Jesus is Better Than Everything Else for Everyone
Transcript
How we doing this morning? All right. Flu season got all y'all, huh? My name's Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. We're in our third week of our Jesus is Better Than Everything Else series.
And really, we're kind of shifting how we talk about what we do as a church and how we think about who we are as a church. And so we just kind of are taking this three weeks as we started this year to begin to highlight what we mean when we say Jesus is better than everything else. And so we're in our third week, and we're going to be in Isaiah 55 today as we kind of finish this up. I was watching. I have a three-year-old son, and we watch TV together, and he does not mind watching the same thing over and over again. But I do, and so I have to find different things for us to start watching.
And so we started watching Planet Earth 2. It's the same Planet Earth. They just did another one video of it. And so we're watching the first episode of Planet Earth 2, and they're showing us iguanas on a little island. And all these iguanas are over here. And then it kind of goes to this, like, rock bed area where there's this gravel and then these stones all around it.
And it shows this little baby iguana crawling out of the ground, his first little peeking out into the world. And you can just kind of see in his face, like, oh, what a wonderful day. Like, you know, I'm alive. I made it out of this egg. I get to go start the adventure that is life. Could this day get any better?
And the British guy is like, today is about to get terrible. Like, he pops out, and there are just snakes everywhere. Now, I don't know if you watch nature shows. I think it's probably a good, like, psychological indicator when you're watching a nature show as to whether or not you root for the predator or the prey. Like, are you wanting the deer to get away? Or are you like, get them, wolf, let's go.
Like, I don't know what you're... But I'm not rooting for snakes. So this iguana pops out. I'm not cheering for a snake. And these snakes, like, as soon as they see movement, all these little heads go... And then there's like 30 of them.
I mean, just chasing after this iguana. And I've never been this into a documentary about lizards. Like, I've never cheered for a lizard before in my life. I mean, we've caught them before, used them to terrify my grandmother, but I never was, like, on the lizard's team. Like, he was on my team. But like this, I'm like, I'm rooting for this lizard.
And he's running, and these snakes are just chasing after him. And the snakes can't see real well, so there were times when the lizard would just freeze. The snake, like, crawled up all across his tail. And you're going, oh, keep it together, keep it together. And then he just, he bolts, and the snake's snapping. He runs.
He, at one point, gets hit by the snakes. He gets wrapped up by the snakes. There's all these other little baby lizards that are getting eaten. And it's like, I made my wife watch this. And she was like, what is wrong with you? Then I have to watch this.
He gets hit, and she's like, really? And then he squirms out. And the snakes are, like, wrapped. There's, like, four snakes wrapped around each other. And he, like, you know, the thing they do in cartoons where the person getting beat up at the bottom of the pile sneaks out, and they keep fighting. This happened with these snakes.
They're, like, biting each other. And this little lizard escapes. He runs. These snakes chase him. He finally jumps. He jumps across this pit.
The snake bites a rock, and he gets away. And I was like, yes! And I look over, and my three-year-old son's standing like this. He did it! And it was this, like, he lands on this rock, and you kind of just, you know, the music changes. It calms down.
You realize they're not going to have a secret snake pop out and get him. And you're like, okay. And then I thought, now all you have to do, little buddy, is that exact same thing every day for the rest of your life. You have to beat the snakes. You have to escape all the things that are going to try to destroy you. And then I just got to thinking about it, and honestly, I feel like we can all relate to that lizard, that we were born into a world where it feels like things are out to get us, that the world just doesn't work the way it's supposed to, that it's way more difficult than it ought to be in so many respects.
Like, you think about that perfect pairing and how it really does describe the existence that we have, that this miracle of a lizard can lay an egg in gravel, and then it can just form from, I don't know, scientific, biological magic, and this lizard can jump out and take off running. Like, that thing was quick. Looking at my kid who's three, and I'm like, man, it took you forever to get it together. Of course, it would be real bad if humans were like that, because we'd have to, like, the whole operating room would be different, because if he could hit the ground and take off running like that, he was already all greased up, hospitals would be a trip.
But life, life's like that. There's this very moment when this magical, beautiful, like, mind-blowing thing is happening, snakes surround you and try to kill you. Like, that's what it feels like our world is so much, is that everything is beautiful and good, and then at the same time so broken, so fractured, so despairing, so dark, and that some of you feel this very, very active and present in your life right now. That you're like, yes, I am fighting daily to not get caught, to not get taken down, to not lose to sickness or depression, or to not lose my job, or to not have this relationship fall apart.
Like, I am laboring. Some of you are cynical, and things are good right now. But you're like, yeah, but there's probably a sneaky snake right behind me. Like, everything's good now, but at any moment the music will change, and I'll be... We just live in a world where things are beautiful and painful and difficult all at once. And that, honestly, is the story of the Bible.
That we were created by a good and holy God who made the world beautiful and lovely, and we were designed to relate to Him. That everything was supposed to be at peace. Was supposed to be right with the world. You ever just said, like, this feels like hard... This feels like it's harder than it should be. About anything?
Like, it just feels like this shouldn't be this difficult. This relationship shouldn't be this difficult. Raising children shouldn't be this difficult. Finding a job just shouldn't be this difficult. And the truth is, it was meant to be harmonious. But that humanity sinned and rebelled against God, and that our own wickedness, our own flesh, our own sinfulness, broke and fractured God's good design, and that's called the fall, theologically.
That there was creation, and then there was a fall. A fall from grace. A fall from a good relationship with God. And that all of us are more like that lizard than we would want to admit. That we're all actively having to fight against everything that swarms around us to destroy us. And we have, as humans, actively chosen to sin and tear things up ourselves.
And so we're in this spot where the question in the Bible, and the question throughout the Old Testament, and the question that the Bible is answering is, what does God do with us in our sin? What is the response now that we're in this world that is broken? How do we get out of it? How do we move back to what we were supposed to be in the first place? In a good relationship with each other, in a good relationship with God. And so in Isaiah 55, what we're going to see is this invitation made by God, through the prophet Isaiah, and it's almost as if he's standing at this point in history where there's this brokenness of his good design, and he's saying, here's how to fix it.
Here's the invitation. Here's the hope. Here's the call to all those who will listen. And so let's pray, and then we'll read all of Isaiah 55 together this morning. God, I pray that we would listen. That we would listen well to the invitation that you make to the prophet Isaiah.
That we would respond. And that whether we currently feel like life is good and things are going well, or we currently feel completely out of sorts, and as if this could all fall apart at any moment. I pray that for the time that we have this morning, that we would listen well to your word, and respond actively to your invitation. In Jesus' name, amen. Isaiah 55, verse 1. Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.
And he who has no money, come, buy and eat. So he says, come, everyone who thirsts. So what he's saying is, anyone who feels a longing. Anyone who feels a sense of emptiness. Anyone who feels this ache. I love that God in this passage, the prophet Isaiah is speaking on behalf of God.
So this is God's word. This is God speaking. I love that God is saying, for everyone who thirsts, I love that he chooses thirst. Because you can go for a while without sunlight before you'll go crazy. You will go crazy, but you can go a while before that happens. You can go a while without food before your body will shut down.
The thing you need most is water. And we live in a society where most of us don't know thirst. I've got to think about it. I'm thirsty all the time. And so I just get to drink liquids all the time. I have perfect access to...
I very rarely have to deal with the thirst for a very long time. He's writing this to a people that grew up in it, that lived in an arid climate in the Middle East. When there was drought, they didn't have a way to get water. And he's telling that for those of you who are aching, who are empty, come to the waters. So the invitation is, for those who are empty, for those who are aching, for those who are in need, for those who feel this sense.
And then he immediately says, I have the answer. I can fill you up. You can come to the waters. You can have it restore you. When I was playing football in high school, there was one day where I was evidently getting dehydrated because I could feel my mouth just get, I mean, incredibly dry. And so I ran over to my coach, and I was just going to ask.
It wasn't a time for us to go get water, but I was going to ask, can I go get water? Because I felt like I'm having some problems here. And so I ran over and I said, coach. And when I said coach, my next sentence, I had to stick my tongue to the roof of my mouth, and it just stuck to the roof of my mouth and did not move. And so I said, coach. He looked at me.
And then I went to talk, and I stuck my lips together to try to fix this, and my lips just stuck together. So then I just went. He said, look at me like, you okay? And I was like, he said, you need water? I said, okay. So I went.
I had to like squirt water on my mouth just to get it to loosen up enough so I could open and drink water. And he's saying, some of you in life, you feel like that right now. I may shut down at any moment. Like when he says, come, those of you who thirst, if you're feeling that, if you're feeling this, I don't know if I'm going to make it. He says, come, you who thirst. I have water.
Come to the waters. And then he says, and he who has no money, come, buy, and eat. So that for all of us who would respond, that's a great invitation, but I don't have anything to offer you. He says, yeah, I know. I know you don't have anything to offer. I know you can't do this on your own.
I know you're not rich. I know you're not able to buy this on your own. Come, buy, and eat. Come be filled. Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. All right.
So this just got exciting. The invitation that God makes into human history for us who are lacking, who are thirsting, who are broken, who are in the midst of sin, who are needy, is come be revived. Come get water. Then he says, and wine and milk. So we need life.
We need restoration. We need the refreshing that comes from water. But we don't just drink water forever. That's not like his table gets more beautiful. It goes from just finding life, just being refreshed, to now you get a glass of wine. Now, when it's not being mishandled, wine is beautiful.
It's used in celebration. The Bible says that it's used as a picture of wealth and of fullness, and God gave it to us for joy. So what he's saying is that this isn't just find restoration, but it's find peace, find rest, celebrate, find joy. And he says, and milk, which the promise of the promised land was. He was taken to a place filled with milk and honey, and what that means is that there's fullness. There's protein in milk.
There's energy in it. There's life in it. And so this invitation to this table that is well set. And then he says, come by without money, without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good.
Delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear and come to me. Hear that your soul may live. So this invitation to everything rich and delightful and good is an invitation to God. He says, come to me. So he gives us all these pictures of being thirsty and getting water, of being hungry, and without any money, and without anything that could give this to you.
And he's going to feed you, and he's going to make you full. And what he's saying is, I'm the one who does this. The invitation that God gives in human history is to come to him. That with him is delight and fullness and richness. And so let's look back up where he says, why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? There's two types of people in this room right now.
All of us ultimately are in the same boat, but at this very moment, you may be the type of person who is saying, I'm thirsting. And I have no money, and I have no energy, and I have no life in me. And he's saying, come. I have water. I have food. Without price.
Come. I'll fill you up. And then, maybe at this very moment, you're one of the people who says, that he looks at and says, why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? That at this moment in life, you're saying, no, I got this. I got a little money in my pocket. I got some energy in me.
I'm going to make it work. I'm going to satisfy myself. I'm going to fill myself up. The truth is, at all times, we're both. We may feel one or the other. That even if you say, I have money, and I have labor, and I can do this, you're actually one of the people who's thirsting, and that won't satisfy.
And if you're one of the people who's saying, I'm thirsting right now, there's this tendency in us to chase after things that won't satisfy. It actually won't fill us up. That we're running to a bunch of smaller tables that are meagerly spread, and that ultimately can't fill us up when he's saying, I've set a table for you in my presence that'll satisfy. That'll make you full. That'll make you whole. That'll fix the ache in your soul.
So I don't know what it is that we're laboring for. I don't know what it is that you're laboring for, that you think will satisfy, that'll fix you. I don't know what it is that you're looking at right now and saying, you know, if I could just get this, then I'd be fine. If I could just have this, if this would just work out, then we'll be okay. Then everything will be good.
If I could, if I know that if I could just get in this relationship, I know if I could just get out of school, I know that if I could just get this much money, if I could just have a salary that paid this, then everything would be good. We wouldn't have problems anymore. We wouldn't argue anymore. And honestly, if you're a Christian, that should sound so silly to us. We do this all the time, but what we're telling ourselves is, if I could just have, if I could just get paid this much money, I'd stop being a sinner. And so would my husband.
