Gain the world, but lose your soul?

Well, last weekend, I was up in Minnesota where I'm originally from. I was teaching at a church up there. And since I'm from the area, a lot of my high school friends are still there as well. And even better, one of them has a boat. So Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes. There's lakes all over the place. So we took his boat out on one of, well, really the most famous lake in Minnesota. It's called Lake Minnetonka, just this huge lake. So me and my buddies get on this boat and we're driving all over the lake. And we're just catching up, hearing how we're doing, asking for parenting advice. All of us, we're parenting little kids. And on this lake, it's just like huge houses. The most expensive houses in Minnesota are on this lake. So you're used to seeing like really magnificent houses right back to back to back. But as we're talking and moving on the lake, all of a sudden, I just look up and I go, what in the world is that? What is that? It looked like this like country club right on the lake. I'd never seen it before. It looked brand new. And my buddy who's driving the boat, he goes, oh, that's a house. And it's actually for sale right now.

I'm like, let's go in on it. Let's buy it. Let's do it. Come on. He's like, well, check it out on Zillow. So I did. I pulled it up. It's $50 million. Yeah. $50 million. Now, my wife and I, we have been talking and this is an opportunity of a lifetime for one of you. Yeah. We have decided we're gonna go 50-50 on this with one of you. We're good for 50 bucks if you're good for 50 million. So 50-50. It's amazing. I mean, that house is almost twice the size of my house. Here, it's not. It's like 19 times the size of it. And it's just amazing. Like you're on this boat. You're like, this is unbelievable. I'll let you look at some of the pictures later, but here's just a few of them. Here's one from above at night. Amazing. You can't see, but there's a pool back there. There's this amazing boathouse.

It's just unbelievable. Here's some pictures from the inside. They've got, this is my favorite part. I know, it's like, it's a golf simulator in the house. Like in a cold Minnesota winter, you just hang out in there. It'd be unbelievable. Check out this next one. In the house. You got a sauna. I don't know what the one on the left is. It just looks like something a rich person would have. I mean, I don't know if it's a cold room or what. Check out this next one. I have no idea what this is. But again, if you've got money, you might as well build something where you can put your feet in the sand, pretend like you're in the ocean. I don't know. Some of you seem like you know what it is. You've got more money than I do. Check out the next one. You got a bowling alley. In the house, in the house. And there's more. I mean, it's just like picture after picture. It's like, what do you mean this is in one house? And I don't know what's going through your mind as you see those pictures.

I can tell you what's going through mine. My life would be better if I had that. It'd be amazing. I mean, can you imagine? Like my life would be so much better. If I had a golf simulator in my house, I mean, to fix my slice, that alone is worth $50 million to me. That'd be unbelievable. Or I mean, think about my walk with Jesus if I had this house. To wake up, get in the pool, pull out my Bible, overlook the lake. I mean, I'd preach much better sermons if I had that house. If you want better preaching, just give me some more money and I'll go buy the, do not do that. We're not one of those churches. We're not one of those churches. Do not do that. Well, I'm just looking at that going, my life would be amazing if I had that. And as we're driving through the lake, I'm just looking at this house, thinking those thoughts. And at the same time, the Holy Spirit hits me with this verse, Matthew chapter 16. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul?

Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Listen, if you have that house, but you don't have Jesus, you have nothing. Because one of these days, you and I, we're gonna die and it won't matter how many trinkets and treasures or how big our house was here. If you don't have Jesus, you have nothing. You've got nothing. Now, I wanna be clear where we're going with this message. This message is not a, it's bad to have nice things message. That's not what it is. What it is though is, it's bad for your nice things to have you. Can you glorify God with that house? Can you use that house for his purposes on this earth? Of course, of course. Is it easier not to? Of course, of course. Because it's so easy for the things of this world to grab hold of our heart and to pursue stuff here. And this message isn't just about the house. house or stuff here. All of us have things of this world that our heart loves. Maybe for you, it's to be in a certain social status. Maybe it's for you, it's for your appearance to look a certain way. Maybe for you, it's your 401k account. Maybe for you, it's that you join a certain country club. Like, I don't know what it is for you,

