Called Out - A Gnawing Problem

Amen.

All right.

If you want to click, flip in your Bible, we're going to get to Matthew 16 in just a moment.

We are in this series called Out.

And today's sermon is entitled A Gnawing Problem.

A gnawing problem.

Have you got a dog that likes to gnaw on a bone?

Like when you give them something like there's nothing that drives me crazier than listening to a dog gnaw on a bone.

It's about as bad as me trying to eat potato chips in front of my wife with no other noise on.

Like, like it's that sound that just drives people crazy.

And so I don't know about you.

I love to watch a good western and I enjoy some of the remakes they've done in Westerns as well as some of the old ones.

Lonesome Dove, man, come on.

Like I will kick Lonesome Dove on and rock it, although I have a terrible phobia of swimming in a river now because I'm afraid a swarm of snakes is going to come get me because of Lonesome Dove.

I mean, I have those moments.

I enjoy some of these other Westerns that they do, like True Grit or the Magnificent Seven.

Like we see some of these moments.

And there was one that came out in the early 2000s that I always enjoy.

I'll go back to every now and then, open range.

Anybody there with me?

Yeah.

Kevin Costner, Robert Duval.

And there's this moment, there's this line, if you don't know what's happening in that movie, where uh where Kevin Costner and Robert Duval's character are about to face a situation where they could die, and somebody's questioning why they would do that.

And his character, Robert Duval's character, says this.

Well, you may not know this, but there are things that gnaw at a man worse than dying.

And I'm telling you, like it's a line from a movie that sticks out to me because of how true it is.

There are just some things in life that gnaw at us worse than dying.

I think somewhere we've kind of believed this story that the goal of life is to just arrive safely and comfortably at death.

And here's what I've found as a pastor in those moments.

Those are the moments when people have made that their life goal, that like the end of life starts gnawing at them the way they live their life, because they realize usually by that point, they show up with some regrets.

That there are some things that gnaw at us.

Maybe we want to figure out how to have a better marriage, but we haven't figured out how to do that yet.

We just keep repeating bad cycles instead of good cycles, and this pattern keeps repeating, and something's gnawing at us, but we don't know what to do.

As parents, we're trying to figure out how to raise godly kids, but it seems like the more we try, the harder it gets and the worse they are.

And there's so many things the world is throwing at them that makes it challenging.

Maybe you're one of the parents, like your kids have graduated and left home, and you're starting to realize parenting adults is much different than parenting your kids that are at home.

And it creates challenges because you still want to tell your kids what to do, but guess what?

They don't want to listen anymore, do they?

And there are these moments that gnaw at us, sometimes something worse than just dying.

There's a moment where sometimes finances gnaw at us because we're one expect unexpected bill away from collapsing.

For some of us, the thing that gnaws at us is we have a wrap pace for life.

Our calendar is just so crammed full, all it feels like we do is we just run from one thing to the next thing to the next thing, go to sleep, and hit repeat again.

And there's something that gnaws at us because it feels like something's missing, and we haven't prioritized what those things are that should be there.

There are some things that gnaw at us worse than dying.

And I think part of that is what Jesus is trying to point out to us today because there's a temptation when we live that way that we want to do this.

And this is an expectation we have, I think sometimes that we would never say this out loud, but we operate in life like this is true.

We expect without saying it that God exists to serve us.

We live like God exists to serve us.

We may not say it, but the actions of our life, the decisions that we make, the way that we live, the things that we pray for, the things that we expect from God, there's a temptation for us to want to believe that God exists to serve us.

And Jesus begins to challenge this idea because here's what I can promise you God wants his best for you in every aspect of your life.

That much I can guarantee and promise you.

But the way we get access to God's best is not God serving you, it's you serving him.

If you want access to God's best in your life, we find God's best when we submit our lives to serving God.

Here's a secret sauce that I can promise you in life every time, even though it may not make sense on this side of eternity.

I can promise you one day when we stand on the other side of eternity, you want to live the best life possible where things don't gnaw at you.

Use your life to serve Jesus Christ.

And when you get to the end and stand before him, you will realize you had the very best of everything God ever wanted for you.

And that is the challenge that we face in culture.

