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At Sandals Church, our vision is to be real with ourselves, God and others. This channel features sermons and teaching from Pastor Matt Brown and other members of the Sandals Church preaching team. You can find sermon notes, videos and more content at http://sandalschurch.com/watch
Welcome to the Sandals Church podcast. My name is Tim Walker, and I'm the campus pastor at Sandals Church Woodcrest. We are so happy to have you join us today as we listen to this incredible message. If you've enjoyed our content, consider leaving us a rating to help this podcast reach even more people. But for now, let's get into the message.
Pastor Justin McVey:Jesus. Jesus, excuse me, Jesus, do you have a second? You could hear the nerves in the young man's voice. Jesus, this is my wife and these are our children. Would would you, Jesus, would you pray for them?
Pastor Justin McVey:Jesus smiles gently at the young couple and their children. Motions for them to come close. As they begin to step towards Jesus, Peter steps in between, stop it, stop, get away. Jesus does not have time for this. He's too busy.
Pastor Justin McVey:He shouldn't be messing with children. Jesus almost ignores Peter, not even looking at him. He gets down on one knee and looks at the little toddler. Come here, sorry, he's a little grumpy. The toddler comes and crawls into Jesus's arms.
Pastor Justin McVey:He stands up, he looks around at the crowd. He says, these children, this is what my kingdom is about. In fact, if you don't come to me as one of these little children, you'll never make it into this kingdom. He looks at the little child, Let me pray for you little one. Father, Lord I thank you for this beautiful little child.
Pastor Justin McVey:Protect them, watch over them, remind them how much they mean to you. Bless them father, amen. Before Jesus could even set the little guy down, there's a murmur through the crowd. Someone was approaching Jesus and it was someone important because the crowd just separated as he began to walk up. They looked out and they recognized this was one of the local rulers, an aspiring politician, well liked by the people, popular and wealthy, but he had a heart for the people.
Pastor Justin McVey:He often chose to do what was right, even when others didn't. He walked up to Jesus. Jesus, I need to know. I need to know what do I need to do to have eternal life? Jesus looked at him, looks at the little child.
Pastor Justin McVey:Well, you should follow the commandments. Which ones? There's so many commandments, I try to follow them, can you tell me? Jesus kind of chuckles. How about the big ones?
Pastor Justin McVey:Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal. That's a good one for a politician. Don't testify falsely, be honest. Never forget, honor your mom and dad, take care of them no matter what. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Pastor Justin McVey:That should do. The young man looked confused. I've obeyed all of those commandments Jesus, I've done all of that. But there must be something more. There must be something more.
Pastor Justin McVey:I still feel empty, I still don't feel like it matters, like I'm doing enough. Jesus looked at him and nodded. If you want to feel complete, if you want to truly experience peace, joy, success, here's what you need to do. You need to go home and I want you to sell everything you own. Sell it all as quickly as possible.
Pastor Justin McVey:Give the money to the poor. You'll have nothing but your treasures will be in heaven and once you've sold everything, then come back. Come back and join me and my disciples. Follow me. The young man's countenance sank.
Pastor Justin McVey:He began to tremble. He looked at Jesus in disbelief, sell everything? How, what? He he didn't have words and he simply turned and began to walk away, sad, unable to accept what Jesus just offered him. There's a murmur through the crowd, what just happened?
Pastor Justin McVey:Jesus Jesus looked out. I tell you the truth guys, this, it's incredibly hard for for a rich person to follow me. Incredibly difficult for for someone who has everything to enter into the kingdom of heaven. In fact, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle guys. That's how difficult it is for a rich person to make it into the kingdom of God.
Pastor Justin McVey:The disciples were shocked, Jesus, you have said some crazy things but if this is the case Jesus, who can be saved? Who can have eternal life? How are we ever gonna get into heaven if it's that difficult? Jesus looked at them. Listen guys, humanly speaking, in the world that you understand and the things you believe and know and grasp, it's impossible.
Pastor Justin McVey:You can't do it. But with God, my father, the one who sent me, everything is possible. Peter, not really knowing what to say, jumped and he says, Jesus, I've given the disciples who've given up everything. We have nothing left, we're here with you and it's all gone and what will we get? What's in it for us?
