1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,530 Speaker 2: I want you to ask you guys a question. 2 00:00:01,530 --> 00:00:06,660 What is the strangest deep fried food that you've ever seen? 3 00:00:07,590 --> 00:00:09,509 The strangest deep fried food you've ever seen. 4 00:00:09,509 --> 00:00:09,750 Caleb? 5 00:00:10,140 --> 00:00:11,100 Probably fried butter. 6 00:00:11,430 --> 00:00:12,330 Deep fried butter. 7 00:00:12,330 --> 00:00:13,290 Is that even a food? 8 00:00:13,439 --> 00:00:14,129 Butter is. 9 00:00:14,610 --> 00:00:16,680 Butter is my favorite food group, but Josh. 10 00:00:16,725 --> 00:00:17,805 Deep fried Oreo. 11 00:00:17,895 --> 00:00:18,975 Deep fried Oreos. 12 00:00:19,125 --> 00:00:19,185 Yeah. 13 00:00:19,185 --> 00:00:20,010 Deep fried cheesecake. 14 00:00:20,085 --> 00:00:21,195 Deep fried cheesecake. 15 00:00:21,195 --> 00:00:21,945 These are all dessert. 16 00:00:22,185 --> 00:00:25,485 Deep fried, any Kool-Aid, deep fried Kool-Aid. 17 00:00:25,695 --> 00:00:27,045 I was researching this online. 18 00:00:27,045 --> 00:00:28,845 I found deep fried watermelon. 19 00:00:28,935 --> 00:00:29,985 I don't know how that works. 20 00:00:30,285 --> 00:00:34,485 I dunno how you fry something that's a fruit, but there's deep fried watermelon. 21 00:00:34,485 --> 00:00:35,565 They serve it like sushi. 22 00:00:35,565 --> 00:00:36,345 It looks really weird. 23 00:00:36,345 --> 00:00:39,735 I couldn't find any clip pictures that weren't blurry 'cause I 24 00:00:39,735 --> 00:00:41,805 didn't have Pastor Rod to help me learn how to use my computer. 25 00:00:41,985 --> 00:00:43,575 But deep fried watermelon Carson. 26 00:00:43,875 --> 00:00:46,725 Saw deep fried, deep fried water. 27 00:00:46,785 --> 00:00:47,355 Wow. 28 00:00:48,255 --> 00:00:54,345 I saw in my brief foray onto the internet, I saw deep fried tarantula. 29 00:00:55,185 --> 00:00:56,535 That was disgusting. 30 00:00:57,645 --> 00:00:58,575 That was, yeah. 31 00:00:58,575 --> 00:01:00,675 I was like, why would you want to eat that? 32 00:01:00,735 --> 00:01:06,285 But some people say that deep fried food is, is like, it's, you can't go wrong. 33 00:01:06,315 --> 00:01:09,015 And if you deep fry it, it works for everything. 34 00:01:09,045 --> 00:01:09,975 That's what some people say. 35 00:01:10,095 --> 00:01:12,615 They say that if you deep fry it, it makes everything better. 36 00:01:12,914 --> 00:01:13,245 Right. 37 00:01:13,275 --> 00:01:17,715 Chicken deep fry it, shrimp, deep fry, it tarantulas, deep fry it. 38 00:01:17,745 --> 00:01:20,595 They'll say, if you deep fry it, it makes everything better. 39 00:01:20,595 --> 00:01:24,164 And I want you guys to, to hear today, what I want you guys to, to walk away with 40 00:01:24,164 --> 00:01:29,115 is realizing that humility is like what some people think about deep fried food. 41 00:01:29,115 --> 00:01:32,235 Humility makes everything better. 42 00:01:32,595 --> 00:01:37,695 Every place you're in, every relationship you have, every person you talk to, 43 00:01:37,695 --> 00:01:39,555 conversation, you have everything. 44 00:01:39,945 --> 00:01:47,503 In your life, humility makes everything better, and that's because humility is the 45 00:01:47,503 --> 00:01:49,815 key to how God wants his people to live. 46 00:01:49,815 --> 00:01:54,045 So our main point tonight is that self-focused and self-interest, right? 47 00:01:54,045 --> 00:01:55,035 It's the opposite of humility. 48 00:01:55,214 --> 00:02:01,275 Self-focused and self-interest have no place in God's people. 49 00:02:02,204 --> 00:02:06,374 If you wanna be part of God's people or if you call yourself a Christian. 50 00:02:07,815 --> 00:02:13,665 Focusing on yourself and caring about what you want most is not gonna fly. 51 00:02:14,325 --> 00:02:15,915 It's not gonna work out very well. 52 00:02:16,095 --> 00:02:21,495 Self focus and self interest have no place in God's community. 53 00:02:23,685 --> 00:02:25,665 So right now we've been looking at the gospel of Matthew. 54 00:02:25,665 --> 00:02:27,405 Last week we talked about the church, right? 55 00:02:27,405 --> 00:02:29,145 We talked about forgiving people. 56 00:02:29,145 --> 00:02:30,225 We talked about being. 57 00:02:31,140 --> 00:02:35,130 Even calling out sin in each other's lives and how to have those conversations. 58 00:02:35,130 --> 00:02:38,100 We talked about what Jesus is saying about how he wants his 59 00:02:38,100 --> 00:02:39,660 people, Christians to interact. 60 00:02:39,870 --> 00:02:42,990 He wants them to, to live together in a group. 61 00:02:42,990 --> 00:02:45,270 God doesn't save you and then tell you to live on your own. 62 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:47,160 And we're gonna continue seeing what that is. 63 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,130 So tonight, uh, some people call it, we're gonna be looking at the 64 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:53,940 upside down kingdom of God, and we're gonna look at Matthew 19 and 20. 65 00:02:53,940 --> 00:02:57,780 So why don't you turn there in your Bibles with me to Matthew chapter 19. 66 00:02:58,530 --> 00:03:03,450 Matthew Chapter 19, we're gonna be looking at the first 22 verses of the chapter. 67 00:03:04,290 --> 00:03:08,040 So this section here, Matthew 19, one to 22. 68 00:03:08,519 --> 00:03:12,300 There are three interactions that Jesus has. 69 00:03:12,300 --> 00:03:14,910 There's three conversations that happen. 70 00:03:15,930 --> 00:03:19,589 The first one, the Pharisees that says they come to test him 71 00:03:19,859 --> 00:03:21,420 and they ask him about divorce. 72 00:03:21,885 --> 00:03:24,525 They say, is it, is it lawful for someone to divorce their wife? 73 00:03:24,555 --> 00:03:25,155 Is it okay? 74 00:03:25,155 --> 00:03:26,505 Is God let people do that? 75 00:03:26,594 --> 00:03:28,454 That's the first question, the first interaction. 76 00:03:28,755 --> 00:03:32,084 The second thing that happens is the little children come to Jesus, and 77 00:03:32,084 --> 00:03:34,964 you might have heard that somewhere in kids' ministry on the wall, let 78 00:03:34,964 --> 00:03:36,224 the little children come to me. 79 00:03:36,224 --> 00:03:36,853 That's what Jesus says. 80 00:03:36,853 --> 00:03:37,603 That's the second one. 81 00:03:37,875 --> 00:03:42,015 The third one is a rich young man asks what he needs to do 82 00:03:42,165 --> 00:03:44,415 to get eternal life, and you've probably heard about that one too. 83 00:03:44,415 --> 00:03:47,805 He says, Jesus, what must I do to get eternal life? 84 00:03:48,045 --> 00:03:50,505 There's three conversations that Jesus has. 85 00:03:51,045 --> 00:03:54,825 And Matthew puts all these conversations together because 86 00:03:54,825 --> 00:03:56,204 he wants us to compare them. 87 00:03:56,594 --> 00:03:58,815 There's something that he wants us to see by putting all of 88 00:03:58,815 --> 00:04:01,005 these conversations in a row. 89 00:04:01,245 --> 00:04:05,535 See, the Pharisees and the rich young man, they are coming and asking 90 00:04:05,535 --> 00:04:07,605 Jesus questions about God's law. 91 00:04:07,665 --> 00:04:10,635 The Pharisees say, oh, can we, if, if we don't like our 92 00:04:10,635 --> 00:04:11,954 spouse, can we divorce them? 93 00:04:12,015 --> 00:04:14,175 Can we break up our marriage? 94 00:04:14,355 --> 00:04:17,745 Just because, uh, is, is that something that God lets us do? 95 00:04:18,570 --> 00:04:23,190 Then the rich young man, he's asking a question, what good deed must I do? 96 00:04:23,190 --> 00:04:25,890 What laws do I have to keep to make sure that I get to heaven? 97 00:04:26,100 --> 00:04:30,240 So they're asking questions about God's law, and on the surface they might seem 98 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:36,120 genuine, but Jesus' conversations with them reveal something about their hearts. 99 00:04:36,450 --> 00:04:37,830 He's gonna ask them a question back. 100 00:04:37,830 --> 00:04:38,730 Jesus loves doing this. 101 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,100 Someone asks him a question and he's gonna shoot him a question back. 102 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:43,140 I had a small group leader do that to me all the time. 103 00:04:43,530 --> 00:04:44,340 It was terrible. 104 00:04:44,340 --> 00:04:45,090 I'd ask him a question. 105 00:04:45,150 --> 00:04:48,390 Oh yeah, it was actually, it was Pastor Evan from Hill Country, pastor 106 00:04:48,390 --> 00:04:50,340 Evan, what do you think about this? 107 00:04:50,340 --> 00:04:50,969 Or what do I do? 108 00:04:50,969 --> 00:04:52,560 He'd be like, what do you think you should do? 109 00:04:52,650 --> 00:04:53,729 Like, thanks Pastor Evan. 110 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:54,659 That's super helpful. 111 00:04:54,810 --> 00:04:57,630 But it made me think, and it actually taught me more about 112 00:04:57,630 --> 00:04:59,010 myself and my thought process. 113 00:04:59,010 --> 00:04:59,940 That's what Jesus does. 114 00:05:00,690 --> 00:05:03,690 He's revealing something about their hearts, and what we're gonna 115 00:05:03,690 --> 00:05:07,979 see is that he is showing them that they're trying to use God's command. 