FAREWELL LESSONS FROM OUR INTERNS

Chris McCurley: This summer has been really fantastic, and I've really just loved being here with all of you. And so I really want to say thank you to, in particular Chris and the elders for this opportunity to serve alongside you this summer. And to all of you for the kindness that you've showed us this summer. I know it's been truly great for us. You know, anyone who knows a whole lot about me knows that I love to golf. And something that I like to do that maybe non-golfers might not understand is I like to go to golf stores and I like to try out different clubs in their little simulator with the screen on it. And so when we were living in Dallas, there was one day I went to this PGA superstore near where I live, and I found this driver that was in really good condition, looked really nice, just lightly used driver. And I go and I start hitting it in their simulator. And I really, really like how it feels, and I'm hitting it really well, but at this point I'm still thinking, okay, I I have a nice driver, I don't need to buy a new driver, trying to kind of rationalize my way out of it a little bit. And I keep hitting it, and I'm thinking, man, I I like this thing. I really like how it feels. And so I had done all of this without looking at the price tag. Which was a foolish thing to do, but I did it. And so the price tag is right there on the shaft of the club. And so I look down there, I look at the price tag, and I walked away sorrowful. Because I wasn't willing to pay that much. Turn with me if you're not already there to Matthew chapter 19. Matthew chapter 19, we'll begin in verse 16. It's here that we read about a young man who. Wanted to follow Christ and wanted eternal life, but he just wasn't willing to sacrifice what it took. Matthew chapter 19, verse 16. And behold, a man came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? And he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good? And there is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments. He said to him, Which ones? And Jesus said, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these I have kept. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me. When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And so the young man comes to Jesus with a pretty simple question. He asks, Teacher, what good deed must I do to inherit eternal life? And in a way, I think that's a question that we all ask, right? We all wonder, what must I do to be saved? But why does this man ask Jesus? Luke tells us this man was a ruler. This would have been somebody who was expected to know the law and the prophets. And so if he knows what God expects of him and he knows the commandments, then why does he have to ask Jesus? Instead, it appears as though he's coming to Jesus with this attitude of, well, what do I really have to do? And so Jesus answers him with seemingly what he doesn't want to hear. He says, just keep the commandments, follow the commandments. And, you know, that's pretty simple. Again, of course, he knows the commandments. But again, that doesn't seem to be what he wanted to hear. And so he asks another question. Which ones? He asks Jesus which commandments he has to follow. What a strange question, we might say. He's seeking to narrow them down. But I think. That if we will really think about it, that's a question that almost all of us ask as well. We know the commandments, like he did, but so often we seek to try to narrow them down to only those ones that apply to us in our current circumstance, or at least in our mind. For instance, I know that Jesus said, whoever hates his brother or sister is guilty of murder, but he knows what he did to me or what she said about me. He understands. I know God said through the Apostle Paul to do all things without grumbling or complaining, but He knows my circumstances. He understands. It's so easy for us to fall into that trap. And I think in all of this we can hear the voice of the serpent from Genesis 3 as he says, Did God really say? Did God really say, for instance, that if I don't forgive others, I'm not going to be forgiven? Did God really say that lust is the same as adultery? Did God really say that if somebody slaps you on the right cheek, you should turn to them the other also? Did God really mean all of that? Did God really say We know the commandments, but we so often seek to narrow them down to just the ones that are maybe more convenient or make more sense in this situation, when in reality, we ought to be looking at all the commandments, taking God at his word and following them as the word of God. But interestingly, Jesus actually answers him with certain commandments. He gives him five of the ten commandments and one sort of overarching umbrella type of commandment you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And you can almost see the young man's relationship. When he hears these words. I mean, you can almost hear him saying, Man, I've done all that stuff. I've done it since I was little. Is there anything else? How easy is it for us to get caught up in the idea that we're doing all right and we've got it all figured out because we're avoiding the big sins? I mean, you know, sure I've I've told a lie, but I I haven't killed anybody. I haven't stolen anything. See, think Jesus knows what he's doing with these commandments, and he knows that the young man needs more than these commandments. He's trying to see him, get him to see what was left out. And so when the young man asks, Is there anything that I still lack? Is there anything else? Jesus answers, go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor and come, follow me. Now, an interesting thing to me is why does Jesus give this command? This is not given to anybody else in Scripture, so why does Jesus require it of this man? Well, I think the answer is to be found in the commandments that Jesus already gave. Look at those, chapter 19, verses 18 and 19. Jesus says, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. He gave him all of the commandments about how we treat each other. All of the commandments, you might say, that fall under the umbrella of you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus gave him the second greatest command. But he left out the first. And so I'm convinced that this command has something to do with the fact that Jesus knows this man is not loving the Lord his God with all