It Will Be SO Worth It! Part 2

Hello, and thanks for stopping by for this Friday edition of Destined for Victory with Pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor at Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. We'll get to today's message in just a moment, but first, Pastor Paul joins me from his studio in California. Pastor, thank you for your time. You know, we started out this year with a couple of messages that look toward the future. In fact, the book that we're offering to everyone who gives such a generous gift right now is called It Pays to Serve Jesus. Can we talk about that? Talk about the booklet and what's in it. How is this going to be helpful? Yeah, I'm glad to talk about this booklet.

It's based on a series that I did entitled It Will Be So Worth It. And it's a series where I look at the encounter Jesus had with a man we call the rich, young ruler. And he came to Jesus really eager to find out what it would take to receive and enjoy eternal life. And when Jesus told him what it would take, he won. He walked away sad because he was unwilling to part with his many possessions in order to gain eternal life. After that encounter, the disciples said, well, we've given up everything. And it kind of made them rethink, OK, what are we getting out of this deal? We gave up everything.

And what do we have to look forward to? And Jesus response is what the series is based on. Jesus said no one gives up everything. And he listed a number of things.

He said, who doesn't? He doesn't receive in this life with persecution one hundred fold and then they'll receive eternal life thereafter. And I'm helping people understand that an eternal perspective must always be in focus. The fact is it pays. It really does pay both in this life and in the life to come. It pays to serve Jesus, but it calls us to sacrifice and to surrender. And those of us that are willing to do it, we're going to see God bless us in wonderful ways. That is a great word of encouragement. Thank you, Pastor Paul. Certainly a perfect time for all of us to begin thinking that way as we kick off a brand new year. And you're right. Following Jesus does take sacrifice and surrender, something we'll learn about in today's message.

Young or old, no matter what your ethnicity, no matter what your lifestyle choices have been, Jesus demands the same thing of all of us. And it falls into four categories. Number one, your assets. Number two, your associations. Number three, your actions. And number four, your attitude.

That sounds like a tall order. But the good news is we serve a big God. One who is able to help you carry out His will, whatever that may be. Today, Pastor Paul Shepherd explains that everyone who chooses to follow Jesus will be asked to surrender to Him in four areas.

In our assets, our associations, our actions, and our attitude. The specifics may be different for some, but the foundation of followership is the same for all of us. So let's join Pastor Paul for today's message.

It will be so worth it. Now, I want you to understand something as we continue the last message. Jesus loved him, but His love didn't make him put discipleship or followership on a basement clearance sale. I need you to understand that because we have a lot of folks who try to emphasize grace to the exclusion of truth. Remember, the Bible says Jesus is grace and truth personified. The law came through Moses, but grace and truth come through Jesus Christ.

And you can't have one without the other. There is no grace that exes out truth. There is no truth that exes out grace. Jesus came being the fulfillment of God's promise to exercise grace and truth in our lives. So this young man, though he came in a very impressive way, remember I told you in the previous message, an impressive man came to Jesus in an impressive way. He was impressive, he was rich, he was young, and he was a ruler. We're told that in the three synoptic gospels.

Each gospel gives us a little piece of information that's helpful. He was rich, he was young, he was a ruler. I call him in 21st century urban vernacular, he's a baller. A lot of these young ladies want to hook up with a baller.

Amen. What y'all need to do is hook up with a man who has sense, who has God, and if he can't play ball, oh well. And you know, the term baller really references people who tend to be elite athletes and all that, or in some, but in a more general sense, they call a baller. Anybody who's just got his act together in urban America, some man who's sharp and makes good money legitimately, I hope, and that sort of thing. This young man was a rich, rich, he was a baller as well as young, and I talked about in the last message, how is that for a Facebook profile, a Twitter profile, a Instagram profile, just you, your picture grinning, and three words, rich, young, baller.

You will get blown up on social media. That's who this guy was, and he comes in an impressive way. I told you that he ran to Jesus when we're still trying to get folk to walk to church on time from the car they drove all the way to the church.

If I go down that road, I'll never recover, so I'll just leave it. I'll leave the Holy Ghost to finish preaching that to you. To show you don't come to church just, well I want to hear what he has to say, I don't need all that music. It's not about music, it's about worship. It's about telling the Lord you love him, it's about being a priest, offering to him your sacrifice of praise. Well I'm not crazy about who's leading the day, ain't that got nothing to do with it? I'm worshiping him.

Come on somebody. He's watching your worship. He's looking at your heart, and he's the one who has your reward. And so you need to teach yourself to come to church on time. Amen.

You go to your job on time if you want to get paid, don't want to get written up. Well why aren't we worried about getting written up in heaven? I told you I'm not going down that road, stop it. So this young man is impressive. He runs to Jesus, and when he gets there he kneels before Jesus. In other words he doesn't care what it looks like, he's not trying to impress people around, this is about I'm worshiping this guy.

