Mattering Week 5 : Beyond | Pastor Bryan Jarrett | Northplace Church

pastoring North Place Church in the Dallas Fort Worth area for almost 20 years. We're one church that meets in multiple locations even on multiple continents and today you are one of those locations. The church is not about buildings it is about people and we have the privilege today of sharing the hope of the gospel with you right where you are. There is no way I can know exactly what you're going through or dealing with right now but for almost 30 years I have preached about a God who I know I am confident knows you your struggles knows the very hairs on your head and the thoughts that you think before you think them and he is passionately in love with you and our prayer today is that in our time together you feel our love for you and his presence and we pray that this time together gives you hope. Thank you for joining us. In worship and are you thankful to be free on today we thank you God for our freedom and our hope in you I'm shaking off the heaviness and there's an out of my regrets I'm throwing caution to the wind I am not a shame to praise like this someone say it's foolishness but I say it's worth the risk I can't forget what Jesus did no I am not ashamed to praise like this where are those chains that will tell me I'm free I'm free I'm free I'm free my sin is gone how can it be I'm free I'm free I'm free I'm free looking what the Lord has said I'm never going back to the way I'll sing I'll dance because I really I'm free I'm free thank God I'm free I'm finding that never quits yes no one of those good at this what it was says I'll never be ashamed to praise like this there are those chains that was held I'm free I'm free I'm free it's gone how can it be I'm free I'm free I'm free looking what the Lord has said I'm never going back to the way I was I'll sing I'll dance because I be I'm free I'm free thank God I'm free you took the cross and you broke your body you shake your blood now the sinner can't see my dad is paid and my record is late I couldn't do it so you did it for you took the cross and you broke your body you said your blood now the sinner can't see my dad is paid and my record is late I couldn't do it you took the cross You broke your eyes, and you broke your eyes

And the devil says your blood is now the same I don't need pain My pain is pain in my brain I couldn't do it I couldn't do it I couldn't do it Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, Only God can do it, only God can do it I'm free, I'm free, I'm free My sin is gone My pain is me, I'm free, I'm free Look at what the Lord has done I'm never coming back to the way of God I'm seeing our death cause I'm in me I'm free, I'm free, I'm free My God, I'm free, yeah You took the cross and you broke your body You said it but now the sin I can see Then it's raining, my record is clean I couldn't do it, only God can do it You took the cross and you broke your body [Music] [Music] [Music] There's anybody else grateful today for what the Lord has done. And we are celebrating today with six people in this service, 17 across all of our services today, people who are going all in with Jesus and water baptism, who are saying, I'm now following Jesus. He's changed my life, no turning back, and we're going to rejoice with Heaven. The Bible says that all of Heaven rejoices when even one person comes and gives their life to Jesus.

And we're celebrating with 17 today across our services and campus family. It's a party in Heaven and it's a party at North Place Church. So we want to invite you as each of these people go public with their faith and invite us as their spiritual family into that moment and into that celebration. Would you just shout with praise to God, thank Him, because every single one of them that are coming up out of that water is a reminder to us that God is still saving, that God is still redeeming, that God is still at work, God is still changing hearts, God is still changing lives, and He is worthy of all the praise. So rejoice with them, celebrate with them, pray for them, and let's stand with them as they go public with their faith and make this declaration today. Jesus, we love you, we thank you, we worship you, we thank you for water baptism, a symbol that the old life is gone and the new life in Jesus has come, that we've been raised to life with Christ from the old self, and you've made us a new person, you've made us a new creation in Christ Jesus. We worship you, we praise you, we honor you today in Jesus' name. Amen, come on, would you just thank God for what He's going to continue to do in this service today. We fix our eyes on Jesus. Amen. All our love is found in Jesus. You are the center of our God. ♪ Maybe we made this complicated ♪ ♪ Lord, it never's ever meant to be ♪ ♪ Hasn't it always been about the same ♪ ♪ Lord, bring this back to simple things ♪ ♪ Lord, you be the center of you ♪ ♪ My heart belongs to you ♪ ♪ My Savior, all you ♪ ♪ You're the one I move on to ♪ ♪ You're the beauty of your name ♪ ♪ My soul will live to say ♪

