Jesus Wants to Ruin Your Relationships.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] My name is Steve. I’m one of the pastors here. If you’ve not been here before, welcome. [0:05] Glad to see how many of you survived the downpour of 9 a.m. and were able to make it to church [0:12] this morning. Whenever it starts raining, about 8.30 or 9, I start getting nervous. [0:17] Because I know some of us saw the Wizard of Oz as a child and we’re worried that it’s [0:20] true. Water will melt you. But I’m glad that you guys made it. Alright, I’m glad to see [0:26] you guys. Just to give you guys a little bit of an update on the status of our building

[0:32] over on Genito Road. Things are moving. Things are happening financially. We have raised [0:39] right around $30,000 and I praise God for that. We would feel a lot more comfortable [0:46] the closer that gets to about $50,000. So, if you have been thinking about giving, alright, [0:54] now’s a good time to pick a number and make that pledge for the end of the year. You’ve [0:59] had plenty of time. Just go ahead and step out. Just pick that number. You can do it. [1:04] I believe in you. And if all you can pledge is $50 or $100 and you’re like, ah, that’s

[1:10] so little that it won’t make a dent, it will. That will help. So, there’s no gift too small [1:18] and on the other side of that, there’s no gift too big as well. You know, I’ll just [1:23] go ahead and say that. But please, I want to also let you guys know that things are [1:30] moving whereas the construction works concerned. It’s not moving quite at the speed we assumed [1:36] it would. Contractors. You know, that’s the way it goes. This job’s taken us a little [1:42] longer than we thought it would. We’re not going to be able to make it until this date.

[1:45] And then, of course, you know, the county. You have to get things zoned so they take [1:49] a little while. But I think we have some pictures, some before and after shots of kind of the [1:54] progress. So, we took it from here and put the next picture up. And we just totally tore [2:00] it apart. We didn’t know that was going to happen, but we didn’t know this was planned. [2:05] We are totally renovating the sanctuary. And if you haven’t had a chance to come up and [2:10] serve the Lord through helping us with some of this work, over the next few weeks, you

[2:15] will have the opportunity to do that if you’ve got a Saturday free. Or even if you’re free [2:19] during the week. I’m up there a lot of the days during the week breaking things. I’ve [2:26] tried to fix a few things. It’s weird the way that works now. But any time that you [2:30] can stop by, email Todd Schloman and we will get somebody up there with you. We definitely [2:37] have a lot of work to do. But today, we’re going to be talking about our relationships. [2:45] And the reality that Jesus wants to ruin our relationships. Of everything that I’m

[2:52] probably going to talk about over these next few weeks. And next week, we’re going to be [2:56] talking about our finances. And I asked Nate to bring that one because he understands them [3:02] and I can’t even add to and to. So, he’s going to be giving us a great sermon next week and [3:08] I’m looking forward to learning from that. But this week, we’re going to be talking about [3:12] something that I think the most of us struggle with. Because I think relationships cause [3:18] the most tension in our lives. Whether it be with our spouse, whether it be with our

[3:24] children, whether it be with friends and family. Any time two centers get together, and if [3:32] you’re wondering what a center is, look in the mirror. Any time two centers get together, [3:38] there’s going to be tension. That always, always, always exists. John Calvin made this [3:46] statement that the human heart is an idol factory. And our relationships are not untouched [3:53] by the reality of what Romans 1 says is us exchanging worship of the Creator for worship [3:59] of the creation. And God is the author of relationships. He’s put that need inside of

[4:06] us. But often times they can get skewed. Often times they can get put into a place [4:10] that’s unhealthy. And the reality is that every one of us has experienced the type [4:16] of relationship that fractures and breaks and just turns into a very ugly thing. And [4:24] today I’m not going to give you tips about how you can avoid fractured relationships. [4:31] But what I’m going to do is I’m going to go down and I want to go deep into the motivation [4:36] for why we enter into relationships in the first place. Because I think that goes to

