WEBVTT 00:00:09.860 --> 00:00:12.679 Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:15.279 Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.000 podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:20.820 you can have an encounter with Jesus that will 00:00:20.820 --> 00:00:24.379 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:28.879 message from our preaching team. Hello, hello 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:34.780 church. Today's Bible reading comes from Matthew 00:00:34.780 --> 00:01:02.280 16 verse 24 to 26. Do you benefit if you gain 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:06.060 the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:09.079 worth more than your soul? This is the word of 00:01:09.079 --> 00:01:14.280 the Lord. At the beginning of 2020, I was feeling 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:17.879 great. I was feeling really good. I was a year 00:01:17.879 --> 00:01:20.480 into the most stable job that I've ever had. 00:01:20.939 --> 00:01:24.040 I had some disposable income to spend on books, 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:28.000 which is always good. We were gearing up to launch 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:31.340 our house church. Judah was one and adorable, 00:01:31.379 --> 00:01:34.519 our son. And Ash, just anything Ash touched, 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:37.579 she just crushed. She was going great. Everything 00:01:37.579 --> 00:01:44.040 was coming up, Tim, right? And then everything 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:48.200 started to fall apart. COVID crushed our church 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:50.939 plant and by the end of the year, it was over. 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:54.900 We're in lockdown with a one -year -old. One 00:01:54.900 --> 00:01:57.140 -year -olds are far less adorable when you're 00:01:57.140 --> 00:02:01.859 stuck inside with them all the time. My mental 00:02:01.859 --> 00:02:04.540 health started to fall apart and Ash got pregnant 00:02:04.540 --> 00:02:07.480 with Ollie and started feeling really, really 00:02:07.480 --> 00:02:10.520 unwell. See, I thought that life was supposed 00:02:10.520 --> 00:02:14.939 to be up and to the right. Certainly up and to 00:02:14.939 --> 00:02:17.319 that point for me, it had been slowly up and 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:20.400 to the right. And why wouldn't it be? Look at 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:22.960 all the things I was doing for Jesus. Shouldn't 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:26.300 Christians expect blessings upon blessings? Doesn't 00:02:26.300 --> 00:02:28.780 God want church plants to be successful and to 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:32.460 succeed? Shouldn't God be orchestrating all these 00:02:32.460 --> 00:02:36.060 little wins for his children that he loves? Shouldn't 00:02:36.060 --> 00:02:38.539 God be blessing people with money for books? 00:02:39.379 --> 00:02:44.280 Yes and amen. But slowly and surely it all fell 00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:48.120 apart. And I think sometimes we think This way 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:50.659 there's this undercurrent of belief in followers 00:02:50.659 --> 00:02:53.840 of Jesus that the following Jesus should result 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:59.539 in a blessed up into the right kind of life Why 00:02:59.539 --> 00:03:02.460 else would prosperity health and wealth preaching 00:03:02.460 --> 00:03:06.259 be so successful? It's what we want. We want 00:03:06.259 --> 00:03:11.120 to prosper But it's not always the reality of 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:14.669 people's lives Life is never really up and to 00:03:14.669 --> 00:03:17.870 the right all the time. It looks more like a 00:03:17.870 --> 00:03:21.229 toddler's masterpiece and Hopefully we can get 00:03:21.229 --> 00:03:24.550 the total my toddlers masterpiece up on the screen 00:03:24.550 --> 00:03:27.569 It's just everywhere just a mat. Yeah, there 00:03:27.569 --> 00:03:31.150 we go on his bedroom wall Just scribbles everywhere. 00:03:31.150 --> 00:03:34.750 It is a masterpiece that I mean you could interpret 00:03:34.750 --> 00:03:39.469 that that could be mum That that could be his 00:03:39.469 --> 00:03:42.280 teddy bear. I have no idea but it's a masterpiece. 00:03:43.900 --> 00:03:47.539 We're in a six week series at the moment on the 00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:51.759 habits of evangelism. Habits that every person 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:54.939 can practise to see people come home to God. 00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:58.439 And the six habits are this. Hospitality, which 00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:01.900 Tex preached about. Asking great questions, which 00:04:01.900 --> 00:04:03.800 Jen preached about last week. Being a Christian. 