It's All About Jesus

It's New Year's resolutions time.

Hey, it's not easy to shed some pounds.

It's not easy to change your eating habits.

It's not easy to change your spending habits.

You know what?

It's just not easy being a human being.

Do I have an amen?

Amen.

You know what else is not easy?

Being a wholehearted follower of Jesus Christ.

Daily dying to yourself so that you can daily live for Christ in more and more areas of your life.

Each and every day of your life.

It's not easy being a follower of Jesus, but here's the result.

When you're following Jesus day in and day out, daily dying so that you can daily live for Him,

you become more like Christ in your character.

You're conformed to Jesus' character.

You become like Him.

And not only that, as you're looking to die to yourself in order to live for Christ day in and day out,

you begin to obey more and more of His commands in more and more areas of your life.

And you know what the result of all that is?

God's name gets praised.

His name is hallowed.

It means to be made much of.

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not easy, but it's absolutely worth it because God's name is hallowed.

And that's not just being a disciple.

Being a disciple who is making disciples of Jesus Christ is absolutely worth it too

because not only do you see God hallowed in your life, you start seeing God hallowed in other people's lives.

God's praise spreading across the earth.

God's praise.

This morning, this first Sunday of 2019, we're going to delay getting back into the book of Revelation.

We're going to focus on a number of passages from the Gospel of Matthew

because I want to focus you on what matters most.

Maybe better said, on who matters most.

because it's all about Jesus.

You want to say that with me?

It's all about Jesus.

Over the last year, year and a half,

the elders of our church,

we've been sensing a need to focus our church

on being disciples of Jesus Christ

who are making disciples of Jesus Christ.

That's who we are and that's what we do.

And think about it.

In our current cultural context,

that's not easy.

Now, there was a time in our country

when calling people to forsake their sin repentance

in order to follow Jesus,

well, that was a little easier.

People spoke the same language.

We live in a culture of Christianity,

so it's a little more easy to talk about these things,

but that age is by and large passing away.

We live in a different America than 20 years ago, don't we?

We do.

And as it gets more challenging to be a follower of Jesus,

and it will,

you know what you're going to need more and more?

Encouragement.

Encouragement.

You're going to need courage

to follow Jesus all the days of your life.

You're going to need to be courageous

and stepping out in faith

to do what's right in the Lord's eyes,

especially when it gets contested.

Now, the kind of encouragement I'm talking about

is not the building up of one's self-esteem.

There's other places you can look for that.

The kind of courage I'm talking about

is the building of perseverance in a Christian's heart

to persevere through challenge and suffering

to endure to the end.

Courage to overcome temptations and tribulations

that come on account of being identified with Jesus Christ.

It's all about Jesus.

So my aim this morning

is to put courage into your hearts

to live wholeheartedly for Jesus,

regardless of the cultural circumstances,

for the rest of your life.

Here's how I'm going to do that.

We're going to look through the Gospel of Matthew.

We're going to be stopping off at a couple different areas,

but there are three lines of encouragement

I want to put right into your heart.

First one is this.

Jesus is real,

and it's real all the time.

It's all true.

Jesus is real.

You're going to find some encouragement there.

And the second line of encouragement is

Jesus is worth it all.

He's worth it all.

He's the treasure.

You're going to find some encouragement there.

And finally,

Jesus is with us in it all.

There is a promise to hold on tight to.

It's going to give courage to you.

Are you ready for some encouragement?

Let's dive in.

Jesus is real.

It's all true.

Apparently,

Vince Lombardi,

at the beginning of every football season,

and I'm not saying I'm a Packers fan,

but Vince Lombardi,

at the beginning of every football season,

he'd gather the Packers together,

and he'd hold up a football

at the beginning of practice,

the very first practice of the year,

and he'd say,

this is a football.

This is what this is all about.

It's all about Jesus.

We're coming out of the Christmas season,

and if Christmas teaches us anything,

it's that the second person of the Trinity

took on real human flesh.

He had real eyelashes,

and he had real fingernails,

and he had real detached earlobes,

because we know only godly people

have detached earlobes.

Bad joke.

Bad joke.

He really took on flesh.

Matthew 1.23,

he is Emmanuel,

God with us.