[4:42] the very heart of what happens later on in the relationships. What is the guiding point [4:48] of the relationships that you are in in your life? And does the Bible have anything to [4:53] say about that? The Bible has a great deal to say about that. [4:56] In that last song we sang about Christ being the center of it all, the center of our lives. [5:02] Whatever is at the center of what we do as a person, that is what everything else will [5:09] flow out of and towards. And so for our relationships to bring any glory to God, and that is the

[5:15] purpose of everything in our lives, Jesus needs to be at the center of those relationships. [5:23] But quite often the hard work of ruin, which is what we started with last week when we [5:27] saw Isaiah realize that he was ruined in his sin and he desperately needed God to reconstruct [5:34] him. It’s very hard for us to admit that oftentimes our relationships need to be ruined too. [5:43] And the only hope that any relationship has in your life is going to be a process of deconstruction [5:50] or reconstruction that only God can do through the work of the Gospel.

[5:55] And there’s a lot of places in Scripture where Jesus especially says some very hard [6:00] things and I think sometimes we pass over them. Sometimes we say, well surely Jesus [6:04] didn’t mean that. And one of those places is in Luke chapter 14. So if you have your [6:11] Bibles go there with me. I believe this is probably one of the things [6:20] the most controversial sayings of Jesus and one of those sayings that we don’t really [6:25] talk about a great deal. Because we don’t want to think Jesus couldn’t have possibly

[6:28] meant this. Luke 14 starting in verse 25, now great crowds [6:35] accompanied him. And he turned to them and said, if anyone comes to me and does not hate [6:42] his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes and even if [6:50] his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after [7:03] me cannot be my disciple. And part of this sounds very similar to what [7:12] we saw in Luke 9.23 last week where he says, if anybody does not deny himself and take

[7:18] his cross and follow me, he can’t be my disciple. These are some very hard words because I [7:25] think to begin with, we really focus on the aspects of scripture where Jesus says or [7:31] where the writers will say things like God is love. Or where Jesus says in Luke chapter [7:39] 10 verse 27, he says, Jesus has asked, you know, what’s the greatest commandment? And [7:45] Jesus says, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your [7:48] soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.

[7:54] Doesn’t that seem to contradict another place where Jesus says, hey, by the way, you’ve [7:58] got to hate people to love me. Not only people, you’ve got to hate your mom. Come on. My [8:05] mom, my dad, but then the brothers and sisters part, we’re like, well, okay, that’s easier. [8:12] I’m probably already doing that one anyway. But not mom. Jesus, why you got to mess with [8:19] mom? I love my mom. But there are often these places in scripture where Jesus will give [8:26] us these statements that will cause a great tension in our lives. And this is one of those

[8:31] places. This is one of those places in scripture where Jesus has a great multitude. If you [8:35] go through all of Luke chapter 9 after he says, take up your cross and follow me, and [8:40] he says some other things about the way they need to treat their families as opposed to [8:44] how they follow Jesus, great crowds would just turn around and go home. They would [8:51] be like, oh, I’ve got to do that to follow you? All right, see you. I’m out. Jesus would [8:58] sometimes have hundreds of people following him. He’d be gaining a great multitude. And

[9:04] then he would say these things that turn into great space makers. It’s like Jesus didn’t [9:09] want to be popular. So he’ll look at them and he will say something very hard into their [9:14] lives and people will literally say, that’s too much. I can’t do that. How dare you try [9:22] to touch the relationships in my life? Family is everything. I’ve heard that before, haven’t [9:31] you? And in Luke chapter 14, Jesus directly challenges that philosophy. And he’s going [9:39] to say, no, it’s not. I am. Following Jesus, point number one today, changes the agenda

[9:53] of our relationships. I want to do a Bible study with you guys on the word hate. This [9:59] is a Greek word that Jesus uses here and the root of it is meseo. And it literally means [10:04] hate, by the way. And some people define it as meaning loveless. But throughout the [10:10] way that it’s used in scripture and throughout the way it was used in that culture, it was [10:14] always used as a term for hate. There’s a few other times in scripture, I was looking [10:19] through the word the past few weeks, and I found a few other times in scripture where

