WEBVTT

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Thank you for listening to this message from

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Lifehouse Church. If you're not familiar or you're

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not part of LifeHouse and this is your first

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time here, these we call the invitation balls.

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These over here are salvation. We get super excited

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about these, by the way. Come on, can we give

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the Lord a hand? Yeah. Every one of these represents

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somebody, right? Truly, this represents a life,

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somebody that's been saved. And you could have

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clapped longer than that. It's Jesus. I'm sorry

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I interrupted. I feel bad now. But these really

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represent somebody who's come to Christ. And

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these are invitations. So what I want you to

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do. We're going to pray over the Word, and we're

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going to pray over these invitations, because

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these might be people that are far from God and

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need to know Him. So I want you to extend your

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hand this way. We're going to pray that the Lord

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reaches out and goes before and behind and beside

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whoever these folks are, and His Holy Spirit

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begins to draw them to Him. So Father, we come

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today, God, thankful, grateful for the opportunity

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to invite people into the kingdom, those who

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are far from You. We ask, Lord, that... The Holy

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Spirit would continue to go out ahead and speak

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and minister to them. And, Lord, we're looking

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for that to take place so that, Lord, one day

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they'll be in orange. God, one day their name

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will be on that orange ball, and they'll be in

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the kingdom of God, and they'll know your power,

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they'll know your presence, they'll know salvation.

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We just give you praise. We give you glory in

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Jesus' name. Everybody say it together. Amen.

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Amen. We never want to let that go. I can't tell

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you the importance of the Holy Spirit going out

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ahead of us. Amen? All right, you may be seated

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this morning. Thank you. Thank you for hopping

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up so quickly and being ready to go. Well, I

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viewed something online this week. I saw a video

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by Josh Howerton. I don't know if you've ever

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seen him. He pastors Lake Point Church down in

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the Dallas -Fort Worth area. Really like some

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of his videos, and I totally ripped off one of

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his stories. I stole it from him, and I'm going

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to use it this morning, but it was just so good,

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I needed to repeat it. And the story comes from

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a college campus from the 1960s. And on this

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particular campus, they called all the students

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together and had assembly. I don't know if that's

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still what they call it. Back when I was in school,

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they called it a general assembly. All the students

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would come in, and you would have an assembly

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in wherever the auditorium was. And they called

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them all together, and what they did is they

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brought in four branches of the U .S. military.

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They brought in the Army, the Navy, the Air Force,

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and the Marines. And the purpose for the assembly

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was for recruitment. Each recruiter would get

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up and, for lack of a better term, kind of give

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their pitch about what they're recruiting and

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telling a little bit about the service or that

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branch of the service that they come from. And

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so the students gathered into the area that they

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were going to meet, and each recruiter came up

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one at a time. And the first one was the Army

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recruiter, and he gets up and he says something

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like this. He tells the students, if you join

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the Army, you can be part of the GI Bill. This

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was back in the 60s. And earn a free education

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on Uncle Sam's dime, right? The government will

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help pay for your education. The Army will pay

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for your education. And you will gain experience,

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and it's all going to be amazing. And he sits

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down. The Navy recruiter then gets up. And he

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says something along these lines. He says, join

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the U .S. Navy, and you're going to learn job

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skills that affords you all kind of opportunities

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following your service to your country. And he

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promised that this could be an opportunity for

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you really to sail across the globe, to visit

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great places that you've never been before. And

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he sits down. Then the Air Force recruiter gets

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up, and he says, join the Air Force, and you

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may get the opportunity to fly a jet or work

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on aircraft equipment. You will be trained in

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highly sought -after skills that will lead to

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high -paying jobs in your future, again, post

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-military. And then the Marine recruiter gets

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up, and he walks up to the podium, and he begins

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to look over this group of students, college

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students that are before him, and for 60 seconds,

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he doesn't say anything. He just stares into

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their eyes. He just looks intently across the

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crowd, a little bit like I'm doing right now.