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:07.259 Invitation, which Ash is preaching on next week. 00:04:07.780 --> 00:04:11.539 Testimony and spiritual hunger. And this week 00:04:11.539 --> 00:04:14.360 we're looking at the habit of being a Christian 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:17.500 and how it can help us share the good needs of 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:22.980 Jesus with our world. We sometimes think that 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:25.120 life for Christians should be up and to the right, 00:04:25.459 --> 00:04:28.139 but Jesus in our teaching text today tells us 00:04:28.139 --> 00:04:31.819 to give up our lives. If any of you want to be 00:04:31.819 --> 00:04:34.879 my follower, if you want to be a Christian, you 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:39.810 must, you must give up your own way. And here 00:04:39.810 --> 00:04:42.930 in this passage, the English kind of softens 00:04:42.930 --> 00:04:46.670 what Jesus is saying. The Greek word means to 00:04:46.670 --> 00:04:50.230 disown. Now disown is a harsh word, but it's 00:04:50.230 --> 00:04:53.389 the same word Matthew uses in his gospel later 00:04:53.389 --> 00:04:57.709 when Jesus tells Peter, you will deny me three 00:04:57.709 --> 00:05:01.769 times before the rooster crows. Peter denies, 00:05:01.910 --> 00:05:04.870 Peter disowns is the word, Jesus three times 00:05:04.870 --> 00:05:06.829 when he's arrested. He says, I don't know who 00:05:06.829 --> 00:05:11.180 this guy is. Why are you asking me? To disown 00:05:11.180 --> 00:05:13.459 someone is to refuse to acknowledge or maintain 00:05:13.459 --> 00:05:16.060 any connection with that person. It's to totally 00:05:16.060 --> 00:05:20.779 abandon them. Wanna follow me, Jesus says. Disown 00:05:20.779 --> 00:05:24.439 yourself. Have nothing to do with yourself anymore. 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:26.639 Refuse to acknowledge yourself, abandon yourself 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:29.779 and your way. That sounds really easy. All right, 00:05:29.779 --> 00:05:34.589 what's next, Jesus? Take up your cross. Now cross, 00:05:34.629 --> 00:05:37.470 of course, is something that you are crucified 00:05:37.470 --> 00:05:40.970 on. It's a picture of shame and weakness. You 00:05:40.970 --> 00:05:43.449 were forced to carry your cross to where you 00:05:43.449 --> 00:05:46.129 would be executed in full view of your community. 00:05:46.250 --> 00:05:49.470 It was shame upon shame. And to carry this big, 00:05:49.629 --> 00:05:51.230 hulking, great piece of wood, you would have 00:05:51.230 --> 00:05:55.009 to literally embrace it. You would have to embrace 00:05:55.009 --> 00:05:59.490 the instrument of your own death. Yours, no one 00:05:59.490 --> 00:06:02.170 else's. Okay, this sounds fun, Jesus. What's 00:06:02.170 --> 00:06:08.790 next? Follow me. Follow you where, Jesus? Well, 00:06:08.790 --> 00:06:11.250 where does Jesus go with his cross? He goes to 00:06:11.250 --> 00:06:14.750 his death. So here's what I think Jesus is saying 00:06:14.750 --> 00:06:16.790 here. You want to be a Christian. You want to 00:06:16.790 --> 00:06:21.410 belong to me. Leave yourself behind. Disown yourself. 00:06:21.490 --> 00:06:23.550 Let go of anything you think you want or need 00:06:23.550 --> 00:06:26.589 in this world. Literally abandon yourself. Embrace 00:06:26.589 --> 00:06:29.389 your suffering and your weakness. And follow 00:06:29.389 --> 00:06:31.470 me wherever it takes you, even if that is to 00:06:31.470 --> 00:06:35.069 death. Now we love a high bar at Encounter Church. 00:06:36.170 --> 00:06:38.290 We love just setting the bar high, but this is 00:06:38.290 --> 00:06:42.949 insane. This is so high. Give up your life, Jesus 00:06:42.949 --> 00:06:46.009 says. Give up the entire up and to the right. 00:06:46.649 --> 00:06:50.050 Give up the whole life graph. Forget about it. 00:06:50.430 --> 00:06:52.769 Disown yourself. Embrace your suffering and follow. 00:06:53.310 --> 00:06:56.009 And if you do that, you will save your life. 00:06:57.589 --> 00:07:00.029 Or you can try to keep your life and lose it. 00:07:00.890 --> 00:07:03.569 See Jesus gives us two options here and one of 00:07:03.569 --> 00:07:06.410 them actually is not an option Give up your life 00:07:06.410 --> 00:07:10.029 and save it or try try the keyword try to keep 00:07:10.029 --> 00:07:14.449 it and lose it anyway But I think we want a third 00:07:14.449 --> 00:07:18.750 option We want to hold on to our life and save 00:07:18.750 --> 00:07:23.050 it and that's because we like our way Like our 00:07:23.050 --> 00:07:27.230 plans and our dreams our stuff our lives We want 00:07:27.230 --> 00:07:30.500 to buy a house. We want to find a partner We 00:07:30.500 --> 00:07:33.000 want to have a family. We want semi -frequent 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:36.199 overseas holidays. We want a holiday home by 00:07:36.199 --> 00:07:39.079 the beach. We want to write a book or start a 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:41.000 business. We want to not have to talk to people 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:44.019 that we don't know. We don't want to go to the 00:07:44.019 --> 00:07:46.740 hard places, the hard people, the other. We want 00:07:46.740 --> 00:07:48.560 to do ministry with people who are exactly like 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:51.459 us. We want to spend our money our way. We want 00:07:51.459 --> 00:07:53.660 to use our bodies our way. We want to spend our 00:07:53.660 --> 00:07:58.589 time our way. We want, we want, we