0:02 [music] As we begin this morning, I was thinking about the word that we're going to hear today. This morning, how is it that we need to receive it? 0:19 And it says in James chapter James chapter 21, James chapter 1 verse 21. James chapter 1 verse 21. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all 0:39 that remains of wickedness in humility, receive the word implanted which is able to save your souls. And so I see that there's so much importance for each of us to be humble. If we're not humble, we're not going to 0:57 be able to receive that word that can save our souls. And when I think about humility, I I think about Jesus. How was he humble? If you turn with me to Philippians, Philippians, Philippians 2 1:20 verse 8, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. 1:37 He humbled himself by becoming obedient. One way we can be humble, it's not by speaking softly. It's not by bowing our heads. It says in James chapter 4, "Humble 1:56 yourself in the presence of the Lord." It's what God thinks of our humility that matters. Jesus's humility was proven by whatever the father said. He was ready to obey it. 2:14 And this morning also, if there is any matter that you've not set right before we hear God's word, the proof of our humility is Lord, whatever you say, I'm going to be obedient to it. Whatever you point your 2:33 finger on, I'm ready ready to set it right. And if you turn with me to Ruth, there's an expression that comes there in Ruth, you might be thinking about some person that you've not if you hurt somebody 2:52 that you're aware of or some matter that you have unsettled. It's not reconciled. And the Lord is speaking to you today. It's important that you go set that matter right. And if I'm humble, I will take any means 3:11 to go and set that right. If I'm proud, I'll leave the matter unsettled. And so if you turn with me to Ruth [clears throat] 3, Ruth 3:8, then she said, "Wait, my daughter, until 3:34 you know how the matter turns out." And this is the expression that I want you to hear. For the man will not rest until he has settled it today. The man will not rest 3:51 until he has settled it today. And today, if you and I are humble, whatever the Lord puts his finger on, we will not rest until it's been settled. You and I, if we have a conscience that 4:09 is clear, sensitive, we know that we cannot rest until that matter has been settled. And I desire for each one of us that that's the case. There will be a time when there won't be an opportunity to 4:26 set matters right. But today, while there is still time, let us set matters right with one another. If there's anybody you need to ask forgiveness, do it. If there's anybody you need to forgive, forgive. You might remember sometimes children 4:45 when they're fighting with one another they you say say sorry to the other one. They said why why should I say sorry? Let the other one say sorry first. It's not yet it's not unfortunately just with children. Even adults are like that 5:00 too. Why didn't they say sorry first? And when I think about Jesus on the cross, how many people came and said, "Jesus, I'm sorry." Nobody. Everybody was there to accuse him. And 5:19 and yet he said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." He hadn't done anything sinful. Yet he was the one forgiving everybody else. He didn't say, "What about them?" They didn't come and ask for forgiveness. He 5:35 went and forgave everybody and I want to be like him. Forgive everyone. Whether they come and ask me for forgiveness or not is that that's their matter. Let me do my part in forgiving everyone and asking for forgiveness. 5:53 I wanted to ask all of you and you can show me by a raise of hands. How many here are Christians? How many of you would consider yourself a Christian? Raise your hand if you consider yourself a Christian. Okay, very good. 6:10 How many of you would consider yourself a disciple? How many of you would consider yourself a disciple of Jesus? Okay, it was kind of a trick question, but 6:26 if you turn with me to Actsap 11. Actsap 11. Why is this important? Acts 11 26. And when he found Paul, he brought him 6:44 to Antioch. And the and for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. So whether you call yourself a Christian 7:03 or a disciple, both are the same. Christians were the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. And so today we hear the word Christian and you ask somebody, "Are you a Christian?" And they say, "Yes, I'm a Christian." 7:19 What does that Christian mean? Are you a disciple? No, no, no. I go to church on Sunday and I I read my Bible. That's my definition of Christian. If you go to the zoo, you'll see the chameleon. Whatever background you put for the chameleon, 7:37 it'll become that. And like that I find that the word Christian has become like that. Whatever you want Christian to be it's that if you go to church Christian is a church person who goes to church. If a person reads the Bible Christian 7:51 but then when you say a disciple then they say oh wait I'm not a I may not be a disciple of Jesus. But if you turn with me to Matthew chapter 28, Matthew chapter 28, 8:13 this is what Jesus said to each one of us. Each one of us in verse 18, Matthew 28:18, and Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to me in heaven 8:30 and on earth." Verse 19. Go therefore and make what? Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them who the disciples in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit. Verse 20. 8:50 Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you even to the end of the age. So when Jesus called us, he called us to go into all nations and 9:06 make disciples. And if I go with that calling that God has given you and me to make disciples, his promise is that he will be with me and you till the end of the age. In the book of 9:25 Revelation, you see that Jesus is walking in the midst of the churches. And if I want and we want Jesus to walk in the midst of our church, he said his presence will be with us if we go and make disciples, 9:45 baptizing them and teaching them to observe or do all that Jesus commanded. I wanted to encourage every one of us, 10:04 especially in this church family, but everyone. This is a book that I read when I was about 16 years old when I first heard the gospel and the Lord spoke to me. It's called The Good Foundation. Brother Zach wrote this and I read this many 10:21 years ago and again I read it even recently. uh read it because it's it helps us lay a good foundation on our Christian life. I've heard of many people that they're unsure if their sins are forgiven, if they're a 10:40 disciple, if they need to be baptized. And so I I would encourage you, a very small book, but take it seriously. Jesus said to make disciples and many of the promises that we read in 10:59 scripture is not for everybody. It's for his disciples. When Jesus said, "I do not pray for the world, but I pray for these whom you've given me." He was not praying for the world. He prayed for the disciples. He said in uh John chapter 18 verse two, 11:23 John 18:2 it says that he met often with his disciples. He didn't meet with the the multitudes often but with his disciples. And on the final day when he broke bread, he didn't break bread with the 11:41 multitudes. He broke bread with his disciples. There's a special place that the Lord invests in his disciples. And I say, 'Lord, I want to be your disciple. You said make disciples. You said be a disciple. Follow me if anyone wants to 11:58 follow me. And yet many maybe call themselves a Christian or something and think everything is okay. And so today, I don't want us to think that we're a disciple. I want us to know 12:16 if we're a disciple. Either we're a disciple, we're following Jesus, or we're not a disciple and we're not following Jesus. At least we can be sure of one or the other. There was a a mole that I had in my 12:38 right arm a couple of years ago and they looked at the mole and they said, "You know what? I don't know. This could be cancerous. So, let's test it and find out." And so, they took it out. They op did a small operation and procedure and they took 12:54 out that mole and they gave it to the doctor and they have to do a analysis to see if it's cancerous or not. And there's it doesn't come immediately. The the results take time. And so what's going through my mind if you want to 13:09 take a guess? Okay. I'm wondering if it's cancerous or not. And I want to hear that it's not. But it's that's the thing on my mind. Am I is it cancerous or not cancerous? And I I think about that doctor. If he comes 13:28 to me and say, you know what, 50% chance it could be cancerous. 50% chance it might not be. Is that helpful? No, it's not helpful. He has to tell me yes, it's cancerous or no, it's not cancerous. Thankfully, it wasn't cancerous. And he 13:46 told me no, it's not cancerous. We examined it and it's not cancerous. I want to be sure. A I want to be sure that I am a disciple or I'm not a disciple. I don't want to be am I a disciple? Oh 50% chance you 14:04 you're a disciple 50%. No, I want to know for sure am I a disciple of Jesus? And so Jesus said in Mark Luke 14, 14:22 Luke chapter 14, if you turn with me to Luke chapter 14 verse 25, the conditions of disciplehip. Now a large crowds were going along with 14:42 him. And he turned and said to them, Luke chapter 14:2, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even 15:02 his own life, he cannot be my disciple." And so today if I say I love my parents, I love my brothers and sisters, I love my friends, I love anything, any person more than Jesus, 15:20 I can be clear that I'm not a disciple of Jesus. Jesus said that. Jesus said, "If you want to be my disciple, the first condition is you must love me more than anyone else." And when I think about that, I think about uh I was recently reading 15:45 a book about Sadhu Sundar Singh. I just uh was listening reading his biography and I was reminded of when I first came to know the Lord. And for some of us who come from a non-Christian home, it's different when you become a Christian. 