Fully God,

fully man.

Fulfillment of Isaiah 7.14.

It's true.

The second person of the Trinity

who eternally existed

at a particular point in time

took on flesh.

It's really true.

And he really lived

a perfectly righteous life

in God's eyes.

All 33 years of his life,

every moment of every day,

nothing but pleasing God.

Never sinned once.

He did what none of us could do.

He lived a perfect life.

And he really did die willingly

out of love for sinners

as a substitute on the cross.

He really did die.

Real cross,

real nails,

real blood,

accomplishing a real salvation.

And not only did he die on the cross

and was buried,

he was really raised on the third day.

And he actually appeared

to 500 people

as eyewitnesses

following his resurrection

according to 1 Corinthians 15.

He really was raised from the dead

and he really ascended on the clouds

to the right hand of the Father

where he is right now.

He really is alive now.

Right now.

Listening in.

And right now,

he is truly building his church

all across the globe.

I just got done finished reading a book

and in this book,

there was just kind of some stats

given of God,

the work,

the church planting work

around the world right now.

It was so encouraging

to hear how Aslan is on the move

building his church

in some of the hardest nations on earth.

He really is at work.

He really is alive.

And he really is going to come back.

That day is set

in the Father's calendar.

And despite what some people may think,

we're actually one day closer to that day.

One Christmas closer.

One New Year's closer.

The window is getting smaller

to the return of Jesus Christ.

And when he really does come back

on that real day,

he will really judge

the living and the dead.

He will separate them

as sheep from the goats.

Matthew 25.

He is the judge.

And he separates the unrighteous

from the righteous.

And the unrighteous,

he will cast into eternal torment.

Hell is real.

And for those of us

whom he has saved

by his mercy and his grace,

we will really dwell with him

forever.

In his presence,

we will see his earlobes.

We'll know if they're detached

or undetached.

We'll be with him

in pristine, sinless glory

of the new heavens

and the new earth.

There are no threats there.

There are no tears there.

There's nothing but perfect peace there.

Jesus is real.

It's all true.

It's all true.

We're not making this stuff up.

And what you need to know

is that it's all,

it's all about Jesus,

but they're just not propositional truths

to believe about Jesus.

Just to check off

in some theology book.

These are truths

looking to have impact

on sinners' lives.

They're truths on mission

because Jesus is on a mission.

It's in the name,

Jesus,

Matthew 1, 21.

He came to save us

from our sins.

Jesus literally means

Yahweh saves.

He has come to save us.

It's all true.

It's all about Jesus.

And not only these truths

about Jesus are true,

Jesus affirmed

this whole book.

Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

God really did create

the heavens and the earth

with just words

out of nothing.

Genesis 1 is true.

Genesis 2 is true.

God really did create

one biological man

and one biological woman,

named them Adam and Eve,

to be joined together

for life

in the holy state of matrimony,

to be fruitful, multiply,

subdue the earth

as his representatives.

It's all true.

Genesis 2 is true.

Genesis 3 is true.

Adam and Eve really did

disobey God in the garden,

resulting in their expulsion

from the garden

and our inherited sinful nature.

Romans chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

Thanks, Adam.

Thanks, Eve.

All human beings

are really sinful rebels

in God's sight

from birth.

It's true.

And you know what's amazing?

God really saw it

before it all happened.

Before the foundation

of the world,

God saw it all.

And before the foundation

of the world,

He set into motion

a plan for the fullness

of time to rescue sinners

from their sin

that's centered

on this person

of Jesus Christ.

It's all about Jesus.

I know you know this,

but you've got to hear it again.

Our deepest problem today

is not the political gridlock

of Washington, D.C.

over a border wall.

That's not our greatest problem.

Our greatest problem

is not the undiagnosed

health issue

that is currently

somewhere in your body

or somewhere

in your spouse's body

or somewhere

in your child's body

or somewhere

in your parent's body.

That's a problem.

It's not our greatest problem.

Our greatest problem

is not the rising interest rates

in the delicate global economy.

That's not our biggest problem.

Our biggest problem

is not access

to affordable health care.

It's a problem.

It's not our biggest problem.

Racial injustice

is not our biggest problem.

