How much junk have you collected?
A lot, right?
How much is in your storage shed, your garage, storage closets, under the bed storage, attic storage.
! We were just in Wisconsin where they have basements.
That seems to collect storage.
How many of y'all think we need more storage around the church, maybe?
How much junk do we collect, man?
We collect a lot, don't we?
We do indeed.
Anybody know the name Marie Kondo?
Yeah.
Can you guys pull up the picture we've got of her?
Marie Kondo.
She had a question that she would tell people to ask when they're looking into their junk,
their valuables that they've collected through the years.
Does anybody know what that question is?
Can we say it together?
Does it spark joy?
That was like an ice water bath down my back when I first heard that.
Like, that's what's wrong with America today.
We're looking at all this excess that we've collected over the years, and we're like, does this spark joy to me?
I don't know.
Do you need it?
That's probably a better question in my mind.
But Marie Kondo got real famous.
She got a Netflix special called Tidying Up, and the whole idea of it was kind of capitalizing on all of our excess,
and she challenged people to sort through it and just go through stuff and clean it out, right?
Does it spark joy?
Anyway, probably a real nice, shiny way of asking, do you really need this in your life?
Now, this was not a new concept.
People have been going through, trying to sort through their stuff for generations.
But somehow, generations keep passing down their junk to the next generations.
And then what happens?
You have estate sales, and people try to sell off the junk from their parents and grandparents, etc.
Now, look, sometimes there are family heirlooms that you get to hold on to, and those are cherished for generations,
and that's always pretty cool to see.
But let's not be crazy, because often the sorting process reveals that it's not all treasure.
A lot of it's trash.
You say, what in the world does this have to do with the parables of Jesus?
Well, this is exactly the kind of sorting process that Jesus is talking about in Matthew chapter 13.
Would you go with me to Matthew chapter 13, verses 47 through 50.
While you're turning there, I'm going to give you a piece of really good news.
This is our 12th and final week in the Stories of the Kingdom series about the parables of Jesus.
Can we get an amen on that?
There you go.
I've enjoyed it.
I'm glad to move on to another section of Scripture.
However, I've really enjoyed this, and I hope that we can close it out well today.
We haven't covered every parable that Jesus told, but we've gone through the book of Matthew.
By the way, we were not just doing a study of the parables of Jesus.
I was also on the sly taking you through a study of the gospel of Matthew.
And we've done that all throughout it, and we have kind of covered the themes that Matthew wrote about
from his time walking with Jesus and recording what he had to say.
So Matthew chapter 13, let's look down at verse 47.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea.
It collected every kind of fish.
When it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers,
but threw out the worthless ones.
So it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous,
and throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Have you noticed that Jesus' parables always ended like that?
Maybe not always, but frequently.
Weeping and gnashing of teeth.
It's like he was warning you of something to come, right?
Let's look at that.
Let's take it seriously.
Y'all, a pastor can get up, and he can talk about any number of things.
But I don't think it's ever wrong to talk about what Jesus himself talked about.
So that's what we've been doing in these last 12 weeks.
And I pray that we're able to get a good understanding of what he was warning us about and teaching us in this passage.
Let's pray together.
God, I pray right now that you would use this story of the net, the sorting,
this process separating the trash from the treasure, separating the good from the evil.
How does this apply to us?
What can we learn from this?
I pray that by your spirit, you would teach each one of us something that would change us, transform us from the inside out.
We'll give you all the glory for it in Jesus' name.
Amen.
All right.
So what are they talking about?
He paints a very picturesque story here where you've got these people using what is called a dragnet.
All right.
So here's the idea.
They have this dragnet, and they would stand.
They would stretch it out.
You see the net, the after results, the catch that they brought in from the fish.
It would bring in all sorts of fish.
But what they would do is they would stand on either side, and there would be a row of people, probably 8 to 12 people,
or maybe even more depending on the size of the dragnet.
It was also called a send net.
I don't know if that's from the river Sen.
I don't know.
That's a whole different thing.
Let's just call it a dragnet, all right?
So the dragnet would be out there in the shallow water, and they would have it stretched out to its full capacity.