but all of us have things of this world that we love. And sometimes we've got things of this world that we love more than Jesus. In the text that we're gonna be looking at today, Jesus is gonna challenge us and he's gonna say, anything of this world that you try to pursue more than me or anything in this world that you try to protect. So anything you're trying to pursue or protect in this world more than me, it's simply not worth it. And we're continuing on in our sermon series called Answering Jesus. We're looking at all the different questions that Jesus asked during his time in ministry. And all across the Gospels, he asked 307 questions. I mean, that sounds like a man who didn't know a lot. The only thing is he knew everything. He was all knowing. So why did he ask these questions? He wasn't asking these questions to figure out the answer. He was asking these questions so that his hearers might wrestle through what their answer might be. These questions were applicable to his disciples and listeners then, and they are very applicable to us today as well. So we've looked at two of them already. This morning, we're gonna look at another, the one that was just up on the screen, Matthew chapter 16. So if you have your Bibles, you can open them up to Matthew chapter 16. We are gonna be at the tail end of this chapter,

but I wanna give you some context on where we're at in the story of Scripture here, because this is an important moment in Matthew's Gospel. Right before this moment is a key point in Matthew's writing because this was a moment where Jesus went with his disciples and he said, who do the people say that I am? You know, you're with the people, you're with the crowds. Who do they say that I am? And they spoke up and they say, you know, the people say that you're a prophet or maybe you're John the Baptist or maybe you're Elijah. And then Jesus said, but who do you say that I am? Who do you think that I am? And Simon, always the first to speak, he just blurts out. He goes, you are the Messiah. You're the son of the living God. I know who you are. And Jesus said, absolutely, praise God, you got that right. And since you got that right, I'm actually gonna change your name. You used to be Simon, now you are Peter, which means rock. And then Jesus says on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. It's almost like a pregame locker room speech. Jesus is going, we're gonna win. Yeah, we've got an enemy, but that enemy stands. No chance, we're gonna storm the gates of hell and we're gonna win. And Simon, your name is now Peter.

You got the answer right. Like momentum is building, but the momentum's all about to change. Because while Jesus renamed Simon to Peter in just five verses later, we're gonna see Jesus give Peter a different name. So check this out, Matthew chapter 16. We're gonna start reading in verse 21. It says this, from that time on, now that's an important phrase because everything has just shifted in Matthew's gospel. Leading up to this point, Jesus was trying to display who he was. And now that they know who he was, he's going to show them what he came to do. From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Never, Lord, he said, this shall never happen to you. Jesus turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. Now again, right before this moment in scripture, Jesus is building up the momentum. It feels like a crescendo is happening.

And then all of a sudden it's like record scratch moment. Jesus goes, the gates of hell will not prevail. Now it seems like they will. He goes, we're gonna win. And now he says, but I'm gonna die. Now, how can those things be true? You can almost understand what's going through Peter's mind here. He's going, man, that last question was a test and I got that one right. This must also be a test. Surely he's testing us. So I'm gonna ace this test as well. Like surely he doesn't mean he's actually gonna die. So the text says, Peter takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him, which really to rebuke means to admonish sharply. As I was reading this, I was reminded of what. I do in our home. Like oftentimes, our two oldest girls, they start fighting, and then sometimes one of them will just hit the other one. So then I have to take them aside and rebuke them. I admonish them sharply. I just tell them, hey, this ain't what we do in this family. Hilgan camps don't hit. That's not what we do. We love our sister. This is not how we act if you're in our family.

We're gonna be different than that. This is what Peter does here. He takes Jesus aside and rebukes him. He admonishes him sharply. He goes, hey, this isn't what we do. Like on this team, we don't die. We're not losers. We win. You just told us that we're gonna win. We don't die on this team. And then Jesus replies with some of the sharpest words in all the gospels. Jesus turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. And Peter goes from the rock to a stumbling block, just like that. You know, Peter, he probably thought, you know, I thought I was doing the right thing. Like I said, I don't want you to die. That seems like the right way of thinking here. I thought I had the right idea. But Jesus corrects him and says, no, your concerns are not in line with my concerns. This is point number one. First thing we need to understand from this text, point one, let Jesus shape your concerns. We must let Jesus shape our concerns. That verse 23 has been so helpful for me this week.