16:04 It's not easy. Sometimes there's consequences of following Jesus from friends and relatives. And I was thinking about back then and I was as I was reading about Sadu Sundar Singh when he first came to know Christ, 16:23 the things that happened in his family, the persecution he suffered. I was reminded back of when I first came to know the Lord and I said, "Lord, I want to continue to be sure that I'm still following you today as I did when I first met you. I 16:43 don't want to imagine. There's many people who were once disciples who are no longer walking with Jesus." In John chapter 6, it said many of his disciples stopped walking with him. Once upon a time when Jesus fed them, the 5,000, 17:02 they said, "Okay, we'll follow you, Jesus." One man, he said, "I don't have a place to lay my head." And he said, "Okay." You know, Jesus put those conditions of disciplehip. And then people had to decide 17:19 is it worth following Jesus and being a disciple or not. And the way I tested whether I love Jesus more than I love my relatives and friends comes down to this question for me. Am I willing 17:39 to obey Jesus and please Jesus at the cost of offending others? And I had that testing many times as a young Christian. Okay. Are you going to do this which is going to please these 17:55 people at the cost of offending Jesus? Are you willing to offend all of these people at the cost of pleasing Jesus? And time after time whether it was baptism or other decisions of life that I had to make. 18:15 What will I do? Will I please them and offend Jesus or will I please Jesus and offend everybody else? And that's the test which will come to us to see if we really want to be a 18:32 disciple of Jesus. When I think about that man who Jesus healed in John chapter 9, you can turn with me John chapter nine. You know that Jesus spat on the ground and he made a piece of clay and put it 18:49 on his eyes in John chapter nine and he said to go to the pool of Silomme and wash himself and then he came back seeing and it says in verse 9 John 9:9 others were saying this is he and others were 19:07 saying no but it is but he is like him he kept saying, "I am the one." Verse 10. So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes open?" Verse 11, "And he answered, the man who is called 19:23 Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes." I love how that blind man when he heard Jesus spit and make clay and put it on his eyes. For him, it was God anointing his eyes to see. 19:42 He anointed my eyes and said, "Go to said to me, go to Silon and wash." And so I washed away, washed, went away and washed and received sight. And they said to him, "Where is he?" And he says, "I do not know." And it goes on and they're asking him, 20:01 verse 13, they brought him to the Pharisees, the man who was formerly blind. Now it was Sabbath on that day. And Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his 20:14 sight. And he said to them, "He applied ci clay to my eyes and washed and and I see." Verse 16. Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, "This man is not of God because he does not keep the Sabbath." But others were saying, "How 20:31 can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And there was a division among them. Verse 17. So they said to the blind man again, what do you say about him? Since he opened your eyes and he said he is a prophet. 20:50 Where did he get this revelation from? That Jesus was a prophet. I believe God opened his eyes not only physically but spiritually that Jesus is not just an ordinary man that he's a prophet. Verse 18. The Jews did not believe him and he 21:06 had been that he had been blind and he had received sight until they called his parents of the very one who had received his sight. And he questioned them saying, "Is this your son who you say was born blind? Then how does he now 21:21 see?" His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind." Verse 21, "But how he now sees, we do not know. or who opened his eyes we do not know. Ask him he is of age or he's old enough. He will 21:40 speak for himself. Verse 22. His parents said this because his they were afraid of the Jews for the Jews had already agreed if anyone confessed him to be Christ he was going to be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said he is of age. 22:00 ask him. And I think this these parents of his who had brought him up all these years as a blind young boy seeing him grow up begging on the streets and today after all those years see him seeing again. 22:19 And they knew that it was Jesus who healed them. Healed him. But they were scared. They were scared to stand up for their own son and say, "You know what? This is our son, and it was Jesus who healed him. Yes, we know that you might kick us 22:36 out of the synagogue, but this is our son. He never could see from birth. He was born blind." And we're so thrilled. And Jesus healed him. But they didn't. They were so afraid that they disowned almost their son. Oh, 22:54 yeah. You can ask him. He's of age. distancing him, washing their hands off of him. And I was thinking about that these parents who should have stood up for him. What there's an expression they said, you know, they they throw them under 23:13 they and I was like, Lord, the parents didn't even stand up for him. And there's a verse in Psalm 27, if you turn with me to Psalm 27 and for many when they accept Christ and they become his disciple, there's a lot of consequences and 23:32 sometimes their very own parents disown them. And the question comes, should I still follow Jesus if it means my parents will disown me? And it says here in Psalm 27 verse 10, for my father 23:51 and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me up. The Lord will take me up. And for many Christians when they first accept Christ and especially from non-Christian homes, Jesus becomes their everything. 