Beyond the Checklist: The Radical Call to Reorient Your Life

[00:00:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:00:21] Amen.
[00:00:27] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:00:48] Amen.
[00:00:55] Thank you for watching!

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
I feel like it's time to start.
[00:02:22] Good morning.
[00:02:23] Welcome as always and welcome to everyone to worship this morning at Prospect Presbyterian Church.
[00:02:29] Glad that everybody's here.
[00:02:30] We pray as always this will be an opportunity for all of us to worship our Lord in spirit and in truth.
[00:02:36] Announcements and schedule are there for your consideration.
[00:02:38] I want to thank all the gentlemen who put together the fantastic breakfast this morning.
[00:02:44] If you happen to miss that, don't worry.
[00:02:45] We're eating again tonight at the Congregational Christmas Party starting at 5 o'clock.
[00:02:51] And so the whole congregation is welcome to that as well.
[00:02:57] In between, we'll be doing worship this morning, and we'll also be having the funeral service for James Parker, visitation in this room at 1 o'clock, and then the service at 2 o'clock today.
[00:03:14] So the announcements and schedule are there for your consideration.
[00:03:16] So we'll have the prelude and then the lighting of the Advent candles.
[00:03:20] So let's prepare our hearts and minds for the worship of our Lord.

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.
[00:04:13] Let us pray.
[00:04:26] Let us pray.
[00:04:51] Let us pray.
[00:05:18] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:05:46] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:06:10] Let us pray.

[00:06:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Let us pray.

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Let's pray.

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
As we watch for the dawn of a brighter day, a candle of joy lights the way.
[00:07:40] As we look for the signs of the promised birth,
[00:07:45] A Savior who brings heaven to earth Lord, we are waiting for peace to reign Lord, we are listening for love's refrain
[00:08:14] For who peace and joy and love to unite in the beauty and wonder of heaven's holy light?

[00:08:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Today, the candle of joy joins the candle of hope and peace.
[00:08:47] As we light this third candle, let the joy of the season fill our hearts.
[00:08:52] May we find joy in simple moments, and may that joy bring a sense of peace and well-being into our lives.
[00:09:04] When we think of the countless blessings that fill our lives, our hearts are filled with joy.
[00:09:11] For the warmth of relationships and the bonds we share with family and friends Our hearts are filled with joy When we pause to appreciate the beauty and wonder of nature Our hearts are filled with joy For the giving and receiving of simple acts of kindness Our hearts are filled with joy
[00:09:36] Gracious Creator, teach us to find joy not only in triumphs, but also in the simple moments of everyday grace.
[00:09:45] Fill us with joy that surpasses circumstance, anchored in the unchanging truth of your love.
[00:09:52] Help us share this joy with others, and may joy and laughter be a constant companion on our journey through life.
[00:10:01] Amen.

[00:10:09] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
and more.

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Lord, we are waiting for peace to reign.

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Lord, we are listening for love's refrain.
[00:10:27] For hope, peace, and joy and love to unite in the beauty and wonder.
[00:10:40] of Advent's holy light.
[00:10:53] Advent's holy light.

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Thank you, friends.
[00:11:11] Let us pray together.
[00:11:14] Almighty God, amen to all that has already been said and prayed this morning.
[00:11:18] We just simply ask that your Holy Spirit, what a great request, we ask that your Holy Spirit be with us in this hour, continue to be with us in this hour as we worship you, and that he would empower us to worship you all week with the way that we live.
[00:11:36] We are sinners and we have come to be reminded, receive, renew your grace in us.
[00:11:43] Thank you for the forgiveness.
[00:11:44] Help us live lives worthy of the gospel.
[00:11:49] Help us love you with our whole heart and mind and soul.
[00:11:51] Help us love our neighbors.
[00:11:52] We love ourselves to show gratitude for the great forgiveness we have received.
[00:11:56] Help us forgive others as we have been forgiven.
[00:12:00] Empower us to live lives that worship you and love you.
[00:12:06] We thank you for the privilege of carrying your name.
[00:12:09] Enable us to do it well.
[00:12:13] We gather and pray all these things in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ.
[00:12:16] Hear us now please as we pray together the prayer he taught his disciples.
[00:12:21] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[00:12:27] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:12:34] Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
[00:12:42] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[00:12:48] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
[00:12:54] Amen.
[00:12:55] Our opening hymn for the morning is number 133.
[00:13:01] Let's stand together as we sing 133.