If you've got your Bibles open, just look at it again. Jesus turns to him and says, you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. I think that's such an important verse for us because oftentimes we do not have in mind God's concerns, but rather human's concerns. You know, our concerns, they may seem like good concerns to us. It may seem like a good thing for us to buy that car. It may seem like a good thing for us to move to that city. It may seem like a good thing for us to have our kid join that select sports team. But have you asked Jesus about it? Like, have you asked him, hey, this seems right for our family to join this team, to buy this thing, to move to this city, to take this job. It seems right to us, but is it aligned with your will? Have you gone to God and said, what do you want me to do? Have you searched his word? Have you submitted to his spirit? Have you asked his people and tried to figure out, are my concerns aligned with God's concerns or not? And the issue is, what I've learned, when we act before we ask, we get into trouble. When we act before we ask, we get into trouble. I've just seen this happen in my life personally. A couple of years ago, my wife and I, we had decided that we were gonna get a new vehicle for her. We were about to have our third kid.

So we needed a bigger vehicle to carry them all. So we made that decision one night, she goes to bed and I just decide, well, I'm gonna find our vehicle. Like right now, like there's just something in me that I can't like sit on inaction. If there's a decision that needs to be made, something that needs to be done, I'm just gonna go do it. So that night I pull up cars.com and I searched all over the state. I'm looking at DFW, I'm looking at Austin, I'm looking at College Station, I'm looking at car dealerships here to try to find the vehicle that would be best for her. And I found one here in Waco. It was amazing, had everything that she said she was looking for. And that next day I was driving from here to downtown. And since I was making that drive, I was gonna be passing by the car dealership. So I thought, well, I'm just gonna stop by and get my eyes on that car. So I stopped, looked at the car. Someone said, hey, do you wanna test drive that car? I said, absolutely. I test drove it and it was amazing. Like this thing was absolutely perfect, had everything that we were wanting. So I'm like, well, it's got low mileage, now can I just get the price down more? So I go in, start talking to that salesperson.

I'm just negotiating. I get it down to a point where I'm like, this is a no brainer. So I walk outside, I call my wife and I say, okay, so last night we were talking about the vehicle and we decided we're gonna get a vehicle. Well, last night I actually found one. It was here in Waco. And then today I had a meeting downtown. So I was gonna be passing by the dealership. So I stopped at the dealership. I actually test drove it. It's awesome. Like this thing's amazing. Had everything that you were looking for. So then I went inside and I actually got the price down to this. And then there was silence on the other end. And I'm just assuming she's about to say, I married my dream husband. Like you are better than I could have hoped or dreamed. Instead, she said, I don't want that car. I was like, what do you mean you don't want it? It has everything that you said you wanted. She says, no, I don't want it. I'm actually, I'm wanting a Ford. That's what I want. I was like, but no, no, no, no, I test drove it. This thing's amazing. Like it's got everything you want.

Just trust me on this one. This one's awesome. And then she just replied, get behind me, Nathan. You do not have in mind my concerns, but only your concerns. She didn't say that, but she did say, are you buying this for me or for you? Like, I thought this was gonna be my vehicle and you didn't even ask me what I wanted. You just went out and did it on your own. You know, I think at least for me, that's how I can operate a lot of the time. I know what needs to happen, so I'm gonna get it done. Anytime my wife is in the message, I tell her about it in advance. So I was going through this message just saying, hey, this is what I'm gonna say. And she replied with, which time? I was like, what do you mean which time? She goes, you did that with our first car too. I was like, oh, I did, I remember that phone call. It's like, oh my goodness, but that's just me. I'm like, I'm gonna do it. I know what the right thing to do is, so I'm just gonna do it. I don't need to ask. I'm gonna figure it out for you. I'm gonna bless you. And she's going, it's not a blessing to me for you to act without asking.

