WEBVTT

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 Heavenly Father, thank you that we get to be here this morning to hear from your word and to learn more about you.

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 And so just pray in this time, Lord, would we have our hearts and our ears open to hear what you have to say to us this morning, Lord Jesus. Amen.

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 So over the last few weeks, we have been going through John Mark Comer's book, Practicing the Way.

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 And we've looked at what it means to be an apprentice to Jesus, following the discipleship goals that John Mark Comer lays out in his book.

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 To be with Jesus, to become like Jesus, to do as Jesus would do if Jesus was me, and practicing spiritual disciplines.

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 If you haven't been here for all of those talks, you can catch up online or on Apple Podcasts.

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 I actually really would recommend, there's been some really great sermons, go and listen to them, maybe even this week.

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 But as we finish this series today, we are looking at one final instruction that Jesus gives us as we apprentice under him.

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 And that is to take up our cross.

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 And for those of you, perhaps, who haven't been around for the other services, let me explain this term, apprentice, here.

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 Because John Mark Comer explains in his book that he prefers the term apprentice to disciple,

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 as a more accurate description of Jesus' great invitation to us to follow him.

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 And we're quite used to this idea of apprenticeship in our society today, aren't we?

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 Perhaps you might think of an apprentice in a bakery, which has nothing to do with the fact that I wanted to eat cake whilst I was preparing this talk.

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 Or maybe it did.

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 But an apprentice in a bakery would shadow a baker.

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 They would watch what they were doing, learn from them.

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 They would copy their methods, copy and do as the baker that they were shadowing was doing.

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 Until they had mastered the art of baking the finest cinnamon rolls and pan de chocolat in all of the world.

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 In other words, until they are doing exactly as their teacher or supervisor is doing.

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 And in that sense, Jesus, when he invites us to apprentice under him,

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 isn't just inviting us to follow him, but in the following, to watch and learn, to copy, to do as he is doing in the world.

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 And talking about this concept of apprenticeship, in our midweek focus youth Bible study the other week,

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 I was reminded of this really beautiful Jewish blessing that might be familiar to you that says,

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 may you be covered by the dust of your rabbi.

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 And I think this is so intrinsic to discipleship or apprenticeship,

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 that we would be walking so closely with Jesus that we're covered by the dust that is kicked up in his very footsteps.

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 But what does that look like?

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 Well, the final chapter of Practicing the Way is titled, Take Up Your Cross.

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 Perhaps not the most likely instruction to make you jump out of your seat this morning and go,

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 yeah, this discipleship thing, this apprenticeship thing is easy.

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 But perhaps one that, as we unpack it, hopefully becomes to get a bit more exciting.

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 As I mentioned before, this idea of apprenticeship means watching, learning, copying.

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 An apprenticeship to Jesus is no different.

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 Even in the instruction to take up our cross, to deny ourselves,

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 Jesus did that himself, very literally, before he ever asked us to do it.

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 And thankfully, the punishment of death by crucifixion isn't one that we are going to have to suffer in this society today,

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 but that doesn't make the instruction any less relevant.

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 When Jesus says, whoever wants to be my disciple must pick up their cross and follow me,

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 he's telling us that whoever wants to apprentice under him must first die to themselves,

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 and only then can we truly follow him.

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 And he isn't saying that every Christian ever to follow him must be killed by crucifixion.

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 But perhaps a challenge for us is that that question still quietly lingers at the foreground,

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 that if it came to it, would we be willing?

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 To take up our cross and follow Jesus isn't an empty command.

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 It's one that's full of purpose.

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 Because the end of me is the beginning of Jesus.

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 That's why he follows his command with,

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 whoever wants to save their life will lose it,

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 but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

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 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world,

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 yet forfeit their soul?

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 Because his heart longs for us to find the fullness of life,

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 real, true life in him.

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 You might be familiar with Jesus' words from John 10.10,

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 that the enemy comes to steal, to kill and destroy,

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 but that he has come that we might have life and have it to the full.

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 So when Jesus says that whoever loses their life for him will find it,

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 he's not saying anything new.

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 He's actually reminding us that real life is found only in him.

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 He's saying that when we lay down our lives,

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 when we allow ourselves to come to the end of ourselves,

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 when we say, I don't want to do it my way anymore,

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 I want to do it your way, Jesus,

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 that is when we find life in all its fullness.