[00:13:12] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Our God, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[00:13:35] Our God, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[00:13:36] Our God, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[00:13:45] The Lord is with us.
[00:14:10] The Lord is with us.
[00:14:18] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[00:14:45] Amen.
[00:14:53] Let us pray.
[00:15:17] Let us pray.

[00:15:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Please be seated friends.
[00:16:21] And let us pray.
[00:16:25] Almighty God we thank you for the privilege of prayer and in this time we come and we pray for those around us in need the prayers of the people we pray first and always that in all that we seek to do your will would be done and we would seek to be doing your will and we pray nevertheless not our will but your will be done Holy Spirit be working in us as we're trying to figure that out but we figured out at least two things first is
[00:16:54] We have a great heart for those who do not know you as Lord and Savior.
[00:16:59] We celebrate Christmas and the coming of Jesus Christ and his work and his commission to the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations to teach and to baptize.
[00:17:09] And so we pray humbly for this congregation and each one of us in it this morning that each of us individually may have an explanation for the hope that is in us.
[00:17:24] We pray for this church and your church throughout the community and the world to get the gospel out in a way that pleases you.
[00:17:41] So to that end, we pray this morning for our brothers and sisters at Thyatira Presbyterian Church.
[00:17:45] Bless them and strengthen them.
[00:17:48] And prosper them, please, among all the churches of your people.
[00:17:53] And we pray for our missionaries across the globe.
[00:17:56] Justin and Christian Raymer, Rob and Sandy Schaefer, among others.
[00:18:00] Prosper and bless their work.
[00:18:03] We pray for the ability each of us has to know the blessing we receive to overflow.
[00:18:09] Our cups overflow.
[00:18:11] Let us overflow to others.
[00:18:13] Be ever expanding our understanding of who us is.
[00:18:19] You keep working to bring more and more people into us.
[00:18:22] You keep showing us that in everyone we see, we see someone for whom Jesus Christ thought was worth to die.
[00:18:35] So help us embrace bearing one another's burdens and thus fulfilling the law of Christ.
[00:18:39] Help us see the hungry and the thirsty, the sick and the imprisoned, the cold,
[00:18:45] The lonely and the grieving, the doubting and afraid, these are our people, their problems are our problems.
[00:18:53] We can't fix all of them, but we can help with more of them.
[00:18:58] Help us love being generous, help us love working hard for you, help us love being servants, that we might fulfill the law of Christ.
[00:19:10] Holy Spirit, move in our hearts to know what we have received and to appreciate it and to love being a blessing.
[00:19:18] We ask all these things through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[00:19:22] Amen.

[00:19:55] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.
[00:20:03] Let us pray.

[00:20:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Let us pray.

[00:20:58] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.

[00:21:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
In Jesus' name we pray.

[00:21:22] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.
[00:21:31] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:22:01] Let us pray.
[00:22:24] Let us pray.

[00:22:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Let us pray.

[00:23:12] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let us pray.
[00:23:40] Let us pray.

[00:24:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Thank you, friends, very much.
[00:24:09] We come now to our time of offering.
[00:24:11] First off, any children who would like to join Children's Church or be a part of Children's Church this morning, welcome to meet in the vestibule.
[00:24:19] Our ushers will now come forward to collect the morning offering.
[00:24:22] As they do, we are given opportunity to consider all our many blessings and how we may use them all in the service of our Lord.

[00:25:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
All is well, all is well.
[00:25:46] Heaven and earth rejoice.
[00:25:53] For tonight darkness fell into the dark.
[00:26:03] of Love's Light.
[00:26:07] Sing ale, sing alleluia.
[00:26:21] All is well, all is well, let there be peace on earth.
[00:26:37] Christ is come, go and tell that He is in the midst.
[00:26:52] Sing Alleluia!
[00:27:20] All is well, all is well.
[00:27:28] Lift up your voice and sing.
[00:27:36] On is now Emmanuel On is our Lord and Savior Sing alleluia, all is well
[00:28:15] Alleluia!
[00:28:20] Alleluia!
[00:28:30] Alleluia!
[00:28:52] All is well.
[00:28:57] All is well.

[00:29:15] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
All is well.

