Lay Down Your Life (1 John 3:16-18)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. We are in our Give Series this month and every year we get to pause from whatever sermon series we're doing and we get to walk through the Give Series together. It is our opportunity in the season that we celebrate the gift of Christmas that Jesus was gifted to humanity. We get to respond to that generosity by setting in the call as Christians to live generously towards others.
We get to tackle a Give project every year which is a real action step for us to live generously towards others. We get to have awesome bumpers made like that that just celebrate the season. And it's a fun time for us to pause every year and do this. We typically or sometimes we'll jump into a completely new set of texts but we've been going through 1 John over the last few months and we got to 1 John 3 and it lines up fairly well with where we are in this Give project. So we are in verses 10 through 18.
That's what Chet introduced last week and we're posting up in the back end of that in 16 through 18 today to look at this a little more closely. He says in 1 John 3 verses 16 through 18. He says, By this we know love that He laid down His life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but indeed in truth. But Chet introduced this last week and we're going to spend more time on it today that God loves the world.
He loves the world but there's something special and specific about the people of God. That He loves us specially and deeply and as Christians we're called to love everyone. But there's this elevator we see in the New Testament, this sense of you're called to love deeply your brothers and sisters in Christ. So we introduced last week that in line with that idea, this Give Project specifically, we are tackling blessing. Some brothers and sisters in the faith who are in need. And then we stumbled upon an opportunity with Bethel Christian Camp.
So Bethel Christian Camp is a camp we've been connected to for years. Isaac Hill, who's on staff with us. His dad Jarl Hill is the executive director of Bethel Christian Camp. Their mission is to help make disciples throughout the summer of campers. And specifically they have a lot of focus on under-resourced families. So we love them.
We've partnered with them for years. And an opportunity came to us when Jarl said we're hiring a new program director. His name is Jason Earhart. So Jason, his wife Christine, and their four kids are moving down from Virginia. And they're going to move into an 1,100 square foot house. Jordan, you can go ahead and throw that up there.
They're going to move into this house. Okay. So it's a family of six moving into this 1,100 square foot house. And this house in particular needs a lot of love. So they said we need to do a lot of renovations on it.
We heard about it. We said, all right, we're in. How much do you need us to raise? So we need about $17,000 to renovate this house for this family who's moving down here to partner with Bethel Christian Camp and make disciples of children. So we're excited about this, this opportunity.
This family is making a sacrifice. So Jason is taking a pay cut to come down here. And a family of six is going to live in a smaller house. But they care deeply about the mission of Bethel. They care about making disciples. And we said, you know what, we want to bless this family.
Before they move down in February, let's raise the money. In January, let's go over there. Let's do some work. It needs HVAC. It needs renovations on the inside. Completely paint.
Kitchen. You name it. We said, all right, we're all in on this. Let's do this. That's the gift project that Chet introduced last week. We are excited about it.
But before we continue in this, I want to sit specifically in this idea that would compel us to actually love them well. That would compel us to rally around this and actually bless this family. And it is this specific idea of laying down our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ. I want to sit in that and then examine some of the reasons why we actually might struggle to do this. So, let me pray. And then we will jump in today.
Lord, we love you. We are thankful for your goodness and your kindness towards us. God, I pray that you would help us worship this morning, knowing that that is true. Worship you because you're worthy. Worship you because you are generous towards us. But that you would stir in us a desire to want to love one another well.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so pull the text back up. Let's walk through this. It says, By this we know love. That he laid down his life for us.
And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. This is brothers, brothers and sisters in Christ. The family of God. But, verse 17. If anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.
At Christmas, we get to celebrate that God in his love and his humility came for us. And that doesn't register like it should. Because God is big. He made everything. He made the universe in all of its glory. A few weeks back, I was reading Garden and Gun, which is a magazine that I get.
It's a magazine that I like. And I was reading it and it said that 80% of Americans have never seen the Milky Way. And I was like, I've never seen the Milky Way. You can see that with a naked eye. And then you like go to different, like there are different places that have, around the world that are called dark sites that have less light pollution. You can look up when the sky is right and see the Milky Way.
So I like went all in and looked at pictures and videos and started making plans. Like I want to see this because it's unbelievable to look up at the heavens and see the galaxy. And when you look at that, you just feel so small because the sight is so big. And when you take a step back as a Christian, you realize God made that and it's small to him. Like it doesn't compare. It's a passing worth and his glory.
