WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.560 And we have a guest speaker today. So I'm going 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:15.720 to welcome our guest speaker. Thank you. I want 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:22.179 to make sure to send Greg a text afterwards just 00:00:22.179 --> 00:00:25.140 to let him know that I really, just even this 00:00:25.140 --> 00:00:30.350 far, we aren't that far into service. I love 00:00:30.350 --> 00:00:35.990 it here. There's, I'm a feely person, you know, 00:00:36.109 --> 00:00:38.329 and so when I walked in, you know, I was just 00:00:38.329 --> 00:00:40.429 like, I wonder what the vibes gonna be, just 00:00:40.429 --> 00:00:42.049 speaking of vibes, right, whoever was talking 00:00:42.049 --> 00:00:44.789 about vibes this morning, you know, and, but 00:00:44.789 --> 00:00:48.310 when I walked in, I felt the love that's in this 00:00:48.310 --> 00:00:52.009 place. I felt welcomed, and I just feel the presence 00:00:52.009 --> 00:00:57.079 of God, and so. That's all inside of you that 00:00:57.079 --> 00:00:59.920 you put out in this place. And so I'm grateful 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:01.780 to be here this morning. And I'm definitely going 00:01:01.780 --> 00:01:04.959 to tell Greg that I appreciate him inviting me. 00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:09.239 So my name is Nina. I am one of the pastors at 00:01:09.239 --> 00:01:14.219 Emerge Church in Bettendorf. And Greg asked, 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:16.379 I mean, months ago. if I would be able to come. 00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:20.079 And so I'm happy to be here and share this time 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:22.500 with you guys. Thanks for the worship this morning. 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:26.459 Beautiful. With or without words, the presence 00:01:26.459 --> 00:01:29.480 of God was felt. It's funny because we get so 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:31.879 caught up in it. When I'm in, I'm surprised I 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:34.060 haven't gotten a text this morning. The minute 00:01:34.060 --> 00:01:38.019 that I'm not in church, everything goes to the 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:41.579 wayside. The words, the video, everything. And 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:43.540 they're like, I'm sorry to bother you. So I'm 00:01:43.540 --> 00:01:48.239 not surprised. But that things happen like that, 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:52.640 but at the same time, it doesn't matter. It doesn't 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:55.299 matter at all. And from what I, am I being, I 00:01:55.299 --> 00:01:57.859 am still being videoed or something, right? Recorded. 00:01:58.439 --> 00:02:01.980 I won't cut up then, you know. I thought there 00:02:01.980 --> 00:02:06.280 was no proof. So I'll be good, I'll be good. 00:02:06.340 --> 00:02:10.340 I mean, which is not normal. So I always, I cut 00:02:10.340 --> 00:02:12.599 up a little bit before I start getting videoed 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:14.949 at our. and I'm like you can start recording 00:02:14.949 --> 00:02:20.710 now. But anyways, I'm gonna pray before we get 00:02:20.710 --> 00:02:25.090 started. I just thank you God for who you are. 00:02:25.949 --> 00:02:28.650 I'm thankful for this day to be here. I'm thankful 00:02:28.650 --> 00:02:32.689 that I'm here on Father's Day because of you 00:02:32.689 --> 00:02:35.409 are our great father. You've been my great father 00:02:35.409 --> 00:02:39.210 and I love you so much. We all do. And I just 00:02:39.210 --> 00:02:41.870 wanna pray for our dads and pray that you would 00:02:41.870 --> 00:02:44.539 continue to strengthen them. give them wisdom 00:02:44.539 --> 00:02:47.580 to lead their families, their children, Father 00:02:47.580 --> 00:02:50.280 God. I pray for every father, every spiritual 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:53.639 father, every biological father, every adopted 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:57.099 father, stepfather, every father, Lord God, I 00:02:57.099 --> 00:03:00.860 pray for them and I pray for our fathers who 00:03:00.860 --> 00:03:04.039 may not be experiencing the greatest day because 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:07.770 of what it means for them, maybe. separation 00:03:07.770 --> 00:03:09.909 from their children or something like that. So 00:03:09.909 --> 00:03:13.229 I pray that this day that they feel your love 00:03:13.229 --> 00:03:15.889 no