Pastor Justin McVey:Do we get eternal life? Can we have that? Jesus, with a child in his arms looks at Peter. Listen Peter, I assure you, just know Peter, that in the end, in the end when my kingdom comes, in the end when it's all done, man, when I'm when I'm ruling, you'll be there beside me. You'll be with me in my kingdom, you'll experience the peace and the hope and the joy as we spend eternity honoring the Father.
Pastor Justin McVey:And to those of you here, those of you who would respond to this invitation to follow me, those of you who would leave family behind, who would give up homes, who would sacrifice and surrender it for my sake, I want you to know. I want you to know that it will be restored. Man, a 100 times over. And that eternal life, that peace, that hope, that joy, that fullness that you long for, you'll inherit that in return. That Jesus kneels back down and sets the little guy and motions for him to go back to his parents.
Pastor Justin McVey:I need everyone to understand that that the things that we view as so important right now, listen they're they're not gonna matter in the end. And the things like this little child that we often miss, that we often minimalize, forget about. Those things, those things are what really matters. Those are the greatest things. Father, we come to you today.
Pastor Justin McVey:Lord, we just desire to hear from you. Lord, speak to us now, we're listening. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear what you have for us. We pray this in your name, Amen. Now, for those of you who've been around church, you've heard the story before.
Pastor Justin McVey:You know the rich young ruler, but I think oftentimes it's easy just to read a passage and to miss the moment, to miss what's really going on, what's really happening, to forget that these were real people living real lives with real struggles, that this was an encounter with Jesus that radically changed their entire lives. And the reason I relayed the passage and told the story in the way I did is because I wanted you to understand it, that not just the people that we read about in scripture encountered Jesus, but in this place today, we encountered Jesus. That just as Jesus gave an invitation to the little child, to the parents, to the rich young ruler, to Peter and the disciples to the crowd, today he gives an invitation to us. Today we come face to face with Jesus and he says, follow me. But today in this passage, we see a deeper call, simply to follow Jesus, but in this moment, Jesus is calling us to follow him with child like faith.
Pastor Justin McVey:Man, if there's one thing you get today, if there's one thing you understand, get this, that the center of this passage is a call from Jesus. A call from Jesus just to come like that little child did, with childlike faith, trusting and relying on him. Listen, have you ever been told like, you need to grow up, quit acting like a kid? I'm gonna give you a little peek behind the scenes at Sandals, okay? Listen, it's okay, don't send any emails, but there are times I get picked on and even dare I say bullied a little bit by the other campus pastors, all right?
Pastor Justin McVey:And here's why, it's because, and I'll confess this, I eat like a kid. I love McDonald's and yes, I always supersize large fries, large Coke, please. I love pizza, I love soda and I will always choose junk food. It's just who I am, I love it. All right and the other campus pastors, they look at me and they're like, oh, you need to grow up, quit.
Pastor Justin McVey:Man, when are you gonna eat like an adult? Now, here's what I've learned. If they were really to stop for a moment and be real with themselves, it's not my eating habits that they have a problem with. It's the fact that I can eat all of that and still look like this. Now, in our world, we value this idea of maturity.
Pastor Justin McVey:Man, we push kids to grow up, to be more mature. We have this standard that we look at, that we say, okay, this is what you're supposed to be like. But that doesn't always align with what Jesus says in scripture. Because over and over and over again, even within the gospels, this idea, this call to come to him as a child. To demonstrate childlike faith is encouraged and even celebrated.
Pastor Justin McVey:Man, it's part of a true healthy disciple. You see Jesus doesn't want fans. He doesn't want people who just, man, they wear the Jesus t shirt, they come to the concert, they sing the songs, that's not what he wants. He doesn't want employees, right? He doesn't want just people who come and they do what the boss says.
Pastor Justin McVey:And they never really enjoy it. They never really like it, but they know they're supposed to check the boxes and make it happen. Jesus doesn't want robots. That's why he gave us free will. He didn't just program us to do exactly.
Pastor Justin McVey:He wanted us to choose. You see, Jesus wants kids. Jesus desires sons and daughters who open their hearts to him, who come to him with with open hands and arms saying, God, I love you and I just want to be with you. Listen, in the passage, verse 14, this is what Jesus says, this is the quote from Matthew. Let the little children come to me.
Pastor Justin McVey:Don't stop them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like these children. They're like these children. Luke adds another verse and in the same account, the same passage, Luke says this, I love what Luke says, I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child, there it is again, underline it, they will never enter it. The rich young ruler comes to Jesus and his heart was in the right place. He desired to follow him, he desired to do the right things, but he walks away sad.