And they would have these weights on the bottom of the dragnet to keep it underwater,
and they would have these floats or bobbers attached to the top to keep it afloat on the top.
And so they have this net just perfectly like creating this wall in the ocean, of course, in the shallow waters near the beach.
So as they would, fish would come in, there would be kind of a pocket at the bottom that the fish would get trapped in.
And eventually, when they felt like the net was full enough, they would all start retreating back toward the shore,
and they would lay it out, and there would be thousands of fish caught in this dragnet.
Now, normally, all these references would be about the Sea of Galilee,
and there would be over 20 different kinds of fish, probably, in the Sea of Galilee.
Many of those fish would be inedible, useless, not really good for much of anything.
You need to throw them back in.
So the sorting process would happen.
And everybody would gather along the beach, and you'd have all those people that were out there fishing,
and maybe some others who weren't strong enough to go out and manage the dragnet in the waters,
but they could sort fish.
So they'd be sitting there, going through, finding all these different varieties of fish,
throwing some back in, and keeping the ones that were good and useful.
So Jesus is referencing something that these people understood, many of them had partaken of,
certainly all of them had seen, had experienced at some level.
But what's he really trying to teach here?
He's not teaching fishing methods, although it does sound fun to catch fish with a dragnet, right?
For those of you who have sat in a rowboat, or sat on a dock, or sat on a shore,
with your line in the water for hour after hour, and nothing seems to bite, right?
It's maddening.
Be kind of cool to go out there and spend a few minutes with a big dragnet,
and have thousands of fish come in, even if you couldn't use most of them.
Still be fun.
But that's not what he's talking about here.
He's talking about the sorting process.
That's where the focus is.
So there are two different emphases.
First, the idea of the catch.
The idea is the sorting doesn't happen at first, okay?
So in your bulletins, if you're taking notes, and there should be a pen in front of you,
point number one is God's invitation is inclusive.
What do we mean by that?
It includes everybody.
It includes anybody and everybody who wants to come into the net.
God holds the net wide open for all to come.
Boy, we can be excited about that, right?
We can love that.
Very excited about that.
1 Timothy 2 and verse 4 sheds a little light on that.
It says, God our Savior wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
That is a wide open net.
I want them all.
I want everybody, says the Lord.
Lord, I'm inviting all, everyone.
The Bible teaches very clearly Jesus died not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world.
God so loved the what?
World.
Let's say that together.
Y'all know that.
Verse John 3, 16.
Ready?
For God so loved the world.
There you go.
I watched the sermon last week, and he really got y'all talking, okay?
So I'm going to try to get y'all talking a little bit, too.
Y'all did great.
I was so proud of you.
He did a wonderful...
How many of y'all were glad that Jordan came and preached to us last Sunday?
Wasn't that awesome?
I never even met the guy.
We've had phone conversations, but we had a very trusted mutual friend, and he talked a little bit about that last week.
I'm glad he came and did a wonderful job here.
So we're going to talk a little bit today, but this idea that God's invitation is inclusive.
The sorting process doesn't happen at first.
Everyone is invited.
The invitation is extended.
There's a truth here.
God's net, so to speak, is wide open for everyone to experience his love and salvation.
He created everyone, and everyone has equal opportunity.
I believe God's an equal opportunity creator.
I believe God has given each one of us an equal opportunity to respond to him in faith.
The sad truth is, we're not all gonna.
Not everyone that God created will respond to him in faith.
Many will reject.
Some will seem to accept.
But the truth is, in their heart, they never did.
God knows how all that's gonna shake out in the end.
He's gonna be in charge of the sorting process.
But what we have to worry about is, God's invitation extends to all.
So what we then take away, we don't go and discriminate who we invite into the net.
We'll take any fish who wanna swim in, right?
Do you know any fishermen who would say, no, no, no, I don't want that fish.
I don't want that fish.
We'll take it, man.
Now, we might throw them back in once we get them on the boat,
but we'll take anything that wants to bite.
I say that like I'm a fisherman.
I'm not a fisherman.
But I can imagine.
Revelation 22, 17.
You don't have to turn there.
I've got it on the screen unless you'd like to.
But Revelation 22, 17.
