Living In Denial | Ps. Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

Church family, can we um can we show some love for everybody that that creates space and serves here at Celebration Orlando?

We're so thankful for all your hard work, all the sacrifices, and and and all the things.

We're so grateful for you.

And while we're at it, can we show some love for everybody that's joining us online, listen to the podcast later?

Let's let them know that we're so glad that they are here with us today.

Man, it's it's um it's an amazing time to be in God's house.

And and and really I'm I'm pumped about um this series and this journey that we're gonna be on uh for the next three weeks.

Now, now, admittedly, this is gonna be a series um that makes more sense as we go through it.

Um a lot of times when we have series, we have an overarching theme, and and even though they're meant to connect with each other, they're they're also meant to kind of serve as our own independent messages because we realize that that people's rhythms are sometimes ones that that doesn't allow them to participate in church every single week.

But but this is intentionally designed to kind of build momentum um each week.

So so here's my encouragement, but also my challenge.

Um I know that we are traveling, it's summertime, there's a lot of different things going on, but but I do want to encourage us to do everything you can, even if you can't physically be here, but to track with us on this series because I do believe that by the time we get to the last week, all the previous weeks are gonna make perfect sense.

It's one of those series that when you get to the end, then everything in the beginning um makes sense.

So I want to um invite us to turn to our theme passage um for the series, and that's gonna be found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

The the series that we're in is called Can I Bring My Cross?

And again, we're gonna get to that title and what it means and the revelation of it that I believe in the third week.

But but really let me give you the premise behind it.

It's really a a series and a discussion that we're gonna have around this idea of discipleship.

Now, now that seems like a very simple phrase, and and maybe depending on your background, your the different churches that you may have attended, discipleship can mean something different.

So the way that we define discipleship here at Celebration Orlando is an apprentice.

Because what that really does is that kind of gives us another adjective that helps us to really understand what I mean when I say uh a disciple.

An apprentice, we understand that that's pretty much not a person that has a set of behaviors, but it's a person who's adapted a lifestyle that is then reflected in their behavior.

We truly believe that if you want to see things in your life, you're gonna have to adapt the lifestyle for it.

If you wanna if you want to lose weight, you're gonna have to adapt a lifestyle that allows you to lose weight.

If you want to see growth, you're gonna have to do some things in order to see growth.

So we believe in order for us to grow as followers of Christ, it's it's adapting a lifestyle that's gonna allow us to flourish and to thrive.

That's what we mean when we say what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

But but here's the here's the reality.

We we live in a world where there's so many different options.

We we have access to so much information, so many different ways that we can engage communities, so many different things that are calling for our attention, that we have online opportunities, but we also have different community groups we're connected to.

We we're traveling, we we're parts of sports teams, we have all these different things, and so as we recognize the power that comes from community, but we also understand the different things that are pulling for us and inviting us to go into these different spaces, what does it look like to be a disciple now?

How can I be a disciple when I can't be at church every week?

How can I be a disciple when there's so many different things that are pulling at me and there's a tension that I need to manage of still prioritizing God, but accepting the reality that I find myself in?

We live in a world now where we see church attendance is declining, and a way that people believe and engage in ministry has radically changed over the past several years.

So, what is God telling me I need to do in order to be a faithful follower of Christ?

The beautiful thing is that we don't have to figure this out on our own.

And Jesus, who is not surprised by the reality that we find ourselves in, he's not surprised by the 21st century, he's not the He's not surprised at the emergence of TikTok, he's not the surprised at the emergence of now, I guess, thread, the new thing that just dropped.

He's not surprised at any of these things.

He knew that all of these things were gonna be available, he knew that there are gonna be things pulling at us, but nonetheless, he still gives us some instructions on how we are called to live our lives.

Leading up to Matthew chapter 16, Jesus is now in his third year of ministry.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

The ministry of Jesus is broken up into three and a half years.

And later I'll give you a deeper explanation.

But each year, Jesus has a different theme, a different philosophy, a different approach, and each year builds on a previous because Jesus He knew that his disciples couldn't handle the lessons from year three and year one.

So he was very intentional with the things that he has done and the things that he has shown them so that they could handle the weight of what he was going to reveal to them.

So now that they're in year three, they've seen Jesus do a lot.

He's turned water to wine, he's quieted a storm by just speaking.

They've seen Jesus preach to masses, multiplied fish and loaves, like they've seen Jesus at these incredible high moments, but but they also seen Jesus deal with a great deal of resistance at this point.

In fact, leading up to this text that they've seen when tons of disciples like, hey, Jesus, like, what you're asking of me, I'm not committed to doing, so I'm gonna walk away.

So that prompted the question that leads up to where we are right now.

And the question was, Who do men say that I am?

Jesus asked that question because Jesus had a ton of followers, but all of a sudden they began they began to fall away.

So he begins to ask his disciples, like, what are people saying about me out in the streets?

What are people thinking about me?

Who do men say that I am?

And so naturally they begin to talk and they say, Man, some people say that you are you're a great, you're a great scholar.

Some some people say that you're a prophet, some people say Jesus that you're crazy.

Like they they all have a different opinion and perspective about who you are.

But then Jesus says, But but who do you say that I am?

This this powerful but prophetic term and statement is something that we all will have to answer at some point.

Every single one of us at some point will have to respond to that question.

Who do you say that I am?

I know what your parents say that I am, I know what culture says that I am, I know what your friends say that I am, but but who do you say that I am?

Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess, and either we can confess that Jesus is Lord on this side or on the other side.

But there's a reaction and a responsibility that we have in this question.

They came to it and said, Lord, we believe that you are the Son of the living God.

We believe that you're the Messiah.

From those words, Jesus then said, Okay, now I can shift my discipleship to another level with you.

And then from that moment forward, Jesus began to talk to them about sacrifice.

From that moment forward, Jesus stopped having the large gatherings and began to have smaller gatherings, and most of his teachings were centered around sacrifice and servanthood.

He had a very dedicated focus the moment that they came to the conclusion that Jesus was Lord.

He gives them the language that's here in Matthew chapter 16, looking at verse 24 and 25, and this is what he says.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

And Jesus says to his disciples, If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it.

But whoever loses his life because of me will find it.

In the beginning of this year, we we endeavored to have a theme that we would use and do everything that we function as as a ministry this year.

And that theme was my life, God's way, our story.

That's our theme.

And what we wanted to do is everything that we do as a church, every message that we preach, every song that we sing, every event that we invite you to be a part of, it is meant to reinforce what it looks like to say, my life, but on God's terms, and we're gonna do it together in community.

This series is meant to help us to continue that conversation.

And over the next three weeks, we're gonna take Jesus' most profound three-point sermon and we're gonna unpack those statements one by one.

We're gonna talk about what does it mean to take up your cross and what does it mean to follow Him in every area of your life.

But this week, we're gonna talk about the first one that could often be the most challenging one of what does it mean to deny yourself.

So, if you're taking notes, and of course we are, I want you to write this message title down, Living in Denial.

Let's pray and let's get into it.

Lord, we thank you so much for uh your word.

We thank you for this incredible uh community, and we thank you for this gathering.

We know that you are present.

And so, Father, right now, God, I I decrease and ask for you to um increase.

Lord, this is your space, this is these are your people, and these are your words, this is your word.

So, God, I just pray um that you inspire us, that you speak to us, that you challenge us, that you that you lead us.

We we ask for open eyes that we can see you, even in areas where maybe we've lost sight.

We we ask God to give us open ears to hear your truth above all else.

And and Lord, we pray for open hearts to receive everything that you want to deposit into us, seal it in in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, well, many of you guys um may know that that are part of our community.

My wife and I, we we spent uh about three weeks um in Greece um for a cross-cultural program that we're a part of, but also just to kind of immerse ourselves um in Greek culture, learning so much.

So there's a lot of things you'll hear us talking about um in the coming weeks, just about the varying things that God has spoken to us and and shown us.

But but while we were there and really connecting with people, um we had an opportunity to spend some time with some missionaries, people who are from different parts of the world that God has sent to serve um the people in Greece.

And so we were partnering with a with a Greek Bible college where we spent um a good concentration of our time.

And so there was a missionary from England who was there serving that college.

And so when I was talking with him, I said, Man, like, you know, what talking to him about the varying places that he served, his his background, just learning a little bit more about him.

I eventually said, like, hey man, have you have you ever been to the States?

He said, Oh yeah, I've I've been to the States uh a few times.

And so now we're beginning to have this conversation, like, where have you been, what have you done?

And so as we're talking about him visiting the states, he's like, Yeah, I've been in New York, and I spent some time in in Florida.

I was like, all right, cool.

I said, what has been like the most surprising, um, I would say overwhelming, but thing that you've experienced with coming from coming from Europe, spending time as a missionary, all the things you came here for vacation, like what has been the most eye-opening thing that you've seen that doesn't quite match what you've seen on TV, or it's exactly like what you've seen on TV?

And and he pondered for a moment and he said, the drivers.

Of all the different things, of all the different things that he has seen and experienced, he said, the driving here in America is something that completely freaks him out.

So I said, Man, explain it, walk me through it.

I said, now, when where did you go where you had the worst experience?

I'm from the Northeast, and so I'm thinking that he's gonna say New York.

New York is intense, like I get it, there's a certain behavior.

Like, whenever I drive in New York, there's a certain behavioral shift that happens.

I start playing, you know, New York, New York state of mind.

Like there's a different, you gotta have a different behavior when you get into the streets of New York.

So I'm thinking that he's gonna stay New York, but he doesn't.

He he actually says, he actually says, Man, Florida.

And I said, um, I said, what part?

He said, Central.

I said, okay, okay.

I said, well, walk me through it.

He said, well, well, the thing that's so overwhelming is, and he begins to tell all the jokes about just how crazy and chaotic it can be um driving here in Florida, but he said the thing that is the most overwhelming is that whenever he gets to uh a red light, how there's no patience here in the States, there's no patience here in in Florida.

So he said that he would be sitting at a red light, and it was like the moment that it even hinted that it was going to turn green, people are already blowing their horns at him and yelling at him.

Like he said, he said, I'm just not, I'm not used to that.

Like it's like even at the even at the hint of it turning green, people are so aggressive and they and they just got somewhere to be.

And he said, it's just it's overwhelming.

He said, and God, don't even let me start talking about coming to a four-way intersection with a stoplight.

I mean, with with it with stop signs, like, you know, like he said, at that point, man, it's it's like Russian roulette and there and everybody's all afraid.

He said, and I'm I'm I'm there and I'm trying to get people and they're they're blowing their horn.

Somebody got out the car.

He said, they gave me a finger gesture.