24:11 their father, their mother, their brother, everything because their own parents will disown them. And for this man also the parents disown them. But Jesus was seeing, okay, what will this man do? 24:30 And if you turn with me to John chapter John chapter 9 that so they call the second time they called 24:53 the man who had been blind and said to him give glory to God we know that this man is a sinner that is Jesus is a sinner. Verse 25, he answered, "Whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know that though I was blind, now I 25:08 see." Verse 26. So they as said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" Verse 27, he answered them and them, "I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become his disciples 25:27 too, do you? Do you want to hear it again so that you also may be a disciple just like I am? No one explained to this man, this blind man, what it means to be a disciple. He already said, "I'm a disciple. I don't know what the conditions of 25:46 disciplehip. I am his disciple." And you see it play out in his life. His parents disown him in that situation and he says, "No, I'm still following Jesus. It doesn't matter to me. I am his disciple. Do you also want to 26:03 be his disciple? And as I was reading Sadhusund Singh when he he was about 14 years old when his he was born in a non-Christian home very religious and at the age of for around 14 his mother passed away who he was really 26:21 close to and that drove him he said I really know need to know the real God and he took a New Testament that the missionaries were giving out. He took one, he tore it and burnt it. And his father said, "Okay, you may not agree with them, but you 26:40 don't need to go and tear their scriptures." And so he was troubled in his mind. And that night, he determined at 3:00 in the night, there's a train that's going to go and I'm going to commit suicide if I don't know who this 26:58 real who this God is. I have to know. And in the middle of the night, God came in a vision and a light and revealed himself and said to him, "I am Jesus whom you're persecuting." Just 27:17 like he did for Paul. And that day onwards, he went and told his dad and everyone, hoping that they would also be excited. But it started a wave of persecution. He had to sit separately and eat. They wouldn't let him sit together with the 27:36 family. And it was sad. As he was leaving, his sister-in-law, his brother's wife, kept food outside outside that uh he didn't she didn't even give it in his hands. Just left it out there so that he would 27:54 take it and go. And as he was leaving um he started throwing up blood and he realized that his food was poisoned and that was the case. Many people in that not only him but his friends also 28:13 when they accepted Christ they they had poisoned the food because they said you know what you're not worth we don't want to have anything with you for abandoning us and so he was nurtured by a doctor and some Christian family and he came 28:31 back he he was revived but He went on his his dad would one day he write a letter to him and saying come back son and if you come back I'll give you your inheritance and all of this your 28:49 property and all of that and he said the moment I became a Christian I knew that I forsook all property all anything any money I had already made that decision long time ago when I decided to follow Jesus I never had any anticipation that you will 29:08 give me. I'm following Jesus and I'm not going to I put my hand on the plow and I can't turn back now. Again, he another uncle, a rich uncle of his takes him down to a a cellar and opens up a safe and shows him all this 29:26 money and jewels and all of that. And he says, "You return back and I'll give you all of this." He took his turban and then put it on his feet on sadundra singh feet says return back sad saying no 29:46 I decided to follow Jesus whatever money and any emotional drawings I I will not give into that I've decided to follow Jesus at any cost and I think about that Jesus also when his brothers came and his mother came to 30:05 see him. They already it says in John chapter 7 they didn't believe in him. What would you do if your relatives who don't believe in you come? You want to do something to make them feel welcome somehow they'll be receptive 30:25 and when they come to visit him at the meeting he says who are my brothers and who's my mother these who do the will of my father are my mother my sister and brother and I think about it Jesus was not afraid to offend his brothers and mother anyone 30:45 because he wanted to please his Father and then he calls us as well. Follow my example as well. If you want to follow me, you cannot please others. And for us, each one of us, we must answer that question for ourselves. Am I 31:04 willing to offend others at the cost of pleasing my Lord? The second condition of deni discip disciplehip am I willing to deny myself? I remember 31:22 even as a teenager and because that happened this question came to me while I was a teenager. I believe you all will be able to understand this as well. Even as a teenager, I realized you could not live for this world and also have 31:41 Jesus. As I heard the teachings, it was very clear to me. Today in the today, we we're living in a world where yes, you can live for this world, enjoy it, and also have Jesus as well. And that's a different gospel. Jesus said, 32:01 "He who," and you can turn with me actually to Matthew chapter 10, Matthew chapter 10. Verse 39, he who has found his life will 32:27 lose it. And he who has lost his life for my sake will find it. You can't have both. You can't live for yourself and also have the life that God wants to give us. And I was thinking even at a young age, I remember that decision that I had to either 32:47 choose to live for this world or live for Jesus. And I remember I said Lord if I want to live for this world I want to make the best use of it. I want to enjoy it live for this world completely. 