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 That's when we give Jesus the room to come in and show us what real life is,

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 to show us who we really are as sons and daughters of God.

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 And it's important to say here that Jesus isn't saying that real life with him is easy by any means.

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 And I think I use this verse probably one of every four times that I preach,

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 but Jesus says in John 16.33,

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 In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, for I have overcome the world.

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 It's not going to be easy.

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 But when we are truly, really living with Jesus,

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 losing our lives and finding ourselves in his kingdom work,

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 suddenly we find that we can have hope.

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 We can have trust, perspective in the middle of those troubles,

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 those troubles that can be both personal and global issues.

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 And taking up our cross is a choice that we have to make daily, sometimes hourly.

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 It's a journey that demands one step at a time.

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 There's an old Chinese proverb that says the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.

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 And we're invited to follow Jesus in the journey.

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 And as we follow, who knows where he'll take us?

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 See, this is really exciting to me.

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 And I'm also really, really glad that my life isn't reliant on my own sense of direction,

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 my own internal navigation system.

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 Because if it was, I would be well and truly lost by now.

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 I think there's probably a few of us that feel the same way.

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 Instead, Jesus invites us to follow him, to follow his lead.

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 How?

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 By remaining close to him.

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 By following his instruction as laid out to us in his Bible, in his word.

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 By listening to his voice as he guides us.

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 And you know, Jesus' very first instruction to the disciples as he called them

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 was simply, come, follow me.

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 If you read John Mark Comer's Practicing the Way,

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 and I really, I'd love to encourage you to read it.

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 Get your hands on a copy.

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 It's such a good book.

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 As you read, you might pick up on three things that John Mark Comer hints towards

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 as necessary for us in this taking up our crosses and following him.

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 And that is to obey, to surrender, and to trust.

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 See, obedience is at the very heart of discipleship or apprenticeship.

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 And often in church circles, we like to talk about the five love languages,

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 which are physical touch, acts of service, gifts, words of affirmation, and quality time.

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 But when it comes to God, I am utterly convinced that his love language is obedience.

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 In John 14, 15, Jesus says,

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 If you love me, keep my commands.

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 And he goes on to reiterate,

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 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.

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 Obedience is really important to God.

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 And we see this right the way through the Bible.

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 God gives instructions, and when people obey him, there is blessing that endures through generations.

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 But when they disobey or rebel, there's consequence, there's punishment.

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 Sometimes it's called curse that also lasts for generations.

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 Think of the exile in the books of the prophets.

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 What we notice from our biblical history is that obedience and disobedience have lasting effects.

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 Obedience, however hard, however costly it might be, always results in God's blessing.

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 And when we're obedient to his command, his instruction, his calling,

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 he blesses us because he loves us.

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 Now, I'm not a parent, but I am now old enough to realise that some of the even most seemingly ridiculous at the time instructions

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 that my parents gave us as children, to myself and my brother Ben,

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 were ultimately for everyone's benefit.

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 For example, if I stayed up past my bedtime and didn't get enough sleep,

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 I'd get tired and grumpy.

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 And that might still be the case, but no one needs to know whether that's true or not.

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 But it wasn't good for me.

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 It wasn't good for anyone.

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 And if Ben and I sat across,

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 we weren't allowed to sit across the table from each other because we'd kick each other under the table,

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 inevitably there'd be an argument.

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 Again, not good for me, not good for anyone.

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 And we weren't allowed to use our phones at mealtimes either,

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 which allowed for us to connect and talk as a family.

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 So even though conversation turned to football every single time,

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 honestly, every time,

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 there was no escape.

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 I learned to, in part, understand my brother and my dad's passion for the sport

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 because I was present in those conversations.

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 And similarly, when God sets out our rules and commandments,

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 they're for our own good.

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 They're for our relationship with him,

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 even when they mean denying ourselves,

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 picking up our cross and following him.

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 Closely linked to obedience is this idea of surrender,

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 laying down or denying ourselves,

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 our will, our way, our desires,

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 in order to follow him.

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 When Jesus called us to pick up our cross,

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 he tells us to follow him,

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 to do as he did,

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 and surrender is modelled by Jesus

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 at the very height of our salvation story.

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 The night before Jesus died,

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 he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane,

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 and his soul was, as we read in Matthew 26,

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 overwhelmed by sorrow to the point of death.

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 And then in Luke's Gospel,

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 we read that he was anguished to the point of sweating blood.

