Come with Nothing. Receive Everything. - Matthew S5E9

Summary

Deepen with Pastor Joby Martin

Episode: Come with Nothing. Receive Everything. – Matthew S5E9

Date: July 27, 2026
Host: Pastor Joby Martin
Guests: Pastor Britt, Pastor Ona

---

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode dives deep into Matthew 19, exploring the themes of dependence, surrender, and the posture required to access the kingdom of God. Using the contrasts of children and the rich young ruler, the conversation challenges listeners to recognize that entering God’s kingdom requires coming to Him with nothing—complete need and dependence—so that He can give everything. The pastors unpack the biblical text in its historical and personal context, highlight the heart of the gospel, and reflect on practical applications for faith, identity, and wealth.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Contrasting Postures: Children vs. The Rich Young Ruler

Timestamps: 01:01–08:22

• Children as a Metaphor:
  • In the first-century context, children were marginalized, with no entitlement to rights or attention ([03:49] Pastor Ona: "Very, very, very much so.").
  • Today, culture often overindulges children; historically, they were to be seen and not heard ([03:12] Pastor Joby).
• Spiritual Dependence:
  • Spiritual maturity is modeled not by increasing independence (as in life) but by a growing dependence on God ([05:27] Pastor Britt).
  • Quote: [06:45] Pastor Joby: "What kids have is need. They have dependence, they have trust...I just know that's my dad. And so ultimately, I think that's what he is saying."

2. The Posture of Need and Trust

Timestamps: 08:54–14:29

• Dependence on the Father:
  • Personal stories illustrate that with a good father, children don’t worry—they trust ([09:29] Pastor Joby: "And do you know what I worried about when I was going fishing? Nothing.").
  • Loss of a father leaves a deep impact on the ability to trust and be at peace ([10:55] Pastor Ona).
  • The crucial difference between living for approval versus living from a sense of secured approval in God ([13:39] Pastor Joby: "Only in the gospel does the verdict come before the performance.").

3. The Rich Young Ruler: Self-sufficiency vs. Surrender

Timestamps: 14:29–23:01

• The ruler’s question is inherently self-centered: "What good deed must I do to have eternal life?" ([14:44] Pastor Joby).
• Inheritance Metaphor:
  • Inheritance is received, not earned—reflects salvation by grace, not works ([15:07] Pastor Britt).
• The Law as a Mirror:
  • Jesus uses the law to reveal the real issue: the man’s heart posture, not just his external obedience ([16:24] Pastor Ona: "...the law is given to us...it acts like a mirror, not binoculars.").
• Quote: [17:34] Pastor Joby: "If you don't realize your own need, I can't convict you of sin."

4. The Impossible Standard and the Call to Surrender

Timestamps: 23:01–28:16

• Perfection Required:
  • Jesus does not lower the standard; the standard is perfection ([22:03] Pastor Joby).
  • Our only hope is imputed righteousness—receiving Christ’s perfection by faith ([22:30] Pastor Joby).
• What’s Your “One Thing”?
  • Jesus exposes idols—to the ruler, wealth; to others, something else ([25:29] Pastor Joby: "What is your one thing in your life?...what is the thing that you think would cost you too much to follow after Jesus?").
  • C.S. Lewis paraphrased: making second things into first things makes you lose everything ([26:10] Pastor Britt).

5. Wealth, Idolatry, and Trackable Devotion

Timestamps: 28:16–33:10

• Money as a Heart Test:
  • There are no mysteries with money; where it goes shows who/what is ruling your heart ([31:16] Pastor Joby).
  • Quote: [32:20] Pastor Joby: "You say you love Jesus. Let me see your bank account and your calendar...Because these things are...trackable."
• Balance in Priorities:
  • God is not one priority among others—He is the page on which life’s priorities should be written ([26:13] Pastor Joby).

6. Sacrifice, Rewards, and the Upside-down Kingdom

Timestamps: 33:10–54:36

• Sacrifice & Reward:
  • True surrender means God is preeminent, not a means to an end ([28:53] Pastor Ona: "We treat Jesus like a part time lover...").
• Earthly vs. Eternal Reward:
  • Jesus assures the disciples of real, but different, rewards vs. the Prosperity Gospel ([36:17]–[38:17] Pastor Joby).
  • Prosperity heresy is not about God’s generosity, but about making God a tool for self-advancement ([37:58] Pastor Joby).
• Performing for Approval:
  • Using children as examples, the discussion highlights the danger of basing worth on performance versus unconditional love ([41:19] Pastor Joby).
• The New World and Regeneration:
  • The episode highlights Jesus' unique use of “the new world” (palingenesia) as a promise of renewal, both personal and cosmic ([44:14] Pastor Ona).

7. Living for Eternity, Not the Temporary

Timestamps: 46:19–54:36

• Heavenly Citizens:
  • Reminders to set your primary address as heaven, living as first fruits of the coming renewal ([47:08] Pastor Joby).
  • Wise investments are eternal, not just for one’s own comfort ([49:32] Pastor Ona).
• Last Will Be First:
  • Jesus subverts earthly values—those who come empty-handed, without self-sufficiency, find life ([53:22] Pastor Ona).

8. The Gospel Illustration: Jesus as the Greater Rich Young Ruler

Timestamps: 55:05–56:58

• Profound Insight:
  • Pastor Joby powerfully re-frames the gospel: Jesus is the true rich young ruler who gave up everything to bring many sons and daughters to glory.
  • Quote: [55:05] Pastor Joby: “Jesus is the greater rich young ruler...He is perfect. And he sells it all...humbles himself...And then what does he receive...the very children of God are brought with him to heaven.”

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• [06:45] Pastor Joby:
  “What kids have is need. They have dependence, they have trust...I just know that's my dad.”
• [14:44] Pastor Joby:
  “His question is all about him. What good deed must I do to have eternal life?...What do you do to get an inheritance? You have to be the son...”
• [22:30] Pastor Joby:
  “Perfection is yours, imputed to you by faith...an alien righteousness accomplished at the cross on your behalf.”
• [25:29] Pastor Joby:
  “What is the thing that you think would cost you too much to follow after Jesus?”
• [32:20] Pastor Joby:
  “You say you love Jesus. Let me see your bank account and your calendar...Because these things are...trackable.”
• [36:17] Pastor Ona:
  “What you get people with, you keep them with.”
• [37:58] Pastor Joby:
  “The heresy is about preeminence...In the prosperity equation, it's an if then quid pro quo...You owe me.”
• [55:05] Pastor Joby:
  “Jesus is the greater rich young ruler...He is perfect. And he sells it all...for the joy set before him, he endured the cross...the reward that he receives is the very children of God.”
• [53:56] Pastor Ona:
  “It's not the kingdom that's upside down. We're upside down.”

