The Radical Call of the Kingdom

Father, we are abundantly rich in so many things.

You are the Father of all blessing, and you have blessed us with so much

that if we were to name everything we have, our thanksgiving would fill a library of books.

Father, you are the one who is worthy of all praise because you are the fountain of all life.

So often our thanksgiving only focuses on the physical blessings we receive,

as if they deserve the greatest mention.

And yet you, the sovereign God, the creator of everything, who has no need of us,

who has every right to turn away from us and ignore us and reject us,

yet you choose to come down to us and call us to yourself through your Son.

I pray that we would never forget the privilege that it is that we are your children.

May it stun and amaze us that you would love us so much.

Forgive us where we become so familiar with the gospel that it fails to wow us again.

Please work in our hearts, Lord.

Excite us with the glory of your name and how beautiful you are.

Father, I want to thank you so much for ICF.

Thank you for what you're doing in the lives of Irina and Fred and just so many other students.

We pray that right there on that campus where there's so much pressure to perform,

that they would have such a big God-centered view of things,

that they would be so different from those around them,

that they'd be a light, a beacon, Lord, to all those around,

that they would have this confident security,

that their worth is not found in how great their grades are,

but their worth is found in how great you are and the love that you have poured on them.

Father, I pray for the local church in Hong Kong.

Thank you so much for the faithful witness of men and women over decades and decades

of being a light, Lord, in this city.

I want to think of Holy Light Church in Yuen Long and Pastor Paul there.

Lord, thank you for them and their faithful ministry.

Would you let the gospel go deeper and richer into that church

as they celebrate 80 years of being in the city?

And would they just not rest on their past,

but would they push into you more as they reach out to local kids

and the elderly up in Yuen Long?

Would they be a beacon of light to draw other people to know you?

Father, I want to pray for the Filipino community in this city.

Many of them have religious backgrounds since their childhood,

and yet many of them have never truly known you.

Father, we want to pray for Janet and Arlene and Julie and Jonah and Zari and Leonara

and the whole foundations of faith fellowship in our midst, Lord,

as they are seeking to reach out to their Filipino and Indonesian friends and neighbors.

Lord, please, would they know the calling on their lives?

Would they know the love that you have for them?

And would you use them mightily in reaching out to this community?

I pray for all of us.

Lord, I'm just so challenged by the fact that when we have so much,

sometimes our faith can be so small.

We can think we're following you,

and yet I know so much in my own life and our own lives

that our lives are consumed by little trinkets

and not by the calling you have on us.

We worry far more about things that people who have far less do not worry about.

But may we lay our lives down before you with open hands,

not assuming that you have to meet our expectations of convenience and comfort,

but seeing your faithful goodness will lead and guide us,

and we can trust you with whatever's going on in our lives right now.

Father, we just lay ourselves before you.

We thank you that you are good.

We need you.

Change us.

Speak to us.

In Jesus' mighty name.

Amen.

Amen.

I'd love to invite Janet to come and read the scripture to us this morning.

Thank you so much.

The scripture reading comes from Matthew chapter 4.

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

Please follow along in your bulletins or on the screen.

Now, when Jesus heard that John has been arrested,

he withdrawed in Galilee.

And leaving Nazareth, he went and left in Capernaum by the sea,

in the territory of Zebulun in Naptali,

so that what was spoken by Prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled.

The land of Zebulun in the land of Naptali,

the way of the sea beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people dwelling in darkness have been a great light,

and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,

on them a light has dawned.

For that time, Jesus began to preach, saying,

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

While walking by the sea of Galilee,

he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter,

and Andrew, his brother,

casting on it into the sea,

for they were fishermen.

And he said to them,

Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men.

Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

And going on from there,

he saw two other brothers,

James, the son of Zebedee,

and John, his brother,

in the boat with Zebedee, their father,

mending their nets,

and he called them.

Immediately they left the boat and their father

and followed him.