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Except I'm not doing the awkward silence thing,

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right? And he begins to stare. And after a long

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period of time, when he finally speaks, he says

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something like this. He says, ladies and gentlemen,

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I was asked to come and present today as a recruiter

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for the Marines. But from the looks of the audience,

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I'm wasting my time and yours. I know. Did you

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expect me to get up here and tell you how wonderful

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the Marines are and that you're going to love

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it? You expect me to tell you about the career

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advancements, the early retirement, the job skills

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that you can put into practice in the private

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sector once you finish serving. But I'm not going

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to tell you any of that because some of that

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may not be true. If you join the Marines, you're

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probably going to hate it. You will curse the

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day that you were born. You will be mad at God

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for the day your mom was made and the day that

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she birthed you. You will be shot at. Some of

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you will be hit with ammunition, live ammunition.

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Some of you will be killed in the line of duty.

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Because when you're a Marine, you're the first

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one in and the last one out. And I'm wasting

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your time and you're wasting mine because I looked

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at every single one of you in the eye and I did

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not see one person sitting in this place that

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would make what we call a United States Marine.

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Forgive me for wasting your time. And he closed

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his little book. and he walked off the stage.

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And after a long, awkward silence that took place,

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and the assembly ending in a very awkward manner,

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they began to disperse, and there was tables

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set up out in a common area for the Army, the

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Navy, the Air Force, and the Marines. And a handful

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of students were at the Army, the Navy, and the

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Air Force. But at the Marine table, they were

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lined out the door. To sign up to go into the

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Marines. Why? Why? Because what people want is

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more than just an easy button for their life.

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They want something that's worth living and dying

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for. They want something that they can die for,

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climb a hill and die for. And when Jesus Christ

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came to earth, he did not lower the bar. He did

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not dumb it down. He did not give us an easy

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button to push for Christianity. for Christianity.

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He came and he said, serve, serve, right? Come

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and die with me and serve. That's the mission.

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If you want to be my disciples, come and die.

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Come be crucified with me and serve. This is

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Serve Team Sunday. Turn to somebody right now.

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Tell them it's Serve Team Sunday. Come on, Serve

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Team. This is the mission. This is the call.

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To die and serve. This is the call of Christ.

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Not only so that we serve those around us here

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in this place, but so that we serve outside this

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place and so that others come into the kingdom

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of God. So other people can get in. It should

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be our attitude. It should be our desire. It

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should be our heart. It should be our drive when

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we get out of bed in the morning. It ought to

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be our passion. And on some level, it ought to

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be our obsession, truly. We should be dying.

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To serve. Just dying to. Dying to serve. Turn

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to your neighbors. Last time I'm going to tell

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you to do it. Tell them, I think he's going to

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preach about serving today. Go ahead and tell

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them. I think he's going to preach about serving

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today. I'm going to preach about serving today.

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Tell somebody one last time. Serving should be

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what gets us up in the morning. It should be

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on my radar every single day. It should be one

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of the primary motivations in my life. I should

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be willing and ready to go, die on some hill.

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for some eternal cause that Christ has put before

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us. But how do we know that's not always the

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case? It's not always, sometimes that's not the

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case at all, right? The reality is, for some

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of us, sometimes we get up, we don't even think

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about serving. Sometimes we get up and we rarely

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think about serving. Some people never think

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about serving at all, in any case. There's probably

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Christians who would never, ever make the statement

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that's the title of this message. I'm dying to

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serve. They'll never say it. Sometimes you will,

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right? I'm dying to serve. But if we're Christian,

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and Jesus is our Savior, He has commissioned

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us to die and serve. And there may be something

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fundamentally wrong with our thinking, for those

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of us who call Christ by name, if one of our

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primary motivations is not to die. and serve.

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Jesus said this in Matthew 16, 24. He said this,

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and Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone desires

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to come after me, let him deny himself. How many

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know that's a fun statement, right? Right? I'm

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going to deny myself. We only like to deny ourselves.

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Well, let me speak for myself, right? I only

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like to deny myself of things that I actually

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don't like in the first place. That's what I

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like to deny myself of. If I'm going to deny

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myself something, I would say, I deny myself

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coconut. I like just about everything except

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coconut. I'd be like, I deny myself. I will deny

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myself coconut all day long and twice on Sunday.

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Because I don't like it. I'll deny it for 365

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days of the year, right? I'll take one for the

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team and deny coconut. We like to deny things

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that we don't really like in the first place.

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But that's not what Jesus was saying here. He

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was saying if anyone desires to come after him,

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that means denying yourself the things that you

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like to do. It may even be some things that you

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love, right? That's like me saying, I deny myself

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chocolate. I love chocolate. Dark chocolate in

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particular. I deny myself chocolate. And he doesn't

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stop there. Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone

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desires to come after me, let him deny himself.