The spirit and the bride say, what does that say?
Come.
We can do better.
Ready?
The spirit and the bride say?
Come.
Let anyone who hears this say?
Come.
Let anyone who is thirsty?
Come.
Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.
What is God's invitation to man?
Come.
Come to him.
Come to me, he says.
Come to me.
I'm the answer.
Whatever stage of life you're in,
if there's still breath in your lungs,
the answer is come to him.
Come to him for salvation.
Come to him for rest.
Come for him for peace.
Come to him for mercy.
Come to him for forgiveness.
Come to Jesus.
That is always and forever the invitation.
So, question.
Do we cast our nets as widely as Jesus casts his?
Or do we create barriers for certain people?
That's the hard thing.
Do we cast nets or do we create barriers?
Do we allow any fish to come in or are we selective?
Look, we might say that anyone can come.
Anyone can come and be a part of our fellowship of believers.
Anyone can come and experience the goodness of God
and the blessings of Christian community.
The problem is,
sometimes not as much with our words,
but with our actions,
we create barriers for those very people
that we're inviting in.
We say, no, no, no.
You're not the kind of fish that belongs here.
You're not the kind of fish that we're interested in.
We're going to throw you out.
The problem is, that's not our job.
Our job is to do what the master commanded
and go be fishers of what?
Men and women too, by the way.
Go be fishers of people.
That's who God came to seek and to save.
He'll work out the sorting process at the end.
So, do we cast nets or do we create barriers?
Number two.
Before we get there, I want to share a quote with you.
Martin Luther was one of the great fathers
of the Protestant Reformation
that kind of split off from the Catholic Church
and from that grew Baptists and Methodists
and all these evangelical Christian churches
that you see around.
Martin Luther was a key father in that movement.
Read about him in history if you haven't already.
And he said this,
it is the nature of all hypocrites and false prophets.
We got any of those in the room by uplifted hand?
You're a hypocrite or a false prophet.
Anybody?
Look, I try not to be a false prophet.
Thank you, Candy.
But I will raise my hand on hypocrite
because the truth is I am a hypocrite sometimes.
And all y'all can be too, all right?
So we're not alone.
It is the nature of all hypocrites and false prophets
to create a conscience where there is none.
Y'all, this is getting a little bit deep,
but we're going to try to break it down, all right?
Create a conscience where there is none.
And then, after they've done that,
to cause conscience to disappear
where it actually does exist.
What's he saying?
Hypocritical Christians are real good
at making rules that God never made
and ignoring rules that God did make.
You know what his rule is?
Love people like I love them.
Love me like I've told you to
with all your heart, with all your mind,
with all your soul, with all your strength.
And love your neighbor as yourself.
God's rules are pretty simple,
but man, are they hard.
So instead of obeying that,
we go back to Old Testament laws
that don't apply to us under grace anymore,
or we'll just go create our own
like we saw the Pharisees do
in the Jewish system.
Sorry.
And Jesus kept butting heads with it.
And they're saying,
well, Jesus, you're not walking
according to our laws and systems and traditions.
They say, listen, you missed the point.
You're creating a conscience
where I never created one.
But you're ignoring the conscience
or even causing it to disappear
that I did give you.
That's hypocritical.
And often, it can even get into being
a false prophet.
Why?
Because you're painting a different picture
of Jesus for people.
Even without trying to,
you're showing people
that Jesus is someone different
than who he actually is
and who he revealed himself to be.
That's being a false prophet.
I don't want to be that.
I don't want to do that.
I want to stick closely to what he said,
to what he did,
to how he lived.
So I think Martin Luther's quote
is very appropriate
for those of us,
especially those of us in the room.
I'm not going to make you lift your hands,
but those of us in the room
who have been Christians
for most of our lives,
grew up in church most of our lives,
it's pretty easy
for us to start to
equate the traditions
that we grew up with
with Bible truth.
Y'all, the Bible never says
that we have to sit in pews
in a church building.
The Bible never says
you have to have both
an organ and a piano.
The Bible never says
that you have to use a podium.
The Bible never says lots of,
now, doesn't mean
those things are wrong.
Those things can serve
their purpose in their season.