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 And so Jesus turns his sorrow to prayer,

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 and he prays,

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 Father, if it's possible,

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 may this cup be taken from me,

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 yet not as I will,

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 but as you will.

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 Jesus surrendered himself to obedience to God's calling.

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 And I don't think that that was an easy decision at all,

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 but Jesus did it because of his love for the Father,

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 and so he was willing to pick up his cross.

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 Choosing the Jesus way isn't always easy.

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 We know that.

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 In fact, sometimes we might be asked to surrender the things,

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 the people,

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 the situations that we know,

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 the life that we know and love,

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 in order to walk with Jesus,

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 to walk the Jesus way.

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 But that's discipleship.

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 That's what it is to love the Lord your God

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 with all your heart,

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 with all your mind,

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 with all your soul,

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 and with all your strength.

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 And as John Mark Homer puts it in his book,

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 discipleship is a lifelong process

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 of deepening surrender to Jesus.

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 And then we come to trust.

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 If you don't know this about me,

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 I am really into my languages.

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 I'm currently learning Spanish,

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 but I started with French,

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 and that will always be my first language love.

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 And I find it really interesting

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 to take other words

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 and translate them back into English,

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 because sometimes we find a deeper meaning

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 to the word when we do that.

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 I don't know if you've ever taken sentences,

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 put them into Google Translate,

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 and then translated them back to English.

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 Sometimes it changes words.

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 It's very weird.

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 But when we take the verb to trust in Spanish,

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 we get confiar,

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 or we might use estar seguro.

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 And when those are translated back to English,

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 we get confidence,

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 and we get to be sure.

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 And similarly, in French,

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 when we take to trust,

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 we get faire confiance,

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 to do confidence.

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 And to me,

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 this shows me that trusting in the Lord

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 isn't about passively sitting by

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 and hoping that everything turns out okay.

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 But trust requires me

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 to actively put my confidence in him,

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 to be sure that he has it all under control.

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 I think when we see trust in this way,

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 when we see our part that we play

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 in trusting God,

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 we start to see that picking up our cross

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 and following him

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 isn't quite so blind and scary,

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 because our eyes are fixed on him

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 as we confidently

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 trust that we are safe with him,

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 come what may.

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 In Impact,

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 our Monday Night Youth Group,

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 we've been shining the spotlight

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 on different Bible characters

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 and seeing what we can learn

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 from their lives.

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 And I can see a young person

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 nodding his head at the back,

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 so that's great.

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 I'm glad you've been listening.

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 For example,

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 Gideon.

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 Gideon was called by God.

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 God called him a mighty warrior

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 and told him about his mission

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 to go and defeat the Midianites.

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 And Gideon was like,

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 oh no,

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 I'm not the right person.

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 But he trusted God.

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 Hannah prayed with all of her heart

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 for a baby.

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 And when she had Samuel,

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 she entrusted his life

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 under Eli's care.

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 She trusted God with him,

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 even though she'd longed

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 for that baby for years.

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 Similarly,

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 we can read in Hebrews 11

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 about the heroes of faith

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 who put their trust in God

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 time and time again

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 in weird and wonderful ways

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 throughout biblical history.

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 The writer of Hebrews

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 lists off Abraham,

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 Isaac,

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 Jacob,

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 Joseph,

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 Noah,

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 Moses,

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 Moses' parents.

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 And then he says,

00:16:50.300 --> 00:16:51.800
 what more shall I say?

00:16:52.340 --> 00:16:53.320
 I do not have time

00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:54.540
 to tell you about Gideon

00:16:54.540 --> 00:16:55.580
 and the prophets

00:16:55.580 --> 00:16:56.760
 who through faith

00:16:56.760 --> 00:16:57.660
 conquered kingdoms,

00:16:57.820 --> 00:16:58.740
 administered justice

00:16:58.740 --> 00:17:00.480
 and gained what was promised.

00:17:01.060 --> 00:17:02.320
 Who shut the mouths of lions,

00:17:02.460 --> 00:17:03.800
 quenched the fury of the flames

00:17:03.800 --> 00:17:05.759
 and escaped the edge of the sword.

00:17:06.019 --> 00:17:06.660
 Whose weakness

00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:07.820
 was turned to strength.

00:17:08.120 --> 00:17:09.220
 Who became powerful

00:17:09.220 --> 00:17:09.759
 in battle

00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:12.820
 and rooted foreign enemies.