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And then he steps it up a notch. And he says,

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take up his cross. It gets even harder. And follow

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me. For whoever desires to save his life will

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lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake

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will find it. For what profit is it to a man

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if he gains the whole world and loses his own

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soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for

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his soul? For the Son of Man will come in glory

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of his Father and with his angels, and then he

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will reward each according to his works. Jesus

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is returning to reward his disciples. He's going

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to return. He's going to reward those who have

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followed him, those who have called. But the

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reward is for those who have died to themselves.

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Those who have taken up the cross, right, not

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only denied themselves, died to themselves, but

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begin to take up the cross. They begin to take

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up the burden. They begin to grab a hold of what

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God has in front of them. And it's sweat equity.

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It's actually laboring. It's actually diving

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in and doing it, right? The Marine had it right,

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calling people out to lay it all down for eternal

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purposes, for what God has in mind. And can I

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tell you, can I say something very clear? There

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is no such thing as a sideline Christianity.

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There really isn't. There's no such thing as

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sideline Christianity. There's nobody on the

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sidelines. There's no observation decks in Christianity.

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It's not a spectator sport. There's no spectator

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sections. There's no park it and see how it all

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goes down just to watch the show. It really isn't.

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There are no stadiums. There's no stadiums at

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all in Jesus' world. What do I mean by that?

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Well, think about a stadium, right? We have sports

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stadiums all across the United States. And what

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do we do when we go to a sports stadium? We show

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up to the sports stadium and we go watch the

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superstars out on the field, right? The superstars

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are going to come out. Those people who are the

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athletes, those people who have gone and trained,

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those people who have serious sweat equity in

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what they're doing, right? There's been deep

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sacrifice on their side. They show up for game

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day. They show up for practices. They're in all

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the way. They've given everything they've got,

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right? And everybody comes to the stadium, and

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we watch the superstars on the team. And what

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do the rest of us do? We get in the stands. We

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go get a hot dog, right? We go get nachos and

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cheese. We get an 84 -ounce soda so we can wash

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it all down just a little bit later, right? We

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paint our faces colors, you know, red, blue,

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yellow, green, whatever, and we start cheering

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on the superstars down on the field. But that's

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not how it works in the kingdom of God. In the

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kingdom of God, it's not a stadium. It's not

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a spectator thing. In the kingdom of God, it's

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more like a construction site. It really is.

00:13:21.529 --> 00:13:24.190
In the kingdom of God, first of all, there's

00:13:24.190 --> 00:13:26.090
only one superstar, right? His name's Jesus.

00:13:26.669 --> 00:13:29.149
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God's the only

00:13:29.149 --> 00:13:31.429
superstar in the whole deal. The whole rest of

00:13:31.429 --> 00:13:33.590
it's like a construction site. The rest of it

00:13:33.590 --> 00:13:36.519
is all of us co -laboring together. It's all

00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:38.379
of us coming in. And one person's swinging a

00:13:38.379 --> 00:13:41.220
hammer. One person's digging a hole. One person's

00:13:41.220 --> 00:13:44.279
painting. One person's setting doors. One person's

00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:46.480
putting up the drywall. Somebody's going to the

00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:49.299
awful job of putting in insulation. Somebody's

00:13:49.299 --> 00:13:51.700
wiring the place. Somebody's putting on a roof.

00:13:51.899 --> 00:13:54.600
Somebody's landscaping. Somebody's planting plants.

00:13:55.179 --> 00:13:58.519
The engineers are making sure that everything

00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:01.679
works right and designing. And it's more like

00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:04.559
a construction site in God's economy. We come

00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:07.779
together and we serve arm in arm. There's no

00:14:07.779 --> 00:14:10.299
big I's and little u's. There's no superstars

00:14:10.299 --> 00:14:13.259
except our King and our Lord and Savior. It's

00:14:13.259 --> 00:14:17.980
the kingdom. It's a construction site. And God's

00:14:17.980 --> 00:14:21.100
at the head of it. The only superstar is the

00:14:21.100 --> 00:14:23.519
King of kings and the Lord of lords. And the

00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:27.190
rest of us are servants. The rest of us put on

00:14:27.190 --> 00:14:31.070
the towel, right? And we put on the tool belt

00:14:31.070 --> 00:14:33.809
and we go to work, laboring together to populate

00:14:33.809 --> 00:14:36.629
heaven and decrease the population of hell. That's

00:14:36.629 --> 00:14:39.269
what we're here to do, right? Arm in arm, locked

00:14:39.269 --> 00:14:43.429
together. And to do that, we have to die to self

00:14:43.429 --> 00:14:47.759
and come together and work. One of the most gratifying

00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:51.179
moments that you'll ever have in your life is

00:14:51.179 --> 00:14:53.320
if you ever sign up to go on a mission trip.