[10:22] this is used. In 1 John chapter 2, John the author says, whoever says he is in the light [10:30] and hates his brother is still in darkness. Okay, that’s a different side. Same word [10:36] for hate. Yet here he’s saying, if you don’t love your brother and you hate your brother, [10:42] guess what? You don’t know me. You’re not in the light. So all right, okay. Well, then [10:47] in John 17, 14, the high priestly prayer, here’s what Jesus says. He says, I’ve given [10:52] them your word, speaking of his disciples and those who would come after them, and whoever

[10:57] hates, excuse me, and the world then has hated them. Same word. Because they are not of the [11:05] world just as I am not of the world. So here we have a command, hate your mom, hate your [11:10] dad, hate your brothers, hate your sisters, then hate yourself. And then he says, whoever [11:16] hates his brother and doesn’t love his brother, well, he doesn’t know me. But then he says, [11:21] well, the world then is going to hate those who follow me. And then in John chapter 12, [11:24] verse 25, Jesus speaking again, he says, whoever loves his life loses it. And whoever,

[11:32] get this, hates, same word, his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Okay? [11:41] And this is why it’s very important that when you’re reading the Bible, you don’t just [11:46] pick a verse, sitting all by itself and set it out on an island and say, I know what that [11:53] means just based on it. You have to compare scripture with scripture. You have to bring [11:55] them all in. You have to ask yourself, where else is this word used? Where else is this [12:00] thought used? What else does Jesus say about this? And here’s what he’s saying in Luke

[12:05] chapter 14. Jesus is saying, the kind of love that people of this world will naturally [12:13] have in their sin for their family is not real love. Because it’s love based on their [12:23] things of this life. It’s love based on the things of this world. It’s love based on [12:28] things other than the cross. It’s love based on things other than Jesus. So what Jesus [12:35] is very specifically saying here is that when you follow me, the life that you will enter [12:44] into will sometimes look like hate to people of this world. Sometimes it’s love based

[12:53] sometimes the things that I will call you to will not be loving in the definition of [12:59] this world. And that’s good. In that sense, you should hate your family. Because in that [13:10] sense the thing that is love and doesn’t feel like it, that will be the very thing that [13:16] saves their lives. How often does Jesus say, deny yourself, don’t love yourself, don’t [13:25] let life be about yourself. In fact the matter is most of the relationships that we have [13:30] in our lives are all about ourselves. That’s the number one source of conflict we have.

[13:37] Because this person or that person isn’t making me happy. This person or that person isn’t [13:43] doing things that benefit me. That’s why it’s so important in Luke 14 when Jesus gets [13:49] done saying, he says, even your own life. Because there are some things, the most important [13:58] things that are not about you. They are about God. And if you are ever going to have any [14:07] hope for the relationships in your life, you have to understand that it is not about [14:15] your happiness. But in the same vein, nor is it about that other person’s happiness.

[14:25] You ever been involved with a friend or someone or even somebody you didn’t know but they [14:30] are an acquaintance and the ruin of their marriage was their mother-in-law? If you haven’t, [14:37] you’ve really missed out because there are some great, great things to really spectate [14:41] on in that whole thing. But no, you don’t, okay, I don’t like it either. But here’s [14:51] what goes on. This is what happens when sinners get together. You come together and you are [14:56] trying to please one person, then you are trying to please another person, then you

[14:59] are trying to please yourself and that is completely impossible when you have three [15:03] people trying to do the exact same thing but for opposite reasons. And so inevitably [15:08] the entire relationship falls apart. It is what? It is ruined. And in the end all you [15:16] have is a bunch of people that are blaming each other and a bunch of people that hate [15:18] each other. Marriage is over, the relationship with mom is fractured. But what happens when [15:26] you have three people who realize life is not about them, life is not about you, life