I know what that means.

I'm like, okay, I know what you're saying, you don't gotta show me.

Like he he's he's walking me through all of these things.

And I said, Well, wait a minute.

I've been to Europe, I feel like it's a little aggressive over there, man.

So we're not any different than you talking about America, bro.

Like, what you talking about?

Taking a stand.

And he said, he said, no, no, no.

He said, here, here's the difference.

And he said this to me and it blew my mind.

He said, in America, whenever you guys come to an intersection, you're focusing on you having the right of way.

When can I go?

I have the right of way.

It's my turn.

He said, but when you're in Europe, when you approach an intersection, you ask the question, who do I yield to?

Who goes?

You don't approach any intersection thinking I have a right to go.

You approach every intersection saying, Who do I yield to and who do I let go first?

As I pondered those words for a moment, I began to think and just began to rationalize and say to myself, how different would the world be if when we came to these intersections of life where we have differences, we're going in different directions, we have different perspectives, that instead of me thinking about how I'm right and I'm gonna go first, that I began to say, I'm gonna yield and let you go.

How different would the world be that if I approach the world not thinking about my rights, but thinking about yours?

How different would the world be if I approach situations thinking of how can I add to your life instead of how can I take from you to make my life better?

Imagine a world where we approach situations, when we approach people, we actually cared about what they thought and what they said, and we weren't just listening so we can have a counterpoint to it.

When we're talking about living a life that's living in denial, that's choosing to come to the varying intersections that we all come to and saying, I'm gonna let you go first.

That means that when we come to different situations, I'm I'm gonna let you go.

Jesus brilliantly tells us in Matthew 16 to continue the point, starting at verse 25, he says, if you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.

If you try to do things in your own terms and try to do all these things, you're you're gonna lose it.

But but if you give up life, if you can reflect me, that is where you're going to save it.

Because at the end of the day, what benefit is it if you gain all the world, but you lose your soul?

That word soul is lose substance, lose integrity, lose character.

You're you're winning arguments, but you're losing people.

You're you're you're winning debates, but you're losing influence.

Jesus is saying, what good is it to have all of that stuff in your favor, but you've lost the impact that I've called you to have?

He challenges them to be others focused, and he says that there's fulfillment in that.

So here's the main thought of living in denial.

I want y'all to write this down.

This is really good.

Denial of self is the gateway that leads to abundance in Christ.

That is so good.

I am going to repeat it again.

Watch this.

Denial of self is the gateway that leads to abundance in Christ.

Somebody say that's good.

Eight of y'all believers.

Somebody will say that's good.

That's good.

Denial of self, that actually opens the door for me to have abundance in Christ.

Paul says as much in Philippians chapter 1, verse 21.

Philippians 1:21

He says, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

When I live a life of surrender, I'm actually gaining something instead of me losing something.

That that this life of denial, it acknowledges that true fulfillment comes when it's not all about me, but I'm trying to make a difference for others.

That's what marked the disciples.

That's what made them so different.

That that when that when the kingdom of God began to advance after Jesus had ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit came.

The thing that made the church stand out amongst every other belief system is that there was unity, there was diversity, and they actually cared about one another.

So when people were looking in, they're like, who?

Jews and Gentiles serving one another?

Jews and Gentiles sitting next to one another?

Jews and Gentiles selling what they have in order to benefit somebody else?

Like that was a paradigm that no one had ever seen, and that is how the gospel began to spread.

It wasn't because of their ability to debate, it wasn't because of their ability to win arguments, it was because of their ability to create space and invite others in, even though they were different, yielding to create space for someone else.

But but can we talk for a second?

Real?

Now that we've got the Christian statements out the way, now now that we've now that we've said the things that we're supposed to say, can I can I say what I know you're thinking?

How, Sway?

How how do we practically do this?

Like I see what the Bible says.

I highlighted, I I've heard preachers talk about it, be others focused, served everybody, make a difference.

Okay, I get it.

But listen, I I don't know if I can be others focused when I haven't even focused on myself.

I don't know if you've noticed, but but there's not there's not a lack of things that are pulling for our attention.

We are we are in a world where there is so much pressure.

Everywhere we turn, there's a there's a new trend and a new idea or a new philosophy on how we're supposed to live our lives.

There's a there's a new idea, there's a new trend on how we're supposed to engage our families.

There's there's a new idea, there's a new trend on how we're supposed to function in our marriages.

There's always this new information that's coming at us, and everywhere we go, there's something that's pulling at us over here and pulling at us over there.

So tell me exactly where am I supposed to find the time and the energy to also be selfless.

If I can be honest, I feel like I've lost myself a long time ago.

There's so much pressure.

Like, can I can I speak from my perspective?

I I I I pastor an amazing church and I and I love this incredible community.

But but let me walk you through the filter that I have.

I'm I'm the husband of an amazing wife, I'm the father of three adult children, and no one told me in the manual that when they become adults, they become less needy.

That's not true.

I feel like I'm spending more money now than when they were infants.

God help me.

Like I have three, I have three adult children, I have three amazing grandchildren, I'm pastoring this church, we have an amazing staff, I have I have other family connections that I have, I have community connections that I have and things that I'm trying to juggle.

In other words, like, man, I got a I got a lot of hands on my time, but I don't got a lot of time on my hands, if you know what I'm saying.

Like, I I feel very limited.

And and and then on top of that, my wife made me go back to school.