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Please be seated, friends.
[00:29:50] And I apologize, one announcement I left out.
[00:29:54] We'll be having a congressional meeting two weeks from today, two weeks from today on the 28th, to elect new elders.
[00:29:59] That needs to be announced two weeks ahead of time, so that is done.
[00:30:03] So it's the 28th, two weeks from today, we'll have a congressional meeting at the beginning of the church service, so thank you for that.
[00:30:10] Our readings for the morning are taken first from the Gospel according to Mark chapter 1.
[00:30:19] I apologize since everything went to press.
[00:30:25] We're just going to add a few verses to that.
[00:30:26] They'll sound familiar to you.
[00:30:28] So we will begin to read at Mark 1.14 and I'm going to go ahead and read all the way through verse 20.
[00:30:37] Mark 1.
[00:30:39] Remembering here in Advent season, we're looking at how Jesus introduces himself.
[00:30:44] Advent is a little bit of Jesus introducing himself to the world, so to speak.
[00:30:49] And we're looking at how Jesus introduces himself.
[00:30:51] And so the last couple of weeks, we looked at how Jesus begins his ministry in Luke, in Luke 4.
[00:31:00] And today we're going to look at how Matthew and Mark are very similar.
[00:31:04] So we're just going to read from Mark about the first thing he has to say in both Mark and Matthew about what he's doing.
[00:31:14] And then we're going to notice a couple of themes in what he says in Mark.
[00:31:19] And we're going to go back and look how John the Baptist expands on that and gives us some things to chew on related to that.
[00:31:27] So we're trying to understand the real Jesus because Christmas is about God coming and speaking to us in a language that we can understand.
[00:31:36] It's one of my favorite ways of understanding Jesus coming as a human being.
[00:31:40] A way that we can understand and we want to have a relationship with the real Jesus.
[00:31:45] What all of us want in our own lives is for people to, when they see us and when they think about us and when they say, well, I want to have a relationship with you, it's like, well, we want them to have a relationship with the real us, not the us of their imagination.
[00:32:02] I would argue that the bulk of our relationship problems come from when we want to have a relationship with somebody and we want them to be what we want them to be, not what they are.
[00:32:12] And we hate it when people do that to us.
[00:32:16] And as I've been saying and I will keep saying, if our relationship with Jesus is not quite what we want it to be, one of the factors may be, well, we're trying to have a relationship with not the real Jesus, someone who is not the real Jesus.
[00:32:31] And if we will study and try to understand and commit ourselves to and submit ourselves to the real Jesus, we will have a deeper relationship with Him.
[00:32:41] And here's another reason to do the work and change your life to get into a relationship with the real Jesus.
[00:32:49] Because here are the choices.
[00:32:50] The choices are have a relationship with the real Jesus as he presents himself, as he reveals himself.
[00:32:55] Or to have a relationship with God slash Jesus that you have made up.
[00:33:01] Which fundamentally becomes a relationship with a God you've made up.
[00:33:06] And here is the problem with that God.
[00:33:10] The God that you and I have made up, the Jesus that you and I have made up, the parts of Jesus which we picked, which we like, and the other parts which we have left out, that's now the God we've made up.
[00:33:20] And here is the problem with, you know, that's easier at first.
[00:33:26] Having a relationship with the Jesus that you make up, the parts we cut out, they're to the side.
[00:33:33] Having a relationship with the Jesus that we like and that we have made up is easier at first.
[00:33:40] But what we will find is that when we really, really, really need Jesus to be Jesus, what we will find is the God that we have made up will not be able to help us.
[00:33:51] Example, the expression, I just can't forgive myself is a product of having a God that we've made up.
[00:34:04] Because I can't forgive myself, and when I turn to God to forgive me, well, if it's just more of a... God is more of a reflection of me, then that God can't forgive me either.
[00:34:14] But the Jesus Christ who died for me, who loves us that much, that Jesus, He can forgive us.
[00:34:21] Or I need to be changed.
[00:34:25] Or I'm so down, I'm defeated.
[00:34:30] and the God that I have made up produces no further resources to pull me out of the hole.
[00:34:37] The Jesus who went back to hell and back to get me will be able to provide resources
[00:34:45] When I can't get myself and the God that I have made up cannot get me out of the hole.
[00:34:50] When the God that I have made up cannot forgive me.
[00:34:52] When the God that I have made up cannot help me become the better husband, friend, son, brother, worker, whatever it is we want to be.
[00:35:00] When the God that we have made up has no further resources than we ourselves have.
[00:35:05] The real Jesus has loads of resources that he can give to you.
[00:35:09] You just have to take on the whole deal.
[00:35:13] The God that you and I have made up cannot help us when we need help the most.
[00:35:18] The God that I have made up cannot save me from hell.
[00:35:22] The God that I have made up cannot change me, cannot shape me, cannot move me to become the person that I want to be and I need to be.
[00:35:30] Only Christ can do that.
[00:35:32] That's why we want to have a relationship with the real Jesus.
[00:35:36] So here he is in Mark.