It is the challenge that we face in life.

We're tempted to invert this moment, and when we do, we allow the world to create some things that gnaw at our soul.

And Jesus is trying to give us a peace in our soul.

Last week, an eternal joy that we talked about that goes through this life to the moment we stand face to face with him.

And so we're going to look in Matthew 16.

There is this moment, if you don't know this story, where it is a pivotal moment in church history.

It is the moment where Jesus is having a conversation with his disciples and he asks them, Who do people say that I am?

And then Jesus asks them, Who do you say I am?

He's trying to see if they've figured out yet who he is.

And Peter has this moment where he says, Man, you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

And like it's this highlight moment because we're like, Yes, somebody is finally getting it.

And Jesus said, Man, that's right.

And you're gonna be the guy I build my church on.

And then it's like all of a sudden the breaks hit, wait a minute.

We go from a highlight moment to a low light moment really fast in this moment.

And so Matthew 16, starting in verse 21, from then on, Jesus began to tell his disciples, remember, the guy that just said, I'm the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, who's come to save you.

Right after that, Jesus said, from then on, Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the religious law, that he would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

It's like, wait a minute, this doesn't make sense, Jesus.

Like we just had this great highlight moment, and now you're telling me you're gonna go die?

Like, this doesn't seem right.

Even Peter's kind of thrown off by it.

Verse 22, but Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.

Heaven forbid, Lord, this will never happen to you.

And like if we're Jesus or Peter in this moment, like if I'm Peter, I feel like man, Jesus should be giving me a pat on the back right now.

Like, I'm here for you, Jesus.

I got your back.

I'm your boy, Jesus.

Like, I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you.

And you would think Jesus in this moment would kind of give him a pat on the back and say, Man, you're right.

But instead, Jesus turned to Peter and he said, Get away from me, Satan.

That's a hard thing.

You're a dangerous trap to me.

You're seeing things merely from a human point of view and not God's.

And then Jesus said to his disciples, If any of you wants to be my follower, he would say the same thing to us today.

You must.

If you don't know what must means in the Greek, it means must.

Like there's nothing tricky here.

If we want to learn to be Jesus' follower in this world, he's telling us very plainly how we do that.

Give up your own way, take up your cross and follow me.

If you try to hang on to your life, you're gonna lose it.

But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world and lose your own soul?

Is there anything more uh worth more than your soul?

For the Son of Man will come to his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.

There's this moment we're talking about in this series called Out.

We're looking at some moments in Scripture where God calls his people out.

Sometimes this is the uncomfortable part because if we're going to be honest, we have a picture of Jesus that we paint in today's world, that Jesus and God are just always nice.

And there's nothing in the Bible that says God or Jesus will ever be nice.

Scripture tells us that God is good, that God is loving, that he is holy and righteous, but it never says God is nice.

And so it's important that we understand that because if we don't get that, then it's hard to digest this moment because Peter seems to have everything right, and then Jesus says, Get behind me, Satan.

Like I don't know about you, but if Jesus looked at me and said, Hey, get behind me, Satan, this would be a moment somebody's feelings in the church world would get hurt.

This is the moment in the church world where if as a pastor I said that to somebody after church today, you would be offended and say, I'm never coming back to this church again.

Because that's not very nice.

And you hurt my feelings.

So, what do we do with these moments?

I mean, we got to wrestle through if God is good and God is loving and he is holy and he is right, then there's a moment here where we've got to learn to trust in this moment that Jesus is trying to redirect some things that we have gotten wrong.

He's trying to redirect some things that Peter has gotten wrong.

That Peter has this idea that if I'm following you, Jesus, that we're just going to live and we're going to conquer and we're going to have all the things you ever promised.

And Jesus is saying, Yeah, but before we get there, we're going to suffer, we're going to die, and then we're going to get to spend eternity together and have those things.

And I think this is the moment where we begin to get challenged because Jesus is modeling for us, even in this moment, that Jesus did not come to be served, he came to serve the Father's will at any cost.

And I think that is the challenge for you and me today, as we call ourselves Christians, as we have these moments, is am I willing to follow Jesus at any cost?

That this moment begins to challenge us because a faith expressed by words is not what Jesus is after.

