1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,660 Speaker: We are gonna be-- we're gonna start in, uh, in Luke, okay? 2 00:00:03,660 --> 00:00:05,110 In Luke 14. 3 00:00:05,740 --> 00:00:10,574 Um- And then we're gonna-- What we're kinda doing tonight is we're 4 00:00:10,574 --> 00:00:14,284 gonna be following up on some stuff that you probably talked about 5 00:00:14,284 --> 00:00:15,864 or thought about at camp, okay? 6 00:00:15,864 --> 00:00:19,644 We had a great time at our summer camp a couple weeks ago. 7 00:00:19,824 --> 00:00:23,974 Um, and we're gonna be kind of wrapping a bow on, on all the stuff we talked about. 8 00:00:24,154 --> 00:00:27,534 But while you're turning to Luke 14, um, I don't know if 9 00:00:27,534 --> 00:00:28,414 I've told you guys this story. 10 00:00:28,414 --> 00:00:29,074 I don't think I have. 11 00:00:29,084 --> 00:00:33,984 But one time, um, I was talking to some Mormons and, uh, they-- we both 12 00:00:33,984 --> 00:00:35,533 learned that we all love soccer. 13 00:00:35,533 --> 00:00:39,234 That the, the three of us, or the four of us, my friend and I, and these two 14 00:00:39,234 --> 00:00:41,204 Mormon missionaries, they love soccer. 15 00:00:41,204 --> 00:00:44,914 And so they were like, "Hey, we play soccer together with some guys at 6:30 16 00:00:44,914 --> 00:00:48,933 on, you know, Friday mornings," and saying, "We'd love for you guys to come." 17 00:00:48,934 --> 00:00:49,924 So my friend and I were like, "Great. 18 00:00:49,964 --> 00:00:50,684 We love soccer. 19 00:00:50,744 --> 00:00:53,024 We're gonna go play soccer with these Mormons," right? 20 00:00:53,144 --> 00:00:55,294 We thought that they weren't gonna be that good at soccer, 21 00:00:55,654 --> 00:00:57,684 uh, but turns out they were. 22 00:00:57,763 --> 00:00:59,234 They were really good at soccer. 23 00:00:59,763 --> 00:01:00,974 And I was like, "Okay. 24 00:01:00,974 --> 00:01:02,253 We're, we're pretty good at soccer, too. 25 00:01:02,274 --> 00:01:04,364 You know, we, we played a lot growing up, so this will be fun. 26 00:01:04,404 --> 00:01:06,103 It'll be a lot-- You know, just a casual game, right? 27 00:01:06,103 --> 00:01:08,724 Not a professional game or anything, you know, just, you know, no 28 00:01:08,774 --> 00:01:10,573 ex-college athletes there, right? 29 00:01:10,573 --> 00:01:14,614 It's not like you're showing up to play, you know, play pickup 30 00:01:14,614 --> 00:01:15,914 baseball, and then, like, Mr. 31 00:01:15,914 --> 00:01:17,573 Clancy walks in, and you're like, all right, dude. 32 00:01:18,214 --> 00:01:18,644 Okay. 33 00:01:18,644 --> 00:01:19,573 I'm like, all right. 34 00:01:19,584 --> 00:01:21,723 This is, you know, as I thought, it was a friendly game of soccer. 35 00:01:21,724 --> 00:01:24,373 I show up, and, you know, the Mormons are there, and we're, we're, you know, 36 00:01:24,374 --> 00:01:25,783 warming up together and getting ready. 37 00:01:26,133 --> 00:01:32,393 And then I realized I was getting into something that was far over my head, okay? 38 00:01:32,843 --> 00:01:38,024 Um, because everyone who showed up was, like, a, a grown man. 39 00:01:38,084 --> 00:01:38,844 I was in college. 40 00:01:39,324 --> 00:01:43,844 And they all showed up, like, they all wore, um, either, like, 41 00:01:43,923 --> 00:01:47,644 white shirts or dark shirts so they could divide teams evenly. 42 00:01:47,764 --> 00:01:50,823 Like, they, like, came ready to, like, be on certain teams. 43 00:01:51,243 --> 00:01:54,372 And then there was this, like, white truck with, like, ladders on the side 44 00:01:54,404 --> 00:01:56,383 that pulled up, and I was like, "Uh-oh. 45 00:01:56,853 --> 00:02:00,233 This might-- We might be in trouble here," um, because these people, 46 00:02:00,404 --> 00:02:01,764 uh, were really good at soccer. 47 00:02:02,074 --> 00:02:04,723 The-- They're these grown adults who played soccer their whole 48 00:02:04,724 --> 00:02:06,564 life, and they were phenomenal. 49 00:02:06,654 --> 00:02:10,654 Like, I was by far the worst soccer player on the field that morning. 50 00:02:10,964 --> 00:02:12,123 And I'm not that bad at soccer. 51 00:02:12,203 --> 00:02:13,434 Uh, some of you, we got to play together. 52 00:02:13,434 --> 00:02:13,893 I'm not that bad. 53 00:02:13,894 --> 00:02:17,943 Um, and I was definitely younger than all of the people here, for better or for 54 00:02:17,944 --> 00:02:19,973 worse, and I was completely unprepared. 55 00:02:20,474 --> 00:02:24,504 I was so embarrassed because these guys were legit. 56 00:02:24,614 --> 00:02:27,193 They were really, really good at soccer. 57 00:02:27,194 --> 00:02:29,583 Some of them, um, spoke different languages than me, 58 00:02:29,813 --> 00:02:30,964 and they were phenomenal. 59 00:02:31,224 --> 00:02:32,644 They were so good. 60 00:02:32,644 --> 00:02:36,863 And I, I've never been more embarrassed on a soccer field in my entire life. 61 00:02:37,364 --> 00:02:42,053 I've never been more embarrassed because I was just like, "I don't belong here. 62 00:02:42,194 --> 00:02:44,114 I am totally out of my league. 63 00:02:44,213 --> 00:02:48,473 I'm out of my depth, and, uh, totally unprepared for this moment," right? 64 00:02:48,634 --> 00:02:50,553 It's one of those moments, I don't know if you've ever been like this in 65 00:02:50,554 --> 00:02:53,683 a sport, maybe it's baseball or soccer, where you're just like, you don't 66 00:02:53,683 --> 00:02:55,253 want the ball to come to you anymore. 67 00:02:55,534 --> 00:02:56,933 You're just like, "I, I don't even want it. 68 00:02:56,993 --> 00:02:57,942 I'll just run around. 69 00:02:57,944 --> 00:02:58,304 I'll just… 70 00:02:58,323 --> 00:02:59,293 I, I don't wanna shoot. 71 00:02:59,313 --> 00:03:00,034 I don't wanna pass. 72 00:03:00,034 --> 00:03:01,084 I don't want, I don't want the ball. 73 00:03:01,084 --> 00:03:01,493 I just… 74 00:03:01,504 --> 00:03:02,394 You guys do your thing. 75 00:03:02,394 --> 00:03:03,063 I'll just run around." 76 00:03:03,543 --> 00:03:04,634 And it was, it was awful. 77 00:03:04,993 --> 00:03:09,586 Um- Knowing what you're getting into is really important, right? 78 00:03:09,586 --> 00:03:12,076 If I had known that this was gonna be a really serious, really 79 00:03:12,076 --> 00:03:15,096 intense soccer game, probably wouldn't have shown up, honestly. 80 00:03:15,256 --> 00:03:18,866 I, I wasn't, wasn't in the mood to be embarrassed at 6:30 in the morning, right? 81 00:03:19,306 --> 00:03:21,606 Um, knowing what you're getting into is, is really important. 82 00:03:21,626 --> 00:03:24,976 And so tonight what we're gonna do is I want you to know what 83 00:03:24,976 --> 00:03:28,106 you're getting into if you have decided to follow Jesus, right? 84 00:03:28,106 --> 00:03:30,216 Maybe you decided to follow Jesus a few years ago. 85 00:03:30,246 --> 00:03:33,236 Maybe you became a Christian, um, in middle school, or maybe you became a 86 00:03:33,236 --> 00:03:36,446 Christian at a younger age, in elementary school, or when you were really little. 87 00:03:36,606 --> 00:03:38,666 Maybe you became a Christian two weeks ago at camp. 88 00:03:39,055 --> 00:03:41,085 Uh, maybe you're not sure if you're a Christian. 89 00:03:41,096 --> 00:03:42,906 Maybe you're thinking about becoming a Christian. 90 00:03:42,966 --> 00:03:44,916 Maybe you don't wanna be a Christian at all. 91 00:03:45,305 --> 00:03:48,216 But I, I think what I wanna do together is for all of us to think 92 00:03:48,226 --> 00:03:49,926 about, what am I getting into? 93 00:03:49,986 --> 00:03:51,996 What have I already gotten myself into? 94 00:03:52,206 --> 00:03:53,996 What should following Jesus be like? 95 00:03:54,156 --> 00:03:55,486 'Cause I want us all to be on the same page. 96 00:03:55,646 --> 00:03:58,125 But what does God say it looks like to follow Jesus? 97 00:03:58,125 --> 00:04:01,446 Okay, so we're gonna be in Luke 14. 98 00:04:01,486 --> 00:04:02,286 All right, 14. 99 00:04:02,555 --> 00:04:04,426 We're gonna start in verse 28. 100 00:04:04,875 --> 00:04:06,865 I've got it on the screen for you if you don't have your Bible. 101 00:04:06,876 --> 00:04:09,096 But Luke 14:28. 102 00:04:09,936 --> 00:04:13,415 So Jesus, He's talking to his, his disciples and some crowds, 103 00:04:13,415 --> 00:04:16,875 and He says, "Which one of you, if you wanna build a tower," right? 104 00:04:16,875 --> 00:04:18,406 So you wanna build a, a big tower. 105 00:04:19,055 --> 00:04:21,515 First, what you do is you count the cost, right? 106 00:04:21,524 --> 00:04:23,215 Do I have enough supplies, right? 107 00:04:23,215 --> 00:04:24,246 Do I have enough bricks? 108 00:04:24,246 --> 00:04:27,395 Do I have enough construction workers? 109 00:04:27,396 --> 00:04:28,636 Do I have enough ladders, right? 110 00:04:28,656 --> 00:04:29,985 Do I have enough stuff? 111 00:04:30,205 --> 00:04:33,266 Do I have enough supplies, have enough resources to build this tower? 112 00:04:33,686 --> 00:04:37,036 'Cause otherwise, verse 29, when you've laid a foundation and you're not able 113 00:04:37,036 --> 00:04:39,636 to finish, or you start building a tower and you realize, "Oh, I ran out 114 00:04:39,636 --> 00:04:43,284 of bricks, I can't do it," everyone who sees it is gonna make fun of you. 115 00:04:43,485 --> 00:04:46,636 They're gonna mock you and say, "Ha ha, this dude, he started to build 116 00:04:46,636 --> 00:04:48,146 a tower, he couldn't finish," right? 117 00:04:48,146 --> 00:04:51,335 They're gonna see your half-built tower with the missing windows and, 118 00:04:51,336 --> 00:04:53,595 and no door, and they're gonna be like, "This guy couldn't finish," right? 119 00:04:54,516 --> 00:04:57,415 I don't want that to be you as a Christian. 120 00:04:58,226 --> 00:05:00,745 I don't want you to start becoming a Christian, and you don't 121 00:05:00,745 --> 00:05:01,556 wanna be that either, right? 122 00:05:01,556 --> 00:05:04,885 I, I think a lot of times, sometimes people are even scared to become 123 00:05:04,885 --> 00:05:06,906 a Christian because they say, "I don't know if I can do it. 124 00:05:07,715 --> 00:05:10,025 I don't know if God's gonna keep me saved." 125 00:05:10,516 --> 00:05:10,546 Right? 126 00:05:11,516 --> 00:05:14,376 W- and we're all kind of worried about this sometimes, and I 127 00:05:14,376 --> 00:05:15,315 don't want that to be you. 128 00:05:15,315 --> 00:05:16,835 I don't want you to be like, "Oh, camp was great. 129 00:05:16,836 --> 00:05:17,915 I loved the revival. 130 00:05:17,916 --> 00:05:19,056 Uh, the worship night was awesome. 131 00:05:19,056 --> 00:05:21,965 Everyone was crying, and Josh's testimony was so good, and 132 00:05:22,105 --> 00:05:23,476 Lewis' sermons were even better." 