The Bible never says
that you have to
wear a clown suit to church, right?
The Bible never says
you have to wear
a big red nose to church.
Thankfully, that'd be weird.
But I guarantee you
some people who didn't grow up
how we grew up
might come into church
and think some of the things
that we do are weird.
Okay, fine.
Are we leading people
closer to Jesus
by our traditions
that we have latched onto
or are we forcing people
to get over them
to get to Jesus?
Does that make sense?
Are we forcing people
to climb over
all these extra obstacles
or barriers
that we've created
just to get to Jesus
who is who we want them
to get to after all, right?
All right, that's the point.
We're going to move on
to number two now.
God's net is inclusive.
God's invitation is inclusive.
But heaven's entry
is exclusive.
You could take this
as the bad news
if you wanted to.
The truth is
it's justice.
It's justice in God's eyes.
And who are we to say no?
To all those
who reject his son,
they are excluded.
They're thrown back.
That's the picture
he paints for us.
He paints this picture
of all these different fish
being in the net.
Look back at Matthew 13.
When the net was full,
they dragged it ashore,
they sat down,
and they gathered
the good fish
into containers,
but they threw out
the worthless ones.
We have any idea
what that is?
It's just a speaker.
All right.
It's just the speaker
likes what we're talking
about in here.
All right.
It wants to have a part.
All right.
Don't worry about it.
Just a little white noise,
background noise,
no big deal.
Heaven's entry
is exclusive.
Unfortunately,
there are going to be
some fish thrown back.
That's kind of
Jesus' point here, right?
There's going to be
some fish
not allowed in.
There's going to be
people excluded.
Guess what?
Not everybody
made it on the ark.
Remember Noah and the ark
and the flooding
of the earth?
Not everybody
made it on.
Actually,
very few
made it on.
Well,
the Bible teaches that.
Narrow is the gate
that leads to life,
but wide is the path
that leads to destruction.
More will choose destruction
rather than life.
Hey,
let's go to Matthew chapter 7.
Back up a few chapters,
would you?
Matthew chapter 7
before we end up
back in Matthew 13.
So,
just a couple of pages,
probably Matthew 7
and let's look at
verse 13.
Matthew 7, 13.
Enter through
the narrow gate,
for the gate is wide
and the road is broad
that leads to destruction.
There are many
who go through it.
How narrow is the gate
and difficult is the road
that leads to life
and few that find it.
Matt's a hero.
Let's give him a clap.
Thank you, Matt.
I don't know if everybody
in the back of the room
could hear it,
but it was pretty loud up here,
so thank you, sir.
Narrow is the gate.
Difficult is the road
that leads to life.
How many of you
have been on the road
to life for a while
and you'd say,
yeah, it is difficult sometimes?
Anybody?
Is it just me?
I think some of y'all
not raising your hand
also believe the road
to life can be difficult
at times, right?
It's not just me.
Look,
let's keep reading.
Verse 15.
Be on your guard
against false prophets
who come to you
in sheep's clothing
but inwardly
are ravaging wolves.
Hey,
there's some of those
false prophets
we were talking about
just a minute ago.
We like to think
of false prophets
always as those
who are preaching
something totally different
than the Bible.
It's not hidden at all.
It's just like,
man,
Jesus isn't God.
Joe Schmo is God,
be it Mohammed
or Confucius
or whoever,
Buddha.
Usually those
aren't the false prophets
who lead God's people astray.
Usually it's the ones
who disguise themselves
in sheep's clothing
and they'll preach something
that's very similar
to what Jesus taught
and what Jesus lived.
But they'll throw
extra obstacles in there.
They'll say,
yeah,
but you also gotta do this.
Yeah,
but you also gotta give me money
and buy me my second jet.
Or,
yeah,
but you gotta go
say 40 Hail Marys
or go confess
and light this many candles
and do all these
extra things
to have right standing
before God
and forgiveness
with God.
And I'm sorry,
look,
some of these people
are well-meaning.
But that's preaching
a different gospel
than Jesus brought us.
That's not the good news.
So be careful of that.
And then jump down,
would you,
to verse 21.