33:05 And then at the end of this life when I stand before you I'll say Lord I know I live for this world. I enjoyed it to the maximum and today I stand condemned because of the choice I made. Or else the other choice, Lord, for this 33:23 brief time on earth, I want to please you. I want to deny myself on this side of eternity so that when I stand before you, that you will be pleased, Lord. That on this short term time on earth, I denied myself to live for you. 33:41 And so that time when I was a teenager, I said, Lord, I don't want to live for this world. I want to live for you. deny myself and follow you. In Jesus tells us today 33:57 what is an acceptable sacrifice. Turn with me to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12. We're considering what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Romans 12 verse one. 34:17 Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sac sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And that means these eyes 34:36 are the Lord's. The tongue is the Lord's. Everything of myself is the Lord's. It's a living sacrifice. And a verse that came to brother Zach many years ago when the CFC churches were starting was from a verse in 34:53 Malachi. Malachi chapter 1 verse 11. So if you turn with me to Malachi chapter 1 11 we can read from verse 10. Oh, that there was one among you that 35:11 would shut the gates that might not uselessly kindle the fire on my altar. I am not pleased with you, says the Lord of hosts, nor will I accept an offering from you. For I from the rising of the sun, even to the setting, my name will 35:30 be great among the nations in every place incense is going forth to be offered in my name. a grain offering that is pure, for my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. And so the Lord is desiring a 35:48 pure offering from every place. And the reason he started the Lord said this was if you read in verse 7 7 Malachi 1:7 you are presenting defiled food upon my altar but you say how have 36:08 we defiled you in that you say that the table of the Lord is to be defi despised. Verse eight but when you present the blind for sacrifice. So they come, they take all out of the all their herds, they find something that's blind, and then they go and offer 36:28 it to the Lord. They find something that's lame, that something is sick, and then they go and offer it to the Lord. And God is saying, you know, if there was a governor who was watching you while you were doing that offering, 36:40 would you do that? Today also if we believe God is watching all the offerings of our eyes and our tongue in secret, what type of offering would we give throughout this week? You and I know how 36:57 we lived this week, last week. How was our offering? Was it a pure offering? Did these eyes was it a pure offering or was it a blind offering? And the way I see a blind offering is if 37:16 I use these eyes to watch whatever I want, evil, wicked things, read whatever I want. I use this tongue to get angry, gossip, unforgiveness, all of this bitterness, all of these things. And then I come and I say, "Lord, this is my body that I 37:35 offer to you." The Lord would say, "Jay, I'm not pleased with that offering. That eye is a blind eye. That tongue is a dumb tongue. And you're coming here and offering it. And the reason you're offering it is because you believe that 37:50 I'm not seeing this offering that you're making. Abel believed that God was watching that offering. And so he gave the very best. By the time it came to the days of Malachi, they didn't believe God was watching any of their offering. And so 38:05 they could give blind and sickly offerings. I say, 'Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I could put to death the deeds of the flesh and be a pure offering for you. These are the ones who can be a disciple 38:23 of Jesus. And I was thinking about that blind man. This is the first time he's seeing his parents, the first time he's seeing butterflies and trees and all of these things. Yet with the eyes that God gave him, 38:43 what does he do? I think it would have been reasonable for him to say, "Lord, just wait a minute. Let me go and go to the ocean. Watch watch I mean the the lake of Galilee. Let me go and see the birds. Let me go and see the trees. Let me go 38:57 and experience all these life. I never had eyes. I want to use these eyes to see everything that I haven't seen before." But you see if you go to John chapter nine, this man, you you might remember they put him out 39:18 of the church uh the synagogue and it says verse 35, Jesus heard that they had put him out and finding him he said do you believe in the son of man? He answered who is he lord that I might believe in him. That was his longing. 