:14:48 --> 00:14:48 the chief
00:14:48 --> 00:14:48 priests and
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 the teacher
00:14:49 --> 00:14:49 of the law
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 and that
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 he must
00:14:51 --> 00:14:51 be killed
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 and after
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 three days
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 rise again.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 He spoke
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 plainly about
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 this and
00:14:59 --> 00:14:59 Peter took
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 him aside
00:15:00 --> 00:15:00 and began
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 to rebuke
00:15:01 --> 00:15:01 him.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 Jesus says
00:15:04 --> 00:15:04 here,
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 the Son of
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 Man must
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 suffer.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 He picks
00:15:09 --> 00:15:09 up the
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 title,
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 the Son of
00:15:11 --> 00:15:11 Man,
00:15:11 --> 00:15:11 from Daniel
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 chapter 7
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 in the Old
00:15:13 --> 00:15:13 Testament.
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 The Son of
00:15:14 --> 00:15:14 Man is a
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 divine
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 Messiah figure
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 who comes
00:15:18 --> 00:15:18 with the
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 angels to
00:15:19 --> 00:15:19 put everything
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 right that
00:15:20 --> 00:15:20 is wrong
00:15:20 --> 00:15:20 in this
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 world.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:23 The
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 Messiah
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 suffering,
00:15:25 --> 00:15:25 however,
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 to the
00:15:27 --> 00:15:27 disciples
00:15:27 --> 00:15:27 makes no
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 sense at
00:15:28 --> 00:15:28 all.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:30 The
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 Messiah was
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 supposed to
00:15:32 --> 00:15:32 defeat
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 evil,
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 was supposed
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 to beat
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 injustice and
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 make everything
00:15:37 --> 00:15:37 right in the
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 world.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:38 How could a
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 Messiah
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 defeat evil
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 by suffering,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 by dying?
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 How could
00:15:45 --> 00:15:45 he do that?
00:15:47 --> 00:15:47 Jesus
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 is explicit.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 he is
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 planning to
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 die,
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 not merely
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 predicting that
00:15:53 --> 00:15:53 he would
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 die.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 This is a
00:15:57 --> 00:15:57 voluntary act
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 on his
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 behalf.
00:16:00 --> 00:16:00 Peter is
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 offended at
00:16:01 --> 00:16:01 this.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:02 It is one
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 thing for
00:16:03 --> 00:16:03 Jesus to
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 say,
00:16:04 --> 00:16:04 I'm going
00:16:04 --> 00:16:04 to take
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 up and
00:16:05 --> 00:16:05 I'm going
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 to fight
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 this fight,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:07 the good
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 fight,
00:16:08 --> 00:16:08 but I
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 will be
00:16:09 --> 00:16:09 defeated
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 and die.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:12 And it's
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 a total
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 another thing
00:16:14 --> 00:16:14 to say that
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 in fact the
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 very reason I
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 came is to
00:16:17 --> 00:16:17 die.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:19 And the
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 moment he
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 says that,
00:16:22 --> 00:16:22 Peter begins
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 to condemn
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 Jesus in
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 the strongest
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 possible terms.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:27 You see,
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 ever since
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 Peter was a
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 wee lad in
00:16:30 --> 00:16:30 nappies,
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 he was told
00:16:33 --> 00:16:33 that the
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 Messiah would
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 come,
00:16:36 --> 00:16:36 he would
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 defeat evil
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 and injustice
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 and ascend the
00:16:39 --> 00:16:39 throne in
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 Jerusalem and
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 to restore the
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 nation of
00:16:42 --> 00:16:42 Israel to
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 its heights.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:43 hearts.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 And here we
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 have Jesus
00:16:47 --> 00:16:47 saying that I
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 am that one,
00:16:48 --> 00:16:48 I am the
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 Messiah,
00:16:49 --> 00:16:49 I am the
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 king to
00:16:50 --> 00:16:50 end all
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 kings,
00:16:51 --> 00:16:51 but I
00:16:51 --> 00:16:51 have not
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 come to
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 live and
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 rule and
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 reign,
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 but I've
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 come to
00:16:57 --> 00:16:57 die.