I don't even know how I got there.

Like, I just I I didn't even sign up for it.

Like, I just remember getting emails and them telling me that I had an assignment due next week.

I'm like, when did I even sign up for school?

But but Megan says no, like we're we're gonna get our master's degree in professional counseling so that we could be people that can holistically serve our community.

So not only can we give them spiritual counsel, but we also can recognize the trauma and the things that they're going through and give them practical next steps so they can walk in healing because their trauma needs to have a place where it can be processed, and we're gonna be a church that has all of it.

I'm like, good lord, with an argument like that, I guess I gotta write this paper now.

So so I have all these things going on while simultaneously wanting to go out to lunch with everybody, wanting to be at everybody's wedding, and I have all these different things and they can translate into pressure.

So when I look in scripture and it's telling me to be selfless, to put others above myself, I don't I don't know how I can do that.

I I feel like I've lost a bit of myself anyway.

I'm at a point now where self-care is not a privilege, it's it's a necessity.

And I'm not talking about the self-care that that we're thinking about.

I'm not talking about the self-care of when you're driving home from work and you stop off at the uh at the drive-thru and get something to eat and don't let anybody else know that you're getting something to eat and you get home and you hope they don't get in the car and smell the french fries and wonder how come you're making them eat yesterday's food.

I'm not talking, don't y'all make me say like I'm the only one that does that.

I can see that some of y'all are cheating on your spouses right now by stopping and cutting.

Okay, let me stop moving.

But but we we all we all know, like those, I'm not talking about that measure of self-care.

I'm not talking about the little things that we do.

I'm not even talking about retail therapy.

However, I am a person who believes in retail therapy.

These shoes are the result of retail therapy, and I regret nothing.

So, so I'm not talking about that type of self-care.

I'm talking about the self-care where we really can be introspective and reflective and begin to acknowledge the areas where we are weak.

I'm talking about the self-care that allows us to recognize that I can't say yes to everything.

I'm talking about the type of I'm talking about the type of self-help that allows us to process through the emotions and the things that we're walking through so that we can be healthy because we're only as helpful as we are healthy.

I'm talking about the self-care that understands our boundaries and knows where our weaknesses are and where our strengths are and how we can fill ourselves up so that we can be better for other people.

Because we all know that we can't pour from an empty cup, so knowing the things that are fillers for me so that I can make a difference in the lives of others, that that's not that's not a privilege anymore.

That's a necessity in order for us to function.

We know that this is absolutely crucial.

But but even in me fighting to create space to make sure that I'm self-aware enough to know my limits and self-aware enough to create boundaries and all those other things, God still tells me, even in that, to make sure that I'm making room for others.

Even in all the pouring out, and even in all the other things that are going on in my life that God's saying, but but don't let but don't let this season of your life of busyness take you away from being fruitful.

See, unfortunately, we can often interchange the two different things and we often have conversations with one another.

How are you doing?

Man, I'm so busy as if it's a badge of honor, but God's never called us to be busy, he's called us to be fruitful.

And what if I'm busy doing things that is not producing fruit in the kingdom?

So God still challenges us that we can go from being people who completely ignore our well-being to becoming people who are so consumed with our well being that we're indifferent when it comes to other people.

What Jesus is challenging us is making sure that we understand the balance between the two.

That we can understand and recognize that the season that I'm in is not meant for me to live a life that's stagnant and that doesn't make a difference in the kingdom.

What I've learned about the Enemy who's very active.

If he can't get you to ignore yourself, he will work really hard and making sure that you ignore others.

And Jesus wants us to find that space in between.

I I look out into the landscape of a world where you have people that are continuously pouring themselves out, but you also can find yourself at a space where we're so consumed with ourselves that we can't see anything except for our perspective.

We can't see anything except for our viewpoint.

And then we get to a point where we actually begin to celebrate our indifference to others.

Can I say something that's going to step on toes, but I'm okay with it because it's a kingdom?

When did we get to a place that as believers in Christ, we can stand ten toes down and say, the facts don't care about your feelings?

Where does Jesus say that?

When did we get to a place that we're co-hopping concepts and integrating it into the context of the kingdom and it doesn't even fit?

Jesus cares about your feelings.

The ministry that he had when he was going out and serving poor people that were hurting, he certainly cared about them.

And even when I'm learning and counseling, the whole thing is recognizing the trauma that you've experienced and knowing what you've walked through and understanding your suffering and how that can influence your filter and how that can often affect the way that you see and live your life.

What do you mean Jesus doesn't care about that?

That 1000% has an impact on the way that you lived your life and the way that you walk it out, and I'm just gonna show up and tell you that I don't care about the way that you feel.

There's nothing more anti-kingdom when you read the Bible than saying, I don't care about how you feel.

Jesus was full of grace and truth.

The fact is you may not be in alignment with God, but the truth is God cares about your feeling, He's gonna make sure He brings you to a place of wholeness.

We're called to be people that are others focused.

That's what it means to live a life of denial.

That means that I am going to deny my perspective to make room for yours.

I'm gonna deny my experiences to make sure that you have a space where you can process through your own.

See, when we're talking about being people that are kingdom-minded, that actually understand what it means to live a life of denial, we have to come to a conclusion of saying that the world does not revolve around my perspective.

The world does not revolve around my experiences, the world doesn't revolve around my struggles.

Self-denial is something that challenges us, but it also motivates us to have a worldview that is bigger than our own.