39:37 These eyes that you have now opened need to behold my savior. These eyes are for you, Lord. And he answered and the Lord and Jesus said verse 37 to him, you have both seen 39:55 him and he is the one who is talking with you. Who does Jesus show himself to even today? Those who have been given eyes and sight and say, "Lord, these eyes that you've given me, I give them back to you, Lord. I'm your disciple. 40:14 Lord, reveal yourself to me." And then he says, "You both seen me and he is the one who's talking with you." Verse 38, "And he said, Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him. Lord, make me like this man who sees you and worships you with the eyes and 40:33 tongue and everything that you've given me. Let it be a offering for you. And Jesus says this, "For judgment I have come into this world that those who do not see may see. Those like this blind man who've decided to give their eyes to 40:47 the Lord will now see. And those that see may become blind. And the third condition that he gave them was are you willing up to willing to give up all your possessions? That we 41:06 that's what he asked the rich young ruler. He said what else am I lacking? And he says give up and you can turn with me to Matthew 19. Matthew 19 20 verse 20. The young man said to him, 41:30 "All these things I've kept. I've kept the the nine commandments of the Lord. What am I still lacking?" And Jesus said, "If you wish to be complete, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in 41:45 heaven and come follow me. Come follow me." after you give up your possessions. But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving for he was one who owned much property. 42:03 I believe that that man today if you were to ask him what do you think about that decision when Jesus called you to follow him and you looked at your possessions for this brief time on earth and you said you wanted that more than 42:17 Jesus. What do you think about that decision you made? What do you think his answer would be today in light of eternity? He probably said, "You know what? I made the worst decision I could have. When Jesus called me, I should have heeded 42:33 him. What's the use of all this wealth that I accumulated for that time short time on earth?" But one thing I appreciate about this man was that he was honest. He said, "I'm not a disciple of Jesus. I am not following you. I've drawn my line and 42:52 I'm standing on this line. I'm not a disciple. I love this world. I'm going to enjoy this world. I'm not a disciple of Jesus." Perhaps later on in his life, he may have repented because he had drawn his line and said, "I'm not a disciple. 43:10 Today, I can be a disciple." But the danger today for you and me is that if we don't know if we're a disciple or not, how will we turn from not being a disciple and following Jesus if we don't even know am I a disciple or 43:27 not? And so today, brother, sister, young person, if not for anything else, remember what Jesus said. Sit down and count the cost. Decide, am I worth it for this blind man? Jesus was worth everything. It didn't matter [clears throat] 43:46 what his parents thought, what what the life that he was given was going to be all for Jesus. And this is what I I believe. Jesus 44:05 means everything to a disciple. To his disciples, Jesus means everything. when they seen Jesus, that's more than enough. And I I think about Orpa and Ruth. Both of them saw Naomi's life for about 44:25 10 years. They heard about the God who opened up the Red Sea. And they both had a choice. Both of them decided to follow Naomi. And if you turn with me to Ruth, Ruth 44:47 chapter 1, Ruth chapter 1, verse 8, Ruth 18. And Naom Naomi said to her two daughter-in-laws, this is Orpa and Ruth, 45:05 go return each of you to his to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. May the Lord grant you that you may find rest each in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them and they lifted up 45:24 their voices and wept. And they said to her, "No, but we will surely return with you to your people." Both of them decided they were going to leave Moab and follow Naomi and be with them, be with her. 45:42 But Naomi said, "Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that I may be that they may be your husbands? Return, my daughters. Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I even were to 46:00 have a child today, would you be able to wait till they're fully grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me. And she's telling them, if you come 46:16 and follow me, there's no prospect for you. And she's telling them, go back. There's nothing here for you by coming with me. Verse 14, they lifted up their voices and wept again 46:34 just like that young rich young ruler. He was sad and went away. Like that they both also wept. And Orpa kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Orpa felt sad. Orpa already made a 46:53 distance. She made sacrifice to follow Naomi. She went the distance. But when it came that she found that she was not going to get anything out of Naomi and following after Naomi, she said, "Okay, I'm going to turn back." 47:11 When she found out the cost, when she sat down and found out the cost, she was sad, but not sad enough to follow after Naomi. She turned back. And I believe that's the end. That's the question for every single one of us. 47:28 Are we going to follow