Morningstar Christian Chapel Live Stream

[Music] is [Music] don't hide your face [Music] um [Music] arms [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] mind is [Music] [Music] [Music] surely you are surely you are you are good she brought me back to gave this water you gave me back to this you gave me [Music] [Music] [Music] my [Music] [Music] my refuge my [Music] you and me is [Music] see is is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] good morning nice to see you let's have a word of prayer shall we father thank you for this last sunday of this year and for your faithfulness as we look back over all that you have done for us and around us and that lord you are the lord of our lives and so father as we gather to worship as we look to you we pray for the folks that are home today or traveling with their families we're not well that you would touch them and that you would be with us speak to us lord we want to hear from you what should we think about as we head into a new year what would you have us to think about and to know so be with us this morning inhabit our praises we've asked in jesus name amen amen good morning everybody let's stand be ready to worship the lord [Music] come let us worship the king come let us bow at his feet he has done great things see what our savior has done see how his love overcomes he has done great things he has done great things oh hero of heaven you conquer the grave you free every captive and break every trade oh god you have done great things we dance into your freedom awaken the line oh jesus our savior your name lifted high oh god you have done great things [Music] you've been faithful through every storm you'll be faithful forevermore you have done great things and i know you will do it again for your promises yes and amen you will do great things god you do great things [Music] and break every chain oh god you have done great things we dance in your freedom awaken the life oh jesus our savior your name left it high oh god you have done great days shakeable hallelujah you have done great things [Music] hallelujah [Music] you have done great things [Music] you free every captive and break every chain oh god you have done great things we're dancing your freedom awaken the line oh jesus our savior your name left it high oh god you have done great things you have done great things oh you have done great things [Music] all right you guys can be seated i remember the moment when you see my soul desperate and broken you make me hope oh i once was an orphan do you bribe [Music] nothing but good to me you've been nothing but kind nothing but kind to me all of my days time after time you've been faithful all my life you've been nothing but good god you are good jesus is nothing that your love can't do you potted the ocean and you brought me through lift it up from the ashes you make all things new jesus says nothing that your love can't do you've been nothing but good nothing but good to me you've been nothing but kind nothing but kind to me all of my days time and time you've been faithful all my life you've been nothing but good god you are good to say me you thank you for everything you've done i will praise you [Music] here to praise i wanna say thank you thank you for everything you've done i will praise you praise [Music] nothing but good to me you've been nothing but kind nothing but kind to me all of my days time after time [Music] you've been nothing but kind nothing but kind to me all of my days [Music] thank you for everything you've done i will praise you praise you for all that's yet to come i wanna say thank you thank you for everything you've done i will praise you and praise you've been nothing but good nothing but good to me you've been nothing but kind nothing but kind to me all of my days time after time you've been faithful all my life you've been nothing but good god you are good to me you've been nothing but good god you are good to me amen uh we're gonna jump right into announcements this morning so please go ahead and pull out your bulletins and we'll cover some of the things that are upcoming first off we will have no wednesday night midweek service this week in lieu of new year's eve and we'll be having our new year's eve service at 7 p.m right here so please join us and join pastor jack as he shares a a message gearing us towards this next year i also want to let you know that if you want all of your giving to go towards 2020 you're going to want to make sure that all gets in by this thursday so you've got until midnight of this thursday to get that in otherwise anything received after that will go into 2021. i also want to let you know that this saturday is our married couple's fellowship so we'll be gathering for the first time this year at 5 30 over in the fellowship hall and just having a good time of fellowshipping as well as always looking to strengthen our marriages uh in christ as we look to the scriptures to see how he wants us to be husbands and wives and how we treat each other and how we serve each other and so it'll be a good time of getting into god's word and uh just spending some time in fellowship and uh and then also want to let you know that pastor jack's going to be beginning a new series in revelation on wednesday night so not this wednesday but next wednesday he's going to start revelation chapter 1 so please join us for that as we look to the revealing of jesus christ in these end times uh and then also men we're going to be having a men's breakfast that's coming up saturday uh january 16th it's from 7 a.m to 9 30. we've got pastor bill welsh from refuge huntington beach coming out to share and challenge us in god's word uh we'll have a breakfast as well so please just come there's no need to sign up but bring some guys with you and we'll have a great time uh just uh you uniting in the lord looking to him for our strength looking to him to unify us as men to lead our homes well to lead in our communities in our churches so please join us for that and then lastly our growth classes are starting up next sunday so if you have not signed