133 00:05:23,476 --> 00:05:29,414 No, um, um And I don't want you to be like, "Oh man, I- And then a, a, a month 134 00:05:29,414 --> 00:05:31,814 later you're just like, "Oh, I guess not. 135 00:05:31,844 --> 00:05:32,504 Didn't work out." 136 00:05:32,964 --> 00:05:35,694 All right, I want you to know what you're getting into and know what 137 00:05:35,694 --> 00:05:37,674 it's really like to follow Jesus. 138 00:05:37,674 --> 00:05:40,974 And this is what Jesus says to people who want to follow him. 139 00:05:40,974 --> 00:05:43,784 Right before this, in the Gospel of Luke, there's people that come up to Jesus 140 00:05:43,784 --> 00:05:47,914 and say, "I really wanna follow you, Jesus," and Jesus actually turns them away 141 00:05:49,314 --> 00:05:50,774 because he says, "You're not ready yet." 142 00:05:51,444 --> 00:05:51,784 Okay? 143 00:05:52,004 --> 00:05:54,314 So I wanna make sure that all of us are on the same page about what 144 00:05:54,314 --> 00:05:56,294 is it really like to follow Jesus. 145 00:05:56,294 --> 00:05:58,674 So all your points tonight are expect, right? 146 00:05:58,683 --> 00:05:59,433 Expect something. 147 00:05:59,433 --> 00:06:02,454 So there are four things that you should expect from following Jesus. 148 00:06:02,454 --> 00:06:06,513 The first one is expect to change from the heart. 149 00:06:07,524 --> 00:06:10,674 Expect to change from the heart. 150 00:06:11,393 --> 00:06:14,754 When you follow Jesus, your life changes. 151 00:06:14,804 --> 00:06:15,533 I think we've all… 152 00:06:15,544 --> 00:06:16,164 Hopefully you… 153 00:06:16,184 --> 00:06:18,514 That's not news to you, right? 154 00:06:18,524 --> 00:06:21,844 Hopefully it's obvious to you, okay, when I follow Jesus my life changes, right? 155 00:06:21,844 --> 00:06:24,403 'Cause it used to be I was following me, and now I'm following 156 00:06:24,404 --> 00:06:25,784 Jesus, so my life changes, right? 157 00:06:26,304 --> 00:06:32,493 But how that change happens is sometimes confusing, right? 158 00:06:32,574 --> 00:06:35,324 You don't follow Jesus and change from the outside in. 159 00:06:35,603 --> 00:06:37,653 You don't just start adding stuff to your life. 160 00:06:38,904 --> 00:06:41,854 You change from the inside out when you start following Jesus. 161 00:06:41,854 --> 00:06:43,524 It starts with your heart. 162 00:06:44,093 --> 00:06:44,243 Right? 163 00:06:44,243 --> 00:06:47,484 You don't just start doing new things or going to new places. 164 00:06:48,143 --> 00:06:51,883 The outward change comes first from an inward change 165 00:06:55,168 --> 00:06:58,207 Did you guys ever learn about this guy when you were little? 166 00:06:59,608 --> 00:07:01,998 I don't know if kids learn about this guy anymore. 167 00:07:02,278 --> 00:07:02,808 I did. 168 00:07:02,808 --> 00:07:06,358 I had to read books about this guy, maybe one or two books about this guy. 169 00:07:06,768 --> 00:07:09,918 Um, I really don't know anything about him anymore, other than the fact that he 170 00:07:09,918 --> 00:07:13,518 wears a pan on his he- or a pot on his head and doesn't wear shoes apparently. 171 00:07:13,818 --> 00:07:16,868 Um, I honestly forgot everything there is about this dude. 172 00:07:17,108 --> 00:07:21,008 But let's say you're, you were Johnny Appleseed, okay? 173 00:07:21,008 --> 00:07:21,258 You're… 174 00:07:21,278 --> 00:07:23,968 His mission apparently was to, like, plant apples everywhere, right? 175 00:07:24,088 --> 00:07:24,438 Let's just… 176 00:07:24,558 --> 00:07:25,398 I don't know if that's true or not. 177 00:07:25,398 --> 00:07:27,498 Let's just say that's, that's his, his mission, okay? 178 00:07:27,688 --> 00:07:29,788 This dude wants to grow a ton of apples, right? 179 00:07:32,328 --> 00:07:33,968 There's a couple ways you could do this, right? 180 00:07:34,058 --> 00:07:35,098 What if he's like, "You know what? 181 00:07:35,168 --> 00:07:36,568 I love apple trees. 182 00:07:36,588 --> 00:07:38,588 I want the world to be full of apple trees." 183 00:07:38,648 --> 00:07:43,878 So he goes to the grocery store, buys tons and tons of apples, and just starts, like, 184 00:07:43,898 --> 00:07:45,888 taping them to all the trees in the area. 185 00:07:47,328 --> 00:07:48,858 Is he planting apple trees? 186 00:07:49,378 --> 00:07:51,098 Is he really Johnny Appleseed? 187 00:07:51,988 --> 00:07:52,528 No, right? 188 00:07:52,528 --> 00:07:54,528 He's Johnny Grocery Store Apple, right? 189 00:07:54,538 --> 00:07:56,178 He's not Johnny Appleseed. 190 00:07:56,178 --> 00:07:59,668 What he's doing is he's trying to change all the trees into apple trees 191 00:08:00,188 --> 00:08:02,408 just by putting apples on them, right? 192 00:08:02,418 --> 00:08:04,218 That would not be the way to do that, right? 193 00:08:04,218 --> 00:08:06,908 If you wanted to fill the world with apple trees, you don't go to the 194 00:08:06,908 --> 00:08:10,438 store, buy a bunch of apples, and start taping them on trees, right? 195 00:08:10,868 --> 00:08:15,738 What you do is you plant apple seeds, hence the name, right? 196 00:08:15,738 --> 00:08:18,868 And then they grow into apple trees, right? 197 00:08:19,437 --> 00:08:23,207 That's the type of trees that produce apples naturally 198 00:08:25,308 --> 00:08:28,168 When we talk about being a Christian, right, one of the things you might 199 00:08:28,168 --> 00:08:30,328 have heard, uh, uh, someone actually asked me about this at camp. 200 00:08:30,608 --> 00:08:30,808 They… 201 00:08:30,838 --> 00:08:33,498 We, we were having a conversation about bearing fruit. 202 00:08:34,138 --> 00:08:37,698 What does it look like to, to have the fruit of the Spirit in your life? 203 00:08:38,717 --> 00:08:42,347 Well, I can tell you what it doesn't look like is for you to see, oh, what are 204 00:08:42,347 --> 00:08:43,967 the, what are the things Christians do? 205 00:08:44,518 --> 00:08:46,528 Let me just duct tape those onto my life. 206 00:08:46,898 --> 00:08:48,028 Oh, Christians go to church? 207 00:08:48,248 --> 00:08:49,468 I'm gonna start doing that, too. 208 00:08:49,988 --> 00:08:51,298 Oh, Christians get baptized? 209 00:08:51,358 --> 00:08:52,358 I, I guess I'll do that. 210 00:08:52,998 --> 00:08:54,118 Oh, Christians read the Bible? 211 00:08:54,138 --> 00:08:54,798 I'll start doing that. 212 00:08:54,798 --> 00:08:55,508 Christians serve. 213 00:08:55,508 --> 00:08:57,098 Christians are kind to people. 214 00:08:57,098 --> 00:09:01,938 I'll just duct tape all of these Christian apples to my life. 215 00:09:02,818 --> 00:09:05,388 And I think sometimes that's what people try to do. 216 00:09:06,178 --> 00:09:07,508 I know I tried to do that at one point. 217 00:09:08,078 --> 00:09:09,437 I, I wanted to be a Christian. 218 00:09:09,438 --> 00:09:13,548 I, I, I didn't wanna go to hell, and so I tried to fit in at church by taping 219 00:09:13,548 --> 00:09:15,378 all the Christian apples to my life. 220 00:09:16,988 --> 00:09:20,008 That's not how real Christians change. 221 00:09:20,758 --> 00:09:24,048 You don't just start doing Christian things and then be like, "Okay, 222 00:09:24,048 --> 00:09:26,827 well now I must be a Christian 'cause I've outwardly gotten all 223 00:09:26,838 --> 00:09:29,108 the Christian apples on my tree." 224 00:09:31,402 --> 00:09:35,782 What happens is God changes your heart, and then you start to grow 225 00:09:35,802 --> 00:09:38,542 those, those apples, right, that fruit. 226 00:09:39,522 --> 00:09:41,102 In this case, not naturally, but supernaturally, right? 227 00:09:42,622 --> 00:09:45,492 That's why they're the fruit of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, right? 228 00:09:45,722 --> 00:09:46,532 Supernatural power. 229 00:09:46,542 --> 00:09:52,182 God changes your heart, and now you have a new heart, and it shows up in your life. 230 00:09:53,642 --> 00:09:56,332 You start to see, oh yeah, I am becoming more kind. 231 00:09:57,662 --> 00:09:59,312 And sometimes you have to try really hard. 232 00:09:59,532 --> 00:10:02,052 Absolutely, you have to try hard to be patient with your sibling 233 00:10:02,052 --> 00:10:02,802 when they're being annoying. 234 00:10:03,682 --> 00:10:08,612 But the desire to be patient with them comes from your heart. 235 00:10:09,232 --> 00:10:11,012 It comes from the Holy Spirit changing you. 236 00:10:12,472 --> 00:10:17,752 So when we say, oh yeah, I, I'm growing, I, I see fruit in my life, right? 237 00:10:17,752 --> 00:10:19,202 It, it comes from the heart. 238 00:10:19,732 --> 00:10:21,602 It doesn't come from, oh, I'm just gonna take all these Christian 239 00:10:21,602 --> 00:10:23,862 things that people do and s- and stick them onto my life. 240 00:10:25,021 --> 00:10:29,021 It comes from within because God … Not because you found it within, but 241 00:10:29,021 --> 00:10:30,462 because God, God put it there 242 00:10:33,608 --> 00:10:38,308 One of the heart changes that you should see comes from, uh, we 243 00:10:38,308 --> 00:10:41,198 see it in 1 John 4:7 through 12. 244 00:10:41,198 --> 00:10:45,038 It's too big to put on the screen, but if you have your Bible, I'd encourage 245 00:10:45,038 --> 00:10:46,468 you to turn there, 1 John chapter 4. 246 00:10:46,468 --> 00:10:51,668 1 John is a great book if you're not sure if you're a Christian. 247 00:10:53,178 --> 00:10:56,448 In fact, at the end of 1 John it says it's written, "So that you 248 00:10:56,448 --> 00:11:03,048 might know that you've believed and been changed from the heart." 249 00:11:04,518 --> 00:11:07,598 What happens in, in this letter, 1 John, it's a letter to, to some, 250 00:11:07,668 --> 00:11:11,858 some Christians, and what John, the author, is doing is he's saying … He, 251 00:11:11,888 --> 00:11:13,988 he often gives, like, two options. 252 00:11:15,098 --> 00:11:19,878 If you're one thing, this is what it's like to, to follow God, right? 253 00:11:19,888 --> 00:11:20,958 To, to have a new heart. 254 00:11:21,568 --> 00:11:23,517 The other thing, this is what it's like to be opposed to 255 00:11:23,518 --> 00:11:25,198 God, to not have a new heart. 256 00:11:26,348 --> 00:11:30,058 And so one of the things he says is in 1 John chapter 4, and, and 257 00:11:30,148 --> 00:11:32,818 you've probably heard some of the stuff from this chapter before. 258 00:11:32,818 --> 00:11:34,897 In verse 7, here's how he starts. 259 00:11:34,898 --> 00:11:35,788 He says, "Beloved." 260 00:11:36,267 --> 00:11:36,377 Right? 261 00:11:36,377 --> 00:11:38,558 He's talking to, to the people he loves, his, his church. 262 00:11:38,797 --> 00:11:40,607 He says, "Let us love one another." 263 00:11:41,007 --> 00:11:42,958 So that's a Christian fruit, right? 264 00:11:43,127 --> 00:11:44,797 That's something Christians do, right? 265 00:11:44,797 --> 00:11:45,908 Something Christians feel. 266 00:11:45,998 --> 00:11:47,058 Christians feel love. 267 00:11:47,348 --> 00:11:50,107 They have affection for others, right? 268 00:11:50,108 --> 00:11:51,877 They, they care about other people. 