of his heart, with all of his soul, and with all of his mind, and all of his strength. His money is keeping him from doing that because he loves his possessions too much and he's not willing to sacrifice them. And so this young man walks away sorrowful. To me, this is one of the most chilling statements in all of Scripture. He walks away sorrowfully. And I've heard people say, you know, we don't really know if he ended up following or obeying Jesus or not. And that's true. We're not 100% certain. But Jesus says, come follow me. And all we see from him is he walks away. He just wasn't willing to sacrifice what Jesus called him to. So what does this mean for us when we ask that same question, what must I do to be saved? Well, it's pretty simple. We have to follow Christ whatever it costs. Nothing can come in front of following Christ. Nothing can get in the way of following Christ. And that means that we we have to be willing to not limit, not try to limit the commandments, not try to narrow them down, but to follow all of them. Now, don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that you can do enough or follow well enough or be good enough to get into heaven on your own. Instead, let me let me maybe show you what I mean. There was a man in the time of the Reformation. Named Dirk Willems. And Willems was an Anabaptist, and the Anabaptists during the Reformation were kind of persecuted from both sides, both Catholics and Protestants, because they had a unique view of baptism that it's only only for adults. And Villems had been imprisoned by Protestants, and he had escaped, and he was running and he's being pursued. And he he runs up on this icy pond. And being thin and weak from prison rations, Willems makes it a cross. His pursuer was not so lucky. His pursuer falls into the ice, into the icy water, and calls out for help. And I don't know what you would have done in that situation. But I can tell you what I would have done. I would have said a prayer to God of thanks for his deliverance, and I would have kept running. But Villems and the Anabaptists took commands like, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you very seriously. And so when Villems heard the cries of his pursuer, he stopped and he turned around and he reached down and lifted his pursuer out of the ice. Villems was then taken back to town, where he was tried and convicted and executed. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of following Christ in that way. But I also know that Jesus wasn't kidding when he said, Whoever would come after me must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. He never promised us that it'd be easy. In fact, he promised us several times that it'd be pretty hard. Second, we have to be willing to put away all those things that are keeping us from a wholehearted devotion to God. Whatever that may be for us, it's technology, money, our job, maybe our friends or family, Christ has to be number one. And it has to be not even close. Christ says that our love for our brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers should look like hate compared to our love for Jesus. And that's that's a hard command, but that's what he says. And so we have to put away all of those things that are keeping us from a wholehearted devotion to God. The Hebrews writer tells us to put away not just sin, he says, but every weight, everything that is weighing us down, keeping us from following God and Christ as well as we could be. So we have to follow Christ whatever it costs. And that means following not just the convenient commandments, not just the commandments that we like, but all of them. And it means putting away all those things that are keeping us from a full devotion to Christ. So this week, when when you wake up in the morning, pray for that strength to take up your cross and follow Christ. And when you go to sleep at night, pray for that strength to take up your cross and follow Christ. And in the week to come and in the life that you have to come, there will be many decisions and many times when you have a choice between what is right and what's easy. Maybe holding a grudge is easier than forgiving somebody. Maybe ignoring somebody in need is easier than helping. Maybe telling a white lie is going to save you from serious trouble. Maybe giving in to that temptation just this once is easier than resisting. Maybe you know you should be spending more time in his word, but you're busy. I want to encourage us, and I say us, because I'm preaching to myself as much as anybody else here. We have to take up our crosses and follow Christ. And it's not always easy, but it's what we're called to do. And so I want to remind us. With what the Hebrews writer says, let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, 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. Jesus endured the suffering for the joy that was set before him. Remember, following Jesus requires everything that we have. But the reward is eternity in heaven with him. So let's take up our crosses and follow him. And at this point you may be thinking, man, this is this is really hard. And, you know, I know that we have to take up our crosses and follow Christ. That's that's a non-negotiable. That's that's not something that you can debate. But what about those moments when we fail? What about those moments when we fall short? we can look at the the examples that people have given us, the apostles and villems and others, and it it looks superhuman. So what about those moments when we're weak? When we may fail. What happens then? Well, that's what chance is going to talk to us about. That was a great transition. And I don't know if I can follow up a lesson like that, but I'll do my best. I'd also like to echo what Cade said at the start, and that this has been a great summer, and I'm super thankful for everyone who has who has worked with us and just has allowed us to be here and grow closer to your family. I would like to talk about my parents for a little bit. And since they're not here, I'm allowed to say whatever I want about them. my parents are absolutely awesome. And I want to take a minute to brag on them because they have done so much for my brothers and I. They have poured countless hours and countless hours. countless amount of time and effort and money into raising us. Even from the very beginning of their lives or of our lives, sorry, they were trying to do