Pastor Justin McVey:He walks away empty handed, why? Because he couldn't approach Jesus as a child. He couldn't shift the way he viewed his religion, he couldn't let go of control. He was unwilling to accept the invitation of Jesus because he was unable to humble himself. When Jesus says we need to be like a child, he's not justifying immaturity.
Pastor Justin McVey:He's not, you know, saying we can be lazy, but he wants us to understand some very important things about following him. He wants us to understand that we have to radically redefine our worldview of what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus, of how we live our lives. At the core of it, Jesus is saying, let me show you a different way to live. So what exactly does a childlike faith look like? Let's just break it down because there's so many things in this passage that it teaches us about childlike faith.
Pastor Justin McVey:First, childlike faith relies on Jesus, not our own ability. This is what Paul says in Ephesians, for by grace you have been saved through faith. Notice this next phrase, it's so important. This is not your own doing. You didn't make it happen.
Pastor Justin McVey:There was nothing that you did that was so great that Jesus said, let me save them. I gotta get them, they're the ones, I want them on my team. No, it is the gift, undeserved, unearned of God. Not a result of works, notice, so that no one may boast. Jesus is like, you need to remember it's not about you, it's it's for me.
Pastor Justin McVey:Now flip that, flip that and look response of the rich young ruler. It's very important to notice the words that he uses. In verse 16, look at this, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life. He thought there was something he could do to earn it. He thought there was some task, was some deed, was some mission that he could go on.
Pastor Justin McVey:And then Jesus says, all right, obey the commandments. And he lists out the commandments and he says, I've obeyed all these commandments. This dude was good, he had it together, right? He was better than all of us in here. He'd been following them, he understood them, he knew them the young man replied.
Pastor Justin McVey:But this last phrase, man, when I first read it, I just like, ah, it's where so many of us are. What else must I do? Man, we try so hard. We try so hard to overcome the bad things in our lives. We try so hard to fight against the addiction.
Pastor Justin McVey:We try so hard to follow God in a way that honors Him, to check all of the boxes and to read our Bible and to pray and it's good stuff. We try so hard to, man, to make a living, to earn and climb the corporate ladder. We try so hard to do all of these things, but most of us, all of us, in the attempt to do it on our own, we find ourselves right where the rich young ruler was. What else? Because we're still empty.
Pastor Justin McVey:Because we're still not satisfied. Because we've been trying to do it on our own. We've been trying to make it happen. This is what Jesus said to the disciples, I tell you the truth, it is a very hard, not just hard, not just difficult, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Just, I'll say it again, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
Pastor Justin McVey:Now, if you're a rich person, Jesus doesn't try to dog on you. He's not saying you can't come in. He just realizes that there is a high probability that you have defined yourself by your ability to achieve. And that the idea of not being able to do it, that rubs you the wrong way. The idea that everything you've earned, that everything you've accomplished, that everything you've done isn't worth anything.
Pastor Justin McVey:Jesus says, let go of it, sell it. That can be almost impossible to accept. And oftentimes it leads us to a place where we just reject the truth because at the end of the day, relying on Jesus means letting go of control. And let's be honest, we all like to be in control. We all like to be in charge of our own destiny.
Pastor Justin McVey:We all like to think that we can make it happen. Much of our modern society, man, we're just, we're addicted to the hustle. We think if we work hard enough, we're gonna get it. Go back to the beginning of the story. That at verse 13, very, very first verse there in the passage.
Pastor Justin McVey:Some parents brought their children to Jesus. Those kids couldn't do it on their own. Those kids couldn't get up that morning, leave the village that was probably miles away, travel that route, they didn't know where Jesus was, they didn't know who Jesus was. They were completely reliant upon their parents, Completely reliant upon their parents. And those parents, there was something inside of their minds where they realized, oh man, we can't raise these kids.
Pastor Justin McVey:We're living in crazy world, the Romans are in control, like there's wars between political parties, like we can't do that, we need help and so they brought their kids to Jesus. Parents, just got to pause and put it out there. What are you doing to bring your kids to Jesus? What are you doing? Listen, grew up with parents who had a drug problem.