And he went throughout all Galilee,

teaching in their synagogues

and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom

and healing every disease

and every affliction among the people.

So his fame spread throughout all Syria,

and they brought him all the sick,

those afflicted with various diseases and pains,

those oppressed by demons,

those having seizures and paralytics,

and he hallowed them.

The great crowd followed him

from Galilee and the Decapolis

and from Jerusalem and Judea

and from beyond the Jordan.

And this is the word of God.

Great.

If you don't know,

my name is Chris.

I'm one of the leaders here at Watermark.

And we're continuing in our series

of going through Matthew's gospel.

And so,

I don't know if you've had a recent performance review

at your work,

but what happens when you do a performance review

is you look back

over your past history

of what you've done,

whether in the last three months,

six months,

or year,

and you evaluate it,

and then you hope that you will actually,

from the mistakes that you've learned

and the good things you've done,

you'll actually move forward

to not repeat the same things

and to grow and improve.

That's the idea,

I think.

Well,

the people of Israel,

God's people,

had been given enough performance reviews

by God

throughout a thousand years of history

and every single performance review

they'd failed.

Every one of them,

they'd made exactly the same mistakes

that the previous generation had made

again and again and again and again.

They never seemed to learn.

And yet,

God had been so good to them

that they kept trusting in other gods.

God kept showing them His goodness.

He brought them out of Egypt,

out of slavery.

He brought them through the wilderness

and provided for them.

He brought them again and again,

provision and grace,

and again and again,

they refused to trust Him.

Every trial,

every test,

they failed.

I don't know if any of you

have ever felt like that.

But that is actually

not just Israel's story,

that's our story.

before a holy God.

And Matthew,

in his gospel,

has been showing

how the story of Israel,

their life,

it needs a rewrite.

It needs someone to come

and rewrite the story

so that their future

will be different from their past.

And so John the Baptist

has come proclaiming,

repent for the kingdom of God is near.

There's a new future coming.

And there's someone who's coming,

the only person

who can actually rewrite your future.

The only person who's actually

passed the performance review,

which is Jesus Christ,

who comes.

And so Matthew has been showing us

how he's been baptized in the Jordan,

just like Israel went through the Red Sea.

He's led into the wilderness,

just like Israel did.

But where they failed,

he succeeded.

Where they failed the test,

he didn't.

And now John the Baptist's ministry

of saying,

pointing to this one

who's going to come

to bring in the future,

John the Baptist got arrested.

His deal is done.

And he's passing on the baton

to Jesus.

And Jesus heads into his time of ministry.

And this is where the rest

of the book of Matthew is going.

And we're going to see his teaching

coming up in the Sermon on the Mount.

But before that,

we're going to see some key things

about what Jesus is doing

in gathering a new people,

a new community,

who know how to repent

and follow him.

So what we're going to do,

I'm going to go through

three key points today.

The first one,

Jesus goes out into the darkness.

And the last one,

which is going to be about

Jesus calls us to something

bigger than ourselves,

they're going to be short.

The middle one,

which is going to be

about Jesus calls us to himself,

is going to be most of our time.

So if you're wondering

at the end of the second point,

are we ever going to end?

Take courage.

We will.

So let's kind of dive in.

If you've got your bulletin with you,

the first point,

Jesus goes into the darkness.

This is verses 12 to 16.

What you'll see,

it says,

Jesus withdrew into Galilee.

And he's called Galilee of the Gentiles.

It says,

the people dwelling in darkness

have seen a great light.

And for those dwelling in the region

and shadow of death,

on them a light has dawned.

And Jesus,

in fulfillment of a prophecy from Isaiah

700 years before,

which was related to this place,

Galilee,

in the north of Israel,

from where in Isaiah's time,

Assyria had brought God's judgment

for their sin

onto the people of Israel.

But now,

into that same place,

Jesus is heading.