269 00:11:52,428 --> 00:11:53,778 But why do they do that? 270 00:11:53,907 --> 00:11:57,237 Well, he says, "For love is from God." 271 00:11:58,068 --> 00:12:03,067 So the reason you love other people is because God gave you that love. 272 00:12:03,117 --> 00:12:05,007 He gave you that compassion, that kindness. 273 00:12:06,278 --> 00:12:08,477 And then he says, "Whoever loves," right? 274 00:12:08,477 --> 00:12:13,128 The person who has that, the, the fruit of, of loving people, "Has 275 00:12:13,128 --> 00:12:15,648 been born of God and knows God." 276 00:12:16,638 --> 00:12:21,227 So the, the loving actions, the loving thoughts, the loving feelings come 277 00:12:21,617 --> 00:12:23,288 from your relationship with God. 278 00:12:25,007 --> 00:12:27,647 So it's produced by a heart change 279 00:12:29,728 --> 00:12:32,528 And then he says, "Anyone who does not love does not know 280 00:12:32,538 --> 00:12:35,698 God because God is love." 281 00:12:35,958 --> 00:12:37,278 You've probably heard that before, right? 282 00:12:37,278 --> 00:12:38,268 God is love. 283 00:12:38,948 --> 00:12:43,158 One of the marks of someone who has a new heart filled with the 284 00:12:43,158 --> 00:12:47,328 Holy Spirit is God's love, right? 285 00:12:47,328 --> 00:12:50,478 So you should see in your life, if you're a Christian, you should expect to 286 00:12:50,478 --> 00:12:53,938 see God fill your heart with His love. 287 00:12:54,638 --> 00:12:57,818 And so you should start to see, man, I really care about my friends in a 288 00:12:57,818 --> 00:12:59,198 way I didn't care about them before. 289 00:12:59,558 --> 00:13:02,648 I even care about my enemies in a way I didn't care about them before. 290 00:13:03,508 --> 00:13:07,188 I even, I care about my siblings a way I didn't love them before. 291 00:13:07,438 --> 00:13:09,188 I wanna put other people first. 292 00:13:09,308 --> 00:13:10,758 I wanna be patient with them now. 293 00:13:10,998 --> 00:13:12,518 I wanna be loyal to people. 294 00:13:13,288 --> 00:13:15,858 You should start to see those type of changes, not because you 295 00:13:15,858 --> 00:13:18,488 have to, but because you want to 296 00:13:23,264 --> 00:13:26,944 And again, one of the ways we define love even is because of who God 297 00:13:26,944 --> 00:13:29,804 is, and that's what the rest of that, that paragraph talks about. 298 00:13:29,804 --> 00:13:33,374 But keep going down in 1 John to, to chapter five, okay? 299 00:13:33,374 --> 00:13:34,264 We're, we're in chapter four. 300 00:13:34,264 --> 00:13:35,344 Look at, look at chapter five. 301 00:13:35,354 --> 00:13:40,524 He says, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of 302 00:13:40,524 --> 00:13:46,214 God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him." 303 00:13:46,434 --> 00:13:47,864 Okay, so we see that, right? 304 00:13:47,924 --> 00:13:51,294 If, if, if I believe that Jesus is the Messiah, He's the one, 305 00:13:51,444 --> 00:13:54,704 He's the King, well, that means I've been born of God, right? 306 00:13:54,704 --> 00:13:56,254 God has given me a new heart. 307 00:13:57,514 --> 00:14:00,444 And he says, "If you love the Father," if you say you love God, 308 00:14:00,934 --> 00:14:02,534 you're gonna love other people. 309 00:14:03,154 --> 00:14:05,214 You're gonna love specifically other Christians. 310 00:14:06,224 --> 00:14:07,304 That's another thing you should expect. 311 00:14:07,304 --> 00:14:08,924 You should expect to love other Christians. 312 00:14:08,944 --> 00:14:12,154 Maybe you don't have anything in common with them, but you should expect to 313 00:14:12,154 --> 00:14:14,624 see, I, I love this person 'cause they're part of God's family, and 314 00:14:14,624 --> 00:14:18,714 that means they're part of my family if I am part of God's family, too. 315 00:14:20,364 --> 00:14:24,404 And then he says this, verse two, "By this we know that we love the children of God." 316 00:14:24,454 --> 00:14:27,104 Maybe you're saying, "Well, I'm not sure if I love, I love God's people. 317 00:14:27,134 --> 00:14:27,563 Do I?" 318 00:14:27,953 --> 00:14:32,624 Well, here he says, "When we love God and obey His commandments, 319 00:14:33,283 --> 00:14:36,494 for this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." 320 00:14:36,774 --> 00:14:39,364 So to love God means to obey Him, right? 321 00:14:39,364 --> 00:14:41,214 I'm gonna do what He says 'cause I care about Him. 322 00:14:41,214 --> 00:14:42,874 So you should expect to see that in your life. 323 00:14:43,984 --> 00:14:46,554 If you're someone who really does have a new heart, you're going to 324 00:14:46,554 --> 00:14:50,073 love God, and the reason you do it, look at the rest of verse three, "His 325 00:14:50,074 --> 00:14:53,174 commandments are not burdensome." 326 00:14:54,264 --> 00:14:55,464 You ever think about a burden, right? 327 00:14:55,474 --> 00:14:58,853 Like I remember when I was in, I think it was, I don't know if it 328 00:14:58,853 --> 00:15:00,864 was late elementary school or in middle school, probably middle 329 00:15:00,864 --> 00:15:02,503 school, I weighed my backpack. 330 00:15:03,234 --> 00:15:07,243 My backpack was 20 pounds when I was in middle school, which was 331 00:15:07,243 --> 00:15:09,993 probably, like, a quarter of my body weight when I was in middle school. 332 00:15:10,313 --> 00:15:14,833 Um and that's, that's a burden, right? 333 00:15:15,984 --> 00:15:20,974 If you're not a Christian, following God, obeying Him feels like a burden. 334 00:15:21,434 --> 00:15:22,234 It's weighing you down. 335 00:15:22,234 --> 00:15:23,253 You're like, "I don't wanna do this. 336 00:15:23,533 --> 00:15:24,673 I don't wanna obey my parents. 337 00:15:25,254 --> 00:15:25,784 I don't wanna… 338 00:15:25,813 --> 00:15:27,354 I have to be patient with that person? 339 00:15:27,354 --> 00:15:27,984 They're so annoying. 340 00:15:27,993 --> 00:15:28,704 Why do I have to do that? 341 00:15:29,294 --> 00:15:30,393 Oh, I have to read the Bible? 342 00:15:30,453 --> 00:15:30,744 I, I… 343 00:15:30,874 --> 00:15:31,514 It's so hard. 344 00:15:31,514 --> 00:15:32,323 I don't wanna do that." 345 00:15:33,773 --> 00:15:35,413 But when you become a Christian, you have a new heart. 346 00:15:35,424 --> 00:15:37,634 God's commands aren't a burden anymore. 347 00:15:38,503 --> 00:15:40,263 They're not something that you have to do. 348 00:15:40,264 --> 00:15:41,224 They're something you get to do. 349 00:15:41,264 --> 00:15:41,994 And they're still hard. 350 00:15:42,223 --> 00:15:43,703 There's times where you don't feel like doing it. 351 00:15:44,284 --> 00:15:48,134 But the general picture of your life is, "I like obeying God. 352 00:15:49,003 --> 00:15:53,363 I like doing the things that God wants me to do," because you 353 00:15:53,363 --> 00:15:54,624 have a heart that's different. 354 00:15:55,283 --> 00:15:57,484 Your heart is changed 355 00:16:01,728 --> 00:16:05,588 And maybe sometimes I know when I read 1 John, I, I, I get kind of confused because 356 00:16:05,588 --> 00:16:09,378 I feel like, oh, well, th- th- how much do I have to obey God to be a Christian? 357 00:16:10,008 --> 00:16:12,428 Like, what if, what if I don't always obey God? 358 00:16:12,648 --> 00:16:13,828 Does that mean I'm not a Christian? 359 00:16:14,098 --> 00:16:17,348 'Cause you read something in 1 John, like the next verse, verse 4 of 360 00:16:17,358 --> 00:16:21,768 chapter 5, "Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world." 361 00:16:22,368 --> 00:16:25,068 It's like, well, am, am I really overcoming the world? 362 00:16:25,848 --> 00:16:27,938 Am I really, am I really doing that? 363 00:16:27,958 --> 00:16:30,668 Or you read maybe something in 1 John 3 where it, it makes it sound like 364 00:16:30,668 --> 00:16:34,798 someone who really is a Christian doesn't practice sin anymore, right? 365 00:16:34,798 --> 00:16:36,498 It's not a, it's not a habit in their life. 366 00:16:38,018 --> 00:16:40,588 And one of the other ways that you could see has my heart really been 367 00:16:40,588 --> 00:16:43,808 changed is how do I respond to my sin? 368 00:16:44,868 --> 00:16:46,598 That's another great way to evaluate your heart. 369 00:16:46,607 --> 00:16:49,148 You're gonna look at this passage in small groups in a little bit more 370 00:16:49,148 --> 00:16:56,878 detail, but 2 Corinthians 7 talks about, um, grief, so when you're sad, right? 371 00:16:57,348 --> 00:17:00,198 So basically, Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth, and 372 00:17:00,198 --> 00:17:01,408 he, he basically called them out. 373 00:17:01,478 --> 00:17:04,058 Paul was like, "You guys, you're, you're living in, in certain 374 00:17:04,068 --> 00:17:07,248 types of sin," and he's like, "I gotta tell you, it's not okay. 375 00:17:07,258 --> 00:17:08,458 You can't live like that anymore. 376 00:17:08,777 --> 00:17:10,327 You, you should turn from that sin." 377 00:17:11,207 --> 00:17:14,688 And he says, "I was happy about it, not because you guys are 378 00:17:14,688 --> 00:17:17,127 sad, but because your sadness…" 379 00:17:17,127 --> 00:17:17,308 Right? 380 00:17:17,308 --> 00:17:18,288 He called them out on their sin. 381 00:17:18,288 --> 00:17:19,718 They were like, "Oh, man, yeah, you're right. 382 00:17:19,768 --> 00:17:23,038 I am really sad that I- I'm a sinner, and I've, I've been sinning and, 383 00:17:23,038 --> 00:17:24,338 and dishonoring God in this way. 384 00:17:24,597 --> 00:17:26,807 Your sadness, it turned into repentance. 385 00:17:27,448 --> 00:17:29,537 You didn't just say, oh, wow, I, I'm such a sinner. 386 00:17:29,538 --> 00:17:30,388 I'm horrible at this." 387 00:17:31,387 --> 00:17:32,858 They said, "I, yeah, I am a sinner. 388 00:17:32,887 --> 00:17:34,138 I, I am really bad at this. 389 00:17:34,138 --> 00:17:36,107 I have been disobeying God. 390 00:17:36,148 --> 00:17:40,970 I'm gonna turn from that, and I'm gonna repent He says, "For 391 00:17:40,970 --> 00:17:45,360 you felt a godly grief so that you suffered no loss through us." 392 00:17:45,810 --> 00:17:48,630 So godly grief is that you're sad about your sin. 393 00:17:48,790 --> 00:17:50,330 It produces repentance. 394 00:17:50,780 --> 00:17:52,640 You say, "I'm sad about my sin, I'm gonna turn from it. 395 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:53,520 I'm not gonna do it anymore." 396 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:56,820 Worldly grief, right, 'cause there's, there's reasons people are sad 397 00:17:56,820 --> 00:17:58,710 about their sin that are selfish. 398 00:17:59,590 --> 00:18:02,220 I think a great picture of this is Peter and Judas, right? 399 00:18:02,810 --> 00:18:05,530 Peter and Judas both betrayed Jesus. 400 00:18:07,070 --> 00:18:08,340 Judas was really sad. 401 00:18:09,570 --> 00:18:10,520 He was really sad. 402 00:18:10,530 --> 00:18:12,990 He felt terrible about it, but w- did he turn from that? 403 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:14,300 No. 404 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:15,570 Right? 