No, I'd stop longing. One of the, I love this quote by Jim Carrey. He says, I think everyone should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer. I honestly think celebrities should prove to us, verse two, I think we should believe God when he says it, but I think celebrities should prove it to us because all of us somewhere, because we're Americans, have in the back of our mind, if we were just rich enough, I was just rich enough, I'd be fine. You can't be sad and rich. I don't suggest you spend a lot of time paying attention to celebrities.
I think you have better things to do with your time. But those people aren't the happiest people in the world. They're not all fulfilled, and everything's working out fine, and they're all happy and joyous and get along, like, that's not how it works. Now, we're all poor enough that we can keep telling ourselves that's what'll happen if we get rich enough. You can keep telling yourself that because you're not Jim Carrey. But Jim Carrey's had all the money he could ever dream of, done everything he's ever wanted to do, and said, it wasn't it, you guys.
I read an article one time about a person who was a waiter in the Hollywood area, and they said that all the people who were striving to become famous were fine. They could be friends with them, that worked well. But they said as soon as they got famous, they were horrible. They said because it made them miserable. As soon as they got everything they ever dreamed of, they were miserable because they realized it hadn't fixed them. And that's what he's saying, and that's what this is saying, is that you're spending your money for something that won't satisfy.
You're buying bread. You're buying things that aren't bread and labor for what doesn't satisfy. And he says, listen diligently to me. Eat what is good. Delight yourselves in rich food. Okay.
The Bible tells us that we were designed to exist in a perfect relationship with God, that we rebelled against God, that we sinned, that we ran from him, that we hate him. John says that, the gospel of John says that we hate the light, we love the darkness because our ways are evil. And we're told that God designed, that there was a snake in the garden that tricked our first parents into rebelling against God, and that ultimately that snake was Satan, and that God has designed a place of destruction and torment and pain for Satan, and that humans who do not repent of their sin and follow Jesus will follow the way of that snake ultimately to destruction and to eternal torment in hell. We're told that.
But that's not the invitation. The invitation is, I've set a rich table full of satisfaction, food, beauty, fullness come to me. He doesn't say, let me tell you exactly what's going to happen to you if you don't listen. Like, that's mentioned, it's talked about, but the primary invitation is, come back. I don't want that for you. I don't want pain and destruction for you.
He's not standing over us and go, you're going to face the air of your way. Like, he's saying, no, come, come to me. Listen. Hear every word. Listen diligently means hear every word. I'm saying, come to me.
Let your soul live. Delight yourself within rich food. Now, somehow it has crept in that to be Christian is to reject everything good and delicious. And to be, the invitation to God is somehow this invitation into just pain, just suffering. Now, what he says is, come delight yourselves in what is rich and delicious and good. Now, that's by way of a cross, so there is pain and suffering for Christians, but we hold out through the cross, through the pain, through the suffering, through the sacrifice, that the ultimate thing we're going to get is this, rich food.
When God spreads the table in heaven, there's no kale on the plate. It's rich food. Now, I know what you're saying. Now, you got to be rich to buy kale all the time. I got, I got, rich food. It's dense.
It's flavorful. Kale sits next to your steak to remind you of the fall so that you might worship while you eat your steak. My wife and I got a gift card to Ruth's Chris one time. So we went to Ruth's Chris one time. We were in there and I ordered a filet mignon and when they brought it out it was about this thick and it was in a plate with butter that was still like bubbling and I thought this is what food is supposed to look like. We ate that at one point they came by and they said um, is this a special occasion?
And I just thought is that obvious we don't belong here? Like, did I use the wrong fork? Like, what was I supposed to do, Ruth? Or Chris? Who's in charge here? So we just were like, yes, it's our anniversary.
They said, okay, would you mind if we brought by cake? And I was like, we will never mind that. They came back and they brought us a slice of cake. I'm not kidding you, it was this tall. I didn't even know you could make cake that tall. It's like, I thought after that I was like, everybody who's ever made cake needs to step their game up.
This is amazing. The table that God sets in His presence makes Ruth's Chris look like a Burger King. Burger King may be a little bit high on the totem pole compared to what God has for those who love Him and those who chase Him and those who belong to Him that we would delight ourselves in rich food. He steps into the middle of the chaos and says, come to me. You're longing, you're thirsty, you're weak, you have this spot in your soul that forever tells you that things in this world are wrong and broken and should not be like this and He's saying, yes, they shouldn't. Come to me where everything is good and everything is delightful and you will be full and satisfied.
That's the invitation. Verse 3, incline your ear, come to me, hear, that your soul may live. This is what Jesus says repeatedly in John 4 and John 7 where He's saying that this thirst is not a thirst that is quenched for a short time and you get it again. He's saying, no, this is soul level, heart fulfilling, thirst quenching. You will be forever full, forever satisfied. So He's saying this is just your soul.
This isn't just earthly richness, earthly wine, earthly milk. No, He's saying it's soul level, eternal level fulfillment. I will make with you an everlasting covenant. My steadfast, sure love for David. Now if you don't know the story of the Bible, that may not be as impactful and as exciting as it is meant to be when God utters it through the prophet Isaiah.
God came to King David and He made an everlasting covenant with David. He said, you are going to be a king forever and you can't mess this up. Like, I'm going to fulfill this promise to you. And He does fulfill that promise through Jesus Christ. That Jesus is the root of Jesse and Jesse is David's father. That He's the root of Jesse.
He's the root of David. That He's this promised Messiah, this promised king who's going to reign forever. And so what He just said was, I'm going to love you the way I love David, the way I love Jesus. That I'm going to make this covenant with you. If you come to me, you'll have the covenant I give to King David, the covenant I gave through Jesus, you will belong to me forever and you can't mess it up. So if you were a Jewish person and He says, the invitation to everyone is the invitation I made to David, you're like, what?
Everybody gets what David got? You come to, like He came to David, one specific human and said, I'll make this promise to you. And now Isaiah is saying, the promise is to everyone, they can have the same promise that was made to David. That you will forever be loved and welcomed. He says, behold, I made him a witness to the people. So He's talking about David, but He's also pointing forward to the Messiah, to Christ.
And so He says, I made him a witness to the people. What He means is not that He saw the people, that He witnessed the people, but that He put on display for the people this promise. So that God, in the midst of our rebellion, in the midst of our brokenness, calls out to us to come to Him and to be fulfilled. And then He sends Christ and Christ comes not to destroy us, but to be destroyed for us. So that He displays for us what God is like.
That Jesus is God's character witness. That He takes the stand and says, here's how much God loves you. Here's how good He is. And here's how honest He is to this offer. that He's made. That you might receive only good from Him. So that Jesus Christ goes to the cross so that we might see how much God loves us and that we might be redeemed from our sin because Jesus paid for it.
And so that when He says, I'm going to give you my sure covenant, what He means is that Jesus has already accomplished it. And when you place your faith in Him, you get all that Jesus deserved because He took all that you deserve. A leader and a commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation. Now He's talking to this leader, to this commander.
Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know and a nation that did not know you shall run to you because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you. So what He's saying, when we find all this out later as Scripture helps us understand what the prophet meant, was that it's not just Jewish people who will be saved. Which, since I know most of you, is very good news for the people in this room. That everyone gets to be included. That this Messiah is going to call a nation that hadn't belonged previously to God and make it His. Seek the Lord while He may be found.
Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake His way and the unrighteous man His thoughts. Let Him return to the Lord that He may have compassion on Him and to our God for He will abundantly pardon. So what it just said was, the invitation was, come to me, I'll make everything delightful and good. And then He says, stop your evil and come right now while the invitation is open. Come before the party starts.
Show up before we close the door. Repent of your sin, your wickedness. He says your wicked ways, meaning all the actions that we do that are evil. And then He says the unrighteous man, and His thoughts. There are some of us in this room who think this isn't bad because it hasn't left my brain. And He says, no, it's bad.
I'm not actually cheating on my wife. I'm just thinking about it. I'm not actually an angry person. I don't act on any of these things. I just run through scenarios in my head where I choke my boss. He says, no.
Get rid of not only your actions, but your evil thoughts and come to me while the door is still open. I was talking to a student at the University of South Carolina that I know. And we were talking about this. And he had grown up in a Christian home. And I just knew he kind of wasn't walking with Jesus. And so I just kind of said, at what point did you just decide that you didn't really believe what your parents believed?
And he said, no, that's not it. Like I, I know what they believe is true. I just know that if I believe it right now, I'll have to change the stuff I'm doing. And I'm really young. And there's still time. So what I want to do is get to just kind of enjoy college.
And then, at some point, I know I'll follow Jesus. It was a very sad conversation. Because he was very mistaken in two different distinct ways. One, he thinks that all the stuff he's going to chase after in college is actually more enjoyable than Jesus. And it is not. He thinks it will satisfy him when it is not bread.
And it does not satisfy. And two, he's confident about something he cannot be confident about, which is that he has all the time he needs. See, this invitation is Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts. What that means is that there will be a time when he cannot be found.
And there will be a time when he is not near. And when people beg and plead and weep and grind their teeth and scream as loud as they possibly can. Please, please, please, please. And he says, No. No. The door is closed.
I am not near. I cannot be found. The party has already begun for all those who ran from their sin and ran to me. The invitation was made to you. And you said, No. That moment is not this moment, but that moment is coming.
And so at this moment, I urge you, seek him, turn from your sin, and run to the table that he set where true satisfaction and joy can be found. Let him return to the Lord. This is the back half of verse 7. That he may have compassion on him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. Presidential pardons, I always find them very interesting. The president, right when he gets to the end of his time, he just starts releasing people from prison.
And he does it right at the end of his time because he doesn't want to have to hear about it. He knows people are already kind of moving on. They're going to talk about it a little bit, but they're paying attention to who the next president is. The reason presidents don't just show up and start releasing people from prison is because they'd have to deal with all the people who were like, What the heck are you doing? But they do it right at the end of time and they just let people go.
And as the president, once they let you go, you're done. You get to go. It has to be a certain set of crimes that the president has oversight over. But once they say you're free, you're free. Nobody gets to round you back up. Nobody's sending a U.S.
Marshal after that guy. You're free. And what he just said was that the God of the universe who has oversight over all of our sin abundantly pardons. He signs the paperwork and you're free. That nobody can round you up because he's the king of the universe. That if we turn from our sin, we run to him and he says, free.
And he makes the covenant he made with David which was, you will forever belong to me. And the way he does it is that Jesus Christ paid our punishment so that we could go free. Verse 8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. I don't know if this is the case, but if any of y'all just thought, that doesn't sound fair. I'm glad his thoughts aren't your thoughts and his ways aren't your ways.
He decided to redeem those who don't deserve to be redeemed through the blood of his own son because he's good and because he's smarter than us and better than us. For as high as the heavens are higher than the earth, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there, but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Meaning, he's going to do what he wants to do. He's declared this and this is how it's going to work. I also want to just tag this. I don't think this is what the author is saying, but I want to tag it. He says that the word of God is like rain that falls down, that it brings forth life. And for those of you in this room who are Christians, if you feel dry and withered, weary and exhausted, I just want to ask, have you been pulling up to the table lately?
Have you been studying the word? Have you been letting it soak into you? Have you been letting it give you life? Have you been drawing yourself close to the God of the universe who says he has milk and water and wine? If you feel like you have no energy, he has milk. If you feel like you're about to die, he has water.
And if you just need some joy, he has wine. And it's better than what you bought at Walmart. It's verifiable. Read John 2. God makes good wine. Verse 12.
For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace. If you right now knew that there could be a promise over your life of joy and peace, you take it. Honestly, if I could just know that my life would be filled with joy and peace, that just sounds wonderful. I pray for that all the time, that my house would be filled with joy and be filled with peace. And he's saying that's what belongs to those who will belong to him. And it's not just here, it's an eternal promise.
The mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Those who belong to Jesus get to live in a Disney movie. You guys. Instead of the thorn, there shall come up the cypress. Instead of the briar, shall come up the myrtle. And it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
The invitation is that we would turn from our sin, be abundantly pardoned, welcomed in the celebration, and enter into a place that forever, that is an everlasting, eternal home where there is no more sin and destruction. There is no Me Too movement in eternity with Jesus. There are no protest marches, no sit-ins, there is no weeping in eternity with Jesus that we have all been invited into and welcomed at a table that belongs to Him. That's a promise made in Isaiah. This idea of flowing water is mentioned in John 4 and mentioned in John 7. It's mentioned in Zechariah.
It's mentioned in Jeremiah. It's mentioned throughout the Old Testament in Ezekiel. It's this idea that God would give joy and peace and an overflowing well of water that would not run dry. Revelation chapter 22 says this and this is where we'll end today. The spirit and the bride say come and let the one who hears say come and let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
Just leave that up there for a little while for a little while. We're told in Isaiah that the God of the universe steps into the brokenness and says come to me if you're thirsty come drink. And the book of Revelation says that the spirit spirit of God and the bride of Christ that's the church stand together and make the same invitation. That the church that belongs to Jesus will be so filled with the spirit that we would be inviting everyone we can to come. That our role because we actually believe this is to stand and say no, no, no, no, no. I know of something that does satisfy.
I know of one who does fill the longings of your heart. I know of something that will fill you up. I know of water while you thirst and long. I know of a much better invitation that's made to you. This is why I had someone the other day was saying like why do we tell people they should break up with people? We don't always do that.
Some people shouldn't break up. A lot of people should. And here's why we tell people that. We actually believe verse 2 why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy? We believe that a lot of people are in relationships and they're actively running away from Jesus. They're actively pursuing sexual sin.
They're actively chasing after things that will not satisfy. And without hesitation without blinking we can look at them and say stop. There's a much better invitation made to you that will not be found in this relationship. This is why we can look at someone and say I don't think you should take that promotion. This is why we can look at someone and say I think your job's too big of a deal. This is why we can look at someone and say I think you're placing too much weight in this area because we believe that it's in our hearts to chase after and labor for things that won't fill us up but that God promises that he will.
And that we get to join the spirit of God, the prophet of God echoing the voice of God and say come. All of you who are thirsty come. There's a beautiful invitation for you. There's richness and depth that you can't even imagine. That's what the church gets to do. That's who we get to be.
That's one of the reasons why we exist in community groups because we get to be a small picture of this party, this celebration that is coming. We've had recently a couple of stories that came out of our community groups that were really encouraging to me. There was somebody hanging out with the group. It was his first time hanging out and after he'd been there for a little while he goes, okay, can I say something? Am I allowed to talk? They were like, sure.
He said, um, my roommate had been inviting me to this for a long time and now I see. I see why he likes it. This is just great. So I don't know if I'm supposed to say stuff like this but this is great. And can I keep coming? That group they said absolutely.
This is why he kept inviting you. He knew it was great. You thought he was weird. He didn't care. He kept inviting you because he knew what was on the other side. He knew what was set at the table.
Somebody would come hang out with a group and they were just playing poker together. They were just sitting here for a while and after a while he just said, how do y'all know each other? Because I just haven't been around people like this. His assumption was y'all have to have been friends for a really long time. Y'all have to have really deep meaningful relationships. And they were like, we just met.
It was just kind of like, we all were part of the same church? And what it was, he had gotten a glimpse into what it looks like for a group of people to be sitting at a table who had been brought in because their sins had been pardoned. Who had been brought in because they knew they had been eating dirt and now were getting to eat bread. They had been brought in because they knew. And there's a grace and a peace and a joy and an ability to talk about really serious things and really jokey, frivolous things and swap back and forth with ease because they're people who've been invited to a table where they didn't have to earn their way in.
My group is going to need to multiply at some point. Dawn Gooch, who's on the video, she's in my community group. I don't want our group to multiply, if I'm honest with y'all. Can I confess sin up here? But I remind myself about Dawn and then I do want our group to multiply because there's other Dawns out there that need to be on a video four years from now saying, I'm so glad they harassed me.
I think she said, I'm glad that Kelly stalked me. Super weird. If this is your first time, I'm sorry. That was creepy, you guys. Here's the thing. We are too.
And if you actually get to take a seat at that table where the food is rich and the God is good who pardons sin, you'll get to say the same thing two, three years from now. You see, we believe that Jesus is better than everything else for you, that you should put your sin down and you should chase after him. And we believe that Jesus is better than everything else for the people in your group, that you should look at them and say, you need to run after him headlong and you need to run away from your wickedness and you need you and he'll make you whole. And we believe that Jesus is better than everything else for everyone else.
And our prayer is that two years from now, you get to stand right here in a portable hot tub, put your hand on the back of your neighbor, put your hand on the back of your co-worker, put your hand on the back of your roommate who currently has no desire for anything that has to do with Jesus and actually is a little bit annoyed with you every time you bring it up. Put your hand on their back and say, who is your Lord and Savior? And have them say, with tears rolling down their face, Jesus Christ. And for you to slam dunk them in some water, because it represents that they have died with Christ, that their sin has been taken away, that they've risen with him, and that they will forever have a seat at that table.
Our prayer is that four years from now, we'll be sitting with someone who right now you haven't even met yet, but you're about to this week, because they're about to get a job, two cubicles down from you. And we'll be laying our hands on them, and praying over them, and weeping over them, because we're not going to see them again for a while, because they're going overseas to tell everybody that there's a God of the universe who stepped into our brokenness, and he says, come, come to me, find fulfillment, find joy, find satisfaction, quit eating dirt. that's our hope, that's our prayer. So we're going to keep actively running from sin and helping each other run from sin, and we're going to keep actively trying to equip ourselves and grow in what it means to be gospel-centered and to love Jesus and to exist in relationships with each other, and we're going to continue to multiply groups and train group leaders, and we're going to continue to repent of sin and practice church discipline, and we're going to continue to do all of these things, because we know there's a moment in time when the door gets shut and the king of the universe starts to party. And we want as many people as possible at that table, and we honestly don't care if they want to hear it or not, because we know what's at the table and who makes the invitation and how good and satisfying it is.
Matt's going to come back up here. We're going to sing. During this next song, you have the opportunity, to sing. You have the opportunity to sit and pray. Maybe you have some people right now that you know you need to begin telling. You need to begin standing with the Holy Spirit as the bride of Christ and saying, come.
Everyone, come. I love in that verse where it says, let the one who hears say, come. That's who we're praying for right now. That's who I was just talking about. That's your co-worker who's going to get to do the same thing, who's going to get to go to someone right now. They don't know Jesus right now, but at some point, they're going to have heard it and they're going to begin to shout alongside you and alongside the Spirit of God, come, this invitation is beautiful and good.
In a minute, as we've repented, as we've reflected, we'll be able to take communion, which is our promise of the future hope of the resurrection. It's us remembering the cross and looking forward to the hope that we have forever in Jesus, that his body was broken for us, that his blood was shed for us, that he invited us in. If you're a Christian, that's for you. If you're not a Christian, we'd ask you to not partake in communion because you don't fully know what it means at this point. So during this next song, Matt will sing, we'll pray, we'll take communion, and then in a minute we'll have a chance to stand and sing together as a church.
Let's pray. God, we ask that we could stand shoulder to shoulder with your spirit, that he would dwell in us and empower us as your bride to invite to an unending supply to invite everyone we know to true satisfaction, true hope, true fulfillment, to proclaim Christ. We ask for those in this room right now that need to turn from their sin, that need to run to you, that they'd find you with open arms ready to abundantly pardon. We love you. We praise you in Jesus' name.
Jesus is Better Than Everything Else for You
Transcript
Over the past several months, we're looking at who we've been as a church, where we're wanting to go, what we've always kind of tried to claim and point people to, and we just came up with this as a helpful way to say kind of the heart behind everything else we're going for. So last week, we specifically spent some time talking about Jesus is better than everything else for you. For you personally, for you as an individual, that Jesus is better than everything else for me, that he's better than everything else, he's more enjoyable, more lovely, more to be pursued, more to be chased after, more to be desired than all the other things that I could desire. And now today, we're talking about Jesus is better than everything else for those around you, those next to you, those who walk in life with you that are believers.
So that Jesus is better than everything else for me, and Jesus is better than everything else for you. For the people in your group and in your family, that we would take the time to intentionally point them towards Jesus. We said last week that the whole point of the gospel was for joy, for enjoyment. That Hebrews 12 says that it was for the joy set before him that Jesus endured the cross and scorned its shame. That he went for our joy in his glory and in a relationship with him, and that we are meant to find our fulfillment, our pleasure, our happiness, our joy in him. So as we get started this morning, I have a personal question for you.
How argumentative are you? Not you, don't like look at your spouse. How argumentative are you? Are you the type of person who just enjoys a good exchange of ideas? You don't even like the word argue, because it's like, I'm not mad. You're just wrong, and I'm trying to help.
That you don't mind hopping in. You don't mind correcting. You don't mind engaging. That you'll actually, you don't have to raise your hand or raise your spouse's hand, but you'll overhear a conversation and just hop in. I'm sorry, what? No, Thai food is terrible.
Like you just, it's like they were talking to you. You like that movie? Like you just jump in to start an argument. To engage in a discussion. Robust dialogue. Whatever you call it.
Now, there's other people on the other side of the spectrum. How many of you in this room are just not? You're not going to correct people. You're not going to disagree with people. Either it makes you feel uncomfortable, or you just don't care. So like there's some people who watch someone do something wrong, and they'll be like, hey, I know it's none of my business, but can I help you?
Can I tell you what you're doing wrong here? And there are those of you in this room who will watch someone try and fail, and try and fail, and you'll sit back and go, idiot. But you're not going to tell them. You're not going to tell them they're wrong. Maybe you know they're wrong. You just don't want to.
Maybe you're not mad at them, or you're not judging them. You're just thinking, maybe they know a different way, and it's just not working for them. I don't know. My wife, I'm the type of person, I don't mind getting into engaging in an argument, a discussion. I don't mind it at all. My wife is on the opposite end of the spectrum.
So like we've been places before where she's like, when we're showing up, she's like, oh, they think my name's Tina. It's like you haven't corrected them on your name? Like, she will. She'll let somebody call her. I'll be like, I'll fix this. Like, I'll walk in and like announce your name loudly.
And like, she's just that type of person. She has to care a lot. So if you're the type of person who doesn't engage, how much do you have to care? How close do you have to be to the situation before you'll wait in, before you'll correct, before you'll... So like I've had people say like, I could just never imagine your wife getting upset.
It's like, I can imagine it. I've seen it. Because she cares. She's invested. She's close. And so some of you, it takes a whole lot.
And what we're going to look at today in this section in Titus, so if you want to grab your Bibles and head to Titus chapter 2, we're picking up with the Apostle Paul. He's writing to a pastor. And he's saying, here's something worth engaging over. Here's something worth waiting in. Here's something worth discomfort, frustration. This is worth your hopping in, arguing, declaring, insisting.
So let's pray for our time as we begin to read this this morning. We're going to read a good bit and just kind of try to walk through it together where Paul is saying, hey, this needs to be engaged. Father, we ask that your word would train us, that it would show us your glory and your grace, that you might equip us to love and to follow you and to care enough for those around us. To point them to Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
You see, we naturally point people towards things that we think are better. We naturally will point someone towards something that we think is good. You do this with mechanics. You do this with movies. I had a friend of mine who told me he'd moved up here from Florida and he's like, yeah, I've never had fried chicken. And I was like, get in the truck.