Now what you probably don't realize

is it's Galilee of the Gentiles

is not a compliment

for a Jewish writer.

If you think about,

you know,

the walled city in Kowloon

that got knocked down 25 years ago,

you know its reputation

was kind of like this den of iniquity,

of like prostitution, gambling,

all kinds of darkness there.

Well,

that's the same kind of idea for Galilee.

That it was a place of compromise

where unclean,

non-Jewish people

had settled there

with their different religions.

And Matthew quotes Isaiah saying,

this people there,

they dwell in a darkness.

They dwell in the shadow of death.

And what's really interesting

is Matthew has actually changed

the word that Isaiah used.

Isaiah said,

the people walk in darkness.

But Matthew says,

he uses the word,

they dwell in darkness.

The word dwell means to sit,

to sit down,

to settle.

And he's making a point.

He's trying to say

that the people in this area,

they hadn't just switched off

the light temporarily,

but they were still up

so they could switch it back on

and see again.

He's saying,

they were so entrenched in darkness

it was like Norway in winter time.

There was no daylight.

And they were never going to get back up

out of their spiritual darkness.

There is spiritual death

hung over them like a shadow.

Like a no hope slum.

Many of you,

maybe you feel like your workplaces

feel like that.

A toxic environment

filled with self-interest and greed.

Sometimes some of your family gatherings,

you're worried about

Chinese New Year coming up

because they can feel like that.

Places that sometimes feel so dark,

you wonder,

can light ever really break through

in those places?

That was Galilee.

And just as we write off

places and people,

it's precisely into that place

that Matthew says Jesus headed.

And he says this,

light has dawned.

It's been a long night in Galilee,

but the sun is beginning to rise

over the horizon

because Jesus is here.

And because Jesus doesn't just go

into the comfortable suburbs,

he heads right into the place

where he knows that the message

of repentance,

that the kingdom of God is near,

is needed more than anywhere.

Because he's saying the king

and his kingdom is within reach.

The king has arrived

and when the king arrives,

what does this king do?

What does he do when he comes?

And that's my second point.

Jesus calls people to himself.

You know, Kevin talked about repentance

three weeks ago.

And repentance is the entry point

into coming into God's new kingdom,

his new future,

but it's also the ongoing life

of those who are in God's kingdom.

And Matthew wants to show us now

what repentance looks like.

So let's have a look at this story,

which you're going to see

from 18 through to 22.

Jesus is out for a stroll

by the lakeside,

getting some air.

And then he sees

these two disciples,

Simon and Andrew.

And this isn't the first time

Jesus has seen them.

Because we know from John 2

that he actually spent

at least a whole day with them,

maybe a bit more,

so it's not cold.

But these guys are right

in the middle of their work day.

Okay?

But some of us think

that the disciples

are just these kind of

poor working class people.

But actually that's not true.

The disciples,

though they were uneducated,

they were probably

not desperately poor

in their terms of that time.

Because they have

a small family fishing business,

which we know from Mark 1,

that actually they have

employees as well.

So this is like an SME.

Okay?

This is their small,

medium business,

and they're right in the middle

of trying to get a catch

to sustain their cash flow.

This is the equivalent

of them on the trading floor,

them in the meeting room,

them in the classroom,

them in the hospital ward,

them taking the kids to school.

It's a normal day,

it's the normal events

that happen at work,

they're fishermen,

and Jesus comes along

and he says,

follow me,

I will make you fishers of men.

There's a few things

that I want to pull out of this,

because I want to really unpack

this phrase,

because this is dynamite

if we get this.

First thing that this says,

who takes the initiative

to call the disciples?

Jesus does.

Do you know,

that was really unusual

in that day,

because if you had a rabbi,

rabbis didn't go out

to find disciples,

they actually waited

for disciples to come to them.

And so,

Jesus,

though,

where is he?

Jesus is in Galilee,

a place in darkness.

Nobody's getting up

to go and find him.