[15:31] is about God? And all three people are meeting at that same point. That typically is a healthy [15:40] relationship. But what if you have that one person denying himself or herself, following [15:50] Jesus with everything and then you have two people that are living for themselves? That [16:00] one person is going to follow Jesus with everything and the other two are going to [16:02] say, why aren’t you living for me? To love Jesus sometimes you have to hate your family

[16:12] because sometimes your family will ask you to do things that don’t bring glory to God, [16:17] don’t bring glory to Jesus. They are going to say why aren’t you hating me? And guess [16:21] what you are going to do? You are going to do the same thing that a guy did at the end [16:23] of Luke 9. At the end of Luke 9 a guy says, my dad just died, I have to go bury him. Jesus [16:27] looks at him and says let the dead bury the dead, you follow me. And that guy says you [16:31] have asked me to defy my family, that’s too much. It’s going to be a temptation in your

[16:36] life when your wife, your mom, your kids, I don’t know who it’s going to be, they [16:40] are going to look at you and they are not going to say the specific words of follow [16:44] me or Jesus, but they might as well. And they are going to say, well man, don’t you love [16:52] me? And in that sense they are going to basically be saying, I’m more important than Jesus [16:58] aren’t I? And the reality of what Jesus is saying here is if you do love them with the [17:05] love of God, you are going to keep following me because that’s the only hope that they

[17:11] will ever have of knowing me. Because as soon as you choose a person over choosing God, [17:17] you are telling that person they are God and their hope is gone. Because you have not [17:26] denied yourself, number one, because that’s going to lead to some uncomfortable conversations, [17:31] isn’t it? And you don’t want to have those. So you are not denying yourself. And then [17:36] number two, you are telling that other person your commands supersede the commands that [17:40] are clear in scripture. And it’s one thing that I know is that when I am following scripture,

[17:47] I’m following that which is ultimate, that which is authoritative. If you want to have [17:51] any real authority in your life, here, this is it. This is trustworthy. Because Jesus [17:57] rose from the dead, I think this might be true. So I follow it. And any time there’s [18:04] a life or lifestyle choice or something that may come into my life that wants me to go [18:09] against this for someone’s comfort, for someone’s ease, it is very tempting to do it because [18:16] I don’t want to deal with the conflict that might come from it. But the reality is if

[18:23] there’s going to be any hope for the relationships that are in my life, I cannot forsake that [18:30] which I know is true for that which I know is not eternal. Because when I choose that [18:37] which is not eternal, I risk losing it all. Those are very hard choices and decisions [18:49] to make. That is not lost on me. So let’s keep moving. Jesus in the cross redefines [19:02] love. He totally redefines it. Love is not something, I don’t want to just be frank [19:09] here, it’s not something you’re ever going to see on television. John Cusack has yet

[19:15] to make a movie where real love was in there. I might be showing my age there, but you [19:19] know those old John Cusack movies, Boombox, and every girl is like, why didn’t he hold [19:24] a boombox outside of my window? He ran out of batteries, I don’t know. But we have this [19:34] picture in culture that real love is about me. And when Jesus came, he came with this [19:44] abundant understanding into our lives that we don’t know how to define anything without [19:49] sin tainting it. And so he goes to the cross, he dies on the cross, and he says things

[19:55] like, you know what real love is? Real love is when you lay down your life for your friend. [20:01] And then he goes and he does it. And so sometimes the best thing for our relationships is a [20:07] little bit of conflict where the Lord is concerned. Because look at how much conflict Jesus endured [20:12] to the cross. He was derided by everyone. His best friends forsook him. They left him. [20:17] And he goes and on the cross he says things like, forgive them because they know not [20:21] what they are doing. Completely sacrificial, but completely against what those who were

[20:28] his closest allies told him to do. Because he knew better than they did. His closest [20:38] allies, his biggest advisors wanted him to lead a military insurrection against Rome.