116 00:05:08,370 --> 00:05:10,980 God's law that they've read about. 117 00:05:11,010 --> 00:05:15,030 They're trying to use it to make themselves feel worthy of going to heaven. 118 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,960 They're trying to look at God's law and say, okay, if I 119 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:20,700 do this, then I'm good enough. 120 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:26,250 If I do this, then I must be the kind of person that God wants to have in heaven. 121 00:05:26,550 --> 00:05:27,570 I must be worth it. 122 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:31,740 I must be someone that God really, really likes and, and really 123 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:33,930 wants to include in heaven. 124 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:36,240 So they're trying to use God's commands. 125 00:05:36,510 --> 00:05:38,520 To make themselves feel worthy. 126 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:40,560 So when they read their Bibles, they hear sermons, they see a 127 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,800 bunch of rules, and they're like, I want to check off all the boxes. 128 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:45,659 I wanna be the best rule follower. 129 00:05:46,230 --> 00:05:50,400 So that way I can feel good and I can say, God, look at, look at my rule following, 130 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:52,920 look at my checklist of things I've done. 131 00:05:53,610 --> 00:05:56,100 And that what that says about them is that their obedience 132 00:05:56,220 --> 00:05:58,020 is mainly about them, right? 133 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:02,280 It's about, oh, I, I want to obey so I can look good, so I can feel good. 134 00:06:02,340 --> 00:06:04,530 Look at my spiritual report card. 135 00:06:04,530 --> 00:06:04,800 God. 136 00:06:05,460 --> 00:06:07,650 I must be worthy of saving. 137 00:06:07,859 --> 00:06:10,109 So they're trying to make themselves feel good enough or feel 138 00:06:10,109 --> 00:06:11,340 better, at least in other people. 139 00:06:11,369 --> 00:06:13,889 Maybe I'm not amazing, but I'm better than those people. 140 00:06:15,810 --> 00:06:17,129 Whether you are a Christian or not. 141 00:06:17,129 --> 00:06:20,790 I think that you today are in danger of the same thing. 142 00:06:22,109 --> 00:06:25,710 I think that all of us in this room are in danger of doing the same 143 00:06:25,710 --> 00:06:29,430 thing that the rich young man in the Pharisees are doing in our passage. 144 00:06:29,759 --> 00:06:33,930 We're in danger of obeying God, not for him, but for us. 145 00:06:35,190 --> 00:06:38,550 We're in danger of obeying God to make ourselves feel good. 146 00:06:38,550 --> 00:06:41,219 Instead of wanting Jesus and wanting a relationship with him, 147 00:06:41,489 --> 00:06:47,280 we want to check off the boxes to feel good about ourselves. 148 00:06:48,239 --> 00:06:51,030 So you can see an example of this right here in Matthew 149 00:06:51,030 --> 00:06:53,070 19, verses seven and eight. 150 00:06:53,070 --> 00:06:59,460 The Pharisees, that's they, they said to Jesus, why then did Moses command? 151 00:06:59,985 --> 00:07:01,485 One to give a certificate of divorce. 152 00:07:01,485 --> 00:07:03,375 So this is what, this is what happens right before this. 153 00:07:03,375 --> 00:07:05,685 So Jesus is the Jesus talking to the Pharisees. 154 00:07:05,685 --> 00:07:08,475 Pharisees are like, Hey, can we divorce our spouse? 155 00:07:08,985 --> 00:07:16,545 And Jesus is like God said in Genesis, he puts a married couple together. 156 00:07:17,955 --> 00:07:18,735 He does it. 157 00:07:19,005 --> 00:07:20,865 It's not a contract, it's not an agreement. 158 00:07:20,865 --> 00:07:23,895 It's not, uh, well if, if we both like each other in 20 years, 159 00:07:23,895 --> 00:07:24,765 we'll keep doing this thing. 160 00:07:25,275 --> 00:07:27,195 He says that marriage is something God does. 161 00:07:28,065 --> 00:07:30,075 And in the Pharisees, they're like, oh, we got you now. 162 00:07:30,075 --> 00:07:30,555 Jesus. 163 00:07:30,614 --> 00:07:33,525 Look, Moses said we could divorce. 164 00:07:33,765 --> 00:07:37,065 Moses said, and they say, Moses commanded that we could do it. 165 00:07:37,815 --> 00:07:41,415 And then Jesus says, he said to them, because of your hardness of heart, 166 00:07:41,955 --> 00:07:46,244 it's not that God wanted you to do this, it's because of you it that Moses 167 00:07:46,275 --> 00:07:48,705 allowed you to divorce your wives. 168 00:07:49,094 --> 00:07:50,504 But from the beginning it was not so. 169 00:07:50,715 --> 00:07:52,665 So they're saying, well, look, we can do it because. 170 00:07:52,965 --> 00:07:58,575 It, we, we can still keep God's law and, and serve ourselves. 171 00:07:59,325 --> 00:08:02,774 If I don't like my spouse, I can still, I can still keep the law. 172 00:08:02,894 --> 00:08:04,425 It's about me, not about God. 173 00:08:04,425 --> 00:08:07,484 Jesus saying, God would want you to stay together, but they're 174 00:08:07,484 --> 00:08:11,774 saying, well, we are finding a loophole that we want to exploit. 175 00:08:11,835 --> 00:08:16,394 We, we are really just looking to keep God's law when it works for us. 176 00:08:17,354 --> 00:08:18,854 We don't want to do it for God. 177 00:08:18,884 --> 00:08:20,295 'cause God would want you to stay together. 178 00:08:20,445 --> 00:08:20,565 But. 179 00:08:21,734 --> 00:08:25,155 We don't wanna stay together, so we're going to keep our hard 180 00:08:25,155 --> 00:08:27,224 hearts, but still keep the law. 181 00:08:27,285 --> 00:08:28,785 That's what we're gonna try to do. 182 00:08:28,905 --> 00:08:30,675 So the Pharisees are keeping it for themselves. 183 00:08:31,215 --> 00:08:33,284 The rich young man is similar. 184 00:08:34,335 --> 00:08:37,304 A man came up to Jesus saying, teacher, what good deed must 185 00:08:37,304 --> 00:08:38,474 I do to have eternal life? 186 00:08:38,745 --> 00:08:41,924 What good things do I need to do to make sure I get to heaven? 187 00:08:42,135 --> 00:08:44,595 And Jesus goes over the commandments with him. 188 00:08:44,595 --> 00:08:46,365 He talks about honoring your father and mother. 189 00:08:46,365 --> 00:08:50,475 He talks about the, basically the last half of the 10 Commandments. 190 00:08:50,475 --> 00:08:54,704 It's, and this guy, I, I've never, I, I don't know him, right? 191 00:08:54,790 --> 00:08:58,635 I I, I'm not gonna, you know, we're gonna, I'm not gonna say he wasn't 192 00:08:59,115 --> 00:09:03,075 amazing at doing the, the six through 10 commandments, but he says, I've done 193 00:09:03,075 --> 00:09:06,135 all of these things, probably not true. 194 00:09:06,194 --> 00:09:06,555 Right? 195 00:09:06,555 --> 00:09:07,875 He probably told a lie. 196 00:09:07,875 --> 00:09:13,065 He probably probably hated someone in his heart, right? 197 00:09:13,065 --> 00:09:16,125 But he says, I've done all these things, and Jesus, he doesn't question that. 198 00:09:16,125 --> 00:09:16,905 He says, well. 199 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:17,910 Okay. 200 00:09:17,940 --> 00:09:22,020 If you would be perfect, go sell everything you own and give it to 201 00:09:22,020 --> 00:09:25,170 the poor, and you'll have treasure in heaven, then come follow me. 202 00:09:26,220 --> 00:09:30,090 So this rich young man is like, look, Jesus, I've, I've gotten a plus on 203 00:09:30,090 --> 00:09:35,700 my spiritual report card, but Jesus says, okay, if you really are the great 204 00:09:35,910 --> 00:09:43,200 Christian, you say you are, then show that and sell everything you own because 205 00:09:43,260 --> 00:09:44,820 it'll be worth it for you in heaven. 206 00:09:45,585 --> 00:09:48,615 And then when the young man heard this, he went away sad 207 00:09:49,065 --> 00:09:50,474 because he had a lot of stuff. 208 00:09:51,525 --> 00:09:55,155 So what Jesus just did here is he showed that this young man who does he 209 00:09:55,155 --> 00:09:58,454 love more God or His stuff, his stuff. 210 00:09:58,875 --> 00:10:01,755 So Jesus, even though, even though this young man kept all the commandments, 211 00:10:01,755 --> 00:10:04,995 or at least said he did, he was really keeping the commandments 212 00:10:04,995 --> 00:10:06,224 to feel good about himself. 213 00:10:06,255 --> 00:10:09,285 He, because he is saying, look, I, I'm good enough to go to heaven, Jesus. 214 00:10:09,464 --> 00:10:13,395 And Jesus says, actually, you're not following me. 215 00:10:14,430 --> 00:10:16,680 You're just keeping the commitments to make yourself feel good. 216 00:10:16,890 --> 00:10:19,470 So our first point tonight is follow Jesus. 217 00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:21,480 Not just some rules. 218 00:10:21,810 --> 00:10:26,520 Follow Jesus, not just some rules. 219 00:10:27,660 --> 00:10:28,350 You could put it another way. 220 00:10:28,350 --> 00:10:30,329 You could say, have a relationship with Jesus. 