matter what. And they also feel the love of 00:03:15.889 --> 00:03:19.189 community and family. And I just ask that you 00:03:19.189 --> 00:03:21.729 would go before me that every word that I speak 00:03:21.729 --> 00:03:23.889 comes from your spirit that you would speak through 00:03:23.889 --> 00:03:26.250 me that I just be a vessel and that you would 00:03:26.250 --> 00:03:32.110 use me greatly this morning. Amen. My message 00:03:32.110 --> 00:03:38.520 is from Matthew 16 21 28. They gave me the the 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:41.479 instructions that it would be on the screen and 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:43.120 that I didn't have to read it if I didn't want 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:49.300 to. But I guess I have to, so right? But before 00:03:49.300 --> 00:03:51.740 we get into the message, I think it's important 00:03:51.740 --> 00:03:53.939 that we know like right what was happening before 00:03:53.939 --> 00:03:57.800 it. And right before it, Peter had just confessed 00:03:57.800 --> 00:04:01.800 that Jesus was the son of the living God, that 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:06.539 he was the Messiah. And at that time was so many 00:04:06.780 --> 00:04:11.460 questioning who he was and his authority. That 00:04:11.460 --> 00:04:14.379 moment was important. He was asking his disciples, 00:04:14.539 --> 00:04:17.860 who do you say I am? And Peter says, you are 00:04:17.860 --> 00:04:21.819 the Messiah, the son of the living God. And I 00:04:21.819 --> 00:04:23.920 think that's important for us as we start this 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:28.100 message because personally how I operate is the 00:04:28.100 --> 00:04:31.970 minute that I find out a truth. The minute that 00:04:31.970 --> 00:04:34.410 I find out some information, that I learned something, 00:04:34.649 --> 00:04:37.970 that something is revealed to me, pick up some 00:04:37.970 --> 00:04:41.790 type of knowledge, then immediately I feel accountable 00:04:41.790 --> 00:04:47.550 to it, right? So I'm not sure I like it. I'm 00:04:47.550 --> 00:04:49.529 really not sure, because I'll read something 00:04:49.529 --> 00:04:53.110 I'm studying. I remember going through ministry 00:04:53.110 --> 00:04:57.250 classes and I would be reading something and 00:04:57.250 --> 00:05:00.610 God is revealing. himself to me and how I'm falling 00:05:00.610 --> 00:05:04.350 short. And I would, my friend was going, how's 00:05:04.350 --> 00:05:06.310 it going? And I'm going, I'm like, it sucks. 00:05:06.829 --> 00:05:07.889 And she's like, why? And I was like, because 00:05:07.889 --> 00:05:09.949 I'm learning so much and now everything I learned 00:05:09.949 --> 00:05:11.610 I'm accountable to and I said, it kind of irks 00:05:11.610 --> 00:05:14.170 me, you know? So when people are trying to show 00:05:14.170 --> 00:05:16.449 me things or how to do something, you know, try 00:05:16.449 --> 00:05:17.910 to try this, this is cool, you need to learn 00:05:17.910 --> 00:05:20.550 how to do it. Or you know what, you're gifted 00:05:20.550 --> 00:05:22.149 enough, you'd be able to do this. And I'm like, 00:05:22.629 --> 00:05:24.230 don't want you to show me nothing, because the 00:05:24.230 --> 00:05:25.829 minute you show me, then people will want me 00:05:25.829 --> 00:05:27.819 to do it. And I don't want to know, so don't 00:05:27.819 --> 00:05:31.800 tell me nothing. But I don't want to know things 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:33.379 that I have to be accountable to. But that's 00:05:33.379 --> 00:05:37.399 what we're doing right now, right? So as believers, 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:41.240 we're all here. And we're going to stand on that 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:44.319 truth, accountable to the truth that our belief 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:48.639 that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is our 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:52.279 Lord and Savior, that He's our Messiah. But how 00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:55.240 are we going to live that? Because that's the 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:57.649 truth now, right? we all know that we all believe 00:05:57.649 --> 00:05:59.990 that we all hold it in our heart we're all here 00:05:59.990 --> 00:06:03.189 for that purpose because we believe so how are 00:06:03.189 --> 00:06:04.569 we going to stand on that truth how are we going 00:06:04.569 --> 00:06:08.089 to be accountable to the fact that he is our 00:06:08.089 --> 00:06:10.589 lord and savior and we believe that he's the 00:06:10.589 --> 