[00:35:39] It's the first thing Jesus says in both Matthew and Mark about what he's about.
[00:35:44] Mark 1.14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God, we're going to talk about gospel, and saying, the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent, we're going to talk about kingdom, we're going to talk about repent, repent and believe in the gospel.
[00:36:04] And then additional phrases.
[00:36:06] Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
[00:36:13] And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
[00:36:17] And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
[00:36:20] And going on a little further, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were in the boat, mending their nets.
[00:36:27] And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
[00:36:35] And so this language of repenting we're going to spend some time on, which is an important biblical phrase and understanding.
[00:36:43] So we're going to read what John the Baptist has to say in Luke 3, starting to read in verse 2.
[00:36:50] Luke 3 verse 2 During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the Baptist, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.
[00:37:00] And he, John, went into the region all around Jordan, proclaiming a baptism for the repentance
[00:37:05] For the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, Isaiah 40 he's quoting here, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight.
[00:37:20] Isaiah is referencing analogy here, metaphor here, John is quoting the idea that when a king is coming to your area,
[00:37:29] That one of the ways you prepared was to make the roads fit for the king and his entourage.
[00:37:37] And when the king would be coming to an outlying area, this is a big thing, this happened months and years beforehand, there would be preparation for a suitable road to be made ready, a way to be made ready.
[00:37:49] That is the metaphor here.
[00:37:50] That God is coming and we need to be preparing for him to come to us.
[00:37:55] Every valley shall be filled, every mountain and hill shall be made low, the crooked shall become straight, the rough places shall become level ways.
[00:38:02] The king likes to travel first class.
[00:38:05] So that's how we prepare a way that is first class for him.
[00:38:08] All flesh shall see the salvation of God.
[00:38:11] He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized to him, you brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the wrath to come, the king is coming, wrath is coming.
[00:38:23] Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.
[00:38:27] What does repentance look like?
[00:38:29] Bear fruits in keeping with repentance and do not begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
[00:38:40] Don't rely, this is related to what Jesus said, we've been talking about it in Luke 4, don't rely on, hey, we've always been in church, hey, we're Jews, hey, we're God's people, God's coming here for us, we're good.
[00:38:51] Do not rely upon that.
[00:38:54] Because challenge is coming, judgment is coming.
[00:38:56] Verse 9, Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees, and every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
[00:39:04] This gets the crowd's attention.
[00:39:07] So they ask, what shall we do?
[00:39:08] I always like to point out,
[00:39:12] The first true sermon you see in Luke, right here, John the Baptist, and then the first sermon of the Christian church in Acts 2, recorded by Luke, when Peter preaches, they do their thing, they say their sermon, and the response of the crowd is the same.
[00:39:29] And it is, what shall we do?
[00:39:31] It's very interesting.
[00:39:35] To be a Christian is to ask yourself, to hear the gospel is to ask yourself, what shall I now do?
[00:39:40] Who shall I now be?
[00:39:43] Verse 10, the crowds asked him, What then shall we do?
[00:39:46] And John the Baptist answered them, Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.
[00:39:54] Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, Teacher, what shall we do?
[00:39:59] And he said to them, Collect no more than you are authorized to do.
[00:40:03] Soldiers asked him, And we, what shall we do?
[00:40:07] And he said to them, Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusations.
[00:40:14] and be content with your wages.
[00:40:17] As the people were in expectation, all were questioning in their hearts concerning John whether or not he may be the Christ.
[00:40:23] John answered them, saying, I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, and the strap of his sandals I am not worthy to untie.
[00:40:30] He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
[00:40:33] His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear the threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.
[00:40:41] That ends the reading of God's word for the morning.
[00:40:43] Let us pray together.
[00:40:48] Almighty and everlasting God, follow then the reading of your word with the blessing of your Holy Spirit.
[00:40:54] Holy Spirit, enable us to understand the word, and now as we talk about the word, as we meditate upon the word, as we think about the word, we pray humbly that your Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that inspired the recording of these words, we pray he would now be in our hearts and minds and souls to teach us what the word has to say and to live as the word teaches.
[00:41:15] Focus us then not on our flesh,
[00:41:17] But upon your body and our place in it, the work we have to do, enable us to bear fruit worthy of repentance, we pray in Jesus' name.
[00:41:26] Amen.
[00:41:28] So the first thing Jesus said, we want to know the real Jesus.