I had a friend once tell me, he said, You want to cure ignorance in the world?

Give everybody a passport.

Because when you can begin to travel outside of your own paradigm and you begin to understand the stories and the lives of other people, it should begin to allow us to have more empathy so that we can understand the differences that we all share, but nonetheless understand the kingdom principle that God is calling us to participate in.

Can I give it a good amen?

Excuse me.

So there's three statements, three overarching statements that I want us to walk away with today.

These three statements are meant to serve as reminders that are compelling us and drawing us to make sure that we're asking ourselves the question Am I living as an apprentice to Christ?

Here's the first one that I want us to remember.

God's way over my way.

God's way over my way.

Proverbs 3, 5 and 6 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

And all of your ways, submit to him, and he will make your path straight.

Living a life of denial begins with surrendering your desires, your perspective, and your will to God.

It's acknowledging that I may have ambitions, I may have some things that I want to accomplish in my life, but if I am not doing the things that God wants me to do, am I in alignment?

See, living in denial is not pouring from an empty cup.

It's making sure that your cup is filled with the right things.

It's making sure that I'm doing things that God is telling me to do, and I'm not doing things that I want to do and asking God to bless it on the back end.

I took my son Caleb to get his car worked on for the first time this week.

And when I say for the first time, that means that he's paying for it.

Bless the name of the Lord.

God is so good.

So we went and took our cars to go get service at the same time.

And while we're there, they they do the diagnostic, of course, and and and so they come back and and and I'm happy to report.

They looked at my car and said, Hey, we did your oil change, nothing else is required.

Here's your small fee.

I said, Praise God, he's good.

But then with my son, they said, Okay, well, you got some things we need to work on with your cars, a little bit older, nothing significant, but they offered a couple of suggestions.

They said, Hey, you know, of course we're gonna do the oil change, we want to do a brake fluid flush, but then also we wanna we wanna fix your alignment.

So he's like, What's an alignment and why do I need it?

So we begin to talk about it, and he's like, I'm like, son, you you want to do this.

And again, did I mention that he's paying for this out of pocket?

Bless God.

So so I'm like, no, son, you're you're absolutely going to pay for this.

He and he didn't understand the value of it, quite honestly.

But when I told him, I said, no, it's gonna help with the wear and tear of your tires, it's gonna help with fuel economy, and you're gonna also notice that when you're driving, you're not gonna have any resistance.

He didn't understand it at the time, but then we go and we wait for them to finish the car and then we pick our cars up at the same time.

And I don't get out of the parking lot before he calls me on the phone.

And and when he calls me, like he's like, yo, I'm like, what's up, man?

He said, Bruh.

Now he's at an age net where he's referring to me as bruh.

So that's why he's paying for his own stuff.

But he says, Bruh, you will not believe this, man.

Like he said, I'm I'm driving and it is so smooth now.

He's like, I can take my hands off the wheel and it's not going off to the left.

I'm like, why are you taking your hands off the wheel, son?

Like, can can we can we talk about that for a second?

But but I digress.

But what he was noticing is he said, I never knew that all this time I was driving that I was facing resistance that I was fighting against because the alignment was off.

What if I were to tell you that sometimes we're driving on roads and down paths and we're wondering why there's so much resistance and we think it's the enemy, but maybe it's our disobedience.

Okay, oh well.

She told me to say it, so I'm gonna say it.

What if?

I don't be I just be talking sometimes.

I what if the resistance that we're dealing with is actually not the devil, but it's God trying to get us back on track?

You know what I've noticed a lot of times?

That when I'm driving down a road, I set the destination after I've already begun the journey, hoping that if I make a wrong turn, that the GPS is just gonna reroute me.

Oh, just make a left turn instead of the right, we're gonna loop you back around.

But when we begin to get in alignment with God, sometimes he's gonna say the best way to get back on track is to make a U-turn and get back in the release I told you to be in the first place.

When we live our lives of being in denial, that means that I'm denying the route that I want to go.

I'm denying the direction that I want to go.

And I know that right now it doesn't make sense why God is telling me to go this way when there's more traffic and it's gonna take me longer to get there.

But but what if that's the direction and the route that God wants me to go because he wants me to work on my patience and making sure that I learn what it means to yield to other people?

Jesus had an amazing conversation with this rich young ruler.

And when he's talking with this young man, this man comes to him and says, Jesus, like, man, I appreciate what you're saying.

I'm I'm I'm rocking with all your messages, man.

Like, I'm cool with it, man.

Like, what else do you need me to do?

What else can I do?

And Jesus looks at him and he's like, Man, like, you got a lot of money, but that money also has you.

What I require from you is to get rid of everything and follow me.

Alignment.

And the Bible says that he walked away in tears because God was telling him to do something that was uncomfortable and that he didn't want to do, we literally never hear from him again.

What good is it to have everything, but I'm out of God's will and I'm out of God's alignment?

The things that we've accumulated, is that what God wants us to have?

Because what if what if we've accumulated things that's not healthy for us?

What if we've accumulated things that God is saying that this is actually gonna pull you away from me?

I believe that there are moments in our lives when we begin to evaluate what does it mean to truly be a disciple of Christ, an apprentice.

We understand that at some point we're gonna have to abandon our ways for his ways.

That's the first thing.

Here's the second thing.

I'm gonna I'm gonna move a little bit more quickly.

Calling over comfort.