00:06:13.110 son of god we believe that so what does that 00:06:13.110 --> 00:06:16.769 look like for us i'm gonna start with that verse 00:06:16.769 --> 00:06:21.110 from that time on jesus began to explain to his 00:06:21.110 --> 00:06:23.689 disciples that he must go to jerusalem and suffer 00:06:23.689 --> 00:06:27.199 many things at the hands of the elders, the chief 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:29.540 priests and the teachers of the law, and that 00:06:29.540 --> 00:06:32.759 he must be killed and on the third day be raised 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:36.959 to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:40.839 him. Never, Lord, he said. This shall never happen 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:45.120 to you. Jesus turned and said to Peter, get behind 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:48.680 me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:51.399 do not have in mind the concerns of God, but 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:56.310 merely human concerns. You do not have in mind 00:06:56.310 --> 00:07:00.769 the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. 00:07:01.089 --> 00:07:02.829 Now there are several things I want to point 00:07:02.829 --> 00:07:09.529 out. You tell someone some news. You got a report 00:07:09.529 --> 00:07:12.069 and you share that report. That something is 00:07:12.069 --> 00:07:16.170 to come. And we as human beings respond like 00:07:16.170 --> 00:07:19.329 human beings, don't we? In some cases we make 00:07:19.329 --> 00:07:22.569 it worse, don't we? Not knowing exactly what 00:07:22.569 --> 00:07:26.139 to say, so we say Anything doesn't make it better. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:28.740 But in this case, Peter says, hey, it's not going 00:07:28.740 --> 00:07:31.800 to happen to you. And Jesus rebukes him. And 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:34.199 he says, and so I can imagine it went a little 00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:36.199 something like this. He's like, Jesus, what are 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:39.160 you talking about? Stop talking crazy. Nothing's 00:07:39.160 --> 00:07:42.879 going to happen to you. Right? Peter could have 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:45.379 been speaking from a place of disbelief, like 00:07:45.379 --> 00:07:48.319 no way this is going to be happening. He could 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:52.259 have been speaking from a place of fear. or knowing 00:07:52.259 --> 00:07:55.300 Peter, he may have been thinking, hey, if anything 00:07:55.300 --> 00:08:00.399 goes down, I got you, right? Peter had just confessed 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:03.480 that he was the Messiah. And what they believed 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:06.040 about the Messiah and that culture was that he 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:11.339 was going to deliver them and restore them. He 00:08:11.339 --> 00:08:13.720 was going to deliver them from Roman oppression. 00:08:15.060 --> 00:08:18.360 And you can't be a dead king or a dead deliverer, 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:22.899 right, to them, to Peter. So either way and whatever 00:08:22.899 --> 00:08:24.879 Peter's reason for saying what he was saying 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:27.220 it wasn't what Jesus wanted to hear he rebuked 00:08:27.220 --> 00:08:30.740 him. He rebuked him harshly Get behind me Satan. 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:35.360 I Believe Jesus was saying you will not reduce 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:40.580 God's plan to your fears You will not reduce 00:08:40.580 --> 00:08:45.120 God's plan to your lack of understanding or trust 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:49.519 You will not reduce God's plan to what you want 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:55.059 or what you want from me. Jesus is telling Peter, 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:59.960 look, I can't listen to you. I'm about to die 00:08:59.960 --> 00:09:04.580 and go through the worst journey ever. He knew 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:07.919 the task was gonna be awful. And he couldn't 00:09:07.919 --> 00:09:11.080 even let Peter's love get in the way of that, 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:15.720 to become a stumbling block. Jesus was being 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:21.460 accountable to what he knew was coming. But ultimately, 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:25.179 