00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:15.400
 Women who received back their dead

00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:16.519
 raised to life again.

00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:17.620
 And there were others

00:17:17.620 --> 00:17:18.440
 who were tortured,

00:17:18.860 --> 00:17:20.080
 refusing to be released

00:17:20.080 --> 00:17:21.100
 so that they might gain

00:17:21.100 --> 00:17:22.539
 an even better resurrection.

00:17:22.539 --> 00:17:24.420
 Some faced jeers

00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:25.079
 and flogging

00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:26.119
 and even chains

00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:27.000
 and imprisonment.

00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:28.299
 They were put to death

00:17:28.299 --> 00:17:29.059
 by stoning.

00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:30.420
 They were sawn in two.

00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:31.319
 They were killed

00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:32.539
 by the sword.

00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:33.659
 They went about

00:17:33.659 --> 00:17:34.420
 in sheepskins

00:17:34.420 --> 00:17:35.339
 and goatskins,

00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:36.019
 destitute,

00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:36.759
 persecuted

00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:37.700
 and ill-treated.

00:17:38.639 --> 00:17:39.319
 Dot, dot, dot.

00:17:40.639 --> 00:17:41.539
 And I don't know

00:17:41.539 --> 00:17:42.359
 how you feel

00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:43.279
 about all of that.

00:17:43.339 --> 00:17:44.399
 All those different examples

00:17:44.399 --> 00:17:45.440
 of people taking up

00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:45.920
 their crosses,

00:17:46.539 --> 00:17:47.399
 denying themselves

00:17:47.399 --> 00:17:48.879
 in order to follow God.

00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:51.000
 But I think there were

00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:52.420
 some marvellous people

00:17:52.420 --> 00:17:53.420
 in the Bible

00:17:53.420 --> 00:17:54.660
 who we can look to

00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:55.800
 for inspiration

00:17:55.800 --> 00:17:57.800
 of what that commandment means.

00:17:59.580 --> 00:18:00.640
 What it means

00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:01.900
 to deny ourselves,

00:18:02.500 --> 00:18:03.820
 to take up our cross

00:18:03.820 --> 00:18:05.340
 and lose ourselves

00:18:05.340 --> 00:18:06.920
 for the sake

00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:07.860
 of following the Lord

00:18:07.860 --> 00:18:09.000
 and living for his kingdom.

00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:12.740
 And perhaps

00:18:12.740 --> 00:18:14.279
 this all sounds costly

00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:16.019
 and you'd be right

00:18:16.019 --> 00:18:16.779
 to think so

00:18:16.779 --> 00:18:18.059
 because it is costly

00:18:18.059 --> 00:18:19.220
 and it's a decision

00:18:19.220 --> 00:18:20.799
 that God gives us

00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:21.799
 to weigh up

00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:22.920
 the pros and cons.

00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:23.940
 Do we really want

00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:24.839
 to do this?

00:18:25.539 --> 00:18:26.799
 But there's also a cost

00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:28.180
 to not following Jesus.

00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:31.059
 See, if we decide

00:18:31.059 --> 00:18:32.259
 against following Jesus

00:18:32.259 --> 00:18:33.380
 as we're free to do

00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:34.559
 if we really want to,

00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:37.759
 we have to sacrifice

00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:39.059
 the joy of the Lord

00:18:39.059 --> 00:18:39.960
 that is our strength,

00:18:40.379 --> 00:18:41.539
 the peace of God

00:18:41.539 --> 00:18:42.819
 that surpasses

00:18:42.819 --> 00:18:43.859
 all understanding,

00:18:44.339 --> 00:18:45.680
 the presence of God

00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:47.119
 that dwells within us,

00:18:47.980 --> 00:18:49.240
 the wisdom and counsel

00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:49.920
 of the one

00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:51.000
 who is above it all.

00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:52.519
 If we decide

00:18:52.519 --> 00:18:54.059
 that we don't want

00:18:54.059 --> 00:18:54.720
 to say yes

00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:55.720
 to life with Jesus,

00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:56.900
 then we have to let go

00:18:56.900 --> 00:18:57.660
 of his freedom,

00:18:58.039 --> 00:18:59.519
 his adoption to sonship,

00:19:00.379 --> 00:19:02.000
 his unending love

00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:05.039
 that is always known to us.