405 00:18:15,570 --> 00:18:17,330 Judas stayed in his sin. 406 00:18:17,340 --> 00:18:18,530 He didn't come back to Jesus. 407 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:20,990 Peter, he came back, right? 408 00:18:20,990 --> 00:18:22,640 And then you have that scene on the beach, "Do you love me? 409 00:18:22,820 --> 00:18:23,500 Feed my sheep." 410 00:18:23,500 --> 00:18:28,130 And then Peter goes and turns from that and, and goes to honor God for 411 00:18:28,130 --> 00:18:29,520 the rest of his life and follow Jesus. 412 00:18:30,500 --> 00:18:33,370 So just because you're sad about your sin, just 'cause you're grieved, just 'cause 413 00:18:33,370 --> 00:18:36,630 you're like, "Oh, I am, I feel really bad, you know, that sermon at camp was so 414 00:18:36,630 --> 00:18:40,929 convicting or that conversation with my parents was so convicting," that could be 415 00:18:40,929 --> 00:18:44,180 good, but how do you respond to your sin? 416 00:18:44,410 --> 00:18:44,600 Right? 417 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:48,150 When, when you get called out from your, by your parents or your leader 418 00:18:48,150 --> 00:18:53,330 or, or s- your friend by your, for your sin, how do you respond to that? 419 00:18:54,429 --> 00:18:54,529 Right. 420 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:56,609 The next verse, verse 11, talks about that. 421 00:18:56,609 --> 00:19:00,130 "What earnestness has this godly grief produced in you, and what 422 00:19:00,179 --> 00:19:01,460 eagerness to clear yourselves." 423 00:19:01,470 --> 00:19:01,700 You got… 424 00:19:01,950 --> 00:19:04,930 There's the- these are all strong emotions, earnestness, eagerness, 425 00:19:04,970 --> 00:19:07,299 indignation, fear, longing, zeal, right? 426 00:19:07,310 --> 00:19:09,969 They're all very strong feelings. 427 00:19:10,020 --> 00:19:12,620 When, when you sin, if you're a Christian, you've got that new heart, 428 00:19:12,620 --> 00:19:14,309 you, you don't wanna stay there. 429 00:19:14,340 --> 00:19:16,449 You're like, "I don't wanna keep dishonoring the Lord. 430 00:19:16,660 --> 00:19:20,220 I'm doing something that, that makes Him look bad," right? 431 00:19:20,220 --> 00:19:24,999 "I'm doing something that He doesn't like, and I love Him, and so I'm not wanna, 432 00:19:25,010 --> 00:19:26,120 I don't wanna keep doing that anymore." 433 00:19:27,059 --> 00:19:31,040 And you, you turn from that sin, but you feel strongly about it. 434 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:32,149 You're like, "I don't wanna keep doing this. 435 00:19:32,410 --> 00:19:33,209 It bothers me." 436 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:38,759 So a great way to evaluate your heart is, is how do I respond to my sin? 437 00:19:41,504 --> 00:19:42,384 Do you cover it up? 438 00:19:42,394 --> 00:19:43,324 Do you forget it? 439 00:19:43,774 --> 00:19:46,484 What do you do with your sin? 440 00:19:49,714 --> 00:19:55,514 I, uh, used to like miso soup a lot, and then I figured out what was in it. 441 00:19:55,904 --> 00:19:58,594 Um, especially the kind that my family grew up with. 442 00:19:59,394 --> 00:20:02,254 It was literally just like this like orange paste from these 443 00:20:02,274 --> 00:20:05,614 packets, and my dad would pour like hot water in it and stir it. 444 00:20:05,614 --> 00:20:07,694 And as soon as I saw that, I was like, "I'm out. 445 00:20:07,804 --> 00:20:08,444 Sorry, Dad. 446 00:20:09,164 --> 00:20:09,544 Can't… 447 00:20:10,454 --> 00:20:11,404 It's not my thing anymore." 448 00:20:11,414 --> 00:20:14,444 It started to taste worse to me, even though it was like 449 00:20:14,444 --> 00:20:15,474 the same the whole time. 450 00:20:15,924 --> 00:20:17,064 I was just like, "I can't do it. 451 00:20:17,524 --> 00:20:18,994 I can't, can't drink it anymore." 452 00:20:19,004 --> 00:20:23,103 It tastes worse now that I really know what it is, right? 453 00:20:23,104 --> 00:20:25,534 And then I realized, oh yeah, it's like based on seaweed, 454 00:20:25,544 --> 00:20:26,414 and I don't like seaweed. 455 00:20:26,754 --> 00:20:28,694 And so it was this whole thing, which, yeah, I'm like the 456 00:20:28,694 --> 00:20:29,594 worst Japanese person ever. 457 00:20:29,594 --> 00:20:30,324 I don't like sushi. 458 00:20:30,514 --> 00:20:31,364 I don't like seaweed. 459 00:20:31,454 --> 00:20:32,474 I'm terrible at ping pong. 460 00:20:32,524 --> 00:20:33,944 Anyway, um, so 461 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:40,630 I re- one, once I realized what it really was, I was like, "Oh, 462 00:20:40,630 --> 00:20:42,040 that's, that's not for me." 463 00:20:43,470 --> 00:20:45,340 That's kinda like what happens when you become a Christian. 464 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:47,730 You see your sin for what it really is. 465 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,160 You're like, "Oh man, that really is…" 466 00:20:50,190 --> 00:20:55,770 Like anxiety really does tell God I don't trust you, or anger really does, does 467 00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:58,810 mean I'm taking justice into my own hands. 468 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:03,990 Or impure thoughts really are bad, right? 469 00:21:03,990 --> 00:21:05,730 They really are gross and disgusting. 470 00:21:06,990 --> 00:21:10,470 And once you realize, once you see your sin the wa- for what it really is, y- 471 00:21:10,470 --> 00:21:12,050 you're like, "Oh, that doesn't sit well. 472 00:21:12,050 --> 00:21:12,460 I don't want it. 473 00:21:12,460 --> 00:21:13,010 It's gross. 474 00:21:13,129 --> 00:21:13,660 I don't like it." 475 00:21:15,904 --> 00:21:19,854 And so how you respond to your sin is a really great way to see, right? 476 00:21:19,854 --> 00:21:23,334 When you become a Christian, your new heart gives you, like, different 477 00:21:23,344 --> 00:21:24,834 spiritual taste buds, right? 478 00:21:24,834 --> 00:21:26,044 Jeremiah has a good picture of this. 479 00:21:26,044 --> 00:21:28,554 He says, "Your words," talking to God, "were found and I ate them, 480 00:21:28,784 --> 00:21:32,534 and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart." 481 00:21:32,804 --> 00:21:32,994 Right? 482 00:21:33,024 --> 00:21:35,294 I started enjoying to hear from God. 483 00:21:35,744 --> 00:21:36,954 It wasn't a chore anymore. 484 00:21:36,964 --> 00:21:38,484 It was, oh, I, I, I like this. 485 00:21:38,744 --> 00:21:39,354 This is good. 486 00:21:40,764 --> 00:21:44,404 So if you're a Christian, you should expect change from the heart. 487 00:21:44,484 --> 00:21:48,104 You should feel differently about the things that maybe used to be boring. 488 00:21:50,004 --> 00:21:54,374 And the reason that happens is because your life isn't about you anymore, right? 489 00:21:54,374 --> 00:21:58,854 This is a great couple verses here about what happens when you become a Christian. 490 00:21:59,244 --> 00:22:03,454 The love of Christ controls us, this is what Paul says, because we've 491 00:22:03,454 --> 00:22:06,644 concluded this, that one has died for all, therefore all have died. 492 00:22:07,074 --> 00:22:07,894 So, right, I've… 493 00:22:08,123 --> 00:22:11,904 When you, when you become a Christian, your old you is dead, new you is alive. 494 00:22:12,314 --> 00:22:15,523 He's gonna say in verse 17 that if you're in Christ, you're a new creation, right? 495 00:22:15,533 --> 00:22:17,614 You're a, you're a different person than you were because 496 00:22:17,614 --> 00:22:18,764 you have a new heart, right? 497 00:22:18,764 --> 00:22:20,603 God's love has taken over your life. 498 00:22:21,283 --> 00:22:22,114 You're not you anymore. 499 00:22:22,124 --> 00:22:26,424 You have new desires, new ambitions, new pursuits, new goals, new feelings 500 00:22:28,522 --> 00:22:32,732 And the reason, or the result of that, of God's love controlling your 501 00:22:32,742 --> 00:22:37,222 heart, is, well, I don't live for myself anymore, but I live for Him. 502 00:22:38,012 --> 00:22:38,982 I live for God. 503 00:22:39,282 --> 00:22:40,852 My life is totally different now. 504 00:22:41,022 --> 00:22:42,152 It's not for me. 505 00:22:42,362 --> 00:22:46,612 The goal of my life is not to, to make me look good or it's for me to be happy. 506 00:22:47,152 --> 00:22:47,902 It's for God. 507 00:22:47,942 --> 00:22:50,742 I want His honor and His glory. 508 00:22:50,982 --> 00:22:55,522 And so a second thing you should expect from following Jesus is expect 509 00:22:55,522 --> 00:22:58,772 to, to undo yourself, which I know is kind of a weird way to put it 510 00:23:00,896 --> 00:23:04,966 Essentially, maybe this might make more sense to you, but 511 00:23:08,220 --> 00:23:13,370 Following Jesus is the opposite of being selfish, right? 512 00:23:13,380 --> 00:23:17,570 Selfishness and following Jesus are, are incompatible because 513 00:23:17,570 --> 00:23:18,820 you're not about you anymore. 514 00:23:20,150 --> 00:23:23,410 And this creates a lot of tension in your life because naturally we 515 00:23:23,410 --> 00:23:24,750 all want to be about ourselves. 516 00:23:25,100 --> 00:23:27,870 We all naturally wanna put ourselves first, right? 517 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:29,650 You don't have to teach anyone how to be selfish. 518 00:23:29,670 --> 00:23:31,360 That's just the way we're wired. 519 00:23:31,980 --> 00:23:34,710 And so following Jesus is really the opposite of everything 520 00:23:34,710 --> 00:23:37,400 that, that you think should… 521 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:39,400 how life should go. 522 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:43,150 It's so easy for us to think about ourselves and to think about 523 00:23:43,150 --> 00:23:46,440 what we need and what we want, and following Jesus undoes that. 524 00:23:46,940 --> 00:23:47,750 And it takes time. 525 00:23:48,190 --> 00:23:51,750 You don't just all of a sudden become the most unselfish person in the world. 526 00:23:53,100 --> 00:23:56,159 But what, what's gonna happen as you follow Jesus is, is expect it to really 527 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:59,040 grate against your natural selfishness. 528 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:04,580 Expect that tension to be there of, oh, I am, I'm starting to give away myself 529 00:24:04,580 --> 00:24:07,050 here, and I'm starting to live for God 530 00:24:09,362 --> 00:24:12,572 Um, this happened to me very recently. 531 00:24:12,772 --> 00:24:14,022 Um, I was playing basketball. 532 00:24:14,862 --> 00:24:19,772 Um, me and, me and Jake were on a team, and what I realized very quickly about 533 00:24:19,772 --> 00:24:25,412 this basketball game is that the less shots I take, the better our team will do. 534 00:24:27,412 --> 00:24:31,272 The less, the less I contribute to this game, uh, the, the 535 00:24:31,272 --> 00:24:33,362 better this'll go for us, right? 