Like, we're going now. You need to eat fried chicken. Like, he got him a chicken breast. He looked at it and said, okay, now what do I do? I was like, bite that part. He's like, just grab it.
I was like, yes. He ate a little bit and then he put it down and he said, I see why everybody talks about this. I was like, yes, fried chicken is amazing. But we do that. When we know something is better, we know something is good, we point people to it. And this is where we're looking at actually pointing each other towards Jesus, which we would say as Christian is supreme, that he is above everything else, that he is what is most good for us.
We're going to pick up in verse 11 of chapter 2. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, who are zealous for good works. Okay, so look back. We're going to look at verses 11 and 12 together. They'll be on the screen. As Christians, our goal is to remain Christians.
Once you believe in Jesus, you want to continue to believe. You want to continue to have him at work in your soul. You don't want to drift. You don't want to run away. You want to stay tethered to Christ. You want him to be at work in your heart to make you look more and more like him.
Now, we believe that he does that in us through the power of his spirit, but that we collectively work together to continue to point each other back towards what most matters so that we might most enjoy, love, and follow Jesus. And so what he says at the beginning of this passage is he says, For the grace of God has appeared. Well, what's he talking about? What's the grace of God that has appeared? We'll have that on the screen. The grace of God has appeared.
And then he says, bringing salvation for all people. So that tells us what the grace of God is, that the salvation brought for all people, we know, is Christ. So what he's saying is that when Jesus showed up and went to the cross, that grace appeared, appeared, and this grace brought salvation for all people. That Jesus Christ lived perfectly on our behalf. That he died a sinner's death. That all sinners deserve to die, but that he didn't deserve to die.
And that he was laid in the tomb, and that he rose again. That he conquered sin and death on our behalf so that we might be saved. That that's grace. That that's what's appeared. That it's God showed up in history. That the grace of God appeared, bringing salvation.
And then he says this, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. All right. As we want to follow Jesus, we want to grow. And what it means to be healthy, and to walking away from sin, and walking closer to Jesus. And one of the things that happens, on a regular basis, is that someone becomes a Christian, and that we step in and say, okay, they're a Christian now, and it's almost like, you need grace. You need Jesus to save you.
You're a sinner, and you need grace. You need to be saved from your sin, by no work of your own, but you need Jesus to redeem you, and then you become a Christian, and it's like, okay, now there's a lot of rules you need to learn. You've got to get your stuff together. Now that you're a Christian, there's a whole lot of mess in your life, that we've got to work on. And sometimes it can feel like, what we think is, no, no, I needed grace to be saved, but now I need the rules to grow. But what's he saying?
When he says, training us to renounce ungodliness, and worldly passions, what trained us? The grace of God that appeared. That it's grace that trains us. It's grace that calls us out of our sin. That it's God's grace on our behalf that keeps us from chasing after our old worldly passions. And worldly passions are the things that we used to love and desire.
I love the word passion is there. Something that you're just passionate about. Your face lights up when you think about it. And it's one of the things that you used to just chase after. Your world was built around it. And how did your passions change?
Grace came in. How did your loves change? He began to love something more. That's what the next verse is. I want to show this to you. I find it so encouraging.
He says, We're waiting for our blessed hope. The appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. So that what happened was, he stepped in and we, our hope, our longing, our desire changed. Our passions changed. So that what you used to be passionate about, what you used to look forward to, what you used to build your calendar around, what you used to change.
And now you have a blessed hope that your passions changed to a longing and a deep desire. I love when you get to see at like airports and stuff where someone's waiting on a soldier to return. A spouse is waiting with a family and they've got those sons that they just can't wait. And the ones that truly just waited, longed for them, couldn't wait for them to get back. That life wasn't the same without them. It's so beautiful to see that and to see them reunited.
To see tears. I love the ones where it's like the dad shows up at someone's school and just appears like he's the chicken. He takes the mascot head off and all of a sudden it's like, oh my goodness! Like I love those where it's like life wasn't the same without you. You now become so ingrained in us, so longing to see you, longing to enjoy you, longing to have you. And that's what happened.
That we had worldly passions but that Jesus changed our hearts and we now have a deep, blessed hope, a longing and a desire that won't be the same until he comes back. I have a two-year-old and I drop him off at different places and dropping him off isn't that much fun, picking him up is like to see his little face light up and he'll say, Dad, you came back for me. And that's us. That we're waiting for Jesus to come back for us that our hope is now the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ that we want to see him glorified, that we want to see him lifted up so that we used to love worldly passions.
We used to have things that we chased after but that he wooed us, that he stole our hearts. And here's how he did it. He gave himself up for us to redeem us from all lawlessness. That we used to have things that we loved. My wife and I started dating in high school and she, the first time she ever like saw me, someone pointed me out to her and was talking about me or whatever. The first words my wife ever said about me out loud, she looked at me, she really soaked it in, I think, like if I'm going to picture this in my head.
And then she said, I don't like him to the person next to her. And her friend was like, okay, like, it's fine with that. Some of you are like, hey, I have something in common with your wife. But here's what happened. Here's what happened. I wooed her.
I stole her heart. She can't at this moment now even hear my voice without her heart just almost skipping a beat, you guys. And that's what happened. We had worldly passions and worldly pleasures and the grace of God appeared in Jesus Christ who came and gave himself up for us to redeem us. That he came and laid his life down that we might be his. And what happened in that moment was that he stole our hearts and our passions changed and our longings changed and our desires changed because we saw that he was better and more glorious and more to be desired.
That's what Paul's saying. That he came and changed our desires. That he called us out of that and into something else. That he made a people that belonged to him for his own possession who were zealous for good works. Verse 15. Declare these things.
And he's going to say stuff like that several times throughout this text. He's going to talk about these things. And what are these things? The gospel. That the grace of God appeared. That he called us away from our sin, away from our old passions, gave us a new hope and new longing and new desire through what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
And that we declare those things. Now, Titus was a pastor. He was an elder in a church and so Paul when he's writing this is giving specific instructions to Titus as a pastor. But when we read it as the church at large what we just see is what's valuable for churches to talk about, what pastors to talk about and so therefore what's valuable for us to talk about. So when he says declare these things, he's specifically talking to Titus as a pastor, as a shepherd, as a teacher but it's also for us to do the same.
So what he says is declare these things, exhort and rebuke. So that's encourage and correct. That's clap and slap. Exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you. And I love that he says let no one disregard you.
Do you want to know why I love that? Because so often in our lives we're going to want to tell someone this truth about Jesus and they're not going to want to hear it. We don't go, oh they don't want to hear it. We go, hey! No, no, no. This is what we're talking about.
You're going to have friends that are going to say, hey can't we talk about something else? Like I know we've been friends for a while and I was walking in your group for a while but I've made my decision. I'm chasing after this and every time we get together all you want to do is tell me that Jesus is better and that I need to turn from my sin and I need to can't we talk about something else? And you get to say, no. No we can't. But I am willing to continue to hang out with you forever.
Every day for the rest of your life. Not allowing you to disregard me. So that's how we exhort, that's how we encourage and it's how we correct, it's how we rebuke. So that what he's saying is that he called us away from sin and he called us to good work so that when someone in your group is just exhausted, they just don't, like I just can't, I just can't anymore. Like I just, if they call me one more time, I'm just, I just can't, I'm just not going to answer. Like I just have no desire to do anymore.
Like I'm done with them. And what you get to step in and say, no, let me encourage you in how good the gospel is and how grace has worked on your behalf and how you've been equipped and called for good works. And when someone's chasing after old sin, you get to step in and say, no, let me tell you how we've been called out of that. Not so that you might earn your salvation, but because Jesus has already laid down his life for you and you have a better savior. You have a greater love that we exhort and rebuke with it. Now, we're going to move into chapter three and chapters and verses in the Bible were added later.
They are helpful because they help you find things. It'd be really hard if you were like, hey, turn, if we stood up and said, turn to the middle of Isaiah, kind of under, like it would take us forever. So they were added later to help us find things. But Paul didn't write that giant three right there. So one of the problems that I have sometimes is that you're reading, you hit the end of two, you see that giant three and you think, well, I should be done for a little while.
He stopped his thought. It's like, no, he didn't. He just wrote a letter. We added the three later. So ignore the three and let's move on.
He says, remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. I love the beginning of this verse, these few verses we just read. Remind them. Isn't that encouraging? You know what Paul just assumed? We're going to forget this.
You're not going to be gentle. You're going to not want to submit to rulers and authorities. You're not going to want to be ready for every good work. Like, that we're going to drift from where we're supposed to be and that one of the things we're supposed to do collectively as pastors and as each other in church families is to remind each other, hey, no, that actually isn't the best. Like, you shouldn't be doing that. Like, he assumes that our hearts will drift and he keeps going.
Verse 3. 4. So he says, this is what you do. Remind them. Call them back to the good things because, that's what 4 means, for we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. He said, this is what we used to be like.
You've got to remind them because here's what we used to be like. And I love the phrase where he says, slaves to various passions and pleasures. That one of the reasons we need to be reminded about the goodness of Jesus, that we need to exhort and declare to one another about the gospel is because we used to have another master. We used to be enslaved to our desires. We used to be enslaved to our passions. We used to build our life around our pleasures and we're called now to a greater love, a greater hope, a better master.
We're betrothed to one who is greater and more enjoyable and more to be desired. I played football throughout my life. I started when, I used to play baseball and then I started playing football when I was like 11 and I went home one day and was like, football is better than baseball and I will never play baseball again because I get to, one of the things that had a problem with baseball was when they hit you with the ball, you just get to take, you just get to go to first base. You don't get to try to hurt them. I mean, you can't in the pros some. They really frowned on it in the little league.
But in football, if you hurt me, hey, next play, bro. Like I get to try to come back and I remember being in football in college. I was playing in college and it was right before, it was the most depressing hour of the day, right before we began to stretch and have to start practice and all the guys are just kind of standing around talking to each other and I remember picking up one of the footballs and I was just kind of looking at it and I held up and said, hey, just a few guys around me and I said, hey, you ever thought about how much of your time, how much of your energy, your life, your sweat has been devoted to this oddly shaped brown object? You ever thought about that?
And I said to one of the guys, his name was Antoine, he was All-American and he went, hey, y'all shut up. Everybody shut up. Listen to this. Say it again. And I was like, nobody was paying attention to me but they listened to Antoine so everybody now, all the defensive players are looking at me and I said, have you ever thought about how much time, how much of your life you've devoted to this? And I just, I remember them just looking at it and going, like there were some guys that you were like, that guy's doing some good math and you're like, your math's not great but you know it's a lot.
And when he says that you used to be slaves to various passions and pleasures, what that means is they used to tell you where to go, what to do. You weren't at liberty. They owned you. They owned your schedule. They told you how to spend your time, how to spend your money. They told you what life was going to look like for you.
That your passions owned you. And so I don't know what I could, if I had a big bag, if I could pull something out. I don't know for you what would be the thing that you've devoted so much of your life to. I don't know if I could pick out a mirror. I don't know if I could pick up a paycheck. I don't know if I could hold up a title. or a plaque that you'd set on a really nice mahogany desk.
I don't know if I could pull out of this bag and hold up something that was, I don't know. I don't know for you what would be the thing that you could look at, the object that you could look at and say, no, I've really spent a lot of my life obeying that. I don't know if you spent your time chasing after being admired or being desired. But what we know is we as Christians were slaves. We have former masters that told us where to go and what to do and what mattered and how to spend our time and how to make friends. Which friends to keep, which friends to lose.
We have masters that have owned us. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaved to various passions and pleasures, passing our day in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But, when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, that's verse 4, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy. by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Alright, so this passage, this verse, what He says, just parallels perfectly with what He said earlier. So what He says is, but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, so what did He say appeared earlier?
Grace. What's He saying appeared now? Goodness and love and kindness from God. It's the same thing. It's the same thing that appeared. It's Jesus.