He's looking for a faith that shows up in actions that's willing to serve no matter what the cost is.

That's the challenge, that's the call that Jesus is asking for.

So many times in our life, we talked about this a little bit last week, but I want to take a moment to make it just a bit clearer, if I can.

We want to label ourselves things and just assume because we attach a label to our life it's true.

Now you could take this in a hundred different ways if you want to.

I'll let the Lord steer that with you.

But here's what I can promise you, as a pastor, if I were to tell you that I have decided I'm going to label myself as a surgeon.

Now I can put the label on all I want to.

If you need knee surgery, are you willing to come to me?

I've watched a couple YouTube videos, like I've seen how they do this, I think.

I I've kind of sterilized the knife a little bit.

I think I know the right places to cut.

I hope.

And then I think I can put you back together again.

Just because I put on the label, I'm gonna take a wild stab here that most of you are not gonna come to my house for surgery later on.

I'll guess.

We live in a society for some reason that we just believe whatever label we want to slap on is who we are.

Until we say something like that, and then we understand the absurdity of it.

And here's what I think sometimes we do in society is we like to label ourselves Christians.

And so we think because I wear the label Christian, because I can go to church once, maybe twice a month, if it's a good month.

I tip God a little bit, I volunteer, I'm good.

But the reality is, I think what makes us uncomfortable in this moment is that's what Jesus is challenging in this moment.

What does it mean to be a Christian?

Because the first half of that name is Christ.

And so the thing about trying to label ourselves something is we can have our own definition all we want to, but it doesn't mean that definition is true.

That if I'm going to define something and commit my life to something, then I better make sure the thing I'm committing my life to is true.

And that's Jesus' challenge.

As uncomfortable as it is, as uncomfortably real as it might make all of us in this moment.

One of the things that he's trying to get us to understand is if you want to attach this label to your life, then it means you're not in charge anymore.

He is.

That's why it's Christian.

Because Christ is the one in charge now, and I am following him, not asking him to follow me.

And this is the gospel in today's world that is a false gospel that said Jesus exists to serve you and bring you everything you want.

And then here is Jesus in this moment actually saying, No, if you want to follow me, give up your way, take up your cross and follow me.

He didn't say put a label on your life.

Because if labels saved, then the Jews didn't need Jesus to come and die.

Because it wasn't the label that saved, it was the transformation of somebody surrendering their life to Jesus and following him that changed who we were, who we are, and what we're becoming.

And this is the struggle for most of us that we struggle with is will I fully surrender and submit to Jesus?

This is the battle that we're up against, the battle that we rage against.

And for most of us, here's the reality.

Every test in life is going to come down to this one question: whose will wins?

If you want to attach this label to your life, the question that and the test you and I will take every day, whose will wins?

Mine or his?

It's not just on a Sunday when we come in, but Monday morning, whose will wins?

Mine or his?

When I go to work and I'm tempted to do some things that maybe he wouldn't want me to do, whose will wins?

When I face somebody that I don't like, and it's gonna happen tomorrow if you drive in Columbia traffic for somebody, praise God, whose will is gonna win?

When your spouse has lost their mind, when your kids don't want to listen to you anymore, whose will is gonna win?

The goal is not me getting my way, but Jesus getting his in every area of my life.

And so that's where the challenge begins, because then that means in my marriage, the question is not, is my will gonna win?

Is Jesus' will gonna win?

Here's what I can promise you there is not a marriage in this world that Jesus cannot heal, restore, and make a vibrant marriage for you.

I believe that 100%, no matter what anybody else would say.

Why?

Because if I'm willing to die to myself and live to what Jesus wants for my marriage, I can promise you a marriage that can survive anything.

But the challenge often becomes I'm not willing to submit to Jesus' will because I want what I want.

You know, the beauty of a marriage and the representation that scripture tells us that it represents the relationship between us and Christ means that in a marriage, it's no longer about what you want, it's about what's best for both of us.

It's no longer about me getting my needs met, but it's how can I serve my spouse.

You wanna figure out in these moments how do I win?

Like, listen, the moment your spouse frustrates you, can I can I give you a challenge?