what was best for us. My mom had those little headphones that go on a pregnant mother's belly and they would like read books to us and they're trying to I guess trying to make us smarter in that way. I don't know if it worked or not. But they were doing everything they could and as we grew up they continued to help us learn in school and and to encourage us and help us with our homework and teach us how to be responsible for ourselves. my mom stayed home and she would take little trips with us and and teach us things and do crafts with us and play games and make sure that we had had a a beautiful setting in the home. And my dad, he would he'd come home from work and he would play games with us and play sports with us and and just have fun with us and he He he taught us how to do so many things and he he cared so much. He caught taught all our our basketball teams and just put himself into everything that we did. And most importantly, he taught us the Bible. We always had Bible time at night and he made sure that we were learning scripture. As we grew up, our parents they helped all of us out through high school and they were at all our sporting events and all our all our school extracurricular events and they they paid for things and they made sure to support us. us in whatever we did. They bought us cars when we were old enough and taught us how to drive, even a little reluctantly, but they they did all those things for us. And then we get to college and and they they let us all go to Fried Hardeman and they're helping pay our tuition and they want us to go to a school where we can we can learn more about Jesus and have a Christian environment as well as getting a degree. When I stop and think about everything that they've done for me, one thing stands out above the rest. I never deserved any of it. I didn't earn any of those sacrifices that they made. I can't pay them back for the countless meals that they bought, the countless sleepless nights that they spent caring for me, the miles that they drove to all these ball games, the tuition that they've paid, or the years that they have invested in me. As a child, I had nothing to offer them in return. I could never repay them. And now, honestly, I don't think that I ever will be able to repay them for what they've done for me. And they knew that from the Very beginning. They knew that there would never come a day where I could give them a check for 18 or sorry 20 years of food and clothes and housing and education and transportation and encouragement and love and care. But they kept giving, anyways. And the older I get, the more I realize how much they really did. I couldn't repay them, and they never expected me to. They gave because they loved me. And as incredible as that is, I believe that their love points me to a greater truth. We had a debt that we could never pay. I have nothing that I could offer to God to erase my sin. No amount of good deeds or church attendance or or Bible knowledge could cancel the debt that I owed. Yet while I was still undeserving, Christ willingly gave himself for me. Just as I can never fully repay my parents for what they've done for me, I can never fully repay Christ for the sacrifice that he made on the cross, taking away my debt. And the debt that we have is Sin. Everyone is guilty of sin. Romans 3:23 states: all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Paul doesn't write that most people have fallen short, or that only the worst of the worst people have fallen short. He says that all people have fallen short. That's me and that's you. And that phrase fall short, I don't believe that that just means, you know, we messed up. I believe that when saying fall short, we are failing to meet God's perfect standard. And I think it can be easy to compare ourselves to others and say, well, you know, at least I'm not as bad as this person. I might have done something wrong, but you know, at least I'm not in jail. At least I didn't kill someone. But we aren't supposed to compare ourselves to other people because God is not comparing us to other people. God is comparing us to his glory. And when we stand beside God, every one of us falls short. All have sinned, all fall short of the glory of God. And the payment for this sin? Well, it's a frightening one. Romans 6 23 says, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Think about that term wages that Paul uses. We all go to work, and at the end of the week or the month, whatever it is, our employer gives us our wages. They give us what we've earned at the end of that time. And Paul says that our sin. Is wages. And and you know, we've earned something for our sin, and he says, that is death. And I don't think that God is being cruel or unfair in this. I think that's something that we deserve. We have sinned. We have earned that separation from God. We have earned death. But I have some good news for you. He offers us something that we have never earned, which is that free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord, because Jesus paid our debt. In March of 2018, French policeman Arno Beltram lost his life in a terrorist attack. An attacker went on a rampage through the streets and hijacked a car, shot at the policeman, and ended up holding himself up in a supermarket. During this time, he shot and killed three people. In the supermarket, the terrorist had taken hostage a woman, a lady working in the supermarket. And they're kind of at a standstill. And Officer Beltram offers up two. To the attacker to trade spots with the woman. He says, If you will let her go, I will come into the supermarket and be your hostage. And the attacker, surprisingly, agreed to the deal. And in the moments that ensued after he was traded, he was stabbed and shot and would later succumb to his wounds in the hospital. Lieutenant Colonel Beltram sacrificed his life for that of a civilian, and he was honored as a national hero. He he willingly stepped in and traded spots with that woman, knowing that his life would be at risk. Romans 5.8 says, but God shows his love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. What Arnold Beltram did for that woman, Jesus did for you and me. He willingly took our place and died so that we would not have to. We deserve what Jesus went through. I think it should have been me that went through all the beatings and the mockings and the scourging that Jesus went through. I deserve all that pain. It