536 00:24:33,362 --> 00:24:39,522 The, uh, maybe you wanna say the less me is, is good for the team, right? 537 00:24:39,522 --> 00:24:42,872 Maybe we could say maybe more Jake, less me, right? 538 00:24:42,872 --> 00:24:45,212 He must increase, I must decrease, right? 539 00:24:45,212 --> 00:24:46,651 Something like that, right? 540 00:24:47,531 --> 00:24:49,362 Uh, and we, we dominated the game. 541 00:24:49,912 --> 00:24:52,742 Uh, I think I only took, like, one or two shots. 542 00:24:53,202 --> 00:24:57,082 Um, and that's why we did really well, because I didn't take very many shots. 543 00:24:57,101 --> 00:25:01,032 I just said, "Jake, you take the ball, and y- I'll just run around 544 00:25:01,032 --> 00:25:03,092 and, and occupy one of the defenders." 545 00:25:03,522 --> 00:25:07,262 Um, and then Jake can, can go do his thing, and Jake scored, 546 00:25:07,272 --> 00:25:09,591 like, 95% of our points. 547 00:25:09,601 --> 00:25:10,112 It was great. 548 00:25:10,622 --> 00:25:18,421 Um, but I realized, right, for this, for us to win, I, I can't be about me, right? 549 00:25:18,422 --> 00:25:21,371 If I'm coming to this game trying to get my shots up, trying to get my 550 00:25:21,372 --> 00:25:24,951 highlight reel, trying to do my things, it's not gonna go very well, right? 551 00:25:24,952 --> 00:25:28,081 I am by far the worst basketball player of the, of the four of us who were playing. 552 00:25:28,081 --> 00:25:29,661 I- it's not gonna go well, right? 553 00:25:34,632 --> 00:25:37,462 When you follow Jesus, right, part of it is saying, "You know what? 554 00:25:37,492 --> 00:25:41,302 The more of me I put into this, like the more I look out for me, 555 00:25:41,302 --> 00:25:44,212 the more selfishness I bring to the table, the worse it's gonna go." 556 00:25:45,552 --> 00:25:47,972 Because more me is bad for this team. 557 00:25:49,252 --> 00:25:52,342 Because we're here to, to make much of God. 558 00:25:52,782 --> 00:25:53,872 We're here to make God look good 559 00:25:56,512 --> 00:26:01,942 And so following Jesus is, is really about, uh, it's really gonna come in 560 00:26:01,942 --> 00:26:06,492 conflict with your natural selfish tendencies, and that's a good thing. 561 00:26:07,622 --> 00:26:09,262 We, we see this in, in Luke 9. 562 00:26:09,312 --> 00:26:10,792 You've probably heard this verse before. 563 00:26:11,092 --> 00:26:13,432 Um, Jesus said to everyone, "If you're gonna come after me, you're 564 00:26:13,432 --> 00:26:18,932 gonna follow me, deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me. 565 00:26:19,762 --> 00:26:22,132 For whoever would save his life would lose it." 566 00:26:22,132 --> 00:26:22,272 Right? 567 00:26:22,272 --> 00:26:24,342 If you, if you're in this to make your… 568 00:26:24,382 --> 00:26:29,211 To keep what's precious to you, to make your life for you, to hold 569 00:26:29,212 --> 00:26:34,102 onto the things that, that you love, it's not gonna work out. 570 00:26:34,342 --> 00:26:35,502 It's incompatible. 571 00:26:36,192 --> 00:26:38,922 But whoever loses his life, you give your life away for Jesus, 572 00:26:38,922 --> 00:26:40,562 you say, "Jesus, my life is yours. 573 00:26:41,042 --> 00:26:42,452 I wanna be used for you. 574 00:26:42,542 --> 00:26:43,802 I wanna live for you today. 575 00:26:43,952 --> 00:26:45,912 I wanna make the friends that you want me to make. 576 00:26:45,922 --> 00:26:48,081 I wanna go to the school that you want me to go to. 577 00:26:48,102 --> 00:26:50,772 I wanna use my time the way you want me to use it." 578 00:26:50,891 --> 00:26:56,782 You give your life away, and you gain everything because you get Jesus 579 00:26:58,848 --> 00:27:03,118 And so the, the more you hold onto yourself and your plans, your 580 00:27:03,118 --> 00:27:07,838 ambitions, your desires the harder it's gonna be for you to follow Jesus 581 00:27:15,752 --> 00:27:18,002 Maybe you're thinking, well, does this mean, like, my personality, 582 00:27:18,022 --> 00:27:19,692 my individuality is gone? 583 00:27:20,202 --> 00:27:24,102 Um, Jesus doesn't want clones, right? 584 00:27:24,102 --> 00:27:29,682 He's, he's created each person with unique skill sets and personality 585 00:27:29,682 --> 00:27:32,032 and, and talents and gifts, right? 586 00:27:32,422 --> 00:27:37,402 There's still diversity and, and individuality in the sense of, like, 587 00:27:37,402 --> 00:27:39,222 uniqueness and, and that type of thing. 588 00:27:40,132 --> 00:27:46,112 But there is a sense in which we're all, we're all background singers, right? 589 00:27:46,122 --> 00:27:47,102 Jesus is the star. 590 00:27:47,962 --> 00:27:51,642 We're not, we're not gonna go out there and, and try to push him off the stage. 591 00:27:52,602 --> 00:27:52,732 Right? 592 00:27:52,732 --> 00:27:54,742 We're not gonna go out there and try to get our own solo. 593 00:27:55,502 --> 00:27:55,722 Right? 594 00:27:55,722 --> 00:27:57,091 This is about, about him. 595 00:27:58,552 --> 00:28:02,002 And so we're not so worried about, well, what's in it for me? 596 00:28:02,082 --> 00:28:03,652 Or how, how am I gonna deal with this? 597 00:28:03,652 --> 00:28:04,442 Or what's gonna happen? 598 00:28:05,662 --> 00:28:07,171 'Cause we say, "God's gonna take care of me. 599 00:28:07,232 --> 00:28:10,012 A- and my job is to worry about him." 600 00:28:13,984 --> 00:28:17,204 So this is a process, right, of undoing yourself, of putting yourself aside. 601 00:28:17,204 --> 00:28:19,744 So you take up your cross daily and follow me, right? 602 00:28:19,744 --> 00:28:22,964 It's a, a daily commitment to say, "Jesus, I'm about you today. 603 00:28:23,264 --> 00:28:25,654 I'm not, I'm not going into this day thinking what's in it for me. 604 00:28:25,904 --> 00:28:28,374 I'm going to this day thinking, how can I serve you?" 605 00:28:28,844 --> 00:28:32,674 But there's also a definitive thing that happens to you, right? 606 00:28:32,674 --> 00:28:34,804 Old you is gone, new you is here. 607 00:28:34,824 --> 00:28:42,274 Romans 6:6 says, "We know that our old self was crucified with him in 608 00:28:42,274 --> 00:28:45,934 order that the body of sin," right, my, like my sinful flesh, my sinful 609 00:28:45,934 --> 00:28:50,254 desires, my sinful ambitions, those are, "brought to nothing, so that we 610 00:28:50,254 --> 00:28:52,704 would no longer be enslaved to sin." 611 00:28:53,434 --> 00:28:57,884 There's also a definitive old you is gone, new you is here. 612 00:28:58,464 --> 00:29:01,074 So there's a gradual take up your cross daily and put yourself 613 00:29:01,074 --> 00:29:03,714 aside and follow Jesus, but there's also a definitive, right? 614 00:29:03,714 --> 00:29:04,784 Maybe, maybe you can say this. 615 00:29:04,994 --> 00:29:09,263 There's big R repentance, right, of I turned from f- from living for myself 616 00:29:09,334 --> 00:29:12,534 to living for God, and then there's day-by-day repentance of turning 617 00:29:12,534 --> 00:29:14,284 from sin and following Jesus, right? 618 00:29:14,863 --> 00:29:17,074 But there is a definitive, yeah, that's not me anymore. 619 00:29:17,084 --> 00:29:20,704 That's not who I was, and there was a moment in, in life where God changed me 620 00:29:23,336 --> 00:29:25,576 And when you follow Jesus, y- that, that's what happens. 621 00:29:26,316 --> 00:29:29,636 Old you is dead and new you is alive. 622 00:29:30,796 --> 00:29:34,306 Similar thing happens, we see that in Galatians 5:24. 623 00:29:34,306 --> 00:29:38,226 But expect to undo yourself if you follow Jesus. 624 00:29:39,506 --> 00:29:41,516 And the reason you're undoing yourself, right, is because you're 625 00:29:41,516 --> 00:29:42,626 part of something bigger, right? 626 00:29:42,626 --> 00:29:45,846 You're part of something that is, is not just about you anymore. 627 00:29:46,866 --> 00:29:50,426 And because of that, you're … And, and even if you're not following 628 00:29:50,426 --> 00:29:53,906 Jesus, you're actually also part of something bigger because the whole 629 00:29:53,906 --> 00:29:56,876 world, it, it is really, there's only two sides to this thing, right? 630 00:29:56,876 --> 00:30:00,296 There's not God's side and then every individual person's side. 631 00:30:00,666 --> 00:30:03,306 There's God and there's his enemies. 632 00:30:03,476 --> 00:30:04,596 There's only two sides. 633 00:30:05,126 --> 00:30:07,906 So if you're, if you're not following God, you're opposing him. 634 00:30:08,436 --> 00:30:09,326 You're working against him. 635 00:30:11,246 --> 00:30:15,906 And so if you do go from God's enemy to God's friend, well guess what? 636 00:30:15,906 --> 00:30:18,485 God's enemies are gonna come after you. 637 00:30:19,156 --> 00:30:23,706 So if you wanna follow Jesus, expect opposition from your enemies 638 00:30:26,784 --> 00:30:28,934 Expect opposition from your enemies. 639 00:30:28,934 --> 00:30:32,784 There's gonna be people, there's gonna be things, there's gonna be situations 640 00:30:32,784 --> 00:30:36,724 that you should encounter hostility from. 641 00:30:37,364 --> 00:30:40,934 If you really are following God, there will be people, things, 642 00:30:40,944 --> 00:30:47,054 situations, ideas that are opposed to you because they're opposed to 643 00:30:47,054 --> 00:30:48,774 God, and you're on God's team now 644 00:30:52,210 --> 00:30:57,880 Um, I used to live in Kansas City, and, um, something that I appreciated about 645 00:30:58,630 --> 00:31:03,400 Chiefs fans, um, I didn't become one, but something I appreciated about them 646 00:31:03,930 --> 00:31:05,600 is that they're very, like, positive. 647 00:31:06,230 --> 00:31:10,090 Um, Chiefs fans generally aren't like, "Oh, your team stinks." 648 00:31:10,230 --> 00:31:13,210 They're just like, "The Chiefs are amazing, and they're so good," and, and 649 00:31:13,210 --> 00:31:17,940 they just, like, nauseate you with, like, Chiefs propaganda and how amazing Patrick 650 00:31:17,940 --> 00:31:21,800 Mahomes is, and no one in the history of sports has ever thrown a no-look 651 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,550 pass, ever, um, before Patrick Mahomes. 652 00:31:24,940 --> 00:31:27,740 Um, no, but they're just very overwhelmingly positive. 653 00:31:27,740 --> 00:31:30,939 And so I got to go to one Chiefs game when I was in Kansas City at Arrowhead. 654 00:31:31,270 --> 00:31:32,370 Um, this is for you, Weston. 