And so,

nobody there was going,

Jesus,

we'd love to be your disciple,

please make us your disciple.

They're not doing that.

He is the one

who has to reach out

down to them

in their darkness.

That's actually the same

for us.

Do you know that?

How many of you here

saved yourself?

No,

because the only reason,

if you are a Christian

here today,

the only reason

you are a Christian

is not because

you made some smart

intellectual decision

to think,

yeah,

that sounds reasonable

to me to follow Jesus.

Okay,

I'm going to do it.

It's not that.

The only reason

you are a Christian,

it's not because

you were born

in a Christian family.

It's because

Jesus called you

and Jesus saved you.

Nobody saves themselves

and he's calling

us today

to himself,

whether you are

a Christian

or not a Christian,

again and again.

But you know

when Jesus calls you,

it's the second thing.

He's always

going to disrupt

your life.

You see,

the disciples

didn't go away

from meeting Jesus

saying,

oh,

that was a nice

time we had,

nice guy.

Let's just get

back on with fishing.

Because

he says,

he doesn't say

either,

follow me

and all your

problems

are going

to go away.

Because you see,

when you meet

with Jesus,

you will never be,

and you truly

follow his call,

you will never be

the same afterwards

as you were before.

There's always

going to be a different

before and after shot.

He's coming

to disrupt

your life

and your plans

and your dreams.

And if you're

not living

and feeling

the tension

with living

for his kingdom,

if you don't feel

the disruption

in some of the way

that you wish

your life was,

then it may be

you're actually

not living

for his kingdom

at all.

Because maybe

you're just living

for your own plans.

Because Jesus

is calling you today

just like he was

calling the disciples

and he's going

to call you

to disrupt

your life.

Anyone

still on board?

Okay,

second thing.

Now,

when he comes

to disrupt

your life,

what's the call?

The call is

follow me

and I will

make you

fishers of men.

That was the call

to these four

men that day.

It's the call

to every person

who throughout

history,

every other

disciple

that's the same

call.

And there are

three words here

which he calls

these disciples

to which would

change their

lives forever.

Three words

which if they

had not responded

positively to,

we would not

be here today

talking about

these people

2,000 years later.

These are three

words which

everything changed.

Do you know

which three words

they are?

You see,

some of you

are confused

because in

English you

only see two

words which

are follow me.

But in Greek

there are three

words which

literally are

come after me

or come behind

me.

That's what the

Greek says.

And so I want

to spend a little

bit of time

unpacking these

three words

one by one

because they are

challenging words

and we need to

hear this.

the first word

is come.

When I say

come here,

what am I

doing?

Okay,

so does one.

If I say come

here, what am I

doing?

I'm giving you a

command, right?

I'm saying come

here now.

If I say come

and join me,

what am I doing?

I'm inviting you.

It's an invitation.

What's common

between a command

and an invitation?

Basically, we're

trying audience

participation here.

Both of them

require a response.

Both of them

require a response.

You see, if you

answer on Facebook

maybe, that is

not a response.

Or in fact, it is

a response.

You're trying to

postpone a response

but actually your

response is no,

not now.

Right?

You see, Jesus

also had other

people.

He said, follow me

to some other

people in Matthew

8 and they go,

hey, I'm busy.

I've got a family

funeral.

I've just got some

work stuff.

And Jesus is

straight down the

line.

He goes, maybe

and not now

means no.

It means I've got

other priorities,

not you.

But do you notice

in the passage

what the response

of the disciples

is.

It says, Simon

and Andrew

immediately, they

left immediately.

Do you see that?

And then James

and John in

verse 20, it

says, they

immediately, they

left.

Do you see that?

Immediately.

20 and 22.

He's saying

procrastination is

not an option.

Jesus is calling

you today and you

have to respond to

him.

How are we going

to respond?

That's the third

thing.

He takes the

initiative.

He responds.