want. We want 00:07:58.589 --> 00:08:02.870 to fulfill our own vision for our lives. We want 00:08:02.870 --> 00:08:06.769 to drive the car. And I'd argue that we've actually 00:08:06.769 --> 00:08:10.850 tried this way in the church in the West for 00:08:10.850 --> 00:08:14.370 the last 80 -ish years. We've had churches that 00:08:14.370 --> 00:08:16.589 have preached that we are saved by grace through 00:08:16.589 --> 00:08:19.689 faith and it's belief in Jesus alone that punches 00:08:19.689 --> 00:08:23.660 our ticket to heaven and that is true. We are 00:08:23.660 --> 00:08:26.639 saved by faith in what God has done for us, not 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:30.680 by what we do, our good behavior. But that's 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:34.779 where it's ended. Tick the box, I believe, and 00:08:34.779 --> 00:08:38.519 then live life however you please. And so what 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:40.179 we've found is that we've had churches filled 00:08:40.179 --> 00:08:42.100 with Christians who have saved their lives because 00:08:42.100 --> 00:08:43.720 they've declared with their lips that Jesus is 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:46.259 Lord and believe in their hearts that Jesus was 00:08:46.259 --> 00:08:49.019 raised from the dead. But their lives have looked 00:08:49.019 --> 00:08:55.139 exactly like everyone else's, with Jesus tacked 00:08:55.139 --> 00:08:59.899 on for insurance. We tried the third option in 00:08:59.899 --> 00:09:01.879 the Church in the West. People have kept their 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:05.279 lives and they've saved it and what has it created? 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:10.759 Decline in faith, abuse in the Church, hypocrisy, 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:16.860 passivity, tepidness and a generation lost. So 00:09:16.860 --> 00:09:20.039 clearly keeping our lives and saving it doesn't 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:24.039 work. So what if we took Jesus at his word here? 00:09:24.940 --> 00:09:27.159 What if we disowned ourselves, embrace our cross 00:09:27.159 --> 00:09:30.059 and follow Jesus wherever it took us? What would 00:09:30.059 --> 00:09:34.299 happen to our lives? Two weeks ago, I got to 00:09:34.299 --> 00:09:37.419 hear Jackie Pullinger speak. Now Jackie Pullinger 00:09:37.419 --> 00:09:41.120 is an absolute vibe. As a speaker, she took no 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:44.899 prisoners. No one was safe. No one was safe. 00:09:45.610 --> 00:09:50.009 She's in her 80s now, and Jackie, as a 22 -year 00:09:50.009 --> 00:09:53.730 -old, took a boat from England to Hong Kong with 00:09:53.730 --> 00:09:56.450 nothing but 10 pounds and a prayer, convinced 00:09:56.450 --> 00:09:58.269 that God was calling her to be a missionary. 00:09:59.230 --> 00:10:02.450 And for 60 years, she has worked with the poor 00:10:02.450 --> 00:10:04.190 and addicted. She went and moved into the Walled 00:10:04.190 --> 00:10:06.470 City, which is a place that neither the English 00:10:06.470 --> 00:10:08.970 nor the Chinese had any jurisdiction. So there 00:10:08.970 --> 00:10:12.529 was no police. No one was monitoring it. And 00:10:12.529 --> 00:10:18.389 crime was abundant. She spent 60 years freeing 00:10:18.389 --> 00:10:20.690 people from poverty and sex slavery. And there 00:10:20.690 --> 00:10:23.009 was this moment that captivated me. There were 00:10:23.009 --> 00:10:24.830 many moments that captivated me about Jackie 00:10:24.830 --> 00:10:28.230 Paulinger. She talked about what Jesus, what 00:10:28.230 --> 00:10:32.970 it cost her to follow Jesus. She said, look, 00:10:33.009 --> 00:10:37.409 I've left everything. I left my home. I left 00:10:37.409 --> 00:10:40.509 my family. I missed my own parents' funeral. 00:10:41.190 --> 00:10:45.269 I missed all my nieces' weddings. She was married 00:10:45.269 --> 00:10:48.610 once at 55, but he died shortly after. She had 00:10:48.610 --> 00:10:52.309 no kids. She's given up her whole life to follow 00:10:52.309 --> 00:10:55.190 Jesus. She's given up her dreams and all her 00:10:55.190 --> 00:10:58.769 hopes. She's disowned herself. She's picked up 00:10:58.769 --> 00:11:01.289 her cross and she's followed. She's laid her 00:11:01.289 --> 00:11:04.250 life down. And I sat there and I thought, as 00:11:04.250 --> 00:11:06.809 I was hearing her, what does it cost me to follow 00:11:06.809 --> 00:11:10.049 Jesus? I've had to let a couple of half -baked 00:11:10.049 --> 00:11:13.870 dreams die. I've had to give the time and effort 00:11:14.029 --> 00:11:17.269 and sacrifice to try to live a holy and sanctified 00:11:17.269 --> 00:11:21.190 life, imperfectly. I've had to give up 10 % of 00:11:21.190 --> 00:11:23.610 everything I've ever earned and whatever Ashley's 00:11:23.610 --> 00:11:26.490 decided to give on top of that. It's me as well, 00:11:26.490 --> 00:11:30.110 but she's very generous. I mean, I've had to 00:11:30.110 --> 00:11:32.309 move five minutes from the beach. Guys, it's 00:11:32.309 --> 00:11:36.049 been tough. It's been really tough. It's sometimes 00:11:36.049 --> 00:11:38.269 awkward for me when someone asks me what I do 00:11:38.269 --> 00:11:44.000 for work. Like, that's really it. if I'm honest. 