♪ Jesus, I love you ♪ ♪ Teach us to discern the world ♪ ♪ And keep us awake towards and forward ♪ ♪ Just like me ♪ ♪ Trolls the better things ♪ ♪ Will you be the center ♪ ♪ You are the center of you ♪ ♪ My heart belongs to you ♪ ♪ My Savior, all in ♪ ♪ You're the one I hold on to ♪ ♪ For the beauty of your name ♪ ♪ My soul will live to say ♪ ♪ Jesus, I love you ♪ # My heart will go to you # # My Savior, all # # You're the one I've put on to # # For the beauty of your name # # My soul will intercede # # Jesus, I love you # # Oh, how I love you # # Oh, how I love you # # Jesus, I love you # # Oh, how I love you # # Yeah # # Oh, how I love you # # Jesus, I love you # # My whole life # # For your glory, my whole world # # For you, only everything # # For the honor of your name #

# In my days # # Tell the story # # Let it be # # Of you, only everything # # For the honor of your name # # Come on to clear this place, hey # # For your glory, my whole world # # For you, only everything # # For the honor of your name # # And in my days # # Tell the story # # Let it be # # Oh, how I love you # # Tell the story # # Let it be # # Of you, only everything # # For the honor of your name # # In my whole life # # For you, only everything # # For your glory, my whole world # # For you, only everything # # For the honor of your name # # In my days # # Tell the story # # Let it be # # Of you, only everything # ♪ We are the order of You, O King ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You ♪ ♪ Jesus, I love You ♪

♪ Oh, how I love You, O Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You ♪ ♪ Jesus, I love You ♪ ♪ My whole life and my whole life ♪ ♪ For You glory, my whole life ♪ ♪ For You all of me, everything ♪ ♪ For the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ In My place and the storm ♪ ♪ For You all of me ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You ♪ ♪ You are the name ♪ ♪ In My whole life and for the glory, my whole life ♪ ♪ For You all of me, everything ♪ ♪ For the honor of Your name ♪ ♪ In My place and the storm ♪ ♪ Let it be for Your glory to Your name ♪ ♪ Oh, I love You all of me ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You ♪ ♪ Jesus, I love You ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You ♪ ♪ Oh, how I love You ♪ ♪ Jesus, I love You ♪ ♪ Oh, for You are the center of You ♪ ♪ My heart belongs to You ♪ ♪ My Savior, all ♪ ♪ You're the one I put onto ♪ ♪ For the beauty of Your name ♪ ♪ My soul will live to save ♪ ♪ Jesus, I love You ♪

♪ My soul will live to save ♪ ♪ Jesus, I love You ♪ ♪ My soul will choose to save ♪ ♪ We're gone ♪ ♪ What a beautiful name it is ♪ ♪ What a beautiful name it is ♪ ♪ The name of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ I keep what a beautiful name it is ♪ ♪ And nothing compares to this ♪ ♪ What a beautiful name it is ♪ ♪ The name of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ You didn't want heaven without us ♪ ♪ So Jesus, you brought heaven down ♪ ♪ My sin was great, but your love was greater ♪ ♪ So what could separate all this now ♪ ♪ What a wonderful name it is ♪ ♪ What a wonderful name it is ♪ ♪ The name of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ What a wonderful name it is ♪ ♪ And nothing compares to this ♪ ♪ What a wonderful name it is ♪ ♪ The name of Jesus ♪ ♪ What a wonderful name it is ♪ ♪ The name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Do we just begin to fill this room with our worship today ♪ ♪ If He is truly the center ♪ ♪ If He is truly the one who we give our lives to to honor ♪ ♪ Can we do that even in this moment together as one room ♪ ♪ As sons and daughters ♪ ♪ Death could not hold ♪

♪ The veil tore before ♪ ♪ Silence the post ♪ ♪ A seed and grave ♪ ♪ The heaven's are all ♪ ♪ The praise of your glory ♪ ♪ For you are thanks to life again ♪ ♪ And you have no rival ♪ ♪ And you have no evil ♪ ♪ And now and forever God you pray ♪ ♪ Yours is the Kingdom ♪ ♪ Yours is the glory ♪ ♪ Yours is the name ♪ ♪ Love upon me ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is ♪ ♪ The name of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ Such a powerful name ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is ♪ ♪ And nothing can stand against ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is ♪ ♪ Love it ♪ ♪ You have no rival ♪ ♪ You have no rival ♪ ♪ And you have no evil ♪ ♪ And now and forever God you pray ♪ ♪ Yours is the Kingdom ♪ ♪ Yours is the glory ♪ ♪ Yours is the name ♪ ♪ Love upon me ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is ♪

