Judah Smith Live in South Africa RHEMA CHURCH (what am I WORTH?)

it just feels like family you know it's amazing some places you go you've never been your whole life but as soon as you land it's like this is this is this is right and I promise to come back I'm gonna bring our family introduce you to my wife and our kids and Toby it's gonna be great hey I just want to come around one thought tonight and I'm not gonna preach long but just just around one thought and this is the question I want us to ask and then we're gonna read a bit of Scripture here's here's the one question I want us just to kind of think on and consider tonight what am i worth you ever asked that question what am i worth turn to your neighbor and say what are what are you worth what am i worth okay so that's Josh I'm irresistible revolution is that is that what Sunday nights called that's amazing I love that okay Luke chapter 15 Luke chapter 15 I'm gonna start there if you don't have your Bibles with you I'll read it into the record Luke chapter 15 and we'll just read a couple verses here early and then we'll jump to there is three stories told here we've got a story of a lost sheep story of a lost coin and story of a lost son and this is a very familiar passage for preachers and Christians but I want us to kind of meander around this passage just for a few minutes in efforts to try to figure out a bit more about worth and what it's all about and what we are indeed worth Luke chapter 15 and verse 1 y'all there you're good-looking people I just got to say that Luke 15 verse 1 says that all the tax collectors incentives drew near to him to hear him and the Pharisees and scribes complained and this is what they said this man receives sinners and eats with them so verse 3 says so Jesus he spoke these stories to them saying like I said a moment ago first story he tells is about a lost sheep the second story he tells is about a lost coin we'll talk about that a bit and then the third and final story he tells in response to the complaining and grumblings of the religious leaders who said how why would Jesus eat with bad people why would he spend time with bad people in an effort to answer why he did this he gives us three stories in the last one is very famous many people call it the prodigal son story it's really the story of two sons but let's start reading in verse 11 are you still with me and then he said a certain man had two sons the younger of them said to his father father give me the portion of goods that falls to me so he divided to them there's livelihood not many days after the younger son gathered together journeyed to a far country and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living when he'd spent all there arose a severe famine in that land he began to be in want then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into the fields to feed pigs he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate but no one gave him anything now then he came to himself and thought how many of my father's hired servants employees have bread enough to spare and here yet I perish with hunger I know what I'll do he says I'll arise go to my father and I will say to him father I've sinned against heaven him before you I'm no longer worthy to be called your son make me like one of your hired servants he arose and came to his father but when he was still a great way off his father saw him had compassion ran fell on his neck and kissed him and the son said to him father I've sinned against heaven in your side I'm no longer worthy to be called your son but the father said to his servants bring out the best robe put it on him put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet get out the steak the filet mignon and let's eat and have a party y'all like to party I like to party let's go to one more verse Ephesians Ephesians chapter 2 visions chapter 2 and verses 8 and 9 Ephesians chapter 2 in verses 8 and 9 for by grace you have been saved through faith that not of yourselves it is a gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast everybody said amen so we're gonna come around having read those passages into the record we're gonna keep those in mind and do our best to come around this thought do our best to unpack an answer this question what am i worth will you pray with me one more time father we ask that you would maximize these moments by your grace and your presence thank you for your goodness thank you for your love we ask now that the Holy Spirit would be present and would show us and unveil to us the person of Jesus what I do pray that that gaana would lose forever in the world cup and Jesus name thereby said and remember Lord I'm the one you love anybody here from Ghana you're from Ghana you can be dismissed god bless you god bless you just teasing I mean come on you've asked the question I've asked the question what am i worth maybe you didn't answer it like that but maybe you asked it in a in a bit of a different way you know am I am i valuable do i matter it's all worth based value based thoughts inside of us we don't often verbalize it but there comes waves and seasons where we get a bit insecure but challenge things get awkward maybe it's in the dating series it is Sunday night we got a lot of single people in the room and maybe you get turned down again and again and again you could be called the celibacy I'm just saying