up for one please make sure you make your way over to the table in the foyer and sign up for a class look in the bottom right of your bulletin those are all the classes that are being offered this semester so if you want a flyer to get more information you can find one of those uh in the credenza back there and you can find out more information about the individual classes but sign up for one be challenged this year to grow in an area maybe the lord is nudging you in to be prepared for whatever the lord has for you this year let's go and pray father we thank you so much for the opportunities that we have we thank you for the new year that is coming upon us lord we do pray for the health and safety of everybody and we just pray that this new year would would usher in just some some courageous bold christians lord that that want to share your word and want to share the hope that we have in jesus christ and so we pray that this new year that's a that's coming upon us would be a great year one that uh we could never even imagine how good it would be and so father would you have your way with us would you encourage us this morning would you challenge us and do uh what only you can do in our hearts lord jesus and so would you sharpen us and refine us and and make us more into the image of your son jesus christ father and so we also come this morning with our tithes and offerings seeking to worship you lord to praise you to honor you with our lives lord we just want you to be exalted in our lives father we want people to know that we belong to jesus not just because we say we we do but father our actions show that we do and so would you once again just uh uh provide us with a great opportunity to know you better this morning it's in your name we pray amen [Music] every heartbreak circumstance i believe that you are my fortress you are my portion you are my hiding place [Music] i [Music] blessing every promise every breath i take i believe that you are provided you are protected you are the one i believe you are the way the truth believe you are it's a new horizon i'm set on you and you meet me here today the mercies that i knew all my fears and doubts that they can all come to because they can't stay alone when i'm here with you it's a new horizon [Music] [Music] because they can't stay long when i believe you are the way the truth [Music] i believe you are there's a new horizon i'm set on you and you meet me here today mercies that i knew all my fears and doubts but they can all come to because they can't stay alone when i believe you are the way the truth [Music] i believe you are [Music] [Music] when all i see is the battle you see my victory when all i see is the mountain you see the mountain and as i walk in the shadow your love surrounds me [Music] there's nothing to fear now for i am safe with you [Music] so when i fight i'll fight on my knees with my hands lifted high oh god the battle belongs to you and every fear i lay at your feet i'll sing through the night oh god the battle belongs to you and if you are for me who can be against me [Music] for jesus there's nothing impossible when all i see are the ashes you see my beauty when all i see is the cross god you see the empty tune [Music] so when i fight i'll fight [Music] i'll sing through the night oh god the battle belongs to you [Music] almighty fortress you go before us nothing can stand against the power of our god you shine in the shadows you win every battle nothing can stand against the power of our god in our mighty fortress you go before us nothing can stand against the power of our god you shine in the shadows you win every battle nothing can stand against the power of our god and almighty fortress you go before us nothing can stand against the power of our god [Music] nothing can stand against the power of our gods [Music] [Music] oh that'll [Music] the battle be to you [Music] oh god the battle belongs to you so when i'll fight i'll fight on my knees with my hands lifted high oh god the battle belongs to you every fear i lay at your feet i'll sing through the night oh god the battle belongs to you oh god the battle belongs to you lord thank you for that that the battle does belong to you lord that we could just sit back and watch lord as your children and lord your truth your strength is what matters lord it's made perfect in us lord through your holy spirit lord now we ask that you would just be with us that you would speak to us through your word lord help us to have open and receptive hearts to whatever your holy spirit has for us and we pray these things in jesus name and everybody say amen amen amen all right let's open our bibles this morning to luke chapter 9 verse 51 one of the last things you will read in your bible is john the apostle looking out and hearing he who sat on the throne say behold i am making everything new and then jesus said to john write these things down certainly change in the conclusions of things are good for us uh healthy i think challenging to see what the lord wants to do next i remember getting out of high school and being real excited i remember graduating from college and being happy about that when you work on a project or or you know whatever it might be change is good inevitable get married get engaged have children change jobs so we we come to an end of a pretty unparalleled year i i don't think anybody probably still alive has lived through a pandemic that has taken 1.7 million lives around the world certainly has changed the the landscape put businesses on hold or they've disappeared people are taking sides pointing fingers making everything political life is not what it used to be and so looking forward to god changing this year into the next and the calendar is about to change but but will we change is it just going to be another day in the calendar or are we able to to look forward to a unknown future knowing just the heart of god and say look i want to see the lord do some great things next year for myself and i think for our church as well 2020 has produced some amazing things we have uh 11 000 people watching our