♪ What a powerful name it is ♪ ♪ The name of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ Such a powerful name ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is ♪ ♪ And nothing can stand against ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is ♪ ♪ The name of Jesus ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is ♪ ♪ The name of Jesus ♪ ♪ What a powerful name it is ♪ ♪ The name of Jesus ♪ - Welcome to our campus family in for today's service. I just, before I preach, I just wanna, this was not planned. I just kind of had this heart moment with the Lord and really wanted to just, I wanna celebrate you, honor you as a church, but in the same time, use that as an opportunity to encourage you to keep being you. invite Haley and I got we really didn't have time for but we felt like it was it was a God moment it was gonna be tight to make happen especially getting getting there but in getting back but this this week Thursday Friday Saturday and today is still going actually there is something happening in Big Sky Montana called the Hope Summit and it is a gathering of some of the most powerful corporate leaders in America business leaders with frontline workers around the world in the fight against sexual exploitation and they bring them together so these people that have access to enormous assets that can mobilize those assets to make a difference in the world and these are faith-based leaders from these corporations that come in and then kind of last minute they ask hey would you come and speak to this room on Saturday

morning about what you guys are doing in Dallas and it was just one of those things you can't can't say no to and so we we got there late it's supposed to be Thursday night actually about 1 a.m. Friday morning and we got short a little bit of sleep at all day Friday in meetings and then I spoke Saturday and then we started the journey it's supposed to start the journey back home and it was not a pleasant journey we haven't been home all that long it was a long long night I know some of you're gonna look at me and say you're gonna lean over to your spouse a passenger needs Botox you know and so you know passenger needs sleep because I hadn't had any all right for the last few days but especially yesterday's really tough getting home it was so moving for me as the conveners of this summit were taking Haley and I around to meet the workers on the front lines one of them in Tajikistan right north of China south of Russia running a home fighting sexual exploitation and to hear them say you're the project we're doing with you these people pointing to Haley and I passed from one of the most generous churches in America and the resources they gave are helping advance what you're doing in Tajikistan and they go they go next door and they they introduce me to the lady in Honduras people that are running programs across South South America Latin America and he says the same thing to her this most generous church that they lead is helping advance what you're doing and then he takes us to European leaders and literally over and over and over he just every time he keeps bragging on the church he's like this couple leads one of the greatest churches in America one of the most generous churches in the world to this kind of thing and they're helping advance your cause and I was first of all I was so humbled to be in the room with all these people that are doing these things on the front line many of them risking their lives I was doubly humbled to know that we are a part of all of that and my heart just swelled for you that I get to be a part of pastoring this great group of people with this kind of heart for the least the last and the lost but and I'm proud of you I'm proud of you but the other caveat of that is there were so many faith-based leaders in there

that have access to resources that when I got done the Lord just moved touched the hearts I couldn't tell but Haley said Brian they these corporate executives were just weeping as you talked about what we're doing in Dallas and telling your story and so John came to me when he was over and he said Brian you got to stay so many of these people are gonna want to talk to you you got to stay we had a we had to leave you know and he said you got to stay you could be here tonight change your flight you it's gonna go all the way through tomorrow we really want you here these people want to talk to you and I said John this is what I know I'm gonna go with my heart my heart wants to go home my most important meeting of my week is I have a meeting with my family every Sunday and we open the word together and we talk that's more important to me than all this right now and so I'm gonna trust God I'm gonna do what he's called me to do he's called me to do both of these things but I'm gonna go home I'm gonna let you represent me and I may come back somebody may say it's the dumbest decision in the world but I'm gonna do I'm gonna go preach the gospel to my family and then you you you know my contact information if these people want to get a hold us because they want to support what's going on in Dallas that you you can help them get a hold of us and so I was so I'll tell you why I was so moved with him bragging on you on the heels of that he said now we want you to stay well I didn't want to stay I want to go home I want to be with you and so I just when I say all of that to tell you in the workplace keep being who you are keep serving keep loving the least the last keep going after forgotten people and forgotten places and just honor him with your life and your generosity and he's gonna take care of the rest I believe that with all my heart you get in his business he gets in your business Lord just thank you for this people we had a hard time getting home We say we're family. This isn't an event for me every week This is this is a family meeting and we're in your presence and we come to your word and lives are changed as testimony today water baptisms and so I just I just want you to bless your people and help us continue to advance your mission in the world Open our hearts to your word in Jesus name amen

