Someone Worth Living For

Excited to kick off this fun series, Throwback Summer: Back to the 70’s…PS works all year/no breaks- takes a couple weeks off in July to relax/refuel/refocus/receive direction for year…pray…so he invited some of us to preach…& in this series- we’ll be throwing it back to some powerful messages from past & building on them to help us grow today

The theme verse for this series is Proverbs 4:13: Always remember what you have been taught, and don’t let go of it. Keep all that you have learned; it is the most important thing in life… I’ll be drawing off Pastor Stu’s sermon, “Go Do Whatever Makes You Happy”… happy 4th!! Grateful to live in country w/ freedom to worship Jesus…

TENSION / THE HOOK (4.5/7)

We live in a country today that’s consumed w/ the American dream…obsessed with being happy/fixated on finding happiness…Disneyworld: happiest place on earth; Coke: open happiness; Hardees: Feed your happy; IHOP: Come hungry, leave happy; bars: happy hour… just the way America is…but it’s become even more than that… happiness is no longer an obsession/priority of life- it’s become our #1 purpose to achieve in life…so we’ve been conditioned to believe that the purpose of our life is to pursue happiness…when talking @ this a few yrs ago, I love what PS said

VIDEO (26:32-27:58)…It couldn’t be any clearer, so many of us believe/live as if we believe that the purpose of our lives is to pursue our own happiness…& I could show you what every study/statistic has concluded, but deep down we all know the truth… that the pursuit is in vain/search is futile/simply doesn’t work…

Millionaires/celebrities/beautiful ppl… drowning in despair/depressed/unsatisfied/not happy…bc if your purpose is to pursue happiness, you’ll never accomplish/find happiness/satisfied/content/happy…more you chase/faster it’ll run

Brings us to the obvious question…if my purpose isn’t to pursue happiness, then what is it? what is my purpose?

Deny Yourself (8/15)

In Luke 9, disciples asking same ?…Jesus has just done some spectacular things- walked on water/fed 5000/healed/ storm…& they’re amazed so they declare his purpose (Messiah)…first time he doesn’t deflect/avoid- he agrees… but then Jesus has a very peculiar response… he predicts his death & then proceeds to tell them their purpose…

Luke 9:23-25: Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple (person living in their purpose) must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose their very soul?”

Wow, what a shocking statement/opposite of world… culture says do what makes you happy/live your best & you’ll find yourself…Jesus says no-lose your life & you’ll save it/discover your purpose…doesn’t leave us-he shows us how

Luke 9:23: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves… The 1st step to discovering your purpose is to 1) Deny Yourself…sounds backwards/not fun…deny myself to discover my purpose…don’t like being denied anything

IKEA Story…“look around IKEA”-with bf-chronic impulse buyer-call over $50-unreachable-shows me around-$500

I know that’s silly but, in all seriousness, Jesus isn’t talking about denying yourself bookshelf/cookies/SM, he’s talking about denying your self…

What’s that mean? refusing desires/abandoning dreams/rejecting sinful lifestyle/renouncing preferences/relinquishing control of your life…self-denial is the hardest part of faith to us in America/hardest part for me…

We want what we want when/how/where we want it, but Jesus is calling us to a different standard… he’s calling us to give God absolutely anything he might ask for… he’s calling us to Refuse Him Nothing…

If there’s anything I want said about my life when I’m gone, it’s that I refused God nothing… that I gave God anything he asked for…if he asked for time/$/reputation/focus/vacation/opinion/car/house/life, I gave it to him…gave him every single crevice of my heart, offered him every nook and cranny of my life… I refused him nothing

You see, Jesus is talking about a radical way of living- a way that’s in total contrast to the way the world lives… bc denying yourself rejects a life that seeks my interests/fulfillment, but instead, seeks a life that fulfills God’s interests for my life… it’s a drastically different approach to living…& it’s hard/really hard

Ultimately- you’re declaring @ your life that It’s Not About Me…“it’s not @ me”…

Jesus is saying: “If you want to be my disciple, you’ll have to accept that your life is no longer yours”…it’s no longer about you/what you want/makes you happy/thoughts/opinions…it’s all about Jesus/he wants…hear us say “give your life to Jesus”…that’s exactly what it means…you give your life away… no longer belongs to you, it belongs to Jesus

Take Up Your Cross Daily (5/20)

Jesus doesn’t stop there…w/ what you have to let go/give up (self)… he then talks about what you have to take up

Luke 9:23: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily…

The 2nd step to discovering your purpose is you must 2) Take Up Your Cross Daily…now many of us have heard this verse many times and we think of a nice cross necklace/cross on a hill painting/the saying “just my cross to bear”… but that is not what Jesus is referring to… this is a violent, gruesome, abhorrent picture that Jesus is painting…

A cross meant one thing and one thing only, death… the cross was the instrument of the death penalty in Rome… it was the electric chair, gas chamber, firing squad, noose… carrying a cross was a one-way trip… dead man walking