we all get Peter, right? No, Jesus, that's not 00:09:25.179 --> 00:09:30.379 for you. Not my Lord, not my Savior, not the 00:09:30.379 --> 00:09:34.299 Messiah. But practically speaking, like us just 00:09:34.299 --> 00:09:35.720 regular folks, we're gonna put it in our living 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:37.419 room, we're gonna put it right here at our tables, 00:09:37.700 --> 00:09:40.539 we're gonna put it in our jobs, we're gonna put 00:09:40.539 --> 00:09:43.500 it in whatever place that you need while we're 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:45.720 talking about us. So this is our families, our 00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:50.759 coworkers, just us, neighbors. How many times 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:54.240 in your life have you witnessed or experienced 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:57.879 where a person's actions out of love become a 00:09:57.879 --> 00:10:03.059 stumbling block for someone else? Think about 00:10:03.059 --> 00:10:07.899 it. How many times have you seen it? Ever gave 00:10:07.899 --> 00:10:11.360 someone something that they didn't need because 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:13.080 you loved them so much that you couldn't say 00:10:13.080 --> 00:10:19.289 no? Ever seen someone rescue someone from their 00:10:19.289 --> 00:10:26.309 mistakes? Rescue them from themselves. Because 00:10:26.309 --> 00:10:28.649 you couldn't bear to see them go through the 00:10:28.649 --> 00:10:32.169 repercussions of what they did. Ever seen that? 00:10:34.789 --> 00:10:41.590 I remember my grandmother. My grandmother raised 00:10:41.590 --> 00:10:48.310 me. And so I was around for all of her raising 00:10:48.310 --> 00:10:52.029 her 10 children for the most part. She had 11. 00:10:52.629 --> 00:10:54.690 The 11th was my mother. My mother passed when 00:10:54.690 --> 00:11:02.210 I was a baby. And she had two of her kids who 00:11:02.210 --> 00:11:07.590 were bipolar schizophrenic. And once they were 00:11:07.590 --> 00:11:09.950 diagnosed, I don't know if any of you have ever 00:11:09.950 --> 00:11:14.210 dealt with family members that have had mental 00:11:14.210 --> 00:11:17.409 illness. There was just so many things that followed, 00:11:17.690 --> 00:11:23.029 right? So there was addiction. And I remember 00:11:23.029 --> 00:11:28.149 my uncle always coming to my grandmother for 00:11:28.149 --> 00:11:31.769 money, always, to the place of when she was in 00:11:31.769 --> 00:11:37.789 tears, fighting herself to give him something 00:11:37.789 --> 00:11:41.870 that she knew that if she gave it to him, it 00:11:41.870 --> 00:11:47.210 would be to his detriment. But I can also tell 00:11:47.210 --> 00:11:51.690 you how many times I've seen her do it. Because 00:11:51.690 --> 00:11:56.309 she couldn't bear to say no. Or he kept at her 00:11:56.309 --> 00:12:02.889 until she would break. And so you see it. Where 00:12:02.889 --> 00:12:07.470 someone's love can become a stumbling block. 00:12:08.169 --> 00:12:10.409 I'm sure there's people in this room. I mean, 00:12:10.529 --> 00:12:13.450 I experienced it today. My grandmother passed. 00:12:13.639 --> 00:12:16.659 And he still was in the situation that he was 00:12:16.659 --> 00:12:20.799 in. And he went to stay with my aunt. And then 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:24.340 he did my aunt the same way that he did my grandmother. 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:28.460 And then my aunt passed. And then guess who deals 00:12:28.460 --> 00:12:33.460 with their uncle now? And I'm learning. I've 00:12:33.460 --> 00:12:38.019 had to put him in, I've had to block him and 00:12:38.019 --> 00:12:42.490 unblock him and block him and unblock him. so 00:12:42.490 --> 00:12:45.870 that I didn't let my heart do something that 00:12:45.870 --> 00:12:50.289 is not going to help him to move forward or get 00:12:50.289 --> 00:12:53.769 over the things that he needs to get over. And 00:12:53.769 --> 00:12:55.830 so I wish at that time, you know, even for my 00:12:55.830 --> 00:12:57.529 grandmother, I could have said, Grandma, he's 00:12:57.529 --> 00:13:00.470 still gonna be the way that he is. There's nothing 00:13:00.470 --> 00:13:03.809 that you can do. Your love can't save him. And 00:13:03.809 --> 00:13:06.769 that's what I would have said to Peter. There's 00:13:06.769 --> 00:13:11.470 nothing you can do. Your love can't save him. 00:13:12.009 --> 00:13:15.929 This is what he had to go through, Jesus. So 00:13:15.929 --> 00:13:17.889 people, even our love, good desires, and what 00:13:17.889 --> 00:13:20.970 we think we know about a situation can become 00:13:20.970 --> 00:13:23.970 a stumbling block when it comes to what God has 00:13:23.970 --> 00:13:30.929 planned and purposed for someone's life. Verse 00:13:30.929 --> 00:13:35.129 24, then Jesus said to his disciples, whoever 00:13:35.129 --> 00:13:37.929 wants to be my disciple must deny themselves 00:13:37.929 --> 00:13:41.990 and take up their cross and follow me. Jesus 00:13:41.990 --> 00:13:44.769 is expressing that to follow him we must do the 00:13:44.769 --> 00:13:48.509 same. We won't do it physically like Jesus, but 00:13:48.509 --> 00:13:51.909 we will do it in how we live our lives. How we 00:13:51.909 --> 00:13:55.309 live our lives for him. And often we read that 00:13:55.309 --> 00:13:58.250 statement of taking up our cross and we think 00:13:58.250 --> 00:14:02.889 that it's the weight of our decision to be Christians, 00:14:03.350 --> 00:14:06.509 right? Like Christianity is this hardship or 00:14:06.509 --> 00:14:12.090 this burden that we carry. But that's not all 00:14:12.090 --> 00:14:17.570 it's saying. It says, take up your cross. The 00:14:17.570 --> 00:14:21.830 cross was a symbol of death, not carrying a burden. 00:14:23.009 --> 00:14:25.289 Jesus is saying, take up your death and follow 00:14:25.289 --> 00:14:28.549 me. So this is what I felt was important for 00:14:28.549 --> 00:14:34.330 all of us to understand what a crucifixion looked 00:14:34.330 --> 00:14:39.769 like, the steps. And so I have them here. The 00:14:39.769 --> 00:14:42.669 Roman crucifixion was a slow and agonizing public 00:14:42.669 --> 00:14:47.330 execution designed for maximum humiliation and 00:14:47.330 --> 00:14:50.889 deterrence. It was primarily reserved for slaves, 00:14:51.169 --> 00:14:55.370 rebels, and the lowest classes. The process and 00:14:55.370 --> 00:15:00.570 methods followed a brutal progression. Scourging 00:15:00.570 --> 00:15:03.090 before execution, victims were severely whipped 00:15:03.090 --> 00:15:06.250 using a multi -tailed leather whip embedded with 00:15:06.250 --> 00:15:09.120 metal or bone. causing massive tissue damage 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:14.179 and blood loss. Carrying the cross beam, the 00:15:14.179 --> 00:15:16.960 vertical post was usually permanently fixed in 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:19.480 the ground. The condemned prisoner was forced 00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:22.259 to carry the heavy horizontal cross beam through 00:15:22.259 --> 00:15:26.120 the streets to the execution site. The attachment, 00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:29.600 the victim was tied or nailed to the cross beam 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:32.820 through the wrists or the palms or the forearms. 00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:35.909 The beam was then hoisted up and secured at the 00:15:35.909 --> 00:15:39.490 top of the vertical post, forming a T -shape 00:15:39.490 --> 00:15:43.730 or similar structure. The feet were then nailed 00:15:43.730 --> 00:15:49.889 or tied to the post. The seat, often a small 00:15:49.889 --> 00:15:53.029 wooden peg or ledge, was placed halfway up the 00:15:53.029 --> 00:15:56.350 post to bear a fraction of the weight, prolonging 00:15:56.350 --> 00:16:01.320 the suffering. The cause of death. would be hanging, 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:04.220 suspended by the arms, paralyzed the victim's 00:16:04.220 --> 00:16:07.379 chest, muscles, and diaphragm. Breathing in required 00:16:07.379 --> 00:16:09.779 lifting the body by the feet, but the pain forced 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:12.960 them to slump back down, eventually leading to 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:17.019 asphyxiation, shock, and organ failure. Hastening 00:16:17.019 --> 00:16:21.799 death. To clear the execution site, guards would 00:16:21.799 --> 00:16:24.100 sometimes break the victim's legs with an iron 00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:26.179 club to prevent them from pushing up to breathe, 00:16:26.299 --> 00:16:33.029 accelerating the death. That's the cross. What 00:16:33.029 --> 00:16:40.169 a drastic, awful, horrible comparison of how 00:16:40.169 --> 00:16:44.610 we have to live our lives taking up the cross 00:16:44.610 --> 00:16:51.590 like Jesus. Everybody watch the passion. It was 00:16:51.590 --> 00:16:56.049 awful. It was awful. And we're supposed to take 00:16:56.049 --> 00:17:01.860 up our cross like Jesus. Think about the description 00:17:01.860 --> 00:17:07.339 of how someone was crucified. Now how many of 00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:16.539 us are taking up our cross? Can we? Second Corinthians 00:17:16.539 --> 00:17:19.039 517 says, therefore if any man be in Christ, 00:17:19.160 --> 00:17:21.779 he is a new creature, old things are passed away. 00:17:22.839 --> 00:17:26.240 Behold, all things are new. We're not supposed 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:29.869 to be the same. We can't be the same though. 