00:11:44.519 --> 00:11:47.080 Really peanuts compared to what following Jesus 00:11:47.080 --> 00:11:52.539 has cost her. She is a badass. And I'm probably 00:11:52.539 --> 00:11:59.559 just, if I'm honest, an ass. But it's what she 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:02.659 said next that took me by surprise. She said, 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:06.039 I've left all these things and it's been such 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:12.059 fun. It's been fun. It cost Jackie a lot to live 00:12:12.059 --> 00:12:15.419 the life she's lived, but you would be astounded 00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:18.639 by what she's gained. How many people have come 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:21.379 to faith in Jesus through her 60 years of ministry? 00:12:21.899 --> 00:12:26.159 Thousands? Tens of thousands more? She's way 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:29.779 too humble to say. How many people has God set 00:12:29.779 --> 00:12:32.259 free from child prostitution and heroin addiction 00:12:32.259 --> 00:12:35.620 through her ministries? How many poor people 00:12:35.620 --> 00:12:37.559 have been shown love and dignity through her 00:12:37.559 --> 00:12:40.899 ministry? hundreds of thousands. She got up at 00:12:40.899 --> 00:12:42.840 a church planting conference and told the room 00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:44.379 that she'd planted more churches than we have 00:12:44.379 --> 00:12:53.200 by accident. Look at what she's gained. But I 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:56.879 think we look at her life and the enormity of 00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:00.340 her sacrifices and even in the light of what 00:13:00.340 --> 00:13:04.340 she's gained go, well I couldn't possibly do 00:13:04.340 --> 00:13:10.889 what she did. What about this. What about that? 00:13:11.990 --> 00:13:15.750 I could never be like her. But what we really 00:13:15.750 --> 00:13:20.929 mean is, well, what about me? What about my dreams? 00:13:22.610 --> 00:13:28.490 What about what I want? Jackie is an example 00:13:28.490 --> 00:13:32.350 of a life laid down and what it shows us is that 00:13:32.350 --> 00:13:34.429 if we'll disown ourselves and pick up our cross 00:13:34.429 --> 00:13:37.750 and follow Jesus. If we'll give up our own life, 00:13:38.190 --> 00:13:40.529 we will find the things that we most deeply want. 00:13:41.549 --> 00:13:43.230 Now, you might be wondering, what does this all 00:13:43.230 --> 00:13:45.490 have to do with evangelism? Because we're in 00:13:45.490 --> 00:13:48.370 an evangelism series. And I want to say everything. 00:13:49.769 --> 00:13:51.789 When we talk about being a Christian as a habit 00:13:51.789 --> 00:13:53.590 for evangelism, here's what we're not talking 00:13:53.590 --> 00:13:56.809 about. Living a life where faith is tacked onto 00:13:56.809 --> 00:13:59.070 everything else that you do, like an extracurricular 00:13:59.070 --> 00:14:03.370 program. Like I go to school, and also I'm learning 00:14:03.370 --> 00:14:07.879 piano. Nor are we talking about being the kind 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:11.240 of Christian in which faith is a private value 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:14.919 or an opinion that you hold, rather than the 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:18.240 most true thing about you. We're talking about 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:21.419 it being a Christian as Jesus defines it, a life 00:14:21.419 --> 00:14:24.620 that is laid down and given up. Paul calls it 00:14:24.620 --> 00:14:29.159 being a living sacrifice. Because it's this kind 00:14:29.159 --> 00:14:31.460 of life, this kind of Christian, one who has 00:14:31.460 --> 00:14:33.240 willingly disowned themselves in their ways, 00:14:33.379 --> 00:14:36.620 willingly embraced weakness and suffering willingly 00:14:36.620 --> 00:14:39.740 followed whatever the cost this kind of Christian 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:43.000 is a signpost to the world friends that the gospel 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:48.500 is true and here's why if I believe because in 00:14:48.500 --> 00:14:52.340 exchange for my belief my life is up and to the 00:14:52.340 --> 00:14:57.980 right or my life you know I believe that my life 00:14:57.980 --> 00:15:00.740 looks identical to the world if I believe but 00:15:00.740 --> 00:15:03.360 I'm also focused on health wealth and success 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:06.200 Then the people around us will look at our lives 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:09.240 and we'll say oh That person is just a Christian 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:11.700 because she gets everything she wants from her 00:15:11.700 --> 00:15:15.220 face Well, he's just like us, but he has this 00:15:15.220 --> 00:15:17.879 this value that he holds. It's just his opinion. 