That's how big our God is. When you understand how big our God is, you understand how much he loves us. That he came for us. That Jesus left the comforts of heaven. And he came for us. Like when you sit in that reality, it's just overwhelming that at Christmas, Jesus loves us so much that he laid down his life and he came for us.
Once you press into that, it says, by this we know love that he laid down his life for us. By this we know Christ who is love. When you understand and believe and are immersed and are infatuated with who he is, it says that his love is going to abide in us. And more specifically, the things that he cares about. We're going to care about. That's what happens when you love someone.
Like a few weeks back, I got to officiate my sister's wedding and it was an exciting time for me. It was the most fun wedding I've ever been to. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The ceremony was beautiful. I was so glad that I got to be a part of it. One of the things I got to share with the people who were there was that I knew that my sister was falling for this guy.
When one weekend I was talking to my mom. I was like, what's Kat? What's my sister? What's she doing this weekend? I said, well, she's at a NASCAR race. I said, wait, what?
Huh? She never, like NASCAR was never on her radar. She was a beauty pageant. She queen. She was a cheerleader. Like, she was dainty.
Like, she, no. Like, at a NASCAR race. And I found out later, oh, yeah, she's also, she goes camping with him. Camping in the outdoors. Are you serious? I was like, man, she's falling for this guy.
That she would, and that's what happens. When you love someone, you become about what they're about, right? You start to love their interests. You start to care about the things that they care about. When you love Christ, you care about what he cares about. You're all in.
And when he says, love your church family. Love your brothers and sisters. That's what you care about. And he's highlighting this is what we should do. Yet you close your heart. That's what he's saying.
You close your heart. The KJV here says, shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him. When you look at all the translations alongside that, it's like, man, that one's a little different. But actually, it's probably the most closest to the text. What it's conveying there is that the innermost part of you. That the love of Christ should impact the innermost part of you.
And when you shut your heart, when you close that off, you are stopping the love of God that should flow through you. And we feel this. When you see something, you're like, man, someone should do something about this. When you see a Compassion International ad and you see children that are in deep need. Whatever thing that you come across that just starts to prod at your heart. You feel this feeling rise up inside you.
That someone should do something. And then something stops us often. And that's the closing of our heart. It damns up the river of compassions that should flow through us. We should look at Christ. Behold him for who he is.
And when we're doing that, his compassion flows through us. But we stop it. That's the problem that John is addressing here. And he has a question for us. He says, how can God's love abide in you if you're willing to close your heart? How can the love of God reside in you, flow through you?
How could Christ be the most important, beautiful, worthy of worship being in the universe for us if you don't love his people? If you don't love the church? If you love Christ, he will capture your heart. And you absolutely will. But there's something in us.
There's something in us that guides to break down the walls that we close off towards showing compassion towards others. And he goes on to say in verse 18, like this isn't a compassion that flows through you that is just talked about. This is not mere words. This isn't just saying someone should do something about this. Someone with means should do something about this. That the heart of a Christian breaks for his brother and sister and says, amen, what can I do?
What do you need from me, Lord? How can I help? That's what John's trying to inspire in these churches he's writing to. That's what the scriptures are pleading with us to do as well. Especially in the American church. In the American church, we have some of the most collective, the highest collective wealth of almost any church in the history of humanity.
And we have a lot of wealth in America and in the American church. And in our church, we're not, you know, we're not killing it, right? We're just not. Like we were a blue collar, middle class. Like that's who we are. But so you might think, okay, well, other churches can go for this even harder because they have more.
But the reality is when you look at us compared to the global church, it's like, no, we have an incredible amount of means. We have incredible ability to bless other Christians, to invest in other ministries, to do, to give. But there's something in us, even in our own selves, even in our own hearts, that stops us all the time. And that's what we're trying to see. That's what John's trying to diagnose. And it's what he's trying to help us see.
There's something in us that keeps us from doing that. So I want to ask some questions. I want to diagnose this a little bit to see what it is that actually keeps us from having a heart that's filled with the compassion and love of Christ. And it's extended towards others. And it's not to, hear this, it's not to do a guilt trip. Okay?
A guilt trip might get you to open your checkbook for this gift project. And that's fine for a moment. But what we need is God to continue to mold and shape and break our hearts so that we might continuously live in generosity and tap into the benefits and the goodness that is found in that type of obedience. We need that. But we need to look at when he says, by this we know love, that he laid down his life for us.