221 00:10:30,329 --> 00:10:31,710 Don't check boxes. 222 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:35,880 The rich young man, he didn't really wanna follow Jesus. 223 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:39,210 He just wanted to do the right things, feel good about himself, 224 00:10:39,420 --> 00:10:42,210 and keep his loyalty separate. 225 00:10:43,020 --> 00:10:47,760 He, he wanted to put himself number one, and then follow God 226 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:50,760 when it was convenient to him, and the Pharisees did the same thing. 227 00:10:52,050 --> 00:10:56,460 You could also say this, follow the rules for God, not for you. 228 00:10:57,990 --> 00:11:00,840 And that's because following Jesus isn't just keeping rules, right? 229 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:05,670 There are commandments to obey as a Christian, but following 230 00:11:05,670 --> 00:11:07,560 Jesus is primarily a relationship. 231 00:11:07,950 --> 00:11:10,440 It's Jesus is the Lord and and you're the servant. 232 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:10,860 Jesus is. 233 00:11:11,340 --> 00:11:13,560 The teacher and you are the student. 234 00:11:13,860 --> 00:11:19,080 Jesus is the friend and you are loving him and following him. 235 00:11:19,740 --> 00:11:20,430 It's a relationship. 236 00:11:20,430 --> 00:11:21,180 Imagine. 237 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:25,410 Imagine with me, some of you might have to imagine really hard, okay? 238 00:11:25,740 --> 00:11:28,200 But imagine you're dating someone, okay? 239 00:11:28,650 --> 00:11:32,490 Imagine, I know some of you, you do this all day, so you're like, I got boom. 240 00:11:32,490 --> 00:11:36,210 I know exactly who, but some of you, this might take a little work, but imagine, 241 00:11:36,210 --> 00:11:37,110 imagine you're dating someone, okay? 242 00:11:40,275 --> 00:11:45,015 Imagine if you were just like, I, I, I'm in a relationship with this person, but 243 00:11:45,345 --> 00:11:50,955 really I'm just trying to do things for them, do nice things for them, right? 244 00:11:50,955 --> 00:11:54,945 I open the door for them, I text them encouraging messages. 245 00:11:54,945 --> 00:11:57,165 I tell 'em they look great today. 246 00:11:57,225 --> 00:11:59,355 I ask them how their day is going. 247 00:11:59,355 --> 00:12:03,195 I do all these things, but really my goal is just to be a great 248 00:12:03,195 --> 00:12:05,175 boyfriend or a great girlfriend. 249 00:12:06,415 --> 00:12:12,240 And imagine I did this with my beautiful wife if I was like doing 250 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:14,760 all these great things for her, but it was really just so I could be like, 251 00:12:15,210 --> 00:12:16,590 I just wanna be the best husband. 252 00:12:17,190 --> 00:12:20,700 I'm just doing this to be, to get the husband of the year 253 00:12:20,700 --> 00:12:21,750 award if that even exists. 254 00:12:21,750 --> 00:12:22,050 Right. 255 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:25,920 Does that say anything about my affection for her? 256 00:12:27,270 --> 00:12:28,500 Right ladies, that would stink. 257 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:30,750 You wouldn't want a man like that. 258 00:12:30,900 --> 00:12:34,530 Or if guys, if you realize that this girl who's being really nice to you 259 00:12:34,620 --> 00:12:38,190 and, and talking to you and asking you good questions and hanging out with 260 00:12:38,190 --> 00:12:41,370 you, if she was just like, actually, I'm really just doing this to prove that 261 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:43,770 I'm a, I'm a great person to be with. 262 00:12:45,780 --> 00:12:51,240 I'm just, I'm just working on, on my, my girlfriend skills that would stink. 263 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:51,780 Right. 264 00:12:52,005 --> 00:12:56,085 Yeah, there's loving things that you can do, right? 265 00:12:56,085 --> 00:12:57,285 Good things to do. 266 00:12:58,425 --> 00:12:59,835 But you can do them for yourself. 267 00:13:00,825 --> 00:13:06,405 You can do them to make yourself feel good like, oh man, I'm such a great boyfriend. 268 00:13:06,405 --> 00:13:08,835 I bought her flowers today. 269 00:13:09,315 --> 00:13:10,095 Look at me. 270 00:13:10,695 --> 00:13:14,085 And that sounds silly, but that's what we do with God so much when we make 271 00:13:14,085 --> 00:13:18,015 following Jesus just about following the rules and checking the boxes. 272 00:13:18,735 --> 00:13:20,235 Oh, look, I'm such a great Christian. 273 00:13:20,295 --> 00:13:20,745 I. 274 00:13:21,270 --> 00:13:24,600 Open the Bible app 900 days in a row, 275 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:27,960 or, oh, look at me. 276 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:29,340 I'm such a great Christian. 277 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:32,460 I serve in VBS every year. 278 00:13:33,990 --> 00:13:35,670 Or look at, I'm such a great Christian. 279 00:13:36,030 --> 00:13:41,250 I talk to my leader and ask them questions, ask 'em how they're doing, 280 00:13:41,670 --> 00:13:46,590 or I obey my parents really well, or I make sure I, I say this prayer 281 00:13:46,590 --> 00:13:48,030 specifically when I go to sleep. 282 00:13:49,155 --> 00:13:51,360 And we can do that to make ourselves feel good. 283 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:54,180 And see, that's what the Pharisees and the rich young men are doing. 284 00:13:54,660 --> 00:13:57,750 They're turning good acts of love into a checklist to make 285 00:13:57,750 --> 00:13:58,890 themselves feel righteous. 286 00:13:59,010 --> 00:14:01,500 And I'm afraid that you are doing the same thing. 287 00:14:02,070 --> 00:14:03,720 Even as a Christian, you can do the same thing. 288 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:08,370 You can follow, follow the rules that God gives you, just to make yourself feel 289 00:14:08,370 --> 00:14:13,620 good just to say, oh, well, I must be a Christian now because I stopped saying 290 00:14:13,620 --> 00:14:17,010 those words, or I stopped making those jokes, so now I must be a Christian. 291 00:14:17,879 --> 00:14:18,450 That's about you. 292 00:14:18,450 --> 00:14:19,200 It's not about God. 293 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:21,720 It's not, oh, I love God, so I want to honor him with my words. 294 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:24,810 It's no, I want to feel good, or I wanna prove that I'm better than 295 00:14:24,810 --> 00:14:28,589 those people, or I want my leader to stop asking me about my testimony. 296 00:14:31,470 --> 00:14:35,700 So it's kind of like those people that, you know, they go to the gym and 297 00:14:35,730 --> 00:14:38,910 all they do at the gym is just stand in front of the mirror, you know? 298 00:14:38,910 --> 00:14:42,690 And, and do all the cool stuff, all that stuff, right? 299 00:14:42,690 --> 00:14:44,310 I had a roommate in college like that. 300 00:14:44,730 --> 00:14:45,690 It was hilarious. 301 00:14:45,990 --> 00:14:50,880 Um, half his time at the gym was him just staring at himself, right? 302 00:14:51,390 --> 00:14:53,130 Don't be that kind of Christian. 303 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:55,410 Don't be a Jim Mirror Christian. 304 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:57,570 Don't be like, oh, look at the stuff I do. 305 00:14:57,570 --> 00:14:58,560 Look how great I am. 306 00:14:58,560 --> 00:14:59,610 Don't be that person. 307 00:14:59,610 --> 00:15:00,390 Don't be that guy. 308 00:15:00,390 --> 00:15:01,530 Don't be that girl. 309 00:15:03,420 --> 00:15:05,520 Don't follow God for yourself. 310 00:15:08,565 --> 00:15:11,565 Their rule following in this passage that we're seeing, and maybe yours 311 00:15:11,565 --> 00:15:13,245 is a pursuit of their own interest. 312 00:15:13,395 --> 00:15:16,725 And Matthew wants us to compare their rule following with that of the children. 313 00:15:16,725 --> 00:15:18,165 That's why he puts the children right in the middle. 314 00:15:18,585 --> 00:15:20,715 If you remember last week we talked about children as well. 315 00:15:20,715 --> 00:15:24,795 So in Matthew 1915, Jesus says, let little children come to me and don't hinder them. 316 00:15:24,795 --> 00:15:29,835 Four, why this kind of person, childlike person is the person 317 00:15:29,835 --> 00:15:30,975 that gets the kingdom of heaven. 318 00:15:31,695 --> 00:15:32,475 And he said that earlier. 319 00:15:32,475 --> 00:15:33,555 Whoever humbles himself. 320 00:15:33,944 --> 00:15:36,885 Like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 321 00:15:37,485 --> 00:15:39,315 So see, it's kind of upside down, right? 322 00:15:39,315 --> 00:15:44,385 He's saying the most vulnerable, the most helpless, the most dependent people are 323 00:15:44,385 --> 00:15:47,895 the people that get the kingdom of heaven. 324 00:15:47,925 --> 00:15:49,875 Those people understand how this works. 