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• Children and dependence: [01:01–08:22]
• Fatherhood and trust: [09:29–12:54]
• Rich young ruler’s question and self-sufficiency: [14:29–23:01]
• Call to surrender, wealth, and idolatry: [23:01–33:10]
• Sacrifice, priorities, and rewards: [33:10–54:36]
• Jesus as the greater rich young ruler: [55:05–56:58]

---

Tone and Language

The conversation is candid, reflective, and pastorally warm—full of personal stories, laughter, and deep theological insight. The tone balances gravity and grace, challenging listeners to deeper honesty in their faith, while also pointing to the wondrous sufficiency of Jesus.

---

Takeaway Summary

• Entering the kingdom of God requires a childlike posture: need, humility, and complete dependence.
• Self-salvation—attempting to earn God’s favor—always falls short; surrender is the true gateway.
• God’s love and our approval are secure, not the result of our performance.
• Money and possessions reveal the true ruler of our hearts; God must remain preeminent, not just present.
• Jesus himself models perfect surrender, becoming “the greater rich young ruler” for our sake.
• Our hope and reward are ultimately found not in what we can gain here, but in being part of the coming renewal, living as citizens of heaven.

---

Closing Prayer

[57:18] Pastor Ona:
A prayer of gratitude for God’s sovereignty and love, for the finished work of Christ, and a call for listeners to come boldly before God, trusting in His renewal and the possibility of salvation for all.

---

This episode is rich in thought-provoking illustration and practical spiritual challenge—urging all listeners to come to Jesus with empty hands, ready to receive all He offers.

Transcript

[Pastor Joby Martin]

Welcome to Deepen with Pastor Joby Martin. The Church of 1122 is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. And we're praying this message helps you deepen your relationship with him. Now let's dive in.

[Pastor Britt]

What's up, everybody? This is the Deepen podcast. Pastor Joby, I like your jacket.

[Pastor Joby]

Thank you. So, Kuyu, shacket.

[Pastor Ona]

Shacket.

[Pastor Britt]

A little bit warm if you need it. A little bit cool if you need it.

[Pastor Joby]

That's Jacksonville.

[Pastor Britt]

I know.

[Pastor Joby]

Yeah, It's Tuesday and Wednesday in Jacksonville.

[Pastor Britt]

A little bit more.

[Pastor Joby]

A little bit cool.

[Pastor Ona]

You get all four seasons in a week.

[Pastor Joby]

There it is.

[Pastor Ona]

That's what I've experienced.

[Pastor Joby]

Don't you love it?

[Pastor Ona]

It's the best.

[Pastor Britt]

Happy to be here with Pastor 1 once again.

[Pastor Ona]

Yes, sir.

[Pastor Britt]

And we're in Matthew 19 and a couple of doozies here for us. Excited to get in there and talk about it. Pastor one, what's the Lord do in your heart as you look at this text? Just as a big picture kind of introduction?

[Pastor Ona]

I love this text. It's one of those moments where I can say to my mother, that law degree you paid for did not go to waste. It feels like it's. You know, what Matthew is doing is saying, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I present to you two images. Children on the one end and this rich young ruler on the other. And I need you to hold those in mind as we navigate through the text, because what Jesus does here is he doesn't give, like, an alternative or, hey, let me tweak things here a little bit. He completely upsets what we think about how one accesses the kingdom of God. And so it's such a clear picture. One could get lost in what's going on here. But it's such a beautiful picture of, you know, hey, the kingdom, the way that you possess the kingdom, it's not with the currency that you think that you have. And so that's. It's. It's so powerful as we make our way through it. It's so powerful to see that, you know, over and over again.

[Pastor Joby]

I think you've asked often in this. In our run through Matthew about teaching such large texts. And look, man, there's benefits from studying one word at a time. Okay? But there's also benefits in backing up, because if you just. If you just only studied it, by the way, the. The translators broke it up and put the titles over it, then you would completely miss that.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah, yeah.

[Pastor Britt]

And you were mentioning kind of that one of the benefits of looking at Matthew, especially on a big picture, is that several times Jesus says, like, here's this section's thesis.

[Pastor Joby]

Yeah.

[Pastor Britt]

And then here's some like real life demonstrations of that, of that truth. So certainly true here. Well, as Westerners, it's our view of children. We'll start with children because this text has children coming to Jesus and the disciples are like, no, no, no, don't bother him. And then he rebukes them. And children, in the view of the first century folks is. Is quite different than today. So let's try to get into that difference for a second to help us understand this.

[Pastor Joby]

They were definitely seen and not heard. They were. I mean, in our context, if anything, we have fallen off the other side of the log or in the other ditch where we worship youth and worship children and everybody's life completely revolves around it. This was not be so not just in 1st century Israel, but just in really most of the world for most of human history, that children were added to your life. Your life did not bend around them.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah. So in that case, they're kind of a marginalized group to your.

[Pastor Ona]

Very, very, very much so.

[Pastor Joby]

Yeah. I mean, nobody's going to ask their kids how they feel about school and synagogue and what mom made for dinner and did you like that or not?

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

You know, there's none of that.

[Pastor Britt]

You've read the book the coddling of the American mind? Probably.

[Pastor Joby]

Yes.

[Pastor Britt]

And just in recent decades, especially the way that, that hypersensitivity to how does little Timmy feel? You know, even that illustration they gave that peanut allergies are worse because nobody gives their kids peanuts anymore.

[Pastor Joby]

Yeah. Any modern psychologist will tell you that the, that the way you help anybody, whether it's a child or an adult, overcome fears and face adversity is to take small steps towards it, not to avoid it. Yeah, it's the beginning of the gospel, man. Well, it's the. It's part two. Step one is you were created by God for God.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

Step one is not you were a sinner. There was a previous intention.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

Okay, so Calvin got that part. He was just responding to somebody else. So total depravity is not the beginning. The beginning is God's intention was out of an overflow of God love, God's love for God's self. He created you to be an image bearer to give and receive love with him. And because he is in and of himself a relationship, we were created to be in relationship primarily with him and then one another. That's the beginning. Then sin ruins everything and so if you can't step towards pain, then you'll never come poor in spirit, broken and say, I need you to fix me.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah. There's this great diagram I've heard taught on before that in our human life you start off really, really dependent. So an infant is totally helpless. And the whole path of our life is to become more independent, but spiritually it's the opposite. Like we come to Christ usually like very self sufficient and then we see our need and the path of growth is to become more and more dependent on him. And so when Jesus says, don't rebuke them, don't hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. Like what are some of the things that he means by that? Like childlike?