00:17:29.930 --> 00:17:35.670 The old you is gone You must become a new creation 00:17:35.670 --> 00:17:40.230 we must die to self Think about it for a minute 00:17:40.230 --> 00:17:45.569 just because you are a follower of Christ None 00:17:45.569 --> 00:17:47.769 of us can pick up our cross and the immediate 00:17:47.769 --> 00:17:49.849 result is that we don't look like Jesus today 00:17:49.849 --> 00:17:54.390 or tomorrow, right? You will constantly be picking 00:17:54.390 --> 00:17:58.420 up your cross You will constantly wrestle with 00:17:58.420 --> 00:18:03.960 the old man inside of you, constantly. The reason 00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:06.079 why we will not be able to take up the cross 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:09.460 like Jesus, or we need to be thankful that Jesus 00:18:09.460 --> 00:18:11.579 did, is because we can't. That's why he had to 00:18:11.579 --> 00:18:15.579 do it. A perfect sacrifice had to do it, because 00:18:15.579 --> 00:18:22.079 we can't. But we're called to do it. Now Peter 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:24.460 watched crucifixions. He knew Jesus. He walked 00:18:24.460 --> 00:18:30.029 with Jesus. He's seen crucifixions new they look 00:18:30.029 --> 00:18:33.849 like and he still denied him three times So if 00:18:33.849 --> 00:18:37.490 Peter couldn't take up his cross and he had seen 00:18:37.490 --> 00:18:42.309 it and he walked with Jesus We won't either right 00:18:42.309 --> 00:18:48.029 that's why Jesus had to come But that's what 00:18:48.029 --> 00:18:50.670 we're supposed to be working towards that's what 00:18:50.670 --> 00:18:53.089 we're supposed to wrestle with dying to ourself 00:18:53.869 --> 00:18:56.890 Verse 25 it says for whoever wants to save their 00:18:56.890 --> 00:19:01.250 life will lose it But whoever loses their life 00:19:01.250 --> 00:19:06.470 for me will find it Let's simplify it Even though 00:19:06.470 --> 00:19:09.910 it's pretty simple already Whatever you hold 00:19:09.910 --> 00:19:17.150 on to is what you will have period You hold on 00:19:17.150 --> 00:19:20.849 to the world the world is what you will gain 00:19:20.849 --> 00:19:26.329 period You hold on to destructive habits and 00:19:26.329 --> 00:19:31.349 the sins that keep you from moving forward. That 00:19:31.349 --> 00:19:34.289 and the repercussions of those things is what 00:19:34.289 --> 00:19:42.670 you gain. But if we lose our lives for Christ, 00:19:43.210 --> 00:19:46.849 we find life in Christ. A more abundant life. 00:19:47.910 --> 00:19:53.660 A life free of the burden of sin. A life filled 00:19:53.660 --> 00:19:55.940 with the promises and the hope that Jesus gives 00:19:55.940 --> 00:20:02.160 as he walks beside us. A life lived journeying 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:04.480 towards our greatest gift and that promise of 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:06.400 spending an eternity with our Lord and Savior. 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:11.000 And the next part of the scripture, Jesus expresses 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:13.119 it a little bit differently. I think that when 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:14.700 you have a lot of people around you, sometimes 00:20:14.700 --> 00:20:16.619 you gotta say it a few different ways so that 00:20:16.619 --> 00:20:19.680 everybody gets it, right? So as he says it in 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:23.660 this way, what good will it be for you? For what 00:20:23.660 --> 00:20:25.940 good will it be for someone to gain the whole 00:20:25.940 --> 00:20:29.779 world yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone 00:20:29.779 --> 00:20:32.700 give in exchange for their soul? For the son 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:34.700 of man is going to come in his father's glory 00:20:34.700 --> 00:20:37.799 with his angels. And then he will reward each 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:42.279 person according to what they have done. What 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:45.880 good is it to have all the monetary rewards that 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:50.059 this world can give you? What good is it to have 00:20:50.059 --> 00:20:55.880 all the momentary? I say momentary because whatever 00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:58.720 the world gives you, how long is it gonna last? 00:21:00.819 --> 00:21:03.839 So I'm not talking just about eternity. I'm saying 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:05.900 that no matter what you have, you cannot take 00:21:05.900 --> 00:21:10.259 it with you. What good is it to gain a limited 00:21:10.259 --> 00:21:16.180 world when we are eternal creatures? What good 00:21:16.180 --> 00:21:18.640 is it to gain a world that your inner man desires? 