He's going to

disrupt your life.

He calls for a

response.

Next thing is the

next word.

After or behind.

The response that

we are to give is

always a call to

surrender to his

leading.

Because there were

many, when Jesus

says, follow me,

follow after me,

come after me,

there were many

rabbis at the

time.

And you could

tell whose

rabbis a person

were by the

behavior of the

disciples.

Because they'd

seek to imitate

their rabbi in

everything.

So if Rabbi

Leo had a

three-inch beard,

then all of his

disciples would

have a three-inch

beard.

You've got to

grow a little

bit.

If Rabbi

Leo had a

nervous twitch

like this,

and walking

down the road

you saw a

whole load of

people doing

this, you

would know

they were all

disciples of

Rabbi Leo.

You see, I

visited Cambodia

a couple of

years ago.

We went to a

landmine museum.

And one of the

boards in the

museum told the

story of a guy

called Aki Ra.

And he'd been

responsible for

putting down

landmines for

the Khmer Rouge

government.

But then later

on he felt such

guilt for what

he'd done that he

actually became

this kind of ninja

landmine remover.

So he would go

out into landmines

walking barefoot

with just his

hands and a

stick, and he

would remove

thousands and

thousands of

landmines.

And so when the

UN expert landmine

removers came in,

they asked for his

help.

Because he knew

everything.

And so what

happened was when

he would go in

front of all the

other UN experts,

and he would say,

listen, just put

your foot in the

same place that I've

put my foot.

Just put your foot

in the same place.

Don't put it

anywhere else.

Because if you put

it anywhere else,

you may get blown

to smithereens.

You've got to put

your footprint in

my footprint, because

I'm going to lead

you into safety.

You see, that is

exactly what Jesus

is saying here.

when he says,

follow me.

Come after me.

Don't think that to

be a Christian is to

get a ticket to

heaven, and then you

can kind of plot your

own course through the

minefield of life, and

hope that maybe he can

just give you some

guidance occasionally

when you're having a

few problems.

That is not

Christianity, because

you'll get blown up.

God, I want you to

He's saying, I want you

to entrust and surrender

every part of your life

to me.

Let me lead you.

You are my path, is

what he's saying.

You are the shape and

direction of my life, for

my finances, for my

relationships, for my

work.

That's what every

believer would try to

say, God, I want to

discern where are you

leading?

Right now, in your

life, where are you

leading?

I don't want to go my

own way.

I don't want to go the

way that everyone else

says.

I want to go your way.

The response is a call

to surrender to his

leading.

Next, he takes the

initiative.

He's going to disrupt

your life.

He calls you to

respond, and it's a

call to respond in

surrender.

Then he said, the

call of Jesus is

costly.

You know, these guys

are fishermen.

They're fishermen.

Their money is in

fish.

No fish, no cash.

That's their financial

security.

No food to feed their

families if they don't

get fish.

And we know that right

here, Peter is married

as well because he's

got a mother-in-law.

So he's got a whole

family to look after.

And when Jesus says,

come after me, follow

me, he's asking him

to put a blank check

on the table and to

say, Jesus, you can

fill this in however

you like.

You can fill in my

future how you like.

You can fill in my

career path how you

like.

You can fill in my bank

balance how you like.

You can, you know, I've

got my savings plan.

I've got my NPF.

I've got my investments.

But that's held loosely

for you to guide me.

And you can lead me

anywhere.

And for Peter and

Andrew, that meant

leaving behind their

business dreams.

I don't know what it's

going to mean for you.

But it's costly.

You see, Jesus then

walks along.

He said, hey, your

financial things to

Peter and Andrew.

But then he walks along

and then he sees James

and John.

And they're there with

their dad.

And you notice in the

passage, he actually

repeats the dad's name

twice.

He says, he's the son

of Zebedee.

And then he calls him

Zebedee.

And then they say,

their father twice.

Because Matthew is

making a point here.

