Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Following Jesus in Today’s World

Episode Date: July 4, 2021

Jesus calls people to follow Him, and knowing where He's headed will change everything. Let’s learn how to follow Jesus together.ABOUT THIS MESSAGEIf you choose to follow someone for the rest of your life, don't you want to know where they're going? Jesus calls people to follow Him, and knowing where He's headed will change everything. In our new message, we’ll learn what Following Jesus in Today’s World really means.Learn more about Following Jesus in Today’s World: www.life.church/media/following-jesus-in-todays-worldStart the Following Jesus in Today’s World Bible Plan: www.go2.lc/followjesusWE’RE OPENWe’re continuing to monitor guidelines and best practices for gathering in a safe way. Learn more about everything we're doing to keep you safe and how you can help by using hand sanitizer, washing your hands often, and more: https://www.life.church/updatesFind a time and attend a service with us: http://www.life.church/locationsNEXT STEPSHave you made a decision to follow Jesus? You may be wondering what’s next on your journey. We want to help! Let us guide you to your next steps in your walk with Christ: https://www.life.church/nextABOUT LIFE.CHURCHWherever you are in life, you have a purpose. Life.Church wants to help you find your next step. Our hope is that your journey will include joining us at a Life.Church location throughout the United States or globally online at https://www.live.life.church. Find locations, videos, and more info about us at https://www.life.church or download the Life.Church app at https://www.life.church/app. FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/life.churchInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/life.churchTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/lifechurchCONNECT WITH PASTOR CRAIGYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIIdiIO-Y20hRW9niR0CA8AFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/craiggroeschelInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/craiggroeschelTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/craiggroeschel#lifechurch #joakimlundqvist #followingjesusintodaysworld  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I want to talk about following Jesus, following Jesus. But I want to, again, I want to kind of look at it from a little bit of a different perspective. But why don't we start out in the book of Matthew? Well-known chapter when Jesus is about to call two of his future disciples, Simon and Andrew. And we're reading from verse 18, Gospel of Matthew chapter 4. It says, Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee saw two brothers. Simon called Peter and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen.

Then he said to them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. They immediately left their nets and followed him. Now in the book of Hebrews, it says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And that means that if he called his disciples back then by saying, follow me, he calls us today in the same way. by saying follow me. And of course we want to respond to that calling, don't we? I guess we all, all over this church and all over the locations,

you've sometimes prayed that prayer. Lord, I want to follow you. And we have sung the songs, I have decided to follow Jesus. We want to respond to that calling of Jesus. However, there's one very important question that a lot of times we fail to ask. but where is it going? Because if you're really serious about following someone

for the rest of your life, it should be of interest where that person is going. Because if you mean business with your commitment, you're going to end up with that person's going to end up. You know, that person's destination

will become your destination. The same thing. I remember when I met Maria, who is my wife, and I saw her for the first time, You know, I was 19, we just started a church. And we had invited this evangelist and he brought a worship team along with him.

And he was speaking the weekend and the worship team was led by a girl called Maria. And I had the front seat. I was doing the announcements and the offerings. I was standing on the first row and I looked straight at her and I had a very hard time focusing on God in that worship session. I looked at her and said, looked at her and said, there is none like you. No one else can. I mean, I absolutely loved what I saw.

She was beautiful and still is. I loved the way she loved the Lord and still does. However, I did not propose to her that night. Why? Because I didn't know her. I didn't know her destination. I didn't know where she was going. So we needed to get to know one another and when we both realized, I like your destination. I will follow you there. And she liked my destination. She said, I'll follow you there. Then we made the commitment that we will follow one another through life. So the big question for you and me, as Jesus is saying, follow me. We need to have the question answered. Where is it going? Where will we end up if we really are serious about following him? Now luckily for us, There's one chapter in the Bible that gives an answer to that question.

And that's Luke 15. Luke 15 basically contains three parables. The parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the parable of the lost son or the prodigal son. Now, what you need to understand is that normally, as Jesus is teaching, what he normally does is he shares one parable to emphasize and educate us in one spiritual truth. that he moves on to another parable for another spiritual truth.

At a few rare occasions, primarily in the Gospel of Matthew, he actually uses two parables to communicate the exact same truth. But those are rarities. But there is only one time in the four gospels when he uses three parables to communicate the same truth. It's like he's so anxious that we get this. So he gives one parables. If you didn't get it this time, I'll give you another.