[00:41:31] Here's how Jesus introduces himself.
[00:41:34] The kingdom of God is here.
[00:41:35] The kingdom of God is coming right up here.
[00:41:37] The kingdom of God has showed up.
[00:41:39] That means there's all kinds of fantastic things.
[00:41:41] There's judgment.
[00:41:42] There's challenge.
[00:41:44] Life-changing.
[00:41:45] The kingdom of God is here.
[00:41:46] Repent and believe.
[00:41:49] And then immediately after he says that, he goes and begins to collect his followers.
[00:41:53] Welcome to the club.
[00:41:56] He comes and gets his followers and says, follow me.
[00:41:58] So we're going to talk about some of those words and what they mean for us that we might have a relationship with the real Jesus.
[00:42:04] Repent.
[00:42:08] We tend to think of repentance as a list.
[00:42:13] When we hear repent, we say, okay, what's my list?
[00:42:16] Yes, need to work on that, need to work on this, need to work on that.
[00:42:19] I'll check with my spouse.
[00:42:22] I'm sure he or she has a list that I can add to my repentance list.
[00:42:25] Check with my mom, check with my friends, check with my girlfriend, check with my boyfriend.
[00:42:29] I'm sure these people have a list of things of which I need to repent.
[00:42:32] We think it's a list.
[00:42:34] And the list is valuable.
[00:42:37] But the list is only a symptom.
[00:42:42] When Jesus calls us to repent, I would suggest he is not saying, gather your list and feel really bad about it and ask for forgiveness and work on it.
[00:42:55] I think all of those things are in the Christian life.
[00:42:58] There are things that we need to stop doing.
[00:42:59] There are things that we need to start doing.
[00:43:01] There are people that we have hurt that we need to say sorry and we need to work on getting better.
[00:43:06] Absolutely.
[00:43:08] But when Jesus says, repent, he does just not want you to work on your list.
[00:43:13] He wants you to work on the source of your list.
[00:43:16] He wants to call you to change what you center your life around.
[00:43:27] And so, as always, you're stuck with my life.
[00:43:30] When I'm up here talking, you're stuck with my life.
[00:43:34] We're all prisoners of our own experience at some level.
[00:43:37] When you repent the way Jesus wants, it is like changing your career or getting married.
[00:43:49] When I get married, I had to repent of being single.
[00:43:56] I did not say, although this is true, there's a list of things I did when I was single that I need to repent of.
[00:44:04] That may be real.
[00:44:06] But that is not what Jesus is after.
[00:44:08] What he said, you are now going to arrange your life around something completely different.
[00:44:14] Right?
[00:44:15] It's not just you.
[00:44:16] When you get married, it's not just your money.
[00:44:18] It's not just your time.
[00:44:19] There's someone else who, you are no longer a single proprietorship.
[00:44:22] You are now a corporation or something like that.
[00:44:27] You don't repent of the things you did when you were single.
[00:44:30] You repent of being single.
[00:44:32] Nothing wrong with being single.
[00:44:33] When you get married, you're reorienting your life.
[00:44:35] When you change your career.
[00:44:37] I was a CPA.
[00:44:40] I'm now a preacher.
[00:44:41] When I said, I'm going to become a preacher, the church said, great, you have to repent of being a CPA.
[00:44:49] And we're going to send you to indoctrination school for three years, alright?
[00:44:55] Where you reorient, and there's a whole new way of doing it.
[00:44:58] You're reorienting your whole life.
[00:45:02] If that makes sense.
[00:45:03] That's what Jesus is after when he says repent.
[00:45:06] Here's a nice little example about what religious people, good religious people do.
[00:45:10] And frankly, people who are not particularly religious but they think this is cool.
[00:45:14] Excuse me.
[00:45:16] So different holiday, wrong holiday, but here's the story.
[00:45:19] Lent.
[00:45:21] I'm giving something up for Lent.
[00:45:25] Which is fine.
[00:45:28] But it's the list mentality.
[00:45:30] I need to take something off my list.
[00:45:32] I need to add something to my list.
[00:45:37] Jesus is like, I want you to reorient to your whole list.
[00:45:42] I want you to...
[00:45:44] If you want to have a relationship with the real Jesus, it's now you're reorienting your life around me.
[00:45:51] Notice when he goes and gets some disciples.
[00:45:53] They're working.
[00:45:57] I want you to come and follow me.
[00:45:58] They're working with their father.
[00:46:03] I want you to come and follow me.
[00:46:09] Humbly, I would submit that Jesus is suggesting
[00:46:13] You follow me.
[00:46:14] I am more important than your career and I am more important than your family.
[00:46:23] What we know from the Gospels and other historical writings is these guys kept working at some level.
[00:46:28] They went back to their work.
[00:46:29] They did other things.
[00:46:30] They maintained relationships with their family.
[00:46:35] But what Jesus is saying is,
[00:46:38] You follow me, you are reorienting how you interact with your family, how you think about family, how you think about work, how you think about everything.
[00:46:45] This is what he wants.
[00:46:48] Well, what in the world gives him the right to do that?
[00:46:52] He created you and saved you.
[00:46:54] He's the king.
[00:46:55] Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.
[00:47:03] Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.
[00:47:08] You're serving a king.
[00:47:13] If you want a real relationship with him, you have to treat him as a king, not a teacher, not as inspirational, not as a model, not as an advisor we have on hand for the big stuff, not as life insurance.