live feed never had that happen people are watching and they're going to church at least listening and god's word never goes out void so we're excited about that it's all over the country and regularly so we have seen some heartaches and there's some personal regrets i guess coming looking back and saying gosh i wish i had done that or failed to do that but i hope that we can look forward to this new year with great hope and and thriving god has a plan it's a good one and we're gonna have to discover what that is for our lives every year i i pray especially around december the lord will give me some some or for me personally some scripture or biblical lesson that i can use as a goal and not over a lot of them over the years but i love the ones that the lord kind of put on my heart this year to share it with you this morning and on thursday as well and our verses this morning beginning here in verse 51 and just going to the end of the chapter come from the book of luke and luke begins here in chapter 9 verse 51 giving us an account of the last year of jesus's ministry he ministered for three and a half years these are this is the last year and i i know if you look at your you know the thickness of the book that's left both luke and john devote far more time to the final year of jesus ministry than the first two and a half years that proceeded in fact luke in particular ten times uses the words to the effect of being on the road with jesus or being in the way or on the way to speak about the journey that he takes this final leg towards jerusalem towards the capitol towards his arrest and his murder and ultimately his resurrection so this is the final year it was for jesus a year to face tremendous opposition it was a year of him having to be aware daily of the inevitability of what awaited him it was a year to teach the disciples what would come next because they none of them understood he was about to die to prepare them for his method of salvation and jesus puts his face i think down or his head down and he with grim kind of determination he heads for the inevitable place he runs into religious folks on his home turf who want him dead while seeking to reach those that he loved it was a year of preparation but it's an interesting way that the lord presents them to us notice in verse 51 the words now it came to pass when the time had come for him to be received up that he said steadfastly set his face to go to jerusalem he would set his jaw there was a great resolve that you find in the lord's heart as he headed for a date with the cross when isaiah the prophet wrote about the lord who was coming the prophecy about his ministry he writes in chapter 50 of isaiah the lord has opened my ear i was not rebellious i didn't turn away i gave my back to the smiters my cheek to those who would pluck out my beard i did hot my face from their shame and from their spitting for the lord god will help me i will not be disgraced and so i have set my face like a flint and i will not be ashamed that really is the the character and the heart of our lord as he is heading now for the cross in the book of mark chapter 10 there's a interesting verse in verse 32 it says now as they were going along the road going towards jerusalem and jesus went before them they were amazed and they his disciples were afraid as he was going and so he took them aside and he began to tell them what was coming next what happened to him his his very approach to let's go get this done frightened his own they were taken back by gives us a picture of these you know jesus with these great strides and determinations on a very gentle face when jesus was talking about what awaited him at the end of this road he said in luke chapter 12 verse 50 i have a baptism to be baptized with and how distressed i am until until that can be accomplished so this this last year of jesus's ministry this last year of his earthly ministry was really set aside with with kind of divine grit it has sounded astounded his disciples it was uh it was steely and determination and purposeful and and they just kind of followed along fearfully oh my goodness what are we going to what are we going to have to deal with but the lord devoted himself to what was coming next and on this last last leg of the journey jesus will set be before the disciples some interesting principles i think can help us as we look forward to a new year so verse 52 and he sent some messengers before his face and they went and they entered a visit village of the samaritans to prepare for him but they did not receive him because his face had been set at the journey to jerusalem and when his disciples james and josh saw this they said lord do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them like elijah did but he turned and he rebuked them and said you don't know what kind of spirit you're of the son of man didn't come to destroy men's lives but to save them and so they just went to another village the first demand is interesting as the disciples begin their trek towards inevitability with the cross was from the experience of being rejected jesus usually avoided the samaritan area if you've gone through the gospel with us you know samaria samarias and right in the middle between the galilee and and judea in the south and and most jews when they traveled avoided the area in the middle by going to trans jordan they crossed the jordan over here a place called the perea area you'll me it mentions a lot in the bible and then kind of swing back into jerusalem just going around the center but going through the middle was the direct path it provided the most difficulty but it is the direct path it appears that from the gospels due to the large entourage that was at this time with jesus he had sent ahead some of the disciples to make reservations or accommodations and yet when they arrived they were rejected by the samaritans there was a tremendous animosity between the jews and the samaritans and it was historically dragged all the way back to 722 bc when the assyrians overthrew the northern kingdom and when they did they took the jews out and