That phrasing there, we need to actually sit in that. That if Jesus is the one by which we know love and his sacrifice and his laying down of his life is something that we need to stare at, be consumed with, and to learn from. That I want to take a few minutes to walk through a few different teachings, a few different things that Jesus did to help us see how Jesus modeled this so that we might be a people that can do this well. And as we walk through a few different things, there are four things I want us to see. If we examine kind of the problem beneath the surface within us that keeps us from doing this, then we have a chance at seeing the love of Christ flow through us.
There are four things I want us to see as we walk through this. First, I want us to see this life in light of eternity. See this life in light of eternity. Second, I want us to see our stuff in light of eternity. We're going to see that's two sides of the same coin there. Three, I want us to see church family as family.
And fourth, I want us to see the sacrifice of Christ. So, four things I want us to see. All right, four. The first two things I want us to see this morning. I want to look at one text from Matthew 6, the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus is teaching in verses 19 and 20. He says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. All right, let's sit in this passage for a moment. Let's first see this life in light of eternity. One of the things that we fail to see as Christians is that eternity, okay? 60 million plus years into infinity. That is greater than 80 years.
That equation makes sense on paper. That millions and billions of years is greater than just 80 years. But we don't functionally live like that's true sometimes. We miss that. And when he says, But if anyone has the world's goods, We don't see that. That eternity is longer than just 80 years in this life.
So I want it to be very practical for a moment. When you enter the workforce, Okay? 18, 20, 25, whenever that is for you. When you enter the workforce, You've got 60 to 70 years ahead of you, If you are fortunate. And here's what happens. This is what the world sells us on.
Make as much money as possible. So that you can purchase comfort now. And have some comforts now. And throw money ahead in the future. So you can have a nest egg of comfort later.
That's the American dream. Buy what you can now. Store up for the comfort that you can have later. Go hard after this. It's the reason why right now you see a ton of advertisers on TV that are selling you on. This is what makes you feel good.
Like you see a Lexus commercial. And it says, Buy this with a big red bow on it at Christmastime. It feels good. Which those commercials annoy me for various reasons. First off, Who springs a Lexus on their spouse and gets away with it? Like that, You've got to be in a way different tax bracket to pull it off.
Secondly, Those commercials are almost always with a snowy backdrop. And it's like, Listen, That is only some parts of the country. Like y'all are missing it. It's neither here nor there. But, You get sold on this idea of purchasing comfort. Now, Make sure you save enough for later.
Make sure that when you're 65, You can buy an RV and go all around the country. That you can play golf as much as you want. So that you can travel to Europe. That you can see all the parts of the world. So that you can get the most out of this life right now.
That's the American dream that is given to us. And I want to be very practical here. Nobody here is in the 1%. Alright? We're just, None of us are killing it. Here's why this is really important.
Because if I was speaking to a bunch of people who were absolutely loaded, Packed in the ceiling, It would be a different thing. I would touch different things. But I want to be real practical for us for a moment. If you go hard after that American dream, As middle class people, You can't live generously. The margins aren't there. You can't do it.
You don't have the means to do it. If you've got to upgrade your car every three to five years, If you've got to upgrade your house every three to five years, Which when I was doing more real estate, I saw over and over again, When you've got to continuously throw large chunks of money at your retirement, And do the basics. Like eat. Feed yourself. Feed your family if you've got family. Eat your home.
Which is really painful these days. With inflation and everything that's happening. And then you've got to subscribe to like 15 different things. Because that's now the basics for us in America. But, When you do all of these things, And then you look at your budget if you have one, Or you look at your bank account if you don't. You're like, I don't know how I can live generously.
I don't know how I can give to anything. And you see a need that arises. Or the Christians need help. And it's like, I don't know how I can swing this. The reason we can't swing this, Is because of all the things, That we gear our lives toward in this life right now. Because we've lost sight that we're going towards eternity.
We've lost sight of that eternity is greater than, The 80 years that are in this life. So here's how this could look differently for us. You enter the workforce. Alright? And you've got 60 to 70 years. Or right now, You're rethinking your life.
You've got 30, 20, 40, How many of your years left you've got in front of you. You say, I am going to make an impact for the kingdom, With the time that I have on this earth. Randy Alcorn in the, I think it's the treasury principle, He says, Nothing makes a journey more difficult than a heavy backpack, Filled with nice but unnecessary things. Pilgrims travel light. Like, you own that. And it's like, There's a lot of unnecessary things that I could accumulate, But I don't live for this life.