[00:47:26] He's a king.
[00:47:29] Jesus comes and says, you know, we talked about last week how they miss him because they think, oh, the king has come to kick out the Romans.
[00:47:36] Jesus says, you do not need me to come fix the Romans.
[00:47:43] You do not need me to come fix the Romans.
[00:47:46] You need me to come and fix you.
[00:47:48] Because here's what's true.
[00:47:51] If I get the Romans out of here, there's another train coming.
[00:47:57] You don't need me to fix your Roman problem.
[00:48:00] You need me to fix your you problem.
[00:48:01] And the way I fix your you problem is you submit to me as king.
[00:48:05] And you trust me.
[00:48:09] And you understand that I gave you the only life you're ever going to have.
[00:48:13] And you will see soon that I will predict and pull off my own resurrection.
[00:48:18] And I will teach you with an authority unlike anyone else.
[00:48:24] Come see the king.
[00:48:27] John the Baptist calls you to the king.
[00:48:32] You need me to fix you.
[00:48:37] You need me to fix you with my gospel, my announcement of this life-changing historic event.
[00:48:46] You don't need my advice, Jesus says.
[00:48:52] We like to touch on this every now and then.
[00:48:54] Some of you have heard this before.
[00:48:56] Here is how Christianity is different from all of the other religions that the human beings have ever come up with.
[00:49:03] All the other human being religions are advice religions.
[00:49:09] Hey, you sense that there's something like or called God and you want to have a relationship with this thing.
[00:49:15] You would like to be on the right side with this thing called God.
[00:49:18] So all the other religions
[00:49:21] Bring you, here's what you should do to get on this right side of God.
[00:49:26] Obey the Ten Commandments.
[00:49:28] Observe the various fold paths.
[00:49:32] Do the five pillars of Islam.
[00:49:35] You know, there's a volcano on your island.
[00:49:36] Maybe if you throw someone in there, maybe that will help.
[00:49:40] How do I satisfy the storm?
[00:49:42] How do I satisfy the volcano?
[00:49:43] How do I satisfy this God?
[00:49:46] Every other religion is advice.
[00:49:48] Here's what you need to do.
[00:49:51] Christianity is news.
[00:49:55] Here is what has been done.
[00:49:59] Do you want to join in with it or not?
[00:50:02] Do you want to acknowledge the king or not?
[00:50:07] And here is something that is great about a news religion, not an advice religion.
[00:50:12] You know, when you're struggling with a problem.
[00:50:15] When you would like to be better at something, you get a piece of advice and that encourages you.
[00:50:22] Maybe this will work.
[00:50:26] All my golfers out there say amen.
[00:50:28] Maybe this will work.
[00:50:32] Maybe this is the one.
[00:50:37] It encourages you for a moment, but the burden is still on you.
[00:50:42] There's all kinds of wonderful things in life, including sanctification, where we embrace the burden and we do the work and we enjoy getting better.
[00:50:51] The gospel is, until you receive the news of the king and turn yourself over to the king, your burden will never be lifted.
[00:51:02] Period.
[00:51:03] You will be chasing, you will be following the advice, but your burden will never be lifted.
[00:51:09] The advice doesn't help you with your guilt.
[00:51:10] The advice doesn't help you with your shame.
[00:51:13] The advice doesn't get you to the kingdom.
[00:51:17] You've got to follow.
[00:51:20] You've got to follow the king.
[00:51:22] You've got to follow the king seriously.
[00:51:28] You know, I think we see
[00:51:31] Peter and Andrew and James and John.
[00:51:33] And we see them hear Jesus and alter their family life and alter their work life and all that.
[00:51:44] And one of the things we see is like, I don't know if I can do that.
[00:51:50] Unique situation.
[00:51:52] Jesus is asking you, I would argue, to reorient your life around him just like Peter and Andrew, James and John.
[00:52:00] Loving your neighbors yourself, starting at home, at your work, all those kinds of things.
[00:52:09] But we also see them and we go, that's a little serious.
[00:52:15] Borderline fanatical.
[00:52:19] Borderline fanatical.
[00:52:23] You know?
[00:52:25] And I just want to just take a moment.
[00:52:27] We're not going to cover the whole thing.
[00:52:28] I would just like to take a moment.
[00:52:30] And I would like to talk about, you know, all this, the king, and you've got to serve the king, and you've got to submit yourself, you've got to reorient your whole life around this Jesus.
[00:52:38] Seems a little fanatical.
[00:52:40] Seems a little overzealous.
[00:52:42] This organized your whole thing around the king.
[00:52:46] Just want to say this.
[00:52:47] Most of the overzealous fanatics types that you know, either that you know personally, you know, when I say overzealous or self-righteous or super fanatical Christians, you may have an idea of someone you know, someone you read about in the paper, etc.
[00:53:02] I would like to just kind of step back and I'd like you to think about the fanatical, the so-called fanatical, self-righteous, super religious people you know.
[00:53:10] I would like you to apply this thought to them.
[00:53:15] The vast majority of the times of the people we think they're a little overly they're a little over serious.
[00:53:20] They're actually not serious enough.
[00:53:24] They're serious about the little stuff.
[00:53:27] Most of the time when we think of you know the fanatics they're about the rules and they're super judgmental and they're somewhat superior acting to you and they're a little nitpicky and they're better they think they're better than you and they want to force you into their way of understanding it.