scattered them into all the different places and they brought into this area mostly gentiles who they had defeated elsewhere part of the control issues for the assyrians was just to move people around so they couldn't speak the language and we're in unfamiliar territory so the easier way to kind of control them and that's exactly what had happened to the samaria area you could read about it in i think ii kings maybe 17 or so but in any event in that time this this group of heathen gentiles came to live in the land of israel and they brought with them all other weird kind of practices they even hired a couple of jews to tell them how they could appease the god of the land so it didn't take long for this development to take place where there was a false religious system right in the middle of god's land and god's people when the southern kingdom of judah fell to the assyrians and and they were taken away but for 70 years to babylon when the lord began to restore them the the samaritans came to those who were coming back to jerusalem and said we'd love to help you go back home it's in ezra chapter four we'd like to help you and there was a sharp division between them because they they didn't want any help from these samaritans they hated them and that division continued all the way to to jesus's day the jews saw the samaritans as half breeds if you will they mixed jewish culture with with heathen religions and so you know they were hated they set up a place of worship at mount gurism which was in their area they published their their own version of the pentateuch the first five books of the of the bible they established a kind of a religious rivalry and so the jews who didn't live in samaria when they prayed would pray that god destroyed these people that they that they would become fodder for hell they hated them that they would never enter into eternal life so that was the that was the conflict between the believer god's people and those who were being rejected because of where they stood you might remember jesus's ministry to the woman at the well in john chapter 4 she lived in the samari area which was so amazing to the disciples he would even bother to stop there well here the disciples are heading for jerusalem and mount moriah the place that the lord had chosen for worship they were rejected by these samaritans not because they were well because they hated him but but because they were headed for jerusalem had they been heading away from jerusalem they would have easily accommodated them good you're leaving that place but not when you're heading towards it not surprisingly james and john were extremely upset by it they were not named sons of thunder for nothing and by the time jesus caught up with him because they had been sent ahead they were still steaming they offered to exercise god-given power to throw some kind of lightning bolts down from heaven to protect their jewish honor in the name of jesus though their heart and their behavior said otherwise that's usually the case when you argue with religious folks who are indignant and seek you know solutions that aren't really god's solutions but but here these two boys were not kidding for a conceptual kind of observation they had just left seeing moses and elijah with jesus on the mount of transfiguration they had been reminded of both of them and there was a story in in that they knew in second kings about elijah facing ahaziah's kind of warriors the king a wicked guy and he kept sending 50 soldiers to arrest him and twice fire came down from heaven and incinerated these troops and finally the third group please just come don't burn us up you know and then he went so we're with you lord and we've seen what elijah can do if you want us to do that we'll do that and just cook these samaritans no doubt james and and john hated the samaritans as much as the samaritans hated them it is hard to be delivered from prejudice when you're used to growing up with it and these guys certainly were but jesus wanted to deliver them from that and selfishness and violence this is quite a group of people that he runs around with so notice in verse 55 that jesus puts his finger on their religious talk literally to say you don't know what spirit you're of that this is your flesh that's speaking the wrath of man james will write doesn't produce the righteousness of god this is the spirit of your flesh not the spirit of elijah that god moved upon him that day so if they were going to follow him down the road this would mean they're going to have to show mercy while suffering reproach and not long to reach for the lightning bolts in isaiah chapter 53 we read of jesus that he was oppressed and afflicted but he didn't open his mouth led like a lamb to the slaughter as a sheep before his shears is dumb he was quiet so first lesson the lord didn't come to destroy he came to say so easy to lash out at people that don't like you or respond wickedly towards you whether they're religious or not the church is getting quite a bit of that these days but the lord came to save he came to save god didn't send a son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved and jesus said in john i think chapter 12 if anyone hears my words and doesn't or if anyone hears my words and do does not believe them i will not judge them i didn't come into the world to judge him but to save them so his words will judge jesus came to give life not willing that any should perish and rather than anger should come love and mercy and prayer they needed to learn that for now they're headed for jerusalem they're headed for the cross they're they're on the road with jesus so are you and there's going to be plenty of opportunities for you to be angry to want to destroy those who don't believe that you're going in the right direction to harbor your prejudices whatever they might be jesus said come on you're of the wrong spirit let's just go somewhere else when i welcome here we'll go to the next place and notice we read that they just went to the next village the son of man didn't come to destroy the church didn't come to destroy either