Think oftentimes in our relationship with God, especially if you've been following Him for a while, you're like, I know what to do. I'm gonna give that amount of money. I'm gonna take that job. I'm gonna move to that city. I'm going to do that thing for our family. Look at what I did, Lord. And He's like, you didn't even ask me. Like, this isn't what I want for your life. This is what you want for your life. Your concerns are not in line with my concerns. My question to you is, have you gone to Jesus and said, what do you want me to do with my time, with my gifts, with my stuff? Or are you just like me? You're just acting without asking. In many of your things that you're deciding on in your life, man, maybe they seem like good things. Here, Peter's concern seemed like a good thing. He didn't want his best friend to die. Seemed like a good concern. But think about what he was asking Jesus to do. Like, think about if Jesus had said, you know what, Peter, that's a good idea. I won't die. If he would have listened to Peter, Peter would still be dead in his sins. Death would still have the final say. Satan would still have the victory.

Peter was asking Jesus not to do the very thing that would save him. Praise Jesus that Jesus didn't listen to Peter. Praise Jesus that Jesus doesn't listen to me because oftentimes we do not have in mind God's concerns, but our concerns. We must submit our concerns to him. William Barclay, in commenting on this passage, he had this to say. He said, Jesus was saying to Peter, Peter, your place is behind me, not in front of me. It is your place to follow me in the way that I choose, not to try to lead me in the way that you would like me to go. You see, many of us would rather be leaders of Jesus than followers of Jesus. Jesus, I'm gonna go to this place. I'm gonna do this thing. And he's going, no, no, your job is not to lead me, but to follow me. So point one, first thing we must learn from this text is that we must let Jesus shape our concerns. So Jesus has just said, I'm gonna die, but then it actually just gets worse for the disciples. He says this next. Then Jesus said to his disciples, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? So he's saying, not only will I die, but if you're gonna be my disciple, if you're gonna follow me, you will also follow me to your own cross. I'm calling on you to pick up your cross, deny yourself. That's where you're headed. Now, this would have been shocking language for the disciples, but it would have been crystal clear what he was asking them to do, because crosses in that time were very commonplace. They would have seen many during their time on earth, because the Roman government at this time, they used crosses like billboards. As you were entering into a city, they would crucify people on the side of the road, on either side of the road, so that as you entered into the city, you would see people who were dying and bleeding out, just brutally suffocating to death, like going through the worst of the worst. They'd be crying out to you saying, help me, save me. It'd just be an awful thing to witness. As you'd be walking into the city, you'd cover the eyes of your children so they wouldn't have nightmares looking at what was. on the side of the road. But the Romans did it to say, we are in charge.

And if you steal from us, you die. If you start an insurrection, you die. If you hurt us, you die. Jesus is saying here, if you follow me, you die. This is what's headed your way. But, he said, it's a good trade. He said, if you're gonna follow me, you're gonna have to deny yourself. You're gonna have to pick up your own cross. You're gonna have to lose your life. But it'll be a good trade. Verse 25, Jesus says this, for whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. You see, when you give me your hopes and dreams and desires and finances, when you give me all of it, then my goodness, you're gonna experience life. An abundant life here and an eternal life later. Is it gonna be hard? Yes. But is it gonna be good? Yes. And this is point number two. Second thing we need to learn, we must lose our life to find our life. Lose your life to find your life. And the problem for many of us is that phrase, lose your life is haunting to us. Rather than lose our life, we'd rather control our life. We would rather control our finances, control our health,