There are all kinds of things
that might lead people
onto that wide,
broad,
more easy path
away from the narrow,
more difficult path,
but you don't wanna end up
where that wide path
takes you.
Verse 21,
not everyone who says to me,
Lord, Lord,
will enter the kingdom of heaven.
Only the one
who does the will
of my Father in heaven.
What is the will
of the Father in heaven?
That all would be saved.
That all would turn to Him.
So if you turn to Him,
then you're doing the will
of His Father in heaven.
And you will be saved.
He will keep you
on that narrow path.
But if you don't,
then you're stuck
on that wide path
until you do the will
of the Father in heaven.
On that day,
many will say to me,
Lord, Lord,
didn't we prophesy
in your name?
Yes,
but you were a false prophet.
Didn't we drive out
demons in your name?
Didn't we do many miracles
in your name?
Didn't we do all this stuff
that we thought
you would have liked?
Seemed like a Christian
kind of thing.
Seemed like a religious
type deal.
Seemed like a church
kind of thing.
Seemed like a Jesus
type thing.
We did all this stuff
for you for all these years.
I was a good,
upstanding citizen.
I was a member
of First Baptist Church
for how many years?
What do you mean
I can't get into heaven?
Because you never
humbled yourself
and repented
of your sin
and said,
God,
be merciful to me,
a sinner.
Save me.
I can't save myself.
Verse 23,
then I will announce
to them,
I never knew you.
depart from me,
you lawbreakers.
You lawbreakers.
Well, that's rude.
You're comparing me
to those fish
that I was throwing
out of the net?
You're saying
I don't belong
with the upstanding citizens?
You're saying
I don't belong
with the good people?
Are you telling me
I'm a bad person,
Jesus?
Yes.
You're a lawbreaker.
And you were never
cleansed.
You're still
a lawbreaker.
Do you understand
that without Christ,
every single person,
man,
woman,
child,
is a lawbreaker.
All of us
in this room
are lawbreakers.
We've all broken
God's law.
The only way
you can be
not a lawbreaker
anymore
is if Jesus
washes you,
if Jesus
cleanses you.
You have to invite
him to do that.
He's not just
going to do it.
You have to say
God,
cleanse me,
forgive me,
wash me clean
with your blood.
Then he says
now you're not
a lawbreaker anymore.
You were
but I made you new.
Now you're
my child.
A lot of people
call themselves
God's children
and they're going
to get to heaven
and he's going to say
I never knew you.
You can't come in.
You're out.
It's a terrible
picture.
It's a terrible
illustration
but it's one
that is most
important,
most essential
and that's why
Jesus repeats
this theme
throughout the
parables.
We've hit on
similar topics
to this
in our study
of the parables
over the last
12 weeks.
Heaven's entry
is exclusive.
George Barna
runs a research
firm,
probably the
foremost
faith-based
Christian
research firm
in America.
It does a lot
of valuable
research on
churches,
on religious
trends in
America.
Back in 2020
released through
the Arizona
Christian University
Cultural Research
Center,
he released
this information
that says
that nearly
half,
I want to make
sure I get this
right,
nearly half,
you ready for
this,
of evangelical
Christians.
Let me break
that down for
you.
I referenced
it a minute
ago.
That's like
the Baptists,
the people that
go to churches
that talk about
Jesus and preach
the real gospel
of Jesus,
salvation by
God's grace
through our
faith.
We believe
the correct
salvation.
People that go
to those kinds
of churches,
they're called
evangelical,
nearly half,
I believe it was
around 46%
of people
who attend
evangelical
gospel preaching
churches in
America
believe that
good works
are necessary
to get into
heaven.
Now look,
I'm not trying
to make you feel
singled out
if you are one
of the nearly
half of
evangelicals
that believe
that good works
are necessary
to get into
heaven.
but I'm
sorry to have
to tell you
that you're
wrong.
Actually,
I'm thankful
to get to
tell you
that you're
wrong.
Because look,
you're never
going to be
good enough.
How much
good can you
do that
will wipe
away the
bad you've
already done?
If I go
out and
murder somebody,
I can do
good works
for the rest
of my life,
but it will
not bring
that innocent
person back
to life.