[Pastor Joby]

Well, in another place he says, unless you change and become like a little child.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

You'll have no part with me. That means we are not that. Right. I mean, kids can be aggravating and all the things, and they're precious and all that, but they're also wretched, black hearted sinners. But what kids have is need. They have dependence, they have trust. You know, one of my favorite illustrations is my dad in the pool, just saying, come on, jump to me. And even though I did not have the ability to swim, I trusted him.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

I didn't have to figure it out. I didn't know anything about the physics of buoyancy and you know, filling up my lungs with air and moving my arms. I just know that's my dad. And so ultimately, I mean, that's ultimately, I think what he is saying. Especially in the first century, kids would be humble. They would not, they would have no sense that they were entitled to what they want because that had never been given to them.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

That everything that they have was completely dependent upon their parents.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Ona]

You could look at this and wonder why would the disciples push back? You know, are they being cruel? Are they being. And then Jesus in rebuking them, he's saying it's not about innocence, you know, it's not. And later we'll see as we talk about the rich young ruler. It's not even about being good. Look, they're cute. Kids are cute, but innocent. I don't think so. Spend time with a toddler and you'll quickly find out that that is not the case. What Jesus is saying here is that it's about posture. You know what I mean? It's about posture. It's to your point that it's about coming and, and recognizing that you, you are in need. You Know, the. The. The Beatitudes begin that way. So. So it's. It's recognizing that. That. That that is how one accesses the kingdom. And so Jesus is. He sees that, and he goes, okay, don't miss it, boys. Don't miss it. And. And I mean, a little bit to their credit, I try to put myself a little bit in their shoes, and I'm going, hey, this isn't. This isn't efficient, having all these kids here. It's not helpful. Like, we're. We're doing some things, and kids are. They can be a nuisance. They can be a problem. But he's going, no, no, no, no. The kingdom belongs to such as these. So posture matters.

[Pastor Joby]

It also is a little leadership lesson, man. You know, like, if getting on your knee, eyeball to eyeball with a kid, if that is beyond you, sure, Then church leadership ain't for you.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah, yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

You know?

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah. I always tell, you know, preachers, I go, if you. If you are unwilling to go and teach to a bunch of kids, man, I think you need to be very careful about your calling in the pulpit. Like, it's just the ability to communicate these gospel truths to them. And. And like you said, coming eyeball to eyeball, it does something to you.

[Pastor Joby]

You know, you want to get humbled real quick, Go try to teach some kids.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah. I think Spurgeon has a quote about, like, playing on the floor with kids. I. I don't remember what it is,

[Pastor Ona]

but

[Pastor Britt]

super, super important. You have a story, Pastor Joby, too, of going fishing with your dad and not worrying about, do we have what we need? You know, my son's 10, and he's getting bigger, a lot bigger than he used to, but he still is. Like, he's gonna catch me. You know, he's about to knock him. Knock me over. But tell the.

[Pastor Joby]

Tell the fishing thing. So a part of what comes to mind is when I was little and my dad would be like, hey, you want to go fishing tomorrow? I was like, of course I do. And do you know what I worried about when I was going fishing? Nothing. He would wake me up. We would get in the truck. He had a 69 Chevy pickup with three on the column. And, you know, one of the things I'll say. I wasn't worried about safety. He wasn't either, because we didn't do seat belts back then. My brother would stand in the. Cause it was a bench seat. It was just one big, long seat. And he would stand in the middle while we drove. Because my dad, if we had to stop real quick. He would just do the power arm move, you know, and then he. I didn't have to worry about a fishing license. I'm not convinced he did either. But I didn't worry about gas in the boat. I didn't worry about bait. I didn't worry about anything. He just had everything. All I had to do was show up.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

And my dad. My dad was in charge. That's why, by the way, even though we didn't grow up in church and we didn't grow up praying, we didn't grow up reading the Bible. When I would read in the New Testament, especially early on, that God is our Father, that made all the sense in the world to me. You know, like, he's got it. If you trust him, he's got it. Because that was my dad. And I. I think that is what Jesus is saying. Unless you change and become like these little children and trust your father, then the kingdom of heaven is not yours.

[Pastor Ona]

And I think a lot of people miss out on that. That's why even as a. A grown adult man, you. You wrestle with this. I. I think of just hearing your story. So my dad. My dad passed away when I was 13. And. And it's only much later in life, looking back and realizing, wow, when I was with him, I. I worried about nothing. I was so dependent on him. The. The amount of times where anything would happen, if I was scared, if I was excited, if I was, I would look to him to kind of like, just not. Not validation, but just this circle of, like, trust that I felt that I was in. And then I. I lose him at 13. And then I look back and I go, man, that's when peace went out the window. Because I felt like I had to. In many ways, I had to grow up quickly. But then also, it's like I carry this posture into my relationship with God, the Father that I was. Like, I've had to protect myself and watch over myself, you know, and it's, It's. You miss out on that dependency. And so there's a lot of rewiring that a lot of people and a lot of men have to go through. Especially, you know, we. You say it all the time that one of the big issues is the fact that, you know, tons of families just don't have a father in them. So it's this. This come as a child. It's, it's. It's so foreign to a lot of people because it's like. But what does that even look like? Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

Yeah. The Fear thing is a big deal. Like when I would. A little more so with Reagan. She didn't love the dark. You know, she was little. And we go hunting or something, maybe five o' clock in the morning, and we're walking in the woods and there's noises and all of that. And when I would hold her hand, there was no more light and there were no less noises. But my dad can take care of things. That's just it.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

Or when a kid gets scared in their room and they call for their parents. Nothing has changed in the room except who just walked in the room. There may be monsters under the bed, but my parents can take care of them.

[Pastor Britt]

Pastor Britt has that great story about being at his, I think his daughter's gymnastics event and his phone dying and then realizing how often his daughter would look up at him when she did something. My son played this little basketball thing. And honestly, there was this kid who really ticked me off. I mean, it was like terrible attitude. But he, every time I started noticing, every time he shot his head would go like this, looking over his parents, you know. And so there is something about how we're wired to, like, hunger for that look of approval and love. I think that's how we're supposed to live, knowing we have it. Like, there's this song we sing. Everything I need, My father has it.

[Pastor Joby]

I love that song.

[Pastor Britt]

I love it too. And.

[Pastor Joby]

And what's crazy about our lived experience versus the gospel is only in the gospel does the verdict come before the performance.

[Pastor Britt]

Right.

[Pastor Joby]

So before Jesus ever does any ministry, when he gets baptized, he says, this is my son in whom I am well pleased. He hasn't done anything yet.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

And if we are in Christ and the righteousness of Christ has been wrapped around us and God's approval is already on us.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

So you should continue to look to your father not to get the approval, but just to be reminded that you already have it.

[Pastor Britt]

And that would just. That would change everything about my life

[Pastor Joby]

if I live that way.

[Pastor Britt]

You know, I mean, just. You think about all the ways that you're insecure or you make bad choices. It's just because you don't. You're not connected to that, you know?

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

He go.

[Pastor Britt]

It goes in this section, goes right into this rich young man or rich young ruler. And he comes up to Jesus and he asked kind of a bad question. So tell us, Pastor Joby, why that's a bad question that he asked?