When he calls them to

follow him, James and

John are not only just

walking off with Jesus

and leaving behind all

their potential cash in

the nets behind them.

They're also leaving the

most precious thing in

Jewish society, which was

their family.

Their dad had hopes and

expectations for them, I'm

sure.

And probably most of

those were tied up in the

family business.

And so, in the dad's

opinion, really counted.

A rebellious son was shame

on the family.

And you think about it, for

many of us, our parents'

opinion counts a lot.

Some of us, it has carried

so much weight over us that

it actually has stifled our

own call to follow Jesus.

You know, you fear what they

would say if ever you made a

decision to adopt a child or

to choose a different career

path than they would expect.

We live under the weight of

parental expectations.

And Jesus is clear, we're

meant to honor our parents,

we're meant to listen to

them because they have great

wisdom, but your parents are

not your ultimate guide in

life.

Sometimes the call to follow

Christ puts you in tension

with even the most close

people to you, even your

parents.

And Jesus is saying, I'm

calling you to put your feet

after me, not just after your

mom or your dad.

And that's challenging.

That's challenging.

But he's saying, will you

write a blank check for me?

Will you write a blank check

and let me lead you?

Let me lead you.

Come after me.

You see, this is

challenging, right?

But our response

is based

on who

Jesus is.

You see, Jesus isn't asking

you to just leave everything

for a series of doctrines.

You know, Islam

will tell you,

follow the Quran,

follow the five pillars.

Buddhism will tell you,

follow the ninefold path.

Judaism will tell you,

follow the law.

Marketism says,

follow the market analysts.

Careerism says,

follow whatever your boss

tells you.

Fashion.

Fashion.

Just think,

you're always a disciple

of somebody.

You're always a disciple

of somebody.

Fashion is just clothing

discipleship.

Right?

Culture is just society

discipleship.

Like, why does everyone

in Hong Kong want to be

a lawyer, doctor, engineer,

or finance and business guy?

Why?

We're just following along.

Right?

And look at actually

how that often enslaves

many of us

who actually wish

we weren't one of those

but we've just been

shoved into that.

We're all disciples

of someone

because we've all

got to trust someone.

But I'd like you to think

if you received this text,

I don't know if you can see that.

Let me just move the curtain.

Hey Chris,

great meeting you

the other day.

I want you to quit

your job,

your neighborhood,

and your family

and follow me

wherever I go.

Let me know

by the end of the day.

What questions,

if you received that text,

would be going

through your mind?

Sure.

Who are you?

Yes.

Yes.

Any other questions?

What do you want?

Yes.

Sorry.

Block.

Yes, block.

Why block?

Weird.

Yeah, like,

like,

where are you going?

Like,

what's in it for me?

Yeah,

what do you want?

What about money?

What about my family?

Are you going to just

mess up my life?

What if that's a scam?

What if you're just

trying to play with me?

What if?

Right?

A lot of questions

we have.

Because doesn't

that kind of call

actually raise

a whole load of fears

within us?

A whole load of

what ifs?

Because we don't

precisely know

A,

who this is

really

and where

they're taking us.

You see,

we want to have

the five-year plan

ahead of us.

But sometimes

in discipleship,

there's an element

of it's like a mist

where you can just see

the two meters

in front of you.

It's uncertain.

And when you can't

see your way,

we often try and

clutch onto the things

that we feel are secure.

But the call

of discipleship

is always

the call

to answer

those two questions.

Who are you

and can I trust you?

Who are you

and can I trust you?

That is the

ultimate questions

for deciding

a discipleship.

You know,

who here has ever

played Assassin's Creed?

Okay,

this is admission time.

Mike has.

You know who

the original

Assassins were?

The original

Assassins were

not a video game.

They were a Muslim sect

which had,

at one point,

they had one leader

who to prove

his authority

to people around him

would,

when they came up

to him,

he would order

some of his followers

to just jump off a cliff

at his command.