That when you are a disciple of Christ, that that you get to a point where you make a statement and you say, I'm gonna live my life where it's calling over comfort.

This is focusing on understanding that I'm gonna prioritize what God is calling me to do and not my comfort in any given situation.

I'm gonna understand that that calling is connected to sacrifice, that whenever God is calling you to do something, there will be something that is required of you to give up.

I I don't make the rules, I I I I could give you all types of rationale on why God does it this way, but the simplest thing I can say is that whenever God is inviting us to do something, everything that we carry can't come with us.

There's some things that we have to check at the door.

The Gospel of Matthew, chapter number eight.

A man comes to Jesus and he says, Lord, first let me go and bury my father.

But Jesus told him, Follow me and let the dead bury their own dead.

That is a that is a harsh statement.

We we just got to finish talking about how Jesus cares about our feelings, and and now we have a man who's very well intended.

We have a man that that is that is very, very understanding, and he's like, Jesus, like, I really do want to follow you, but I got some I got some family obligations I gotta handle.

Um, so can I go handle that and then I'll I'll follow you.

You would think that Jesus would like, okay, cool, man, we're gonna hit a couple of spots in Jerusalem and catch up.

But Jesus doesn't.

He says, No, let the dead bury their dead.

If you're really gonna be with me, you need to cut off your worldly attachments and follow me.

Let me give you a little bit of cultural context though.

Because the man was outside, that would indicate that his father had already passed some time ago.

And so what's happening here is that whenever someone died, they were buried within 24 hours.

And then what would happen is the oldest son would then take the responsibility of distributing the father's wealth, and then in essence, setting himself up to be the patriarch of the family.

So when this man is already out and about, his father's already been dead and buried, and he's already beginning to act and function as if he's his father, inheriting the wealth from his father.

So when he comes to Jesus, it's almost like a cloak question of Lord, I would love to follow you, but I got some other things I gotta handle first.

Jesus sees through all of it and says that if you're really gonna follow me, it's gonna require you to make some sacrifices.

In other words, there will always be a reason on why you can't do what I'm telling you to do.

There will never be a shortage of excuses on why you can't serve.

There will never be a shortage of excuses on why you can't give.

There will never be a shortage of excuses of doing what God is telling you to do.

And so Jesus has given us this life lesson of saying, yes, we have responsibilities, we have goals and all that stuff, but don't let your season of life turn into an excuse of you not doing what God's called you to do.

He he challenges this man and says to him, I know that your father's dead.

I get it, he's already buried, but I don't want you to get comfortable with being in this place that you become a person who is stagnated.

You're gonna have to give something up.

I've shared this story before, but but several years ago, Megan and I we we built our dream house in in Jacksonville, and a short version of it is that it was it was several years in the making.

We we prayed about it, we we saved up, we paid off debt, we did all these things, we we identified the most beautiful lot, we put our money down on the lot, we were going out there, man.

The neighbors probably thought we're crazy, we're sprinkling oil on the lot, we're praying and all this stuff.

Like we were claiming it, we were saying God's gonna be blessed, it's gonna be amazing.

We built the house, we're walking in, putting scriptures on the beams, we're doing all these things, we're envisioning family and writing themes and all these stuff.

So when we close on a house and we move in, we're like, man, the Lord's gonna live here, we're gonna see revival in this house.

And for one year, we absolutely saw it.

But when we hit that one year mark, God said, I need you to give it up and move to DC.

I said, I'm sorry, Lord, speaking to my good ear.

I didn't hear you.

What?

Like, Lord, you you you spoke it to me, you've you've shown me some things.

Why would you allow us to emotionally get connected to all of these things and and and and introduce you into all this stuff just for us to give it up?

And and and and and there's moments when I still wrestle with it, but but ultimately, God says, I just don't want the thing that I gave you to replace me.

Because it's possible that the things that we pray for becomes the things that we no longer presence God in.

Let me show you how that works.

Lord, I I I want I want to get married, God.

I want to have an amazing family, and then we get our amazing family, and then we stop coming to church.

Lord, I want to get out of debt, I want to have resources so I can start to travel, and then we get our resources and we're good, and we stop traveling to church.

What ends up happening is the very thing that God blesses us with, we begin to use to distance ourselves from God.

So what God is often challenging us with is don't let what I gave you turn into an idol that separates you from me.

It's gonna sometimes cost us something and it's it's gonna be a little uncomfortable, but nonetheless, it's a space that God challenges us in and he invites us into to make sure that we're people that are surrendered and submitted to him.

Calling over comfort means I'm embracing the reality that when God calls me to do something, there will be a sacrifice that's necessary.

Here's the third and final thing: people over preference.

That when you live a life of denial and you're living as a disciple of Christ, that you will inevitably be a person that understands that it's people over preference.

Living in denial means prioritizing others above yourself.

That the world doesn't revolve around me, it's not all about me, but I'm actually going to be a person that cares and creates space to make a difference in the lives of others.

A few weeks ago, um, prior to going to Greece, um, my family and I, we we went on a family cruise.

It's like our annual thing.

And so we went to this event where they were talking about giving away free cruises and all this other stuff.

So, of course, if you said free, I'm in the building.

So I'm in the room and they're talking about doing these giveaways, and and then they get almost to the end of the night and they say, like, hey, are there any kids in the room?

At this time, it was only two children in the room.

There was a child that is sitting over there, and then one that's towards the back.