00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:08.139
 And I guess that leaves us

00:19:08.139 --> 00:19:08.859
 with the question,

00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:10.079
 is that a price

00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:11.399
 we really want to pay?

00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:15.180
 John Mark Comer

00:19:15.180 --> 00:19:16.019
 puts it in his book,

00:19:16.099 --> 00:19:17.639
 it's not about how much

00:19:17.639 --> 00:19:18.720
 we're willing to give up,

00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:20.480
 but it's about how much

00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:21.659
 of Jesus do we really

00:19:21.659 --> 00:19:22.700
 want to receive.

00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:26.839
 Going back to Hebrews,

00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:28.819
 chapter 11, verse 39,

00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:30.119
 tells us that the heroes

00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:31.099
 of faith were commended

00:19:31.099 --> 00:19:31.879
 for their faith.

00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:33.639
 And then in chapter 12,

00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:34.840
 goes on to encourage us

00:19:34.840 --> 00:19:36.200
 that since we are surrounded

00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:37.540
 by such a great cloud

00:19:37.540 --> 00:19:38.100
 of witnesses,

00:19:38.280 --> 00:19:39.740
 let us throw off everything

00:19:39.740 --> 00:19:40.840
 that hinders

00:19:40.840 --> 00:19:41.460
 and the sin

00:19:41.460 --> 00:19:43.440
 that so easily entangles us

00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:44.920
 and run with perseverance

00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:47.120
 the rice marked out for us,

00:19:47.300 --> 00:19:48.560
 fixing our eyes on Jesus,

00:19:49.040 --> 00:19:50.900
 the author and perfecter of faith.

00:19:52.560 --> 00:19:53.380
 In other words,

00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:54.700
 look at all of these people

00:19:54.700 --> 00:19:55.900
 who've gone before us,

00:19:56.020 --> 00:19:57.160
 who've picked up their crosses,

00:19:57.640 --> 00:19:58.540
 died to themselves,

00:19:58.740 --> 00:19:59.640
 denied themselves

00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:00.960
 to follow Jesus.

00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:03.740
 So why don't we too

00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:04.799
 let go of the things

00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:05.500
 that burden us

00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:06.180
 and prevent us

00:20:06.180 --> 00:20:08.019
 from following him freely?

00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:12.299
 Trust in Jesus.

00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:15.140
 Do confidence.

00:20:15.940 --> 00:20:18.140
 Be sure of Jesus

00:20:18.140 --> 00:20:20.460
 because he is trustworthy.

00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.620
 And in the denying of ourselves

00:20:23.620 --> 00:20:25.019
 and the picking up of our crosses

00:20:25.019 --> 00:20:26.079
 and following him,

00:20:26.340 --> 00:20:27.340
 we get to see

00:20:27.340 --> 00:20:29.019
 all of his great things.

00:20:29.019 --> 00:20:33.500
 And I want to point out here

00:20:33.500 --> 00:20:35.339
 that Jesus isn't expecting us

00:20:35.339 --> 00:20:36.920
 to be the perfect apprentice

00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:37.980
 on day one.

00:20:38.379 --> 00:20:38.900
 Arguably,

00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:39.779
 we'll never be

00:20:39.779 --> 00:20:41.279
 the perfect apprentice.

00:20:42.119 --> 00:20:43.660
 But that's why we follow,

00:20:43.900 --> 00:20:44.619
 why we watch,

00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:45.279
 we learn,

00:20:45.379 --> 00:20:47.180
 we do as he does.

00:20:48.700 --> 00:20:50.400
 Jesus doesn't expect us

00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:51.859
 to meet him where he's at,

00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:53.400
 but instead he meets us

00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:54.879
 where we're at.

00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:57.980
 He comes to meet us

00:20:57.980 --> 00:21:00.100
 and asks us to follow us

00:21:00.100 --> 00:21:00.600
 from that,

00:21:00.800 --> 00:21:02.080
 to follow him from there.

00:21:04.420 --> 00:21:06.080
 And when we're walking with Jesus,

00:21:06.340 --> 00:21:06.900
 we'll have times

00:21:06.900 --> 00:21:08.000
 when we don't do so well

00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:08.760
 at surrendering,

00:21:08.980 --> 00:21:09.440
 obeying,

00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:10.060
 trusting.