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:21.000 when as believers we should be living with the 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:25.539 power and strength of the Holy Spirit, when we 00:21:25.539 --> 00:21:29.359 will be rewarded according to that, according 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:31.799 to what we have done, what we have gave up despite 00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:35.160 ourselves, the daily decisions, when we choose 00:21:35.160 --> 00:21:38.220 us and we choose our fleshly desires over what 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:42.980 the Spirit of God is telling us to do. In verse 00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:46.700 28 it says, truly I tell you, some who are standing 00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:49.940 here will not taste death before they see the 00:21:49.940 --> 00:21:53.740 Son of Man coming in his kingdom. I'm gonna read 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:56.099 it again. Truly I tell you, some who are standing 00:21:56.099 --> 00:21:58.940 here will not taste death before they see the 00:21:58.940 --> 00:22:02.859 Son of Man coming in his kingdom. And people 00:22:02.859 --> 00:22:05.859 debate over what that means. You know, if we 00:22:05.859 --> 00:22:09.119 will be taken up and all of those things. And 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:12.680 I think it means this simply. Some of you standing 00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:16.099 here will never taste death because you will 00:22:16.099 --> 00:22:19.920 always put yourself first. You will always resort 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:22.740 to your first response, your fleshly response. 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:26.099 You will never give up what you should. You will 00:22:26.099 --> 00:22:29.420 never wrestle to win. You will never taste death 00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:34.900 before he comes again. Because you don't struggle 00:22:34.900 --> 00:22:38.519 with yourself. We don't try and die to self. 00:22:41.339 --> 00:22:44.380 But I don't want to be one of them, do you? No. 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:51.579 And I want to conclude this with what Matthew 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:57.259 Henry says about these verses. Matthew Henry 00:22:57.259 --> 00:23:00.380 says, thousands lose their souls for the most 00:23:00.380 --> 00:23:04.599 trifling game or the most worthless indulgence, 00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:08.640 nay, often for mere sloth and negligence. Whatever 00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:12.119 is the object for which men forsake Christ, that 00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:15.599 is the price at which Satan buys their souls. 00:23:16.029 --> 00:23:18.990 Yet one soul is worth more than all the world. 00:23:20.009 --> 00:23:23.150 This is Christ's judgment upon the matter. He 00:23:23.150 --> 00:23:26.150 knew the price of souls for he redeemed them, 00:23:26.329 --> 00:23:28.829 nor would he underrate the world for he made 00:23:28.829 --> 00:23:32.809 it. The dying transgressor cannot purchase one 00:23:32.809 --> 00:23:35.829 hour's respite to seek mercy for his perishing 00:23:35.829 --> 00:23:39.890 soul. Let us then learn rightly to value our 00:23:39.890 --> 00:23:43.549 souls and Christ as the only savior of them. 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:49.619 We will always wrestle. We should always wrestle. 00:23:50.579 --> 00:23:53.680 Taking up our cross will be a daily, daily journey. 00:23:54.839 --> 00:23:58.059 We will never be able to take up our cross like 00:23:58.059 --> 00:24:01.500 Jesus did. And that's why he did it. And we should 00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:06.640 be grateful that our father, happy Father's Day, 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:10.200 that he sent his son to do something that we 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:13.960 never could. Amen? Amen. Thank you for having 00:24:13.960 --> 00:24:14.339 me.