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:23.039 It's not it's not true But if I believe even 00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:30.299 though I'm poor I'm suffering I'm sick If I believe 00:15:30.299 --> 00:15:33.980 even though it may cost me my life If I believe 00:15:33.980 --> 00:15:37.299 and I give away my wealth, if I believe behind 00:15:37.299 --> 00:15:40.399 success, if I believe behind friends and family, 00:15:40.740 --> 00:15:44.179 my preferences, my comforts, if even my life 00:15:44.179 --> 00:15:49.799 is not off the table, then they'll say, why would 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:53.639 they do this? Why would this person do this? 00:15:54.600 --> 00:15:56.379 How can they believe despite everything they've 00:15:56.379 --> 00:15:59.720 been through? How could they make these decisions 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:02.789 to do these things? How could they give up that 00:16:02.789 --> 00:16:05.850 promotion? How could they give away so much of 00:16:05.850 --> 00:16:08.330 their money? How could they leave this behind? 00:16:09.669 --> 00:16:12.250 How could they be so happy despite not having 00:16:12.250 --> 00:16:14.570 everything that we think we need to be happy? 00:16:15.690 --> 00:16:17.370 See, we get sucked into thinking that being a 00:16:17.370 --> 00:16:19.490 Christian should take our life up and to the 00:16:19.490 --> 00:16:25.210 right. But it's actually our weakness. It's our 00:16:25.210 --> 00:16:27.549 failure. It's our sickness. It's our suffering. 00:16:28.070 --> 00:16:30.690 It's actually that our life does not go to plan. 00:16:32.100 --> 00:16:35.639 It's our willingness to disown ourselves, to 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:38.779 embrace the cost and to follow Jesus in the midst 00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:42.159 of that all. That it's a signpost to the world 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:46.159 that Jesus lives. That's all true. Why else would 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:48.139 you be willing to give up everything the world 00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:50.580 is looking for unless you found something in 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:54.460 Jesus that the world cannot offer you? Something 00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:58.139 better. Friends, being this kind of Christian 00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:00.200 is the Some of the best evangelism you can do, 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:04.559 other than Red Frogs of course. At the same time. 00:17:06.019 --> 00:17:09.339 Living a life that is laid down will provoke 00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:13.319 questions, as Leslie Newbegin says, for which 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:17.900 the gospel is the answer. When you're willing 00:17:17.900 --> 00:17:20.819 to give up your way, embrace suffering and follow 00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:24.579 Jesus whenever it takes you, that will provoke 00:17:24.579 --> 00:17:28.920 questions. Why? Why are you doing this? How are 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:32.640 you out of your mind? For which the gospel is 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:35.660 the answer. I give up my way because Jesus gave 00:17:35.660 --> 00:17:40.119 up his way and he chose the Father's way. I embrace 00:17:40.119 --> 00:17:42.259 my suffering and weakness because Jesus embraced 00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:45.579 his. I follow Jesus wherever it takes me and 00:17:45.579 --> 00:17:47.460 whatever it costs me because he loved me so much 00:17:47.460 --> 00:17:52.180 he gave up even his life for me. And this is 00:17:52.180 --> 00:17:56.119 not a new thing. This was the witness of martyrdom. 00:17:56.200 --> 00:17:59.019 in its extremity in the early church and in the 00:17:59.019 --> 00:18:03.240 global church today. Tertullian around the year 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:06.500 200 AD said this, the blood of the martyrs is 00:18:06.500 --> 00:18:10.140 the seed of the church. The church has always 00:18:10.140 --> 00:18:13.220 exploded in the midst of difficulty, of persecution, 00:18:13.460 --> 00:18:17.119 suffering, because suffering and persecution 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:19.660 and the weakness of the church lays the truth 00:18:19.660 --> 00:18:23.500 of it bare. It provokes questions for which the 00:18:23.500 --> 00:18:28.000 gospel is the answer. Why would you give up your 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:34.039 life for your faith? Because it's true and because 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:35.619 I've had an encounter with the one who gave up 00:18:35.619 --> 00:18:39.279 his life for me. See, if Christianity was just 00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:42.039 a man -made fairy tale, it would have died off 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:45.160 by now. If all Christianity was was a public, 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:49.039 a personal value or an opinion to keep to yourself, 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:53.059 we wouldn't be here in this church today. But 00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:55.660 Christianity is the true story of the universe. 