That when Jesus showed up, we saw how good God was. We saw how loving He was. We saw how kind He is that He would redeem, that He would lay His life down. And He says the same thing. Earlier He said, bringing salvation for all people. What's He say here?
He saved us. That His goodness, His loving, His kindness saved us and now it's more personal. So what He's saying is for your life, there was a moment where God's goodness intercepted you. Where He claimed you. Where He made you His. If you're a Christian, there's a moment where His goodness and His kindness saved you.
And then He says, not because of works done by us in righteousness. So earlier He was saving us away from the sinful things and here He says it in a different way but what He says is, God did not save you because you had it together, because you were good, because you were holy, because you were perfect. He wasn't looking around going, who do I need on my team? That person. No, He chose us while we were in the midst of being slaves to our passions and our pleasures. Setting our whole calendars around food and sex and drink.
Setting our whole calendars around ambition. That He redeemed us in the middle of that. And that He washed us, renewed us through the Holy Spirit. And then in verse 6, talking about the Holy Spirit, He says, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, so that being justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. And so that's the same thing where we have a blessed hope, now He says it's according to the hope of eternal life. We have a new hope, a new longing that we're now heirs belonging to Jesus.
Verse 8. The saying is trustworthy and I want you to insist on these things so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for the people. So He says, this saying is trustworthy, this gospel saying I just said, and then He says, I want you to insist on these things. And so the two words here is insist on these things. I want you to hammer on this.
I want you to pound on this. I want you to make this the thing that you talk about. And these things, He says that a couple of times. I want you to declare these things. I want you to insist on these things. It's this truth about the gospel that He said.
But I want you all to notice who He says to insist on this too. So that those who have believed. Who are you insisting on the gospel to? The people who need to be reminded. The people who used to have a former master. You're insisting on the gospel to them so that they might be changed, be claimed, continue to run towards Jesus.
That they might have grace change their hearts and call them away from them worldly passions. That grace might train them. We insist on the gospel repeatedly over and over and over and over and over and over again. That's our job as Christians with each other because Jesus is better. So when someone's drifting and running after something else, we try to remind them and insist and declare.
And this is what He's saying. This is worth waiting in. I was at a football game for my younger brother and we were watching and they had a running back that had just marched the ball down the field. They get right at the goal line and they start trying to throw some passes. It's an incomplete pass. Incomplete pass.
My dad's sitting there like just, you know, like he's just getting, he's just crawling all over him. Finally, he just, they throw another pass that's incomplete and he stands up and yells at the top of his lungs. Dance with the one what brung ya! You guys, I was so excited. I just froze. I smiled.
I turned at him and I said, what? What on earth are you talking about? He's like, you know, a pretty girl takes a guy to a dance and then when they get there she dances with everybody else. Dance with the one what brung ya. He marched it all the way down the field. Let him score the touchdown.
Quit trying to get cute. Hand the ball off. He's gotten five yards every daggum time. Oh, dance with the one what brung ya. Okay. I will totally use this again in life.
I'm ready. That's what Paul's saying. When he says insist on these things, he's saying dance with the one what brung ya. He's saying that Jesus got us here. Grace got us here. It wasn't about you learning all these new and wonderful things and learning all these rules, but it was that Jesus stole your heart and so that when someone's drifting, when someone's chasing after something else, that we collectively as a church sit them down and say dance with the one what brung ya.
We sit them down and say Jesus is better. He's more glorious, more holy, more to be desired, more lovely than the thing you're chasing after. That he ultimately is what will fulfill your soul, your desires, your hope, and that he's brought you this far and we're not changing the story and we're not changing the things that we declare. We're insisting on this. I often, when I'm reading the Bible, look up words. I just hit a word and it's like, I kind of know what that means.
I think I could use it in a sentence and not look like a moron, but I want to know what it means. I want to fully, and so I just, in this one, I just looked up the word insist. Like I know the word insist. I got it. But I wanted to read and I love the definition.
There's two. Demanding something forcefully, not accepting refusal. And Paul says, insist on this. He means demand forcefully and don't accept refusal. Don't let them squirm out. The second one is this.
Persist in doing something even though it is annoying or odd. When the people in our church family come to you and they're in the middle of sin or they're talking about their life or they're confessing things or they're just talking, like a lot of times when people are doing that, they really want three things. One of three things. They may want you to advise them. You're close enough. You're in a relationship to where it's like that.
I just want some life coaching here. I want some good ideas here. They may want you to empathize with them. They just want you to look at them and say, I'm so sorry. It sounds so tough. And the person who wants advice doesn't really care about your empathy.
That's so hard. It's like, yeah, okay. You got any ideas? It's like, I ain't trying to get a hug. I ain't telling you this just because of that. And the person who wants you to empathize is so mad at you when you give advice.
They're like, I just wanted you to say it was terrible and give me a hug. And you're like, well, but here's what you really need to do. They maybe just want you to listen. A good way to tell is if it's a phone conversation. Right after they're done talking and you start talking, they get really busy. They've said all their stuff and you're like, well, hey, let me, oh, well, look at that.
My cat just caught on fire and they just hang out the phone. They didn't want you to say anything. They really, empathy would be okay. Advice is terrible. And you know what we do? As Christians, as church families, those who belong to one another and belong to Jesus, we do something very odd and annoying and we don't stop.
We say, you need Jesus. If you're tired, you need Jesus. If you're sad and lonely, you need Jesus. You need to remember the gospel. If you're frustrated, if you're hurting, if you're in the middle of sin, if you need to be encouraged or you need to be rebuked, I have one message. I have one thing to insist on.
I may have some coaching later. I may have some advice later. Certainly, you can have some empathy, but the one main thing you need to get out of this is that you need Jesus, that He's ultimately better. You just lost your job? I'm so sorry. You didn't lose Jesus.
When you just lost your job, it's like, shut up. No. No, I'm not going to because He says, these things are excellent and profitable for people. You want empathy, but you really need a balm that heals. You need wounds that are bound up and guess what? Jesus does that.
You need to run from your sin and guess what? Jesus works in that. You need to be redeemed and forgiven and guess what? Jesus works in that. You need to calm and quiet your soul. You need to know that someone else rules over the universe and guess what?
Jesus does that. And so that when we are walking with people in life and something happens, our response is, Jesus is better and more glorious. That at the end of this, I have nothing better to offer you than Jesus. And even if you follow my wonderful, intelligent, super great advice and you don't end up with Jesus, I've failed you. I haven't helped you because what you need is Him. And so we insist so they won't ignore us and we persist in it even though it's annoying.
This is as a church when we say like, you'll hear someone say, yeah, I had the chance to gospel them. That's what we mean. I had the chance to tell them this message again. These things again. I insisted once again on these things for them. You'll hear someone talk about gospel fluency and that's what we've taught before.
It's just that the gospel is our native language. This is what we talk about. We say that we give good news before good advice or that we talk about Jesus before we talk about you. We've labeled it with 13,000 different things but it's this, that we insist on this message. So when He says these things, it's the two things that He said multiple times.
We'll reread verses 4 through 7. That's the most close one but He said the same thing earlier when He said declare these things. He was talking about that same kind of framework of grace has appeared, it saved us, that He called us away from our worldly passions, that He gave up His life for us. So let's read verses 4 through 7 where He's saying the same thing. He even does it in this passage. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness but according to His own mercy by the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
So that being justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. So that's the message. a good, loving, kind God had grace breakthrough in your life and He saved you away from your worldly passions, your sin, and your former slave master and towards, and not because, any of your own good work, merit, effort. Washed you, cleansed you, gave you a new hope, a new longing, a new desire, and, on the back end of that, some good work to do. That's what we declare, that's what we proclaim over and over and over again. So that when someone's lonely and sad, we say, hey, I insist that there's a good and loving and kind God that wants to redeem you and make you His.
I insist that He made you an heir, which means He made you family. When someone's chasing after something, they say, if I could just have this, then everything would be fine. And you say, I insist that you have a better hope. I insist that there's something more to be looked forward to and more to be desired than that. When someone's chasing after sin, we sit down with them and we say, I insist that God's called you away from that, that He's a better master, that He's a better lover, that He's a better, that He can woo you and steal your heart than that thing will ever be. And we do this over and over and over again.
And we have to remind one another over and over and over again because you know who can be tricked by their former masters? All of us. You know who can be called back into their past pleasures and passions? All of us. I want to talk to y'all. I think it's a good example of this.
It's one of the great characters in American theater. Ron Swanson. He's a character on Parks and Rec if you're unfamiliar with the show. He is one of my favorite characters ever. He's one of the most put together people in the show. Like he has some eccentric.
He's eccentric. But he's kind of even keely kind of like for the most part. And one of the big storylines with him is that he has some former wives named Tammy. They're different wives from different stages in life but they're both named Tammy. And he's terrified of them because they're crazy. That's the way I'm not saying all ex-wives are.
I'm just saying these are in the story. All right. So he's terrified of them because they're crazy. And what we see is that he's got all these plans and all these things and all these guardrails up to keep them away from him. But there are a few times in the show when they show back up and he's suddenly like, you know, they're not as bad as we like made out to be.
And the people around him are going, no, yes they are. And he's like, well, one lunch won't hurt. And the people around him are going, yes it will. One lunch will hurt. And he's like, no. And then what happens in these few episodes where they do this, he completely gets owned by these ladies.
They change his whole personality. They change everything about him. And they reclaim him. And it's his friends around him that have to step in and fight on his behalf even though he doesn't want to hear it. Because he's lost his senses and re-submitted himself to a former master. That's you.
You have a former master. In Jesus, he's stolen your heart. And there are moments in your life when you're going, I'll never, ever look longingly at that again because he's so glorious. And the people around you are going, yeah, that's right. You do confession and sin. You go, I just am so free from this.
And your group's like, yeah, that's right. You're free from that. That's beautiful. And then six months later you're like, well, you know a little bit of that. And your group's going, what? Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.
And you're going, no, no, no, it's not that big a deal. Like I just, we just kind of, you know, I just picked up a little bit of that. I just started a little bit. It's just online. It's just, and you have all these lame excuses, but you're unwilling to listen to anybody in your group's going, whoa, ho, ho, ho, and we're designed as church family to grab you and smack your head against the wall and say, no, no, no, no, no. Jesus is better and that's about to reclaim you and I insist that you remember the basics.
Not, you need to behave. Not, this is going to, like, no, Jesus is more glorious and more holy and more beautiful and he can steal your heart and his grace is for you and you never earned this in the first place and you need him and we're meant to do that because we all so easily can go astray that you are not responsible for the people around you. You cannot repent for them, you cannot make them behave, but you have a responsibility to them to insist on the gospel, to hold up for them these things that Jesus Christ is good and glorious and gracious and that he saves based off of his good work, not ours, that he calls us away from our effort, our self-sufficiency, that he calls us away from our former slavery to passions and pleasures and that he calls us into a better family with a better hope. And if you are a Christian, you need to memorize these things so that you can insist on them.
That's step one. If you're a Christian and when you go to talk to somebody about this, you just kind of don't have, you need to start memorizing some Bible verses, you need to start memorizing and reciting this for yourself so that you can point other people back to it because we believe that Jesus is better and so that when someone in our church family is sitting with you and they said, well, I just don't see why God would say no to this if it makes me so happy, you can say, whoa, the reason he'd say no to that is because he gave himself up for you that you might be ultimately happy and joyous and engulfed in an eternity of joy rather than this little thing that's right in front of you right now. When someone in our church family looks at you and says, well, I prayed about it, I just don't feel convicted which, by the way, please never say that. If the Bible specifically says something is to be repented of, don't announce I'm so far away from Jesus I can't even hear that anymore.
That's all you're saying and when someone says that to you, you can say, okay, I honestly don't care. We're sinful. You're messed up. Of course you're not convicted. You love this thing. It's your former slave owner.