for the record if that could be God's plan for your life just pray about it but you know you go through challenging times it's like man am I like am i valuable I don't seem to have all the sparkling gifts of my contemporaries and peers and friends like are you like me like do talented people kind of annoy you like we all pretend like oh they're so talented we love them you know people that can do everything and when they can't do it they just kind of pick it up and can figure it out you know what I'm talking about and if you're a really talented person don't act like you know what we're talking about okay like somebody asked me once they said if you weren't a preacher what else would you do I'd be broke and homeless that's what I do know that's the only thing I can do is talk that's that's like the one thing I got going for me I don't really like to read I didn't enjoy school at all I hate homework who likes homework so I'm gonna talk I'm just kind of you know like you any one-dimensional people in the room like it's that you're pretty much good at one thing anybody anybody okay good there's about 12 honest people here on Sunday night fantastic but like most of us in this room are pretty simple our worth is infinite but we're pretty simple pretty average and you start playing the comparison game and you look around the room and it's like really really god I mean she gets everything she gets everything she can sing she can sew she can dance she can I don't know like other things that girls like to do but like and she's beautiful really really God and after a while like especially living in community like Church you kind of live in close proximity to each other and what surfaces typically seasonally is this sensation of what's my value what's my worth particularly because the ways in which we answer that deep inside interior question is is interesting slightly alarm you know for instance if you're like me you've asked the question what am i worth and you go to the mirror and you go well I must be worth a lot because boy I like that reflection no I just sorry that came out wrong am i good-looking let's agree to disagree but anyways you know you say what am i worth well I got I got some money think about how we answered the value question what am i worth so I got I mean everybody loves me I get so many friends I don't have to do with them all can't keep up with them all what am i what am i worth I'm a good person I'm kind-hearted I don't hurt people most of the time I don't I don't get mad in traffic like some of these rage monsters I'm I'm a good person and all of the answers indicates something that is very alarming but very real about our society and our social structure and that is at the core of most of us we believe and are taught from a young age that worth is something that is earned you must earn your keep some of you were raised by wonderful mom dad uncle aunt grandma grandpa and they wanted to do you good but they taught you that if you're gonna get anywhere in this life you've got to learn to earn it work hard I'm not against hard work but we superimpose these principles of hard work can be an excellent and we antara take them into the interior of who we are and we develop a philosophy that worth and value is something you must earn now if you think that you're not weird you're normal that's how the vast majority of human beings on this little itty-bitty planet called Earth function it's our social structure like they're there there's that there's you don't even know it it's invisible but it's real and it's in this room there is um there is status you can't see it it's invisible but it's real who goes with who who should be friends with who and when someone crosses the social structure that is to be understood not spoken of not said but understood and when someone crosses that we're like whoa hey what are you what are you talk what are you doing you don't go with her you don't go with him no it's not we don't what why yeah you don't know why you should I'm not gonna tell you if you don't know why it's just you you don't here's the thing about Jesus like I I love it because we all you know that love Jesus and follow Jesus were all like man I just wish I was around when Jesus was walking the planet I just would have loved to be around him and to be with him I'm not so sure Jesus was one of the most socially frustrating people on the planet yeah he was always breaking the unspoken yet very real social rules and these poor religious Jews who are faithful to the synagogue faithful to the Torah faithful to the first books first five books of the Bible they get a bad rap from Christians today oh they're so religious oh come on love the outcast of the downtrodden the beaten in the hurting you religious pompous prideful arrogant no they were just normal logical Jesus you can't hang out with a desperate housewife at a well by yourself people will talk Plus she's of a different ethnicity one we do not interact with in case you hadn't noticed what are you doing and then you start talking like really weird doer I will give you water and you were never thirst again you know but we're all like oh is isn't is it Jesus wonderful I love him I wish I was there now you really dumped a lot of you we don't because we'd be like this Jesus come here come here you can't do stuff like that weird you don't pretend you can't go with Zacchaeus