They think I'm a baller here on earth, but I know this guy came from heaven and he's a baller for real. And he kneels before Jesus. And when he gets there he asks what must I do to inherit eternal life? Now that he has the answer to the question, which for him is you lack one thing, go sell what you have, give it to the poor, you'll have treasure in heaven, and come take up the cross and follow me. I don't think it was the cross that worried him.

Cause you know the average person wouldn't really understand what Jesus meant by that, even if they had witnessed criminals hung on a cross, they figure I'm not a criminal, so he's not talking about that. And maybe he didn't know what the cross part was, but it was that money that was the problem. And I came to tell you something, money is an issue not only for him, money is an issue for everybody.

We got to get that straight. We who don't have very much of it better get it straight, especially if you hoping and believing for more of it. Get money worked out so that that doesn't become a hindrance to what God wants to do in your life. See what happened is this young man expected that there might be a few additional commandments other than the ones he was already living by. Remember when Jesus mentioned a few commandments, the guy said oh, all those I've obeyed from my youth, I got that covered. So in asking what must I do to inherit eternal life, no doubt he's thinking he's going to give me a few other commandments maybe that I haven't thought about, and I'll make sure to obey them just like I obeyed the other ones, and I'll have eternal life. So when he hears okay, the next commandment for you is not a thou shalt not, it is a thou shalt.

Take your assets, liquidate them, give the money to poor people, and then you come back. And when he heard that, he walked away sad. He walked away, I don't believe this guy is asking me to give up what I have in order to gain eternal life. Here's what he needs to understand, he didn't realize that it wasn't a matter of a few additional requirements when it came to his behavior and lifestyle, because that's all that was mentioned in him following the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. He's now realizing Jesus isn't just saying there are a few other behavioral adjustments you'll need to make in order to gain eternal life, Jesus is saying I have to be Lord of you and everything about you. Now here's where it pertains to all of us, that's the requirement for followership, and it's the requirement not just for him or for the original disciples, it is the requirement for all of us. I said in the last message, churches have to just about repent for making people think getting saved is just a matter of praying the sinner's prayer. Jesus called people to follow, not to pray. I said he called us to follow, not to pray. Now if the prayer is what gets you connected with him, where you acknowledge that you're repenting of sin, that you're trusting him for salvation, nothing wrong with prayer, but you're not a follower just because you pray a prayer.

You're a follower when you go where he says go and do what he says do. We'll be right back with more of today's Destined for Victory message from Pastor Paul Shepherd. Remember you can always listen to the broadcast on demand at pastorpaul.net. That's pastorpaul.net where you'll find a host of great resources in our online store. You can also reach out to us with your prayer requests by using the contact feature at the top of our homepage. Ever wondered why Jesus asked the rich young ruler to give away all his possessions and follow him? The answer comes your way next in the rest of today's message.

It will be so worth it. Once again, here's Pastor Paul. And here's what I need all of us to understand. The only time you see this command where Jesus is speaking is here.

Why? Because everybody else was called to do the same thing by principle. You know why Peter wasn't told to go sell everything he had and give it to the poor?

He didn't have enough. He's a fisherman and all of tax collector Matthew was physician Luke was all of the different ways of making a living that were represented by the original disciples. They all were called to the same thing, which is follow me and follow me. And follow me, it means you leave behind what I tell you to leave behind and you follow me wherever I take you to do whatever I call you to do.

Here's the way I want you to lock it in in your life. There are several areas where Jesus is requiring followership and total surrender from all of us. So whether you're rich or poor, young or old, no matter what your ethnicity, no matter what your lifestyle choices have been, Jesus demands the same thing of all of us and it falls into four categories. Number one, your assets, number two, your associations, number three, your actions and number four, your attitude. Number one, your assets, number two, your associations, number three, your actions and number four, your attitudes.

what I want to tell you. You are not a follower of Christ if you give him three of the four categories. You have my money. I don't have enough to be hung up on. Some of y'all, we say, if Jesus was only requiring your money, you're like, bet, I got that right here.

$32.78. Now, I got eternal life, right? No, no, it's not that easy for you, because while your assets might not be something that you're hung up on, your associations, what do I mean by associations? The people in your life. If there are folks that are untouchable, you can't follow Jesus. Jesus, I love you and all, you saw I ran to you and I kneeled to you, and some people would say, but if you think you're going to change my relationship, you got no thought coming. If you think that I have to listen to you about all the people in my life, these are my road dogs, these are my homies, these are the people I roll with, I'm not giving them up, then for you, associations would cause you to walk away sad. For some of us, it is actions, it is behavioral things. Now, this young man happened to brag about, oh, I got, you know, do not commit adultery, do not do it.

He said, I've done those from my youth. Good, good, for some who can say that, but others cannot. Others of us have lifestyle issues that militate against the word of God. And let me tell you something, Jesus isn't putting discipleship on bargain basement sale. Well, for this week only, you can be a follower and do whatever you want with whoever you want.

You'll never see it. Not in the kingdom of God. He calls us to totally surrender all of our behavioral things that are out of conformity to the word of God. So don't come tell me, no, no, I believe in grace.