control our career path, control our kids, control our social status. We want control. It's in all of us. I recently heard of example of someone who is trying to control his life. He's gotten a national notoriety. His name's Brian Johnson. He's trying to control his health in a way that he wants to live forever. He's trying to defeat death. He's done a lot of research and what the best way to live your life is so you can live as long as possible. So Netflix actually picked up on his story. They've done a documentary. It's called Don't Die, The Man Who Wants to Live Forever. So he lives his life in a rather extreme way. He goes to bed every single night. At 8.30 p.m., he wakes up at 5 a.m. Then he eats all of his meals from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. and he eats exactly 1,977 calories every single day. He takes 30 supplements every day and then he also goes through frequent MRIs to make sure that he knows what's going on in his body. He goes through red light therapy. He's got a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. He's actually done a blood transfusion with his son's blood. He doesn't go outside if the UVs are above three. He's just doing everything possible

to try to make sure that he stays healthy for as long as possible. He's just trying to control his life. Then last week, he announced that he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder where his stomach is actively eating itself. Now, I don't share that to celebrate that at all. I just share that to show you can do all the quote-unquote right things. You can control your life. I mean, you can hold your life with tight fists and make sure that you do everything right, but it will not take long for life to show you you ain't in control. You're not the one who has the final say over your life. I share that story not to just say, man, look how crazy he is, but the things that might disgust us with him are in all of us. His desire to control his life is our desire to control our life as well. The difference is he's got a Netflix show and we don't. Maybe for you, it is your desire to control your health, but maybe for you, it's your finances. You are frequently opening up your banking account app to make sure that you know exactly how much money you have. You're frequently monitoring your spending to make sure that you are preserving your finances. You're every single day monitoring the stock market. If it goes up, you're having a good day.

If it goes down, you're having a bad day because you're just trying to control and protect your stuff. Maybe for you, you're trying to control your appearance. Like this morning, you spent a long time in the mirror making sure that you looked a certain way, and you spent a long time on Amazon or on more expensive stores, trying to buy the right thing so that you'd look a certain way. You're just trying to control, control, control, control, but controlling your life does not lead to flourishing. Jesus says this here, rather than try to control your life, he says again, verse 25, for whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. You don't control your life. You give your life to me, and let me direct you in the way you should go, and when you do that, you will find a life that is truly life. Now, what does that actually look like? Let me tell you a couple of stories of people here in our church. We are about to commission two long-term overseas missionaries this fall. They're gonna be going to Northern Africa. And one of them, he had gone to Baylor for undergrad and he'd gone to Baylor Law School. He had graduated and got an offer from a big mega law firm in Houston

and had just this massive salary. It's really like the dream job that he had worked for his entire life. But at the same time, he was sensing a call to overseas mission. So he was on this path that people would give their life for but he felt like God was leading him elsewhere. So he just submitted to God and said, God, what do you want me to do? And he felt like other people confirmed, go long-term overseas. So he said no to that opportunity and instead stayed here to be trained up so he could be sent out. Our other long-term overseas missionary, she had finished up school at Baylor and had been accepted to a great three-year program, grad school program at Texas Tech. But the summer before she was going to Tech for grad school, she had gone on a mission trip with us here. And then ever since she did that, she just started feeling this sense like this is what I'm supposed to do. But she started school and went through the fall semester all the while going, I don't think this is what God wants for my life. But this was an amazing program, was gonna set her up for an amazing opportunity. So she went to the dean to see if she could get out of this grad school program.

She had a bunch of scholarships that she had earned that she needed to stay in school for, but she asked the dean and said, hey, I just sensed that God's calling me elsewhere and can I get out? The dean said, yes, she left everything to come back here to be trained up and to be sent out. They're going, God, I am willing to lose my life so I could find it. Now, lest you think I'm telling you the only way to lose your life and find it is by going into full-time ministry. Here's another example of someone in our church body. He was in full-time paid ministry and he sensed that God was directing him elsewhere. He felt like God was leading him to become a professor. So he lost his life and went into become a professor who is now a professor in the law school at Baylor and now he's doing full-time ministry as a professor, discipling and evangelizing with students there. That's what it could look like. Now, those are big examples of people changing their career, but here are a couple of other more daily options. Last week, we had a young adult who was buying his groceries as he was checking out, he just felt like the Holy Spirit was prompting him to buy a gift card for a young family here at Harris Creek that might need help with groceries. But he's like, I don't know anyone in that position.