Like, I don't need this. I'm living for eternity. I'm going to travel light. So what you do is, Is you leverage your life for the kingdom of God. You leverage your life, Your time. And you organize that in a way that you can serve the local church.
You structure your budget in a way that reflects your values. That you don't take positions and jobs that consume your life, That make your job your object of worship. That you leverage your life for the kingdom. That you pass on goods. The world's goods. And everything that will be offered to you, On a regular basis.
Why? Because you believe that that life in eternity is better. Because you see Christians that are in front of you that are eternal. Pitted alongside the things that you could purchase. Like, no, I want to be able to bless those who are in need. That you orient your life around this understanding that life is eternal.
And every decision you make for work and for spending and everything flows through that. That you live modestly because your eye is on the eternal prize. Because you believe that temporary comfort is less than eternal joy. And that is the anthem for how you live. And in the world's goods, that's just a tool. Money.
Stuff. That's just things. That's just a tool. That allows you to take care of your needs and your family and your life. But also be generous towards others.
That we miss this when we exchange it. When we mess this up and we say the end is the things we can purchase. That's how we fall prey to the American dream. We travel light because we know this life is temporary. We pack. And this life has a Christian understanding that it is light because we're living for the next one.
My wife and I, we're getting ready to go to Disney World on Saturday. Which I think I said this two weeks ago. Don't tell my kids. Because my wife will harm you. But it's a surprise of them.
But we are getting ready to go to Disney World. We are going to pack with that in mind. After my wife spent all week packing, I said, Babe, guess what? I want to take the piano with me to Disney World. She'd be like, You are crazy. What are you thinking?
It's a temporary trip. Here, we pack accordingly. In this life, we carry the things that we need. Because our mind is in eternity. Alright, here's the second side of that coin. Second, see our stuff in light of eternity.
So you've got to see your life in light of eternity, but you've got to see your stuff in light of eternity. Alright. Our economy is built off of consumerism. Not a huge shock. Alright. Our economy is built off consumerism.
Advertisements are geared towards helping you see that if you had this product, how good would you feel? How much better would your life be? Right? You see something, scroll across on Instagram, and they're previewing the product. And you're like, I want that. That's going to be good.
Like you see something on TV, and it's like, man, I would look so good in that, driving that. Like that's the whole goal. To help create this need or want in you, and for you to buy that, to fulfill that need. Now, this is what I would love to see happen. Is that if you purchased something, or if you saw something that they wanted you to purchase, and they advertised that product, and then they fast-forwarded like a year, or two years, or three years, or ten years, and they showed you the same product. They showed your iPhone all cracked up.
They showed your car with a bunch of dents in it. Like we need that. Like if the buy now button on Amazon showed the product that they were selling first picture, like let me see the second picture, and it's you throwing it in the trash in six months. Like how much money would you not spend at Amazon, right? Like the picture for us would be six months later selling it on Facebook for sale or wanted for like $5. Come buy it.
Like if we had that, like I want to show you, this is the side-by-side. This is a Samsung phone, right? It looks very sleek and nice. I've never owned a Samsung phone, but that looks very nice. And you look at this, and it's like, man, I want that. But if you just had, I took a screenshot for sale for sale for you wanted.
And that's, that, I don't know how long ago a Galaxy S9 was. But when that was out, man, that was happening. Like that was it. And this person is sadly selling it. There's no way they're going to sell that. But they're selling that for $80.
Please buy this. Like if you just had that mindset, the things that you purchased just don't last. Man, how much more freeing will we live? How much easier it would be to say no to things? It's like, that's why I love how practical Matthew 6 is. How practical Jesus' teaching is.
He says, why would you leverage your money and your hope and some of your anxiety about buying that? Why would you leverage it for things that moth and rust destroy? Translation. Translation. Things that end up, end up in a landfill. Why do we do this to ourselves?
It doesn't last. I mean, it's, I mean, it doesn't last like it did 30 years ago. They don't even build things for you to like buy and repair things now. Like I, I buy something and I want to repair it. And it's like, no, you can't. You must replace it.
I'm like, this is rigged. Like I want, this is ridiculous. Like do you buy, now you just got to buy things and replace things. Like it doesn't last. Like we need to see that. Because what happens is, is that we close our hearts towards other Christians who are in need for that.
We close our hearts towards other Christians in need for stuff that will not last. You need to see that picture right there pitted against a brother or sister in need. And Jesus says, sow up treasures in heaven. That's better. And the New Testament teaching on that is, is that listen, we, we believe that that by the blood of Christ, by grace through faith, he redeems us, he rescues us and brings us into the family of God. But once you are a Christian, there is this teaching that you are storing up riches in heaven.