325 00:15:53,265 --> 00:15:55,665 Jesus is saying that his commands aren't, something, aren't like 326 00:15:55,665 --> 00:15:58,694 a podium for you to climb up to the top of so you can feel great. 327 00:15:58,815 --> 00:16:01,485 He wants you to admit your weakness and your need for him. 328 00:16:01,980 --> 00:16:05,700 And to follow him because you want him, not because you want yourself. 329 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:11,160 Following Jesus to get stuff for yourself is not gonna do you any good. 330 00:16:11,940 --> 00:16:17,280 You're just gonna be a, a, a moral person who ends up forever apart from God. 331 00:16:20,550 --> 00:16:22,920 So if you think just being a Christian is, is living a certain 332 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:26,640 way and doing the right things, I, I wanna invite you to, to just throw 333 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:28,980 that idea away and, and meet Jesus. 334 00:16:29,190 --> 00:16:30,060 Jesus is a person. 335 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:32,040 He's a person for you to love. 336 00:16:32,100 --> 00:16:36,960 He's a person for you to talk to, to hear from, to live 337 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:40,170 with, to follow, to live for. 338 00:16:41,790 --> 00:16:46,350 So take your spiritual resume building and, and just drop it. 339 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:51,810 That's exhausting too, to try to put up this front of, oh, I gotta be good enough. 340 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:55,980 I gotta feel good about my, my spiritual checklist. 341 00:16:58,425 --> 00:17:02,415 Maybe you think a relationship with God is just doing some Christian things and 342 00:17:02,415 --> 00:17:03,465 so you're like, oh, I'm a Christian. 343 00:17:03,465 --> 00:17:04,605 'cause I, I go to church. 344 00:17:04,605 --> 00:17:05,385 My parents are Christian. 345 00:17:05,385 --> 00:17:06,285 We do family devotions. 346 00:17:06,285 --> 00:17:09,464 I must be a Christian just because you're around Christian, just 'cause 347 00:17:09,464 --> 00:17:12,944 you do Christian things doesn't make you a Christian because what makes you a 348 00:17:12,944 --> 00:17:14,265 Christian is a relationship with Jesus. 349 00:17:15,885 --> 00:17:17,175 So follow Jesus. 350 00:17:17,714 --> 00:17:18,405 Not the rules. 351 00:17:18,405 --> 00:17:20,775 You can't be a Christian by osmosis. 352 00:17:20,775 --> 00:17:21,795 You guys know what osmosis is. 353 00:17:21,795 --> 00:17:24,194 You learn about mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cells. 354 00:17:24,194 --> 00:17:25,095 You learn anything about this. 355 00:17:25,365 --> 00:17:28,095 So osmosis is when you're next to, you're next to the, the cells 356 00:17:28,095 --> 00:17:31,065 are next to each other and that's how they, they transfer things. 357 00:17:31,545 --> 00:17:33,705 I haven't taken biology in a long time. 358 00:17:33,855 --> 00:17:38,835 That's the general idea that you can't do that as a Christian, right? 359 00:17:38,835 --> 00:17:42,225 You, you can't become a Christian just because you're around Christian people. 360 00:17:42,555 --> 00:17:44,145 You have to have a relationship with Jesus. 361 00:17:46,290 --> 00:17:49,890 So if your confidence in your salvation is from all the stuff you've done, 362 00:17:50,550 --> 00:17:54,450 then you're trusting the wrong thing or trusting something that 363 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:55,860 ultimately will leave you empty. 364 00:17:57,390 --> 00:18:02,640 So the reason a lot of people, even Christians, can make obeying God 365 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:06,780 about themselves is because all of us are wired to want to earn things. 366 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:09,270 We all want to to earn something. 367 00:18:09,270 --> 00:18:11,310 We all want to feel like, oh, I deserve that. 368 00:18:11,310 --> 00:18:11,940 I got that. 369 00:18:12,255 --> 00:18:14,445 That was from me to me. 370 00:18:14,535 --> 00:18:15,495 I, I did it. 371 00:18:16,545 --> 00:18:21,315 I did a little search about ad campaigns that tell you you deserve something. 372 00:18:22,275 --> 00:18:28,275 And this is page five of this many ads that I just, this is like 373 00:18:28,275 --> 00:18:29,655 a website that just tracks ads. 374 00:18:29,955 --> 00:18:37,245 So this is what, 1, 2, 3, 4 rows of 6 24 times five. 375 00:18:37,845 --> 00:18:39,555 That's almost a hundred. 376 00:18:40,620 --> 00:18:43,080 And that was just like two seconds of Googling. 377 00:18:43,530 --> 00:18:47,730 So that's like a hundred ads that say, you deserve this, you deserve this. 378 00:18:47,820 --> 00:18:51,690 That's 'cause our culture knows that you're wired to want to deserve things. 379 00:18:52,890 --> 00:18:56,250 See, we want to feel like we deserve everything we've got, and so we 380 00:18:56,250 --> 00:19:01,620 get frustrated when life doesn't go the way we think we deserve. 381 00:19:02,850 --> 00:19:06,240 We get frustrated because we want the world to operate the way. 382 00:19:06,510 --> 00:19:07,350 We want it to. 383 00:19:07,590 --> 00:19:10,770 We want the world to, to meet our standards of what's fair. 384 00:19:10,770 --> 00:19:11,970 You ever hear that, right? 385 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:13,110 You probably grew up saying it. 386 00:19:13,110 --> 00:19:14,580 That's not fair, right? 387 00:19:14,580 --> 00:19:15,210 That's not fair. 388 00:19:15,210 --> 00:19:16,440 Someone else gets something good. 389 00:19:16,590 --> 00:19:17,460 That's not fair. 390 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:18,540 Something bad happens to you. 391 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:19,710 That's not fair. 392 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:21,060 You hear that all the time. 393 00:19:21,750 --> 00:19:26,580 And the problem is that our standard of fairness is broken. 394 00:19:27,180 --> 00:19:28,170 It's messed up. 395 00:19:28,230 --> 00:19:30,150 What we think is fair isn't always right. 396 00:19:30,150 --> 00:19:32,610 And that's what we're gonna go next in this next chunk of Matthew. 397 00:19:32,610 --> 00:19:35,460 Matthew 1923 to chapter 20 verse. 398 00:19:35,850 --> 00:19:38,280 16, we're gonna talk about fairness. 399 00:19:38,490 --> 00:19:42,930 Now, maybe you don't believe me that your standard of fairness is broken. 400 00:19:44,100 --> 00:19:50,430 Well, let me prove it to you that your standard of fairness is broken. 401 00:19:50,460 --> 00:19:50,640 Okay? 402 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:51,780 I wanna tell you a story. 403 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:52,560 Alright? 404 00:19:53,190 --> 00:19:58,830 So let's say there is a, there's, there's this boss, this manager, and he was 405 00:19:58,830 --> 00:20:03,570 like, okay, I need to, to get stuff done. 406 00:20:03,750 --> 00:20:05,250 So I'm gonna hire people. 407 00:20:05,610 --> 00:20:09,030 Okay, I'm gonna hire all of these people to, to get my work done. 408 00:20:09,030 --> 00:20:09,480 Okay. 409 00:20:09,630 --> 00:20:12,120 And so he's like, he talks to the, the, the workers and he's like, all right 410 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:18,660 guys, I'll, I'll pay you a, a good wage, a day's wage if you come work for me. 411 00:20:19,620 --> 00:20:25,200 So then they go out and they do the work and then he, the, a couple hours later, 412 00:20:25,230 --> 00:20:29,490 the, the manager, he sees some other guys just standing around outside and he's 413 00:20:29,490 --> 00:20:31,380 like, Hey, you guys wanna work for me too? 414 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:33,330 I'll pay you a day's wage. 415 00:20:33,870 --> 00:20:38,055 I'll pay you a full day's wage if you start now at 10:00 AM instead of 8:00 416 00:20:38,055 --> 00:20:40,320 AM and they're like, oh, awesome. 417 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:41,040 That's a great deal. 418 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,460 I'm getting paid eight hours for six hours of work. 419 00:20:44,490 --> 00:20:45,330 That's pretty great. 420 00:20:46,110 --> 00:20:48,810 So then they keep working and then he sees some other people. 421 00:20:48,810 --> 00:20:52,470 A couple hours later it's like, let's say it's like noon and the manager is like, 422 00:20:52,470 --> 00:20:55,230 Hey, I want you guys to come work for me. 423 00:20:56,010 --> 00:20:58,770 I'll pay you for eight hours of work, but you only have to work four hours. 424 00:20:59,790 --> 00:21:01,890 I'll pay you the full day, but you only have to work half of it. 425 00:21:01,905 --> 00:21:01,965 It. 426 00:21:02,475 --> 00:21:03,225 They're like, oh, awesome. 427 00:21:03,225 --> 00:21:03,735 Great deal. 428 00:21:03,764 --> 00:21:04,035 Okay. 429 00:21:04,035 --> 00:21:06,524 So then they work and they keep wearing a couple hours later. 