Why would I buy this if I don't actively know someone? But he just couldn't help but think, man, the Holy Spirit is prompting me to do this. So he did, he bought a gift card, stuck it in his wallet and he's on our young adult leadership team. So he showed up to our leadership team that same week and someone came to that meeting and said, hey, we've got a young family who's about to have a baby here at Harris Creek. They came to us saying, hey, we can't pay for our groceries. Is there anything we could do to help? He just pulls out his wallet and he goes, I know what we can do. God already prompted me. See, that's the good stuff right there. That's the good life. That money could still be in his bank account or he could live life to the full. That's a story he's gonna be telling the rest of his life. Here's another example. Just this last week, we had about 50 young adults give up PTO for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday to go to youth camp, to hang out with seventh graders. They gave up their time, their time at work, their PTO to go play, I was there on Wednesday, to go play ultimate Frisbee with a frozen pizza. That's what they were doing with their time off. I'm on my own, I'm kind of like, I'd rather have a self-care day with my PTO, but you're playing ultimate Frisbee with a frozen pizza

with seventh graders. Why would they do that? Because they felt like God was calling them to do that. And then on Thursday night, when the gospel was presented and they asked anyone to stand up if they wanna place their faith in Jesus, and 21 students stood up to place their faith in Jesus, they got to be there for it. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Woo! Woo! Woo! And then the next day, they got to be there as we baptized 25 youth students who said, I wanna follow Jesus the rest of my life. You see, they could have taken the day off to drink some coffee and read a book, or they could take PTO to go see people go from death to life. Now again, here's the thing, I was there on Wednesday, we had a lot of young adults, almost exclusively young adults there serving and leading. They all had to take PTO. Again, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. My challenge to you, next year, let's get some people there who don't have to take PTO because you don't. You don't have a job, you're old, you're retired. Yeah, and you can go at no cost.

I had the food there too, if we go back there. The food was great. Like you're gonna love it and you are gonna be the coolest person ever as they watch you play ultimate Frisbee with the frozen pizza. They're gonna be like, I wanna faith like that guy. I wanna play faith like that girl. And it's gonna be the best week of your summer. Or you could stay at home. Or you could just keep doing what you're currently doing, trying to protect your time, protect your money, protect your giftings, because all those things might be a little bit uncomfortable. Jesus said here, pick up your cross. It's gonna be hard to follow me. So what might he be asking you to do? I don't know. I don't know what that is for you. My challenge is go to him and say, God, what would you have me do with my time, with my gifts, with my things? What would you have me do? And then try to listen to what he might say through his spirit. Listen to what he has said through his word and ask your life group, ask God's people, what do you think God would have me do? And if you feel clearly, this is what God is having me to do, then do it.

And offering up your life to him with open hands. It's not a threat that he's gonna take the thing that you most want. It's just an opportunity for him to use everything in your life for his glory and for your good. So point number two, second thing we need to understand, point two, lose your life to find your life. Now, Jesus says here, you must lose your life. But what he's not saying is that this life doesn't matter. He's not saying your things here don't matter, your time here doesn't matter, your gifts don't matter. Actually, what he's saying in this chunk of scripture is all of those things matter far more than what we understand. Because next, he says this, verse 27. For the son of man is going to come in his father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. It's not that this life doesn't matter, it matters far more than you know. Then verse 28, truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the son of man coming in his kingdom. What many biblical scholars believe is what he's saying there is you will not taste death before you see the son of man coming into his kingdom. What happens directly after this is the transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain, and on this mountain, Jesus is glorified.