You can't see it but I can and I'm insisting that Jesus is better. Like we said last week when someone says, well, I think God just wants me to be happy. You can agree wholeheartedly but their happiness will be found only in him and so you're willing to fight alongside of them so that they'll ultimately get Jesus. The band's going to come back up. This is the message that we declare. We have been invited to the dance by Jesus.
He's the one who saved us. He's the one who's redeemed us. He's the one who's claimed us. He bought our corsage. We're going to keep dancing with Jesus. We weren't perfected by good works.
We weren't welcomed in because we got in our mess together. We were invited in in spite of our mess and without any good works to present. We weren't the ugly girl at the beginning of the rom-com who later fixes her hair and gets her glasses off and is now beautiful. We're ugly when we showed up to the dance. But that we belong to him and that he changes our hearts and he claims us and makes us his and we will forever point to one thing and one thing only.
Jesus. That he's better, that he's more glorious, that he redeems, that he claims, and that you want him above everything else. Let's pray. God, I pray that our church family would so believe that you are better, that it would be natural and easy and unacceptable in our own hearts to point to anything else. And I pray, Lord, that you would bless our church with the grace to when others point us to Jesus that we would yield, that we would bend, that we would listen. And I pray that you'd bless our church with the grace to be unyielding, to declare, to insist that you are better.
May this grace forever apply to us. And for those in this room this morning who need to stop pointing people to something else, I pray that they would. And for those in this room this morning that needed to hear that you are ultimately better, I pray that they would believe it. That your grace would train them to turn away from their old passions. And to be swept up in your love. In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Jesus is Better than Everything Else For Me
Transcript
Good morning. How's 2018 treating you? This is the first time that I, today was the first time I did not mind the bridge being out at all and me having to drive a little more because I'm trying to get my carbon footprint up to get that global warming started back up. Because, man, it is not working right now. One of the things I love about the beginning of the year, this time of year, is just how much kind of collectively we all begin to look back and to look forward. So there's just this time of year, this kind of season, everybody just kind of, the year ends and everybody begins to look back at what was 2017 like, what was the last year like, how did it go, what was good, what was bad.
I mean, there's a lot of articles and things and news reports of the 10 best movies that happened, the five best this, the seven worst these, and then there's this consistent like looking forward into where are we going from here. And it's just this season of re-evaluating our lives, re-evaluating, re-deciding what has value, what matters, what is good, what's worth pursuing, what's worth changing so that we might gain what we truly desire. Desire. I know for me, usually the last couple months of the year, I'm not thinking ahead. I just, I'm not. I think in my head, it's like, it's like, I'll get it together in January.
I know for a fact, one of the indications of this for me was coffee cake. My mom makes a coffee cake that's, the bottom layer is like a half, like an inch of bisquick. And then the top layer is like an inch, inch and a half of brown sugar. That's pretty much what it is. You melt butter on the brown sugar to make it stick together, right? So it's like a stick of butter, brown sugar.
And so I would eat that at my parents' house. And I was like, you know, it's only Christmas once. So I ate like half of it. But I said it's only Christmas once. But I also made it at my house on Christmas Day.
And I also made the same thing to take to my group when we hung out. And I ate a pile of it. And it was like, that was kind of my mentality during the season. It's like, well, you know, I really value sweets. And I really value anything that I can just put in a bowl that's hot and put crackers in. And like dip a biscuit in.
So like, this is my season of just getting to eat piles of food out of a bowl. Like, I just really value that. And I would tell myself, you know, it's only Christmas once. But it was like the third Christmas party I'd been to that week where I was just eating carbohydrates. Or just drinking like two glasses of eggnog every night at 10 right before I went to sleep. And so now it's January.
And I'm like, you know what? Yes, eggnog is delicious. But I want to make it to like 60. Walking is good. Like, I just want to be able to like get it together enough to. And so there's just that kind of season.
And we're starting this year with three weeks of Jesus is better than everything else. Where we are just intentionally trying to reevaluate and re-remember what actually matters. What is actually good. What is actually worth pursuing. Reorient our hearts to Jesus. So if you'll grab your Bibles.
Go to Philippians chapter 3. It'll be on page 571. If you have one of the blue Bibles that's in the row. We'll be in Philippians chapter 3. And we'll be in this series for three weeks. And then we will pick back up in Ephesians.
And finish the back half of Ephesians. Kind of in the spring. We have that board that Matt Davis had. That says Jesus is better is right over there. And as we go through this series. It'll be over there.
If you want to write something. If you want to take a picture of yourself. If you want to remind yourself. Holding it like this is what he's better than for me. If that's personal. And you just want to put it on your refrigerator.
So that you see it every day. If you just want to make that the background of your phone. So that you see that every day. That you'll remember. Jesus is actually better than this thing. I'm tempted to pursue.
I'm tempted to love. If you want to share that. You can. You can put it on Instagram. Facebook. That's not really the point.
But if you want other people to know. What he's better than for you. You can do that. But it's intentionally reminding ourselves. That he is good. And he's worth pursuing.
So what we're going to do. Is we're going to read the first 11 verses of chapter 3. We'll talk a little bit about what Paul is saying. The point he's making. And then I just want to pull out a few things. That just kind of flow out of him.
As he makes this point. That I think are very helpful for us. That are core to Christianity. And core to our life with Jesus. So let's pray.
And then we'll read these verses together. God our hearts are deceitful. And they're cluttered. We're pulled in so many directions to go pursue and love other things more than you. And we are often tricked. By hooks that are baited with something that we desire.
But that ultimately lead us to destruction. And so we pray that for these three weeks. And for this time we have this morning. That you'd help us to remember that you truly are better than everything else. We love you and we praise you in Jesus name. Amen.
So today we're going to be talking about Jesus is better than everything else for me. For me personally. For you personally. That he's better than everything else for you. Next week we'll talk about Jesus is better than everything else for the people in our church family. For the people in my community group.
And then finally last week we'll talk about he's better than everything else for everyone else. That we would be intentional about seeing other people come to know the goodness of Jesus. Philippians 3 verse 1. Finally my brothers rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. So he starts off with finally.
He's wrapping this letter up and he says alright here's my last main point. Like I want this to be impressed in your head. Finally rejoice in the Lord. Verse 2. Look out for the dogs. Look out for the evildoers.
Look out for those who mutilate the flesh. That's weird. He's going to clarify. That seems like yeah okay. If there are dogs evildoers and flesh mutilators we probably should have our our eyes peeled. He has a specific group in mind.
He's about to tell him for we are the circumcision. Who worship by the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. So he had a specific group in mind when he said dogs evildoers and those who mutilate the flesh. He was talking. We figured this out when he says we are the circumcision. So what he's saying is circumcision was a sign that was given to the people of Israel.
It was given to Abraham and it became the covenant Mark of we're in. We belong. And then the law was given. And so they the circumcision began to be just the term they used for those who belong to Israel. Those who belong to the God of Israel and those who followed the law. Well Jesus comes along and Jesus says that he saves by grace.
Meaning that the law was only ever going to teach us how sinful we were. That God's moral rule was only ever going to teach us how pitiful we are. How far short we fall. And then there was a group of people that came along and said okay yes Jesus saves by grace. Yes Jesus was good on your behalf. But also you need to follow the Jewish law.
If you're non-Jewish you need to get circumcised. You need to begin to follow the law. And so what they were saying was it's Jesus certainly plus this other stuff. And so Paul says they're just mutilating the flesh. They're dogs. They're evildoers.
They're leading you away from Jesus. Rather than glorifying him and honoring him and saying that he's accomplished everything. That when he said on the cross it's finished he meant it. They're saying no you need Jesus plus this other stuff. And so Paul goes after it because it stands in the way of Jesus. It robs glory from the cross.
And that's why he says we're the circumcision. We're the true Israel. Those who glorify God and put no hope. No trust in the flesh. In our ability to accomplish this. That's what he's saying.
Four. Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh. I have more. He's disarming. Right now he's about to disarm one of the arguments that they would have come back with.
Which was of course you Christians say God saves by grace. And you don't have to follow the law. And the reason is y'all can't get it together. You can't follow the law. Of course you think basketball is stupid. You're uncoordinated.
You can't even dribble. Like that's what they would be following up with. And he just immediately is just knocking that down and saying no. If we wanted to boast in what you want to boast in. I'll win. I'll dunk on you.
I still think basketball is stupid. That's what he's saying. If anyone thinks he has confidence in the flesh. This is the back of verse four. I have more. As to zeal.
Circumcised on the eighth day. Of the people of Israel. Of the tribe of Benjamin. A Hebrew of Hebrews. As to the law. A Pharisee.
That's one of the most strict sects inside of Judaism. As to zeal. If you want to say I was a lazy Pharisee. Nuh-uh. As to zeal. A persecutor of the church.
When I found out about this Jesus that you're trying to get in the way of. I started killing people. That's how into being a Pharisee and the law I was. As to righteousness under the law. Blameless. But.
Whatever gain I had. I counted as loss. For the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss. Because of the surpassing worth. Of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake. I have suffered the loss of all things. And count them as rubbish. Now. I want to tell you one quick thing about Bible translation. Sometimes the Bible uses words.
That good Christian Bible translators aren't comfortable with. Because you know like kids read this. And people tell you like you should. That word rubbish. We don't use the word rubbish. If you're from Australia you might.
But we don't use the word rubbish. You might would say garbage. The word is scubula. Which better translates to crap. Or a less. Appropriate version of that.
A word I'm not really allowed to say from up here. Because people get upset. That. Um. So he just used a really strong word.
The Bible translators hit and go. What's a word that's kind of like that. But that doesn't make our Bible be the one that cusses. And they went with rubbish. Paul used strong language. Because he was making a strong point.
And some of you are like. Do you hear that honey? That's all I'm doing. No. He doesn't do it all the time. Um.
Count them as rubbish. In order that I might gain Christ. And be found in him. Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law. But that which comes through faith in Christ.
The righteousness that's from God. That depends on faith. That I may know him. And the power of his resurrection. And may share his sufferings. Becoming like him in his death.
That by any means possible. I may attain the resurrection from the dead. So what Paul just said. Is that anything that stands in the way of Jesus. Is garbage. That he even would look back on his life.
And the things that he devoted himself to. The things that he poured himself into. That he was zealous for. That he would fight for. Very literally. That once he realized those stood in the way of Jesus.
That they gave glory to him. That they stole glory from Jesus. That anything that would stand in the way. And rob value and worth from Jesus. Because what the law did for Paul. And what the law did for these people when they came in.
And that's why Paul was arguing. Was that the law became a. Here's how I build myself up. Here's how I save myself. And here's how I make myself good. And every time anyone steps in and does that.
They're beginning to say. Jesus has less value. I have a little more. Maybe not more than Jesus. But I got some of it.
I'm adding in a little bit. And Paul says no. It's not Jesus plus anything. It's Jesus. And all the glory. And all the worth.
And all the value go to him. So that anything that stands in the way. Is garbage. Now. Paul's primary point in this passage. Is that you will not earn your own righteousness.
But as he writes this. In that section. As he's writing that. He frames it in this concept. That I just think is so helpful for us. As we think about.
Just the general idea. That Jesus is better. Than everything else. Not just for our salvation. Not just for our righteousness. But that he is genuinely.
Actually. Just better. So I want you to go back up to the first verse. Paul says. Finally my brothers. Rejoice.
In the Lord. Now. He. Quickly. He goes. Rejoice in the Lord.
And then he quickly is like. Look out for the evil people. And it feels like he's changed the topic. But he hasn't. He's telling us. How to rejoice.
He's beginning to give us the idea. Of what rejoicing looks like. Because he bookends it. At the end of this. He says. Stand firm in Jesus.
And then he says. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I'll say. Rejoice. Like he's putting. Our joy.
He's hanging it around the fact. That Jesus saves. By grace. But I want to talk about the word. Rejoice real quick. Most of us.