Pastor Justin McVey:They drug me to church every Sunday. They drug me to church every Sunday night. They drug me to youth group every Wednesday night. They drug me to small group every Thursday night. Listen, my mom once drug me to women's gathering.
Pastor Justin McVey:I'm like, mom, why am I here? You need to meet with Jesus, right? Like, what are we doing? And not just parents, but those of you who have children in your life, who look up to you, who respect you, who honor you. And what are you doing to bring them to Jesus?
Pastor Justin McVey:Are you praying for them constantly? Are you sharing his word with them? Are you exposing them to his love and his grace? Listen, our society and our culture, we spend a lot of time bringing kids to a lot of stuff. Like I feel like a part time Uber driver sometimes.
Pastor Justin McVey:Gotta get the kids to school, gotta get the kids to practice, gotta get the kids to lessons. We bring the kids and invest a lot of time and energy in a lot of other things. But are we investing and bringing them to Jesus? And parents, just encourage you, when they get too big to drag to church anymore, man, you start praying and you never stop. Because the truth is, we can't do it on our own.
Pastor Justin McVey:I've got teenagers, understand what it's like and there's times I think I know what I'm doing. I think I'm a good parent, but I just, it's my way, not God's way. Yeah, I love what Jesus said in Matthew 16. This is actually my life verse and pastor Matt spoke on this a couple weeks ago and it's this call, this total surrender. It says, then Jesus said to his disciples, if any of you, if anyone, any of you wants to be my follower, now this is important, you must give up your own way.
Pastor Justin McVey:Let go of control, quit trying to do it on your own. He says and notice take up your cries and there's the invitation again and follow me. But he goes on and right here he's gonna give us what the next attribute of childlike faith is. He says, If you try to hang on to your life, you'll lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
Pastor Justin McVey:What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your own soul? Listen, I want you to understand this next thing and this next thing is that childlike faith is willing to give up everything to get Jesus. And then my kids, if you were to ask them what their favorite candy is, Sour Patch Kids. All right, it'd be so easy.
Pastor Justin McVey:I remember one time my son was super young and he saw me with a bag of Sour Patch Kids. Again, I eat like a little kid. And so I'm popping Sour Patch Kids, he goes, dad, dad, can I have some? And like the good parent that I am, I said, no son, you don't need this sugar. You don't need that, this is not healthy, this is not good for you.
Pastor Justin McVey:Dad, please, please can I have some Sour Patch Kids? He goes, Dad, I'll give you all the money in my piggy bank. Now my eyes perked up at that because little guy had just finished a birthday and there there was was serious change in his penny bank right then, all right? Like grandma and grandpa had sent him some cash, we had a little birthday party with the friends, lots of cards with cash. I'm like, this is about $150 bag of Sour Patch Kids I'm hanging on to right now.
Pastor Justin McVey:But he was willing to give up everything to get that bag of Sour Patch Kids. Sometimes I wonder, are we willing to give up everything to get Jesus? This is what Jesus said to the rich young ruler. Says, if you wanna be perfect, that word perfect doesn't mean like you have it all together, you're holy, you're right, no, no, no, it means complete. It means that it's a reference to just that peace that we all wanna feel, that joy, that feeling of like, I'm okay.
Pastor Justin McVey:I'm where I'm supposed to be. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. He says, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor. Then you'll have treasure in heaven. And once you've let go of everything, then come and follow me.
Pastor Justin McVey:And we know the reply. The young man heard it and he went away sad. Why? Because he had many possessions. May I ask you for a moment?
Pastor Justin McVey:What's your everything? Just sell everything. What is it that you, man, that you just hold on to really tight? What is it that you're like, I want to come to Jesus, but if that means letting go of this, I'm not sure. Man, maybe there's something in your past.
Pastor Justin McVey:Maybe it's not something good, but there's addiction in your past. There's a darkness in your past. There are choices that you made that you think disqualify you. And everything for you means letting go of your past and accepting that God can change that. Then maybe, maybe it's the career you've built.
Pastor Justin McVey:Maybe it is the kingdom of self that you have developed over the years that you're very proud of, that you have used to define you. Maybe it's future dreams. Dreams of what life is going to look like one day. Man, that career, that family, that house, that car. Listen, I want you to know something.
Pastor Justin McVey:That everything is not worth as much as you think it is. It's not worth as much as you think it is, but you won't realize that until you try to get rid of it, until you're willing to let go of it. This past summer, we had this patio table. And listen, I love this patio table. I had picked out this patio table years before, it was like one of my favorite pieces of furniture.