god sends us to reach people with the gospel but that means you're going to have to be merciful especially in a world that's not going to show you any mercy and that's going to happen a lot more not less there's a great parallel by the way to this if you read acts chapter 8 when the gospel began to go out from the church the newborn church one of the first places that there was a revival was in samaria and you read in acts chapter 8 i think it's verse 14 when this when the uh revival break out that the church in jerusalem said let's send james and john there to help so the very guys that wanted to call fire down from heaven are now sent by the lord to bring life and the words of life to a people that are getting saved so those on the road with jesus that's you and i must be merciful there's there's no room for preachers who preach fiercely about hell with a sick kind of heart hoping some people end up there we want people to get saved and you're you're you're having to you know you're having to turn to be merciful to those who may be not very merciful to you so jesus is heading for death for the very people that don't want to even give him a place to stay his disciples offended let's let's burn him up and jesus let's just go somewhere else because i didn't come to destroy i came to give life and i think that would we would do well to remember that especially in this contentious world where we always want to fight for things rather than just live out the kind of life god would want if in this coming year may god fill you with his love and die to yourself so people can get reached because as angry as they get the need is still the same and eventually like acts chapter 8 this town is going to be hearing and receiving the gospel our next lesson here in verse 57 as being on the road with jesus is this a astonishing call to be like-minded in our commitment to the lord as jesus was and he said gives us several examples verse 57 now it happened as they journeyed on the road that is the big repetitive phrase in luke that someone said to him lord i will follow you wherever you go and jesus said foxes have holes birds of the ear have nests but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head i'll follow you wherever you go now the lord is going to demand in these three examples that were given a commitment and we just read about him setting his face and setting his jaw like a flint you know he's just putting his head down let's go get this done he's not going to turn from the from the danger and from the suffering but but here we're given in in these last few verses three would-be followers who were far too casual in their determination to follow him and filled with excuses as to why their walks with jesus were not doing very well and jesus will say to them and to us if you're going to be on the road with jesus look it's filled with hardship this is not going to be an easy road so you're reading verse 57 as they journeyed on the road we are told in matthew that the person who comes up to him here in verse 57 was a scribe a religious man a man devoted to studying god's word and he comes to jesus with a mouth full of commitments but he didn't know much about following the lord and what it would cost sometimes people oh lord i'll just do whatever you want those are words almost spoken out of ignorance or inexperience i've decided to follow jesus no turning back until you find out what that involves and jesus in verse 58 answers by saying this is not going to be a stroll in the park jesus didn't have much ease in his ministry and neither will you now now the lord had places to stay in in his ministry life he stayed with peter and his family in capernaum he oftentimes went and stayed with mary and martha and lazarus up in the mount of olives area yet the point that he's making is if you're going to follow him it's going to cost you and and i don't know that we should not be reminded of it that following the lord is is a tough way to go jesus said in matthew no i think it's in mark actually chapter 10 no one has left their their house or their brothers or sisters or father or mothers or other lands for my sake or for the gospel sake that doesn't receive a hundred fold in this life and in the age to come he'll receive eternal life but it'll come with persecution is what is the way he describes it so the church is very liable to have to face a lot of difficulty as they walk with the lord and seek to serve god jesus would warn would-be followers hey you're going to walk with me this isn't your home man there's no place to rest here there isn't really a place of rest as a christian i'm sure you've discovered that there's dissonance between you and the world there's discomfort there's unease if you speak up at all there's rejection it's not an easy life to live a christian life in this life and he was saying that following him would be to embrace uneasiness and difficulty no one committing themselves to jesus will find an easy life i don't think you can get away with that in fact if your faith in christ has not made life a little difficult you're doing it wrong because the the rub is such that it's light in darkness a committed heart knows the discomfort of difficult people giving till it hurts denying yourself for the sake of jesus and his people living out of step with a modern culture the discomfort of being disliked and singled out finding nowhere to be comfortable or to lay your head there are going to be plenty of uncomfortable things waiting for you next year conflicts between your faith in christ and you're wanting to serve him and and the world and it can take all kinds of of you know ways to kind of get to you notice that this fellow voluntarily comes to jesus with a promise no one asks he came to jesus hey lord i just want to tell you i'm all in and jesus said all right stop and count the cost because to follow me is going to be a hard road nature and the world all seem to have solutions but there's no place for this kind of life in this world it's uncomfortable it won't fit you're going to have to struggle sometimes people come to