655 00:31:32,370 --> 00:31:33,900 It was this game, your favorite game. 656 00:31:34,309 --> 00:31:38,809 Um, so this guy … So see, they're fourth quarter, less than two minutes left. 657 00:31:39,090 --> 00:31:42,220 They're losing by four, guaranteed win, drops the ball. 658 00:31:42,660 --> 00:31:46,620 Um, that was, that was solely just to torture Weston is 659 00:31:46,620 --> 00:31:47,530 why I put this picture here. 660 00:31:47,899 --> 00:31:49,869 Um, I was at this game. 661 00:31:49,930 --> 00:31:50,949 It was, it was pretty hype. 662 00:31:51,100 --> 00:31:56,520 But what happened, um, was I got to see two fan bases that 663 00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:59,010 are very opposite in action. 664 00:31:59,579 --> 00:32:04,030 So the, the, the Chiefs, very positive, generally speaking, very just like, 665 00:32:04,030 --> 00:32:05,120 "Oh yeah, the Chiefs are great. 666 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:06,030 We love our team. 667 00:32:06,030 --> 00:32:06,639 They're the best. 668 00:32:06,679 --> 00:32:07,169 Awesome." 669 00:32:07,639 --> 00:32:10,570 Uh, the Eagles fans, they just hate everyone. 670 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:12,180 They hate everything, right? 671 00:32:12,190 --> 00:32:14,840 They are the definition of opposition, right? 672 00:32:14,849 --> 00:32:16,840 They have, they … You know, I don't know if you guys know this. 673 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:21,529 The Eagles fans, uh, a long time ago, they threw snowballs at Santa. 674 00:32:22,169 --> 00:32:25,379 Uh, Santa was at a Eagles game, and they started throwing snowballs at him because 675 00:32:25,380 --> 00:32:26,699 they were just like, "We don't like Santa. 676 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:27,379 Get out of here." 677 00:32:27,849 --> 00:32:29,659 And so they started throwing snowballs at Santa. 678 00:32:29,980 --> 00:32:38,112 Um- So the, I was at this game with my mom and, um, I was 679 00:32:38,122 --> 00:32:41,142 nervous to wear Chiefs stuff. 680 00:32:41,172 --> 00:32:43,602 Even though this was a Chiefs home game, I was nervous 'cause I was 681 00:32:43,602 --> 00:32:48,352 like, if I put the Chiefs gear on, the Eagles fans are gonna come after me. 682 00:32:48,742 --> 00:32:50,502 And I'm here, I gotta protect my mom, right? 683 00:32:50,502 --> 00:32:53,412 I, I, I hope any of you guys, young men would feel this way. 684 00:32:53,412 --> 00:32:54,522 I gotta protect my mom, right? 685 00:32:54,642 --> 00:32:56,182 I'm bringing her into this environment. 686 00:32:56,362 --> 00:32:59,102 Even though it's a Chiefs home game, there's gonna be Eagles fans there, and I 687 00:32:59,102 --> 00:33:00,322 don't know what they're gonna do, right? 688 00:33:00,322 --> 00:33:02,572 If, if the, if the Chiefs win this game, I don't know what the 689 00:33:02,572 --> 00:33:04,282 Eagles fans are gonna do, right? 690 00:33:04,402 --> 00:33:06,882 Um, oh, I forgot I have pictures, right? 691 00:33:06,882 --> 00:33:09,642 This is, I feel like Chiefs fan, right, generally speaking. 692 00:33:09,712 --> 00:33:10,812 Very excited about the Chiefs. 693 00:33:11,032 --> 00:33:13,672 Eagles fans, very not excited, right? 694 00:33:13,672 --> 00:33:15,212 Well, they're excited, but in a bad way, right? 695 00:33:15,492 --> 00:33:18,602 These people, I didn't want them to hurt my mom, so I was nervous 696 00:33:18,602 --> 00:33:19,982 to put on the jersey, right? 697 00:33:20,002 --> 00:33:21,361 The opposing team's jersey. 698 00:33:23,102 --> 00:33:28,292 Um, see, if you're a Christian, you're putting on, right, Team Jesus's jersey, 699 00:33:29,242 --> 00:33:35,331 and there will be people from the opposing team that are gonna come after you, right? 700 00:33:35,562 --> 00:33:41,681 There will be people or systems or institutions or ideas that are going 701 00:33:41,682 --> 00:33:43,871 to attack you and be opposed to you. 702 00:33:45,531 --> 00:33:50,772 The, the whole world actually is, is set up against God. 703 00:33:50,912 --> 00:33:53,762 Maybe you've never thought about that before, but the whole world is opposed to 704 00:33:53,762 --> 00:33:55,651 God, and it shouldn't be a surprise to us. 705 00:33:55,652 --> 00:33:59,022 Jesus says this, John 15: "If the world hates you," he's talking to 706 00:33:59,031 --> 00:34:02,832 his disciples, right, if you're gonna follow me, "know that it's hated 707 00:34:02,842 --> 00:34:04,502 me before it has hated you," right? 708 00:34:04,502 --> 00:34:05,642 What did the world do to Jesus? 709 00:34:06,281 --> 00:34:07,351 The world killed Jesus. 710 00:34:07,982 --> 00:34:08,911 The world said, "We don't want you. 711 00:34:10,670 --> 00:34:11,391 We don't like you. 712 00:34:12,170 --> 00:34:13,681 You're bothering us." 713 00:34:13,911 --> 00:34:18,951 Because, like we talked about in our last point, Jesus calls us to die to ourselves. 714 00:34:19,491 --> 00:34:20,380 He's the star. 715 00:34:20,610 --> 00:34:22,842 But the world says, "No, no, no, we want the spotlight." 716 00:34:23,061 --> 00:34:25,551 And so the world hates that about Jesus. 717 00:34:27,232 --> 00:34:29,321 If you were of the world, right, if, if you were on the world's 718 00:34:29,321 --> 00:34:30,931 team, the world would love you. 719 00:34:31,451 --> 00:34:33,241 The world would be like, "Yeah, you're, you're part of our team. 720 00:34:33,241 --> 00:34:34,081 You're part of our group." 721 00:34:34,661 --> 00:34:37,221 But because you're not of the world, because you're on God's team, you've put 722 00:34:37,222 --> 00:34:41,440 the, the jersey on, I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 723 00:34:41,731 --> 00:34:42,792 You should expect that. 724 00:34:43,522 --> 00:34:49,292 Don't be surprised when your friends make fun of you for following Jesus. 725 00:34:49,531 --> 00:34:54,592 Don't be surprised if you go to a college that teaches, actively 726 00:34:54,592 --> 00:34:56,242 teaches that God doesn't exist. 727 00:34:56,252 --> 00:34:56,281 Right? 728 00:34:56,871 --> 00:35:01,392 Don't be surprised if a gender studies class is part of your major, 729 00:35:01,942 --> 00:35:04,892 and you have to learn about all 87 different genders there are. 730 00:35:05,582 --> 00:35:05,842 Right? 731 00:35:05,912 --> 00:35:12,062 Don't be surprised when things like that happen And that's not even a joke, right? 732 00:35:12,062 --> 00:35:16,122 My, my wife took a gender studies class at her school, um, unwillingly. 733 00:35:16,302 --> 00:35:19,072 But see, John says it very simply right here, "Don't be surprised, 734 00:35:19,072 --> 00:35:20,662 brothers, that the world hates you." 735 00:35:21,452 --> 00:35:23,052 Don't be surprised, right? 736 00:35:23,052 --> 00:35:27,382 With- if you lose friends because you're a Christian, you should expect that. 737 00:35:27,422 --> 00:35:29,552 You shouldn't be shocked when people say, "I don't wanna do that. 738 00:35:29,832 --> 00:35:30,322 I don't wanna be… 739 00:35:30,352 --> 00:35:32,682 I don't wanna talk to you anymore because you love Jesus." 740 00:35:33,372 --> 00:35:33,572 Right? 741 00:35:33,572 --> 00:35:36,322 "I don't wanna, I don't, I don't wanna be associated with you." 742 00:35:36,342 --> 00:35:37,052 I, I… 743 00:35:37,052 --> 00:35:37,922 They might unfollow you. 744 00:35:37,922 --> 00:35:41,502 They might not invite you to, to the, to the hangouts anymore. 745 00:35:41,542 --> 00:35:45,992 You might miss out on spots on a team. 746 00:35:47,112 --> 00:35:48,452 You might get worse grades 747 00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:55,670 And I know Shay, in her class, she had to b- either lie and get the answer 748 00:35:55,670 --> 00:36:01,320 right or say something that was actually true and that's the wrong answer, right? 749 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:06,280 When gender is a, in definition, she put the right, the, the, 750 00:36:06,390 --> 00:36:08,540 the God's answer, lost points. 751 00:36:09,340 --> 00:36:12,130 It's a real thing, and this was, what, four years ago 752 00:36:14,336 --> 00:36:14,646 So 753 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,230 You will have consequences for following Jesus from the world because 754 00:36:20,230 --> 00:36:23,520 the world is opposed to Jesus, right? 755 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:24,170 You'll lose friends. 756 00:36:24,180 --> 00:36:25,230 You'll, you'll lose… 757 00:36:25,270 --> 00:36:29,490 Maybe you even can't do certain careers because the world is set up in a way 758 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,920 that prevents you from following Jesus 759 00:36:35,072 --> 00:36:40,752 But also, sometimes the most active enemy is actually you. 760 00:36:40,752 --> 00:36:45,862 Galatians 5 says, "I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not 761 00:36:45,872 --> 00:36:47,982 gratify the desires of the flesh. 762 00:36:47,992 --> 00:36:52,042 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit 763 00:36:52,062 --> 00:36:55,882 are against the flesh, for those, for these are opposed to each other, to keep 764 00:36:55,882 --> 00:36:58,002 you from doing the things you want to do." 765 00:36:59,372 --> 00:37:02,362 You have an enemy inside the gates, so to speak. 766 00:37:03,342 --> 00:37:03,432 Right? 767 00:37:03,442 --> 00:37:08,092 Your flesh, your, your sinful, the sinful remains of, of your old 768 00:37:08,132 --> 00:37:12,062 life are opposing your new life. 769 00:37:12,602 --> 00:37:12,712 Right? 770 00:37:12,732 --> 00:37:16,732 The Holy Spirit has changed your heart if you're a Christian, but you're 771 00:37:16,732 --> 00:37:18,311 still stuck in your sinful body. 772 00:37:18,652 --> 00:37:24,002 You still have sinful desires One person, the way they put it is you have 773 00:37:24,002 --> 00:37:26,452 new software but old hardware, right? 774 00:37:26,452 --> 00:37:31,772 You've got a new iOS but a old ph- kinda like, so my phone is horrific right now. 775 00:37:32,112 --> 00:37:35,892 If, if any of you text me a long video, my phone will just die. 776 00:37:36,452 --> 00:37:41,042 Um, I'm running out of storage because the new iOS is, like, too big for my phone. 777 00:37:41,742 --> 00:37:45,432 Um, my phone hasn't been backed up in, like, 375 weeks or something. 778 00:37:45,772 --> 00:37:46,762 Um, I don't know if that's true. 779 00:37:46,762 --> 00:37:47,642 It's a lot of weeks though. 780 00:37:47,672 --> 00:37:48,702 At least 150. 781 00:37:48,852 --> 00:37:51,872 Um, my phone is, is struggling, right? 782 00:37:51,992 --> 00:37:56,582 Because I have new software and old hardware, right? 783 00:37:56,602 --> 00:37:57,982 That's … If you're a Christian, that's you. 784 00:37:58,762 --> 00:37:59,962 You have new software. 785 00:38:00,022 --> 00:38:01,002 You have new desires. 786 00:38:01,002 --> 00:38:02,381 "Oh, I, I want to love God. 787 00:38:02,382 --> 00:38:03,382 I want to be in His Word. 788 00:38:03,382 --> 00:38:05,252 I want to be with His people." 789 00:38:05,602 --> 00:38:08,892 But you have your old hardware, your flesh, that says you don't wanna do that. 790 00:38:08,892 --> 00:38:09,792 You wanna be selfish. 