[Pastor Joby]

His question is all about him. What good deed must I do to have eternal life? Some translations will say, what. What must I do to inherit eternal life? Well, think about this. What do you do to. To get an inheritance? You have to be the son, got

[Pastor Britt]

to be in the family.

[Pastor Joby]

That's it. And what did you do to be the offspring of your parents? Yeah, yeah, don't think about that too much. But you didn't do anything. You were the passive agent in, we'll presume, an act of love, and you are the byproduct of it. And in your salvation, you are the passive agent that you didn't get you out of the muck in the mire, that you did not make you righteous. But we were sinners by nature and nurture. But God being rich in mercy, did for us what we couldn't do for ourselves. So he is at the center of his salvation equation here.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

And, and we're going to find out when Jesus tells him, which is really misunderstood, but he, in his own arrogance thinks that, yeah, okay, cool, I'm killing it. So he thinks this is an earned position.

[Pastor Britt]

What's the unpack a little bit. Pastor ON why would Jesus answer. He starts his answer with, why do you ask me about what is good? There's only one who's good. And then just keeps going with the answer. But it's like, it seems like he's making a point there with that.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah. Because Jesus is so surgical with the knife. He's really cutting away and wanting to get to the heart of the issue. I think too often, you know, even myself, I'll rush the whole thing. And what ends up happening is I end up just dealing with the fruit and not getting to the root of the issue. And so as he continues to ask questions, he's just wanting to get him the rich young ruler to that point where he actually recognizes what his need is. You know, so even the, the, the commandments that he gives, it's, it's, it's. I mean, you say this often when you preach that the, the law is given to us. It's, it acts like a mirror, not binoculars. And so he's. I need you, Jesus. I need you to see you for who you truly are and your need. Because only then will you then see who's standing in front of you. It doesn't go that way for him, but, but he's just, he's, he's really getting, he's poking at the issue. He's getting to the issue because even in his answers, you can. He completely misses it. He's like, yeah, I've done. I've done, I've done this. And, and even in that you think, okay, that's where Jesus is going to go. And he goes, okay, hold on, what about this one? And that's where he goes, okay, that's.

[Pastor Joby]

So we've talked about this a lot over the last several weeks. This is a, a really good example of this kind of new tactic of evangelism that I've been leaning into a lot lately. That if you don't realize your own need, I can't convict you of sin to. So I'm not even just going to throw pearls before swine here. Like, if you don't think you need a savior, then on airplanes and in the gym I've go, well, when you, when you get to the point where you realize you do, come see me. Yeah, and we'll talk about the rest of it. Now I'll throw in, Jesus loves you, died on the cross for your sins. Put your faith in him, you'll be saved. But that, you know, if you don't know your la loss, I hand you a map, you're not even going to look at it. Yeah, this is what he does. Yeah. Because he says, so what was good thing? What, what good thing must I do? And basically what he says, okay, ready, Be perfect. And the guy goes, check.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

He's like, all right, well, all right, let's boil it down to just one thing.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm just seeing this now as I'm, I'm looking at it. Obviously Jesus knows what's in the heart of this man as he walks up and the phrase there, why do you ask me about what is good? It's like, hey, if you're already so convinced that you can be self sufficient and you've got it nailed, what do you even call, what do we, what do you even talk to me for? You know, and so it, maybe it's some sort of posturing or whatever, but he says, if you be perfect, well, if you would enter life, keep the commandments. And then he says, all right, if you be perfect, go sell what you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. And it says, he heard this and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. So this can be misunderstood maybe by some as well.

[Pastor Joby]

This sounds like heresy, but you got to hear it out. There is a way to be right before God without Christ, and that is live a sinless life. So that's impossible. Like nobody's ever pulled that off. But if you were able to do that with external sins of omission, commission, you know, if with all. Every moment of every day of every fiber of your life, you loved God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, then you would earn heaven. So that's what he's saying. So just do that.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

And if you don't recognize that, you fall short of that. Yeah. And so then Jesus brings up the possessions because he can see that clearly. And he's not even saying, if you. If you would sell these things, then you would. Then you would have eternal life. What he's saying is the evidence that you don't know God, the evidence that he is not preeminent in your life, that you're not loving the Lord, your God with all. Is that you're not going to do this thing. So you do know a tree by its fruit. So he says, let's look at the fruit of your life. If you were going to call God God, if you were going to call him Lord, and then simultaneously say, but I'm not going to do what he says, then he is not your Lord.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

Regardless of how good you think you are.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Ona]

And I think something is happening here, you know, because he asks the question, he hears Jesus's response, and then he says, what do I still lack? And I feel like that's the cry that all of us will eventually get to. And that is, am I good enough? Like, am I. Am I? Like, it's because it's still not enough. It's still. There's a sense of, like, I'm doing these things or I'm attempting these things, but it's still not enough. And so for us, it's like, well, wherever you go, to answer that question, and if it's not Christ, then that's what your. That's your rich young ruler's wealth. Like, what do I. But I've done these. Even though, like, clearly you don't understand, and still I feel like I'm hitting the ceiling and I'm not getting through, and I'm not, you know, and he goes, okay, we're slowly getting to the center of the issue. And then he. He goes, that's it.

[Pastor Joby]

Yeah. Because Jesus makes it clear here if you would be perfect. So that would be. The righteous requirement to enter heaven is perfection. So Jesus does not lower his standard for this guy. He just offers to be the standard.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

For the guy. So that. That. That is what it is.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

So the. The, you know, in our. In at 11:22 right now, so we would say, here's what you lack, you lack Surrender.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah, yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

Because perfection is yours, imputed to you by faith.

[Pastor Ona]

Yes.

[Pastor Joby]

By an alien righteousness accomplished at the cross on your behalf. And so you can either stand before God in your own righteousness and by works of the law, no one will be justified in the sight of God. Or you could take what, what's behind door number two, which is the righteousness of Christ, who has done for you what you cannot do for yourself. What say you?

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah, and I love. I mean, this passage has always blown me away because he's clearly different to the Pharisees. He's not coming to test Jesus. The text kind of positions him as a man who's like, I really do want to know. And Jesus does the work, surgical work, and, and then he walks away. Right? He doesn't, he doesn't surrender. He walks away. I'm almost tempted to go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, okay, listen. What, okay, let's, let's lower the, the standard a little bit for you because, you know, you, you. There was good intentions. And, and Jesus doesn't. Jesus doesn't lower the standard. And, and so it's important for us to know that we, we shouldn't. I mean, there's. So whenever you lower the standard, whatever it is, you convince that person of, like, that's the religion that they're going to practice believing that that's what has them in the kingdom of God.

[Pastor Britt]

What you get people with, you keep them with.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah, yeah. But if they surrendered, if their posture is always, I'm in desperate need of a savior, then at every corner. That's how they roll.

[Pastor Britt]

So Jesus talks about material wealth quite a bit. And for us as modern day Americans, it's, it stings because of our comfort. Like we lack our comforts. But there's a, there's another aspect here which, which I think you mentioned, is that for the Jewish audience, the blessing of God was demonstrated by material wealth.