Now I want to pause a second… isn’t it amazing that Jesus died on the cross for us? We talk about it all the time- he suffered worst death for us… but he died for us while we were still sinners… even though most would say no to him… he died for our sin so that we may repent of our sin and be forgiven by him…he died the death that I deserved simply bc he loved me… I pray that we never recover from that truth…

So, Jesus is not just speaking for shock value/attention here, he is speaking from a certain future… he is speaking from an experience he has already seen 1000x times… he knows that he will lead the way in taking up a cross…

But he knows he won’t be the only one… Jesus is saying no- you’ll have to come too… if you want to be my disciple- you’re gonna need your own cross/to be willing to die for me… not just deny yourself/die to yourself…

Life Verse Story… Galatians 2:20: My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

TUYCD means being willing to die for Jesus…yes physically but at minimum, to yourself/reputation/popularity/ goals/plans/dreams… Dietrich Bonhoeffer- brilliant pastor/theologian said: “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die”… sounds morbid/fatalistic, but it’s real…TUYC wasn’t meant to be easy…

Isn’t inspirational chalkboard quote, it’s the dangerous call of the Christian… Jesus calls you to this every single day- where daily you’re sacrificing your will to Jesus…surrendering the outcomes/results/consequences/risks… TUYCD

Follow Jesus (6.5/26.5)

But Jesus doesn’t end there… bc lots of people deny themselves & take up their cross for stupid/unimportant/trivial things…he’s got 1 more step… Luke 9:23: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me… the 3rd step to discovering your purpose is you must actually 3) Follow Jesus

You were never called to just let go of your life & be blown by the wind, no, you were called to live out God’s plan for your life! not your plan/dream/hope, his plan/dream/hope… he’s not asking us to deny ourselves/surrender rights/ take up cross & then do own thing w/ a smile… he’s not saying this for fun/these aren’t life-hacks/handy tips/empty words… he’s calling us to truly follow him, wherever he may lead, no matter the cost… Bonhoeffer Story

Many of us here need a perspective shift- bc we follow Jesus/church/group/give so that we can have better life/ receive benefits/blessings…but that’s not the point of following Jesus…the point is that even if there are no blessings/ don’t feel his presence/lose your possessions/job/money/family disown/spouse leave/lose your life, it is all for Jesus

We were never meant to follow Jesus for his gifts/glory/safety/forgiveness…so you may be asking- why then?

Why? go through all this/deny myself/take up cross/carry burden/follow Jesus? Bc he’s worthy/magnificent/glorious/ wonderful/mighty/all-powerful/all-knowing/king of universe/alpha & omega/beginning & end/creator/master/Lord/ Judge/greatest of all things & he loves you so much that he died for you- so he’s worth dying for/living for

Sermon comes to this- your purpose was never to pursue happiness/live for yourself- your purpose is to live for Jesus

2 Corinthians 5:15: He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them…you were never designed to live for yourself…if you’re weary from searching/tired from trying/stuck in comparison/given up hope on life all in pursuit of happiness, it’s bc you’re functioning outside of your purpose…so I urge you, wherever you’re at on your spiritual journey…

Let your life go/make Jesus center of your life/give him throne of your heart/revolve everything around Jesus… never meant to pursue happiness, pursue Jesus…live out God’s purpose for your life- die to yourself, live for Jesus

APPLICATION & CONCLUSION (4/30.5)

Now you might be here & you’re bought in…tired of living for yourself/ready to live for Jesus…but you don’t know how/where to start…practically how do I start living for Jesus? Here’s how:ISO-1) Identify areas where you’re living for yourself ($/career/schedule/vacation/sex/politics/fam)…2) Surrender them to Jesus…3) Obey Jesus without delay

This is what it looks like to live for Jesus… life of total surrender & constant obedience… a life that’s not @ me

So that brings us to a very important question for each of us to answer: why do you follow Jesus? What is your motive? do you follow Jesus bc he’s worthy or bc of the gifts he gives you?

Bc one day in heaven- we will all worship him for who he is/bc he’s worthy…I encourage you, don’t wait…live for him now just as you will then…you have eternity within you-so live in it…die to self/live for Jesus bc he’s worthy… bc that’s exactly what we’ll do when we meet him face to face… as I end, soak in these words of John in Revelation:

Revelation 7:9-11: After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

That can be us today/we can live in eternity today/we can follow Jesus here as it is in heaven… we can live for Jesus

So deny/TUYCD/follow bc he is worthy of all praise/glory/wisdom/thanks/honor/power/strength forever…Pray

KNOW (BOTTOM LINE): Your purpose is live for Jesus (and die to yourself).

DO: Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Jesus.

FEEL: Challenged, convicted.

Last thing he wrote – “This is the end. For me the beginning of life.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Friend of his who was a doctor – "I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer... kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God." – Eberhard Bethge

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