00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:55.940
And that could be locally. And when I say locally,

00:14:56.019 --> 00:14:58.019
inside the border of the United States of America.

00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:00.759
Or if you go somewhere outside of the country

00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:03.519
to serve on a mission trip. It'll be one of the

00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:05.799
most life -changing things you'll ever do. And

00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:07.720
it's the most interesting thing because it's

00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:10.220
a week where you completely deny yourself. Truly.

00:15:10.750 --> 00:15:12.990
When you go on a mission trip. Because you think

00:15:12.990 --> 00:15:14.870
about even a short -term mission trip that's

00:15:14.870 --> 00:15:17.809
maybe a Saturday to Saturday, a seven -day mission

00:15:17.809 --> 00:15:19.990
trip. And think about the people that go on those

00:15:19.990 --> 00:15:22.990
trips. First of all, one, they pay to go on that

00:15:22.990 --> 00:15:26.190
trip. Right? They shell out a bunch of money

00:15:26.190 --> 00:15:28.929
to pay for their housing, to pay for their food,

00:15:29.110 --> 00:15:31.649
to pay for land fees. Some of them even give

00:15:31.649 --> 00:15:33.610
extra towards whatever the cause is that they're

00:15:33.610 --> 00:15:37.470
going to. And they do all that. They take a week

00:15:37.470 --> 00:15:40.690
off from their job. They burn up a week of vacation.

00:15:40.990 --> 00:15:44.090
So they're spending money. They take a week of

00:15:44.090 --> 00:15:46.870
vacation. They go somewhere and they work harder

00:15:46.870 --> 00:15:50.029
than they probably did back at home at their

00:15:50.029 --> 00:15:53.250
job. They spend seven days exhausting themselves.

00:15:53.389 --> 00:15:56.950
and working and laboring, only to come back,

00:15:56.970 --> 00:15:59.210
right? Sunday, they'll get Sunday off. If it's

00:15:59.210 --> 00:16:01.129
Saturday, it's Saturday. And then Monday, they

00:16:01.129 --> 00:16:04.110
go right back to work again. They do all this.

00:16:04.230 --> 00:16:06.909
And do you know what 9 .9 % of them will say?

00:16:07.009 --> 00:16:11.389
9 % out of the 10 will say to you, or 9 .9 people

00:16:11.389 --> 00:16:13.210
out of 10 will say to you, they'll say it was

00:16:13.210 --> 00:16:17.169
one of the best weeks of their entire life when

00:16:17.169 --> 00:16:19.789
they went on the omissions trip because they

00:16:19.789 --> 00:16:24.090
go to serve. They go to serve. There's reward.

00:16:24.789 --> 00:16:27.870
God will reward it. And there's reward. I got

00:16:27.870 --> 00:16:29.429
to be honest, there's even reward in your own

00:16:29.429 --> 00:16:34.049
heart here. When we die to serve, the enemy sells

00:16:34.049 --> 00:16:38.950
us a lie. He sells us a lie. He sells us the

00:16:38.950 --> 00:16:42.230
idea of live it up for yourself, right? Real

00:16:42.230 --> 00:16:45.590
life, abundant life does not begin until we begin

00:16:45.590 --> 00:16:48.889
to die to self and we begin to serve with God

00:16:48.889 --> 00:16:51.690
and with others. It's true. And just so you don't

00:16:51.690 --> 00:16:54.370
think I'm on a tirade, because it's Serve Sunday,

00:16:54.529 --> 00:16:56.470
right? And I'm just pumped up and fired up for

00:16:56.470 --> 00:16:58.590
today, but I am a little bit. Let's take a look

00:16:58.590 --> 00:17:00.389
at what happens in actually the book of Mark,

00:17:00.490 --> 00:17:04.430
chapter 10, verse 41. And Jesus is taking a little

00:17:04.430 --> 00:17:06.789
time, and he's kind of straightening things up.