[Pastor Joby]

Well, this is why the disciples would be like, well, hold on.

[Pastor Britt]

Right?

[Pastor Joby]

Then who can get in?

[Pastor Britt]

Right?

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Britt]

Right.

[Pastor Joby]

If this guy who is walking in the lavish blessing of God isn't in, then who can get in? And Jesus says, you know, with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. In other words, you can't on your own.

[Pastor Britt]

Right.

[Pastor Joby]

But I'm going to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah, yeah. He gives the impossible. Like, it is easier for a camel to go through the oven needle. It's like, it's, it's like this is how impossible it is.

[Pastor Joby]

And I've read all these things where people try to make that into archaeological reality. It's just. They're great. Dude. That'll preach. Yeah, about. There's this gate that's real little, and you had to take everything off a camel and it had to get on its knees. None of it's true.

[Pastor Britt]

I heard that, too.

[Pastor Joby]

I heard that one.

[Pastor Ona]

None of it.

[Pastor Joby]

But, boy, don't let the truth get in the way of a good sermon. Yeah, I mean, a key question to ask is, what is that thing? What is your one thing in your life? Like, is it your family? Right. Or is it your pride? Is it your position? Is it like, what. What is the thing that you think would cost you too much to follow after Jesus? CS Lewis has this great quote about first things and second things. And this isn't word for word, obviously, but basically he's like, if you invert those things and you make second things. First things, you lose everything. But in the goodness of God, when you keep first things first, then you're able to actually enjoy even the second things.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah, yeah.

[Pastor Ona]

That's so good.

[Pastor Joby]

The problem is. All right, take family, for example. We. The. The modern evangelical church has elevated family to position one often. I mean, even man. God bless Dobson and all the amazing work that he has done. I would have looked. You don't want to focus on the family. You want to focus on Jesus. And you're. And. And so, like, you know, I talked about this in the One initiative all the time. God is not number one on a list of your priorities. He's the page on which all of your priorities would be listed. So it's, how do I love God in and through my family? Because if you say, well, it's God, family, country, that's typically like the American creed. Well, okay, so what do you do? Check off one like, okay, I'm done with God. Now I move to family. And then, all right, family set. Now I move to country. And the Jesus's way would be like, okay, how do you honor God, for God's sake? How do you honor your family for God's sake? How do you honor your country for God's sake? Like, he is still the ultimate in everything else. Is pin. Ultimate, not ultimate. And so is there anything wrong with wealth and riches? It's all about your heart, posture. There's lots of rich people in the Bible, and there is. You know, it gets misquoted all the time that money is the root of all evil. That is not what the Bible says. It says the love of money is the root of all evil and the throne of the human heart. Man, there's all sort of idols just swirling around that thing like vultures. Yeah. And if Jesus is not ruling and reigning there, according to Jesus, money or pride or flesh, like satisfaction will immediately sit there. And then we will try to get Jesus to serve our greatest idol. And he doesn't play well with idols, not one bit.

[Pastor Britt]

It's like, go ahead.

[Pastor Ona]

Well, I was going say we try. We, we, we treat Jesus like a, like a part time lover, you know? And so it's like I can, I have a little bit of him and I can still do these things. Another way to say it is we, we recognize that God has created all the good things that we have, but he's also the source of power that allows us to be able to participate in them, enjoy them, do all the things. When we disconnect those two, we'll go, no, I recognize that he created marriage and family and all of that, but, but all the power comes from me. And so I've got to do all these things. It's. You can't disconnect the two.

[Pastor Joby]

Yeah, I'm going, we're recording this on the Friday and my daughter is 16 years old and I'm going to this come out way after this, but I'm kicking off the women's encounter and Reagan's going to come with me. And then immediately after I walk off stage, I'm grabbing her. We're going to the town center. I hate the town center. But I, I like. We're going to Maggiano's. Could we eat for cheaper than Maggiano's? Yes, 100%. Then I'm going to take her. There's some little like teeny bopper girl store that just opened that she's. It's called Brandy something something. I don't know what it is. And whatever, I'm gonna get her whatever she wants, you know, so, dude, I'll tell you, you take your 16 year old, it's a cheap date. It's such a cheap date. I mean, I don't know what our dinner bill will be.860 bucks. I don't know what it'll be. It's cheap. And then I'll let her. I'm just going to go lavish gifts upon her. All right, listen, man, she walks with Jesus. She's a straight A student. She's on our student leadership team. And more than all of that, I just want time face to face with her and I want her to know she's got a good dad that loves to give good gifts to his girl. Okay, now, should. Should I feel any guilt at all about spending any of those dollars? Well, the reason I don't is because I'm robbing God of zero. Because we bring beyond our first and best. He is preeminent in our life, and in our life, it's first, best, and most. Okay. And so I'm not stealing God's money to go show off to my daughter. And so this is a way where you leverage the good gifts of God to create memories with your daughter as a picture of who God the father is and just for the pure enjoyment of it all. So I'm not trying. It's not like, all right, I'm done with my church activity, so I checked off the God box. Now I'm moving to the family activity. That is not how this works at all.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah, it's good.

[Pastor Joby]

But if. I mean money. The thing about money is there's no mysteries. There's mysteries with love. I mean, come on, how do you explain it? How do you. It's even hard. Like, you love your wife, right? But sometimes she doesn't feel loved.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

And you're like, what the heck? Yeah, like, it's in my heart. How come you're not feeling this? Right? I mean, there's mysteries. There's mysteries about psychology and mental health, right? Like, why am I. Why do I not feel happy today? The circumstances around me as compared to what most people are going through in the world. I should be the happiest guy ever. Okay. But there's. There's mysteries there. There's mysteries about the NBA draft. What the heck? What's the lottery system and the ping pong balls and I don't understand. Okay, there's mysteries everywhere. Money is not mysterious.

[Pastor Ona]

That's good.

[Pastor Joby]

It is trackable if you just pay attention. And you don't even have to do it anymore. It's on your. Every app will track this for you. You know exactly what comes in and exactly what goes out. There are no mysteries. And so I think a part of the reason Jesus goes here, because if you were to say, honor your father and mother, you go, oh, I do. A hundred percent. How do you track that? You know, because you feel it in your heart.

[Pastor Ona]

That's good.

[Pastor Joby]

And he says, don't murder. You can track that one. Except for the Sermon on the mount. So how do you track the time that, you know, somebody pulled out in front of you? Slow in the. In the left lane on 95. Like, how do you track that. But money, Just look at your bank account, bro. So this one's very trackable. We're going to take a very subjective idea and we're going to objectify it. And so, you know, you've heard it 10 million times. You say you love Jesus. Let me see your bank account and your check and your. And your calendar. And then we're gonna see. Because these things are. Time is not mysterious. We all have the exact same amount every single day.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

And you could track every second of it and see what you did with it.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

And you can see if God got leftovers in your time and money or if he's preeminent.