Nobody has to raise your hand because I want everybody to walk out of here and have a great lunch together and not blame me for it, okay?

Listen, the moment your spouse frustrates you, I'm gonna give you some secret sauce, something that can change everything.

Just pray for them.

You want to see your heart change in a moment like that?

Pray for your spouse.

And not the kind of like, God help her see how wrong that she is.

She is so wrong and missing it.

That is not what I said.

That's not the prayer I'm talking about, okay?

Maybe the prayer is more like, God, oh, I'm struggling right now.

Help me love her, help me love him the way you do.

Help me love them in spite of all their imperfections the way you love me, in spite of all my imperfections.

You you have a marriage like that, I promise you the enemy can't destroy it.

And so whose will is gonna win?

Yours or mine?

His, yours, his, yours.

This is always the battle.

As parents, you want to make faith in your family's life a priority for your kids.

Here's what I can promise you there's going to be a thousand things the enemy's gonna throw to try to distract that faith.

And so, if your goal is to raise a generation in your home that has faith as a priority, then hear me out, mom and dad.

Whose will's gonna win, Jesus or yours?

Because there's gonna be a world that's gonna do everything they can to distract you in that moment.

And and listen to me.

I love you enough to be uncomfortably real.

However much of a priority your faith is in Jesus, I can promise you your kids won't prioritize it the same way you do.

I can just promise you.

So if Jesus is three, four, five on your list, he's probably gonna be eight, nine, ten on their list.

And so if you want to see your kids' faith a priority in your home while you raise them, then they've got to see Jesus as the top priority from you in your home as you raise them.

And if he's your top priority, then I can promise you he's probably gonna make their top three or four.

Because they're following you.

They're not following me.

They're not following Michael Jurae because they come to a student group.

They're not following whoever's teaching them in kids' church, they're following the example that you set for them.

Make faith a priority, and your kids will follow.

I promise.

But it's going to be the level of priority that you make it for you in your relationship, in your life for them.

The higher the priority, the more you will get there.

You want to see things change financially, then it's going to be a matter.

Am I willing to prioritize kingdom generosity over more stuff?

Here's look, society we live in just is always going to sell you something bigger and better that you need to buy.

A new iPhone came out.

This was terrible now.

Although I still think iPhone has a way of making these ones start to run like junk, so we have to buy another one, but that's a whole nother conversation somewhere.

The new car came out, it'll drive itself.

I gotta get one.

And we prioritize stuff over kingdom priorities.

You want to see your faith grow, then make it a priority to spend time with Jesus, to get into his word, to be praying every day and having a conversation with him.

You want to see your faith grow, then it's not about your will, it's about his will growing in your life and make it a priority in your life to carve out time to be a part of a group that can help you grow.

That's why we do groups and we run these.

These are moments to get in community together with other people so you can grow.

You want to see your faith grow?

Then stop making church about you and decide I'm gonna serve like Jesus served, and I'm gonna find a place to serve.

And I can promise you, my faith has grown the more I have committed to humble myself and serve other people.

His will, your will.

His will, your will.

This is the challenge that Jesus laid out.

And I'm gonna show you that Jesus is doing nothing more than reinforcing what I said because Jesus showed us what it means to follow him.

He said, one, give up your way.

That's the invitation from Jesus.

That if you want to learn how to follow him, it means you've got to give up your way.

That's essentially what he was telling Peter.

Peter, you're looking at this from an earthly perspective instead of a heavenly perspective.

You've got to give up your way and see things my way.

Can I tell you one of the hardest challenges for us is this first part to give up my way?

I often want Jesus and my way simultaneously.

And if you haven't figured out by now, the throne that's made for Jesus is not a two-seater.

He's not gonna sit next to you on that throne.

If you want to be in charge of your life, he will let you be in charge of your life.

But he will not try to sit on a throne that you're not giving him room for.

That's why he said that if you want to follow me, then you're gonna have to give up your way.

You're going to have to be willing to let him sit on the throne.

And the thing in today's world where we struggle with this more than anything, it's the lie that the enemy tells us is that, man, if I give up that seat, then I'm dying and missing out on something.