[20:44] And if Jesus had done that, which oftentimes we define as loving, which just means accepting [20:50] people exactly where they are doing that which will make them the happiest, we would [20:55] all be going to hell right now. But instead Jesus did that which scripture, which the [21:01] Father had planned. And he saved the entire world if we’ll just trust him. So in our [21:09] life, sometimes when we’re seeking to do that which is the most loving, when we do [21:14] it just to pacify someone, we do it just so that someone will stay with us and never

[21:20] have any conflict with them because that’s what I’m avoiding at all costs. We are actually [21:26] doing the most hateful thing we could ever do to them and that is not confronting them [21:33] with the gospel. Because that is the only pure loving thing in the world. It’s the gospel [21:44] of Jesus Christ. Secondly this morning, relationships with an agenda of redemption have the potential [21:54] of real reconciliation. Relationships with the agenda of redemption have the potential [21:59] of real reconciliation. Over the past, I don’t know, ten years or so there’s been

[22:08] this term, missional living. And we say it here a lot. The mission of Jesus. It’s not [22:15] a new concept, it’s an old concept, as old as Jesus. And it’s kind of become this buzz [22:21] word and there’s been people that take it and caricature it and turn it into something [22:26] that it’s not. But here’s what it is. It is entering into and setting my life so that [22:31] I can form relationships that are specifically and purposefully for the purpose of redemption.

[22:40] Over the past few years there’s been a movement to say that I should enter into all of my [22:43] relationships with no agenda. If my agenda is Jesus then I don’t really love everyone.

[22:52] That is terrible. If you believe that you need to repent of it. If Jesus is not the [23:00] agenda of every relationship in your life then your agenda is sinful. Luke chapter [23:10] 14, Jesus is laying it out right there. He’s saying he’s got to be your only agenda in [23:17] everything in life, especially your relationships. Look in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. In 2 Corinthians [23:29] chapter 5 starting in verse 14, Jesus says, or excuse me Paul, Jesus does say it but [23:35] he says it through Paul. He says, for the love of Christ controls us. Because we have

[23:39] concluded this, that one has died for all therefore all have died. And he died for all [23:45] that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their [23:52] sake died and was raised. Now get this, and we’re going to stop halfway through this verse [23:57] and unpack it. From now on therefore we regard no one according to the flesh. Alright. Back [24:09] up he said he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves but [24:13] for him who for their sake died and was raised. So he’s saying that we who live, we who trust

[24:19] in God, Jesus died for us so that we can stop being selfish, stop being self-centered, stop [24:25] living life where it’s all about me and we can start living life for God. And we can [24:30] start living life towards him. We can start living life barrier free, relationship with [24:35] God fully restored. Nothing needs to be done. Jesus has given me full access to the Father. [24:39] But then he says something very important and I think it’s that which we ignore. He [24:44] says from now on then we also regard no one else according to the flesh. What is the

[24:53] flesh? I think this has kind of a two standard meaning. Flesh is the term first off in that [24:58] language, sarx, that was used to just talk about this. Flesh. Skin. That means that my [25:09] agenda with other people is no longer an agenda of humanity. It’s no longer an agenda [25:17] of me and them. What makes me happy, what makes them happy, it can no longer be driven [25:22] by things of this life. It must be driven by the one who died and was raised. Secondly [25:31] it means that sin can also not control my relationships. So on the front side it means

[25:39] that the only godly redemptive agenda to take into relationships is the gospel of [25:46] Jesus Christ. That’s it. You want to know why my marriage exists? My marriage exists [25:52] so that the gospel can flow back and forth between my wife and reveal to the world the [25:56] truth of Jesus and reconciliation. That’s why my marriage exists. You want to know why [26:01] my son exists so that the gospel can flow and I can raise him up in godliness so that [26:05] he will go out and know real reconciliation because of the cross between a father and

[26:10] a son and he can go out someday and reach people with the gospel and I pray to God he [26:14] does. You don’t want to know why my relationship exists between my parents and I raised, same