Don't use that word. You may have sung it. In some Christmas carols. But you don't use it in real life. You weren't like. Oh.
I was at the game. And when he broke free. Got into the secondary. Juke that guy. And ran into the end zone. The entire stadium stood and rejoiced.
You don't say that. You say. We went nuts. It's crazy. But. You don't say.
We rejoiced. Now. The word. Means. To delight in. To be.
Swept up in. To be captivated by. To have deep. Joy. In. So there are things.
That you rejoice in. You don't use the word. But you do it. Maybe some of you. Over this past season. Rejoiced in.
Delighted in. Family. That you look forward to it. Much of our church family is young. Many of you traveled. Traveled.
I don't know how that was. Like Anna. Anna and I. We used to travel together. It was four hours. We hit four hours.
Argument. It's like all we could take. We started listening to books. We don't argue anymore. We just listen. Like I wonder what's going to happen.
With that Harry Potter character. And we just don't argue with each other. But we hit four hours. We start arguing. And I know for some of y'all. You traveled.
And you got there. And then you walked in. To where your family was. And maybe it just melted away. Maybe it was just like. We're out of the car.
I think you're great again. It's Christmas. Let's go. Like I. I don't know. That you rejoice.
And stuff. You spent time with family. Some of us are in the season of life. Where people come to us. For Christmas. Some of you got to.
Spend different time. Maybe you rejoiced in something else. Maybe for you. It was. The second half. Of the Michigan game.
Was rejoicing. The Outback Bowl. Was good. You went and got a blooming onion. For some of you. Maybe it was that you made it.
To the college playoff. Maybe not rejoicing much. After that. But you made it. And the most of the season. Was really good.
It was delightful. Beautiful. I don't know. I don't know what you rejoiced in. Over this past season. But we have things.
That we enjoy. That we look forward to. That we delight in. And I think. If we're honest. For Paul to say.
Delight. In the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. Enjoy. Jesus. I think that's harder for us.
I think maybe we trip. Over that. I think. We might go. Yeah. Mmm.
But I'm going to be honest with you. Sometimes it feels easier. To rejoice in. To delight in. Bread that just came out of an oven. Than Jesus.
That I actually know. How to enjoy. Some things. Better. Than I know how to enjoy. Jesus.
Now that's a problem. For a couple of reasons. One is. If I have things. On the regular. In my life.
That I. Pursue. Seek after. Set time aside for. Because I enjoy them deeply. And Jesus isn't one of them.
I've got two primary issues. One is. I'm robbing glory. From Jesus. Because I have a list of things. That are more enjoyable.
Than he is. More delightful. Than he is. And two is. They actually aren't. More enjoyable.
Or delightful. Than Jesus. So I'm robbing myself. Of enjoyment. We're robbing Jesus. Of glory.
And we're robbing ourselves. Of delight. And I want you to see. That by the reason. Paul says rejoice. And then he talks about the cross.
And he talks about. Salvation through Jesus. And he talks about. Righteousness coming through faith. And then he says. Rejoice again.
Is because the purpose. Of the cross. Is joy. God's goal. Was. Joy.
Was. Was. Restoration. Was. Happiness. Was.
Fullness. Was. Completeness. That's why Hebrews 12. Says this. That's why Hebrews 12.
Says this. Looking to Jesus. Jesus. The founder. The founder. And perfecter.
Of our faith. Who for the joy. That was set before him. Endured the cross. Despising the shame. And is seated at the right hand.
Of the throne of God. When Jesus looked at the cross. He looked beyond it. To joy. That the cross. Was the road.
To victory. And joy. The English. And Scottish church. Got together. In 1646.
And they wrote. The Westminster. Shorter. Catechism. Some of you. Just got excited.
Some of you. Were like. What are you even talking about? Some of you. Were like. I don't believe in anything.
Somebody said. I'm like. Just. All it was. Was a doctrinal. Q&A.
For people. Who are trying to grow. In their faith. That it was just a. For those who were young. For you training your children.
For training your family. It was just. That we're going to get together. And write. Some doctrine. Question and answer form.
To just try to help people. Begin to learn. The faith. The first question. They put on there. Was.
What. Is. Man's. Chief. End. That's not how we would say it now.
We would say. What's the point? Why do humans exist? Why are we here? That's what they wrote first. First question.
Why. Why did God make humans? What's the point of humanity? And this is the way they answered it. The chief end of man. Or man's chief end.
Is to glorify. God. And enjoy him. Forever. Because they were reading passages like this. They were seeing where.
The point of the cross. The point of salvation. The point. Of God's rescue. For humanity. Was.
Joy. And enjoyment. Now. If it just said. The chief end of man. Was to glorify God.
I'm ready. I got that. That fits in my head. That he's glorious. That he's holy. And so my goal.
The purpose of my existence. Is to. Bring him glory. But it says. And enjoy him. Forever.
And it's like. Ah. How do you. Enjoy. What does that look like? What does that mean?
John Piper actually steps in. He's a pastor. In the Midwest. And. He's written a lot of theology. He steps in and says.
That actually. You could say. The chief end of man. Is to glorify God. By. Enjoying him.
Forever. That actually. In our enjoyment of God. We display his glory. We display. How good.
He is. You. Were designed. For enjoyment. And pleasure. You know that right?
There's a reason why pain. Is the worst. And pleasure. Is great. This is super simple stuff. You guys.
But that's the way it works. You're designed. To like things. You just are. And there are some things. You just like.
And you naturally think. I like that. I will have some more please. You. Go to a buffet. And you just put a bunch of little things.
On your plate. And that's just your tester plate. My wife's plate. Always looks like a tester plate. This is. No.
This is pre-plate. This is one bite of this. And it's like. Nope. One bite of that. Yep.
And you go back. And your next plate. Is just like three things. In giant mounds. Because you figured out. What you liked.
And didn't like. There is no virtue. In just partaking. In the things you don't like. We naturally do this. I have a two year old.
He naturally does this. And it was really difficult. At our house for a while. Because the way he said. He liked something. Was he would say.
I like it. And the way he didn't like. Say. Say he didn't like something. Was he would say. I like it.
We had to use context clues. So you give him something. He'd go. I like it. You start giving more. And he'd be like.
I like it. It was like. You better calm yourself down. And learn the word don't. Because you're going to have problems. You keep tricking me.
But we're designed. To pursue the things we enjoy. To pursue pleasure. To pursue the things that we like. God put that in us. There is no virtue.
There is no. There's no. Something extra special good. About like. You ever taste something. And think this tastes terrible.
And I will eat that every day. From now on. That I might be more holy. No. You think this tastes terrible. Throw it away.
Get rid of it. I don't know. Feed it to someone else. Who likes it. Like. We get an argument about Moe's.
And Chipotle. Underneath that argument. That has always been assumed. Is the goal. Is enjoyment. The goal is pleasure.
We don't even have to talk about that. I've never once been in that argument. And been like. Wait. Time out. Let's set the parameters.
Are you somehow pursuing. Your own sanctification. By eating dirt. Do you like. Cold chairs. Paying more for.
A dry burrito. In a place where everybody. Makes you feel ugly. Is that the goal. Like we never done that. We just assume.
We're going for enjoyment. We're going for maximization. Of pleasure. Now we can have our argument. That's at the bottom of everything. And God designed that in us.
But then. He stands. And says. I am most enjoyable. I am most pleasurable. I am most to be desired.
That's why. Matthew. Luke. Someone comes to Jesus. And says. What's the greatest commandment?
What's the biggest rule? Some of you rule followers. It's like your favorite. Like your little heart. Best rule. What's the best rule?
What's he say? To love the Lord your God. With all your heart. With all your soul. With all your mind. With all your strength.
To love him. Not obey. Not serve. Those are. Those are in there. They come later.
Love. Primary goal. Love. Now. I will tell you something about love. It is not made more pure.
More beautiful. The highest pinnacle. Apex of love. Love. Is not. Just devotion.
For devotion's sake. It is not just. Obligation. My wife and I. We've been married. Nine years.
I can't mess that up you guys. Nine years. This year. We're going on ten years. I wouldn't stand up here and say. Yeah.
We've only been married about ten years. And so we're really kind of in the JV version of love. Where we still enjoy each other. Where there's still some of. Some of my love is really just that I like her. And I kind of delight.
In our relationship. And I like talking to her. And like we're working. We're working to get to where. We've been married for 30 or 40 years. And it's pure obligation.
Where we display our love. By the fact that we have no enjoyment of one another whatsoever. But we're. We're in it. Because we've made a commitment. Like that's not what love is.
Now sometimes love entails that. There are days that my wife. Continues to love me. And pursue me. Even though she didn't get up. And write in her diary.
Dear diary. Chet was so delightful yesterday. We've moved from one stage of euphoria to the next. Like she did. She. She could stay married.
She could keep fighting. But. The goal of love is that we would delight in one another. That we would enjoy one another. And so when he says. Love the Lord your God.
I don't know how we've somehow. Replace that with. Pursue. Serve. Obey. And taken out of it.
Enjoy. Delight. Run to. Sit with. Speak to. Grow in.
Have this be. One of the things in your life. That you look forward to. That makes everything else good. Makes everything else make sense. Colors everything.
I don't. But that's there. That's the point. It was. Joy was beyond the cross. Not just salvation.
That's why Paul says. Rejoice. You've been saved by grace. Rejoice. Jesus is better than everything else. C.S.
Lewis. When talking about this idea. In his sermon. The Weight of Glory. He says that if you. If you asked 20 people.
What the greatest virtue was. He said he thinks. 19 of them would say unselfishness. They would just say do not be selfish. He said. But if you asked 20 Christians.
From history. They would say love. And he said. What's happened is. We've taken a negative term. To withhold from ourselves.
To not be selfish. And we've replaced a positive term. Which was to look out for the good. Of those around us. He begins to point out. That the Bible.
Doesn't make this. This isn't a Christian virtue. He says. The New Testament. Has lots to say. About self-denial.
But not of self-denial. As an end in itself. So self-denial isn't the point. We are told to deny ourselves. And to take up our crosses. In order that we might follow Christ.
And nearly every description. Of what we shall ultimately find. If we do so. Contains an appeal. To desire. That heaven is good.
That God is loving. That what we read. At the beginning of this. Is that there's pleasures. At his right hand. Forevermore.
He said. If there lurks. In the modern minds. The notion. That to desire. Our own good.
And to earnestly hope. For the enjoyment of it. Is a bad thing. I submit to you. That this notion. Has crept in.
From Kant. And the Stoics. And it is no part. Of the Christian faith. Indeed. If we consider.
The unblushing promises. Of reward. And the staggering. Nature of the rewards. Promised in the gospels. It would seem.
That our Lord. Finds our desires. Not too strong. But too weak. We are half-hearted creatures. Fooling about.
With drink. And sex. And ambition. When infinite joy. Is offered us. Like an ignorant child.
Who wants to go on. Making mud pies. In a slum. Because he cannot imagine. What is meant. By the offer.
Of a holiday. At sea. We are. Far too easily. Pleased. I used to say.
God doesn't care. About your happiness. I'm pretty sure. I said it. From this beautiful. Green carpet.
I don't say that anymore. The point. I was trying to make. Was. And because I was so. Furious.
At everybody. Who says. Well God just wants me. To be happy. So I can just chase.
After this thing. That's right in front of me. I said. God doesn't care about your happiness. And it was really just. I don't.
This. That's not the point. God does. He cares about your infinite joy. Your infinite happiness. So much so that he would go to a cross.
So that you might have it. He doesn't care about this moment. He cares about eternity. Where moments don't even make sense anymore. That his goal. Was our happiness.
In him. That we might rejoice in him. That we might delight in him. That we might enjoy him. Forever. He cares infinitely more.
About your happiness. Than you do. I talk about him a lot. But that's because he takes up. So much of my time.
I have a two year old. And I fight him every day. For his happiness. He fights me for his happiness. That's what we're in a battle over. Because all he can see.