[Pastor Britt]

So good. Maybe if you're wanting to know what's. What's the thing for you is if you said to Jesus, I'll do. I'll give you whatever you want. And then the thought in your mind is just not that.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Britt]

That's what it is. It makes me think of you. Tell the story about the. The knights on crusade getting baptized.

[Pastor Joby]

Leave their sword out.

[Pastor Britt]

Leave their sword out of the water. It's like, you can have it all, Lord, just not this, you know?

[Pastor Joby]

Yeah. I do think the Crusaders have gotten a bad rap, as I've done a little more deep dive into the actual history of the Crusades. The beginning of it was a defensive move to stop Islamic terroristic expansion into the western Christian world. But that's not what we were taught.

[Pastor Joby Martin]

Right.

[Pastor Joby]

We were still Crusades. Bad period.

[Pastor Britt]

It went on for so long. This rabbit trail. They went on for so long. And so many of the later ones were probably the flavor that you were told.

[Pastor Joby]

Well, of course, you could find. You could find every individual example of some evil man doing an evil thing.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

With a big cross banner on his shield. But this idea that it was some kind of just like colonial imperialistic takeover is untrue, bro. And for 600 years, this demonic crazy man pedophile that wrote that brought up an army and said an angel told him that what you do to the infidel is strike them at the neck. That was the way of saying, cut their heads off. Or they can surrender and pay the tax or they die. Those are. Those are the options. I mean, that was what is happening.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah. It was a hostile takeover first from them.

[Pastor Joby]

Correct.

[Pastor Britt]

You know, of that. Of that area. And, and you talk about going to Israel. One of the reasons you can go and there's still stuff there is because it was protected.

[Pastor Joby]

There were people that. Under the banner of Christ.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

That were sent out.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

She said, I can't bring a sword. Not peace. Yeah, that's strong from the Prince of Peace. I mean, sometimes you got to fight for peace. Yeah, but this guy's. You know, he's. He. He continuously remains. The rich young ruler continuously remains in the center of his own salvation story. And the moment you realize that the only thing you bring to your. To the salvation equation is the sin that requires it, we bring no merit, because. All right, so who's going to talk first the most? Peter? Jesus? With man, it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. And Peter said, we've done some stuff.

[Pastor Ona]

What about us?

[Pastor Joby]

Didn't we do it? Tell me I'm good. Tell me I'm good, boss.

[Pastor Britt]

Right?

[Pastor Joby]

Yeah. We've left everything and followed you. So what. So what do we get? Yeah, And Jesus. Like, oh, my gosh. I think what Jesus is saying is, hey, man, remember them little kids I was talking about? You're not being like that right now.

[Pastor Ona]

But Peter's. All of us. Peter just says what we're thinking. You know, it's like you. You look and you go.

[Pastor Joby]

That's why I rail on him, because I am him.

[Pastor Ona]

What about me? What about. What have I done? Look what I've done.

[Pastor Britt]

Look what?

[Pastor Ona]

And it's like, okay, hold on. No, no, no, no, no. Don't miss it. Keep your eyes on me. That's what Jesus saying.

[Pastor Joby]

And Jesus does, though, he does say, boys, y' all got some serious rewards coming.

[Pastor Ona]

Oh, yeah.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

So, man, a life is. Life is just a series of overcorrections. That's. Individually, that's. Organizationally, I. I do think, though, a lot, especially the Reformed Protestant Church has pushed so far away from the heresy of the Prosperity Gospel that we're uncomfortable with the rewards that Jesus talks about.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

I think this is one of the many things Dr. Piper has done a great job resetting us back to what the scriptures say, that you cannot read the scripture and not see a serious rewards program. It's just not the rewards that the prosperity heresy is teaching. Yeah, and I think I've said this many, many times. The. The heresy of the Prosperity Gospel is not God wants to prosper you.

[Pastor Ona]

Mm.

[Pastor Joby]

It's not even that. Prosperity isn't cotton candy and Cadillacs. The fundamental heresy back to the. Suffer not the children to come unto me. The heresy is about preeminence, because in the prosperity equation, it's an if then quid pro quo situation. And you figured out the tickle me Jabez code in here. And if I so into this ministry this much, then God, you owe me.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

Ten, even a hundredfold back.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

And so I'm not bringing to you. I am leveraging you against your own self. And now you owe me prosperity. If you say you love me, that is the heresy.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think that there could be a connection, maybe, correct me if I'm wrong, to Matthew 7. So. So often we'll read a text like this and go, okay, religion, for sure. And then we go, it's these individuals, right?

[Pastor Britt]

It's.

[Pastor Ona]

It's the liturgical, the practices, the. And then in Matthew 7, they show up to Jesus and they're like, hey, we cast out demons. We like that. We did the supernatural. You know, we did the miracles. And then he says, depart from me because I don't know who you are. So. So it's not. It's not that those things are. That's not the issue.

[Pastor Joby]

It's not.

[Pastor Ona]

Wealth is not the issue. The supernatural, if we talk about the prosperity, because that's, you know, a lot of that happens in that space, but that's not the issue. The issue is that you. You're trying to use these things to gain your way into the kingdom. And so it's. It's. Man, it's a massive issue.

[Pastor Joby]

You know, I talk about my kids all the time because. I don't know. I mean, that's why, like, you learn so many life lessons and.

[Pastor Ona]

Oh, for sure.

[Pastor Joby]

As you all know, when you became a father, did your Bible not just completely change? Oh, yeah, Everything changed. You read Luke 15 as a teenager, and I was like, I'm the prodigal. You read it as a father and you're like, of course you would throw a party for your dead son that's now alive for your kid that was lost and is now found. You know, of course you would lavish him with kisses and just be pumped that he's back home. Changes. So JP is one of the things we tried really hard to do. Jp, Billy, a lot of sports, we try to do this with both of our kids, is I tried not to praise performance and activity to the best of my ability, because what I did not want them to associate with is like, they got an ice cream comb if he hit a home run or made straight A's. But you know what I mean, Because I don't. Because, man, the loudest voice in their life of who God the Father is is their earthly father. And moms, I'm sorry, It's not fair. You do all the work. I'm telling you we understand that. We get it. But Dad's words weigh a million pounds. They just do. And so what I would talk to, especially jp, all, I mean, from Little League through, like, high school football, is we would evaluate whether a game was good or not only based on two things, attitude and effort. Because you can control those things, and you're going to have to have a good attitude, and you're going to have to put forth 100% effort. Okay, so you fast forward. He's about to be 21, he's in Nebraska. He gets connected to this local church immediately and loves it. I mean, loves it. So 125, 50 people or something connects me with the pastor. The pastor there, God bless him, man, doing an incredible. Dustin is his name. What a stud. What faithful man of God. Just. Just shepherding who God has put in front of him. And so we've connected a lot. And he listens to a lot of 1120. He probably listened to this. So shout out, Dustin. Good job, bro.