Pastor Justin McVey:But my wife was like, patio table, gotta go. And I was like, oh man, I like this. This is a nice table, it's heavy duty, we spent some money on this thing back in the day. She goes, it's ugly, it got to go. And so I was like, all right, all right, all right, I'm gonna sacrifice for my wife because I'm a good husband, I love her, I love Jesus.
Pastor Justin McVey:And so I'm like, but I'm not just giving it away, I'm gonna sell this thing. And so I got on offer up, got on Facebook marketplace, I took pictures. Man, I got the lighting just right, I put it on the patio so it looked great. I wrote this amazing description, how great this table was and I put a price on there and I'm like, Oh, it's easily worth this much. And my wife is like, You asked how much?
Pastor Justin McVey:I'm like, You just watch. You just watch. Man, people are gonna be offering me more. I'm gonna have offers as soon as I post this thing and I hit post. Day later, nothing.
Pastor Justin McVey:Week later, nothing. My wife's like, you sell that table yet? I'm like, no, no, I just have you know, it takes a while for the algorithm to get it out there. Secretly, I go back behind them like, cut the price, cut the price, cut the price. And like every other day, I'm like, what is happening?
Pastor Justin McVey:Listen, I'm just gonna be real self and admit. I eventually had to take the table, set it by the road and put a sign that said free on it. I thought this table was worth something, but it was not. And sometimes those things were holding on to that everything, not worth as much as we think it is. Peter, Peter cracks me up.
Pastor Justin McVey:Peter is the one disciple who was not afraid to say what everything was thinking. Everyone was thinking. And so in this passage, after the rich young ruler walks away and Jesus says, man, it's really hard for rich people. Peter's like, hey, Jesus, over here, over here. Jesus, we've given up everything.
Pastor Justin McVey:Jesus is like, I left my home or Peter's like, I left my home, I left my family, like I left my career, the nets, the boats, everything behind, I'm following you, I got nothing. We're sleeping on the ground over here. What will we get? What's actually in it for us? And that can seem self serving when you hear that question, but I'm telling you, it resonates with me because I remember, I remember at age 18, wrestling with God, Saying, God, have worked so hard.
Pastor Justin McVey:Man, I have worked so hard in my past to bring myself to a present place where I've got good things going on, I got this full ride scholarship, I'm going through law school and I can see I've got a bright future ahead of me and I'm heading somewhere, something is gonna happen. Jesus, if I let go of all that, if I give up everything for you, what's in it for me? What are you gonna do in my life? Man, I just, I love Jesus' answer. He goes into depth and he says, I assure you that when the world is made new and the son of man sits upon his glorious throne, Peter, everything is as it should be, All of you who have been my followers will also sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.
Pastor Justin McVey:He goes on, everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property for my sake. Emphasis there, for Jesus sake, for Jesus sake, not for our own glory. Not so people look at us, he says, they will receive a 100 times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. When I was in that moment and I said, Jesus, what are you gonna do in my life if I give up everything for you? If I'm gonna sacrifice everything I've worked so hard for, and I need to know and understand there's something there, that you're gonna do something.
Pastor Justin McVey:In that moment, Jesus gave me this verse and it's a verse that I've hung onto my entire life. Ephesians three twenty, Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. Let me tell you, I was talking out loud to God that night. And I was saying, God, what's going on? And I felt God speak and say, Justin, listen, I will do more in your life than you could ever ask for or imagine.
Pastor Justin McVey:You listen, more than the greatest dream you could come up with, I will show you and I will give back immeasurably more. And let me tell you something, He has. I am here to stand today and to testify and to tell you that those who may be struggling with this idea of sacrificing everything, when you step into that, God shows up in your life and he does things that you never could have imagined. Things so much more powerful, so much more meaningful, so much more valuable. The invitation to follow Jesus requires sacrifice, yes, but in return, He gives life, everything we need, everything we desire, everything we've hoped for.
Pastor Justin McVey:Now giving up everything may be the single most difficult aspect of this, which is why the next point is so important. You see childlike faith believes Jesus still does the impossible. Now, when I first started writing this sermon in this portion right here, I was gonna mention some of the impossible people, kids in our culture believe in, who may show up around certain holidays. Now, I didn't wanna get any emails from angry parents. So y'all just fill in the blank there with the stuff that kids believe in that is impossible.