It's systemic in our culture.

Yes, it's not our biggest problem.

The greatest problem

of all humanity

is not outside of us.

It's resident in us.

Deep

within every human heart

is an inherited sinful nature.

And just like a baby

in the arms of his mother

who arches his back,

we

arch our backs

in the hands

of a loving,

providential creator.

We

exchange God

for idols.

We deny him

and take his place.

Our deepest problem

is our own

sinfulness

internally.

That's our greatest problem.

all the other problems

that I named,

you can trace those

all the way back

to the garden.

It's all true.

It's all real.

So here's what this means.

Our greatest problem

personally

and in your families

and in our city

and nation,

it's spiritual

in nature.

It's rebellion

against God.

And therefore,

the solution

is not economic.

It's not educational.

It's gospel.

Spiritual.

Your greatest need

is to be made right

with a holy God.

And the only way

that you can be made right

with a holy God

is through the blood

of Jesus Christ

who died on the cross.

A real cross

with real nails

shedding real blood

accomplishing

a real salvation.

He's our prince of peace

who sacrificed himself

for us.

It's all about Jesus.

It's all about Jesus.

So when you start

to come into

the biblical understanding

of what the greatest

problem is

and what is God's

only solution for that,

it should have the effect

of prioritizing your life.

So Jesus is not

a pastime.

Jesus is not a hobby.

Jesus is not

an eventually thing

I'm going to get to.

He is the Lord of lords

and King of kings

and he's worthy

of every breath

of your life.

Every square inch

in light of who he is

and what he's done.

It means we're not

playing church.

We're on mission

to bring gospel

to sinners.

We're not making

this thing up

as we go along.

We're not trying

to make the Bible

fit our preferences.

But we're standing

on God's word.

No better yet,

we're coming

under God's word.

We're not trying

to twist this

to make it fit

our culture.

we're not trying

to fill people's time

in order to be

productive citizens.

We're organizing

to make disciples

of the nations.

We're not observing

in the stands

what the living Christ

is doing

and building his church.

We have been commissioned

by the living Christ

to engage the world

in order to make disciples

for the glory

of his name.

It's all true.

It's all real.

We are Christ's plan

to make disciples

in this city.

So we don't gather

Sunday by Sunday

to be entertained.

We don't gather

in order to evaluate.

We gather together

to be equipped

and empowered

and encouraged

and envisioned

so that we are scattered

to make disciples

of the nations.

It's all true.

Jesus is real.

This isn't make-believe.

Is this putting

a little courage

in your heart?

To remember

that it's true?

I'm going to say

Jesus is real

and I want you

to say

it's all true.

Jesus is real.

It's the case.

The second line

of encouragement

that I want

to put courage

into your heart

is that Jesus

is worth it all.

And what I mean

by he is worth it all

is what Jesus means

by worth it all.

Dying to yourself

day in and day out

in order to live

wholeheartedly

for Jesus

day in and day out.

Jesus is worth

giving your all for.

And not just you

giving your all for.

Jesus is worth

calling others

to die to themselves

so that they too

can give their

all for Christ.

Have you

realized yet

the radical cost

of becoming

a disciple

of Jesus Christ?

Have you come

to terms

with that

yourself yet?

Becoming a Christian

is not like

joining Costco.

It's not like

getting on Spotify.

Spotify.

It's not signing

up at the Y.

It's not getting

the latest E letter

from whoever.

Becoming a follower

of Jesus

is costly.

Listen to Jesus'

words in Matthew 16,

24 and 25.

If anyone,

if anyone,

age,

gender,

ethnicity,

tax bracket,

educational level,

if anyone

would come

after me,

let him

deny himself

and take up

his cross

and follow me.

Die to yourself.

For whoever

would save

his life

for his sake

will lose it.

but whoever

loses his life

for my sake,

Jesus says,

will find it.

Life is in Jesus.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

said it this way

in The Cost of Discipleship,

when Christ

calls a man,

he bids him

come

and die.

Jesus is real.

And the cost

to follow him

is real.

So the real question

is,

not so much

is it true,

is he worth it?

That's the question.

Is Jesus worth

dying to yourself

day after day

so he can be

exalted

in your life?