And the reality of Jesus in this moment, the invitation from him is if you would give up your way, you would begin to find that I have the very best way for you.

But you won't find it until.

You give up your way for his way.

Because Jesus will not share a throne with you if you're like, I still don't know if I believe that.

Like, that's cool.

Jesus told another story one time that no man can serve two masters.

Why would Jesus reinforce that?

Because he won't let you and him be in charge of your life.

Only one person can hold that steering wheel.

Only one person can sit in that throne.

And if you want him to sit there, you're gonna have to vacate it and give it to him.

And for many of us, we're missing out on God's best.

Not because God isn't good, not because he is not loving, not because he isn't trying to bless us.

It's because we won't get out of the seat and let him have it.

God wants to give you his very best.

And the way he does that is when you and I decide I'm done having it my way, because this ain't Burger King.

I know.

It's like a dad joke.

You're welcome.

It's having it his way.

In every area of our life.

Are we gonna get that perfectly right off the bat?

Nope.

And can I can I be an honest confession for you?

I'm still trying to figure out how to give up everything and follow Jesus too.

I I don't have it all together.

There are days where I want to be selfish.

There are days where I just want to cash it in and not follow him.

There are days where it'd be so much easier to do it my way, I think.

And I'm trying to learn what it looks like in my life to fully surrender everything to him.

And I think that's the journey that we're gonna be on between now and eternity is trying to figure out that right reality.

And for many of us, here's what I can promise you.

If life feels like it's missing purpose, then maybe it's because you've put you at the center of your life instead of Jesus.

Because here's one thing I can promise you this world is looking for a life that when I get to the end of it, it's not gnawing at me, but I can't wait to cross the finish line and go spend time with Jesus.

And to do that, that means I make my life not about me, not about how much money I can make, not about how high I can climb the ladder at work, or how big a home, or how many toys I can acquire in life, or what kind of wealth I can leave my kids or grandkids to one day squander and burn through.

But man, how can I live in such a way that when I get to the end, it's nothing gnawing at me because I lived it for him and not for me.

And you'll find that's the secret to the most fulfilling life you and I could ever live.

But if we're gonna do that, that means if we're gonna give up our way, then there's a secret here that we gotta understand.

Limits are good for you.

That's what Jesus is saying.

You have a limit to how much time you have, and so limits are good for you.

Learn how to use it wisely.

I I listen, I have a test in my life, this is the priority of my life that I run everything through.

I have four priorities, and everything come after them.

My first priority is me and Jesus, period.

My second priority is my wife.

My third priority is my kids.

My fourth priority is this church.

And then the rest of the list after that.

It all shapes around these four.

What I give my time to is built around those four things.

And if there's any time after that, then something else gets in there.

Jesus, my spouse, my kids, my ministry.

Everything else after that.

And I don't let any of those things invert themselves.

I love my wife, but she will never replace Jesus.

I love my kids, but for those of you that haven't realized, and you still have your kids at home, they are going to leave one day.

And then all you're gonna have is your spouse.

And I wanna I lived my marriage in such a way that I was actually excited and looking forward to that time I got to spend with my spouse.

Your kids are not the center of your life and world.

Jesus is, and then your marriage.

Then your kids.

Then whatever ministry he's called you to.

Well, I gotta work.

Okay, your work is your ministry.

The way you work is how you minister to other people and you point people to Christ.

Everything I do do is under the Lord.

Make your work your ministry.

And keep those priorities in that order, and I can promise you, you'll get to the end of the life and love everything that you have.

Jesus said, take up your cross.

Some stuff at times Jesus is going to ask you to carry.

And we think Jesus just came to take away all our problems, but the reality is some things Jesus has called us to carry.

That there is a weight that comes to some of the things He's given to us.

There is a weight that comes to a growing church and how we minister to everybody that's here and what we do.

There is a weight that comes to being married, being married.

If you enter into a covenant, there is a weight and expectation that Jesus gives you to be a good steward of what God has given you.

When you are a parent, you understand there's a weight that comes with parenting.

There is a responsibility that I now have to provide and care for and make sure that I raise up kids that know how to love and follow Jesus.

There is a weight that comes with that.