I do too. What does grace do? Grace does two things. Number one, it gives us God's unmerited favor, but grace also is an endowment whereby we have the ability to do whatever God's called us to do.

Grace is not permission to act up. Amen. I'll say my own amen in case you drop out. I just, I'll encourage myself. Preach doc. I'll act like I'm in black Baptist spirit. Come on up, doc. Preach doc.

That's right. You can't do whatever you want in the name of grace. Well, see, we're not married, but God understands.

Say what? What Bible you've been reading? Show me the person in scripture that is blatantly disobeying scripture and Jesus said, yeah, but don't worry about it.

My, my grace has you covered. Now here's what the Bible does teach about a wrong behavior. It does say, for instance, in first John chapter two, verse one, I talk about it a lot. I write these things to you children that you sin not. It is God's will always that we not live in sin.

Always no exceptions. And the next verse says, and if you sin, you have an advocate, Jesus Christ, the righteous. Now don't take that to mean, okay, so God wants me to not sin, but he understands. So when I sin every weekend, I know somebody said that you came to this service. Oh man. Why? Don't worry. I'm preaching the same thing at the next service.

You can't, you can't have a lifestyle that militates against the word and think you're in fellowship with him. Amen. And so yeah, have we all fallen short? Absolutely.

Absolutely. There's no single Christian, you know, who can say, I've always done everything the way God wanted me to do it immediately as soon as he commanded me to do it. But my point is you can't pretend to be right when you're wrong. John said, I write that you sin not. That's always God's plan. And if you sin, you have an advocate, not if you sin continually regularly. Just keep reading first john and he'll go on to tell you those that are born again really cannot live in a habitual practice of unrepentant sin. If you're not repenting, that means something's wrong on the heart level. Have we been caught up in snares at times?

Absolutely. I'm a witness. I know what that's like. But it's never God's will. And he always looks at your heart. And if your heart is right, he'll put you in a position where you can do something about what's in your heart. Don't ask God to wink at your disobedience. So some of us have some actions that have to be surrendered. Just because this guy said, Oh, no, my problem is just I'm not ready to give up my money.

Don't feel like you are off the hook. Because some people your relationships, some of you have a boo that you have no business having. They're leading you in the constant sin. And Jesus said give up the boo. Just like this man's supposed to give up his money. Give up the boo.

Amen. Look at your neighbor said give up the boo. Unless boo lines up with the will of God, the Word of God, the priorities of God's Word. Now if Bill was walking with Jesus, then go head on. But we got a lot of deception in today's world. You can't have a boo.

Yeah, yeah, my boo said he saved. Y'all got to quit looking at listening to what people say and look at what they do. Fuck will run all kind of game if you give them a chance to talk. That's how some people they spend their lives talking.

You got to stop listening and start looking. What about this? And then so they said, Well, well, you see, I know what I need to know. So your assets, your associations, your actions, finally, your attitudes, your attitudes, you know, you can live in sin, look like everything is right in terms of your behavior. But if your attitude is displeasing to God, you got to surrender those bad attitudes. Some of us have bad, funky attitudes, nasty attitudes, on Christ like attitudes. And for some people, they're proud of their attitudes. Everybody on your road proud as they can be of their attitude. I get everybody up off of me.

Nobody messes with the kid. They know I'm not playing. You ever seen folk who are proud that they're hateful? Proud that they're nasty. Some of them brag, Oh, this is in my whole family, all us. All of y'all are supposed to be letting Jesus have full reign in your life. When my family doesn't like you, we all let you know it. You don't have to wonder whether we like you.

You're gonna know instantly. That's how we roll. No, no. The question is how does Jesus roll? Because Jesus looked at this young man who eventually walks away after he gets the answer to the question. And he looked at him and loved him before he told him you got to surrender all meaning you love people because they exist, not because they act right. Which means you have to have your attitude clear of all malice of all stuff junk so that you can freely show the love of Christ. What is God asking you to give up today for the rich young ruler? It was his money and his possessions for you.

It may be something else. The price of followership is high, but it is always, always worth the sacrifice. Thanks so much for joining us for today's message.

It will be so worth it. Now we have a great booklet from pastor Paul that goes right along with today's message. And as you give your generous gift to Destin for Victory today, Pastor Paul would love to send it to you. It Pays to Serve Jesus is the title. It's a great reminder that even though we may be asked to give up a few things to follow Jesus, the rewards are well worth the sacrifice both in this life and in the one to come. Request your copy when you call 855-339-5500 to give over the phone or visit pastorpaul.net to make a safe and secure donation online or one more way to give is through the mail.

Address your envelope to Destin for Victory Post Office Box 1767, Fremont, California 94538. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Watch verse 21, key verse. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Jesus said, show me your wallet, show me your bank account, I'll show you your heart. That's Monday when Pastor Paul shares his message it will be so worth it. Until then enjoy your weekend and remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. In Christ you are destined for victory.