And then if you're really stupid, I'll give you a third, but I'm still communicating the exact same thing. And what he communicates is the answer to the question about where he is going. So I'm going to read the two first parables, and then I'm going to sum up the third one because it's quite long. But in Luke chapter 15, verse 4, it says, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it. And when he's found it, he lays it on his shoulders,

rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, rejoice with me, for I found my sheep which was lost. I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance. Or what woman having 10 silver coins? If she loses one coin, does not light the lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it. And when she is found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, rejoice with me, for I found the peace which I lost.

Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. And then follows the parable of the prodigal son. Basically, one father have two sons. one of the sons wanted his inheritance in advance. He went up and spent it in sinful ways. He came to his senses and he realized he was all wrong and he decided to go back to his father's house

hoping that the father would receive him at least as a servant or a slave. But when he's still far away, the father sees him and runs up to him and hugs him and fully restores him to the point where his brother, who was homeworking all the time, was jealous of the attention and love.

that this lost son was shown by his father. So let's analyze these three parables, shall we? You see, in every one of these three parables, there's something that are in common. There's something that is in the wrong place, there's something that is in the right place, and there's a person representing God. Now the first parable about the lost sheep,

in that parable we have God represented in the shepherd. And there's something that is in the wrong place. Any suggestions? One sheep. One sheep is lost. One sheep is not where it's supposed to be. And in the right place there is 99. Yeah, you get it now.

There's 99 sheep that is already in the right place. They're with the shepherd, where they're supposed to be. Then the second parable, we have God represented in the woman. And there's one thing that is lost, and there is one coin. And there are, in the right place, nine coins. And then finally, in the third parable of the prodigal son, God is represented by the father, and there's one son in the wrong place and one son in the right place. Now, attitude-wise, he was in the wrong place as well, but physically he was in the right place.

Now, the big point Jesus is trying to make now in three parables after one another is this. Which one of these two categories gets God's main focus? Okay, so number one, in the first. story of the shepherd the shepherd's full focus is on that which is in the wrong place amen even if that if that sheep is in a minority the shepherd leaves the 99 in the wilderness that's a crazy thing to do i'm so happy this shepherd wasn't a Swedish shepherd because the Swedish shepherd was there i still got 99 not too bad could have been worse but you see there's something in the heart of this shepherd that cannot stand the thought that even one single sheep

that is his possession and is loved by him is lost in the wilderness. So he leaves the 99, that's you and I. He leaves the 99 in the desert and he goes to seek and save that which is lost. Second parable, the attention of the woman is fully on that which is in the wrong place. Again, because one,

One coin is lost, she sweeps the house, she searched carefully, she lights a lamp, fully focused on finding and saving and rescuing and getting back that one lost coin. And finally, the third parable, the father's focus is on the lost son. How do we know that? Because when he returned, the Bible says that when he was still far away, the father saw him. what does that tell you and me the father was standing there looking every single day praying that this might be the day when his beloved son would return and when he finally saw him over there in the horizon he ran for his life to greet him and to welcome him back so the point Jesus is trying to make is this his attention is focused on that which is lost he's going to find the lost sheep and the lost son and the lost coin. And on his way to that which is in the wrong

place, he turns around and his eyes meets mine eyes and your eyes who are in the right place and he says, follow me. Follow me. Follow me not only to church on Sunday, even though that's part of the deal but follow me more than anything to find another lost cheap finding another lost coin and welcoming home another lost son or daughter that is the original version of Christianity my friends that is the original version and when Jesus says follow me to you and I and we ask where are we going this is our destination if the destination is anything but this is not Christianity it's a kind of 21st century version of something, but it's not the original version. It's not Jesus' is true destination, amen? And when you start, you and I start to respond to following Jesus in this

definition, you have no idea of what it's about to happen, amen? I want to introduce to you two young guys from back home. Okay, this is Marcus and Daniel. Marcus is the one with the glasses and Daniel is the one with no glasses. And Marcus, a couple of years ago, he was 17 at the time, he heard me speak on this. He heard me speak on following Jesus to find the lost sheep and the lost coin and the lost son. And that kind of lost blue Marcus's mind because he never saw himself as somebody who would share the gospel. He was quite shy and most Swedish are introverts. So, you know, being extrovert and actually taking an initiative and sharing the gospel of Jesus, it doesn't come naturally for most. But he made up his mind.