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 I have not
00:16:59 --> 00:16:59 come to
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 take power,
00:17:00 --> 00:17:00 but to
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 lose it.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:03 I've not
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 come to
00:17:04 --> 00:17:04 rule,
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 but to
00:17:06 --> 00:17:06 serve.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 And that
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 is how I'm
00:17:10 --> 00:17:10 going to
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 defeat evil
00:17:11 --> 00:17:11 and put
00:17:11 --> 00:17:11 everything
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 right.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 Jesus
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 says he
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 must
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 suffer.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:17 Not that
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 he would
00:17:18 --> 00:17:18 suffer.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 And the
00:17:20 --> 00:17:20 word must
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 there controls
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 the entire
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 sentence in
00:17:25 --> 00:17:25 such a way
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 that everything
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 in that list
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 must happen.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 Jesus must
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 suffer.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 He must be
00:17:31 --> 00:17:31 rejected.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 He must be
00:17:32 --> 00:17:32 killed.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 He must be
00:17:34 --> 00:17:34 resurrected.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 And all of
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 those must
00:17:38 --> 00:17:43 must happen
00:17:43 --> 00:17:46 if people
00:17:46 --> 00:17:46 are to be
00:17:46 --> 00:17:46 saved and
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 the world
00:17:47 --> 00:17:47 is to be
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 renewed.
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 Let me
00:17:50 --> 00:17:50 give you
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 two reasons.
00:17:51 --> 00:17:51 If you're
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 looking on
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 your outline,
00:17:55 --> 00:17:55 there's a
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 personal reason
00:17:56 --> 00:17:56 and there's a
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 legal reason,
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 legal necessity
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 and a personal
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 necessity as to
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 why Jesus
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 must die.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:03 Firstly,
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 the personal
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 necessity,
00:18:05 --> 00:18:05 the personal
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 must.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 Now,
00:18:08 --> 00:18:08 we probably
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 know by
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 now the
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 difference
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 between,
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 you don't
00:18:13 --> 00:18:13 have to live
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 long,
00:18:14 --> 00:18:14 the difference
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 between fake
00:18:15 --> 00:18:15 love and
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 authentic
00:18:16 --> 00:18:16 love.
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17 In fake
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 love,
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 our aim
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 is to
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 show some
00:18:22 --> 00:18:22 kind of
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 love to
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 another
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 person in
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 order to
00:18:26 --> 00:18:26 extract something
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 from them.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 And ultimately,
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 it's about our
00:18:31 --> 00:18:31 happiness.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 That is,
00:18:33 --> 00:18:33 our love is
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 conditional.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 We only
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 give it
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 when the
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 other person
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 is affirming
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 us and
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40 meeting our
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 needs and
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 filling us
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 up on the
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 inside.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:43 Fake love
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 never allows
00:18:45 --> 00:18:45 itself to be
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 vulnerable.
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 You always
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 have to hold
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 something back
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 in case you
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 need to cut
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 your losses
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 and run.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 The aim of
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54 authentic love
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 is to spend
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 yourself and
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 use yourself
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 for the
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 happiness of
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 the other
00:19:00 --> 00:19:00 because your
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 joy is their
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 joy.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 I would
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 love to
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 go on a
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 great
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 excursus
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 now about
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 how the
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 definition of
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 marriage,
00:19:08 --> 00:19:08 and I'm not
00:19:08 --> 00:19:08 talking about
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 same-sex
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 marriage,
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 the definition
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 of marriage
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 has shifted
00:19:12 --> 00:19:12 in Western
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 culture to
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 one where
00:19:15 --> 00:19:15 love is the
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 primary issue.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 Authentic
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24 love is
00:19:24 --> 00:19:24 unconditional.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 You give
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 it whether
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 your needs
00:19:28 --> 00:19:28 are being
00:19:28 --> 00:19:28 met or
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 not.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:31 it is
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 radically
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 vulnerable.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 You spend
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 everything.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 You hold
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36 nothing back.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 You give
00:19:37 --> 00:19:37 it away.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 The problem
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 is if you're
00:19:41 --> 00:19:41 sitting there
00:19:41 --> 00:19:41 now and
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 allowing these
00:19:42 --> 00:19:42 words to
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 filter down
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 to a little
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 depth,
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 you will
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 realize that
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 you are
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 incapable of
00:19:48 --> 00:19:48 doing that.