Jesus till the end? Or is there going to be something in this world, a relative, a person or selfife of self-seeking or some possession that will prevent us from following Jesus all the way. And I 47:47 love the words that Ruth says. But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you. For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God." 48:05 Verse 17. Where you will you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me. Verse 18. When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said to 48:23 her, "No more." This is a person that no matter what you did, could not turn back. She had made her decision. She said, "You know what? Something worse should happen to me if I turn back. I've made up my mind." She had seen something of God 48:42 that she said, "I can't turn back. Even if you want me to go back, I'm not." And it says here in Ruth chapter 2 verse 11, Ruth chapter 2 11, Boaz replied to you, all that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your 48:57 husband has fully reported to me. Today also those who've left father, mother, their self-life, their possessions to follow Jesus, it's recorded there also of those as well today. is reported to me how you left your 49:19 father, mother, and the land of your birth and came to a people that you did not previously known. Verse 12, may the Lord reward you, your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the Lord of Israel, under whose wings you have come 49:33 to seek refuge. And I see the ones who see Jesus today also like Ruth did. Ruth was the ancestor of Jesus. And Jesus came in the line of those who gave up everything 49:52 to follow him. And if you turn with me to Matthew chapter 13, if you tell a person, okay, I want you to deny this and let go of this and this is all the cost of following 50:11 Jesus. They must be also told the same this thing here. It says in Matthew 13:44, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hid in a field which a man 50:29 found and hid again from joy all o joy over it. He goes and sells all that he has and buys a field." Why did he buy that field? Because he saw a treasure. 50:46 Why am I going to find follow Jesus at any cost? It's only when I see Jesus to be my treasure. Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. If my heart is in my relatives, my heart is in myself, getting something out of this world, possessions, that's 51:05 where my heart will be. And that's where I will follow. And for each one of us, I believe the reason that many don't follow, many like Orpa turn back is because they haven't seen Jesus in his beauty. It says captivated by his 51:24 beauty. One song that we sing, it was the look that melted Peter, the face that Stephen saw, the heart that wept with Mary can alone draw. And I say, Lord, show 51:43 me, show us that Jesus that they all said, they saw that changed their life forever. Nobody had to tell them you must follow Jesus. They said nothing can separate me from following Jesus whom I love. And it goes 52:02 on to say verse 45 again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. And upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had 52:22 had and bought it. And for each one of us, if Jesus is that pearl, there's no price that we will pay in following him. It's the people who have not seen the pearl, they're saying, why why should I pay such a high cost at 52:42 following Jesus? And for me and you, I say just like Paul said, I pray that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened that you may see him. 52:56 And I'll close with this verse in second 2 second Corinthians chapter 4. And this is my prayer for myself and for each of us. Jesus is the only one 53:15 who can reveal the father to us. He can be the only one who can open our eyes. He was the one who made that gardener. And for Mary Magdalene to recognize the gardener was him. It was him who opened up the eyes of those two disciples on 53:34 the way to Emmas when he broke the bread. He's the only one who can open our eyes. And it says here in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6, for God who said light shall shine out of darkness is the one who has 53:52 shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. It's only the Lord just like he said let there be light and light was there. He's the only one who can say let there be light in every 54:07 single one of our hearts so that we may see him and follow him. And so let us each one may the Lord open our eyes to see how precious Jesus is that we too can follow him 54:27 for the rest of our lives. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray Lord, you said, "Go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them, teaching them all that you have commanded." And I pray 54:46 Lord that as we do this, that you are here in our midst, you support us and you be with us. Lord, I pray Lord even today Lord only you can open up the eyes of the blind so that 55:03 they may see that we may see you and behold you behold your glory. Open our eyes that we may follow you that we may be your disciples indeed. I pray for every single person here. Let not one of us turn back like Orpa, but all of us 55:23 who have seen you follow you to the very end. I pray that you would do that. It's going to be a miracle that only you can do. May you do it in every single life in Jesus name. Amen.