And amen last week. I talked to you about doors How faithfulness in relationships build trust how trust in relationships create permission and how? Permission opens doors that we could never force open ourselves Especially in moments like having spiritual conversations with other people This week. I want to show you the kind of life that actually builds that kind of trust and that kind of living has a name Jesus called it second mile living in a sense It's a life that goes beyond the expectations now to fully understand what Jesus is actually Asking from us We're gonna have to understand something his original audience had a context for we're gonna look at one of his more famous Statements and the people that heard him make that statement originally knew exactly what he was talking about They had context we don't So we're gonna explain that it's in the sermon on the Mount Matthew chapter 5 verse 41 Jesus says if anyone Forces and that's a key word here forces you to go one mile Go with them two miles now Jesus's audience already had a context for what he was talking about He's actually referring to something that happened in their culture. It needed no explanation for them They knew just by the reference the context, but we need explanation the word forces in Matthew 541 isn't a general word for pressure or Persuasion it was originally written in Greek and the word is and Gario and literally it's it's a specific legal term It's a specific reference to a real law In the Roman Empire that was called the law of Impression which basically meant soldiers had the legal authority to force civilians and occupied territories to carry Their heavy packs and armor and equipment. It was the law It was you could be conscripted at any moment to carry his stuff It was the law of the Empire any Roman soldier any day on any road could stop any one of the people that were listening to Jesus that day While he's teaching they could have stopped them anywhere and put their equipment and pack on this person's shoulder No negotiation. No appeal. No warning. You just had to sit down whatever of yours you were carrying and pick up his equipment and walk Because Roman law said so and here's a detail that brings even more clarity to what Jesus is saying here He references it one mile two mile the word there is literally in the Greek is milion

Which is a Roman measurement that was borrowed from the Latin and Matthew 541 It's the only place in the New Testament this word is ever used because the Hebrews measured distance in the stadia But there was a Roman mile and what this is this is the occupiers word for the occupiers road under the occupiers law The Roman mile was a thousand paces. It was roughly four thousand eight hundred and sixty feet And it wasn't just some conceptual measurement It was actually marked on the road Roman roads had mile markers They were stone markers placed into the ground every thousand paces And they were often carved with the name of the emperor who built that road So Jesus isn't just making some abstract reference when he says if they force you to go one mile go to a Man that was forced to carry a soldier's pack knew exactly where his obligation Ended because there was a stone standing at a mile marker with Caesar's name on it And his obligation was to carry it that one mile to get to the next marker now imagine this for a minute You're walking with a pack on your shoulder that isn't yours It's an act meant to humiliate you and keep reminding you that you are Subservient to Roman authority that Rome is the occupier and that your homeland is now occupied by a stronger more dominant power But then you look up and you see the mile marker ahead of you finally Relief you're almost there the law says that you are done when you reach that mark But then Jesus has the audacity to say The first mile is duty. It's law, it's obligation, it's expectation, but the second mile is on you. And here's why this distinction matters so much. The first mile was never a choice. Nobody had to say in it. It could be demanded, forced, impressed. The soldier didn't need your permission. But the second mile, they couldn't demand that of you. That wasn't the law. It wasn't required. When you reach that first stone marker, it released you.

And anything that you did after that marker was pure, uncoarced, freely chosen service offered selflessly, and in this case to the very person that had no right to ask for it in the first place. There's something about Jesus' second mile principle calling us to live lives that go beyond that is worth us wrestling with today. For the last several weeks, we've been talking about how to live a life that matters. How to find meaning and purpose. And from scientists to sociologists to psychologists to verse after verse of what Jesus says, they all keep telling us the only way to truly experience mattering. To find a life of fulfillment and purpose and significance that you have to in some way give your life away. That's the only way to experience this. And here, Jesus, in his most famous sermon ever, the sermon on the Mount is actually telling us how to give our lives away. Go the second mile. Here's what we all know. Expectation defines the minimum. Every relationship has the minimum expectations. Employees have a job description. That's your minimum expectation at work. Parents have responsibilities. Friends have basic understood commitments. And meeting the minimum is fine.