Pastor Justin McVey:But look at Scripture, think about some of the impossible things. Man, only a kid would say, hey Jesus, here's my five loaves and fishes and man, let's feed 5,000 people Jesus. Only a kid. Only a kid would walk up in the middle of a war with a battle tested giant. So I'm gonna take on that dude.
Pastor Justin McVey:Only a kid would do that. A kid, only childlike faith would say, hey, Jesus is walking on water, I wanna walk on water, let's do this. Listen, only a kid would sell everything they own and move to the other side of the world to share the gospel with people who had never heard about Jesus. Then only a kid would give up a scholarship to law school and go back home to a small town church to be a youth pastor. Only a kid would on a win, start a church in their living room with nothing, no money, no training, no clue.
Pastor Justin McVey:Love you, Pastor Matt. Only a kid. This verse is so powerful. Verse 26, Jesus looked at them intently. He wanted them to get this.
Pastor Justin McVey:He says, humanly speaking, it's impossible. But with God, everything is possible. Come on, everything is possible with God. Some of you right now, you need a miracle in your life. You need to see God do the impossible.
Pastor Justin McVey:Humanly speaking, your marriage is on a track to end in divorce. But with God, it can be restored and you can experience the same love that you did on that wedding day. Man, some of you, humanly speaking, your finances are drawing you closer and closer to bankruptcy. You're like, hey, giving up everything is easy right now because I got nothing. But with God, He can bless you, He can pour out His generosity on you and give you more than you ever imagined.
Pastor Justin McVey:Some of you right now, man humanly speaking, you're facing a physical obstacle where there is no hope. It is terminal. But let me tell you, I have seen it and this is a part of the greater that God has done, immeasurably more. I've seen God heal people. I've seen God do the impossible and bring people back from their deathbeds.
Pastor Justin McVey:Depression, anxiety, humanly speaking, you'll never get over it. You can't, you've got no hope. But with God, all things are possible. Everything is possible. That's the beauty in surrendering everything to God.
Pastor Justin McVey:We receive everything God has. And everything that we've put together, it's nothing compared to the everything that God offers us. Back to Ephesians three twenty, it says, Now to Him who is able. Don't ever forget, God is able. God is able to do more than we ask or imagine.
Pastor Justin McVey:Listen, I thought of this and as I was writing, I think of the fact that at East Valley this weekend where I'm a campus pastor, there's a young man named Tyler who's gonna be hosting. And if you don't know his story, you don't know that him standing on stage is an example of God doing the impossible. Listen, he grew up in a home that really did have a drug problem. He grew up in a home with a mom who was not just an addict, but a dealer. He was surrounded by violence.
Pastor Justin McVey:He tells stories, stories of of coming home to find his mom OD'd on the floor, of having to call people to come and help her as a young child. Let me tell you, humanly speaking in those moments, no one ever thought that kid, no one ever thought that kid would get out of it. No one ever thought that kid would be standing on stage at a Sandals campus but not just standing on stage hosting. You see with God, all things are possible. Tyler is our youth lead at Sandals Church East Valley and God is using him in powerful ways.
Pastor Justin McVey:Man, God wants to use you too. He wants to take your impossible and make it possible. Now, Jesus knew that this invitation to childlike faith was gonna be incredibly difficult because it goes against the very core of what we believe and who we are, in our culture and our society. And I love being the brilliant teacher that he was. Closes.
Pastor Justin McVey:He closes with what's actually the first step. He shows us what is a simple place to start. Gives us that first step and shows us that we have to begin to reframe how we look at things. The very last verse of the passage says this, but many who are the greatest now will be least important then. And those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.
Pastor Justin McVey:See, childlike faith redefines what matters most. Growing up, we had this neighbor boy, his name was Addison and Addison was a streaker. There's no other way to put it. Like this little kid from the moment he could walk, I remember sitting in our living room, hearing his mom scream, Addison! And looking out, then here's this kid just running, just in his birthday suit, naked as a jaybird, just happy and free and like, he didn't care what anyone thought, he didn't care what anyone said, he was just like, this is what matters.
Pastor Justin McVey:This is what matters. Listen, I miss the days when I was too young and too dumb to care what people thought about me. I miss the days when I was unaware that people were judging me. Judging me for how I looked, judging me for how I talked, judging me for what I wore, where I lived. I missed the days when I didn't feel the need to prove my worth, to prove that I was smart enough or strong enough, wealthy enough, talented enough.