he's he's short but he's a bad guy Zacchaeus stole my grandma's like inheritance he's a total crook you kid you do you know who he is have you heard are you up on pop culture what's but Jesus just he certainly has his own value system doesn't he so when these Jews at the beginning of Luke 15 one of the most famous passages in all of the New Testament we must keep it in context the prodigal son story the lost sheep in the lost coin all of these are simply three stories Jesus tells to answer a very important question by normal functioning socially acceptable Jews asked an honest question they're agitated because socially Jesus is not right so they say why this makes no sense you must understand certain people hang out with certain people because those certain people live a certain life that allows them to go together we just it's just this is how cultures subcultures this is that Jesus this is you want to know why I act this way around town that I seem to have a connection to people that are outside my acceptable social circles do you want to do you want me to explain it let me tell you three stories first door he says some okay there's a shepherd he has a hundred sheep one afternoon he counts the hundred and to his shock and awe he only has 99 so what does he do now everyone listening he's going he sent somebody out or he just cut his losses he says so he leaves the 99 what he leaves the 99 it gets worse he goes looking for the one when he finds the one what is one sheep worth he throws a party that probably cost more than the Sheep so this Shepherd has just incurred much more cost he's put at risk his entire treasure for one sheet and then when he found it he spent more money on the party than the sheep is even worth now again we read these stories a lot isn't it beautiful that's weird I don't know beautiful is the right word there isn't he wonderful I guess yeah but isn't this like I'm not the great mathematician I'll admit but one thing I know is 99 is a lot bigger some than one I am not the sharpest pencil in your school box but I know that this Shepherd is not alike if I'm sitting him down and I'm this financial planner I need to teach him something we do not put all of our finances and wealth at risk for one sheep and then when you find your poor little dumb sheep don't come back and throw a costly party and invite your other Shepherd friends does this make sense to anyone and he goes up let's see why else do I hang out with bad people well it's kind of like it's kind of like a woman who has a coin collection she's got ten coins and she counts her ten coins and notices oh there's only nine so what does she do the bible's uses the word she sweeps the house look up that word sweep it literally means she's throwing the cushions on the couch up she's opening drawers pouring them out she's digging the toilet bowl I mean she's looking everywhere and once again we have a careless woman she's putting at risk where are the nine coins why there's total chaos in her house there's no indication she is put them in a safe place she seems obsessed with the one and almost ignoring the greater some no I almost understand the woman with the coins you know what I mean like coins are an inanimate object it's like lady it's your own fault coins don't have legs you know I mean like come here little climb-climb-climb coin coin right come here little ran ran ran ran some culturally-relevant okay so like but sheep have legs if I'm the shepherd I'm like serves you right you little dumb sheep I hope you fall off a cliff you still got 99 you let blame yourself for the corner I understand that logic but the shepherd you know sheep are like the dumbest animal on the planet while we're on the topic we are liking two sheep in Scripture but anyways that's that's not encouraging we came to be encouraged we don't have tickets to the Bieber concert and now you're calling us dumb here's God's math part of his answer for why he hangs out with bad people is his mathematics by the way the lady with the one coins she threw a party - how many coins did that cost evidently God's value system notice the infinite worth of that which is lost God's math is one is more important than 99 sometimes one gold coin means more to me sometimes than nine why cuz I'm God oh and then at the end of the coin story he system this is how I celebrate when one person meets me I throw parties for irrational illogical expansive expensive parties you want to talk worth this is your passage God's value system and let me make this clear is not logical this is difficult for us though because we are taught from a young age cause-and-effect where we are taught from a young age that if you do good you'll get good talk from a young age this is how we function it must be caused and there's effect but in terms of how God relates to us he caused it we just receive the effect but that's the hard part because the whole world is you caused an effect but God already caused it and we're all down here just affecting but we all want to get in on the cause cuz I want to you know be able to wear my badge of Merit ID I did it God start stuff unpacked feast listening juice it must have been so confused this doesn't even add up this is bad math and then he says an end my last story it's about a couple of boys now by this time like the the Jews are probably like this is so frustrating he goes let me taste