[00:53:46] They're critical.
[00:53:49] They're manipulative.
[00:53:51] They're demeaning.
[00:53:53] When we think of super-hyper-religious, self-righteous, fanatical religious people, that creeps in.
[00:54:00] As a matter of fact, that may be a big part of what we think about.
[00:54:03] And all this language about, he's got to reorient your life, and he's got to be the number one thing, and everything else is subsidiary to that, everything else is relativized by that, including family and work and all this other stuff.
[00:54:15] I would argue that what would cause the Christian religion, the Christian faith to become exceptionally attractive is if the people who want to submit to the king would become fanatical about the things about which most super-religious people have not gone far enough at.
[00:54:37] The generosity, the humility, the love of neighbor, the courage to face the things that need to be faced, the courage to fight the fights that need to be fighting, the courage to come alongside and love somebody and bear their burden and challenge them to be better in gentleness and to bring them along.
[00:54:56] To take the time to explain what the faith looks like, to take the life to make it look attractive and go, goodness gracious, I'm not sure I believe all the stuff these Christians believe, but I sure do like having them around.
[00:55:09] I sure do like the way they're a boss, or I wouldn't mind if my daughter married one.
[00:55:15] We start living like that.
[00:55:17] We start being serious like that.
[00:55:18] We start being fanatics like that, which is the fanaticism that Jesus is calling Peter and Andrew and James and John and all of us to the generosity, the forgiveness, the toughness, the graciousness.
[00:55:30] The world will be glad to see that, and so will Jesus Christ.
[00:55:36] That's what the King is demanding.
[00:55:39] That's what makes us different.
[00:55:40] That's what makes us special.
[00:55:42] Here's the thing about a king.
[00:55:49] The king is not big on, well, you know, king, I'd love to follow you.
[00:55:52] If, if I don't have to give this, if I follow you, will I get this?
[00:56:00] Never forget.
[00:56:02] The King,
[00:56:29] It says, I'm offering you life.
[00:56:30] I'm offering you eternity.
[00:56:32] I'm offering the meaningful real life.
[00:56:34] I'm offering you a chance to come with me while I slay the dragon.
[00:56:42] And for you to look and say, my brother, my captain, my king.
[00:56:49] This is an incredible offer that we have received.
[00:56:53] and it requires this great reorientation if you want to be in relationship with the real Jesus.
[00:57:02] So the crowd said, what do we do now?
[00:57:09] Trust it.
[00:57:12] That's what we're looking for.
[00:57:14] We're looking for someone we can trust.
[00:57:17] That is the big deal about the crucifixion and the resurrection.
[00:57:23] Someone who loves you enough to go to the cross for you can be trusted, no matter how weird or how this won't work or how demanding what he wants is.
[00:57:37] And someone who has the power to raise him from the dead can be trusted.
[00:57:45] What do we do now simply starts with, Lord God, increase my trust.
[00:57:52] Lord God, increase my trust that the King who could have come and destroyed me in judgment died for me.
[00:58:02] The King that could have destroyed all of us in judgment came and died for us.
[00:58:05] That's Christmas.
[00:58:07] And the King who wants to take you in says, ask of me.
[00:58:13] Ask a lot of me.
[00:58:21] The people that you really trust, the people that are really amazing, you ask.
[00:58:27] You're not afraid to ask.
[00:58:31] What do we do now?
[00:58:33] Ask.
[00:58:34] What great thing do you have for me?
[00:58:35] What great sin of mine can I ask you to forgive?
[00:58:38] What great change in me would I like for you to effect that I can be the person that I was called to be, born to be, saved to be?
[00:58:46] The King is great.
[00:58:50] And he's ready to do great things if we will come to him and reorient our lives around him the way a king deserves.
[00:59:04] Let's pray together.
[00:59:09] Almighty God, follow then the preaching of your word with the blessing of your Holy Spirit and where, if because of human error in the preacher,
[00:59:16] There may have been things false or misleading in the preaching.
[00:59:21] Cause those errors to be quickly forgotten and do no harm.
[00:59:26] But where, because of your grace alone, you have brought truth to the preaching, let that truth be burned into our hearts and minds and souls, that your truth might lead us in the everlasting way.
[00:59:37] We pray humbly in Jesus' name.
[00:59:40] Amen.
[00:59:42] Jesus said, He who acknowledges me before the world, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
[00:59:47] We acknowledge Jesus Christ to be our Lord by the way we live, that we might be reminded of this great privilege to stand up in front of the world, and that we might practice doing it.
[00:59:57] We stand together in church and say the words of the Apostles' Creed.
[00:59:59] So let's do that now.
[01:00:00] Let's stand together, please.
[01:00:03] And before God and the world, let us confess in whom we believe.
[01:00:08] I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried, he descended into hell, the third day he rose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
[01:00:39] From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
[01:00:43] I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
[01:00:56] Amen.
[01:00:56] Final hymn is 128.