We don't know exactly what it looked like, but he was clearly seen in glory alongside Moses and Elijah. So these are two men who were dead, but they're also clearly somehow alive here. They look glorified, and so Peter, James, and John are being allowed to see the curtain being drawn back of there's something else spiritual. There's another spiritual dimension. There's another spiritual life. Jesus is saying here, remember, this life is not all there is. There is a next life. There is a spiritual reality, so don't live for here. Live for there, and this is point number three, third thing we must understand. Point three, live for the right rewards. Live for the right rewards. Now, this is something that can be oftentimes missed in Christian teaching, probably because we want to emphasize grace, which is a very, very good thing. To make no mistake about it, we are saved by grace through faith, not by works, so that no one can boast. We are saved by grace, not through your works. But I do believe that the scripture teaches that there are two judgments in heaven. I don't know if you know that or have realized that, but I do believe there are two judgments in heaven. Revelation chapter 20 says there will be the great white throne of judgment. This one is simple.

It's are you in or are you out? Are you in the Lamb's book of life or are you not? And to be in means you believe that God so loves you that he sent his one and only son to live a perfect life, 33 years, obeying the law that you and I never could, only to be crucified to die the death that you and I deserve to die because of our sin. And he atoned for your sin and then three days later, rose again from the dead. If you believe in him, your sins are forgiven and you're gonna be in eternity with Jesus forever and ever and ever and ever. Simple. Do you believe in him or do you not? Are you in or out? That's the first judgment. But the second judgment is the judgment seat for rewards in heaven based on what we have done here. I mean, Jesus says it here in Matthew chapter 16. It's actually really all across the New Testament. Here's another example. Second Corinthians chapter five. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each of us may receive what is due for us, the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Matthew six, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, if you pray in secret, then your heavenly father will reward you. If you give in secret, then your heavenly father will reward you.

fast and secret, then your Heavenly Father will reward you. All across the New Testament, there's this teaching of you will be rewarded for what you have done in eternity. It's not gonna get you in, but it will impact your experience when you are in. Now, you may be thinking, what does that mean? What are those rewards that he's talking about? Well, Scripture doesn't really make it clear. It's not necessarily clear in Scripture, but I did go to seminary, and I have my Master's of Divinity, so I've done some research, and I've realized rewards are good. Yeah. So I don't know what they are, but you want them. Like, you want rewards. There is a bit of faith there. Like, man, I'm just gonna take you at your word. I don't know what it looks like, but you said I'll be rewarded if I'm living my life to you. So, if that's the case, that I will be rewarded, I want to live my life for those things. It's an easy decision. I think it looks like this. A year ago, my daughter, my oldest daughter, she lost her first tooth. She was at a friend's house, and she fell against a steel, a metal chair, and so her tooth is just, like, hanging there by a thread. So I ended up taking her to the dentist, and we had to get that pulled, and it's just awful

seeing your kids in pain. So I took her to HEB, and I was like, buy essentially anything you want. Like, there is a cap on this for sure, but pick out a toy. Like, pick out any toy you want, essentially, and I'll get it for you. She picked out a toy, brought it home. And then the next week, I was putting her down to bed, was reading a book called Fancy Nancy and the Too Loose Tooth, and it's a book about how Fancy Nancy lost her tooth at school, so she got a tooth necklace. And so we finished reading this book, and my oldest, Jaycee, she looks up at me, and she goes, Dad, can I lose all my teeth? Like, right now. Can I lose my teeth right now? I'm like, what do you mean? She's like, well, I lost my tooth and got a toy. She lost her tooth, she got a toy. If that's how this works, take my teeth. All of them. Like, if I trade this tooth for a toy, it's a no-brainer for me. Take them all, because I want that. I did have to correct her and say, no, you do want your teeth. And they will fall out eventually, but you want them right now.