to her about these two boys it's daddy's put up money for his boys and the younger is just kind of a punk and he says look dad I want to go to Vegas I want to go to Amsterdam I want to go to Ghana and I want a party and sorry that's not nice gone on so he takes all of his money and he just goes and wastes it Bible says with prodigal living it means just wasteful he's throwing money at everything and probably has friends and tell the money's gone that this boy has officially royally failed and so he starts into a logical sequence of how he can kind of make a bit of a comeback and he actually uses Jesus tells the story and he uses this idea of worth notice worth is on this boy's mind worth is a real big theme in Luke 15 he says I know what I'll do I'll go to my dad's place and I will start with look I understand what you know and I know and that is that I've lost my worth that my value has decreased I'm aware of that I know how this works Jesus is talking to these Jews he's trying to tell them that he accredits value differently so the boy says so he prepares his speech doesn't he and the speech hinges on the introduction and the introduction is I know I'm not worthy like I've really done bad he even uses the word sinned I'm not worthy so okay you know that I know that this is how the planet works so here's what I want I just want to work for you that's what I want to do the worth has been lost so what I'll do is all work maybe I get a little bit worth back maybe I don't I get that I'm oh I'm own worst nightmare I've done it to myself dad and he thinks this is mature does he not he's got to be thinking this is them this is what it's like being a man own up to your own problems so he goes back to be an employee that is the logical typical human response and by the way this kind of thinking is actually the greatest enemy of the gaas God is not intimidated by sin just so you know god hates it people say are you saying God doesn't hate sin just in case you were wondering if God hates sin he hates it so much he crushed his son to crush the power of sin we're not winking at sin tonight just look at the cross but it is finished it is finished the greatest challenge for most believers today it's not I just got to stop sinning you got to stop working to get your worth back so the boy comes back young or the story he comes back and sees dad and his dad comes to him and I love this part because his dad just gives him a big old bear hug in fact that New King James says he fell on his neck and had to hurt and um the boy starts into his his speech have you ever noticed that he starts in now dad I've sinned I get his dad never acknowledges the speech he just squeezes the son and while the son is busy explaining how he's gonna work the father is busy preparing the party grace is not achieved its received you've heard that but so is worth worth can only be received worth is not achieved by the world we live in worth is received by the image we were created in Paul said it like this this is a worth statement this is a value statement listen to Paul he says I am Who I am by the grace of God try that on in terms of your value system for yourself Who am I I am Who I am by the grace of God the grace of God which was demonstrated for us by Jesus on the cross the cross is the value scale for believers everywhere what am i worth I'm worth his son but the challenge is accepting that and receiving that Ephesians is crazy Ephesians 2 says you've been saved by grace and then it gets positive and then it tells you the negative just in case you didn't pick up on what that means you're saved by grace by God by grace grace God grace grace not of yourself and then it says in verse 9 not any person you didn't do it unless you plug around talking about how amazing you are and how you did it stop it you didn't you won't and you can visas - just kind of wraps it all up for us not you it's him it's him not you we're only left with one option here if I can't achieve it I can't earn it I can't work for it it's only one option I just accept it receiving we're like that boy wiggling in the arms of his father his dad's got his arm around him he's get the speech out shut up you you think Christianity is about worth it's about birth and once you're born Jesus said this you must why did he say you must be born you must be birthed we take something my 8 6 and 4 year old has never told me who that was a lot of work being born dad I gotta admit some of the toughest moments of my life excuse me no that was your mom in my hand they got squeezed you didn't do nothing just change slide now was that too far I'm sorry can you anybody here can you say honestly I remember my birth was crazy my mom was having some tough time so I was like I got this mom anybody was that too much this Sunday night yellow you don't have tickets so let's talk don't you understand the ridiculous thing she said you must be born again I wasn't born though I didn't earn my birth the first time and I can't earn my birth the second time I just is who is am Who I am I'm a Smith my mom put me out October 9 1978 I know I look 20 but I'm 34 but started in my mom and now I'm here but anyway so you guys a Sunday y'all are crazy man just trying to preach some Bible in here the Gaul the nerve and the audacity of that son to write his pathetic little speech and to even bring up this worthy concept you're my boy I have