Is that candy will make him happy. And staying up late at night. Will make him happy. And watching that show. I just told him he couldn't watch. Will make him happy.
And I know. That eating just candy. Will make you miserable. And staying up late at night. All the time. Will make you miserable.
And not only will it make him miserable. Make everybody in our house miserable. He shares it with us. I know. That if he throws a fit. And then gets a reward for it.
The only thing he'll learn. Is that having a bad attitude. And being miserable. Is the best way to be happy. Now tell me.
That's not something messed up. So when he starts crying. And throwing a fit. I just will look at him. And say. You better get it together.
Because all fun will die. Everything good. Will leave the world. You won't get that. You won't have this. You'll get spanked.
You'll sit in your room. Until you get it together. The goal is not his misery. The goal is that he would learn. How to enjoy life. And have better things.
And God steps in at times. And says. No. Put it down. Walk away. Get rid of it.
Not because he hates your happiness. But because he wants it so much more infinitely for you. Beyond your ability to understand. So much so that he would die for it. So yes.
Next time your friend says. God just wants me to be happy. High five him. Say thank you so much that you understand the gospel. Now break up with your boyfriend and let's rock on.
I'm so excited that you understand eternity. And the cross. And the pain that Jesus went through. So let's put the bong down. Let's move.
Let's not take that promotion. I'm so proud of you. Because you understand that infinite joy is offered for you. And you don't want to sit and make mud pies in a slump. Let's move to verse 7.
Verse 7. The point of life. The goal of the cross. The purpose. The end of joy. Is that we would know the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.
That we would understand he has surpassing worth. That if you take anything and you put it in the balance. And you put Jesus here. And you put something else here. Jesus outweighs it. He is more valuable.
More enjoyable. More good. You could put everything here. And Jesus will outweigh it. That he has a surpassing worth. And Paul says.
I counted the loss of all things. I count them as garbage. In order that I might gain Christ. And be found in him. If you are a Christian. That's your goal.
And if you are not a Christian. It should be. That one day. You might get Christ. You might get him. That you might be found in him.
Later he says in the same chapter. I don't chase after this to make it my own. I do it because he has already made me his own. That he has already wrapped me up in himself. That he has already claimed me. That he has already taken me.
He already loves me. That he has already taken me. It's one of the things we work hard in. And I get so frustrated in. It's one of the reasons why we talk about. Jesus is better than everything else.
Or why we talk about gospel fluency. For those of you who have been around for a while. We talk about. We talk about Jesus. We do give good news. Before good advice.
Is because Jesus is the goal. He's the hope. He is better. That if you get him. You got it. That everything else can be thrown away.
Everything else can fall. Everything else will fade. Everything else will die. Everything else will fail. But then we might have him.
We've succeeded. We've won. It's ours. This is why I get so frustrated. I've sat in sermons before. And I know people love Jesus.
And they mean well. But there are times where I've sat in a sermon. And I've listened. And the goal was. Work really hard. So that you might gain the perfect spouse.
Spouse is good. It's not the goal. It's not Jesus. Won't redeem you. Won't save you. Won't fix your soul.
This is actually why God set things up in the world the way he did. Here's how it works. Everything in your life. Really needs to fit in one of two categories. It's garbage. Or it points you to Jesus.
It's garbage. Or it gets you more Jesus. When we get off stage. We can use the word other than garbage. It either pulls you away from Jesus. It stands in the way of Jesus.
Or it points you to Jesus. So this is why in the Old Testament. God gave a calendar. He gave feasts. Fast. Festivals.
He gave them times when they would withdraw from food. When they would mourn. When they would rub dirt on their head. Put on uncomfortable clothes. And then he gave them times where they would celebrate. Where they would party.
And he held this very strictly. There's passages in the Old Testament where God says. If you show up to the party late I will kill you. And some of you type A people were like. Yes and amen. I said seven fools.
If you work an extra day. It's going to go bad for you. And here's why. When we take everything off our plate. When we give up something. When we fast from food.
We're doing it to remind ourselves. That Jesus is better than food. That God is more fulfilling. And more satisfying. And guess what? When we feast.
When we enjoy the deep. Flavorful. Savory. Carbohydrate filled. Fat covered. Feast.
We do it to remind ourselves. That Jesus is better than food. That he's savory. That he's flavorful. That he's good. That when we have festivals.
When we celebrate. I love our church. We've got a younger church. We're working on it. If you're not considered younger. Stick.
Help us. Talk to people who. Aren't younger. When they show up. We have a younger church. There's a lot of people getting married.
I love going to weddings. It's a small picture. Of the party. The celebration. That heaven will get to be. This is why.
The Bible says. That Jesus is claiming. A bride for himself. That marriage. Is just a little picture. Of what he's going to get to be like.
It's a sign post. That points up towards him. And if we just enjoy it. As an end in itself. Then we rob from Jesus.
We've got it. Mixed up in our mind. If we just enjoy food. As an end in itself. If we rob from Jesus. But if we use it as a way.
To roll up and praise for him. If the next time you're at a wedding. And it feels like. This is just so good. You remember. It's going to be infinitely better.
When Jesus claims his bride. And the celebration. The celebration will never end. The next time you go hungry. You remember. Yeah.
This hungry reminds me. That there's a gnawing pain. In my soul. That will never be satisfied. Outside of Christ. But that I might give everything up.
That I might gain him. And the next time you enjoy. The most beautifully prepared. Plate of food. You say. Yeah.
This is so it'll roll up. And praise to God. You see. Your friends who don't know Jesus. Will only ever enjoy a steak. They'll only ever enjoy.
A good glass of wine. It'll never roll up in praise. It never goes beyond the table. But Christians get to gather. Around a table. And have it all roll up.
Into eternity. Into a God. Who's more enjoyable. And more delightful. More flavorful. So this is why.
There's some things in your life. That's standing in the way of Jesus. That he's prohibited. And you're saying. No I believe it's better. I believe it has more worth.
And your. Your role. Your job. Your response. Is to get rid of it. It is to break up.
It is to quit. It is to walk away. And this is why sometimes. We're supposed to stay in something. That isn't going very well. Because God tells us to.
And it. The point of it. Isn't. That this will fulfill us. But that ultimately he will.
Some of you long to be married. And marriage is a good gift. That points to Jesus. Jesus. And you may never get married. But you can still get Jesus.
Which was the point of marriage in the first place. Some of you long. To have a child. And maybe that's not going to work out for you. We don't know why this side of eternity. But we do know.
That family. And bloodline. And last names. Are all fulfilled in Christ. That he has better blood. And he's got a better name.
That we might fully partake in one day. Some of you are married. And it is excruciating. But you stay. And you fight. Because you know your marriage is just a signpost.
To the gospel. And Jesus is at work in your heart. That you might one day. Gain him. This is why when we're resting. We rest in Jesus.
And while we're working. We work in Jesus. This is where all the times the Bible is going to say. Do this in Christ. And do this for Christ. Is because all of it is meant.
To point us to him. And if it doesn't. It's garbage. Write it off. Count it as a loss. Get rid of it.
Now. Here's my fear. So we finish up today. Here's my fear. My fear is that for many of us. Hearing that Jesus is better than everything else.
You just go. Yeah. Okay. You'll get in your car. And you'll think he is better. Neat.
And you just go. That's my temptation. After our work on this stuff. Sometimes people will say. Like what did you preach two weeks ago? I'm like.
I don't know. That's why I like doing a whole book series. Something in Ephesians. Nailed it. It's so easy for us. To just say.
Yeah. I knew that. Here's the danger. I want to tell y'all a Bible story. Second Corinthians. Nope.
I'm not going to tell you a story from there. Second Kings. Chapter 17. The Assyrians show up. Nope. That shouldn't be there yet.
Sorry. The Assyrians. Thank you. The Assyrians show up. Gave away the end. The Assyrians show up.
They destroy. And they take captive the people of Israel. And they carry them off to Assyria. And they did this all the time. So then they would take a group of other people from different places.
And they would just put them together. And they took them back down to where they had taken them. From Samaria. And they just put them all back in Samaria. And said y'all live here now. And they did this to destabilize people.
To not have one whole big people group together. They were too worried about getting along with each other. Than trying to lead an uprising. And so they did this. They brought them down there. And so what 2 Kings chapter 17 tells us.
Is that lions started eating people. They were in Samaria. It says they did not know how to worship the Lord. And so he sent lions to eat them. Some of you know the movie Ghost in the Darkness. It was like that.
Terrifying. Some of you don't know what that movie was about. It was about lions eating people. And so they. It's such a big deal. Such a big problem.
That they actually go back to Assyria. They send people to Assyria. And say send us some of the Jewish people. Who used to live here. Because the God of this land does not like us. And we got to figure out what to do.
This is not going well. Lions are eating people. So they send some Jewish people back. They send them some priests. And the priests teach them. How to serve the Lord.
And what it says is. They start. They start serving the Lord. Lions stop eating people. And then it says. But.
None of them quit serving. The gods from their hometown. And it ends with this. So they feared the Lord. But. Also served.
Their own gods. And my fear for us. Is that some of us. Had life. Running into the wall. Had a lot of pain.
Had a lot of problems. And we figured out. How do I begin to worship Jesus? And how do I begin to believe. Some of these things the Bible says. And how do I begin to change some stuff?
But. We still have other things. That we don't mind. Stealing glory from him. We still have other things. That we don't mind.
That when he just faces off against them. He can just lose in these three categories. These can be more glorious. And more enjoyable. And more delightful. And more lovely.
And I can pursue them. Over and against what he says. And I can pursue them. Over and against who he is. And I can give them. Surpassing worth.
Over Jesus. As long as I mostly. Am here. We lie about Jesus. We rob ourselves of joy. And we sin.
We lie about Jesus. So. How do we cultivate a delight for Jesus? Well you make time for the things you enjoy. Sometimes you get less time. Sometimes it feels harder.
But you make time for the things you enjoy. You're going to see the new Star Wars movie. Eventually. You'll figure it out. You're going to find a time to sit. You're going to find a time to play video games.
You're going to find a time to read a book or to sit, whatever it is that you enjoy, you make time for. And so that's what always, whenever we say, just so you know, when you say, I really don't have time to pray. I really don't have time to read the Bible. I just really hadn't had time for our community group. All you have really articulated is I don't enjoy it that much. I don't think it's that glorious.
I don't really think Jesus has surpassing worth. And that should scare you and that should draw you into figuring out how to actually enjoy him. What I'm not saying is that you need to pretend that Jesus has surpassing worth. What I am saying is you need to enjoy the fact that he does. That actually spending time with him is your best spent time. That working towards him is how work was meant to be done.
That parenting in a way that is for him and in him is how parenting was meant to be done. So I would argue, I would say, first step, make some time. And I will tell you that it will be awkward at first. It's like a first date. First date is, I'm hoping you're not a terrible person. I suggest people get coffee for their first date.
If it's good, get a second cup. If it's bad, chug it and say, this was great. Well, my coffee's done. Bye. And sometimes reading your Bible, sometimes praying, sometimes you're going to have to get with someone else to help you do that. You're going to need to talk with someone in your community group and say, help me study the Bible.
Help me learn how to do this. And sometimes it's going to feel awkward. But the point is that the more you get to know Jesus, the more he'll matter, the more you'll see his glory, the more captivated you'll be, the more lovely he is. And you are wrong if you think, if I spend time doing that, I won't actually find anything glorious about him. You haven't met the Jesus I know. He is infinitely glorious.
He has surpassing worth. We just got to find the time to get around him and enjoy it. Jesus is better than everything else for you. He just is. And he's invited us into his goodness and his glory and joy so much so that he died for us to welcome us, to belong to him. The band's going to come back up.
The way we're going to respond right now in reminding ourselves and partaking in the goodness of Jesus is that you are a Christian. We're going to take communion.