430 00:21:06,524 --> 00:21:08,055 There's only one hour left in the day. 431 00:21:08,055 --> 00:21:11,355 It's like 4:00 PM and there's still some more people just standing out 432 00:21:11,355 --> 00:21:14,115 on the street and the manager's like, Hey, can you guys come work for me? 433 00:21:14,115 --> 00:21:17,985 I'll pay you for eight hours of work if you work one hour. 434 00:21:20,055 --> 00:21:24,375 So then after, when they all come to get their pay right, then when they 435 00:21:24,375 --> 00:21:27,075 come to clock out and get their, their, their paycheck for the day. 436 00:21:27,900 --> 00:21:30,780 What do you think the people that worked all day are gonna say? 437 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:34,440 If that was you, let's say you worked all day, you worked eight hours, you get paid 438 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:39,150 for eight hours of work, and then you see, oh, my friend, he only worked one hour. 439 00:21:39,150 --> 00:21:43,290 He's getting paid the same amount of money as me, and he works seven hours less. 440 00:21:45,300 --> 00:21:46,380 Is that fair or not fair? 441 00:21:46,380 --> 00:21:47,610 Raise your hand if you think that's fair. 442 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:50,460 Region think it's unfair. 443 00:21:52,710 --> 00:21:56,400 Every single person in the room thinks it's unfair Now. 444 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:03,570 That's because we're all selfish. 445 00:22:04,860 --> 00:22:09,900 Because if you were the person who worked one hour, you would be pretty, pretty 446 00:22:09,900 --> 00:22:11,520 happy with how that turned out, right? 447 00:22:11,940 --> 00:22:13,620 You'd be like, I worked, guess what? 448 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:16,410 I worked one hour and I got paid for eight hours. 449 00:22:17,070 --> 00:22:17,580 Right? 450 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,570 Or I only sat in class for two weeks and I got credit for the whole year. 451 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:23,760 That, that would be pretty great. 452 00:22:23,790 --> 00:22:24,900 I only did three assignments. 453 00:22:24,900 --> 00:22:27,570 I got credit for all the work for the whole semester. 454 00:22:28,230 --> 00:22:29,220 Wouldn't that be awesome? 455 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:31,200 You'd be so excited about that. 456 00:22:31,230 --> 00:22:33,930 But then when, if it was your classmate, oh, he only did three weeks of work and 457 00:22:33,930 --> 00:22:37,020 he got credit for the whole, he got an A in the class, same grade I got, and 458 00:22:37,020 --> 00:22:38,280 he only did three weeks of homework. 459 00:22:39,660 --> 00:22:40,830 There'd be, there'd be trouble there. 460 00:22:40,830 --> 00:22:41,310 Right. 461 00:22:41,370 --> 00:22:44,880 That's actually the story that Jesus tells in Matthew 20. 462 00:22:45,060 --> 00:22:48,270 He tells the exact same story that I just told you and. 463 00:22:49,065 --> 00:22:51,975 The workers in the story react the same way Jesus replied. 464 00:22:52,005 --> 00:22:55,005 So the the Jesus is talking to, he's telling this story and the 465 00:22:55,005 --> 00:22:56,475 master is talking to the workers. 466 00:22:56,475 --> 00:23:00,135 The workers are like, Hey, we worked all day, we worked eight hours. 467 00:23:00,135 --> 00:23:01,365 Or if you wanna do this in school, right? 468 00:23:01,395 --> 00:23:04,335 We, we did all the homework for the whole semester. 469 00:23:05,445 --> 00:23:08,655 And you're saying that these people that walked in with the one month 470 00:23:08,655 --> 00:23:12,705 left of school got the same amount of credit we did for way less work. 471 00:23:14,490 --> 00:23:16,200 Look at what the master in this story says. 472 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:23,760 He says, friend, I'm not doing you any wrong because you agreed to 473 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:27,900 work and that word denarius, that's a day's wage you worked for for 474 00:23:27,900 --> 00:23:29,280 you got paid for what you worked. 475 00:23:29,310 --> 00:23:31,530 You, you agreed, I'm gonna work for a day's wage. 476 00:23:32,100 --> 00:23:33,330 And you got paid a day's wage. 477 00:23:33,330 --> 00:23:34,320 That's fair. 478 00:23:35,220 --> 00:23:40,140 You signed up for to work this much and you got this much pay. 479 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:41,370 That's perfectly fair. 480 00:23:41,370 --> 00:23:41,430 I. 481 00:23:43,020 --> 00:23:47,100 But then he says, I choose to give this last worker the 482 00:23:47,100 --> 00:23:48,210 guy who only worked one hour. 483 00:23:49,260 --> 00:23:51,420 I just wanna give him as much as I give you. 484 00:23:52,650 --> 00:23:57,060 Not because he earned it, but because I'm generous. 485 00:23:57,810 --> 00:23:59,070 That's what the master says. 486 00:23:59,130 --> 00:24:00,150 That's what the manager says. 487 00:24:00,300 --> 00:24:05,070 He says, am I not allowed to do what I want with what's mine? 488 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:09,330 It's my money if I wanna overpay this guy because I'm generous. 489 00:24:10,530 --> 00:24:11,190 It's my money. 490 00:24:11,865 --> 00:24:13,065 Why are you mad about that? 491 00:24:13,065 --> 00:24:14,775 You got what, what you deserve. 492 00:24:15,015 --> 00:24:16,305 You got what you agreed to work for. 493 00:24:20,085 --> 00:24:22,905 So that phrase right there, or do you begrudge my generosity? 494 00:24:22,905 --> 00:24:28,305 You probably didn't say, oh, do you begrudge my, you probably didn't 495 00:24:28,305 --> 00:24:29,445 use that word this week, right? 496 00:24:29,685 --> 00:24:30,165 Begrudge. 497 00:24:30,495 --> 00:24:33,495 So sometimes it's helpful to look in a different translation. 498 00:24:34,530 --> 00:24:37,830 Or if you know Greek, that's also helpful, but is this so? 499 00:24:37,890 --> 00:24:40,920 But literally in Greek it says, is your eye evil? 500 00:24:40,980 --> 00:24:42,360 Because I am good. 501 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:48,120 And the way other translations put that is, are you jealous? 502 00:24:48,150 --> 00:24:49,620 Because I'm generous. 503 00:24:50,100 --> 00:24:51,060 That's what the master's saying. 504 00:24:51,300 --> 00:24:53,340 He's saying I was generous to this other worker. 505 00:24:54,570 --> 00:24:56,370 Why are you upset about that? 506 00:24:58,170 --> 00:25:01,260 And what the master is showing is that the worker's upset and we're, we get 507 00:25:01,260 --> 00:25:03,240 upset about that 'cause we're selfish. 508 00:25:03,915 --> 00:25:06,255 Because we're saying, I want what they got. 509 00:25:06,555 --> 00:25:08,235 I want you to be generous to me too. 510 00:25:08,325 --> 00:25:09,465 That's not fair. 511 00:25:09,735 --> 00:25:12,555 You can't be generous to only that person. 512 00:25:14,895 --> 00:25:19,725 And we get upset about things like that and it exposes our selfishness. 513 00:25:19,725 --> 00:25:22,755 See, when you see God being generous to someone else, when you see 514 00:25:22,755 --> 00:25:23,865 God being good to someone else. 515 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:27,060 When their life's better than yours, when their friends are better than 516 00:25:27,060 --> 00:25:31,020 yours, when their family is more well off than yours, when their school or 517 00:25:31,020 --> 00:25:34,080 their grades, or their talent or their looks, you feel like they're better 518 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:39,750 than yours instead of rejoicing that God has been generous to that person. 519 00:25:40,470 --> 00:25:44,730 You expose your selfishness when you say, why can't I get that too? 520 00:25:47,610 --> 00:25:52,020 You're saying, God, I deserve that. 521 00:25:53,970 --> 00:25:56,010 I deserve for you to be generous to me too. 522 00:25:56,850 --> 00:26:00,690 And that's because we're selfish and that's so hard to swallow and 523 00:26:00,690 --> 00:26:03,090 that's why Jesus tells this story. 524 00:26:03,210 --> 00:26:07,560 So our second point tonight is reorient your view of God's grace. 525 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:11,340 And this is gonna take a lot of work, reorient, right? 526 00:26:11,430 --> 00:26:13,980 Change the way you think about God's grace. 527 00:26:14,820 --> 00:26:15,660 Or we could say it this way. 528 00:26:15,660 --> 00:26:19,830 Stop seeing God's grace with your selfish eyes. 529 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:22,110 That's what the master said, right? 530 00:26:22,740 --> 00:26:25,050 Are you jealous because I'm generous. 531 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,740 God's generous Grace messes with us, right? 532 00:26:35,220 --> 00:26:38,220 I think we're all kind of uncomfortable when we hear that story and we're like, 533 00:26:38,220 --> 00:26:43,920 wait, Jesus told that story, and Jesus said that what that master did was 534 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:49,410 okay to pay that one person way more than what they, what they deserved. 