That your works matter now in Christ. That there's some kind of heavenly reward. And we don't know what that is. Like we don't have real strong pictures for that. But Jesus says it's good.
He says it's eternal riches. Live as if eternity is true. Live as if the stuff that you can buy in this life will not last. It's not worth your hopes. It's not worth your desires. Don't fall for it.
Three. Three. See church family as family. See church family as family. It's going to be difficult for us to actually love to lay down our lives for brothers and sisters in Christ. If you don't view them as brothers and sisters.
We don't have a shot at doing that. If we don't see family, church family in the way that Jesus calls us to. Jesus in Matthew 12. His family is trying to get a hold of him. And we walked through this in the Gospel of Matthew a few years ago. I want to read this.
Because I think this is incredibly important for us to understand. He says. It says while he was still speaking to the people. He's been teaching. It says behold. His mother and his brothers stood outside.
Asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him. Who is my mother? And who are my brothers? And stretching out his hand towards his disciples. He said.
Here are my mothers and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my father in heaven. Is my brother and sister and mother. Now. Jesus. Loves.
His mama. Okay. Fact. Go to the end of the Gospel of John. Jesus. Loves his mama.
He honors his family. He's not denigrating his family. Not doing that at all. He is elevating. The eternal family of God. He's trying to help us see.
That the eternal. Family. Of God. Matters. We need that. Alright.
Because a cultural southern value. For us. Is family. Like we care a lot about it down south. I love when Hollywood tries to write. TV shows.
And movie scripts. And capture. That idea. It's just like. They. They think everything for us is Hatfields and McCoys.
That if you cross your brother or your cousin. You're going to kill somebody. It's like. We're not. That unhinged. Right.
But they. Are making some observations. That are accurate. We do care about family. More so than different parts of the country. Like we.
Love. Our family. There's a lot of love. And loyalty. And care that we have for our earthly family. And we should.
Absolutely. The Bible teaches this over and over again. But that love. And loyalty. And care. And devotion.
That we have for earthly family. Jesus says. Take that. Step it up. That is elevated also. For the family of God.
For the people of God. For your brothers and sisters. That love. And loyalty. And devotion. Is meant for your church family.
In a way that you would. See your brother in need. And lay. Down your life for them. So that you would see another Christian need.
And say. What can I do? We don't have a shot of that. If we don't see church family as family. If we don't see extended church family. A global church family.
As the family of God. We don't have a shot of that. If we see. What we do right now. As a social aspect. Of what we do.
Like if Sundays. Are just a social thing. That we do. If groups. Are just a social aspect. Of our lives.
We're missing it. We're missing it. And how easy. Will it be for us. To close off our heart. Towards another brother and sister.
In Christ. Who is in need. We have got to see family. As family. Four. We have to see the sacrifice.
Of Christ. That's pinnacle. That's the basis. For all of us. To see. What Christ has done.
He says. By this. Verse 16. We know. Love. That he laid down his life for us.
And we have to lay down our lives. For the brothers. We will never understand the sacrifice. We will never live out this sacrifice for others. If at the forefront of our mind. And our soul.
Isn't the sacrifice of Christ. It's not just that. He left heaven for us. It's not just he left heaven. When we celebrate at Christmas. And came for us.
It's from the manger. To the cross. And everything in between. God lays his life down. Up into the pinnacle sacrifice. Of Christ.
On the cross. For us. His blood spilled out. For us. If we don't hold that out. In front of us.
And have that as the basis. For why we should lay down. Our lives. For our brothers and sisters. We don't have a shot at this. We'll fall for lesser comforts.
And lesser things. Over sacrifice. Towards others. We're called to lay down. Our lives. And our own self-interest.
Which is harm. That's a radical call. That Jesus calls us to. So. I know from time to time. That somebody stands up here.
The other guy who preaches half the time. He likes to play up. That I like weird movies. And it's. He's. He likes to play it up.
He's a funny guy. And he has lots of jokes on. On I like sad movies. Depressing movies. And all. You know.
They have to be called films and cinema. He has all kinds of things to say about. The things I. Watch. I was watching over the day. This indie film about.
This woman who dies of cancer. And. I knew it going into it. Like I chose this. I read this article. On the Gospel Coalition.
Which is a. Is a helpful site. For a lot of different articles. And theology and stuff. And there's this movie. Movie review of this movie.