I mean, it's actually necessary. But the moments people actually remember for the rest of their lives are never the moments where you simply met expectations and did what was required. The impact, the memorable, is connected when somebody walks past the first mile marker. Jesus doesn't just teach the concept. In story after story in the Bible, he illustrates those concepts with parables and stories. And one of those most famous stories is the one about the Good Samaritan, and you probably heard that one your whole life, but it's worth looking at again through these lenses in this context. I want you to watch what this man, the Good Samaritan, actually does. One verb at a time, his life models, what it looks like to go beyond and walk the second mile. It's all on phones in Luke chapter number two. And you're familiar with the story. There was a man on the Jericho Road that had been beaten and robbed and left for dead on the road. And first, a priest walks by, but just keeps on going. He just kind of acts like he doesn't see the man. And then a Levite walks by and just walks around, kind of keeps on going.

These are two men whose religious vocation should have made stopping to help this wounded man second nature. But instead, they refused to be inconvenienced and they passed by. The Samaritan man, this is important, Jesus chooses Samaritan on purpose. Samaritans were hated. Half Jew, half Gentile, mixed blood. They were hated from all angles of society, which is why Jesus picks this man. He was a man who had every cultural reason to just keep walking, but he's the one who stops. And Jesus says he is the one who came near the wounded man. Notice this in verse 33, he took pity on him. That's an important phrase. Because the phrase took pity is just one word in Greek. And it's this word, splech nizo mahi. And literally, it's a word that is built in the Greek from your inward organs. It's different words that make up references to your inward organs, which means this feeling is not a polite, warm, fuzzy feeling. It is a word that is for something that is happening deep within your guts. And here's what's remarkable. Luke only uses this word three times in his entire gospel. But every single time he uses the word, he's describing a level of compassion that is so deep that it motivates a person to act.

In Luke chapter seven, he uses this word when Jesus sees the widow of Nain burying her only son. And Jesus doesn't just feel for her. His compassion is so deep, it is so gut level that he interrupts the funeral and raises her son from the dead. It was a feeling so deep inside him, it demanded action. The other time this word is used is in Luke 15, in the parable of the prodigal son. It's in reference to the father in the story, in that famous story, when it says, He had compassion on him and he ran to him. It's so deeply, he felt it in his guts that this Hebrew man in that culture, Hebrew men didn't run. The older men didn't pull up their robes and run, but he broke with culture and tradition because he defied custom, because what he felt toward his son was so deep it demanded action. And then here in Luke 10, the Samaritan doesn't just feel for the wounded man. He feels it so deeply in his insides, in his guts that he inconveniences himself. He gets involved. He doesn't just ride by. It was a feeling so deep that demanded action. In Luke's gospel, the emotion of compassion and empathy is never the last part of the story. It's always the part of the story that sets everything else in motion.

And the only other two people in scripture that are described as feeling exactly what the Samaritan felt here are Jesus and the father and the prodigal son story who is representing God in that story. Do you know what that means? It means that what the Samaritan is doing as he acts is exactly what God does. Now, I want you to see the good Samaritan's actions verb by verb because every single verb, every single act of compassion, cost him more than the previous act and they keep building. So follow the progression of the verbs. We're gonna walk through this, Luke 10, verse 33, but a Samaritan, as he traveled first verbs, came to where he was, which means he didn't just walk by and pretend he didn't see the guy, like the priest in Levite did. Then it says he saw him, which means he didn't see an inconvenience. He saw a human being with a deep, desperate knee. Then it says he took pity on him. He was so possessed by a feeling so deep in him, he had to take action. Then he went to him, which means he took a risk that threatened his own safety. Jericho, the road, was famous for being ambushed by robbers and thieves and one of the tactics was to bait you with a wounded man. You go to tempt somebody's needs, you were attacked.

He knew that was a possibility he still went to him. Then he bandaged the wounds, which means it cost his own personal and valuable travel supplies. Then it says he put him on his own donkey, which means it cost him his comfort. Because now the Samaritan has to walk while the wounded man rides. And then it says he brought him to an inn, which means it cost his schedule. He was headed somewhere, but now he has to stop overnight into an inn and help make sure this guy is cared for. Then it says he took out to Denari, which was two full days wages, which means it cost him financial resources. And then Jesus uses one sentence that breaks the whole story wide open. The Samaritan says to the innkeeper, "I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have." Now that's not paying the bill. That's opening an account. He didn't cap the cost. He opened a tab. He took on unlimited liability of unknown size on behalf of a stranger who may not even been conscious enough yet to give him his name. He assumed a debt that he would have to come back and personally settle. The bandage was charity. This last act is what we around here call extravagant.