[26:20] thing. Reconciliation. With God. So that we can flow back and forth with the gospel so [26:26] we can push each other, nudge each other onto godliness. Do you want to know why my relationship [26:30] exists with each and every one of you? The exact same thing. Do you want to know why [26:34] your relationship with your coworkers exists? Reconciliation. Do you want to know why your [26:37] relationship with the people on the street that you might see or in the park on a Saturday [26:42] afternoon exists? Reconciliation. Reconciliation. Reconciliation. Reconciliation. Our agenda

[26:54] is Jesus. He had a mission and in John chapter 20 he gave it to his disciples and us. He [27:02] said, you’re sent me so I’m sending you. Secondly, sin. You ever been in a relationship [27:11] with somebody and it just went pretty bad? It just kind of fell apart. It happens. And [27:21] sometimes it’s really silly because when we base our relationship, sometimes it’s pretty [27:25] serious but I’m not going to deal with that one yet. I’m going to deal with the small [27:29] ones. Okay? This person was supposed to come to my birthday party and they didn’t. But

[27:36] that’s really serious. It hurt my heart. Well, in the scheme of life, I don’t know. Maybe [27:41] he had to work late. I don’t know. If you’re like, well, I’m not friends with him anymore.

[27:49] You want to know what can reconcile that relationship? Forgiveness. You know where that forgiveness [27:55] is going to come from? From them saying they’re sorry? Well, maybe. No. No. The cross. The [28:06] cross. The cross. The cross. The cross is big enough to heal every hurt that will ever [28:15] come in your life. This does not mean you let people in your life to wreak havoc and [28:21] just hurt you over and over and over again. That’s not healthy either. Redemption is [28:26] about rebuilding. So sometimes you forgive by not holding it against them anymore and

[28:32] praying for them constantly and when they have a need, you need it. When they need you, [28:36] you’re there. It doesn’t mean you let a kleptomaniac move in with you and just take everything.

[28:45] But it means that you understand why that person is a kleptomaniac. You know what it [28:51] is? They’re sinners and the wiring has gone really wrong because of sin. And when they [28:58] need you, you’ll be there. You’ll cry with them. You’ll hug on them. You’ll love them. [29:04] You’re not accepting them as they are forever to just tear themselves apart, but you know [29:08] what you’re doing? You’re showing them grace, that you love them. But guess what else you’re [29:12] going to do? You’re going to say, you know what? You’re trying to find your hope in

[29:15] doing these wrong things. You don’t know where real hope is. It’s in Jesus. You know what [29:22] that person might do? They might say, you just want to change me. You don’t love me. [29:29] If you loved me, you’d just love me as I am right now and you’d just love me forever [29:33] as I am right now. You wouldn’t ask me to change. See, sometimes friends, the love [29:40] of God looks like hate to the world. Because you know that if you don’t give them the [29:46] gospel, they’re going to spend an eternity in hell. And how unloving is that if you

[29:51] know hell is coming and you don’t try to save a person? But this world will try to [29:59] convince us that there is no hell. So we can just all be good. We’re all on the same team. [30:09] And Jesus came to say, we’re not all on the same team. Because Jesus has the only team [30:14] that has eternal hope, guys. The only team with eternal hope. For us to love the world, [30:22] we must have the agenda of Jesus. Because only Jesus can restore relationships with [30:29] real reconciliation. Have you ever been in a relationship where two people, where you

[30:34] really forgave someone, that person really forgave you? Because both of you loved Jesus [30:41] more than you loved each other? Maybe you haven’t. But here’s the key this morning. [30:50] Maybe that’s what you need to do with the relationships in your life. Maybe you need [30:59] to let Jesus ruin the relationship status that you’re basing things on. And show you [31:07] that you’re not going to get healing through vengeance and retaliation. See, most people [31:14] try to heal their relationships with retaliation. How’s that working for you? A couple of last