535 00:26:52,785 --> 00:26:56,474 And when Jesus, or when God gives people something we don't think 536 00:26:56,474 --> 00:26:58,394 they deserved, it bothers us. 537 00:26:58,965 --> 00:27:02,504 And that's because our selfish hearts, they see something 538 00:27:02,504 --> 00:27:04,215 good happen to someone else. 539 00:27:05,084 --> 00:27:10,394 And our first thought, because we're selfish, is why not me? 540 00:27:13,575 --> 00:27:14,774 We want, we're jealous. 541 00:27:14,774 --> 00:27:16,575 We want more than than we deserve. 542 00:27:16,934 --> 00:27:18,135 We want that for us. 543 00:27:19,635 --> 00:27:22,275 Instead of our first thought being, man, God is so generous. 544 00:27:22,275 --> 00:27:25,215 He gave that person that family or those looks. 545 00:27:26,445 --> 00:27:28,545 We say, why not me? 546 00:27:28,545 --> 00:27:31,905 God, I deserve that. 547 00:27:32,565 --> 00:27:33,975 You see how selfish that is. 548 00:27:34,425 --> 00:27:37,425 Imagine if every time you got something good, someone came up 549 00:27:37,425 --> 00:27:40,965 to me and someone came up to you and said, why didn't I get that? 550 00:27:43,275 --> 00:27:46,815 Or every time it was your birthday, someone came up to you and said. 551 00:27:47,925 --> 00:27:49,155 You didn't do that for my birthday. 552 00:27:51,825 --> 00:27:52,575 That would be terrible. 553 00:27:52,575 --> 00:27:54,135 That would be, that would be so annoying. 554 00:27:54,135 --> 00:27:57,044 And that would be, you would be like, what are you, you're, you're so selfish. 555 00:27:58,605 --> 00:28:01,515 That's what we do when we say, God, why didn't you give me that? 556 00:28:02,865 --> 00:28:06,945 We're saying, God, you're being generous to them, but I demand 557 00:28:06,945 --> 00:28:08,564 that you be just as generous to me. 558 00:28:09,165 --> 00:28:10,515 But guess whose stuff it is? 559 00:28:12,044 --> 00:28:13,245 Guess whose money? 560 00:28:13,740 --> 00:28:16,050 Everything is, guess whose world this is? 561 00:28:16,050 --> 00:28:18,780 Guess whose talents it? 562 00:28:18,780 --> 00:28:19,830 It's all god's. 563 00:28:20,550 --> 00:28:22,170 It all belongs to God. 564 00:28:22,260 --> 00:28:26,910 So who are, who am I to say, God, why did you let them be born to those 565 00:28:26,910 --> 00:28:29,010 parents and me be born to these parents? 566 00:28:29,340 --> 00:28:34,770 If God wants to bless them, that's, that's perfectly right for God to do. 567 00:28:35,129 --> 00:28:36,360 'cause it's his stuff. 568 00:28:39,450 --> 00:28:42,960 God can do whatever he wants with his stuff. 569 00:28:44,744 --> 00:28:48,494 We feel like we have a claim on what God can do. 570 00:28:49,785 --> 00:28:53,865 We think we deserve to have a say in how God does what he does. 571 00:28:55,064 --> 00:28:59,115 But God can be generous however he wants 'cause it's his stuff, right? 572 00:28:59,115 --> 00:29:00,195 That manager, it's his money. 573 00:29:00,195 --> 00:29:04,064 He can pay people however much he wants, as long as they all agreed to it, right? 574 00:29:04,064 --> 00:29:05,445 They all said, yeah, it sounds good. 575 00:29:05,445 --> 00:29:05,954 Good deal. 576 00:29:05,954 --> 00:29:06,704 I'll work for you. 577 00:29:07,905 --> 00:29:11,055 And he said, okay, I'll just be generous to this person. 578 00:29:13,230 --> 00:29:15,960 It's God's money and he can give it whoever he wants. 579 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:21,930 It's God can do whatever he wants because he's, he's a just God. 580 00:29:21,930 --> 00:29:25,530 He's not gonna do anything that's wrong, right? 581 00:29:25,530 --> 00:29:28,530 He's not gonna pay someone less than they deserve. 582 00:29:29,130 --> 00:29:30,060 Because think about it this way. 583 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:32,880 What do we all deserve anyway? 584 00:29:35,220 --> 00:29:37,290 We all deserve to be punished for our sin. 585 00:29:38,865 --> 00:29:41,565 And so we're all getting overpaid. 586 00:29:41,955 --> 00:29:43,245 You realize that, right? 587 00:29:43,905 --> 00:29:48,645 We're all getting overpaid because we lived longer than two seconds. 588 00:29:51,254 --> 00:29:55,245 We're all getting way more money than we deserve from God because he's 589 00:29:55,245 --> 00:29:57,315 letting us live beyond our first sin. 590 00:30:01,544 --> 00:30:05,445 So we need to reorient and change the way we think about God's grace. 591 00:30:05,805 --> 00:30:06,375 We. 592 00:30:06,524 --> 00:30:08,474 He can't deserve it. 593 00:30:08,474 --> 00:30:09,314 It's God's grace. 594 00:30:09,314 --> 00:30:10,244 It's his generosity. 595 00:30:10,244 --> 00:30:13,035 He can do whatever he wants with it. 596 00:30:15,075 --> 00:30:19,244 But see, sometimes we also want to make sure that we feel 597 00:30:19,244 --> 00:30:20,535 like we get what we deserve. 598 00:30:20,535 --> 00:30:21,825 We feel like we deserve something. 599 00:30:21,825 --> 00:30:24,164 And so we're like, I want to get that. 600 00:30:24,615 --> 00:30:29,595 And right before Jesus tells this parable in chapter 20, after talking 601 00:30:29,595 --> 00:30:33,494 to the rich young man, he has a conversation with Peter and the disciples. 602 00:30:33,494 --> 00:30:36,164 So what happens at the end of chapter 19, right before this parable? 603 00:30:36,780 --> 00:30:39,749 As Jesus says, after talking with a rich young man, you might have 604 00:30:39,749 --> 00:30:44,160 heard this, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle 605 00:30:44,430 --> 00:30:45,809 than for a rich man to go to heaven. 606 00:30:46,769 --> 00:30:51,780 It's easier for giant animal to go through tiny opening than for 607 00:30:51,780 --> 00:30:52,800 a rich person to go to heaven. 608 00:30:54,090 --> 00:30:56,849 And the disciples are shocked because in this culture, rich 609 00:30:56,849 --> 00:30:58,050 people were blessed by God. 610 00:30:58,079 --> 00:31:02,729 If you were wealthy, a lot of people would assume that, oh, that's 611 00:31:02,729 --> 00:31:04,079 'cause God was generous to you. 612 00:31:04,079 --> 00:31:04,889 God was kind to you. 613 00:31:06,524 --> 00:31:09,825 And they're like, man, if those people, the people that God is generous to, 614 00:31:10,155 --> 00:31:12,885 can't go to heaven, what about us? 615 00:31:13,095 --> 00:31:15,704 And so Peter, he says, 616 00:31:18,104 --> 00:31:19,515 what about us? 617 00:31:19,965 --> 00:31:23,564 See, we've left everything in, followed you. 618 00:31:24,644 --> 00:31:27,225 What then will we have, or what's in it for us? 619 00:31:27,225 --> 00:31:29,774 Jesus, look, look at all the stuff we've done for you. 620 00:31:29,774 --> 00:31:30,345 Jesus. 621 00:31:30,914 --> 00:31:32,175 Are we gonna get something? 622 00:31:33,465 --> 00:31:34,245 We deserve it. 623 00:31:34,274 --> 00:31:35,115 Look what we've done for you. 624 00:31:35,115 --> 00:31:36,224 We've left everything. 625 00:31:36,224 --> 00:31:38,655 We actually did what you asked the rich young man to do. 626 00:31:38,805 --> 00:31:41,055 You said, go sell everything and come follow me. 627 00:31:41,774 --> 00:31:43,064 Peter's like I did that. 628 00:31:44,894 --> 00:31:47,175 He's saying, Jesus, look at what I've done for you. 629 00:31:49,664 --> 00:31:51,135 That's, that's right there, what he says. 630 00:31:51,285 --> 00:31:53,144 And then here's what Jesus says in response. 631 00:31:53,144 --> 00:31:57,224 He says, everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, 632 00:31:57,224 --> 00:32:00,015 or children, or lands for my namesake. 633 00:32:00,315 --> 00:32:04,425 We'll receive a hundred fold and will inherit eternal life. 634 00:32:05,205 --> 00:32:07,695 So he's saying what's in it for you? 635 00:32:07,755 --> 00:32:08,505 It'll be worth it. 636 00:32:10,935 --> 00:32:11,745 It'll be worth it. 637 00:32:11,745 --> 00:32:16,185 But when you think about it, Jesus is still overpaying Peter. 638 00:32:16,215 --> 00:32:16,935 Right? 639 00:32:17,505 --> 00:32:20,145 This is way more than Peter deserves for following Jesus. 640 00:32:23,145 --> 00:32:26,625 But that's the problem is when we think of God's grace, we think, oh, well, God does. 641 00:32:26,745 --> 00:32:28,065 God should show me grace. 642 00:32:29,955 --> 00:32:31,335 Now, what's wrong with that sentence? 643 00:32:32,385 --> 00:32:34,365 Should anyone ever show someone grace? 644 00:32:35,775 --> 00:32:37,305 Is Grace ever deserved? 645 00:32:38,775 --> 00:32:40,995 If it is deserved, is it still grace? 646 00:32:42,195 --> 00:32:42,705 No. 647 00:32:42,735 --> 00:32:43,365 Right? 648 00:32:45,045 --> 00:32:47,370 Grace by definition is undeserved favor. 649 00:32:47,955 --> 00:32:48,885 You can't earn it. 650 00:32:50,655 --> 00:32:53,625 So when you think about God's grace, when you think about, oh man, I'm, 651 00:32:53,625 --> 00:32:56,715 I maybe we talked about in the first point is you're thinking. 652 00:32:57,735 --> 00:33:05,385 I know I can't earn my salvation, but I, I still think God should save me. 653 00:33:07,035 --> 00:33:09,075 Maybe you never said it that way, but maybe that's how you think. 