And so they say, Hey, the first one that gets up here, um, we're gonna give you some free gifts.

So naturally, the one that's the closest to the stage gets up there first, and then the person that's in the back didn't even make it that far down, and they went back to their seats.

And so they're having a conversation with this child, and and they're laughing and joking, and and at the end of it all, they say to him, like, okay, man, you did such a great job, let's give it up for him.

Okay, of these three gifts, which ones do you want?

And he says, I want all three.

It was it was like it was like a great flex because I wouldn't even have thought to do that.

And they were like, So they were like, yo, like no one has ever asked for all three, but yes, let's let's do it.

Like this this kid was smart enough.

I mean, you have not because you asked not, he was smart enough to say, Hey man, I know what my parents paid for this trip.

Y'all can afford it, give me all three.

And so they gave him all three.

It was amazing.

People were laughing, and then he made a beeline to the kid that didn't make it up to the platform first, and he says, Hey, which one do you want?

Look at that, that's beautiful.

And literally, everybody that was in that auditorium, they responded the exact same way that y'all just did.

Oh, and people were like, Oh my gosh, they're racing them so well.

And I'm like, Yeah, because my kids would not have done that.

They're like, won't he do it?

Like, I mean, they would have walked.

It's amazing how we can find theology to justify our selfish.

Anyway, um, God said to me, This is how the kingdom is supposed to look.

Notice that that kid didn't do anything to earn what he had, but he asked for everything that he had, and I trusted him with it.

And when he went to the other kid, watch this.

He didn't keep what he wanted and offered him the thing that he didn't want.

He said to him, Which one do you want?

He literally offered him the best.

In other words, he came to this intersection where he could have said, Right away, my right, the way that I want to do things, or he could come up to the intersection and say, I'm choosing to yield.

What do you want?

It was a beautiful example of how the kingdom of God is supposed to function.

It was a beautiful example of how the church is supposed to function.

It's a beautiful example of how we as individuals are supposed to function.

Living in denial is not self-deprecation, but it means that I'm not gonna diminish the value of someone else.

I see you with the exact same value that God sees me, and because of that, I'm choosing to put you first.

Because of that, I understand that our experiences are different, and I'm gonna yield to you to create space to validate your experiences.

And even though our sin looks differently, our God still loves us the same, and we're gonna figure this thing out together.

That is what the kingdom of God is supposed to look like.

That is what love looks like, that is what living in denial looks like.

Living in denial means living in humility, recognizing that my way is not the only way and my perspective isn't always right.

Living in denial means living a life of generosity and understanding that I may not have much, but what I have, God wants me to create space to be a blessing to others.

Living in denial means living with a servant's attitude and understanding that though I may have limited time, God has still given me something to make a difference in the lives of others.

Living in denial means embracing a selflessness in every aspect of my life.

Living in denial means that I'm gonna go against the norms of culture and I'm not gonna live in this me-centric perspective that I'm consumed with only my viewpoint, but I'm choosing to look at things from a different person's perspective and to validate their journey, their suffering, and their pain.

Living in denial means surrendering my own agenda and aligning myself with God and making sure it's his words that come out of my mouth and not what I've seen most recently on the news.

Living in denial means surrendering to God's agenda.

Living in denial means rejecting the fleeting pleasures that may give me temporary value, but it doesn't give me any extender and kingdom impact.

Living in denial means recognizing the courageous choice to make sure that I'm evaluating my life and I'm investing myself in things that actually matter.

That's what it means to be a person who lives in denial in the kingdom context.

It's not just about me, but it's about how I can use my life to make a difference and be a blessing to others.

Can I can I bring my cross?

Can I presence God in every area of my life?

Can I be a person that recognizes that God is good, not just to me and my tribe, but to you and your tribe?

And I'm not supposed to take a stand for him, I'm called to represent him.

When Jesus was about to go to the cross, Peter grabbed a sword and he cut off a man's ear.

And Jesus said, Bro, what are you doing?

Where the Where is this coming from?

No, Lord, I'm taking a stand for you, I'm fighting.

You know what Jesus said?

If I needed someone to fight for me, you don't think I can find better soldiers than you?

This is the Keith translation.

He literally says, I can call angels to fight for me.

I don't need you to fight for me, I need you to represent me.

And the way that you represent me is by creating space, by living in denial, and letting people know no matter where you are from, no matter what you have been through, there is room at my table for you.

With every head bowed and every eye closed, I want to close out by posing a quick question for us.

Just a moment of reflection.

So, how do we practically put this and integrate it into our lives?

Knowing the varying things that God is inviting us to do, but but but how do we integrate this into our lives?

This is what I do almost every day, even with being a person who's functioning with limitations and boundaries.

Here's the question that I ask that I believe can transform your life.

What can I do?

Lord, I know I can't do everything, but what can I do?

I know I can't be everywhere, but what can I do?

Lord, I know I can't give everything, but what can I give?

It's and it's approaching every situation, not with what I can't do, but Lord, what can I do?

And you be amazed at what God begins to reveal and speak to you when you come to the intersections of life and saying, What can I do instead of what I can't do?

But for some of us that are in this room, God is prompting us and saying, the first thing you need to do is surrender your life to Christ.

Just casting your cares and adapting to a life that says, My life God's way, entering into salvation, whatever Christian phrase you've heard, it's that moment where I'm saying I'm making Jesus Lord.

So if that's you.