I'm going to follow Jesus and I'm going to find that lost chief and that lost coin and that lost son. So this is his decision. Next, tomorrow morning, as I go to school, I'm going to open up the door and I'm going to walk straight up to the first person that I see,

whoever that person might be, and I'm going to invite that person to a life group meeting that same night. And you have a great opportunity to put this message in practice now in the upcoming at the movie series, right? So anyway, Marcus next morning he went to school, he opened the door, first person that he saw was Daniel.

No glasses guy. The two of them had never spoken, they have never met. But still Marcus went straight up to Daniel, which is such an unswedish thing to do. And he invited him to this meeting. And Daniel accepted. There was just one little detail that he left out. He didn't actually say it was a Christian life group. Daniel thought he was invited to a party.

And later on I actually asked Daniel to write the whole testimony down so that when I retell it, I would retell it accurately and not evangelistically, you know? So just to get it really, really right. So he actually wrote six full pages describing in detail how he prepared himself for the party. How he got cool clothes on, shoes that were fit for dancing. He put on audit toilet to impress the ladies.

at the party and then he showed up at the given address. He rang the doorbell and a mother opened the door. Daniel's mind went alert, alert, alert. You know, what is a mother doing at a party? He was led into the living room. There was like eight to 10 people sitting around the table. One had a guitar. Danny thought, what is this?

What is this party? And he sat down, you know, and they sang a few songs and they chatted and then somebody said, let's pray. And Daniel went, Oh no, oh no, he was completely unhooked, never heard the gospel, did not come from a Christian family, had no prior Christian experience.

So you're just sitting there, what's happening? And one person prayed and another person prayed and a third person prayed and Daniel thought, oh no, you're supposed to take turns. And it's like, oh no, ah. This is no way I'm gonna pray, no way! But then all of a sudden he heard his own mouth started speaking. And he heard himself say, could you please pray for my grandfather who's got cancer and has only a few months left to live?

Who? What was that? Now the life group jumped at the opportunity. They prayed for Daniel's grandfather. And after a while, things came to an end and Daniel walked home thinking that was the weirdest party I've ever been to in my life. However, one week later, Daniel's mother calls him at school, overjoyed, saying, Daniel, they take a new x-rays on grandpa, and the cancer that would have killed him within months is now completely gone. Daniel said, when did they take the x-rays? Mother says, turn out it was the day after the life group meeting.

Daniel called Marcus and we need to talk now. Marcus brought Daniel to our church, Word of Life. First time he was ever in the church. He heard the gospel, and when it was time for the altar called, he lifted his hand and he accepted Jesus Christ into his heart. And you know, it's been a few years now. And since that day, Daniel has attended one year in our Bible school, one year in our mission school,

and is now a full-time missionary in the Red Light Districts in Thailand. And Marcus is a full-time missionary in China. You have no idea what will start to happen and the things you'll start to move when you step into the true calling of following Jesus, amen. Let's go back to these two men that we read about initially. Matthew chapter 4, one of them was called Peter, as we know. And, you know, he went on to follow Jesus and it did really well.

But later on in his life, at the time, time where Jesus was arrested and the road to Calvary started, Peter made an adjustment in the way he followed Jesus. Matthew chapter 26, verse 58, said at this time, he says, but Peter followed him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard and he went in and sat with the servants to see the end. At this point where the stakes were slightly higher and the cost is higher to follow Jesus, It now involves the risk of your own safety and your own security and your own comfortability. All of a sudden, Peter makes the mistake of allowing a distance in his following. Technically, he's still following Jesus, but he's following him at a distance.

And if you read this chapter later on, you will see how people start to come up to Peter asking him, aren't you one of his disciples? And all of a sudden, he starts to say, no, no, I don't know the man. And he curses and he swears. What we see here is that when we allow a distance in our following, our relationship to other people will change. All of a sudden the focus will be on us, our security, our safety, and not on finding the lost sheep, the lost coin of the lost son.

You see, if these people would have come up to Peter a bit earlier and said, are you one of his disciples? He would surely have responded, yes, I am, praise God. and you can become one too, pray after me. But all of a sudden now there's a distance and that affects the way he looks at other people. All of a sudden, his whole goal is his own comfortability and security, holding on for life to anything that might save his own life.

But praise God, he came back to following Jesus, amen. After the resurrection, he was fully restored and he was back at following Jesus up close. And immediately, it was all about other people again. It was all about the original version, all about the lost cheap, the lost coin, and the lost sun. And you know what, I want to close today by sharing a story. This is a bit special to me.