I can't
undo
what I've
done.
Now folks,
I might be
crazy,
but the data
would suggest
that there are
people in this
room still
believing
that good works
in your life
are going to
get you to
heaven.
That they're
going to get
you right
standing with
God.
Let's see
what God
actually has
to say
about that.
Let's go
to the
Bible.
Titus
chapter 3
and verse
5.
He saved
us,
not because
of the
righteous
things we
had done,
but because
of his
what?
Let's do
it again.
Not because
of the
righteous
things we
had done,
but because
of his
that's it.
He was
merciful,
not because
we earned
it.
Romans 10
and verse
9 makes
it very
clear on
how to be
saved.
If you
openly
declare that
Jesus is
Lord and
believe in
your heart
that God
raised him
from the
dead,
you will
be saved.
Say,
Jesus,
you're my
Lord now.
You're in
charge.
I'm not.
I believe you
rose from the
dead.
You didn't
just die
like all
of us
die.
You proved
you were
God by
rising from
the dead.
I put
all my
faith in
you.
That's what
saves you,
not anything
you can do.
So the
question is,
are you
caught up in
the net,
or have
you truly
decided to
follow Jesus?
Are you
really a
Jesus
follower?
Or have
you been
hanging around
the good
fish?
Maybe
your whole
life you've
been hanging
around the
good fish.
I don't want
God to throw
you out.
I don't want
God to throw
me out.
God,
that's why
I've got to
constantly verify
in my heart,
yes, I do
believe in
Jesus.
I have
confessed all
my sins,
past,
present,
and future
to him.
Say,
God, I
know I'm
a sinner.
I'm always
going to be
a sinner
while I'm
in this
flesh.
Please
forgive me.
Make me
your child.
I don't want
to be
lawbreaker
Sam anymore.
Are you
still
lawbreaker
Doyle and
Molly?
Felt like
the least
lawbreaker
people I
know.
Are you
still
lawbreaker,
Jared?
That makes
way more
sense.
I'm
messing
with you.
Are you
still the
lawbreaker
version of
you, or
have you
been redeemed
by Jesus?
Have you
been made
new by
Jesus, or
have you
just been
hanging out
with those
who have?
That's the
takeaway from
the sermon
today.
Am I
really a
disciple?
I told you
we'd go back
to Matthew
13.
Look at
verse 52.
We're nearly
finished.
And y'all,
this time we're
not just
finishing a
sermon, we're
finishing a
12-week
series.
It's a big
day.
I'm excited.
Matthew
chapter 13
and down in
verse 52,
Jesus says,
he gets done
telling them
this whole
story.
There's going
to be weeping
and gnashing
of teeth for
the bad fish
that are thrown
back, that are
separated the
evil people from
the righteous.
Man, that's
hard, right?
Am I really
evil?
Yes, we are.
Without Christ
and his forgiveness,
we are evil.
So Jesus then
turns to them
and says,
have you understood
all these things?
And his
disciples said,
yes.
Therefore, he
said to them,
watch this,
every teacher of
the law who has
become a disciple
in the kingdom
of heaven.
Did you catch
that?
not every teacher
of the Bible
is a disciple.
Not every teacher
of the Bible
is a follower
of Jesus.
I can promise
you, you can
get up here,
not have a
strong relationship
with God,
be at a really
far off from God
point in your
life, and you
can get up here
and teach the
Bible.
There's not
going to be a
whole lot of
God's power
behind it.
God might use
something just
from the Bible
that's quoted
to stir something
in someone's
heart, but
something's going
to be missing.
He said,
you have to be
a disciple.
So even you,
my disciples,
who have been
walking with me,
I want you to
be teachers of
the law.
That was the
whole point.
Remember,
Jesus was a
rabbi.
He wasn't just
a rabbi.
He was a rabbi
with Shmiha.
Remember that
whole thing?
He had
authority to
teach, to
uncover new
truth.
Yeah, you
think so?
He is the
truth, the
way, the
truth, and
the life,
right?
And so
Jesus has
these guys
following him.
Man, I
can't believe
we get to
go with this
famous rabbi
everywhere he
goes and
learn from
him.