00:17:07.009 --> 00:17:09.390
Sometimes Jesus straightens things up with his

00:17:09.390 --> 00:17:11.289
disciples, and this is kind of one of those moments.

00:17:11.470 --> 00:17:13.789
He's got 12 disciples who follow him, right?

00:17:13.869 --> 00:17:18.269
They're protégés that are along. These are people

00:17:18.269 --> 00:17:20.710
who are protégés, they're trainees, they're hand

00:17:20.710 --> 00:17:23.170
-picked apprentices, and there's a dozen of these

00:17:23.170 --> 00:17:26.609
supposedly spiritually mature followers. And

00:17:26.609 --> 00:17:28.369
here's what they're doing. They're all bickering

00:17:28.369 --> 00:17:30.970
with each other about who's going to be the greatest

00:17:30.970 --> 00:17:34.809
in the kingdom of God. Right? Now, they kind

00:17:34.809 --> 00:17:36.750
of got this idea, like, look at me, look at me,

00:17:36.829 --> 00:17:38.170
look at me. You know what I'm talking about,

00:17:38.269 --> 00:17:41.220
right? I'm the greatest, I'm the greatest. And

00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:43.640
James and John, in this particular two of the

00:17:43.640 --> 00:17:46.880
disciples, they're kind of the ringleaders or

00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:49.059
the cause of this whole thing. Because what they

00:17:49.059 --> 00:17:51.519
do is they try to go to Jesus. And they go to

00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:54.279
Jesus and they tell Jesus, hey, Jesus, when you

00:17:54.279 --> 00:17:56.500
come into your kingdom and you're fully set up

00:17:56.500 --> 00:17:58.680
as king, we want to sit on your right hand and

00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:00.759
your left hand. They were positioning themselves.

00:18:01.660 --> 00:18:03.440
See, when you're in the right hand or the left

00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:05.599
hand of the king, seat beside the king, that's

00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:08.180
a place and position of honor. That's a place

00:18:08.180 --> 00:18:12.569
of exaltation. It's a place of maybe even entitlement

00:18:12.569 --> 00:18:16.089
that comes along with that. And James and John,

00:18:16.170 --> 00:18:17.990
two of the disciples, they go to Jesus and they

00:18:17.990 --> 00:18:19.549
say, Jesus, when you come into your kingdom,

00:18:19.670 --> 00:18:22.349
can we sit right beside you? Can we be the ones?

00:18:23.130 --> 00:18:26.089
And the other 10 hear about it, these other 10

00:18:26.089 --> 00:18:28.849
disciples, and they're miffed. They're angry.

00:18:28.970 --> 00:18:30.809
They're like, what are you guys doing? Come on.

00:18:31.029 --> 00:18:32.769
You're maneuvering in the background, right?

00:18:33.269 --> 00:18:36.230
Politicking in the background. And they all begin

00:18:36.230 --> 00:18:38.009
to bicker like a bunch of kids in the backseat

00:18:38.009 --> 00:18:40.579
of a van on vacation. Amen? Know what I'm talking

00:18:40.579 --> 00:18:41.680
about. Some of you are like, I know what I'm

00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:45.460
talking about. Mark 10, 41 says this, And when

00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:48.059
the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased

00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:51.319
with James and John. But Jesus called them to

00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:53.779
himself and said to them, You know that those

00:18:53.779 --> 00:18:56.380
who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord

00:18:56.380 --> 00:18:59.359
it over them, and their great ones exercise authority

00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:02.559
over them. Yet it shall not be so among you,

00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:06.259
but whoever desires to become great among you

00:19:06.259 --> 00:19:11.190
shall be your what? Servant. Say it. Servant.