And you know that that's what God is telling you your next step is to simply say yes to Jesus.

I want to I want to include you in a very quick prayer.

This is not a this is not a secret moment, but it is a private moment that I want between you and God.

So on the count of three, I want you to boldly lift your hand up saying yes to Jesus.

Maybe I'm committing or recommitting my life to Christ for the first time.

One, two, three.

Yes to Jesus, yes to Jesus, yes to Jesus.

Amen.

Keep them up a little bit longer, keep him up a little bit longer.

My God, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen.

Celebration church.

Let's do what we say we are, let's celebrate the goodness of God for every single person in here.

We celebrate you guys.

We're gonna give you some instructions in just a moment to come alongside to help and serve you.

The best way for us to celebrate this moment is to come together and as a family meal and take communion together.

So this is the moment where if you have your communion elements, um I want you to go ahead and get those out.

I want us to stand on our feet um as we prepare to pray and to close out.

And if you did not get the communion elements, you could just slip a hand up and we have some team members that are gonna come and serve us.

Um I actually don't have any.

Andy, can you hand me yours and then you go figure out what you're gonna do?

Um, thank you, sir.

Andy needs one over here, Mark.

Andy's my secretary.

God bless him.

Excuse me.

Here's what I want us to recognize in this moment as we're getting the elements in.

To our our hands is that there's there's nothing that is more reflective of a life of denial than communion.

Because what it what it symbolizes is that moment where Jesus literally denies himself so that he can make room for us at his table.

Literally, as Jesus is sitting at the table with the people that were gonna, with the person that was gonna end up betraying him, with Peter who was gonna end up denying him, with the disciples that were gonna end up leaving him, but yet Jesus, still knowing that, still created space for them at his table and saying that even in spite of your brokenness, you're still welcome here because I'm going to the cross for you.

So he took the bread and said that this is symbolic of my body, which is broken for you.

That means that I want to bring healing to you, healing of your mind, healing of your body, healing of your spirit.

We all have experienced trauma and things that we've walked through, and Jesus is saying, I'm taking it to the cross.

So the consequence of it and and and the and the baggage that goes with it, I want to free you from it.

So as a family and as a community, let us take this bread being reminded of the fact that whatever our ailments are, whatever our pain is, whatever our trauma is, whatever our suffering is, and we're gonna walk through all of it together, but Jesus took it to the cross so that we can live in victory from it.

Let us take and eat together.

To be honest, the bread that Jesus used was a little bit fresher.

Um here's here's a here's here's the other thing that happens.

He's sitting with them and he he says, Okay, here's the the the wine, our juice, which is symbolic of my blood.

It's shed for your sins.

What he's saying is, because of my shed blood, that brings equality to all of us.

There's no super Christians, there's no super good person and bad person.

My blood brings equality to all of us because all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and all of us are in the sanctification process, and all of us have different types of sins, but as long as we continue to submit ourselves to Jesus, we can continue to be conformed to his image.

So what he's saying is, my blood makes us equal at the foot of the cross, and also that there's no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus.

Because of my shed blood, no matter where you've been, where you are, and where you may end up, as long as you stay in fellowship with me, that I will see you through the lens of Christ's finished work.

That means that we can come boldly into the presence of God, that you are always welcome at the table because Jesus paid the price.

Let us all take and drink being reminded that we are free from Christ Jesus.

As we conclude today, I want to do two things.

One, I want to celebrate with every person that that raised their hand, that first step of acknowledging that it's time for them to come into fellowship with Jesus.

If you're online or even if you're here with us in person, you'll see that there's some information on the screen that you can that you can engage in that will allow us to come alongside and serve you.

We also have a tent outside that we would love to answer any questions, put a Bible in your hand, just just help you on this journey.

So that's that's the first thing.

So I just want to celebrate you guys for that.

The second thing I want to do is just ask you to reflect on that question.

What can I do?

Maybe what God is challenging you to do right now is He's saying, Hey, I just want you to sign up for serve day.

That's it.

Or I want you to get on a serving team.

That's it.

Understand that there's grace in all of this.

This is not a blood oath.

You can sign up for something, and if it don't work for you, you can go in a different direction.

I want you to get connected to community.

Whatever that thing is that God's telling you to do that you don't think that you have time for, or that there's something that the enemy is trying to keep you from doing, just do it.

Step out in faith and let's see how God begins to bless it.

But but don't live here, leave here without asking yourself, what can I do?

What can I do, God?

What can I do with the limited resources?

What can I do with the limited time?

What can I do?

And whatever God tells you to do, just do it.

Let me pray for us and we're gonna get out of here.

Lord, I thank you.

I thank you for this precious community, and I thank you, God, for this series, Can I Bring My Cross?

This series where we're gonna examine every single one of your words that you spoke to the disciple, of denying ourselves, taking up our cross, our purpose, our value, what you're calling us to do, and following you, God.

As we're on this journey, I pray that we can stay plugged in and connected as we get the full revelation of what does it mean to be a disciple of Christ.

Father, I pray for this precious community that as we go off into our varying places, that we can represent you well.

So, Lord, I pray for everyone that says yes to you.

I pray that you begin to stir their hearts and put them in healthy community, God, and that we can be a church and they can find community that can help them.

So may the Lord bless you and keep you.

May He make His face to shine upon you and give you everlasting supernatural peace.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

God bless you guys.

We love you.

We would love to connect with you outside.

Thanks again for listening.

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