Now, before you leave today convinced that what Jesus is doing is trying to guilt trip us into letting our calendar and our lives be everybody else's property, I'm gonna offer you a little pastoral wisdom. A life living a life that goes beyond guided by the second mile principle doesn't mean living a life with no boundaries. No devoted Christian has the capacity to say yes to every single need in front of them. The needs are infinite. We are not. We are not God. This is not a call to try to live a life without limits. That's not even, Jesus was God. And this is not even what he modeled. In Mark one, after he performs a wave of miracles and healings, the word spreads. And there are new people lining up outside the door of the house where Jesus performed those miracles the night before and they're waiting on him to start the second round. Well, when he doesn't show, they run all over the place looking for him because they have needs. They need miracles and they want him to do for them what he did for those people last night. But listen to what he actually does in Mark 136, Simon and his companions went looking for him for Jesus. And when they found him, they exclaimed,

everybody's looking for you. Jesus replied, let us go somewhere else to the nearby villages so I can preach there. That is why I have come. Not because he lacked compassion. He is the most compassionate person who ever lived. But yet he knew his assignment. I have to preach the gospel of the kingdom all over this area, and let's go to the next city. Here's why this matters. Going beyond, walking the second mile is not the same thing as living without any boundaries. If it were, the second mile would just become another form of compulsion. But now, instead of it being a Roman soldier, you're being compelled by guilt, which means you're not really acting out of love anymore. People pleasing can dress itself up as generosity. Fear of disappointing someone can dress itself up as sacrifice. The inability to say no can dress itself up as servanthood. We read many stories of Jesus inconveniencing himself for many, and yet he was free enough to leave this town full of people that were still waiting on him. So here's the healthier definition. The second mile isn't always do more. It's be willing to do more when love and obedience actually require it. Sometimes stewardship says you've genuinely reached your limit today.

The goal was never exhaustion. The goal is availability with open eyes and open hearts to the nudges of the Holy Spirit. Not everyone's expectations, but God's direction. But here's what we have to get better at. Expressing what God is doing in us. I truly believe most of the people listening to me right now, you really love people. I mean, you love your family, you love your friends, you love your neighbors, you love your coworkers. There's real love inside your heart. But here's the problem. The people that it's aimed at often have no idea. It exists, at least not to the level or the degree that it exists. Listen to this definition of meaningful connection. Connection is the successful, that's the key word, successful communication of love and value to another person. What that means is love can be completely real and still feel to connect with somebody because caring is something that happens on the inside of you and people don't have access to your insides, which leads to a question most of us have never asked ourselves. Do they feel what I feel for them? People don't know your intentions. They can't see your heart. People don't feel what you feel. They feel what you do.

Scripture never wants to find love as an internal state. Watch what happens when the Bible actually wants to tell you what love is, first John 3, 16. This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. That's the definition of love. John doesn't say this is how we know God loves us. This is how we know what love is. This is what love actually means. This is what it does. The word is action. Paul does the same thing when he's defining love in Romans 5.80 says, but God demonstrates. He acts out. He displays his love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That's the act. Love is demonstrated. It is a showing word. God didn't just announce his love to us. He displayed it at public and real cost. This is exactly why the one my life rarely reaches anybody. Mile one isn't a failure of love. It's just a weaker transmission of love. Sure, you genuinely help them. You really did the thing, but it rarely connects because going the first mile can be explained away by something other than love. It was your job. It's the rules.