Because a few years ago, God, the Spirit of God actually asked me, it was really weird, to study the story of the Titanic disaster. I didn't know why, but I got all the books that I was out there quite a lot, and I read through them all, not really knowing what God wanted me to find. I think you know the basic story. There was this huge ship, the largest man-made object in the world at the time. And he was going from Southampton on his maiden journey, cross the Atlantic over to the U.S. 2,201 passengers on board.

And in the middle of the night, the ship collided with an iceberg, and it started to sink. Now, it took quite a long time for the ship to go down. So about three and a half hours from the iceberg. impact until it completely disappeared. So there was a lot of time for lifeboats to be placed in the ocean. But the strange thing is that when you study the story of the titanic disaster, that the lifeboats that was lowered into the ocean throughout the first hour after the impact, they were only half full at the best. The titanic lifeboats had a capacity to save 70 people, and it's clearly documented how many people ended up in each one of them.

And the first hour, they only had between 30 down to 12 people. So that meant that when the ship finally went down all over the ocean, there were all these lifeboats only half full with the capacity to save more people. And all of a sudden there were hundreds of people now in the water fighting for their lives and screaming for help. And this is where what is called the second disaster of the, the Titanic happened. And that was the fact that even though there were so many lifeboats with seats to spare, everybody started rowing away from the scene of the disaster. They managed to shut out the fact that all these people were struggling for their lives. We could actually help them,

but they were happy with the fact that they had been saved. And they were rowing away. only one single boat ever returned to pick up survivors from the water. And when I read that, it was like the Spirit of God started speaking to me, saying, you know, this is one version of end-time Christianity right here. This is one version of end-time Christianity, where we're just happy with the fact that we made it, we know Jesus, we're on our way to heaven, and even though this boat has got so many more seats,

we row away from the scene of the disaster. And I was so heavy-hearted at the time. I was praying, repenting for my own sake, and just praying that I would not end up there, that I would not end up in this attitude. And then I started thinking, there must be another version in here somewhere. In this story, there must be another version

than this option. And then I found the other version in and through the life of a, man on board this ship called John Harper. John Harper was a 39-year-old Scottish evangelist. I know he looks older. And he was on board the Titanic that cruise so that he can get over to Chicago where he was going to have a big crusade and preach the gospel to thousands of people. And with him on the trip, he had the apple of his eye, his little daughter, Annie Jessie, just six years old. And Annie's a little, and Annie,

Jesse and John Harper were among the very first one to realize the danger they were in. They were among the first ones to get out of their cabins. How do we know that? Because in one of the first lifeboats that were lowered into the ocean, Annie Jesse Harper is registered as one of the passengers. However, not John Harper. The other passengers of the lifeboat all witnessed later on how John Harper came up with his daughter. He held her for a few seconds. He kissed her forehead. He looked at her and he said, I will see you sometime later, honey. I love you so much. And he put his daughter in the lifeboat, made sure she was well taken care of.

And as the lifeboat was lowered, now was the time for him to following Jesus. And find a lost sheep, a lost coin or a lost son and daughter. He started running around on the ship, pounding on the cabin doors, calling out women, children, and people who do not know Jesus get to the lifeboats now. Women, children, and people who don't know Jesus, get to the lifeboats now. Because his perspective was that if I die tonight, I know where I'm going,

I'm just going to get there a bit sooner than I thought. But if somebody dies here tonight without knowing Jesus, they will move into an eternity separated from God. So my calling right now is a follower of, Jesus is finding that lost sheep finding that lost coin and finding that lost son and daughter all around him lifeboats were lowered he could have gotten into anyone of the lifeboats and we wouldn't have blamed him but he didn't just calling for people to get in the lifeboats get themselves into safety John Harper ended up being one of the hundreds in the water that night and realizing

that he was in the water and the lifeboats were rowing a water way he realized there is no more chance for survival so we changed his battle cry and started to call out at the top of his voice believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved countless testimonies testify that above all the cries of anguish there was this male voice calling out believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved and God only knows how many people heard the gospel in the last few minutes and seconds of their lives and gave their hearts to Jesus right before going in to eternity. About a year later, after this disaster, there was a reunion for Titanic survivors. And the first person to come up and give his testimony was a young

man called William John Melors. And he said, I was only 19 years old when I boarded the ship. And I was one of the many hundreds who ended up in the water that night. And I still remember, he said, holding on to a piece of debris, trying to make it, but realizing I'm going to die tonight before my life has even begun. But then he shared that the current brought him close to a man later identified as John Harper. And this man looked at the 19-year-old and he shouted to him, do you know Jesus? And William was not really prepared for that question at the time. He didn't know what to say. John Harper called out to him, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.