654 00:33:09,375 --> 00:33:12,405 Maybe you're like, you know, it makes sense that God would save me. 655 00:33:14,175 --> 00:33:18,015 Maybe you've never thought that, but then I know that you 656 00:33:18,015 --> 00:33:19,485 might've thought that because 657 00:33:22,544 --> 00:33:24,854 when God saves someone, you don't think he should save. 658 00:33:26,490 --> 00:33:28,290 Oh God, you're gonna save that person. 659 00:33:29,070 --> 00:33:31,050 Wait, that person's coming to our church now. 660 00:33:32,430 --> 00:33:34,170 You want me to forgive that person? 661 00:33:34,260 --> 00:33:37,650 God, I'm supposed to overlook that person. 662 00:33:37,650 --> 00:33:37,950 Sin. 663 00:33:41,430 --> 00:33:44,880 You are saying, I deserve God's forgiveness more than that person. 664 00:33:45,930 --> 00:33:48,900 I deserve God's grace more than that person that I don't want to forgive that. 665 00:33:48,930 --> 00:33:50,040 I don't want you to save God. 666 00:33:53,355 --> 00:33:56,535 So you're trying to lay claim on God's grace and saying, well, I'm at least more 667 00:33:56,535 --> 00:33:58,365 deserving of God's grace than that person. 668 00:34:00,285 --> 00:34:01,725 See how selfish we are? 669 00:34:02,595 --> 00:34:08,174 We try to, to do everything we can to deserve God's grace, but we can't. 670 00:34:08,174 --> 00:34:09,674 You can't deserve God's grace. 671 00:34:14,024 --> 00:34:17,085 So maybe deep down you think, oh, it makes sense that God would save me, or maybe. 672 00:34:18,705 --> 00:34:19,784 You aren't a Christian. 673 00:34:19,904 --> 00:34:20,984 Maybe we flip this. 674 00:34:21,313 --> 00:34:24,734 Maybe you aren't a Christian and you think the gospel sounds too good to be true. 675 00:34:24,884 --> 00:34:26,654 You mean God will just forgive me of everything. 676 00:34:26,895 --> 00:34:30,793 I don't have to do anything, and you haven't become a Christian 677 00:34:30,793 --> 00:34:32,774 because to you that seems too easy. 678 00:34:33,884 --> 00:34:37,873 You think, oh, well, if you gave me something to do, God, I would do that, 679 00:34:37,873 --> 00:34:39,194 and then I, I could become a Christian, 680 00:34:41,234 --> 00:34:43,904 and that might come from you wanting to deserve it. 681 00:34:45,373 --> 00:34:46,214 It's too easy. 682 00:34:47,929 --> 00:34:49,455 It, it seems too easy. 683 00:34:49,844 --> 00:34:54,014 That's it because your, your brain is trained to want to deserve things. 684 00:34:54,404 --> 00:34:58,035 You want to feel like, oh, I did this and I got this and I earned this. 685 00:34:59,115 --> 00:35:01,305 And so maybe that's holding you back from becoming a Christian 'cause 686 00:35:01,305 --> 00:35:04,694 you feel like I want to deserve it. 687 00:35:04,725 --> 00:35:07,245 Or maybe you just feel like I don't deserve it and I can't become a Christian. 688 00:35:07,455 --> 00:35:14,565 And what I have to say to you is amazing news and that God's grace is his to give. 689 00:35:16,290 --> 00:35:19,560 God can decide to save whoever he wants to save. 690 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:21,899 And so you think, oh, God couldn't save me. 691 00:35:21,899 --> 00:35:23,009 You don't know what I've done, Lewis. 692 00:35:23,009 --> 00:35:24,540 You don't know what I've thought about. 693 00:35:24,540 --> 00:35:25,440 You don't know what I've watched. 694 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:26,910 You don't know what I've said. 695 00:35:27,660 --> 00:35:32,279 God does and he can still save you because it's his decision to save you. 696 00:35:32,279 --> 00:35:34,649 It's not your decision to determine whether you're 697 00:35:34,649 --> 00:35:36,234 worthy of being saved or not. 698 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:41,730 And maybe you are a Christian and you don't wanna share the gospel 699 00:35:41,730 --> 00:35:44,430 with someone because you don't think they deserve to be saved. 700 00:35:47,010 --> 00:35:49,740 That's not your call to make 701 00:35:51,750 --> 00:35:53,040 because you're making a judgment call. 702 00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:55,590 That person doesn't deserve God's grace, so I'm gonna hold it back from them. 703 00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:03,450 So we gonna reorient our view of God's grace because it's his grace 704 00:36:03,750 --> 00:36:07,650 to give Last night or last week in small groups, there was a really 705 00:36:07,650 --> 00:36:10,380 funny moment where I felt like this. 706 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:12,420 I felt like this kid in small groups last week. 707 00:36:13,185 --> 00:36:15,584 And the reason is because my wife made me an amazing dinner. 708 00:36:15,584 --> 00:36:17,024 It smelled awesome. 709 00:36:17,145 --> 00:36:20,955 And I started to eat it during small groups and all of the junior high boys 710 00:36:20,955 --> 00:36:23,205 came up to me and were like, can I have some, can I have some, can I have some? 711 00:36:23,535 --> 00:36:24,524 That smells so good. 712 00:36:24,524 --> 00:36:28,214 Can I have, I was literally this kid, I was like, this is why you 713 00:36:28,214 --> 00:36:29,654 don't bring bread to the lake, right? 714 00:36:29,654 --> 00:36:32,294 Because all the geese come up to you and they're like trying 715 00:36:32,294 --> 00:36:33,884 to eat you and your lunch. 716 00:36:33,915 --> 00:36:35,299 So definitely not me. 717 00:36:35,609 --> 00:36:38,805 Yeah, it's definitely not, definitely not Carsten and, and 718 00:36:38,805 --> 00:36:40,725 Caleb and Josh, definitely not them. 719 00:36:41,415 --> 00:36:41,924 Um. 720 00:36:44,970 --> 00:36:45,809 That's how I felt. 721 00:36:45,809 --> 00:36:46,259 That was information. 722 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:51,149 Actually, this is probably more like how I felt, but um, 723 00:36:54,029 --> 00:36:57,359 I decided not to give my dinner to any of them. 724 00:36:59,100 --> 00:37:04,950 But if I had only given my dinner to one of them, let's say only gave it to 725 00:37:05,850 --> 00:37:08,519 Caleb, let's say, only gave it to Caleb. 726 00:37:11,055 --> 00:37:13,875 A lot of people in in that room would've said, that's unfair, 727 00:37:13,875 --> 00:37:16,395 Louis, but whose dinner was it? 728 00:37:17,715 --> 00:37:18,225 Mine? 729 00:37:18,375 --> 00:37:20,025 So who gets to decide what to do with it? 730 00:37:20,595 --> 00:37:21,825 Me, right. 731 00:37:23,355 --> 00:37:26,325 So I can do whatever I want with my food, right? 732 00:37:26,865 --> 00:37:28,065 That's how God's grace works. 733 00:37:28,845 --> 00:37:30,194 He can do whatever he wants with it. 734 00:37:30,194 --> 00:37:33,194 It's not our job to decide who gets it and who doesn't. 735 00:37:33,194 --> 00:37:36,375 So reorient your picture, your view of God's grace. 736 00:37:36,375 --> 00:37:38,564 Now, to wrap it up here, our third point, we're gonna be 737 00:37:38,564 --> 00:37:40,605 looking at Matthew 20 17 34. 738 00:37:40,845 --> 00:37:44,415 The rest of this chapter, and the key to all of this, what we're talking 739 00:37:44,415 --> 00:37:50,325 about is our focus, because our two main temptations are to trick ourselves 740 00:37:50,325 --> 00:37:53,805 into thinking we deserve God's grace or to get upset when other people gr 741 00:37:54,044 --> 00:37:55,484 grace that we don't think they deserve. 742 00:37:57,330 --> 00:38:01,260 We need to figure out what we're, what we're really focused on. 743 00:38:01,500 --> 00:38:05,730 And so looking for what I deserve and what benefits me. 744 00:38:05,910 --> 00:38:07,620 If that's our focus, what can I get out of this? 745 00:38:07,620 --> 00:38:07,740 Right? 746 00:38:07,740 --> 00:38:10,230 Peter's question, what about us? 747 00:38:10,830 --> 00:38:14,160 That's the opposite of how Jesus' kingdom works. 748 00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:16,170 Look what Jesus says here. 749 00:38:17,460 --> 00:38:21,300 So right before this, Jesus says, I'm gonna suffer and die. 750 00:38:21,660 --> 00:38:24,245 I'm gonna be crucified, I'm gonna be beaten, and I'm gonna die. 751 00:38:24,750 --> 00:38:29,460 And then he says the rulers of the, the people who don't worship God, the 752 00:38:29,460 --> 00:38:34,680 Gentiles, their rulers have authority and they love their authority. 753 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:36,600 They hold it over people. 754 00:38:36,629 --> 00:38:39,689 They're like, oh, we're, we're gonna make you do what we want. 755 00:38:39,689 --> 00:38:41,549 You know, it's kind of like when you play Follow the Leader with 756 00:38:41,549 --> 00:38:43,770 like a 4-year-old, they're like, yes, I can tell people what to do. 757 00:38:43,890 --> 00:38:44,669 This is awesome. 758 00:38:45,089 --> 00:38:45,509 Right? 759 00:38:45,540 --> 00:38:48,089 That's what the world does with authority. 760 00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:52,500 But Jesus says, that's not how you guys, Christians live. 761 00:38:53,445 --> 00:38:59,535 Whoever would be great important among you must be your servant and 762 00:38:59,535 --> 00:39:04,455 whoever would be first, the the, the best among you must be your slave. 