791 00:38:10,382 --> 00:38:11,342 You don't … "That's too hard. 792 00:38:11,352 --> 00:38:12,192 That's not worth it." 793 00:38:13,491 --> 00:38:16,762 And so if you're a Christian, you should see, you should see this 794 00:38:16,762 --> 00:38:19,262 struggle, this, these battling desires. 795 00:38:19,262 --> 00:38:25,612 If you don't see a battle of desires in your heart, it's probably because there's, 796 00:38:25,872 --> 00:38:27,301 there's not actually a battle happening. 797 00:38:27,382 --> 00:38:28,742 It's just your flesh. 798 00:38:30,181 --> 00:38:32,271 So there should be some tension in your life. 799 00:38:32,692 --> 00:38:34,932 Maybe you thought being a Christian, "Oh, it'll all go away." 800 00:38:36,662 --> 00:38:38,721 Unfortunately, that's usually not the case. 801 00:38:38,931 --> 00:38:40,022 Sometimes it may, right? 802 00:38:40,022 --> 00:38:40,941 And you pray for that. 803 00:38:42,471 --> 00:38:45,391 But you should see battle in your life. 804 00:38:46,192 --> 00:38:48,762 You should see this, this desire war happening. 805 00:38:50,122 --> 00:38:53,482 If you don't see that, that's probably a bigger problem. 806 00:38:54,891 --> 00:38:58,402 You should see this, this struggle happening, right? 807 00:38:58,402 --> 00:39:01,751 There's, there's wins and there's losses, right, individually, but you should 808 00:39:01,751 --> 00:39:05,191 see also that you're progressively starting to win more than you lose. 809 00:39:05,891 --> 00:39:09,092 You should start to see the Holy Spirit and your flesh, even though 810 00:39:09,092 --> 00:39:11,882 they're fighting, you should see, "Oh, yeah, I, I see that the Holy 811 00:39:11,882 --> 00:39:13,062 Spirit is, is starting to win. 812 00:39:13,961 --> 00:39:15,861 I'm starting to love the things that God loves. 813 00:39:15,861 --> 00:39:18,521 I'm starting to hate the things that God hates." 814 00:39:20,141 --> 00:39:24,992 So you should expect opposition from your enemies. 815 00:39:26,662 --> 00:39:31,122 But following Jesus isn't just about doing hard things and, and denying yourself. 816 00:39:31,142 --> 00:39:33,152 It's a big part of it, I don't want you to miss that. 817 00:39:33,711 --> 00:39:40,194 Um, but it also is It's, it's, there's a reason we call it eternal life, right? 818 00:39:40,194 --> 00:39:44,024 It's not eternal life just in terms of quantity, number of days. 819 00:39:44,024 --> 00:39:45,944 You don't just get to live forever numerically. 820 00:39:46,544 --> 00:39:50,284 Um, but it's eternal in the sense of it's full, right? 821 00:39:50,284 --> 00:39:52,194 Eternal life is the best way to live. 822 00:39:52,194 --> 00:39:53,574 We talk about this in Proverbs, right? 823 00:39:53,574 --> 00:39:55,734 God's way of living is real life. 824 00:39:56,084 --> 00:39:58,964 It's the good life because it's what you're made for. 825 00:39:59,004 --> 00:40:01,234 You're made to live God's way. 826 00:40:01,964 --> 00:40:05,444 And so if you're a Christian, you should expect to see life God's way. 827 00:40:05,924 --> 00:40:09,554 You should expect to start seeing the world the way God sees the world. 828 00:40:09,604 --> 00:40:12,224 You should start to, to see your life and see yourself and see your 829 00:40:12,224 --> 00:40:17,464 friends, see your relationships, see money, see jobs, see school God's way. 830 00:40:17,624 --> 00:40:18,513 You should start to see your car. 831 00:40:18,513 --> 00:40:20,924 How does, how does God see my car, right? 832 00:40:20,924 --> 00:40:22,733 How does, how does God see my friendships? 833 00:40:22,774 --> 00:40:24,724 How does God see my money? 834 00:40:24,854 --> 00:40:26,404 How does God see my grades? 835 00:40:29,926 --> 00:40:32,416 See, before you became a Christian 836 00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:35,910 You were like this, right? 837 00:40:35,910 --> 00:40:38,860 This is, this is, this is all of our, if, if you're a Christian, this is your 838 00:40:39,350 --> 00:40:41,070 self-portrait before you were saved. 839 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:42,050 You were dead. 840 00:40:42,590 --> 00:40:47,170 Which by the way, this is a crazy sentence because there's only one 841 00:40:47,170 --> 00:40:51,330 person in the history of the world who was dead, past tense, right? 842 00:40:52,070 --> 00:40:54,190 No one else has ever past tense been dead 843 00:40:56,202 --> 00:40:58,692 Everyone either is dead or will be dead, right? 844 00:40:58,692 --> 00:40:59,462 Future or present. 845 00:40:59,502 --> 00:41:03,712 There's no past tense dead people physically except Jesus. 846 00:41:03,892 --> 00:41:07,602 But spiritually, there's a lot of past tense dead people, right? 847 00:41:07,802 --> 00:41:12,722 You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, right? 848 00:41:12,722 --> 00:41:14,452 This used to characterize your life, right? 849 00:41:14,452 --> 00:41:18,342 The path of your life was filled with disobeying God, dishonoring Him, 850 00:41:18,372 --> 00:41:22,392 living for yourself, making much of you, you being the star of the show. 851 00:41:22,622 --> 00:41:24,142 You were following the course of the world, right? 852 00:41:24,142 --> 00:41:26,122 You, you bought into the world's values. 853 00:41:26,122 --> 00:41:27,252 You were on the wrong team, right? 854 00:41:27,432 --> 00:41:29,241 You loved the things the world loved. 855 00:41:29,252 --> 00:41:31,592 You, you followed the things the world promoted. 856 00:41:31,592 --> 00:41:36,002 The world says, "Oh, yeah, you need, y- you need to, to buy into all of these 857 00:41:36,002 --> 00:41:38,872 different ideas about your, your school and your friendships and how you should 858 00:41:38,872 --> 00:41:41,632 look and what you should wear and what you should say and how you should talk 859 00:41:41,632 --> 00:41:42,731 and what you should think is funny." 860 00:41:43,231 --> 00:41:44,322 You were following that. 861 00:41:44,702 --> 00:41:46,232 Following, in fact, Satan. 862 00:41:46,232 --> 00:41:47,512 We didn't talk about this opposition. 863 00:41:47,932 --> 00:41:50,181 Pastor BJ talked about this in 1 Peter chapter 5, right? 864 00:41:50,182 --> 00:41:54,342 You have an a- an adversary, the devil, prowling around like a roaring lion, 865 00:41:54,342 --> 00:41:56,752 seeking someone to devour, right? 866 00:41:57,481 --> 00:42:02,392 The three opponents of Christians are yourself, right, your flesh, 867 00:42:02,702 --> 00:42:05,982 um, the world, and the devil, right? 868 00:42:05,982 --> 00:42:08,322 Satan is opposing you if you're a Christian. 869 00:42:09,241 --> 00:42:10,931 He's prowling around like a roaring lion. 870 00:42:11,311 --> 00:42:14,801 I heard someone say the reason Satan is roaring is because he's, he's 871 00:42:14,802 --> 00:42:18,372 actually conquering some people, right? 872 00:42:18,372 --> 00:42:23,562 Lions don't roar to sneak up on people, right? 873 00:42:23,601 --> 00:42:27,161 Lions roar to assert their dominance. 874 00:42:27,372 --> 00:42:28,761 And Satan is trying to do that 875 00:42:31,082 --> 00:42:34,212 And maybe this is hard for you to admit, but you were on Satan's 876 00:42:34,232 --> 00:42:35,892 team before you were a Christian. 877 00:42:36,132 --> 00:42:37,872 If you aren't a Christian, that's you right now. 878 00:42:37,882 --> 00:42:39,812 This is, this is you present tense. 879 00:42:40,272 --> 00:42:41,742 If you're not a Christian, you are dead. 880 00:42:43,532 --> 00:42:45,812 You might feel like you're alive, but you're, you're really dead. 881 00:42:47,092 --> 00:42:50,822 Spiritually, you are not experiencing the, the life that, that God has to 882 00:42:50,822 --> 00:42:54,102 offer you, and you're following Satan, the prince of the power of the air. 883 00:42:55,592 --> 00:42:59,832 And we all lived in the passions of our flesh, right? 884 00:42:59,872 --> 00:43:01,182 We just did whatever we wanted to do. 885 00:43:01,252 --> 00:43:02,222 Didn't matter what God said. 886 00:43:02,642 --> 00:43:03,372 I wanna do it. 887 00:43:03,752 --> 00:43:04,252 I'm gonna do it. 888 00:43:04,272 --> 00:43:05,102 I feel like this. 889 00:43:05,122 --> 00:43:05,962 That's just who I am. 890 00:43:07,852 --> 00:43:10,051 Carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and we're 891 00:43:10,052 --> 00:43:11,832 by nature children of wrath. 892 00:43:11,862 --> 00:43:12,852 We talked about this at camp, right? 893 00:43:12,882 --> 00:43:13,752 Under God's wrath. 894 00:43:13,762 --> 00:43:17,032 I'm under His just judgment like the rest of mankind. 895 00:43:17,701 --> 00:43:17,891 Right. 896 00:43:17,892 --> 00:43:24,252 This is everyone's situation before coming to Christ, before following Jesus 897 00:43:27,136 --> 00:43:28,856 But then when you become a Christian, this changes. 898 00:43:28,856 --> 00:43:30,806 You're not following the course of the world anymore. 899 00:43:31,076 --> 00:43:33,776 You're following God's system, right? 900 00:43:33,776 --> 00:43:37,446 You see things the way God sees things, and it's hard to explain 901 00:43:37,446 --> 00:43:38,426 to someone who's not a Christian. 902 00:43:39,676 --> 00:43:41,996 I don't know if you've ever tried to explain a video game to your parents. 903 00:43:42,726 --> 00:43:42,756 Yes. 904 00:43:43,036 --> 00:43:44,446 It's kinda like that, right? 905 00:43:44,476 --> 00:43:47,606 I remember trying to explain, uh, Lego Star Wars to my grandpa. 906 00:43:48,116 --> 00:43:52,036 Uh, my grandpa, most, like, epic dude ever. 907 00:43:52,196 --> 00:43:53,926 Uh, brigadier general in the Air Force. 908 00:43:54,346 --> 00:43:56,816 Um, li- he flew Korea and Vietnam. 909 00:43:57,316 --> 00:43:59,456 He basically lived Top Gun. 910 00:44:00,076 --> 00:44:04,406 He flew off aircraft carriers and shot down planes, like, 911 00:44:04,736 --> 00:44:06,385 actually did it in real life. 912 00:44:06,826 --> 00:44:11,426 Um, and here I am, you know, eight-year-old me trying to explain how 913 00:44:11,426 --> 00:44:13,806 to play Lego Star Wars to this guy, right? 914 00:44:13,806 --> 00:44:15,945 We're, like, flying through the Death Star to, like … And he's 915 00:44:15,946 --> 00:44:20,336 like, "Okay, I, I did this in real life but with, like, real missiles." 916 00:44:20,355 --> 00:44:20,675 Anyway. 917 00:44:21,105 --> 00:44:24,456 Um, it's hard to explain it, right? 918 00:44:24,456 --> 00:44:26,555 Because you haven't experienced it, right? 919 00:44:26,555 --> 00:44:27,416 If you're not a Christian. 920 00:44:28,125 --> 00:44:31,686 It, it's hard to ex- explain this is what, this is what it is 921 00:44:31,686 --> 00:44:34,845 to … Uh, Psalm 34 says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." 922 00:44:35,916 --> 00:44:37,845 If you are a Christian, you should, you should expect that. 923 00:44:38,475 --> 00:44:40,566 Oh, man, I, I, I start to love, like 924 00:44:41,015 --> 00:44:43,545 Yeah, maybe the Bible is hard to understand, but what 925 00:44:43,545 --> 00:44:44,826 I do understand, I love it. 926 00:44:45,176 --> 00:44:45,735 It's great. 