jesus wanting an easy life it's really the wrong place to come so may 2021 be the year that you count the cost and then that you're willing to pay the price whatever the hardship is because devotion and love and service to the lord is going to cost you something it's going to cost you something in hardships the second example of following the lord's example verse 59 he says to then another person come and follow me but he said lord let me first go and bury my father and jesus said let the dead bury the their own dead but let you but you go and preach the kingdom of god if the first guy made a volunteer effort came on his own with his words the second fellow was invited by jesus to come we are told in matthew 8 that this fellow was a disciple in the sense that he was in the group of people that were with the lord heading for jerusalem he was somebody in the crowd if the first guy was vocal and excited this guy seemed to be very rigid and almost emotionless come and follow me oh lord i gotta bury my dead father the ten commandments certainly speak of our need to honor our father and mothers and jesus's words if you just read them on the surface you may just go what in the world is that how insensitive uh contradictory out and you know uh doesn't seem to fit and yet wait a minute back in matthew 15 jesus chastised a whole group of religious leaders who who skirted the responsibility of caring for their parents financially by saying oh everything i have i've given to the lord i can't help my parents anymore and jesus in matthew 15 said to them you're transgressing the law of god by your traditions don't you remember the words honor your father and your mother so he called them on that in truth this man's words were colloquial certainly his father wasn't dead dead he might have been older he would eventually die but the idea is i will follow you as you've requested but give me some time to get to it clear my schedule finish some things up this man's words to jesus's invitation showed that there wasn't any kind of urgency in his heart didn't value the calling of the lord upon his life just kind of didn't have it really into his heart at all he he excuses himself procrastinating the calling of god upon his life by making a promise that sounds good to everyone i'm going to follow you later i'm going to follow you down the road i'll consider it there's always time for that look i've got a lot of pressing issues in my life right now i've got to fail fulfill them first i've heard the same lame excuses from many people who said they will serve the lord i'm gonna do it man i'm gonna do it i'm gonna be available when as soon as my house gets paid off as soon as the kids get through school as soon as the job demands ease when i get a little older when i get a little wiser when i have a little bit more time man i'm really going to serve the lord if the first man wouldn't count the cost of his commitment the second man is put off by other pressing matters in his life he's not denying jesus by the way or his claims but he is just not ready to follow him right now so he has some temporal priorities in his life or so he says dead as jesus might say and are taking to heart the temper over the eternal and and setting the lord aside in verse 60 far from being disrespectful jesus uses the colloquial term to say to the man let the spiritually dead be distracted by their physical hindrances and perceived needs place spiritual needs ahead of them follow me to neglect that is to neglect serving the lord in fact to not walk with the lord would be to neglect the family's greatest need which was to know the lord so the calling here is to put first things first with a sense of urgency he came up with the best excuse that he could my father he's older i got to be around a lot i'll be with you shortly and the lord said there's something more important even than that the spiritual life put things first i'm always amazed and it hasn't happened this year because there's no baseball games but i'll talk to folks that i'm counseling or maybe having problems or something and i'll say you really need to go to church and i'd love i'll see you on wednesday and they go oh yeah wednesday's too late why oh the kids have school all right or or or a hundred other things and then i'll see them on sundays and i'll say how's your weekend oh wednesday night went to the ball game went to 18 innings we got home at three in the morning no problem but get to church we're sleepy we're tired a beach party a disneyland outing late movie all those will be all right but there's no sense of urgency there's no sense of hunger by the way the bible doesn't give us any final decisions of each of these three examples just kind of the challenges that it it it presents to us who would follow the lord down the road and the hindrances and the battles that we would find as we go forward if you compare this fella to let's say matthew when the lord said to matthew follow me he dropped everything that he had his lucrative business his his his income he just left them and he he followed jesus when peter and james and john were called from their business of fishing to to follow the lord they left their boats on the shore and the biggest catch of their lives in the net and went all right we're going with you there was a sense of urgency it wasn't like oh lord let me sell my boat get rid of my nets give me 60 days they left all and followed him and if you're going to follow jesus on the road this next year you're going to have to be driven at least by a sense of urgency we don't know maybe this will be our last year here we don't know but it's worth considering we have the words of life and this life is uncertain and short and we only have today to count on so get busy i think verse 59 the the the words of the excuse let me first be lie the excuse i'll follow you but let me first do some things that i need to do the lord wasn't being unsensitive or to the needs of someone's father who died that's not even the case here it's just a matter of finding a reason to not have that priority set right so hardship