00:19:11.690 --> 00:19:15.470
And whoever of you desires to be first shall

00:19:15.470 --> 00:19:19.589
be slave. Jesus always steps it up. Slave of

00:19:19.589 --> 00:19:22.630
all. He's always stepping it up. For even the

00:19:22.630 --> 00:19:24.970
Son of Man, this is our theme verse. You heard

00:19:24.970 --> 00:19:28.369
it this morning already for serving here. For

00:19:28.369 --> 00:19:30.369
even the Son of Man did not come to be served,

00:19:30.430 --> 00:19:33.390
but to serve and give his life as a ransom for

00:19:33.390 --> 00:19:40.380
many. This is one. And only one position we can

00:19:40.380 --> 00:19:44.900
take in God's construction site is serve. It's

00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:49.480
dying to serve. It's the attitude of serve. It's

00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:51.660
got to be one of my primary purposes in life.

00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:55.460
Serve is sprinkled in everything that I do when

00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:57.700
I get up in the morning. And I know we all got

00:19:57.700 --> 00:20:00.259
positions and we got places we have to be and

00:20:00.259 --> 00:20:03.220
jobs that we have to serve in. And I understand

00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:07.640
all that. you know, walking out. But in our hearts,

00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:11.160
we serve. And I know I'm preaching a completely

00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:13.559
countercultural message from the world around

00:20:13.559 --> 00:20:15.640
us. I'm aware that the world's going to tell

00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:17.839
you the complete opposite. They're going to tell

00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:20.660
you to live for yourself. They're going to tell

00:20:20.660 --> 00:20:22.400
you, the world's going to tell you to indulge.

00:20:22.579 --> 00:20:24.559
They're going to tell you, don't deny yourself

00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:27.559
anything. As a matter of fact, grab everything

00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:30.700
that you can. Find yourself, right? Anybody ever

00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:32.460
hear that? Find yourself? Raise your hand if

00:20:32.460 --> 00:20:34.470
you've ever heard that before. Go find yourself,

00:20:34.789 --> 00:20:38.210
right? But we also know that Jesus said it's

00:20:38.210 --> 00:20:41.490
not about that. It's about dying. And at the

00:20:41.490 --> 00:20:44.230
end of the day, if you dive into what the world's

00:20:44.230 --> 00:20:46.670
saying, if you jump into the ideology of the

00:20:46.670 --> 00:20:49.690
world of grabbing it all for you, indulging in

00:20:49.690 --> 00:20:51.650
whatever you want to indulge in, at the end of

00:20:51.650 --> 00:20:54.390
the day, you're going to be empty. You're going

00:20:54.390 --> 00:20:57.029
to be unsatisfied. I have seen some of the most

00:20:57.029 --> 00:20:59.589
wealthy people in the world, some of the people

00:20:59.589 --> 00:21:02.089
that we would say were the most successful, and

00:21:02.089 --> 00:21:05.750
they are completely empty and void in their lives.

00:21:06.890 --> 00:21:10.210
And they won't tell you that until they get alone

00:21:10.210 --> 00:21:15.750
somewhere. They're empty. They lined up the door

00:21:15.750 --> 00:21:20.910
to sign up for the Marines, to live and die for

00:21:20.910 --> 00:21:23.849
something. Abundant life's never going to be

00:21:23.849 --> 00:21:27.430
found in ourselves. I tried to find myself once,

00:21:27.490 --> 00:21:30.190
and when I got there, I didn't find much, truly.

00:21:31.029 --> 00:21:35.269
Wasn't much there to find. Real life, real freedom

00:21:35.269 --> 00:21:39.390
is dying to me and living for Christ, serving

00:21:39.390 --> 00:21:43.269
him. And if you serve him, you will serve others.

00:21:44.069 --> 00:21:45.769
One of the last scriptures I'm going to give

00:21:45.769 --> 00:21:47.950
you today, and then I'm going to get dismissed.