00:18:56.359 --> 00:19:00.220 And when we live into this story, by being this 00:19:00.220 --> 00:19:03.299 kind of Christian, we show it to be true to everyone 00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:07.420 we know and everyone we meet. Now this all sounds 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:12.119 great, or maybe it doesn't. But how do we live 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:14.779 into this story? How do we do what Jesus is asking 00:19:14.779 --> 00:19:20.759 in this passage? Well, we follow Him. Jesus doesn't 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:22.640 tell us to go somewhere and to do things that 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:25.160 He has not already done. He shows us how to do 00:19:25.160 --> 00:19:28.869 it. Jesus shows us how to give up his own way. 00:19:29.769 --> 00:19:32.269 In the garden before he's arrested and before 00:19:32.269 --> 00:19:36.089 he is crucified, he surrenders to the will of 00:19:36.089 --> 00:19:40.390 God. He says, my father, if it is possible, let 00:19:40.390 --> 00:19:44.150 this cup of suffering, his crucifixion, be taken 00:19:44.150 --> 00:19:49.630 away from me. But then he says this, yet not 00:19:49.630 --> 00:19:52.869 mine, I want your will to be done, not mine. 00:19:53.869 --> 00:19:56.789 He makes his request known to God. I do not want 00:19:56.789 --> 00:20:00.650 to be crucified God, but then chooses God's way 00:20:00.650 --> 00:20:06.390 anyway. He shows us how to surrender. Jesus shows 00:20:06.390 --> 00:20:11.509 us how to pick up our cross. He embraces his. 00:20:12.269 --> 00:20:14.549 He embraces whatever discomfort and suffering 00:20:14.549 --> 00:20:18.710 that will come. Jesus does not retaliate. He 00:20:18.710 --> 00:20:22.509 does not find a way out. The only way is through. 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:27.059 So he stays, he blesses those who persecute him, 00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:30.680 he prays for those who beat him, and he embraces 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:34.339 what it is that is required of him. And Jesus 00:20:34.339 --> 00:20:37.599 shows us how to follow all the way even to death. 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:41.099 On the cross he prays this prayer, Father, I 00:20:41.099 --> 00:20:44.779 entrust my spirit into your hands. And then he 00:20:44.779 --> 00:20:48.579 breathes his last. Jesus shows that he trusts 00:20:48.579 --> 00:20:52.380 God with his whole life, even to the last moment. 00:20:53.110 --> 00:20:56.890 See, Jesus shows us how to follow Him. Take your 00:20:56.890 --> 00:20:59.990 wants to God, take your dreams, take your desires, 00:21:00.069 --> 00:21:02.109 take the things that you want from this life, 00:21:02.789 --> 00:21:05.990 but always choose His way, regardless of the 00:21:05.990 --> 00:21:10.289 cross. Embrace whatever it is that's required 00:21:10.289 --> 00:21:13.789 of you and entrust the Father with your whole 00:21:13.789 --> 00:21:17.130 life. Now, here's how I do this in practice, 00:21:17.230 --> 00:21:20.549 and this is just one way. In my heart and my 00:21:20.549 --> 00:21:30.099 mind and my spirit, There is so much desire in 00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:33.039 my heart for my own life. I want to drive the 00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:37.839 car. My heart wants to go this way or that. And 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:39.900 there's so much that is required of me that I 00:21:39.900 --> 00:21:43.259 want to run away from. And there's so many situations 00:21:43.259 --> 00:21:46.680 in my life that I worry about. And so every time 00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:49.559 that I realize that I'm choosing my way and I'm 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:52.609 not choosing God's way, or every time I wanna 00:21:52.609 --> 00:21:54.869 run away from the suffering and discomfort in 00:21:54.869 --> 00:21:57.970 my life, or every time I struggle to trust God, 00:21:58.529 --> 00:22:02.309 in my heart, in my mind, in my spirit, I imagine 00:22:02.309 --> 00:22:05.269 myself holding whatever it is in my hands that 00:22:05.269 --> 00:22:08.930 I wanna avoid, or my wants or my desires, or 00:22:08.930 --> 00:22:11.890 my struggles to trust, the dreams that I have 00:22:11.890 --> 00:22:16.029 for my life. And in my mind, I kind of lift them 00:22:16.029 --> 00:22:20.200 up to God and release them. And sometimes, Like 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:23.720 I hand it over almost. And then it's just relief. 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:28.339 It's just, I've given it up. Like God, I can't 00:22:28.339 --> 00:22:30.380 hold this anymore. I need you to take it. Please 00:22:30.380 --> 00:22:32.940 take it. But sometimes I forget to do it in my 00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:35.799 mind. So I'm in the grocery store and I'm just, 00:22:37.420 --> 00:22:39.259 and people I'm sure are wondering what's going 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:43.359 on. But all that's happening here is I'm just 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:46.079 doing what Jesus did in the garden. God, this 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:49.019 is what I want right here. This is what I'm afraid 00:22:49.019 --> 00:22:53.559 of but even so I choose to trust. I choose to 00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:56.299 want what you want. I