was my sin, not his, that hung him to the cross. I deserve, as a sinner, the cross. But Jesus took my place. He he swapped out, he willingly took my spot on the cross so that I would not have to die in my sin, but could live a life with him one day. Jesus willingly took our place and paid our debt in full. My girlfriend Brooke and I went to Cracker Barrel back in February. And Cracker Barrel is one of my favorite restaurants. I love their pancakes, and so I was super excited to get I think they're the best in the world. I went in there and I was excited to eat their pancakes and and eat the cornbread and the biscuits with the honey and the butter. I mean, it was going to be a great meal. So we got our food and I'm loving it. We're having a good time. And our waitress comes up to us and she says, There was an older couple sitting over here, and they just left, but when they paid, Also decided to pay for your meal. So y'all are just free to go whenever you want to. I mean, talk about a great way to end the night at Cracker Barrel. I mean, we both just we were both so surprised, we looked at each other and surprised, we're like, man, that's awesome. And we were just so thankful that someone had decided to pay for our meal and do such a nice thing. Our bill was taken care of. our payment to Cracker Barrel was, in a sense, forgiven. Colossians two thirteen and fourteen says And you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. Paul writes that we were dead in our trespasses, that we had a record of debt, but that God forgave it. He canceled that record of debt that He had, that we had, and by doing so He nailed it to the cross. Not only did Jesus willingly take our place, but he canceled our debt in full by sacrificing himself and wiping our sins away. I didn't do anything to get my meal and cracker barrel paid for. Someone just decided to do that. And our sins are the same way. We didn't do anything to get our sins forgiven. But Jesus took our debt of his own accord and in doing so saved us from eternity. He paid our debt in full. And because of that, God's grace is now available to all. God's grace is available to all. Titus 2.11 says, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation. For all people. The same grace that saves Paul, the writer of this verse, the man who persecuted and killed Christians, it's available to us. God's grace is not reserved for those who have lived a perfect life or for those who are the perfect Christian. It isn't limited to our by our past mistakes or our failures or the sins that we regret most. God's grace is available to all. No one is beyond the reach of his grace. No one has sinned too much. There is nothing that can take away God's grace for you. So, what does that mean for us? If God's grace is so good, I want to be a part of that. How do I get into that grace? What does that mean for me? First, we have to follow the gospel. Romans 6 3 reads, Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? I'm here to tell you tonight that if you want God's grace to be upon you, you have to follow the gospel, and that means being baptized into Christ. By being baptized into the death of Jesus, the Bible says we are washed in his blood and that our sins are continually cleansed. And I don't believe the Bible can make it any clearer. There are so many verses. That tell us the way to God, the way to his grace and salvation, is to follow the gospel and to be baptized. But that's not all we have to do. We have to live a life transformed. We have to walk in a newness of life. Look at verse 4. We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in a newness of life. One of the most unique and beautiful creatures in the world is the butterfly. The butterfly is such a beautiful creature. I just I love to watch them as they float by and they have so many cool patterns and colors. They're just a a beautiful and unique creature. But before the butterfly can ever take off, it has to go through a crazy transformation because the butterfly is first a caterpillar. After hatching from an egg, it crawls around slowly and it eats leaves and and it just builds up energy waiting for this transformation to happen. And when it gets ready. It'll wrap itself up in this cocoon or this chrysalis, and it hangs on a branch or a leaf until it is ready to hatch again. A beautiful transformation takes place inside the chrysalis. The caterpillar's body morphs and it changes into a completely new creature. A creature with a new body and new legs and wings and antenna. It becomes a butterfly. When we are baptized into Christ and when we follow the gospel, we have a new life to live. Just as the caterpillar goes into the chrysalis and comes out a butterfly, we too go into the waters of baptism and we come out a new person. Our life is now transformed for the better. We have the blood of Jesus upon us. We have the grace of God upon us, and we are a Christian, living now not for the world, but a new life, a life transformed. Finally, we have to take up our cross and give God everything. I have the wrong verse on the screen, but Luke 9, 23 says, And he said to all, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. As we live our life for Jesus, we have to give him everything. Jesus doesn't say to believe in me and then keep living your life how you want to live it. He says, Take up your cross and follow me. Take up the thing that is going to cause me the most amount of pain and cause me to die. That's what you are to take up. Jesus says, Christianity is going to be hard. It's not going to be easy, but if you truly love me, you will take up your cross and follow me. Jesus paid it all for us. He carried our sins on his shoulders and he sacrificed his life so that we could be saved. If you haven't been baptized tonight, why not? Jesus gave himself up for you. If you believe that he is the Son of God, that is enough. The waters of salvation are waiting. We're going to sing a song in a moment. And if you believe that he is the Son of God, you should be baptized. If you've been struggling with sin in your life, or you've been struggling with something weighing you down, remember that God is there for you, that he loves you, that he gave his life for you, and that his grace is sufficient for everyone. If you have any need, you can come now while we stand and sing. All I'm

Matthew 19 · chapter mention Matthew 19 · chapter mention Matthew 19:16 Romans 3:23