00:21:48.069 --> 00:21:49.450
I don't want to preach long because I want to

00:21:49.450 --> 00:21:51.609
give you time to get out into the square for

00:21:51.609 --> 00:21:55.049
the fair, the serving fair. And make sure you

00:21:55.049 --> 00:21:57.390
take that card with you. And if you're here this

00:21:57.390 --> 00:21:59.650
morning, and maybe you'll go out there and one

00:21:59.650 --> 00:22:02.589
of those teams don't seem to fit how you want

00:22:02.589 --> 00:22:04.269
to serve the Lord, I want you to stop and talk

00:22:04.269 --> 00:22:06.490
with me. I'm going to be out there because I

00:22:06.490 --> 00:22:08.930
want to know. Part of what I feel as a pastor

00:22:08.930 --> 00:22:10.589
is getting you connected with a way that you

00:22:10.589 --> 00:22:13.150
can serve. It might not fit into the teams that

00:22:13.150 --> 00:22:15.369
we have here at Life Files currently. Maybe it

00:22:15.369 --> 00:22:17.009
will be that we start something brand new, right,

00:22:17.109 --> 00:22:19.730
with you and in you. It could be that kind of

00:22:19.730 --> 00:22:21.990
thing. I want to give you time to do that. But

00:22:21.990 --> 00:22:24.529
John 12, 23 says this, but Jesus answered them

00:22:24.529 --> 00:22:27.029
saying, the hour has come that the son of man

00:22:27.029 --> 00:22:30.069
should be glorified. This is before Jesus goes

00:22:30.069 --> 00:22:32.589
to the cross. He says, Moses, surely I say to

00:22:32.589 --> 00:22:35.930
you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground

00:22:35.930 --> 00:22:41.549
and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it

00:22:41.549 --> 00:22:44.710
produces much grain. Jesus said it again. He

00:22:44.710 --> 00:22:47.369
says it again here, right? He who loves his life

00:22:47.369 --> 00:22:50.009
will lose it. And he who hates his life in this

00:22:50.009 --> 00:22:53.059
world, will keep it for eternal life. If anyone

00:22:53.059 --> 00:22:57.619
serves me, let him follow me and where I am,

00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:01.400
there my servant will be also. If anyone serves

00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:05.759
me, my father will honor. Anyone who serves him,

00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:09.519
his father will honor. We want to be where Jesus

00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:12.579
is, but we got to be like that grain of wheat

00:23:12.579 --> 00:23:17.640
that falls into the ground and dies. Die to me,

00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:20.720
die to self. And the word of God says, then you'll

00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:25.880
produce much grain, right? A seed never produces

00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:29.000
anything in the packet. If you've ever got a

00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:30.539
packet of seeds, I remember doing this when I

00:23:30.539 --> 00:23:32.339
was a kid, right? You get a packet of seeds and

00:23:32.339 --> 00:23:33.759
you put it. How many of you ever got a cup, right?

00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:35.740
Got a little bit of soil, stuck your finger down

00:23:35.740 --> 00:23:38.259
in there, put a seed down. A seed never produces

00:23:38.259 --> 00:23:41.259
anything in the packet. It has to die. It has

00:23:41.259 --> 00:23:45.000
to be buried in the ground and then covered up.

00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:48.259
And when that happens, it begins to germinate,

00:23:48.339 --> 00:23:51.400
and it begins to open up, and it begins to take

00:23:51.400 --> 00:23:54.180
root, and then it grows, and it produces fruit

00:23:54.180 --> 00:23:56.900
of some kind. Something comes forward, and it

00:23:56.900 --> 00:23:59.660
has to be that process. We've got to die to ourselves

00:23:59.660 --> 00:24:04.200
so that we can grow in Christ if the worship

00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:08.680
team would come. I read an excerpt from a story

00:24:08.680 --> 00:24:11.619
this week, and I think it may be kind of sum

00:24:11.619 --> 00:24:14.140
up exactly what I'm saying. And this story is

00:24:14.140 --> 00:24:16.420
actually from the 16th century, and I think it's

00:24:16.420 --> 00:24:19.720
fitting. Historians of a certain small village

00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:22.940
named Eom in the 16th century England reminds

00:24:22.940 --> 00:24:26.480
what it means to serve in its purest form. Throughout

00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:30.000
the 13th century and into the 16th century, the

00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:32.619
Black Plague or Black Death ran in various forms

00:24:32.619 --> 00:24:35.200
and killed at least 25 million people in Europe

00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:38.920
and anywhere from 75 to 200 million worldwide.