[01:01:03] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
In Jesus' name we pray.
[01:01:20] Amen.
[01:01:41] Amen.
[01:02:19] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[01:02:40] Amen.
[01:03:03] In Jesus' name, amen.
[01:03:48] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[01:04:09] Amen.

[01:04:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
You know, John the Baptist is a great figure.
[01:04:20] Jesus loves John the Baptist.
[01:04:22] He keeps pointing back to him.
[01:04:23] And later on in the Gospels they say, Hey, why did y'all go out?
[01:04:25] Oh, y'all went out to see John the Baptist.
[01:04:27] What did y'all go out to see?
[01:04:28] He's not soft.
[01:04:30] He's real.
[01:04:31] The reason why they went out to see John the Baptist, the reason why we go to see John the Baptist, and quite frankly, one of the reasons why we come to church around Christmas is we want to know if it's real.
[01:04:40] We want to see something real.
[01:04:44] The resurrection of Jesus Christ shows it's real.
[01:04:48] John the Baptist would tell them the things that they didn't want to hear but they knew they needed to know.
[01:04:55] You're signing up for a king, not an advisor.
[01:04:59] One of the great images of Jesus the king is the lion.
[01:05:04] And in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, when they're talking about the Jesus figure, he's a lion.
[01:05:09] And one of the little children goes, oh my goodness, a lion?
[01:05:12] That's scary.
[01:05:15] And one of the talking animals says, you know, is he safe?
[01:05:21] And one of the little talking animals goes, he's a lion, of course he's not safe!
[01:05:28] But he is good, he's the king.
[01:05:33] When you come to Jesus Christ, it's not safe.
[01:05:36] It's not safe for your pride, it's not safe for your vanity, it's not safe for your excuses, and the good news is it's not safe for your sin, but it is safe for your soul.
[01:05:45] And it's safe for your joy.
[01:05:48] And it's safe for your purpose.
[01:05:50] It's real.
[01:05:51] Trust it.
[01:05:53] Trust it.
[01:05:55] You'll be glad you did.
[01:05:58] As you go now, may the grace, mercy, and peace of God the Father, and God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit may rest and remain with each of you this day and always.

[01:06:14] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Amen.

[01:06:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
The Lord reigns in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
[01:07:08] In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[01:07:30] Amen.

[01:07:42] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
God bless you.
[01:08:57] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
[01:09:26] Amen.
[01:09:28] Let us pray.
[01:10:27] .
[01:10:37] .
[01:10:37] .