Jesus answered

this question

with a one verse

parable

in Matthew

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13.

It may be

my favorite

parable

and not just

because it's short.

In Matthew

13,

44,

Jesus says this.

He's talking

about what it

means for someone

to experience

salvation,

the salvation

that's found

in God alone.

He calls it

the kingdom

of heaven.

The kingdom

of heaven

is like

treasure

hidden in

a field

which a man

found and

covered up.

Then in his

joy,

he goes and

sells all

that he has

and buys

that field.

What is the

hidden treasure?

The hidden

treasure is the

salvation

purchased by

Jesus'

blood.

It is

treasure.

And what is

this joy

of selling

all that

he had?

That's

repentance.

The joy

of dying

to yourself

so that

you can

acquire

what only

God can

give you.

And Jesus

says,

salvation

is treasure

for the

soul.

Joy.

The joy

of knowing

that Christ's

blood paid

in full

the penalty

for all

your sins

forever.

Joy.

The joy

in knowing

that Jesus'

blood made

peace between

you with

God so

much so

that Paul

can say

in Romans

8,

there's

nothing

that can

separate

you from

the love

of God

in Christ

Jesus.

There's

no challenge,

no threat

big enough.

Joy.

Joy in

the power

by the

Holy Spirit

to say

no to

sinful

desires

and to

walk

in purity.

There's

joy in

obedience.

Joy.

Joy in

having

power

from

God's

Spirit

to resist

the schemes

of the

devil.

The devil

can't move

a hair

on your

head

without

the

Father's

okay.

Joy

in

experiencing

the presence

of God

to comfort

you now.

Joy

in the

selfless

serving

of other

people

without

agenda.

It's

no longer

what can

you do

for me

now.

Jesus

was right

on when

he says

it's

better to

give

than to

receive.

Joy

in

purpose.

A

purpose

that is

bigger

than your

life.

When you

become a

Christian

and a

follower

of Jesus

you cease

to exist

for yourself.

You never

really did

to begin

with.

but he

purchased

you by

his

blood

for

him.

And he

died

that those

who live

might no

longer live

for themselves

but for

him who

for their

sake died

and was

raised.

For

him.

So when

your purpose

is marked

by treasure

joy in

Jesus

you know

what flag

you raise

every morning?

Four words

hallowed

be

your

name.

It's all

about

his

glory

now.

And there's

joy in

that.

A joy

that nobody

can rob

you of.

Because this

treasure

is secure.

Is

Jesus

worth it?

He's

worth it.

The call

to die

to yourself

to follow

Jesus

is real

just as

Jesus

is real

just as

the joy

of finding

this treasure

is real.

He's

worth it.

Here's

why that

matters.

The

culture's

changing.

We'll

suffer more

for being

a follower

of Jesus.

This past

week I was

talking to

a sister

from the

church

and we

were sharing

stories about

trying to

engage our

family members

about the

gospel over

the holidays

and I

had to

confess I

just failed

in some

areas.

But what

she said

was so

encouraging.

She's

sought to

share the

gospel with

one particular

family member

and that

family member

keeps on

pushing her

away.

She's not

being obnoxious.

She's just

being faithful.

But she's

experiencing a

kind of

suffering

for Jesus.

She wants

her family

member to

know the

treasure.

treasure.

And this

family member

doesn't want

anything to

do with

it.

It creates

some social

discomfort,

some awkward

moments,

but when

you measure

it against

the treasure

hidden in

the field,

it's worth

it.

It's worth

it.

being a

disciple of

Jesus Christ

is absolutely

worth it.

And calling

others to

count the

cost to

follow Jesus

is worth

it too

because we

know the

treasure.

I'm going

to say

Jesus is

real.

And I

want you

to say

and he's

worth it

all.

Jesus is

real.

I hope

this is

putting some

courage in

your heart.

It's all

about Jesus.

The last

line of

encouragement

is he is

with us

in it all.

he is

with us

in it

all.

Last week

I was

supposed to

take my

son to

school at

7.15 in

the morning

and I

totally lost

track of

time and I

gave him my

word that I'd

bring him to

school and I

essentially broke

my word,

broke my

promise.