But I just love that simple thinking from a child. That is better than this. And if that's the case, take it all. Like, take all this stuff. If the cause is worthy, the cost doesn't matter. I think what Jesus is trying to tell us is this. You've got eternal rewards that are available for you that will experience your eternity. Like, for the rest of the rest of the rest of the rest of the rest of the rest. And he's looking at us going, and all you gotta do is sign up to serving kids ministry. It's an unbelievable deal. Like, you serving kids, and you experience rewards for the rest of the rest of the rest of the rest of the rest. Maybe it's not just kids ministry. Maybe it's that you've got a pool. Invite people over to your pool, host them well, and you'll be rewarded for that. It's an amazing deal. Like, we should look at this and go, I get rewards for using my time, talents, and treasures here? Well, take it. Like, if the cause is worthy, the cost doesn't matter. So Jesus is challenging us here in this text, saying, don't just store and pursue and protect the things here, but instead use it for my glory and my purposes on this earth, and you will be rewarded. I don't know about you,

but I'd much rather have rewards for all of eternity than to experience some pleasures here on this earth. So what might Jesus be asking you to do? What might he be asking you to give up? How might he be asking you to participate in his mission? I don't know what that is, but I just do believe that our application for this message is to go to him specifically with the things we want to hold the tightest and say, what would you have me do with it? And I want to do it for your name and your glory. So in summary, point one, let Jesus shape your concerns. Point two, lose your life to find your life. And point number three, lived your life for the right rewards. You know that house from the opening illustration? I'd looked it up on Zillow, and let me read what is on this house's Zillow report. It was on it. It says this. Words alone cannot do justice to this residence. It stands as one of the most spectacular waterfront estates ever constructed in the Midwest, a crown jewel. Every aspect of the property is adorned with high-end imported, hand-selected, and curated finishes. Unquestionably, it is the number one site on Lake Minnetonka, offering an unparalleled degree of privacy and commanding west-facing views. This meticulously crafted home was in the design phase for two years, followed by a five-year construction journey. The owner played an integral role in every aspect from traveling the source materials

to finding the furniture. Every detail was overseen with great care. Unfortunately, the owner passed away before obtaining the certificate of occupancy. Think about that. This man spent his whole life on that. He spent his whole life saving more and more and more and more and more money to eventually, he had the finances to buy the most pristine property on this lake. And then once he bought the property, he was gonna build his dream house. So this said he spent two years just in the design phase, making sure the golf simulator was in the right place, the pool was the right size, the bathrooms were in the right places. Let's add a sauna, let's take away this, let's add this. For two years, was simply designing it. Then for five years, he oversaw with every detail the construction journey. He traveled across the globe to find the right rugs, the right furniture, the right stone, the right wood. And as soon as he was about to move in, his life was taken from him. I just read that my jaw dropped to the floor because I was just reminded of the parable that Jesus told in Luke chapter 12, this man who built bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger barns for himself. And Jesus said this in Luke chapter 12, verse 20,

you fool, this very night, your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? I don't know who this man was or where he is now, but I'm confident that if we were to ask him, what's more worth it, that house or a relationship with Jesus, he'd get before you and he'd beg for you to understand nothing else matters but Jesus. Nothing matters but a relationship with Jesus. I wanna leave you with this quote. From C.T. Pan, C.T. Studd, he said, only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. Only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. Listen, you can get the dream home. You could drive the car of your dreams. You can get the job of your dreams. You could be in the coolest social setting here in Waco. You could look beautiful the rest of your life. And if you don't have Jesus, one day you will die and you will lose everything. But on the other hand, if you use your time, talents and treasures here for his sake, one day you will die and you will gain everything. So to answer Jesus' question, it is not worth it to gain the whole world, but to lose your soul. Let me pray that we would.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the word of God. Thank you for using this text to speak to my life. I need this reminder. Oftentimes, I want to be great in this world. I want to just get more for me. I want to protect my money just to do whatever I want to do with it. But Father, thank you for this text that says, we're not in control and it's only when you lose your life do we find it. So would all of us leave here today with open hands, saying, I don't wanna gain the world, I don't wanna lose my soul. So Father, you do whatever you wanna do with my stuff, with my money, with my time, with my talents. Do whatever you want to do with my life because I don't want to live for the world, I want to live for eternity. And then I pray that we would take steps of faithfulness, doing whatever you have asked us to do to bring you glory and to participate in your mission. And God, more than anything else, we just wanna give you praise because we are saved and forgiven and because Jesus lived, died, and rose again for us. And it's because of the fact that he's alive and with us and for us. We can pray in his name, amen.