It's the obligation. It was the expectation. They can't read your heart off of an act that literally anyone in your position was expected to do anyway. But listen, the second mile does not have a cultural explanation. That's when they start quietly asking themselves, why would they do that for me? That's the moment when they see something in you that isn't required, which means that's the moment they start getting curious about the Jesus that lives in you. Now, I wanna take you back to the word we saw Jesus use in the Sermon on the Mount that really started this whole conversation. If anyone forces you and are you, which means forced or compelled, it only appears three times in the whole New Testament. This is just fascinating to me, okay? These things may not interest you, but they fascinate me. Matthew 541, But when Jesus uses this word teaching on the hillside in the sermon of the Mount, it's hypothetical. This is a teaching moment. They all know the cultural context, it can happen, but nobody's carrying a pack at that moment. He's teaching this to illustrate a scenario that the kind of love that makes a deep impact is hypothetical, it's a teaching moment. The other two times in the New Testament this word is used,

it is not hypothetical, Matthew 27 verse 32. As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. A Roman soldier steps out, grabs Simon, he's just walking by, minding his own business, and the soldier grabs him and invokes the law of impressment. And he conscripts Simon to carry a burden that was never his to carry. He is forced to carry Jesus' cross. The illustration that Jesus is using while he's teaching is a teaching moment. But this word, this thing just became real life in this moment in Simon's life. But here's what I need you to see. Two men carried that same cross on the same afternoon up the same hill down the Via de la Rosa, the way of suffering up the hill to Gal-Gotha. But each of them carried it for two completely different reasons. Simon carried it because the soldier made him. He got grabbed, no say, no choice, no way out. He was forced, but Jesus carried it because he chose to. Jesus said this about laying his own life down on the cross, John 10, 18. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. Nobody made him, not Rome, not Pilate, not the crowd, not the soldiers, he could have stopped all of this at any given moment, but he chose the cross on purpose. It was the same road and the same cross, but two entirely different miles walked.

One of these two men, history remembers as the guy who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. The other of them is the one we've gathered in this room today to worship. And the big difference is one was forced to carry that cross, the other chose it. And that's the greatest illustration of what it means to live a life that goes beyond. What you're forced to do never really tells anybody how you feel about them. It might genuinely help them. It might even cost you something, but it doesn't deeply impact them because required is required and required doesn't reveal anything about your heart. Simon carried the Son of God's cross and history records it in Simon of Cyrene has been in our passion plays and our Eastern programs since Jesus' day. But the act tells us almost nothing about Simon because he didn't choose it. He was doing what was required, which is exactly what happens every single time we give somebody the bare minimum. We hand them something that feels like it was already owed. It doesn't overwhelm them. It doesn't underwhelm them. It just whelms them. And then we wonder why it didn't really seem

to make a difference. But Jesus didn't stop at that first mile marker. He didn't do the required amount for you. Paul says the forgiveness you received from me in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us Ephesians 1. That word lavished means poured out past the point of enough. God has never once given you the reasonable amount. You are not loved adequately. You are loved extravagantly. And the challenge today is not for all of us to leave here and go out and try harder to be nicer people. That wouldn't hurt any of us. But that's not what Jesus, he's calling us to something far more significant than that. So here's something a little more specific that we can do this week. We need to do this in every relationship eventually. But let me just say this for this week, pick one relationship over the next few days, just one. Spend some time evaluating your life in that relationship and asking yourself, what is expected of me in this relationship? And as you look at it, find the line, okay? Where's the first mile marker? Where's the line? What are the basic expectations? How far am I expected to go in this relationship? Then, once you've established the line,

you put the mile marker on the ground, deliberately, at real cost to you, go far enough past that line in that person's life that that person literally cannot explain away your actions that you're just doing your job or your duty or fulfilling your role. The widow Jesus saw giving gave two small coins, which is, I mean, just minuscule amount. But Jesus said she outgave everybody because God measures the level of sacrifice, not the amount of the offering. So maybe this week you write a handwritten note where a text was expected, or you hang with somebody that needs you for 45 minutes when you told them you had a five minute window, or you drive across town and personally connect with somebody when a phone call would have been sufficient, you could go on and on, just find the line and go the second mile. Here's a question though that we've been doing this every week, but what is my motivation? What's my heart behind this? Here's a question that will check our motives. If nobody ever found out it was you, would you still do it? Because an act of extravagant love is not really an act of extravagant love if it needs an audience, it starts being loved and starts becoming marketing. Extravagants nobody sees is worship to God, a God that has called us to live a second mile life.