choose to embrace whatever 00:22:56.299 --> 00:22:58.859 it is that you want from me in my life. I choose 00:22:58.859 --> 00:23:01.559 to trust you and let it go over and over and 00:23:01.559 --> 00:23:05.759 over again and I find this very helpful but it's 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:10.259 not easy and it's costly because it requires 00:23:10.259 --> 00:23:12.539 me to again and again and again hand over my 00:23:12.539 --> 00:23:17.460 life to God. See Paul, remember how Paul calls 00:23:17.690 --> 00:23:20.809 this being a living sacrifice in Romans 12 he 00:23:20.809 --> 00:23:23.130 pleads with us give your bodies as a living sacrifice 00:23:23.130 --> 00:23:26.230 and I think a living sacrifice is brilliant language 00:23:26.230 --> 00:23:29.109 because it's like who doesn't love a good oxymoron 00:23:29.109 --> 00:23:32.869 but it creates this picture in my mind of an 00:23:32.869 --> 00:23:36.710 altar a place in which uh which in which sacrifices 00:23:36.710 --> 00:23:41.970 are made to god now most sacrifices uh stay on 00:23:41.970 --> 00:23:47.170 the altar because they are dead right A sacrifice 00:23:47.170 --> 00:23:49.470 is dead. That's a part of being a sacrifice. 00:23:50.470 --> 00:23:52.890 But being a living sacrifice means you can take 00:23:52.890 --> 00:23:56.569 yourself up off the altar. And that is for sure 00:23:56.569 --> 00:24:00.250 my problem in life. I keep getting up off the 00:24:00.250 --> 00:24:04.670 altar. I keep going, oh, I want my way. I'll 00:24:04.670 --> 00:24:06.549 have my way. I'll have my dreams, thanks. And 00:24:06.549 --> 00:24:09.029 I get myself up off the altar. And then I realise 00:24:09.029 --> 00:24:11.740 that I gotta get back on. I've got to get back 00:24:11.740 --> 00:24:14.039 on the altar. I've got to make sure that I am 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:17.900 doing God's will and not my own. I've got to 00:24:17.900 --> 00:24:21.680 keep getting back on every single day. See, here's 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:25.920 the thing, friends. We won't do this hard, costly, 00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:28.740 sacrificial work of disowning ourselves, picking 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:31.900 up our cross and following Jesus because we should 00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:35.250 or out of some kind of guilt or obligation. because 00:24:35.250 --> 00:24:37.710 it's the right thing to do because if the right 00:24:37.710 --> 00:24:40.309 thing to do never works or diets wouldn't be 00:24:40.309 --> 00:24:44.650 a thing let's be honest it doesn't work it's 00:24:44.650 --> 00:24:47.769 only when we know that Jesus has it's only when 00:24:47.769 --> 00:24:51.490 we know what Jesus has done for us deeply in 00:24:51.490 --> 00:24:54.289 our heart of hearts does this not just become 00:24:54.289 --> 00:24:57.650 something that is possible for us to hand over 00:24:57.650 --> 00:24:59.890 our lives to God but something we actually want 00:24:59.890 --> 00:25:05.109 to do see Jesus had equality with God and yet 00:25:05.109 --> 00:25:08.410 he disowned himself. He disowned his place at 00:25:08.410 --> 00:25:10.529 the right hand of the Father. He lowered himself. 00:25:10.650 --> 00:25:13.849 He took on human flesh. Jesus, the Word of God 00:25:13.849 --> 00:25:18.269 who spoke trees into being in creation, embraced 00:25:18.269 --> 00:25:21.809 one as the vehicle of his death for us. Jesus, 00:25:21.869 --> 00:25:24.269 the Son of God, followed the will of the Father 00:25:24.269 --> 00:25:27.789 to death on a cross so that by faith we may be 00:25:27.789 --> 00:25:31.190 united with Him in His death and united with 00:25:31.190 --> 00:25:34.930 Him in His resurrection. Friends, Jesus calls 00:25:34.930 --> 00:25:37.890 us to first and foremost disown ourselves because 00:25:37.890 --> 00:25:41.069 by faith we are no longer our own. We no longer 00:25:41.069 --> 00:25:45.849 live. Christ lives in us. We belong to Him. It's 00:25:45.849 --> 00:25:49.329 only because of God's sheer love for us that 00:25:49.329 --> 00:25:53.089 He has done this. And it's only love that will 00:25:53.089 --> 00:25:55.210 make someone disown themselves in their way, 00:25:55.390 --> 00:25:58.029 embrace suffering and follow whatever the cost. 00:25:58.250 --> 00:26:02.230 Only love will make someone lay down their life, 00:26:02.710 --> 00:26:05.990 their wants, their desires for another. Because 00:26:05.990 --> 00:26:08.890 this is hard, this is costly. And people do crazy 00:26:08.890 --> 00:26:13.289 things for love. Only love makes someone willing 00:26:13.289 --> 00:26:16.730 to pay that kind of cost. But it's only the love 00:26:16.730 --> 00:26:18.710 of Jesus that makes someone willing to pay the 00:26:18.710 --> 00:26:21.819 cost. Not just for those that they love, but 00:26:21.819 --> 00:26:24.759 for the unlovely, the unlovable, the enemy, the 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:27.319 ones that we don't like. Because that's what 00:26:27.319 --> 00:26:31.039 Jesus has done for us. Friends, I think the biggest 00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:33.220 barrier to sharing our faith with our friends 00:26:33.220 --> 00:26:37.140 is actually love. Do you know the love of God 00:26:37.140 --> 00:26:40.940 for you? How deeply, how costly, how