already ascribed to you value o come walking into my space telling me you did this and you'll do this and you'll make your magic can you imagine my six-year-old L dizzle L dog I call him you imagine l dog at the breakfast table six years old chubby talking about a dad know what's up man hey feel like I did it what you do I finally earned it earned what my last name you know what I say I say shut up boy and eat the cereal I paid for and sit in the chair I paid for and brush your teeth with the toothbrush and the toothpaste and the water bill I paid for walking up here talking about you earn the last name please but your greatest challenge in your difficult seasons when you start to feel your value levels low will be to continually receive and accept and believe that you are who you are by the grace of God we have a that we have we ever thought how difficult that prodigal son the father action what you think about this the father actually expected the boy to go from can you imagine the the emotional puddle he was in when he finally got the nerve gone and the audacity to make the trek back to Dad's house he is not happy go lucky he's not skipping and whistling he's devastated at his own performance and yet the father expects him to party how much time is passed it's the same day does it take a couple hours to kill the baby calf and cook it up get the barbecue ready he's got he's got an hour or two to get with the program the father doesn't want him feeling sorry for himself doesn't want a pity party doesn't want shame guilt condemnation he wants him on the dance floor celebrating what his father purchased for him because he is a son how much longer are you gonna spin having your little pity party in the corner of the church building talking about I did it again I messed up again I went with him I went with her you don't know what I did last summer God did love me would you shut up and stop it your last name hadn't changed you are who you are by the grace of God and calls you righteous don't get me preaching we're just talking don't don't do it South Africa don't you do it I'm just talking about Jesus ain't it crazy like you come to church tonight you thought the last thing the pastor would say is God wants you on the dance floor some of you off inside it's a party and you like I can't dance me why cuz you know I just stuff man I mean you know how it stuff me and I just don't know man everybody's happy I'm gonna be happy about I just stupid that's not gonna do you any good now people aren't gonna like it when they see you dancin guys good yeah when Jesus invited Zacchaeus to go to dinner y'all remember that story do you know the Bible says Jesus had come down from the tree little man I'm going to your house and the Bible says he came down and Zacchaeus was happy he was pumped that keeps walking around let's go you probably put his arm around Jesus you know me but you know what most of us think we think Jesus would say cuz that kiss is a thug he's a crook he's a thief that kiss is not a good man don't have pity on that kids is that kids is a pimp and Jesus asked that kids and I thought Jesus would have said Zacchaeus you wipe that smirk off your face this is serious this is called repentance and you go change your ways little man Zacchaeus is not repentant Zacchaeus has not changed is that kids didn't even saved Jesus has just lets him be happy it's the goodness of God that leads people to repent some of us won't even let fellow Christians be happy because we know what they've done they come out on the dance floor to actually celebrate their imputed righteousness that was granted to them by the grace of God and the wrecked body of Jesus Christ on the cross and we're ushering Christians off the dance floor and we're saying you better get holy before you get happy I'm gonna tell you I'm not gonna be that guy if you want to dance you dancing your liberty and your freedom and your righteousness for when we celebrate our righteousness and when we celebrate his unconditional relentless love that's when we enter into a life we only dreamed possible you know what's crazy about these three stories we think it's about a sheep we think it's about a coin and we think it's about a son it's not it's about a shepherd a woman and a father the shepherd tells us who the son is the woman reveals the Holy Spirit and the father reveals father God they asked a question and Jesus response was I do what I do because I am Who I am if you understood the son if you understood the spirit and if you understood the father he would understand why I'm hanging out with bad people so I'm not gonna spend another day of my life in guilt and shame because I got the Sun the spirit and the father working for me helping me delivering me restoring me embracing me don't you walk out of here tonight thinking about yourself church should never produce that we gather as believers we should always leave preoccupied with the main character of our biblical narrative God

Channel: iRevMedia

Views: 48,899

Rating: 4.9230771 out of 5

Keywords: Judah Smith, amazing preaching, Rhema church, IR, Joshua Mccauley, Ray Mccauley, grace, Arise Conference, powerful, Youth, Young adults, Love, pastor, South Africa (Country), Praise, Ministry, Gospel, Live, judah, pastor judah smith

Id: oRHJ4-1-rLQ

Length: 40min 8sec (2408 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 07 2013