June 24, 2015 "The Gospel is Joy and Jesus is Worthy"

This morning I had the privilege of giving the chapel message at a high school. I was excited for that opportunity because I love working with teenagers and have a passion to see them fall in love with Jesus and abandon themselves to Him. Below is a recap of what I shared with them, which has come out of things the Lord has been teaching me over the years and even in recent weeks.

This morning I want to leave you with two things. The first is that the gospel is joy and it is worth giving up everything for. The second is that Jesus is completely worthy of all your devotion.

To begin, I’d like to first clarify terms. What I mean by the phrase, ‘the gospel’ is this: God created you and loves you. But we are sinners and, no matter how hard we strive, cannot make ourselves right before God. So God sent Jesus to bear our sins in His body on the cross so we might die to sin and live for righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus died as our punishment. God raised Him from the dead and decreed that whoever believes in Jesus and receives Him will live forever with God (John 3:16, 1:12).

With that foundation laid, I want to make a case that the gospel is joy and is worth giving up everything for. Consider Matthew 13:44-46

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Notice two things about this passage. First, in both cases the treasure was at a great cost. Both men sold everything they had to attain their prize. Second, consider the attitude with which they conducted their affairs. The text says, “in his joy [he] went and sold all he had and bought that field” (emphasis mine). They had this joy because they knew that the treasure was infinitely greater than the possessions they were giving up.

It is the same with following Jesus. I am not here to stand before you today to tell you that if you give your life to Christ, all your problems will disappear. If you decide to follow Jesus, you won’t suddenly become rich or have perfect health or never face trials. Actually, the opposite could be true. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” And elsewhere, Jesus tells His followers, “In this world you will have trouble.” If you give your life to Christ, friends could laugh at you. Your family may not understand. You still will experience hardship.

Earlier this year, a friend of mine got sick. We prayed hard that God would heal him. But He didn’t. My friend died. And it was hard. It still is hard. But I can rejoice because he knew Jesus and is with Him now. If I had only believed that the gospel was about God giving us things we want, then my faith would have been shaken. But that’s not what the gospel is about. It’s about Jesus. And He is so much greater than every trial we could ever face. Knowing Him is joy. Philippians 3:8 says, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” Even though we struggle, even those we face hardships, those things will be like a single raindrop compared to the ocean in light of the treasure we have in Christ. I can stand before you today and testify that Jesus is the greatest joy in my life, the greatest treasure on earth.

The second thing I want to leave you with today is this: Jesus is completely worthy of all your devotion. Revelation 5:9-10 says of Jesus:

You are worthy…because you were slain and with your blood your purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they will reign on the earth.

Jesus is worthy of your affection, your allegiance, your praise, because he bore your sins in His body on the cross. He purchased souls for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. My friends, that includes you. That includes you. Do not think that because we are from America we are special and have our lives all put together. It doesn’t matter where we are from. God purposed that you would be born here, in _______. What matters is that you serve Him.

I want to invite you today to follow Him, to give your lives to Him. Please do not do this lightly. Jesus told those who wanted to follow Him to count the cost. So count the cost. But also know the beautiful, outstanding, immeasurable treasure there is in knowing Christ Jesus.