And in today's world, I feel like we're doing so good at trying to kick weight off that Jesus is saying, no, actually, you need to kind of feel the weight of some of these things in a good way.

Let me help you carry them, but these are good weights to have in your life.

That we have to carry the weight of some things.

And we understand that somewhere in giving up our way and taking up our cross, maybe the reality is there's some relationships and friendships that are dragging you down that you're gonna have to let go of.

Maybe in following Jesus, there's some things you're gonna have to say no to in your life so that you can say yes to the more important things.

That there's a weight that comes with these moments because then Jesus says, follow me.

We aren't called to put the label on.

You're called to follow Jesus.

And that doesn't mean just follow him into this room on a Sunday and then leave him here and then walk back out and then come back again on Sunday.

It means you two go together everywhere you go.

Going to work, I'm following Jesus.

Going home to my spouse, I'm following Jesus.

Having time with my kids, I'm following Jesus.

Because these are the moments that he's invited us to, these are the moments that he's calling us to is to learn how to live a life in pursuit of Jesus.

And when we do, death isn't dying, it's living into true life.

Because Matthew 16, 27, Jesus gave us this verse.

He said, For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his father and will judge all people according to their deeds.

He's coming again.

I'm gonna die, I'm coming again.

Why would we serve Jesus?

Because he's the one who was dead and he now lives again, and he's coming back for you and me.

And everybody's gonna get judged.

And that's why Jesus said, follow me.

Because if we're following him, we don't have to fear that judgment.

I'll say that one more time.

If you're following Jesus, you don't have to fear the moment you stand before him.

If I'm following Jesus, I don't have to fear the moment I'm laying on my deathbed and worry about things gnawing at my soul.

But I can embrace that moment fully, knowing I gave everything I could in this life to live for Jesus.

That this is the invitation, really, in this moment, will I submit and surrender my life to all that Jesus has for me?

That if God is good and he is loving and he is righteous, then I have to be willing to trust this moment to surrender everything I have to Him.

But if we keep wanting to make God a nice God, hear me out, then we don't have a way in this moment to understand what Jesus is saying, if God has to be nice.

Because this may not feel nice.

Give up your way, take up your cross.

Doesn't feel nice, but it's the path that leads to life.

And if Jesus is good and if he is holy, and if he loves me and he loves you like we say he does, then I have to submit my life and trusting that Jesus does.

I think this is one of the hardest obstacles for most people to make the leap to Jesus.

Because if I need God to be nice, then here's the reality in this.

I don't know what to do when bad things happen, then.

One of the things I hear is a pastor all the time, people tell me, I just like if God is so good and he loves me so much, then why does bad things happen to good people?

Well, herein lies the problem.

You and I are trying to determine what is good.

And if you haven't figured this out yet, you and I make terrible gods.

And we are terrible judges of what is good and what is bad.

We like to give ourselves way more credit than we should.

There is only one perfect being in this world, and his name is Jesus, and therefore he is the only one good and qualified to determine what is good or bad for us.

Nobody else.

And the invitation is to follow him.

And if you know the story of Peter, let me give you just a bit of insight.

Peter in this moment was saying, Jesus, man, I will, y'all never let you die.

Like Peter would see no value in following Jesus to a death in this moment.

But if you follow church history 30 or 35 years later, depending on what some historians believe, Peter was probably in his 60s or early 70s.

Jesus had gone and risen again and been gone for 30 or 35 years.

And the church was facing a great wave of persecution.

And Peter is ministering in a community where they are persecuting Christians and killing them.

And the church tells Peter he needs to go so that he can be saved and keep doing the work God has called him to do.

And Peter is walking out of the city, and he has a, he sees Jesus walking back in.

He says, Lord, where are you going?

And Jesus said, I'm going to be crucified again.

And Peter knew in that moment, I gotta go back.

If I go back, I'm gonna die.

But I get what Jesus is telling me in this moment.

He could have kept going, he could have justified every reason to pursue his safety and do more ministry for God's kingdom.

But in that moment, he realized God was saying, Hey, go back.

Follow me.

It's gonna lead to your death.

And it did.

Peter was crucified.

In fact, Peter said, I want to be crucified upside down because I don't want to die the way Jesus did because I'm not worthy of it.