Called Our Friend. That probably none of you have seen. Because it didn't do well at all. And it does sometimes fit. In the category of movies. That I watch.
But. I can watch this. Because they said. Listen. This movie embodies. This sacrificial.
Friendships. Like I'm going to watch this. Which disclaimer. It's got some language in it. But it does embody this.
It's a true story. Okay. It's a true story. About three friends. And. Three friends from college.
Two of them are married. One of them goes on. They stay connected for years. Then all of a sudden. The wife. Gets.
Terminal cancer. And. And it's. Incredibly hard on him. This is a younger family. They're like late 30s.
They've got kids. And he's trying to take care of his wife. And his friend. Their friend says. I'm going to move in with you. So he moves from New Orleans.
To Alabama. And he. He lives with them. For the last 12 to 18 months. Of her life. And it's just this.
This. Sacrifice. That he. He quits his job. And he moves there. And he.
Serves her. And he serves him. And he watches their kids. And gets them to school. And helps with. Cancer treatment.
As she's slowly fading. And as she's. Her mind is. Falling apart. He. Serves them.
And loves them. All the way to her. Final. Last. Breath. And it's this.
This choice. To sacrifice. Because he. Loves. Them. And he lays down his life.
And when you see that. It's like. That's it. That's a picture of the gospel. That you would lay down your life. That you would.
Moved on their city. If it required it. That you would lay down your life. For. Someone else. Because you see them.
As eternal family of God. And we as Christians. Have a higher ideal. That. That we are bound together. By this.
Jesus. Who laid his life down for us. How much more. Should we. Lay down our lives. For those who are in need.
Like we. Need this. And when we do this. We tap into something. That is eternal. And good.
But it takes some self reflection. It takes looking. At the ways we don't want to die. To ourself. The ways we don't want to sacrifice. I feel this.
Y'all. I feel this. I. I say I'm in a busy season sometimes. It's really just a busy life. Just the reality of it.
And I. And I. And I. And sometimes. Like I. I look at my schedule.
And needs come up. And I'm like. I've got things. I need to do. And I'm so convicted. Because I've got people in my life.
That don't do that. Like they. They move outside of their schedule. Because they love people. And it's like. I need to.
Grow in this. That I wouldn't value. My. Time. So much.
That I would. Not look. At a brother in need. A sister in need. And have compassion towards them. We.
Need this. We need to see the unmet wants. And the unmet needs. And the things that we want to buy. And the things we want to purchase. And the things that we want to accumulate in our life.
We need to say. That is. Less than. Than other Christians in need. That is less than. Than my brother.
Or my sister. Who is in need. We need to see the opportunities that we have in front of us. Some of which come at great personal cost. I mean. Sacrifice is that.
Is great. Personal. Personal. Cost. To you. Just as Jesus.
Had great. Personal. Cost. To him. We get to. Live that out towards others.
And we got an opportunity in front of us. With this. Give project. And some of you might be thinking. Listen. I.
Renovate a house. I got stuff. That needs renovated. I got stuff. That needs to get done. I got.
I got things that I. Want to do. And I want to. Impress upon you. That part of this. When we have opportunities.
To give. It isn't always. About what we're committing to. It's about our heart approach. It's about our heart approach. That says.
Even when I don't have. I give. And I sacrifice. And I choose to do that over. And over. And over.
Again. We got an opportunity in front of us. With the Earhart family. You can build a picture up to them. This. This.
Family. Is sacrificing a lot. To come down here. It's taking a pay cut. Moving into a smaller house. And they're going to sacrifice.
For the mission of Christ. At Bethel. And we got this house. We got this opportunity. And it's a real. Tangible thing.
That we get to do. To live out the gospel. We get to raise. Some money. To be able to bless them. The house needs a lot of work.
And it's just a way to love them well. That as they sacrifice. For the mission of Christ. We get to sacrifice a little bit. To be able to. Serve them.
So they can come in February. Ready to go. But it's not about this. Alone. This is a tangible thing. We get to grow in.
But we get to use this. As a springboard. Into a lifestyle. That understands eternity. The ten trillion years. Is greater than just a few.
That our stuff. Will. Faith. And it's not worthy of our worship. We get to use this. As an opportunity.
To see that. Family. Eternal family. Matters. And we get to use this. As an opportunity.
To look. At the sacrifice. Of our savior. And let that. Flow. Into our heart.
And that compassion. Flow out. In a lifestyle. That chooses. To live generously. Towards others.