And they would follow.

They would run

and they would jump

off a cliff

to their death.

I think that's

sometimes what we

think God is like.

We actually think

that this call

is actually a call

to either make my life

miserable,

lonely,

hard,

or just make me suffer.

You're going to ruin

my life.

Because

we maybe know

the doctrine

about who Jesus

is up here,

but we don't really

know who are you?

Can I trust you?

And the whole of Matthew

in his first four chapters

has been trying

to tell us

again and again

who Jesus is

so that we can say

I can trust you.

You know,

in a world

where every politician,

every boss,

every spouse,

every friend

will let you down

at some point,

Matthew says

he's the promised Messiah

who is always faithful

to his word.

He always delivers

on his promises

and he will never

use or manipulate you.

Do you know him?

In a lonely world

where we're craving

acceptance and love,

Jesus draws near

as Emmanuel,

the creator God,

God with us

to love us,

to save us,

to deliver us.

Do you know him?

In a world

which is power hungry,

filled with nationalism,

filled with division,

filled with self-interest,

Jesus is the global king

who calls people

from all nations

in unity

to come and worship him.

In a world of injustice

with families

and communities

torn apart

by greed

and oppression,

Jesus is the

unbribable judge

who has a winnowing fork

in his hand

and he will bring

justice to bear

on this world.

Heaven and hell

are in his hands.

Do you know him?

In a world of indulgence

and faithlessness

and where we lack

self-control,

Jesus is the faithful,

obedient one

who has never failed.

Do you know him?

In a world

where it's every man

who seeks to exalt

themselves,

Jesus humbles himself,

identifies with us

in his baptism,

in our weakness,

takes our sin

on the cross

to lift us up

and bring him

to himself.

Do you know him?

In a world

where the strong

eat the weak,

Jesus is the tender king

who will not break

a bruised reed,

but he lifts up

those of us

who right now

feel crushed

and broken.

In a world

where we're called

to be disciples

of fashion

and technology

for the sake

of increasing

business profit margin,

Jesus is calling you

to himself

for the sake

of his glory

and your good.

Do you know him?

Do you know him?

It was 1783.

George Washington

was facing a mutiny

from his troops.

They hadn't been paid

for ages.

And they were refusing

to fight for him

and they were

on the verge

of going to the parliament

to overthrow the parliament

to get what they wanted.

Washington stood up

and he made a speech

to try and persuade

all of his troops

to trust him

and to follow him.

But they refused

to listen.

None of them trusted.

And then at one moment

he went to get a letter

from a senator

to prove

that the troops

were going to get paid.

And as he did

he pulled out

of his pocket,

he fumbled in his pocket

and he kind of pulled out

a pair of glasses

that not one of his

even closest officers

had ever seen him wear.

And as he pulled

and opened the letter

and held it up

he said this,

he said,

Gentlemen,

I,

you must pardon me

for I have grown

not only grey

but blind

in the service

of my country.

All the troops

were stunned.

Many just started weeping.

Washington read

the letter

and he walked out

within ten minutes

the mutiny

was called off.

Every troop

swore allegiance

to Washington

because they trusted him.

Because they saw

who he was

and the sacrifice

he had paid

for this cause.

He wasn't just

saying words.

He had paid for it

with his very own body

and his life.

Jesus didn't just

grow old,

didn't just grow blind

and grey for us.

He died

for you and me

on a cross.

He's not going to call you

to jump off a cliff

because he's already

jumped off the cliff

for you.

He's already taken

the hit for you

and for me

though we did not

deserve it

so that he can lead you

to safety

and wholeness

and freedom

to the kingdom of God

that he wants you

to be involved

and be part of.

And so he calls

every single one

of us today.

Will you follow me?

It's a costly call.

It's a call

to go into the unknown

wherever he leads.

But it's a call

to trust the one

who has loved you

more than anyone

has ever loved you

or ever will.