He's going
to make
us rabbis
too.
No, boys,
listen, I'm
going to make
you better
than rabbis.
I'm going
to make
you not
just teachers
of the law,
I'm going
to make
you disciples.
So he
says,
every teacher
of the law
of a house
who brings
out of his
old storeroom
treasures both
new and
old.
We're all
the way back
to Marie
Kondo again.
We're all
the way back
to the
storeroom,
the store
closet, the
garage, the
attic.
It's like you
go into
that and you
bring out
the good
stuff.
God's going
to use his
disciples
disciples to
bring out
the good
treasures.
Is God
doing that
in your
life?
Is he
using you
as a
disciple to
bring out
the good
treasures,
the good
fish?
Is he
using you
to reproduce
another
disciple?
Maybe in
your children,
maybe in
your neighbor,
maybe in
your co-worker,
maybe in
your friend,
maybe in
your parents,
a sibling?
Is he
using you
to be a
disciple
that he
can use
to make
another
disciple?
It's a
powerful truth
he's teaching
his followers.
So,
we have to
ask ourselves,
we got to
do a gut
check,
heart check,
gut check,
mind check,
soul check,
whatever.
We got to
check it all
and we got to
ask this
question.
Is my
faith a
dull
routine?
Is my
faith a
dull
routine
or a
dynamic
relationship?
Would you
bow your
heads with
me?
Is my
faith a
dull
routine
or a
dynamic
relationship?
I'm not
going to ask
you to
raise your
hand,
but would
you ask
yourself
right now
and be
completely
honest?
Look at
your faith
in God.
Is it
more
honestly
described
as a
dull
routine
or a
dynamic
relationship?
You know
what dynamic
means?
It changes.
It doesn't
stay the
same.
Sometimes it
might feel
closer.
Sometimes you
might feel
further away.
That's the
nature of a
dynamic
relationship.
But it
keeps
changing.
And over
time it
grows.
And you
don't stay
in the
same place
with God
as you've
been.
He keeps
sending you
back into
the storeroom
for new
treasures,
new nuggets.
He keeps
using you
to make
new disciples.
That's what
it's like
to follow
Jesus.
Go back
in the
Gospels.
We've
gone through
Matthew.
Go back
to Matthew.
Go to
Mark.
Go to
Luke.
Go to
John.
See what
Jesus did
with his
disciples.
And then
look at
your life.
Is he
doing that
with you?
Has he
been doing
that with
you over
the last
five years?
Ten years?
Twenty years?
Thirty years?
I'm going to
stop there
to not
offend you.
But look,
is our
relationship
with him
dynamic?
Or has it
become dull?
people?
So our
takeaway this
morning, if
you'll look
up at the
screen one
more time,
don't settle
for proximity
to God.
What do
I mean by
proximity?
Just being
close to
him.
Being
physically
close.
Don't just
settle for
proximity to
God.
Let him
change you.
Don't just
be around
God.
Don't just
be around
Christians.
Be a
Christian.
Don't just
be around
disciples.
Jump in.
Be one.
Say, man,
I'm not ready
for all that.
I'm not going
to do it
very well.
Right.
None of us
do it very
well.
He wants
us to,
though.
He's inviting
us to.
And if you
don't want to
get thrown
out of the
net, you
got to take
the plunge.
You got to
become a
disciple.
You got to
say, God,
change me.
Our series
can be summed
up in
Matthew 6
33.
We didn't
actually cover
this in a
parable.
This is kind
of the whole
theme verse of
the series.
It says,
seek the
kingdom of
God above
all else.
Live
righteously,
and he will
give you
everything you
need.
what a
life verse.
What a
verse to
make the
theme of
your life.
I'm going
to seek
God's
kingdom above
the kingdom
of my
world.
I'm going
to seek
God's
kingdom above
any other
kingdom on
this earth.
Y'all,
everybody's got
their own
kingdom, and
usually they're
the king of
it.
And all
these other
kingdoms are
going to vie
for your
allegiance.
They're going
to come try
to steal your
allegiance away
and make you
pledge allegiance
to their
kingdom.
And you know
who's going to
do that more
than anybody?
You.