Pastor Justin McVey:I miss the days when simple things just brought the most satisfaction. And maybe I wasn't dumb at all then. Maybe as a child, I just understood what really matters. John writes in first John two fifteen, says, Do not love this world nor the things it offers you for when you love the world, you don't have the love of the Father in you. Then He's gonna give us a list.
Pastor Justin McVey:Here's what the world offers. A craving. I love that. A craving for physical pleasure. Cravings are never satisfied.
Pastor Justin McVey:They're always there. A craving for everything we see. I need that. I want that. That's why social media destroys us so often because all we see is what we want.
Pastor Justin McVey:Man, and pride. There it is again, thinking we can do it in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father. These are from the world. And this world, here's the truth, fading away along with everything people crave.
Pastor Justin McVey:Man, I hear that and I think, John was reading our mail because I think describing this thing we like to call the American dream. This idea that if we work hard enough, that if we work hard enough in school and college and we build this career, we develop family, if we develop friends, if we work hard enough in religion, that if those things are the most important, at some point all that work will make us happy. And let's be honest, for a moment it does. But when that moment is gone, we're right back where we started. So what matters most to you?
Pastor Justin McVey:What's the top of your priority list? What do you value more than anything else? You see, if you are a child, you just, you desire your parents. You desire to be loved by them, to be held by them, to know them. That's what matters more than anything else and everything else is just details.
Pastor Justin McVey:Everything else is just stuff. I love John chapter six in another encounter. Jesus turns to the 12 disciples and says, Are you also going to leave? Just to give you context, the crowd was mad with some stuff Jesus said, it was hard. This time it wasn't just one person going away sad, the crowd was turning away.
Pastor Justin McVey:I love Peter again, give him credit. Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. Peter knew what mattered most and he knew the only place he could find it was in God's presence. I started this sermon talking about the moment, talking about the encounter with Jesus and the invitation that comes to follow Him.
Pastor Justin McVey:Specifically in this passage to follow Him with childlike faith. It's like clothes, God has just put it on me and I tried to write this out a couple different times and just keeps coming back. But I wanna speak to a very specific group of people. Because in this room right now watching online, is someone, our people who you heard the call. You received the invitation to follow Jesus, but in that moment, you couldn't leave it all behind.
Pastor Justin McVey:In that moment, the cost was too great. In that moment, you were too reliant upon yourself. In that moment, you couldn't see the impossible that Jesus wanted to do. And in that moment, you turned around and like the rich rung young ruler, you walked away sad and you have been regretting it ever since. You've been struggling with it ever since.
Pastor Justin McVey:And listen, for some of you that a call to ministry. That was a call to sacrifice everything and to be a pastor, to be a worship leader, to go overseas and share the gospel as a missionary. To be a youth pastor, to be a kids pastor, to serve within the church, to give up everything, your hopes and your dreams and your career. God this is what I want. And you walked away sad.
Pastor Justin McVey:Hear this right now. God still loves you. He's not mad at you. He hasn't forgotten you. And today is your second chance.
Pastor Justin McVey:God is once again coming and he's inviting you. He's inviting you to follow him with childlike faith. Just open your arms and your heart to Him, to let go and embrace a different way to live. Let's pray. God, thank you.
Pastor Justin McVey:Thank you for inviting us to more. Thank you for loving us as a father, for preparing so much more for us immeasurably more than we could ask for or imagine. And God, I pray in this moment that through the power of your spirit, God, that you would help us let go, That you would help us with childlike faith, leave everything behind God, and just pursue you. To pursue a different way of living God, to follow you with complete and total surrender. Father, thank you for loving us.
Pastor Justin McVey:Thank you for choosing us. Thank you for calling us. Pray this in your name. Amen.
Pastor Fredo Ramos:What a word for us this week to receive the invitation to, by the grace of God and with the spirit, to embrace childlike faith. We pray that wherever you are watching this from, that you would consider that invitation, and that you would experience the grace of God in his presence with you. And if our, church, this ministry, this message has served you in any way as you follow Jesus in a very real way in your own life, would you consider supporting the work that we're doing here? To do that, can go to sandalschurch.com/support. Grace and peace, we'll see you next week.