Will you follow?

Will you follow?

You know,

as I've been reflecting

on this,

I realize

how so many

of my fears

come from that fact

that I don't really

know him well.

And my prayer,

I've been a Christian

over 30 years.

I can never assume

that I already

know him enough.

Is our prayer

that we want

to know him more

so we can trust him

more so that we

can walk with him?

If you are not

a Christian today,

he's calling you

to respond to him.

Some of you

have been in church

for a long time.

You know the message,

but you've been saying

maybe.

Today is a day

where God says,

no, today I'm calling

you to respond to me.

Will you lay down

and write that blank check

in repentance

and say,

I want you to lead me

wherever.

Forgive me for leading

my own life

my own way.

Some of you

may have more questions.

We're going to be

starting a Christianity

Explored course

in a few weeks' time

in March.

That's going to be

an opportunity

for you to respond

and just say,

I want to come

to know Jesus

more.

But if you're

a Christian

this morning,

I don't know

where you are.

I don't know

what God has been

saying to you,

but I know

that he is calling

you right now

with whatever

you're wrestling with

to lay that blank

check on the table

and to say,

Jesus,

you can take me.

I surrender

to you today.

Would you lead me?

That's what repentance

looks like.

That's what repentance

looks like.

It's a daily thing.

I was going to share

another point,

but I think I'm going to

just stop

and allow us

just to close your eyes

for a minute.

I want you

just to ask God,

where are you

calling me today?

Where are you

calling me?

And I want you

right now

to just do

some business

with God.

Just lay before him

your life.

Lay before him

the things which

have been wrapping

you up.

Lay before him

the things which

have consumed you.

Are you willing

to say,

as he's calling you

to follow him,

to lay down

with open hands

to say,

God,

would you speak

to me?

Jesus,

I want you

to lead me

wherever.

And I'm scared,

but I can trust you

because you're good.

If the musicians

just want to come up.

You know,

some of us,

we've been saying,

oh, Jesus,

you would never

call me to

dot, dot, dot.

You would never

call me

to take a

lower-paid job.

You'd never

call me

to quit my job.

You'd never

call me

to place

my kids

in a school

which none

of my peers

would dream

of sending

their kids

to.

Jesus,

you'd never

call me

to move

to a less

comfortable

neighborhood.

We say that a lot.

Jesus,

you'd never.

But if you're

laying a blank

check before him

today,

just give him

all the you

would nevers

and just say,

you can lead me.

And for some

of that,

that will be

him leading

you on his

mission,

maybe to

another country,

maybe into

ministry.

For some

of you,

that will be

leading you

into Morgan

Stanley,

leading you

into the

hospital,

leading you

into the

Chinese New

Year

gatherings,

with a heart

to pray for

those who

don't know

him.

with a heart

to be his

instrument,

as he goes

into the

darkness,

that you

will be

there

following

him

as a

light,

because he

loves the

people around

you.

But I

maybe ask

even just

in the

prayer team

if you'd

like to

come

forward.

I think

that maybe

some of

you,

God's

just

speaking

to you

right

now,

and you

just need

to come

forward to

have

prayer.

Maybe

there are

things you

feel like

you've been

holding on

to for a

long time.

Maybe you've

been saying

no,

you've been

saying maybe,

you've been

saying wait.

Maybe you

just come and

say,

Jesus,

I need to

know you

more.

I just

need to

know you

more.

Show me

yourself.

Father,

thank you

that your

love for

us is

immeasurable.

And yet we

are so afraid

sometimes to

follow you

because it

feels like,

it feels

sometimes that

our own

securities are

more trustworthy

than you who

have given

everything for

us.

forgive us,

change our

hearts.

Would we

hear and

see you

this week

and immediately

follow you?

Father,

have your

way.

Thank you

that you're

so good to

us.

We love

you.

Jesus'

name.

Amen.