[31:22] years there was a show on TV, a mini series about the Hatfields and McCoys. How’d that [31:26] work out for them? Not very well. Everyone just died. Friends, you are not going to heal [31:36] your relationship by retaliation. Your relationship agenda has to be reconciliation and redemption. [31:45] Because then you are seeking that person’s good. Then you are really forgiving. Then [31:49] you are doing what Jesus did. Because Jesus had an agenda and his agenda was the cross. [31:56] So we must also have an agenda. And our agenda must be the cross. Look at verse 18 of 2 Corinthians

[32:04] chapter 5. Verse 18 says, all of this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself [32:11] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Do you see that? Do you see the vision there? [32:19] Do you ever want to tell people what Village Church is about? Go to 2 Corinthians chapter [32:23] 5 verse 18. We are about the ministry of reconciliation. But we are also about the [32:29] understanding that it’s only in Jesus. Because relationships reveal a reconciled affection [32:38] for Jesus. They do. Look back at Luke chapter 14. Look at verse 27. Whoever is in the relationship

[32:53] does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Can I tell you [33:09] sometimes it’s hard in marriage to not be self-centered? If you are married maybe you [33:17] know what that’s like. Maybe you know what it’s like to get really angry at your spouse [33:26] and then realize 10 minutes later that you were really angry because of how selfish [33:30] you are. I mean, that happens a lot. But it’s because I have a real understanding of what [33:47] the problem is. That problem is bearing my own cross. Because I understand the gospel

[33:56] so far sometimes as it gets me in eternity in heaven. Let me tell you, that part is [34:02] really awesome because the alternative isn’t. The alternative is pretty uncomfortable. But [34:11] when I begin to then go into the real faith of life where it’s not about this future [34:19] eternity but rather for me living the values of the kingdom of God begin right now. And [34:28] that is very difficult because then faith does not become this far off place that I’m [34:35] living for. It becomes my breakfast table. It becomes the conversations I have with

[34:41] my wife. It becomes the conversations I have with my co-workers. It becomes the conversations [34:47] I have with the person across the street. It begins the conversations that I have in [34:53] my very neighborhood where I’m just hoping that when I pull in the driveway my neighbor [34:58] isn’t doing yard work because he’s going to come over and talk to me and that’s going [35:02] to make it five minutes more until I can get in the recliner. Oh no? Okay. Not you? [35:09] Maybe that’s just me. But the way that I go into life about my relationships really does

[35:19] reveal my deepest affections for Jesus. Because my relationships with others often reflect [35:29] my relationship with this world. And my relationship with this world is so often caught up in [35:37] my own comfort, my own leisure, my own personality, the things that I want to do, the things [35:44] that I want to get done, and if anybody stands in the way of that they better get out of [35:50] the way or the bulldozer is coming. And I am desperate to have that ruined. And I am

[36:00] desperate to know what it really looks like to consider others more significant than myself. [36:07] I am desperate to figure out what it looks like to look to the interests of others and [36:11] not just the interests of myself. I am desperate to know what it looks like for me to bear [36:16] my own cross and follow Jesus. Because when I bear my own cross I deny the lie that this [36:28] is greater than what Jesus has to offer me. And when I really enter into a relationship [36:33] where those lies that we talked about last week, where I am sacrificing the things that

[36:38] are only temporary and are not eternal, and where I am just giving Jesus my affection, [36:45] where I am working at it, where I am trying hard to just really love Jesus as much as [36:51] I know he loves me, then I really begin to love other people.

[37:00] Because I have love to offer. Because there is this thing going on between God and myself [37:08] where he is pouring into me and I am pouring out into other people.

[37:17] Look to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 again. I know I am making you do a lot of work. 2 Corinthians [37:22] chapter 5 verse 16, the second part of there.

[37:28] From now on therefore we regard no one according to the flesh. That is the beginning. Even [37:35] though, notice this, we once regarded Christ according to the flesh. We regard him thus [37:44] no longer. You know what he is saying there? He is saying [37:50] the only hope that you ever have of giving other people real love is if you have the [37:55] love of Jesus in your life. If you are really trusting him, if you are really walking with [38:03] him, if you are really following him. And then there is that one verse that we all

[38:09] maybe know and we have it on a cup or a shirt. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, if anyone [38:18] is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come.