The currents brought them apart. William was trying to process what he just heard. A few minutes later, the currents brought the two men back again. John Harper called out, Do you know Jesus now? William responded, no, sir, I cannot honestly say. that I do and again John Harper called out believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved and that was the last time anyone saw John Harper however William John

Meadows gave his life to Jesus right there in the water and minutes later he was picked up by the only returning lifeboat that night and a year later at the survivor's reunion he shared his testimony and he ended it by saying I was saved twice that night. And here I was with these two versions of end-time Christianity, one where we get in the half full lifeboats and just roll away happy and content that we are saved and considering our comfortability and safety higher than risking anything to find the lost cheap, the lost coin or the lost son. Or we can be the John Harper's of our generation. We can be the John Harper's of our generation. We can be the John harpers of our generation.

Realizing that now is the time to follow Jesus where he really is going, meaning giving our all, giving our best to find that lost cheap, finding that lost coin and finding that lost son. And maybe you're here today and you're a Christian, but somehow you want to recommit to following Jesus. You want to recommit to following him according to the original version. maybe your life like mine many times have started to circle more around you and your own needs and your own comfortability it's time to recommit to follow him where he's actually going and to be the john harpers

of our generation why don't you pray with me if you want to make that commitment father we thank you so much for showing us this original version and we pray that in this time that is so individualistic and so selfish we pray that our hearts and our following of you will not get infected by the spirit of this world. We pray that we will be the ones to follow you to find the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. We pray, Lord, that we will not just run to safety in the life boat, a row away from the scene of the disaster, but that we will be the John Harper's of our generation.

That we will pound the cabin doors until there is no lost cheap left, no lost coin left, no lost son or daughter to welcome back, but they've all been gathered into your hands. Father, forgive us when we have failed. Forgive us when we have created our own version of Christianity and lived accordingly. But Father, help us to recommit to the original version, which is following you to seek and save that which was lost. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, I'd say that's my favorite Pastor Joachim message yet.

And I just want to give you a moment to let that settle in your heart. and you may be kind of like that kid that went to school and just couldn't wait till church just invited somebody into a place where they may experience the gospel. Certainly by next week, I know that you'll all come across people who are hurting, who are spiritually in trouble in need of help. And I would just encourage you to use the opportunity in any way to show the love of Jesus. You can bring them next week, and I promise you there'll be a really strong gospel presentation. and I want you to think about who it is that you know that needs freedom, needs grace, needs a life of Jesus.

We're going to pray for those people in your life. Father, for parents and siblings and children and friends and people that we work with that need Jesus. God, help us to be like a John Harper. Use us as a light. As we follow you, Jesus, lead us to those that are lost, that we can bring them into your family. God, put people on our hearts and give us off.

to give us the words to say and the love to share that people would come to know you. As you keep praying today, if you're watching online or at all of our churches, there are some of you that this is for you. Like this is your time, your moment. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you'll be saved. What does that mean? Well, you may look at your life and feel like I've felt for so long, just like lost, meaning I don't really know where I'm going. I don't really know what I'm doing. I don't know what matters.

If something happened to me, I don't know where I would go. and the good news is that Jesus came for those who are lost. He came for the broken. He came for the hurting. He came for those who are spiritually sick. Who is Jesus? He is the son of God. He is perfect in every way.

He was the innocent sacrifice who died in our place. When someone sins, there has to be a payment. Jesus made that payment. He shed his blood that we could be forgiven and God raised him from the dead so that anyone, and this includes, you who calls on his name would be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved today at all of our churches. Those who say,

yes, I need his grace. I want his forgiveness. I want to know what it means to be in his family. I turn away from my sins. I give my life to Jesus. That's your prayer. I need his grace. I need his forgiveness. I give my life to him. Would you lift your hands right now? All of our churches say, yes, I'm giving my life to Jesus. Those of you online, wherever you are, just type that in the chat. I am giving my life to Jesus. And as you do, it would mean so much to me if you would just pray wherever you are.

Just pray with me, pray Heavenly Father. I give my life to Jesus. Save me. Forgive all of my sins. Fill me with your spirit. I want to know you. And I want to follow you. Lead me to show your love.

to be a light in a very dark world. Thank you for new life. I give you all of mine. In Jesus' name, I pray. Could somebody celebrate the grace, the goodness of God through Jesus Christ?