I try to get
myself to swear
allegiance to
my kingdom more
than anybody else
does.
I'm my own
biggest enemy.
But if I'm
swearing allegiance
to God's
kingdom, what
is the last
part of that
verse promise?
Do we believe
the promises
of God?
Do we believe
the promises
of God?
So he says
he will give
you everything
you need.
You seek
his kingdom,
he'll give
you everything
you need,
and nothing
you don't
need.
What a
promise.
What a
powerful promise
from God,
from Jesus.
Seek the
kingdom.
Are we a
kingdom-seeking
church, and
is it God's
kingdom?
Or have we
created our
own?
God, let
our castle
become so
big that
it's blotting
out God's
kingdom.
God, let
your kingdom
work be
done.
Let your
will be
done in
this earth,
in this
church, in
this town, in
my family, in
my heart, in
my life.
Let your
kingdom come.
Would you
pray with me
now?
God, that's
what we go to
you with.
God, you
want our
hearts more
than anything
else.
We can
swear allegiance
to you with
our lips.
We can hang
around you for
years.
We can show
up.
We can sit in
the pews.
We can sing
the songs.
We can clap
for the choir.
We can do
all the things
that look like
we're a follower
of Jesus, but
when the great
sorting comes,
I don't want
to get sorted
out.
to get sorted
out.
I don't want
to get thrown
out.
This net
catches all
kinds.
Sometimes we
think we've
got a pretty
good idea who
belongs and
who doesn't,
but the truth
is some of
us are
hypocrites.
Some of us
have even
become false
prophets.
We've been
preaching a
different Jesus
than the one
that you
actually were.
Forgive us,
God, where
we failed you.
touch our
hearts, break
our hearts
for what
breaks yours.
If there's
somebody here
today who
needs to
finally take
the plunge
and say,
I'm not going
to settle for
just being around
God.
I want God.
I want him to
change me.
I want him to
start on the
inside.
I want to
follow Jesus.
Let him make
that decision
today.
Church, with
your heads
bowed and
your eyes
closed, I'm
going to lead
with that
question.
Nearly half
of churches
like ours
across America
don't believe
the true way
of salvation
that Jesus
taught.
They think
they can earn
it.
Jesus said,
no, you
can't.
I paid for
your sin on
the cross.
You can't
pay for it
yourself.
How many of
you would say
by uplifted
hand, I've
had the wrong
picture of
salvation, or
maybe I've
just put it
off, whatever
it is, I
need to come
to Jesus
today?
Would you
be bold enough
to slip
your hand
up and say
that's me?
I need to
be bold enough
right now to
turn to Jesus.
Slip your hand
up and I'll
pray for you.
Thank you.
Let me ask
this follow-up
question.
How many of
you would say,
I have not
been seeking
God's kingdom
above all else?
And maybe
that's why I
don't have
everything I
need.
Because I've
been focused
on my
kingdom.
I've been
focused on
some other
kingdom, but
I have not
been seeking
God's kingdom
with my whole
heart.
Y'all, this
whole thing
has been about
the heart.
God wants
your heart
more than
anything else.
Would you
slip your hand
up and just
say pray for
me?
And I'll
pray for
you, I
promise you.
Thank you.
God, you see
the hands.
I don't know
what's going
on across the
room, but
God, you know
exactly what we
need in our
hearts, and I
pray that you
would cut through.
That you would
pierce our
hearts, that you
would not give
us rest.
Don't allow us to
go to sleep
peacefully at night
when we are not
settled on your
kingdom.
That doesn't mean
we're going to be
perfect.
That doesn't mean
we're not going to
trip up.
But God, we're
going to keep
coming back to
your kingdom and
say, your kingdom
over mine.
Your will be done,
not mine.
Teach us, God.
Grow us.
We'll give you the
glory for it.
We'll thank you for
it.
Church, Jared's
going to lead us
in just a verse of
a song.
You can keep your
seats.
If you'd like to
meet me down front
and pray, we're
happy to do that
with you.
If you'd like to
come down and pray
by yourself at
this altar, come
do that.
But if you respond
to the Holy Spirit
however he's guiding
you right now.
Amen.