And he laid down his life for his faith in Jesus Christ.

What would make a man or a woman follow Jesus to that point?

They have surrendered to him and they realize he is everything that he said he was.

And they have found a secret to life that goes beyond living my time here on earth, but they have found a secret to life that is something more valuable, and that's surrendering everything to Jesus.

And that is the secret that Jesus is trying to lead us to as well.

It's no secret at all.

You want to find the best life you could ever live?

Surrender it to me and follow me.

All of your life, every area.

With every head bowed, every eye closed, nobody looking around.

Here's what I want to do today.

The greatest moments that we get here to me are two things.

One is to help people have an experience with Jesus and surrender their life to him, and the other is to help people continue to grow and follow him more.

And so maybe you're here in this place, maybe you have never given your life to Jesus before.

And today is the day you want to surrender to him.

If that is you and you're ready to make that decision and you feel this tug in your heart that, like I've been playing games, I've thrown the name tag on my life, but I've not really surrendered anything to Jesus, then the challenge I want to give to you is, are you willing to surrender your life to Jesus today?

That's all he's asking for.

If you've never made that decision and you feel like today I need to give my life to Jesus and surrender it to him, would you just slip your hand up so that I can pray with you?

I see your hands.

Who else?

I see your hands.

Would you mind to come up here with me and let me just pray with you for a minute?

Would you do that?

I know it's kind of brave.

I know it's kind of a big thing, but if you did, would you let me do that?

Yeah, I love it.

Come on.

Yeah, this is it.

Come on.

I want to say this.

People don't say it enough.

You want to know why they're clapping?

Because they're proud of you guys.

They're proud of you for taking that stand.

Come on.

Come on.

Best decision you could ever make.

Not getting it right.

Nobody's judging you because here's the reality we're all imperfect and we're trying to get it right.

And it's just the invitation for us is to continue to surrender our life to Jesus.

And that's what I want to encourage you with today.

So we're going to pray together.

I'm going to pray with you.

Invite all of us to pray.

And this is nothing magical.

It's just the heart of who we are and what we want to do.

Can we pray together?

Let's do it.

Man, Lord Jesus, I need you to come into my life.

To forgive me of my sins.

And make me brand new.

Jesus, I surrender to you.

Help me to live for you.

Help me to love you.

Help me to love you.

In all that I say and do.

In all that I say and do.

In Jesus' name, amen.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Here's my encouragement to you.

Here's what I want to tell you guys.

Here's the beauty in this moment is that the moment you walk out of this door, Satan's going to do everything he can to try to frustrate you and get you to give up on this decision.

And here's what I can tell you the difference between people who follow Jesus and those who don't are the ones that just mess up and get up and keep going after him.

You're going to fail.

I'm just going to tell you now, because I do.

But the difference is when I mess up, I don't run away from Jesus, I run to him.

And that's how you keep growing, and that's what we want to encourage you to do.

Listen, we got a few things we want to get you to help you keep growing.

If you would slide over there to Miss Jennifer, she's going to get those things to you because we just want to help you guys grow and keep moving in that direction.

If you wouldn't mind to go over there real quick.

The rest of us, if we could stand, yeah, let's celebrate.

Here's the reality.

Maybe you're here today, and the question that I want to give you is this and what is God inviting you to trust him with that makes no sense to you?

That's the question I'm asking you to consider.

The question I feel like the Holy Spirit laid on my heart.

What is God asking you to trust him with that makes no sense?

And are you willing to trust him with that?

So here's what I want to do.

We've got some friends that are going to come down here as we sing a song of worship.

They're going to be down here.

They're part of our prayer team.

My encouragement to you is if you need prayer for anything at all, whatever might be going on in your life, maybe it's this message, or maybe it's just I'm struggling financially, or I'm struggling and I need prayer.

I'm sick and I just need somebody to pray that God would heal me.

Whatever that might be, here's the beauty of this moment.

You can walk back out carrying that same weight you came in with, or you can come down and let one of my friends who love you, who care for you pray with you.

And together you can carry that weight together and trust God with it.

As we sing, if you need prayer, come down, take a moment, let somebody pray with you as we worship.