00:21:10.520 --> 00:21:11.460
 There'll be times

00:21:11.460 --> 00:21:13.300
 when we don't do so great

00:21:13.300 --> 00:21:14.480
 in taking up our crosses,

00:21:14.700 --> 00:21:15.400
 denying ourselves

00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:16.460
 and following him.

00:21:17.340 --> 00:21:18.320
 Times where, honestly,

00:21:18.460 --> 00:21:19.380
 we just fall down.

00:21:19.380 --> 00:21:23.300
 But we've got to remember

00:21:23.300 --> 00:21:24.880
 that God is a God

00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:25.760
 of grace

00:21:25.760 --> 00:21:26.600
 and forgiveness.

00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:27.840
 And when we fall,

00:21:28.120 --> 00:21:28.940
 he helps us

00:21:28.940 --> 00:21:29.840
 get back up again.

00:21:30.420 --> 00:21:32.080
 We get to try again

00:21:32.080 --> 00:21:33.040
 and again and again,

00:21:33.260 --> 00:21:34.720
 each time growing more

00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:35.580
 in relationship

00:21:35.580 --> 00:21:36.900
 with Jesus.

00:21:38.020 --> 00:21:39.100
 Because failure

00:21:39.100 --> 00:21:41.460
 is never final.

00:21:42.740 --> 00:21:43.800
 It's just another chance

00:21:43.800 --> 00:21:44.960
 to learn from the one

00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:45.360
 who says,

00:21:45.360 --> 00:21:45.780
 come,

00:21:46.140 --> 00:21:46.920
 follow me.

00:21:49.380 --> 00:21:50.860
 And so,

00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:51.960
 as we close today,

00:21:52.100 --> 00:21:53.120
 if there's one thing

00:21:53.120 --> 00:21:54.180
 that you take away,

00:21:55.080 --> 00:21:55.680
 let it be that

00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:56.460
 following Jesus

00:21:56.460 --> 00:21:58.440
 is the best decision

00:21:58.440 --> 00:21:59.800
 we could ever make.

00:22:00.580 --> 00:22:01.740
 All the rest,

00:22:02.800 --> 00:22:03.940
 the denying ourselves,

00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:05.240
 the surrendering to him,

00:22:05.320 --> 00:22:05.880
 the obedience,

00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:06.900
 the trust,

00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:08.460
 it all comes from there.

00:22:09.820 --> 00:22:10.260
 And so,

00:22:10.760 --> 00:22:12.580
 as we go from here

00:22:12.580 --> 00:22:13.100
 this morning,

00:22:13.660 --> 00:22:15.380
 let's be asking Jesus

00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:16.920
 how he is asking us

00:22:16.920 --> 00:22:17.940
 to deny ourselves.

00:22:17.940 --> 00:22:20.180
 how he's asking us

00:22:20.180 --> 00:22:21.440
 to pick up our cross.

00:22:22.360 --> 00:22:23.759
 Where he's asking us

00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:24.580
 to follow him.

00:22:25.900 --> 00:22:26.820
 Remembering it's not

00:22:26.820 --> 00:22:27.500
 all about

00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:29.420
 how much we're willing

00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:30.039
 to give up,

00:22:30.340 --> 00:22:31.539
 but how much of him

00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:32.700
 we want to receive.

00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:35.799
 Whoever wants

00:22:35.799 --> 00:22:37.200
 to save their life

00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:37.880
 will lose it,

00:22:38.200 --> 00:22:39.160
 but whoever loses

00:22:39.160 --> 00:22:39.840
 their life

00:22:39.840 --> 00:22:41.039
 will find it

00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:42.400
 and find it

00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:43.880
 in all its fullness.

00:22:45.820 --> 00:22:46.420
 Amen.

00:22:47.940 --> 00:22:50.200
れる

00:22:50.200 --> 00:22:51.340
 It sayses

00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:52.420
 it

00:22:52.420 --> 00:22:54.279
 For

00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:54.820
 to

00:22:55.340 --> 00:22:55.759
 to

00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:56.860
 what

00:22:56.900 --> 00:22:57.320
 are

00:22:57.320 --> 00:22:57.559
 living

00:22:57.640 --> 00:22:58.100
 Hahaha

00:22:58.559 --> 00:22:58.600
 I can see

00:22:59.500 --> 00:22:59.799
 it.

00:22:59.900 --> 00:23:00.000
わ

00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:00.680
 were