927 00:44:46,496 --> 00:44:46,616 Right? 928 00:44:46,616 --> 00:44:48,885 I used to think singing to God was weird, and it was … And only 929 00:44:48,886 --> 00:44:49,845 weird people put their hands up. 930 00:44:50,305 --> 00:44:52,956 But man, now I, I love getting to worship the Lord. 931 00:44:54,216 --> 00:44:54,486 Right? 932 00:44:54,486 --> 00:44:57,315 I used to not understand how people could pray and just talk and 933 00:44:58,075 --> 00:45:03,106 But I, I love talking to my savior, my friend, King Jesus, right? 934 00:45:04,575 --> 00:45:07,506 It is so good to follow, and you should, you should feel 935 00:45:07,506 --> 00:45:08,465 that if you're a Christian. 936 00:45:08,916 --> 00:45:11,345 You should feel that, oh, this is, this is the way it's supposed to be. 937 00:45:11,715 --> 00:45:14,515 I'm walking with the Lord, walking by the Spirit. 938 00:45:17,312 --> 00:45:19,492 So you should see God, God's way, right? 939 00:45:19,512 --> 00:45:20,652 It changes how you see God. 940 00:45:20,842 --> 00:45:24,992 He's not boring anymore or oppressive, but He's good, and He's, He's your Father. 941 00:45:25,292 --> 00:45:27,492 Um, but also it changes how you see others, right? 942 00:45:27,492 --> 00:45:28,702 This, we saw this in 1 John. 943 00:45:28,712 --> 00:45:32,312 This is a little bit later in 1 John 4, "We love because He first loved us." 944 00:45:32,332 --> 00:45:35,282 But check out this out in verse 20, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and 945 00:45:35,282 --> 00:45:37,382 hates his brother, he's a liar." 946 00:45:38,042 --> 00:45:40,102 1 John 4, right there, not pulling any punches. 947 00:45:41,162 --> 00:45:44,492 Because if you don't love your brother, there's no way that you love God 948 00:45:46,702 --> 00:45:49,782 If you're saying, "Oh, I love God, but my siblings are just too annoying, I 949 00:45:49,782 --> 00:45:53,852 can't love them," then you don't really know what it means to be loved by God. 950 00:45:54,992 --> 00:45:58,762 Saying, "Oh, I, I love God, I'm a Christian, but I just really hate all 951 00:45:58,762 --> 00:46:00,862 these people at my school, they're just, or my coworkers, they're just 952 00:46:00,862 --> 00:46:06,262 so frustrating," then you really don't know what it means to be loved by God. 953 00:46:07,652 --> 00:46:11,622 Because God, right, when, when He loves us, it changes us. 954 00:46:12,672 --> 00:46:14,792 And so you start to see people differently, right? 955 00:46:14,792 --> 00:46:16,842 People aren't obstacles to overcome. 956 00:46:17,052 --> 00:46:21,162 People aren't opportunities to benefit from, right? 957 00:46:21,162 --> 00:46:22,652 People are, are people to love. 958 00:46:23,241 --> 00:46:25,761 That's how God sees people, right? 959 00:46:26,052 --> 00:46:29,072 And so if you say, "Oh yeah, I love God," you should see love 960 00:46:29,221 --> 00:46:30,432 for others in your own life. 961 00:46:30,511 --> 00:46:33,992 You should see that compassion and, and, and gentleness and kindness 962 00:46:34,022 --> 00:46:36,461 and patience in your own life. 963 00:46:38,422 --> 00:46:40,202 And then also, you see the world differently. 964 00:46:40,541 --> 00:46:45,842 James says, uh, he says, "If you love the world," basically, he 965 00:46:45,842 --> 00:46:47,252 says, "you're cheating on God. 966 00:46:47,672 --> 00:46:49,522 You adulterous people, if you love the world. 967 00:46:50,131 --> 00:46:52,491 Don't you know that friendship with the world is enmity," 968 00:46:52,541 --> 00:46:54,042 it's like hostility, "with God? 969 00:46:55,391 --> 00:46:57,482 Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes 970 00:46:57,482 --> 00:46:58,572 himself an enemy of God." 971 00:46:58,572 --> 00:46:58,701 Right? 972 00:46:58,702 --> 00:47:00,882 If, if you're trying to hold onto the approval of the world 973 00:47:01,041 --> 00:47:03,751 and to live the world's way and follow Jesus, not gonna work out. 974 00:47:04,982 --> 00:47:05,162 Right? 975 00:47:05,162 --> 00:47:08,091 James says you're opposing God if you try to do that. 976 00:47:10,011 --> 00:47:13,422 So your whole value system changes when you follow Jesus 977 00:47:16,456 --> 00:47:21,126 The best way I could explain it, your whole value system changes. 978 00:47:21,126 --> 00:47:24,166 Uh, I thought of a scene from an excellent movie. 979 00:47:24,916 --> 00:47:27,096 I don't know if you know what, what movie this is from. 980 00:47:27,476 --> 00:47:28,166 Matt does. 981 00:47:28,586 --> 00:47:30,396 Um, shout out Team Batman. 982 00:47:30,716 --> 00:47:36,226 Um, this is a giant pile of money, and basically what happens in this 983 00:47:36,226 --> 00:47:43,326 movie is, uh, the Joker, he sa- so he, he like takes control of the mob, 984 00:47:43,396 --> 00:47:47,856 and he uses them to, to get all this money, and then he basically says, 985 00:47:48,036 --> 00:47:49,226 "I don't really care about money." 986 00:47:49,846 --> 00:47:51,736 Most criminals, right, they're just like, "Oh, yeah, I wanna rob the 987 00:47:51,736 --> 00:47:52,746 banks and get all the money," right? 988 00:47:52,746 --> 00:47:57,856 And the Joker, what he does is he pours gasoline on this and burns all of this 989 00:47:57,876 --> 00:48:00,995 cash 'cause to him, doesn't matter. 990 00:48:01,776 --> 00:48:05,706 He has a totally different value system than everyone else, right? 991 00:48:05,706 --> 00:48:10,606 Every single other character in this scene is like, "This is, this is it right here. 992 00:48:10,936 --> 00:48:11,236 This is…" 993 00:48:11,246 --> 00:48:13,046 Like, think about all this stuff, right? 994 00:48:13,046 --> 00:48:15,935 People say, "Oh, money can't buy you happiness," but you know what? 995 00:48:15,986 --> 00:48:18,066 It can buy me things that make me happy, right? 996 00:48:18,076 --> 00:48:22,506 Think about all the things you could buy that would make you happy with 997 00:48:22,506 --> 00:48:24,716 this giant pile of cash, right? 998 00:48:24,716 --> 00:48:29,226 And then the Joker burns it all 'cause his value system is totally 999 00:48:29,236 --> 00:48:30,476 diff- To him, this is useless. 1000 00:48:31,365 --> 00:48:32,056 This is worthless. 1001 00:48:32,056 --> 00:48:33,436 This isn't g- this isn't gonna get him anything. 1002 00:48:35,056 --> 00:48:37,696 It's not gonna get him what he wants, right? 1003 00:48:37,715 --> 00:48:39,026 He wants something totally different. 1004 00:48:40,575 --> 00:48:40,915 Right, when… 1005 00:48:40,976 --> 00:48:43,815 As a Christian, when you look at the world and all the things the world has 1006 00:48:43,816 --> 00:48:48,035 to offer you, right, the world looks at, at, at the world and, and the things 1007 00:48:48,045 --> 00:48:49,615 the world has to offer and sees money. 1008 00:48:50,096 --> 00:48:50,226 Right? 1009 00:48:50,226 --> 00:48:50,966 Oh, that's great. 1010 00:48:50,986 --> 00:48:52,366 Like, that could fill me up. 1011 00:48:52,406 --> 00:48:53,456 That could make me so happy. 1012 00:48:53,696 --> 00:48:57,496 When Christians look at the world, right, they, they don't 1013 00:48:57,516 --> 00:48:58,715 see it the same way anymore. 1014 00:48:59,946 --> 00:48:59,976 Right? 1015 00:48:59,986 --> 00:49:03,086 Your value system is totally different. 1016 00:49:04,565 --> 00:49:09,335 So I hope this gave you a good picture of what to expect for following Jesus. 1017 00:49:09,336 --> 00:49:12,526 I hope for some of you who are following Jesus that it, it was like 1018 00:49:12,535 --> 00:49:15,905 looking into a mirror, and you were like, "Yep, I, I see that in my life." 1019 00:49:17,365 --> 00:49:19,226 And maybe it gave you some things, you're like, "You know what? 1020 00:49:19,236 --> 00:49:20,355 I need to grow in that. 1021 00:49:20,776 --> 00:49:25,855 Maybe I'm not taking the opposition in my life as seriously as I need to," or, 1022 00:49:25,856 --> 00:49:32,365 "Maybe I'm not ready to, to deny myself as, as much as Jesus would have me do." 1023 00:49:33,155 --> 00:49:34,975 Or maybe for some of you, you weren't sure if you're a Christian. 1024 00:49:34,976 --> 00:49:38,115 I hope this was clarifying for you to see, okay, I do see that in my life. 1025 00:49:38,115 --> 00:49:39,055 I don't see that in my life. 1026 00:49:39,056 --> 00:49:39,615 That's okay. 1027 00:49:40,475 --> 00:49:40,515 Right? 1028 00:49:40,636 --> 00:49:42,365 I don't want you to pretend to be a Christian. 1029 00:49:43,925 --> 00:49:46,406 Uh, that, that doesn't do anyone any good if you're pretending to be a Christian. 1030 00:49:47,246 --> 00:49:47,276 Right? 1031 00:49:47,365 --> 00:49:49,906 Maybe you thought you became a Christian at camp and you didn't, and that's okay. 1032 00:49:51,106 --> 00:49:52,815 Pretending to be a Christian does not help anyone. 1033 00:49:53,496 --> 00:49:55,405 Doesn't help you, doesn't help your parents, doesn't help 1034 00:49:55,405 --> 00:49:56,376 your leaders, doesn't help God. 1035 00:49:56,425 --> 00:49:57,105 God already knows. 1036 00:49:57,696 --> 00:49:58,115 It's okay. 1037 00:49:58,886 --> 00:50:01,335 Um, and, and maybe for some of you, you, you say, "I'm not a Christian," 1038 00:50:01,395 --> 00:50:06,895 and hopefully this gives you a picture of, of the life that could be yours if 1039 00:50:06,895 --> 00:50:08,716 you would trust Jesus and follow Him. 1040 00:50:08,726 --> 00:50:10,565 So let's pray, and I'll let you get to small groups. 1041 00:50:13,096 --> 00:50:17,226 God, we are grateful that you give us your word to show us, uh, 1042 00:50:17,226 --> 00:50:21,676 everything we need about ourselves, about you, about your commands. 1043 00:50:22,476 --> 00:50:26,056 And, uh, we're grateful that you, God, are an expert on us. 1044 00:50:26,286 --> 00:50:27,986 You know us better than we do. 1045 00:50:28,346 --> 00:50:31,986 You know exactly who we are and, and why we feel the way we 1046 00:50:31,986 --> 00:50:33,296 feel and, and what we're like. 1047 00:50:33,476 --> 00:50:39,356 And so I pray that you help us to, um, see into ourselves the, the way that 1048 00:50:40,006 --> 00:50:43,296 we really are, and I pray that you use your word to show us things about 1049 00:50:43,296 --> 00:50:44,516 ourselves we might not have known. 1050 00:50:44,566 --> 00:50:49,606 But I also pray that you help us not to look too much at ourselves, but to look 1051 00:50:50,525 --> 00:50:56,616 10 times more at you, at how amazing you are, at how great it is to follow you. 1052 00:50:57,176 --> 00:51:00,516 And I pray that we would, uh, for those of us who are saved, that 1053 00:51:00,516 --> 00:51:04,546 we would run our race looking to Jesus and the joy that he offers us. 1054 00:51:04,755 --> 00:51:06,416 We pray this in Jesus' name, amen