00:24:39.710 --> 00:24:42.309
The symptoms were flu -like after an incubation

00:24:42.309 --> 00:24:45.650
of three to seven days. And in September 1665,

00:24:46.150 --> 00:24:48.690
a tailor's assistant brought a bunch of flea

00:24:48.690 --> 00:24:51.829
-infested blankets from London. Soon, many of

00:24:51.829 --> 00:24:55.069
the estimated 800 residents of Eom were perishing

00:24:55.069 --> 00:25:00.049
from the disease. Eom's rector, William Montpresson,

00:25:00.150 --> 00:25:03.210
also with his previous rector, decided to quarantine

00:25:03.210 --> 00:25:08.509
the entire village to contain the disease. in

00:25:08.509 --> 00:25:11.329
an important trade route between two prominent

00:25:11.329 --> 00:25:13.650
cities, and if the current plague was brought

00:25:13.650 --> 00:25:18.029
to those cities, many, many more would die. Together,

00:25:18.150 --> 00:25:22.730
they persuaded the villagers to voluntarily self

00:25:22.730 --> 00:25:26.009
-quarantine. According to eyewitness accounts,

00:25:26.430 --> 00:25:29.589
a quarantine cordon was established with a one

00:25:29.589 --> 00:25:32.470
-mile radius marked by a ring of stones around

00:25:32.470 --> 00:25:35.329
the village. For 14 months, nobody went in and

00:25:35.329 --> 00:25:37.960
out of the village. Food was left at that boundary.

00:25:38.680 --> 00:25:41.579
Stones and nearby townspeople would bring the

00:25:41.579 --> 00:25:44.000
food, and they would place it there, and they

00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:46.279
would exchange that for gold coins set out there

00:25:46.279 --> 00:25:48.460
submerged in vinegar. They believed that the

00:25:48.460 --> 00:25:50.559
vinegar would kill off anything that would be

00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:54.859
on the gold coin. The villagers did this throughout

00:25:54.859 --> 00:25:58.680
the 14 months. The death rate skyrocketed. One

00:25:58.680 --> 00:26:01.319
woman, Elizabeth Hancock, buried six of her children

00:26:01.319 --> 00:26:04.740
and her husband inside of one month. To limit

00:26:04.740 --> 00:26:06.980
the infection within Eon, church services were

00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:09.220
held outdoors. We remember that, right? Some

00:26:09.220 --> 00:26:11.880
villagers left their homes to live outdoors nearby,

00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:16.660
but by the plague's end, 260 of the Eon's estimated

00:26:16.660 --> 00:26:21.660
800 residents died, more than double the mortality

00:26:21.660 --> 00:26:25.279
rate of the plague in London. The villagers'

00:26:25.460 --> 00:26:28.460
self -sacrifice had worked. The plague never

00:26:28.460 --> 00:26:31.480
spread to the nearby towns, and 14 months later,

00:26:31.579 --> 00:26:36.910
November 1667, The quarantine was lifted. E .M.'s

00:26:36.910 --> 00:26:39.529
survivors, descendants write in the history of

00:26:39.529 --> 00:26:42.890
the village that is succeeding generations that

00:26:42.890 --> 00:26:46.190
E .M.'s villagers should admire their ancestors

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who in sublime, unparalleled resolution gave

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up their lives. Yea, doomed themselves to pestilential

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death to save the surrounding country. They died

00:26:59.269 --> 00:27:03.000
to serve. To serve people in villages. or in

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communities they didn't even know, in cities

00:27:05.420 --> 00:27:12.519
beside them. Jesus died to serve you. Jesus died

00:27:12.519 --> 00:27:17.200
on a cross. He served while he lived here, and

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he served by his death on a Roman cross. I'm

00:27:20.460 --> 00:27:26.799
going to ask you to stand. He lived and died.

00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:30.660
Jesus was the first. When the disciples would

00:27:30.660 --> 00:27:32.630
be arguing with one another, He would be the

00:27:32.630 --> 00:27:35.609
one who would take the towel and lay it across

00:27:35.609 --> 00:27:39.849
his arm and get a basin of water and wash the

00:27:39.849 --> 00:27:43.650
disciples' feet. They're griping and complaining

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and bickering about who's going to be the greatest,

00:27:45.490 --> 00:27:48.509
and Jesus is down on the floor washing their

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feet, the Son of the living God. He died. He

00:27:54.009 --> 00:27:59.750
went to a cross for your sin and for mine. He

00:27:59.750 --> 00:28:14.970
served us. He served us. We pray that you were

00:28:14.970 --> 00:28:18.250
impacted powerfully by this message. If you have

00:28:18.250 --> 00:28:20.849
been personally affected by our ministry and

00:28:20.849 --> 00:28:23.130
you would like to partner with us as we love

00:28:23.130 --> 00:28:26.269
God, love people every day, visit our website

00:28:26.269 --> 00:28:26.710
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