completely 00:26:40.940 --> 00:26:44.559 you have been loved? Is your heart filled with 00:26:44.559 --> 00:26:47.559 love for those who are far from Jesus like we 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:51.039 once were? Because once you know that God has 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:53.920 paid the ultimate price for you to be brought 00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:57.960 home to him You will be willing to pay whatever 00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:01.980 cost to see others come home to him, too You'll 00:27:01.980 --> 00:27:04.920 give up your career if that's what it takes you 00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:08.599 give up your wealth you give up your dreams You 00:27:08.599 --> 00:27:12.079 give dignity to the poor the outcasts you you'll 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:15.140 speak up about what God's done in your life You'll 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:16.960 have those critical conversations. You've been 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:19.450 putting off You'll choose to live a holy life 00:27:19.450 --> 00:27:21.869 with your body. You'll move house if that's what 00:27:21.869 --> 00:27:24.190 it takes. You'll associate with people who are 00:27:24.190 --> 00:27:27.410 different to you. You'll inconvenience yourself. 00:27:28.309 --> 00:27:31.049 You'll take someone into your home. You'll invite 00:27:31.049 --> 00:27:33.490 people to come around for dinner even though 00:27:33.490 --> 00:27:36.349 you have not cleaned up. You'll weep and you'll 00:27:36.349 --> 00:27:38.849 labour in intercessory prayer. You'll get in 00:27:38.849 --> 00:27:41.490 the prayer room. You'll strike up conversations 00:27:41.490 --> 00:27:44.920 with people that you don't know. You'll be willing 00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:47.259 to be disliked for your faith. You'll get on 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:49.579 a boat with 10 pounds and a prayer. Whatever 00:27:49.579 --> 00:27:52.200 it costs, whatever it takes, you'll pay it to 00:27:52.200 --> 00:27:57.319 see those come to faith in him. You'll do it. 00:27:58.039 --> 00:28:00.240 And you might not be happy about it at first, 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:02.559 but you'll surrender because you're surrendering 00:28:02.559 --> 00:28:05.359 to the one who's done more for you than you could 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:09.740 ever do for him in this lifetime. When Jackie 00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:12.559 first got to Hong Kong, she did her best to evangelise 00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:15.829 to the people there. But she was getting frustrated 00:28:15.829 --> 00:28:18.990 because she didn't seem to be accomplishing much. 00:28:20.089 --> 00:28:22.109 And then she had a conversation with a man who 00:28:22.109 --> 00:28:24.849 said, look, all these Christians, they come with 00:28:24.849 --> 00:28:28.650 this message. But then the money runs out or 00:28:28.650 --> 00:28:30.890 it gets hard and so they just leave. They just 00:28:30.890 --> 00:28:32.710 pack their bags and leave. We're not listening 00:28:32.710 --> 00:28:36.529 to you. But we are watching you. We're watching 00:28:36.529 --> 00:28:39.640 what you do. And Jackie realized that they were 00:28:39.640 --> 00:28:42.160 watching to see whether what she had to say was 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:43.839 really true. Because if it was, then she would 00:28:43.839 --> 00:28:47.400 stay. She would stay even if it got hard. Did 00:28:47.400 --> 00:28:49.240 she really love them or did she just say that 00:28:49.240 --> 00:28:53.039 she did? And if she did really love them, then 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:55.019 maybe they'd realize that God really loved them 00:28:55.019 --> 00:28:58.160 too. Friends, if we want to see the people in 00:28:58.160 --> 00:29:01.160 our life come alive to God and have faith in 00:29:01.160 --> 00:29:06.670 Jesus, we got to surrender to God's will. Embrace 00:29:06.670 --> 00:29:08.930 what is required of us and entrust the Father 00:29:08.930 --> 00:29:11.230 with our whole lives. We've got to go all in. 00:29:11.650 --> 00:29:13.650 We've got to get more radical than we think we've 00:29:13.650 --> 00:29:17.809 got to get. And by doing so, we will live lives 00:29:17.809 --> 00:29:20.990 that provoke questions for which the Gospel is 00:29:20.990 --> 00:29:24.710 the answer. You want your friends to come to 00:29:24.710 --> 00:29:29.230 faith in Jesus? Pray for them. Go into Jesus. 00:29:29.250 --> 00:29:32.390 Go as hard as you can towards Him. Follow Him. 00:29:32.809 --> 00:29:34.569 Strip away the things in your life that hold 00:29:34.569 --> 00:29:39.710 you back. Thanks so much for tuning into this 00:29:39.710 --> 00:29:42.829 week's message. If you felt challenged or need 00:29:42.829 --> 00:29:45.329 prayer, we'd love to hear from you on Instagram 00:29:45.329 --> 00:29:48.549 at encounterhenny. Or if you're interested in 00:29:48.549 --> 00:29:51.109 how you can support this ministry, please go 00:29:51.109 --> 00:29:55.890 to our website encounteradelaide .com .au. Thanks 00:29:55.890 --> 00:29:57.930 again for listening. God bless you.