I had to

apologize to

him.

Have you

ever forgotten

a promise?

You ever

make a promise

and then forget

it?

A forgotten

promise is as

good as a

failed promise.

You'll know

something

wonderful.

Jesus never

forgets his

promises and

Jesus always

keeps his

promises.

He always

keeps his

promises.

Do you

remember the

promise he

made in the

Great Commission?

you might be

like I don't

even remember

the Great

Commission let

alone the

promise in it.

The Great

Commission Jesus

speaks.

It's at the

end of the

book of

Matthew,

Matthew 28.

Jesus has

been raised

from the

dead and

he commissions

all his

disciples for

all time with

the greatest

of all

tasks.

Listen to

this.

All authority

on heaven and

earth has

been given

to me.

Go therefore

and make

disciples of

all nations

baptizing them

in the name of

the Father and

the Son and

the Holy Spirit

teaching them to

observe all that

he commanded

even the command

to die to

yourself and

follow him.

And then comes

the promise.

And behold,

I am with

you always

to the end

of the age.

It's where the

gospel ends.

Behold,

I am with you

always to the

end of the

age.

This promise

is designed

to put courage

into a

disciple's heart

to know that

Jesus is with

us in it all.

This promise

is a promise

of the ongoing

presence of

the risen

Christ.

Why would we

need a promise

like that?

Why would

Jesus

promise to

us

that he

would be

with us?

Well,

this promise,

great promise,

is tied to

the greatness

of the task,

the great

commission.

And what

makes the

great commission

so great

is not

just its

scale,

all nations.

It's not

just duration

to the end

of the age.

It's not

just the

one speaking

it,

the great

I am,

the Lord

of lords

and king

of kings.

It's the

great depth

of our

problem.

Have you

ever thought

about what

Jesus is

requiring us

to do?

Make

disciples of

Jesus Christ

who obey

all that

he has

commanded?

To obey

requires a

willingness to

obey.

To obey

requires a

wanting to

obey.

obey.

How do

you do

that?

How do

you make

someone want

something?

Gospel

ministry.

Let me just

tell you what

gospel ministry

is not.

Fulfilling the

great commission

is not making

mean people

nice and

nice people

nicer.

That's not

ministry.

Gospel

ministry is

calling sinners

who've exchanged

God for a

lie to die

to themselves

in repentance

in order to

live wholeheartedly

for Christ

by faith in

every area of

their life,

every day of

their life,

for the rest

of their life.

It's huge.

How do you

take someone

living for sin

and make them

live for Christ?

Are you

feeling the

depth of

this?

This is

impossible,

humanly

speaking.

The great

commission is a

great impossibility

for us.

The kind of

change we're

talking about

doesn't come

about from

human effort

or human

ingenuity,

human genetics

or economics

or education,

certainly not

politics.

The great

commission is a

great impossibility

if Christ is

not among

us.

the only

power capable

of taking a

sinful dead

heart set on

self-worship

and transforming

that heart

into a

spiritually alive

heart towards

God who

worships and

obeys His

commandments.

The only power

capable of doing

that is God's

power,

divine power.

power.

And what the

Bible says is

that power of

God has been

made known in

a message.

The gospel.

For I'm not

ashamed of the

gospel.

For it is

God's power

unto salvation

for all who

believe.

faith.

It's God's

power on

display.

The gospel is

the message of

Jesus.

And in Jesus

is the power

to change,

to save.

He makes

the impossible

possible.

Nobody in

this room,

in our city,

or on this

planet,

can save

themselves or

change themselves

in the way

that God

requires.

Because sin

is so deep,

it takes a

miraculous,

powerful work

of God to

save and

change sinners.

Another way

to say it is

this.

There are no

DIY projects

in the kingdom

of heaven.

God's

love to

do it.

Do it

yourselfers.

Only by

God's grace.

Here's what

that means.

If you are a

follower of

Jesus, if you

put your faith

in Jesus

Christ, if you

took that

bread and you

drank that

cup today and

you're like,

Jesus, there's

no way I

would have been

acceptable to

you apart from

you.

I know where

you've saved

me from.

If that's

you, do you

know what you

are?

You are a

walking miracle

of God's

gracious power

is what you

are.