When you go the second mile in your life for somebody else, you won't be the first person to go the second mile in your life. Somebody went past the line for you. Maybe it was a parent who kept showing up and when they didn't have to, we gave them every reason not to and they just kept showing up, or maybe it was a friend who chose to stay loyal when we gave them every reason not to, but they just kept showing up. I mean, it could be example, or example, somebody crossed the line for you over and over again, but ultimately in your life, there was a savior who crossed a distance, nothing required him to cross. And like the Good Samaritan, he opened a tab and he picked up the tab on an account that did not belong to him. And he said over your life, over my life, over all of us, he said to the Father, the sin debt they accumulate, charge that to me. I'll settle that with my life. I'll pay for their sin debt with my life's blood, just like the end of the parable. Whatever they accumulate, charge it to my account. And that's why he chose the cross. That's where that account was settled. He went the second mile for you. And we're called Christians, which means followers of Christ.

He told us to do this, but when we chose him and said, "I wanna follow you, I want you to be my Lord." What we're saying is, I want as much of my life as I can possibly surrender to you, to image you in my thought life, my private life, my public life, I wanna represent your way of living to the world. That means we're gonna walk out of here. If we're gonna be Christian, start asking God, what does second mile living look like here and here and in that relationship? Where's the line? How can I cross it? To love that person, bring honor and credibility to you because it's your love that is compelling me. I want you to stand with me if you would across this place in every location. And I'm gonna ask if our prayer teams at every campus would come and make themselves available to serve you today. Look, we do this every week at the end of the service to provide space, to pray for miracles. I don't have time every week to list for you. The answer and prayers that are happening as we pray at the front of this room. The testimonies are incredible. Can I just say this to you today? We open this up for believers to come and have their needs met for anybody really, but my heart always goes out in this moment to somebody

that's a seeker in this room. You've never stepped over the line of faith and given your heart to Jesus. And can I just tell you, this is the gospel. What I just said to you is the gospel. There is an account with your name on it in eternity. And every act you've ever committed that is a transgression to God is gonna be used in heaven's court to convict you of why you're not worthy of heaven. And yet Jesus is standing there as your advocate. We have an advocate with the Father, John says. And he is standing there looking at your record. And there's not a single one of us on our record that deserves entrance into eternity in the presence of God. There is none righteous, no, not one. And yet our advocate, our defense council stands before the Father and says, "All of this settle it to my account. "I'll pay for it with my life's blood." And the minute you confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, that long account is stamped, paid and full, in the blood of Christ. My grandpa used to sing an old song, I can tell you the day it was for me. Today can be your day paid in full, a stamped on your account. You just say, "Jesus, I surrender my life to you." And you can do that where you stand.

You can do that here. I was reading over all of the testimonies from everybody getting baptized today. I read over those testimonies. Multiple people referred to a prayer they prayed at the end of a service at the prayer team, with the prayer team at the front of the building, surrendering their lives to Jesus just a few weeks ago, and now they're going public with their faith. That could be somebody today. One prayer changes everything. Just give him your life. Charge it to his account and let the cross settle it. Father, I pray today you just strengthen our hearts to live in a way that is not average, that is not bare minimum, that doesn't just meet the expectations. We're living for a cause that's greater than us. We're not just trying to survive here. It feels like that some days, but we have a call on our lives greater than that because we are representing you. And you said, "When they ask you to go one mile, go two." And I pray that you will raise up a congregation of people that go beyond living second mile lives, earning credibility in corporate America and sports and entertainment and education and law and politics everywhere we go. God, may we be second mile people. Lord, would you bless them and keep them?

Would you make your face shine down upon them? Would you be gracious to them? Would you turn your countenance their direction today? And would you grant them peace? In Jesus name, amen. And amen, these altars are open today. God bless you. - Hey friends, I just wanted to spend a second with you at the end of this message today and just encourage you if in some way you've made a spiritual decision. Maybe you've given your life to Christ today. You've recently given your life to Christ. You wanna talk to somebody about giving your life to Christ. Our team would love to help you. We're on the Pando app and have several ministries into various prisons because God has called us to you. We have a heart for forgotten people and forgotten places. And that means we serve widows and we serve orphans and we serve special needs, kids. And God has given us a heart for men and women in the prison system because I believe Jesus died for you. He has a plan and a purpose for your life. And we wanna help you know that and discover that. There is an address on the screen that you can communicate with us. We have a team of people that would love to hear from you, especially if you've made a decision to follow Jesus so that we can resource you and point you to tools that can help you grow.

Just know that we're praying over you and we're genuinely honored that you've taken time to watch our channel and these messages from North Place Church. (soft music) (soft music)