763 00:39:05,175 --> 00:39:09,735 Even as the son of man came not to be served, but to serve Jesus, the 764 00:39:09,735 --> 00:39:15,945 son of man, the reigning king, God of the universe came not to get, 765 00:39:15,945 --> 00:39:21,975 but to give and give his life as a ransom for many, many sinners. 766 00:39:22,455 --> 00:39:26,205 Many people who hated him, who turned from him, who abandoned him, who made fun 767 00:39:26,205 --> 00:39:27,615 of him, who mocked him, who killed him. 768 00:39:27,975 --> 00:39:29,535 He gave his life for those people. 769 00:39:30,975 --> 00:39:35,205 Jesus says, real greatness is giving yourself for the good of others. 770 00:39:35,205 --> 00:39:35,925 And that's our third point. 771 00:39:35,925 --> 00:39:38,715 Embrace humility as true greatness. 772 00:39:39,735 --> 00:39:42,135 Embrace humility as true greatness. 773 00:39:45,075 --> 00:39:49,125 So I wanna ask you is what type of people do you admire? 774 00:39:49,935 --> 00:39:51,105 Who do you think is great? 775 00:39:51,149 --> 00:39:54,569 It's not like, oh, you're so great, but great, like important. 776 00:39:55,169 --> 00:39:56,160 Awesome, cool. 777 00:39:57,930 --> 00:39:59,309 What type of people do you celebrate? 778 00:39:59,970 --> 00:40:00,930 What type of people are the people? 779 00:40:00,930 --> 00:40:02,369 You're like, I want to be like that person. 780 00:40:02,399 --> 00:40:03,779 I admire that person. 781 00:40:05,009 --> 00:40:05,639 Put it another way. 782 00:40:05,639 --> 00:40:08,189 We could say, what type of person do you want to lead you? 783 00:40:09,209 --> 00:40:10,649 If you're like, oh, I would follow that person. 784 00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:11,729 I want that person to be my coach. 785 00:40:11,729 --> 00:40:13,410 I want that person to be my trainer. 786 00:40:13,410 --> 00:40:14,910 I want that person to tell me what to do. 787 00:40:18,555 --> 00:40:21,524 Jesus is the type of person that you should you should want to follow is 788 00:40:21,524 --> 00:40:24,825 the humble person, person who serves others, the person who loves others. 789 00:40:27,015 --> 00:40:28,664 Now, humility you might think. 790 00:40:28,664 --> 00:40:31,185 Humility is thinking, I'm nothing, thinking I'm worthless. 791 00:40:31,245 --> 00:40:32,205 Oh, I'm so bad at this. 792 00:40:32,205 --> 00:40:33,345 I'm not really that good at that. 793 00:40:33,345 --> 00:40:34,544 I'm really not that talented. 794 00:40:34,694 --> 00:40:35,955 Maybe that's what you think humility is. 795 00:40:35,955 --> 00:40:36,555 That's not true. 796 00:40:36,930 --> 00:40:37,680 Humility. 797 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:41,879 As one famous author, put it, humility is not thinking less of yourself. 798 00:40:41,939 --> 00:40:43,830 It's not thinking worse about who you are. 799 00:40:43,979 --> 00:40:46,439 It's thinking of yourself less. 800 00:40:46,649 --> 00:40:49,859 It's being less occupied with yourself, less concerned with what I 801 00:40:49,859 --> 00:40:51,870 want, what I need, what I should get. 802 00:40:52,499 --> 00:40:53,370 That's what humility is. 803 00:40:53,370 --> 00:40:55,259 It's not thinking why I'm a terrible person, I'm a loser. 804 00:40:55,799 --> 00:40:57,779 Humility is just not thinking about yourself. 805 00:40:58,740 --> 00:41:01,859 It's like, oh, I didn't really think about what I wanted in this situation. 806 00:41:02,220 --> 00:41:03,689 I was worried about what you wanted. 807 00:41:03,689 --> 00:41:05,069 I was worried about how to care for you. 808 00:41:05,069 --> 00:41:07,470 I was worried about how to love you, how to encourage you. 809 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:08,729 I didn't think about what I wanted. 810 00:41:09,720 --> 00:41:10,529 That's humility. 811 00:41:10,890 --> 00:41:14,069 So I wanna ask you is what are your priorities when you show up places? 812 00:41:14,069 --> 00:41:16,079 When you came to True North tonight, what did you think about? 813 00:41:16,589 --> 00:41:18,359 Did you think about, oh, this is what I want to do. 814 00:41:18,359 --> 00:41:19,799 I want to do this, I want have this. 815 00:41:19,799 --> 00:41:21,450 I wanna talk to this person, I'm gonna do this. 816 00:41:21,479 --> 00:41:22,049 Or what are you thinking? 817 00:41:22,049 --> 00:41:23,579 How can I encourage these people? 818 00:41:23,970 --> 00:41:24,870 How can I help these people? 819 00:41:24,870 --> 00:41:25,890 How can I love these people? 820 00:41:26,370 --> 00:41:27,749 When you go to school, what do you think about? 821 00:41:27,749 --> 00:41:29,459 Do you think about, oh, what do I get outta this? 822 00:41:29,789 --> 00:41:30,509 This is so lame. 823 00:41:30,509 --> 00:41:31,079 I hate this. 824 00:41:31,439 --> 00:41:33,450 Or do you think about who can I bless? 825 00:41:33,539 --> 00:41:34,410 Who can I encourage? 826 00:41:34,529 --> 00:41:38,279 What can I do to, to encourage my teacher or my friends? 827 00:41:39,539 --> 00:41:42,059 What about when you come home or you know, what do I get? 828 00:41:42,149 --> 00:41:43,439 I come home, I wanna do my things. 829 00:41:43,439 --> 00:41:44,339 I wanna play my games. 830 00:41:44,549 --> 00:41:45,599 I wanna watch my videos. 831 00:41:45,599 --> 00:41:46,559 I wanna watch my shows. 832 00:41:46,559 --> 00:41:48,660 I want to do things the way I want to do them. 833 00:41:49,799 --> 00:41:52,890 Or you thinking about other people, oh, what, what does my sibling want to do? 834 00:41:54,089 --> 00:41:56,279 How can my parents, how can I help my parents? 835 00:41:56,279 --> 00:41:57,539 Have a great weekend? 836 00:41:58,349 --> 00:41:59,609 Does that ever cross your mind? 837 00:42:01,365 --> 00:42:05,174 Jesus says, that's the type of person that is great. 838 00:42:05,234 --> 00:42:06,825 That's an awesome person. 839 00:42:08,055 --> 00:42:10,394 So remember our main point, self-focused and self-interest 840 00:42:10,454 --> 00:42:12,914 have no place in God's people. 841 00:42:13,334 --> 00:42:16,694 So humility is essential to everything about being a Christian. 842 00:42:16,845 --> 00:42:18,345 You can't love people without being humble. 843 00:42:18,345 --> 00:42:20,204 'cause if you're all, if all you're thinking about is yourself, 844 00:42:20,384 --> 00:42:21,524 you're never gonna love someone. 845 00:42:21,524 --> 00:42:23,115 Think about that in a, in a relationship. 846 00:42:23,984 --> 00:42:26,265 Would you, would you wanna be in a relationship with someone who only 847 00:42:26,265 --> 00:42:28,424 thought about themself that would stink? 848 00:42:29,535 --> 00:42:29,745 Right. 849 00:42:29,745 --> 00:42:30,944 What, oh, what do you wanna do tonight? 850 00:42:30,944 --> 00:42:32,294 Well, I really like this. 851 00:42:33,495 --> 00:42:36,495 You don't wanna do that day in, day out worship, right? 852 00:42:36,495 --> 00:42:37,814 You only worship if you're humble. 853 00:42:38,714 --> 00:42:42,225 If you, if you think all about yourself, you're never gonna worship or faith. 854 00:42:42,225 --> 00:42:46,245 Faith doesn't work unless you're not thinking about, you have 855 00:42:46,245 --> 00:42:49,424 to think about other people to, to, to have faith, to trust God. 856 00:42:49,634 --> 00:42:50,924 You can't be focused on yourself. 857 00:42:51,765 --> 00:42:54,825 So humility is essential to everything about being a Christian, and 858 00:42:54,825 --> 00:42:57,345 humility makes everything better. 859 00:42:58,079 --> 00:43:00,180 And that's what I want you to take away from tonight's message. 860 00:43:00,180 --> 00:43:01,529 So let's pray and let's head to small groups. 861 00:43:03,299 --> 00:43:08,370 God thank you that you sent Jesus, who, if anyone had the right to be prideful, 862 00:43:08,370 --> 00:43:14,160 it would be Jesus the greatest man to ever live because he's God in the flesh. 863 00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:18,689 But Jesus humbled himself to the point of death, death on the cross, to be 864 00:43:18,779 --> 00:43:24,990 shamefully executed for sinners like us, and gave his life as a ransom. 865 00:43:26,475 --> 00:43:27,585 To save people. 866 00:43:27,615 --> 00:43:31,665 So God, I pray that you would help us to, to follow Jesus' example, to 867 00:43:31,665 --> 00:43:34,935 think about others, to love others, to even approach our small groups 868 00:43:34,935 --> 00:43:40,455 thinking about others, and help us to put our, our selfish motives to death. 869 00:43:40,485 --> 00:43:41,895 I pray that you purify us. 870 00:43:42,015 --> 00:43:44,655 I pray that you help us to learn how to, to fight for humility. 871 00:43:45,045 --> 00:43:47,955 And I pray that you help us to take our focus off of ourselves 872 00:43:47,955 --> 00:43:49,455 and put it ultimately onto you. 873 00:43:49,695 --> 00:43:51,225 'cause we wanna follow you and we wanna love you. 874 00:43:51,285 --> 00:43:52,185 We pray this in Jesus name. 875 00:43:52,485 --> 00:43:52,875 Amen.