[38:30] Do you see where Jesus wants to really start changing things in our lives? Where he really [38:34] just wants to start ruining this and ruining that and then he ruins it and then he gives [38:38] us something that we had never thought of before?

[38:43] You don’t know how that begins to happen. It begins to happen when you stop just looking [38:46] at this life and seeing what is right there and when you begin to look past it and see [38:49] what God has. When you begin to look at the world through the lens of scripture, you begin [38:55] to look at the world through what Jesus actually said and what Jesus actually did and then [38:59] you just begin to kind of walk with him and you are like Jesus was not just a good teacher. [39:05] Jesus is God. Jesus is the King. Jesus is the Lord of my life. He is the sovereign

[39:10] King. He is eternal and he knows who I am more than that. He loves me. He died for me [39:19] and I want to follow him. Everything is brand new in that. [39:25] So here is my question for you this morning. If everything in Jesus is to be brand new,

[39:35] what are the deepest relationships in your life based on? Are they based on what is [39:41] brand new or are they based on what already was there? I think that is where faith really [39:51] begins to work on me. Jesus was saying you can’t put new wine into old wineskins and [40:00] you can’t do that because the old wineskins can’t handle them and they will burst. When [40:05] you have a new wineskin and you put the new wine in it of Jesus Christ, well guess what? [40:10] That new leather stretches a little bit, it forms to it and it just fits. I think for

[40:20] many of us our relationships, even our marriages, even what we are looking for in a spouse that [40:26] we haven’t found yet, even our relationship with our parents, even our relationship with [40:31] our children, we are basing it on old life. We are basing it on that which was already [40:42] there. We are not basing it on that which is brand new and that is redemption in Jesus [40:51] Christ. If you want a marriage of and for the Gospel, redeem it, redeem it, redeem it.

[41:11] Be reconciled to God through the hope that is in Jesus Christ today. Pray with me. [41:22] Father, oh you have given us yourself. There was one time when we were outside of you, [41:40] when we didn’t know you, when we didn’t follow you, when we didn’t trust you, but through [41:46] your Son we see who you are and we see it plainly that you are the God who loves, you [41:53] are the God who cares, you are the God that came to redeem sinners and I pray that you [41:59] would give us the faith to follow you. Lord in this room there are relationships that

[42:05] are hurting. There are relationships that need your reconciliation to be restored. There [42:13] are relationships in here that need your hope. God may we put on the new life in Christ [42:21] and may we enter into a new season of living and loving one another. May you ruin what [42:29] we have and give us something greater. This morning we reflect on Jesus. His broken body [42:41] has shed blood. Here’s what I want you to understand. Those relationships that you [42:46] have in your life, they are in need of new life often times. What communion represents

[42:55] is the new life of Jesus coming into your life. He wants to change it forever. He wants [43:01] to redeem you, he wants to restore you. There’s going to be hard work because walking in new [43:06] skins is always hard. He’ll be there for you and so will your church. When you come [43:15] to take communion today I want you to do it and I want you to ask up here, back in the [43:20] back, I want you to ask God to continue to give you His life every day. Husbands if you [43:29] are in here come take communion with your wife. As you do it I want you to proclaim

[43:37] a new day in your marriage. A new life in your marriage. Where you are going to lead [43:44] her in following Jesus. If you are in here and you are single I want you to come up and [43:49] I want the life of Jesus to enter into you and you are going to say Jesus I want you [43:52] to lead me in my relationships now and future. For everybody in here, I want you to come [44:00] you are surrounded each and every day with people that don’t know Jesus. He’s calling [44:08] you to enter those relationships with His agenda so that they may know Him. He wants

[44:17] to give you the strength, the power, the knowledge and the redemption to offer them. When you [44:25] are ready come.