God's done a

work in you

that no one

else can do

through the

blood of

Jesus.

You're a

miracle walking.

You're a

trophy of his

grace.

You're the

delight of his

heart now.

And it's all

because of

Jesus.

It's all

about Jesus.

the great

commission is a

great impossibility

apart from the

power of God.

That's why

Jesus has

promised to be

with us.

We need

Jesus with us.

He alone is

able to bring

about the

change that he

requires.

He is our

power source.

He's the vine,

we're the

branches.

The book of

Acts helps

us realize

that Christ's

presence is

currently being

mediated to us

through the

indwelling Holy

Spirit, the

third person of

the Trinity.

The Holy

Spirit indwells

each of us at

the moment of

conversion,

empowering us

to do what's

impossible for

the glory of

God.

Christ with us

through the

Holy Spirit

seeking to

accomplish his

great task of

fulfilling the

great commission.

You know the

conclusion is?

We're in over

our heads.

We're in way

over our heads.

But not Jesus.

Not the

triune God.

Emmanuel is

here and he

is with us and

he's promised to

be with us until

the end of the

age as we seek

to do what he's

called us to do

and make disciples

of the nations.

That's why he

promised to be

with us.

To fill the

earth with his

praises.

Behold I'm

coming, I'm

with you always

to the end of

the age.

I hope that

puts a little

courage in your

heart.

In light of who

Jesus is, he's

real, it's all

true.

In light of that

Jesus is worth it

all, he's the

treasure and in

light of Jesus

being with us,

what a promise.

How do you

respond?

Should we get a

sign up list out?

Open up your

check books?

Pull out the

calendars?

Let's get her

done.

When you

realize the

scale of this,

the response is

to pray.

Is to humble

yourself before

our God.

I had four ways

that we could

pray.

I'm just going

to do two

in response.

in light of

who Jesus

is, it's

real, it's

all true,

worth it all,

with us in it

all.

There's

unfinished work

to do in

light of that.

First,

pray up the

name.

Pray up the

name.

Matthew 6,

9, and

10.

Our

Father in

heaven,

hallowed be

your name.

Your kingdom

come, your

will be done.

Pray up the

name.

And we don't

need to limit

it to the

Father's name.

It's the name

of the triune

God.

We can call

on our

triune God

to pray up

the name.

Oh God,

would you be

exalted in

my life, in

my marriage, in

my parenting, in

my home, in

neighborhood, in

my city, in

church, in

my nation, and

around the

world.

Pray up the

name.

Hallowed be

your name.

In light of

all that he

has done, let's

pray up his

name so that

the praises of

his name will

reach to the

ends of the

earth as the

water covers

the sea.

Pray up the

name, and

then secondly, as

a response,

pray down the

power.

power.

Acts 2, verse

Acts 2:31

31, the early

church is being

roughed up and

persecuted.

They gather

together and

they pray for

boldness.

And the

Spirit of God

fills them,

shakes the room

that they're in,

and they are

emboldened for

ministry.

Pray down the

Spirit.

Pray down the

power.

Ask God to fill

us afresh, to

empower us to

walk in purity, to

empower us to

stand against the

devil, to

empower us to

proclaim boldly

the person of

Jesus who is the

only hope for

people in this

lost world.

Pray up the

name, pray down

the power.

What a great

response to the

Great Commission.

Jesus is real,

Jesus is worth it

all, and Jesus

is with us in it

all.

Take courage.

Christ the King

Church, we got

Jesus' work to do.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, we do

want your name

exalted in our

city.

Would your name

be hallowed?

Would you be

made much of in

our lives, in

our thoughts, in

our desires, in

our purchases, in

how we spend our

time?

Lord Jesus, would

you be exalted?

Would you be

hallowed?

Hallowed be your

name, Father.

Father, would you

pour out your

spirit upon us,

your people, so

that we can live

lives that are

radical in the

world's sight, so

that we can live

lives that validate

the message we

proclaim.

Lord Jesus, thank

you for reminding

us this morning

that following you

is not in vain.

It's not an

exercise in

futility.

It's the right

thing to do.

You are worth

it all.

Be exalted

now.

In Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.