[Pastor Ona]

What's up, Dustin?

[Pastor Joby]

And so for, man, the last two or three weeks in a row, the pastor has taken JP and some of the guys from fellowship adventures to lunch afterwards. Last week, this will come out way later, but Dustin's oldest son is about to graduate high school, and he says, jp, can you. What are some things that my son needs to be looking out for as he moves? I think he's gonna go to Liberty Great School that he needs to be looking out for. And JP is telling me, he's like. So I told him, you can control three things when you get to college. Your environment, your attitude, and your effort. And then JP goes on to say, I didn't control my environment very well, so it didn't go good for me, but you can control any. And then he just elaborates all this stuff. I get a text from Pastor Dustin about, like, all this wisdom that JP's passing along, and I'm like, bro, that's so good. He goes, I got it from you, dad. It's like, I didn't. I didn't feel like you were listening when I was saying these things. You know what I mean? But I would even try to say, like, I would. I would try to avoid. I'm so proud of you for that pick six that won the game or that tackle or whatever. I tried to keep it one. I learned this from Doug Fields, a mentor of mine. I tried to always just say, man, I love watching you play, and the effort was there, and way to have the right attitude and celebrate those things versus outcomes. Yeah, that can be with everything. With grades, with everything. Because I'm telling you, man, if you think I perform, therefore I get an atta boy. That quickly shifts to. To God.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah, yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

Particularly. And if you get that confused with your salvation, you're. You're jacked. Now, don't get me wrong, the parable of the talents, when they get well done, good and faithful servant, is because they went to work because they knew the master. And so they were like, we just did what you. We knew you would want to do with your stuff, that you let us manage for a little while. And they get an attaboy. And the one who didn't know the heart of the master, therefore, out of fear hides his stuff. He's called wicked and slothful. Even though he may have been the busiest. Yeah, he's called slothful.

[Pastor Ona]

Yep.

[Pastor Britt]

And the reward is not just a what, it's a win.

[Pastor Joby]

Very true.

[Pastor Britt]

And Paul is very clear on this. You know, he's just like, why would I invest in something that's going to pass away? And Pastor Ona, you haven't. You had something that was a unique trait of this word, because he says in verse 28, in the New world, that's a unique.

[Pastor Ona]

It's a very unique. Very unique. It's only used in two places in the New Testament. So we see it here, and then we see it in Titus 3. 5. And here Jesus is pointing to the renewal of all things, the new heavens and the new earth. But in. In Titus, it's speaking about our regeneration. And, and so, like, when you look at those things, you're going, we are. The. Peter speaks to this. We. We are the first fruits of. Of what God is going to ultimately do in this, the whole renewal campaign, if you'll call it that. And, and so, you know, what we, what we put our hands to, what we. What we sow, what we labor in, is. There's no waste to that. Not in the hands of God. There is no waste to that. You know, it's like a. A farmer who puts in good seed, you know, when it's in the ground, I mean, it. It eventually kind of decays and dies and it's. And so one could get worried. It's like, what on earth is happening here? But man, if. If the farmer is a good. It's a good farmer. The ground, even the ground cannot contain what was put in there.

[Pastor Joby]

That'll preach too. Some of you think you're buried, it's been planted. Yeah. New day is coming.

[Pastor Ona]

Just wait.

[Pastor Joby]

Yeah, just Wait, so while we're talking about, you know, words in the Bible, that word first fruit in Greek is prototoko. And we know what the word means because it's. It's where we get the word prototype.

[Pastor Ona]

Yep.

[Pastor Joby]

That Jesus is the prototype from the dead.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

And the easiest illustration is a car manufacturer. So they create a prototype of a car, work out all the kinks, and when it's good to go, it goes into mass production. And Jesus is the prototype of the resurrection. He went first. Well, they didn't need to work out any kinks because he did it perfectly. And just like he has been raised from the dead and glorified, so shall we, too. In mass production.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

For anyone who would believe. Yeah.

[Pastor Britt]

How is that an encouragement for sometimes not seeing the immediate result of what, you know? Because he's telling Peter something. He's saying, hey, listen, you will be. And at the same time, when the people come to him to follow him, he says, I don't have a home. You know what I mean? So there's definitely a delay and an unseen nature to this reward. Right. And sometimes people live that way. Right. And it's. You can get discouraged if you think, man, I poured all this out, and what am I seeing?

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Britt]

What fruit am I seeing?

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

This goes back to we talked about last time we were all together. When Paul writes to the church in. In Philippi, he says to those of you who are in Christ at Philippi, so first and foremost, you have to spend some serious time constantly reminding yourself of where your permanent address is. Yeah.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

And it ain't here. Not the here as we know it. And, you know, I've used this illustration a million times, but imagine if I went to the hotel room that I spent too many in and decided to renovate it for the weekend and spend all my money on the Holiday Inn Express. Though the Holiday Inn Express may appreciate it, somebody would say, we appreciate the investment. Seems like a lot of money for such a short stay.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

Now, here's the thing. Currently, as it stands right now between Orlando and Brunswick, if you walk in a manner worthy of the gospel, there probably will be, generally speaking, all kind of material rewards in this world right now for a season, dude. If you're honest and you show up and you work hard and everything you do is unto the Lord, and you don't lie, and you do these kinds of things, typically in our American capitalistic society, if you make wise decisions, if you learn to live on less than you make, these are all just biblical principles. If you've got margin. If you don't, bro, you're probably going to do pretty good. Now, we are coming to a day where you are going to hit a pretty quick ceiling with that because you will if you decide to, to live in God's world, God's way. This crooked and prayed generation is going to tell you to adopt things that the Bible calls evil. And if you don't, you're going to get left out. You're going to get passed over. So you can't look at. There are righteous rich and unrighteous rich, and there are righteous poor and unrighteous poor.

[Pastor Britt]

That's true.

[Pastor Joby]

And so there is no value in rich or poor. There's only value in righteous.

[Pastor Ona]

That's right.

[Pastor Joby]

And so that you, you have to, you have to keep. Listen in Hebrews when it says, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and the perfector of our faith. We in that context is mostly talking about sin and stupid that you're allowing to tangle up your life and not run the race crisis marked out for you. It also has to do with, with the ambition that you have. Is it a selfish ambition or a godly ambition? So you got to get your eyes up off the horizon a little bit.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

So that you can say, I want to make an investment that lasts for eternity, not just make investments that just serve my wants right now.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's, it's, it's allowing the gospel to really take hold of you at a holistic level and recognizing what God is doing. It's moving from the individual, which is incredible and blows my mind every single time. We should never get over that. And then also recognizing that God is doing this massive work, you know, so he is, he's working in me to make all things new. And he's also doing it with the whole world. And I mean, Paul writes it in Romans 8:22. He says, for we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the spirit as the first fruits, we also grown within ourselves, eagerly awaiting for the adoption, the redemption of our bodies. And so we know that every time someone comes to faith, all of heaven goes nuts because they're like, man, this praise the one who is seated on the throne. But then creation, it's just getting a little bit closer to that, that renewal that Jesus is talking about. When he says to his response to Peter, he's like, man, this is, this is all coming together. God's plan. Why would you not want to Invest in that.