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 That no one
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 is actually
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 fully capable
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 of giving
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 true love
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 love.
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 All the
00:19:58 --> 00:19:58 time.
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 We
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 desperately
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 need it
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 and want
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 it, but
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 nobody can
00:20:03 --> 00:20:03 give it
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 to us.
00:20:05 --> 00:20:05 Not that we
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 can't give
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 any kind
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 of authentic
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 love, but
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 no one is
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 fully always
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 capable of
00:20:11 --> 00:20:11 it.
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 We need to
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 be loved as
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 human beings.
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 Like we need
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 oxygen and we
00:20:18 --> 00:20:18 need water.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 What every
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 single one of
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 us needs is
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 someone to
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 love us
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 who doesn't
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 need our
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 love back.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 Someone who
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 loves us
00:20:32 --> 00:20:32 radically,
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 unconditionally,
00:20:34 --> 00:20:34 vulnerably,
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 and that
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 person is
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 Jesus.
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 At the
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 baptism of
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 Jesus,
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 earlier in
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 Mark, we
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 see that the
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 very essence
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 of God is
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 mutual love
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 relationship,
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 a relationship
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 where the
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 three persons
00:20:48 --> 00:20:48 of the
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 Trinity have
00:20:49 --> 00:20:51 forever given
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 to each
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 other love.
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 self-giving,
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 selfless love.
00:20:57 --> 00:20:57 Within
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 himself, God
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 has forever
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 had all the
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 love, all
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 the fulfillment,
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 all the joy
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 that he could
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 possibly ever
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 want.
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 Which means
00:21:08 --> 00:21:08 that Jesus
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 does not need
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 to extract any
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 more love
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 from anyone.
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 He's filled
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 up.
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 He lacks
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 nothing.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 The only
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 way we get
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 true love
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 is from
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 him.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 The security
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 of Jesus'
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 love enables
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 us to
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 need less
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 and to
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 love others
00:21:29 --> 00:21:29 more.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 True love
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 actually creates
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 more true
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 love.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 Jesus
00:21:36 --> 00:21:39 must die
00:21:39 --> 00:21:41 because
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 without it,
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 this world
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 has nothing
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 to break the
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 cycle of
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 destructive,
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 manipulative,
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 conditional,
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 non-vulnerable
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 love.
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 Legally,
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 secondly,
00:21:57 --> 00:21:57 Jesus must
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 die.
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 It's a legal
00:21:59 --> 00:21:59 necessity.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 When someone
00:22:02 --> 00:22:02 wrongs you,
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04 a debt
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 is established.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 Happens in
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 all of life,
00:22:08 --> 00:22:08 not just
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 financially,
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 emotionally,
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 psychologically,
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 a debt is
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 established.
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 So for
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 instance,
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 if you
00:22:15 --> 00:22:15 got my
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 phone and
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 you broke,
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 it's alright.
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 If I have my
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 phone up here
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 and I held
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 it up and I
00:22:20 --> 00:22:20 said,
00:22:20 --> 00:22:20 if you broke
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 my phone,
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 there are only
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 two things
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 that can
00:22:23 --> 00:22:23 happen.
00:22:23 --> 00:22:23 You take
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 my phone
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 and you
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 break it,
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 two things
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 can happen
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 at this
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 point.
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 Either I
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 say to
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 you that
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 will be
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 $1,
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 whatever it
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 is, the
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 cost of it,
00:22:34 --> 00:22:36 or I can
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 say to
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 you, I
00:22:37 --> 00:22:37 forgive you.
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 That's the
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 only two
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 options you
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 got.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:40 Either you
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 pay for
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 it,
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 or I
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 can say
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 to you,
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 I forgive
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 you.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 In the
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 first case,
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 you pay
00:22:49 --> 00:22:49 the debt.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 You've
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 created the
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 wrong, you
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 pay the
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 debt.
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 In the
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 second
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 instance,
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 I pay
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 the debt.
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 That is,
00:22:59 --> 00:22:59 the value
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 of the
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 phone doesn't
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 just disappear.
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 If I
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 choose to
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 forgive you,
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 absorb you
00:23:11 --> 00:23:11 of the
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 debt,
00:23:13 --> 00:23:13 then I
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 have to
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 pay the
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 debt.
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 Either I
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18 have to
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 buy a
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 new phone,
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 or I
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21 have to
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 go back
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 to pen
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 and paper
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 and pigeons.
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 In one
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 way or
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 another, I
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 absorb the
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 debt for
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 your wrong
00:23:31 --> 00:23:33 against me
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 if I
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 say I
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 forgive you.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 And that
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 happens on
00:23:37 --> 00:23:39 all levels
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 of life.
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 If someone
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 robs you
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 of an
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 opportunity
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 or of your
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 happiness or
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 of your
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 reputation or
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 something else,
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 it creates a
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 sense of
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 debt,
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 relational
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 debt.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 Justice has
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 been violated
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 and a debt
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 has been
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 accrued and
00:23:53 --> 00:23:53 there are only
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 two options
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 in that
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 moment.
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 You can
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 make them
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 pay by
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 destroying
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 their
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 opportunities,
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 ruining their
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 reputation.
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 You can hope
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 that they
00:24:04 --> 00:24:04 suffer or
00:24:04 --> 00:24:04 you can
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 ensure that
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 they do.
00:24:09 --> 00:24:11 But there
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 is always a
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 personal toll
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 to that.
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 When you're
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 making them
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 pay off their
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 personal debt
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 to you by
00:24:17 --> 00:24:17 suffering,
00:24:18 --> 00:24:18 you are
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 becoming like
00:24:19 --> 00:24:19 them.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:20 You are
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 doing what
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 done to
00:24:22 --> 00:24:22 you.
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 You become
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 harder,
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 you become
00:24:25 --> 00:24:25 older,
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 colder and
00:24:26 --> 00:24:26 older,
00:24:27 --> 00:24:29 and evil
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 wins.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 The only
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 alternative is
00:24:33 --> 00:24:33 to forgive,
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 but it is
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 really hard
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 to forgive.
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 It is
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 agony to
00:24:39 --> 00:24:39 forgive.
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 It is
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 agony to
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 refrain from
00:24:42 --> 00:24:42 vengeance.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43 It is
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 agony because
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 you choose
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 to absorb
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 the cost
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 of the
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 debt.
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 You're not
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 trying to
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 get your
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 reputation
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 back by
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 tearing down
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 their
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 reputation.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 True
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 forgiveness
00:24:55 --> 00:24:57 always requires
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 suffering.
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 Love
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 requires
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 suffering.
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 suffering.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 It is
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 a nonsense
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 to say,
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 why does
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 God not
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 just go,
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 just forget
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 about it.
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 Debt
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 never just
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 vanishes.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 Either they
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 pay or you
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 pay.
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 It should
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 come as no
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 surprise that
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 God would
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 say the
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 only way
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 that I
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 can forgive
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 the sins
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 of the
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 human race
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 against me
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 is either
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 make them
00:25:25 --> 00:25:27 pay or I
00:25:27 --> 00:25:27 pay.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:31 either
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 humanity
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 has to
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 pay for
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 its debt
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 of sin
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 in rejecting
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 me,
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 its creator,
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 or I
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 will.
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 The only
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 way God
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 can pardon
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 us and
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 not judge
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 us is
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 to go to
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 the cross
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 and absorb
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 it himself.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 And that's
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 why Jesus
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 says I
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 must suffer
00:25:48 --> 00:25:50 because if
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 I don't,
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 you do.
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 If I
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 don't,
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 you do.
00:25:54 --> 00:25:58 He is
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 saying that
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 He is
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 the King,
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 the King,
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 but not
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 just like
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 any King
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 you've ever
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 imagined.
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 He is
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 the King
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 who must
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 die.
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 He is
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 the King
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 who must
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 suffer in
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 order for
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 us to be
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 loved and
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 forgiven and
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 filled up.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 But He
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 doesn't stop
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 there.
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 Following
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 Him means
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 we die
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 too.
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 Let's keep
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 reading verse
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 34,
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 Mark chapter
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 8.
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 Then He
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 called the
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 crowd to
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 Him along
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 with His
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 disciples and
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 said,
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 whoever wants
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 to be
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 my disciple
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 must deny
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 themselves and
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 take up
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 their cross
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 and follow
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 me.
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 For whoever
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 wants to
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 save their
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 life will
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 lose it,
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 but whoever
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 loses their
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 life for me
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 for the
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 gospel will
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 save it.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 What good
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 is it for
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 someone to
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 gain the
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 whole world
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 and yet
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 forfeit their
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 soul?
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 Or what
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 can anyone
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 give in
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 exchange for
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 their soul?
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 What does
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 it mean
00:26:45 --> 00:26:47 for us to
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 lose our
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 life for the
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 gospel in
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 order to
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 save it?
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 The word
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 that's
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 translated
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 life there
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 in verse
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 35 is a
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 word that
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 means your
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 identity,
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 your personality,
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 your selfhood.
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 It is the
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 things that
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 make you
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 distinctively
00:27:02 --> 00:27:04 you.
00:27:05 --> 00:27:05 Now Jesus
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 isn't saying
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 there that you
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 need to lose
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 the things that
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 make you
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 distinctively
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 you.
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 You just
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 need to lose
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 all of who
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 you are.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 That would
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 make no
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 sense whatsoever.
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 What he is
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 saying is that
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 you don't build
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 your identity on
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 gaining things in
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 this world.
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 Verse 36,
00:27:24 --> 00:27:24 what good is it
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 for someone to
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 gain the whole
00:27:26 --> 00:27:26 world and yet
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 forfeit their
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 soul?
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 Every single
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 culture points
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 to the things
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 and says that
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 if you gain
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 those things,
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 if you acquire
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 those things,
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 if you achieve
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 those things,
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 then you will
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 know that you
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 are truly valuable,
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 that you are
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 truly loved.
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 You become
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 lovable to
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 others.
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 Traditional
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 cultures say
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 that we have
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 no sense of
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 self unless you
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 gain the
00:27:49 --> 00:27:51 respectability and
00:27:51 --> 00:27:51 the legacy of
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 family and
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 children.
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 Individualistic
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 cultures are
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 different.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 We say that
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 you are a
00:27:56 --> 00:27:58 nobody unless
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 you have a
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 fulfilling career
00:27:59 --> 00:27:59 that brings you
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 money, reputation
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 and status.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 Either culture
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 ultimately says
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 the same thing.
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 Your identity,
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 your sense of
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 self-worth is
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 based on
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 performance.
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 It is based on
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 your achievements.
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 If you perform
00:28:15 --> 00:28:15 well enough,
00:28:16 --> 00:28:16 you will find
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 the love and
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 the approval that
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 you crave and
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 it will fill you
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 up on the
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 inside.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 And Jesus
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 says, if you
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 gain the
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 entire world,
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 it won't be
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 enough.
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 No matter
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 what you
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 achieve,
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 no matter
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 what you
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 gain,
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 it's never
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 going to be
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 enough to
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 make you
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 sure that
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 you know
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 who you
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 really are.
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 If you
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 build your
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 identity on
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 the fact that
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 someone loves
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 you or you've
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 got a good
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 career, what
00:28:47 --> 00:28:47 happens when
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 those things
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 are gone?
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 gone and
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 it will
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 go.
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 Your whole
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 sense of
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 self is
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 gone.
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 Speak to
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 people who
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 have just
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 retired.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:02 God's
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 life.
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 God's
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 life.
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 God's
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 life.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 God's
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 life.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 Jesus did
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 not come to
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 convince us to
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08 shift from one
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 performance-based
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 identity to
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 another.
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 He wants us to
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 lose the old
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 self, the old
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 identity and
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 base our sense of
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 worth and value
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 and self on
00:29:17 --> 00:29:19 him, what he's
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 achieved for us,
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 the good news of
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 the gospel.
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 Did you notice
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 that in verse
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 35?
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 For whoever
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 wants to save
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 their life will
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 lose it, but
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 whoever loses
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 their life for
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 me and for
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 the gospel will
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 save it.
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 Foundation of
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 Christian
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 discipleship is
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 the good news
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 of Jesus
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 Christ.
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 It's the
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 gospel.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 Christianity
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 is not
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 performance-based
00:29:43 --> 00:29:45 except it's
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 based on the
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 performance of
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 Jesus Christ.
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 True
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 gospel, sorry,
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 the gospel is
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 not something we
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 do.
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 It's something
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 that God has
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 done for us in
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 Jesus.
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 It is God's
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 grace from the
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 very time you
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 begin to the
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 time you end.
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 We believe, we
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 receive, we live
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 as followers of
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 Jesus in the
00:30:04 --> 00:30:04 light of the
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 gospel.
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 Jesus went to
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 the cross and
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 on the cross he
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 lost his identity
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 so to speak so
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 that we can have
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 one.
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 Once we see that
00:30:13 --> 00:30:13 the Son of God
00:30:13 --> 00:30:15 doing that for us,
00:30:15 --> 00:30:15 loving us like
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 that, we begin to
00:30:16 --> 00:30:18 get a strength and
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 assurance and
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 identity that sets
00:30:19 --> 00:30:22 us free from our
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 culture's identities.
00:30:25 --> 00:30:29 But no, Peter
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 here when he
00:30:30 --> 00:30:30 hears these words
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 from Jesus is
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 furious.
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 He is furious
00:30:34 --> 00:30:36 with Jesus because
00:30:36 --> 00:30:38 Jesus' suffering is
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 not part of Peter's
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 agenda.
00:30:41 --> 00:30:43 His agenda led
00:30:43 --> 00:30:45 from strength to
00:30:45 --> 00:30:48 strength and it
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 did not include
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 suffering.
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 suffering.
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 And that
00:30:54 --> 00:30:56 unfortunately is
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 one of the major
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 undercurrents of
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 discipleship in the
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 Western world.
00:31:01 --> 00:31:03 We relate to Jesus
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 in exactly the same
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 way.
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 We have our agenda,
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 we have our goal,
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 we have our visions
00:31:08 --> 00:31:10 for our lives and we
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 think that it's good
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 to have God on our
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 side.
00:31:14 --> 00:31:16 Jesus' job is to
00:31:16 --> 00:31:18 get me established
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 well in life,
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 to give me the
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 things that are the
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 desires of my
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 heart.
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 What Christian
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 discipleship says
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 that if we have an
00:31:27 --> 00:31:30 end and Jesus is
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 the means by
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 achieving that
00:31:32 --> 00:31:34 end, then we
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 are using
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 him.
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 It is just
00:31:38 --> 00:31:40 another form of
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 conditional love
00:31:41 --> 00:31:43 and it will leave us
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 empty.
00:31:44 --> 00:31:47 if we try to
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 negotiate with
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 all will obey
00:31:48 --> 00:31:50 you if we're
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 not seeing him
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 as a king.
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 If Jesus is the
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 king to end all
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 kings, then you
00:31:55 --> 00:31:55 cannot come to
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 hear this king
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 negotiating your
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 terms.
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 We lay down our
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 weapons at his
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 feet.
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 It's essential that
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 we see Jesus Christ
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 as king on the
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 cross.
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 If we just
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 simply see him
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 as king,
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 then we'll
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 obey him because
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 we have to obey
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 him.
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 but he's the
00:32:13 --> 00:32:13 king who went
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 to the cross
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 for us and
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 therefore we can
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 submit to him
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 our love and
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 trust.
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 He's a good
00:32:18 --> 00:32:18 king.
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 Instead of
00:32:20 --> 00:32:20 negotiating, we
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 simply say,
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 Lord, whatever
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 you ask, I
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 will do.
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 And whatever
00:32:25 --> 00:32:28 you send, I
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 will accept.
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 If he has
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 utterly given
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 himself to us,
00:32:35 --> 00:32:35 how can we
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 not give
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 ourselves utterly
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 to him?
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 Taking up our
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 cross means that
00:32:41 --> 00:32:41 we die to
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 self-determination,
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 we die to
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 self-control,
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 sorry, we
00:32:47 --> 00:32:49 die to control
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 of ourselves,
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 over our
00:32:51 --> 00:32:53 lives, and
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 we die to
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 using him to
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 achieve our
00:32:56 --> 00:32:56 agendas in
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 life.
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 I love the
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 way C.S.
00:33:02 --> 00:33:04 Lewis closes
00:33:04 --> 00:33:06 out his book,
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 Mere
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 Christianity,
00:33:07 --> 00:33:09 as he
00:33:09 --> 00:33:09 describes the
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 life of the
00:33:10 --> 00:33:10 disciple.
00:33:11 --> 00:33:15 give up
00:33:15 --> 00:33:17 yourself, and
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 you will find
00:33:18 --> 00:33:18 your real
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 self.
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 Lose your
00:33:21 --> 00:33:23 life, and
00:33:23 --> 00:33:23 you will save
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 it.
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 Submit to
00:33:25 --> 00:33:27 death, the
00:33:27 --> 00:33:27 death of your
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 ambitions and
00:33:28 --> 00:33:29 favorite wishes
00:33:29 --> 00:33:31 every day, and
00:33:31 --> 00:33:31 the death of your
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 whole body in the
00:33:32 --> 00:33:32 end.
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 Submit with
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 every fiber of
00:33:34 --> 00:33:36 your being, and
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 you will find
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 eternal life.
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 Keep back
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 nothing.
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 Nothing that
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 you have not
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 given away is
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 in fact really
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 yours.
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 Nothing in
00:33:46 --> 00:33:46 you that has
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 not died will
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 ever be raised
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 from the dead.
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 Look out for
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 yourself, and
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 you will find in
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 the long run
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 only hatred,
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 loneliness,
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 despair, rage,
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 ruin, and
00:33:59 --> 00:33:59 decay.
00:33:59 --> 00:34:01 But look to
00:34:01 --> 00:34:03 Christ, and
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 you will find
00:34:03 --> 00:34:06 him, and
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 with him
00:34:07 --> 00:34:07 everything else
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 thrown in.
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 The call of
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 Jesus on our
00:34:12 --> 00:34:14 lives, if I
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 might use the
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 metaphor again,
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 is that the
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 dust of Jesus
00:34:19 --> 00:34:21 covers every
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 single aspect
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 of our being.
00:34:23 --> 00:34:29 no part is
00:34:29 --> 00:34:29 untouched by
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 him.
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 And as we
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 journey through
00:34:33 --> 00:34:35 this term, I
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 want to ask
00:34:35 --> 00:34:37 you to ask
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 him specifically,
00:34:40 --> 00:34:42 Jesus, are
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 there any
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 parts in my
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 life that
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 are not
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 covered by
00:34:47 --> 00:34:47 your dust,
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 and by your
00:34:49 --> 00:34:51 grace, enable
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 me to surrender
00:34:52 --> 00:34:52 it to you?
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 Amen.
00:34:54 --> 00:34:54 Amen.