you're going to find it urgency you're going to need it verse 61. and another also said lord i will follow you but let me first go and bid him farewell bear them farewell who are at my house and jesus said no one having put his hand to the plow looking back is fit for the kingdom of god this third one like the first one comes to offer his services to jesus lord i will follow you but he adds these dreadful word that we read in verse 59 as well the words let me first the words that kind of deliver a death blow to ever being used by the lord nothing wrong with saying goodbye to your family the request seems minor it has biblical precedent you might remember when elijah and elisha when elisha was called to follow elijah he said let me go home and say goodbye to my family and elijah so do whatever you want really not my decision it's your decision here's the calling to follow the lord though if you're going to do well next year you're going to have to make it your pro top priority he's going to have to be first no side tracking no double vision no looking back lot's wife looked back think about that she didn't do well turned into a condiment or something i don't know it is indecision that can hurt us paul said to the philippians i haven't arrived yet but this one thing i do i forgot what i've the things that are behind it pressing forward to things that are ahead your calling to follow jesus has to precede your business and your gain your obligation and self-interest first i can't make church diy kid's birthday anniversary i can't celebrate at any other time traditions turkeys to cook presents to open i'll get back here in a few days you won't have the time you should be first it's hard to teach priority i've seen people spend time finding planning for the life that they used to have speaking of what they left behind to follow the lord foolish to look back when paul wrote in hebrews chapter 11 about the old testament faithful he said these all died in faith not having received the promise but they saw them afar off they embraced them they confessed that they were strangers and big pilgrims on the earth if they and those that declare these things clearly say that they're looking for a homeland if they had occasion to turn around and look back they might have had an opportunity to go there but they didn't look back they looked for a better country they looked for god they weren't ashamed of him and god because of that wasn't ashamed to be called their god there has to be priorities that are set i think it's okay to look back to see if you're plowing straight but you'll never plow straight looking back discipleship means wholeheartedness so is it going to be hard yes you're going to cost you something of course it will should you be urgent if there's no sense of urgency you're probably not going to do well next year spiritually and ultimately there has to be a passion and a focus that doesn't turn you away that he's he's the first thing do the first thing first what is it going to take to travel with jesus this year tender mercy for those who hate you steely commitment to be willing to pay the hardships that will come cultivating a sense of urgency so that your eye is single no sacrifice too great three examples two of them volunteers one of them called count the cost don't look back don't procrastinate make up your mind jesus heads for the cross we head for a new year don't know what this new year is going to hold can't imagine it's going to be as bad as this year but i don't know i know the lord's still going to be in charge though when it's all said and dead so i hope you do well next year you can start by getting on the road with jesus amen father we thank you this morning for your word to us how how telling are these verses that so often we claim to know you and love you but let's face it we don't live for you walk with you listen to you are easily put away and put off find great ex excuses and yet lord we look at your example as you headed for for a a rendezvous with with your destiny the purpose for you what you were born to to give your life and being fully man i'm sure that you suffered daily having to look forward to what was awaiting you the pain the rejection the beating the embarrassment the shame the sadness and so you set your face like a flint you you lowered your head and you began to walk it just it surprised the disciples it frightened them but they came along and then those that would follow counting the hardship that it means to walk with jesus having a sense of urgency rather than just obligation we need to do it now and having a passion for you lord that makes everything else around us dim we're going to do this first and we're going to do it well may you help us this year that is coming to just live for you and in a way that we would would be able to look back at this time next year if you terry with with a smile on her face and a satisfied heart we've been walking with jesus and he's he's the reason why we live may we this year lord embrace the commitment the difficulty the passion in jesus name we pray shall we stand almighty fortress you go before us nothing can stand against the power of our god you shine in the shadows you win every battle nothing can stand against the power [Music] lifted high [Music] i'll sing through the night oh [Music] [Music] the battle belongs to you father may you go before us this week and as we head for new year's eve on thursday as well continue to just encourage us that you have great plans for our lives that we're not to be affected by the world that were in there to be affected by us as we live for jesus as we share his word and follow his ways and depend upon his strength may you be glorified through your church this year and may you draw us near we pray may we not find ourselves in this excuse list but rather willing and able to serve you in jesus name amen god bless you guys have a wonderful day we hope to see you thursday night [Music] you

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Length: 73min 45sec (4425 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 27 2020