[Pastor Joby]

I was listening to a preacher. Oftentimes we'll say the angels are rejoicing in heaven. That is true, but it's not total. Who else is in heaven? Jesus is on the throne, rejoicing every time a lost one gets saved.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah, I love that. I love that picture of the creation. Kind of like anticipating, oh, one more, one closer or one closer to the full.

[Pastor Joby]

One of the things that Kelly does, you know, we, we have the retreat center and couple thousand 1120 tours go through there. But you were just there.

[Pastor Britt]

Yep.

[Pastor Joby]

Father Kid.

[Pastor Ona]

That's great.

[Pastor Joby]

Y' all were. And he'll give the history of the place, you know, how it went from a slave plantation. And now it is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus. And I love the way he tells the story. And what does he say? It passed through an automotive Giants assembly line. It was buzzed down a sawmill. Some hippies played with it for a little while and now it's in the hands of God's people. Praise God for that. And then one of the things he'll say, we're sitting out by the fire, fire pit right with the intercoastal right there in our view. And on the other side of it's Cumberland Island. And Kelly will say some version of Tomorrow morning at whatever 6:53, the sun's going to rise over that. And it could be one of the most beautiful sunrises you've ever seen. And the revelation songs with all creation. I sing praises to the king of kings. And then Kelly will say, so tomorrow morning, the trees are going to be praising, the waves are going to be praising the water, the grass, the crickets. Everything's going to be praising the king of kings. Why not the crown jewel of his creation?

[Pastor Ona]

Wow. Wow.

[Pastor Joby Martin]

Yeah.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

Good job, kelly.

[Pastor Britt]

This chapter 19 ends with what might be a. What might make the list of top five quoted things of Jesus from the average Joe. Many who are first will be last and the last first probably misquoted quite a bit or misunderstood. So what is, what is Jesus getting at, especially in the context here?

[Pastor Ona]

Well, he's running it all together, right? So the way he started was like, hey, here's what you think. You generally think those who are first, those who are important, those who met. It's, it's, it's what you bring. You cannot come to Jesus with things in your hand. You must come empty handed. And so he's, he's just kind of, you know, he was talking to the ladies and the gentlemen of the jury. He's now closing the case and he's going, hey, listen, do you see this? I hope you see this, because it matters. It's that significant.

[Pastor Britt]

It doesn't mean that everybody who's low on the list is Jesus's favorite. It means the kingdom is an unseen kingdom, right?

[Pastor Joby]

Correct. Or in another place. If you try to find your life, if you suck all the life there is to offer in this world, that's all you got.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah.

[Pastor Joby]

But if you lay down your life for him, that's where you'll actually find it.

[Pastor Ona]

Yeah, it's the upside down kingdom, you know, and. And I get it when you know, it's great, upside down kingdom, great illustration. But I. I tend to think of it this way. It's. It's not the kingdom that's upside down. We're upside down.

[Pastor Joby]

Totally.

[Pastor Ona]

And. And you know, like, when you're upside down, like, it just doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel natural. The blood is rushing to your head and you dizzy because that's how you're living without Jesus. Like, it doesn't feel right. No wonder you just keep hitting the ceiling and it's never enough. And only when you surrender, when you come like the children, with need and desperation, and then you get turned the right way around and you begin to see, like, oh, that's what marriage is meant to be. That's what family, that's my. That's. It's that everything belongs to him and he knows how we are to navigate through it.

[Pastor Britt]

Yeah. So as we're wrapping up, what. What would you say just about this? I mean, it's almost like you could put a bow on it, you know, Come to me like a child. Don't come full hands. Come, come with empty hands. Let go of the things that might hinder you and you'll receive a reward. This is this. This pattern. And with God, all things are possible. So it's not about what you can see and predict. What would you add to that, Pastor Joby?

[Pastor Joby]

I've never heard this taught before, so stick with me for a second. Jesus is the greater rich young ruler. He's rich. All thrones, all dominions, all kingdoms. He's sitting on his throne. He's got royal robes and crowns and scepters and diadems and streets of gold. And what does he do? He is perfect. And he sells it all. All. He gives it all away. Humbles himself as a born in the form of a baby, is obedient even to the point of death. And then what does he Receive. He lays down his life joyfully to the glory of God. And then he is lifted up. And now he has more than he had when he left heaven because for the joy set before him, he endured the cross. And now the reward that he receives is the very children of God are brought with him to heaven. So what he's saying to the rich young ruler is not, if you will do this, it will go good for you. He's saying, I am doing this. Follow me. Just do what I do, I'm doing. And the reward, I can't even explain it, man.

[Pastor Ona]

Come on.

[Pastor Joby]

You're going to be ruling over kingdoms and stuff if you'll do this. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross. This man is rich in material things. Jesus was young. He's in his early 30s. He's not like no gray hairs yet, man. He's a rich young ruler that sells everything for the glory of God and then is rewarded with every tribe, tongue and nation bowing down at his feet.

[Pastor Ona]

Come on.

[Pastor Joby]

And Jesus is saying, that's what I'm calling you to.

[Pastor Ona]

We need to get an organ in here. Like, come on.

[Pastor Joby]

That's it.

[Pastor Ona]

That'll preach.

[Pastor Britt]

You don't have to convince me. Well, pastor on it. Would you like to close us in prayer after all that?

[Pastor Ona]

Unless you have no.

[Pastor Britt]

A final.

[Pastor Ona]

Don't you. No dope.

[Pastor Joby]

Pray for us, brother.

[Pastor Ona]

Let me pray. Father God, thank you. Thank you so much for who you are, that you are seated on your throne and that you are fully in control and that you love us more than we could ever imagine. And whenever we doubt that we are to look to the finished work of your son, Jesus Christ, the tomb is empty. And so therefore anything is possible. And so, God, we are asking for you to do a work that only you can do, and that is save many people. For those who are listening and tuning in, God, I'm praying that you're doing a profound work in and through them. Those who need you, may they continually come to you boldly approach the throne of grace and that we know one day we will stand before the throne and give you praise for all that you have done to the renewal of all things. God, we love you. We praise you in Jesus name.

[Pastor Britt]

Amen.

[Pastor Joby]

Thank you for listening to the podcast the End.

[Pastor Joby Martin]

The reality is everything already belongs to God. And when we give financially, we're acknowledging that we trust him. If you just watch this and feel led to make a donation, text the word donate to 441122 or visit COE222 your generosity is not only an act of worship, but an investment so all people can discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ.