We will finish not only this chapter but the opening 16 verses of chapter 20. Matthew 19 begins with a question that stems from the text that we looked at last week. You'll remember that the disciples are there with Jesus and a rich young ruler. It's Luke that tells us that he's a ruler. Matthew tells us right here in Matthew 19 and verse 22 that he is both very wealthy as well as a young man. A young man in this context means that he is somewhere in his thirties, given all the other circumstances. And a ruler almost certainly suggests that he was an elder in the synagogue. And that is very rare for somebody in his thirties to be elevated to that position. So this guy, from an earthly perspective, even from an earthly spiritual or religious perspective, he has a lot going for him. And he comes to Jesus acknowledging that he still has a sense that he doesn't have eternal life. That's why he says to Jesus, Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life? And you remember the text we went through last week. Jesus first works to show him what God's standard is and the fact that he doesn't measure up to it. And when the guy doesn't see that, he says, I basically kept all those commandments. Well, what am I still lacking? Because he knows there's something still missing. And Jesus says, well, if you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven and come and follow me. Now, you remember the young man doesn't give it up. In fact, we're told that he when he heard this statement, he went away grieving because he was one who owned much property. Now, That provokes the disciples to ask in verse 27 at the beginning of our text this morning, the question, behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will there be for us? What will there be for us? I haven't told this morning's message, is it worth it? Is it worth it? To forsake everything and follow Jesus Christ, is it worth it? to give up your sin, to give up your property, to give up your relationships, to give up your pursuits and your passions and your pastimes, perhaps even to give up your life. Is it worth it to give up everything and follow Jesus? Jesus calls this rich young ruler to total commitment. That's what's required to gain eternal life. That's what's required to gain a place in God's kingdom. Is it worth it? You know, this is the call that Jesus has throughout his earthly ministry and throughout Matthew's gospel. We've seen it time and time again. Matthew, chapter eight, verses 18 to 22, there are a couple of guys that come to Jesus. One is a scribe and he says, I'll go with you wherever you go. And Jesus says the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests. But the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. You're going to follow me. You're going to have to leave everything and follow me. You know, you know, we never hear again about that scribe when he realizes the call is to complete commitment to total commitment. He leaves. Another guy comes and says, let me first bury my father. And he doesn't mean just let me let me go to the funeral, because Jesus says, let the dead bury their own dead. In other words, you just want to hang around and get your earthly inheritance and keep working for your dad. And then once you gain the inheritance, then you're promising to follow me at that point. Listen, if if your earthly inheritance is more important to you than a right relationship with God by following me, then. All you have is your earthly inheritance. In Matthew, Chapter 10, and giving instructions to the twelve as he sends them out two by two, he makes it very clear. If anyone loves father, mother, sister, brother, or anything more than me, he's not worthy of me. In fact, in Matthew 16, I think you have the best summation of what Jesus gave as the cost of discipleship. In Matthew 16 and verse 24, Jesus says to his disciples, notice he's talking to disciples. He's talking to people that already identify themselves with him as his followers. And yet he still gives this instruction to him. He says, if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. That's the requirement. Total commitment. You've got to say no to you. You're no longer the one in control of your life. You're no longer living for you. You're now living for me. You've got to deny yourself and take up your cross. And what happened to everybody that took up a cross in Jesus' day? They died on it. You've got to you've got to say no to you, even if it costs your life and you've got to follow me. And the illustration that he gives in the next verse is is simply this for whoever wishes to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. In other words, if you if you really have your heart set on this life, you can have it. But just understand, when you get to the end of your days on this earth, what awaits is judgment. But if you want eternal life, then you have to give me this life. And when you get to the end of this life, you will find eternal life waiting for you. Jesus calls throughout his ministry for total commitment, and that's asking a lot, isn't it? Jesus has to be your sovereign authority in everything. Jesus has to be most important to you in life. And Jesus has to be one you would be willing to give up everything for and even die for if you want a right relationship with God through him. That's asking for a lot. And the question that we we really get into this morning in Matthew 19, starting in verse 27, is simply this. Is it worth it? Is it worth it to give up everything and follow Jesus? And what I want to show you from the text Very clearly and very simply is this. Yes. Yes, it's worth it. It is absolutely worth it. And I want to give you three reasons. Why it is worth it to give up everything and follow Jesus. Why is it worth it? And the answer, number one, is because you'll be delivered from God's wrath. This is really the first and most obvious reason. And to an extent, it's it's founded in the beginning of the message of the gospel itself and the call to salvation to begin with. Yes, it's worth it. Now, in verse 27, as we're introduced to the to the passage we're studying. I want you to notice that after the rich young rulers told to give up everything and follow Christ and he goes away sad. I want you to notice that Peter, as usual, the spokesman for the twelve, asked Jesus a question. Peter says to Jesus, verse 27, Behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will there be for us? And that little word behold is emphatic in the text. It's like, well, check this out. Let's take note of this. Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute. I really want your undivided attention. You ever had you ever had your one of your little kids when when when they really want to get a hold of your attention? Ever seen a little kid grab their parent by the face and turn their face to look at them? Ever experienced that? My kids did that to me a couple of times. Your kids perhaps do that once in a while, or maybe your grandkids. That's the word behold here. It's a way to really, really say, I want your undivided attention for a minute, Lord. Peter says, behold. We have left everything. And you can't see this in the English, but the we here is also emphatic. We ourselves, we personally have left everything and followed you. Now, in one sense, that is very much true. If you take your Bibles and turn back to Matthew four with me for a minute, you can see this illustrated very clearly. Verse 18. Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee. He sees two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother. They're casting a net into the sea because they were fishermen. And he said to them, follow me, I will make you fishers of men. Immediately they left their nets and they followed him. They walked away from their business. They walked away from their livelihood. Notice that it says in verse 21, going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee and John, his brother, in the boat with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets. And he called to them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and they followed him. They walked right away from their jobs and their livelihood. Yes, they left, in a very real sense, everything and followed Jesus. When he said, Come, follow me, they got up and they went. And this was a special call in their case. He's calling them to full time, spending time with him and walking with him. And he has every intention of turning them into his apostles, which he does. This isn't quite the same, though, as what Jesus asked the rich young ruler to do. Because you'll see in John chapter 21, when after Jesus has risen from the dead and before he ascends to heaven, they don't have any problem going back to work as fishermen. They still had their boats. And you've got to imagine that John and James, if they had gone back to their dad and said, can we have our jobs back, what do you think he would say? No, I'm never forgiving you for leaving me, for following that Jesus fellow. What do you think he'd say? He'd probably given their jobs back. Right. So, yes, they walked away, but they didn't liquidate everything. In Matthew, chapter eight, verses 14 and 15, it's clear that Peter still has his house because they meet in it. There's an interesting note we can make here in Matthew nine in verse nine, if you want to turn there with me. This relates to the call of Matthew. Remember, Matthew was a tax collector, right? Matthew nine, verse nine. Jesus went from there. He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth and he said to him, follow me. And he got up and he followed him. Now, when Matthew gets up from this tax collector booth. Matthew does walk away from everything. That's a job you're not getting back. You walk off station in a context like this. And you lose your franchise and you lose your job and they're not almost certainly not going to hire you back. When Matthew followed it did cost him everything. So when Peter speaks as normal on behalf of the apostles, on behalf of the disciples here in Matthew 19 and verse 27, it says, Behold, we have left everything and followed you. It's not to the same extent quite that Jesus asked the rich young ruler to do it. But they did walk away from everything and they did totally commit themselves to him and they did put all their eggs in the one basket. So when they say, what then will there be for us? You can, I think, understand a little of their question. And maybe even if you think about it, identify with them. You ever. Ever do something really cool, especially those of you that aren't a first child. Ever draw a picture and give it as a gift to your mom or your dad or your grandma or grandpa and your older brother or your older sister comes along and outdoes you? Or worse, your younger sister outdoes you? Right? Ever been there and it's like somebody one-upped you? Ever kind of felt like, oh man, I thought it was really good, but now this is what it is? You know, this can happen sometimes at Christmas. You know, I gave dad a better gift than you or I gave mom a better gift than you or whatever. I think if you if you put yourself in the disciple sandals for just a minute. This rich young ruler from an earthly perspective had everything going for him, and he's already a leader in the community, not just personally and not just with regard to property, but also with regard to spiritual recognition. He's already an elder, even though he's a younger man. And when Jesus says, go and sell all that you have, that's a lot. If he liquidates everything he has, that's a ton of money. That's why he went away sad and wouldn't do it. But if he had done it, he says, go and sell all that you have, give it to the poor and you will have treasure where? In heaven. You want to know why the apostles are thinking about, well, what will our reward be when we gave away everything? Because they're starting to do the math. We gave away everything we had, but we didn't have anywhere near what he had. But we gave it away first. Doesn't that count? So when they say, what then will there be for us? That kind of makes sense from a human perspective, they would ask that question, don't you think? You know what the answer is? The answer, first and foremost, is that you will escape God's wrath, and that's not part of the immediate discussion of this context, but I think this answer gets lost a lot of times. Once you've given all to follow Christ and you and you stop looking back. You stop remembering the fact that you really still are a sinner deserving eternal wrath, and the only reason that you won't face God's wrath is because Christ's death paid for you. The first and most obvious and most fundamental answer to, is it worth it, is, yes, because you'll escape God's wrath. At the very beginning of the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 3, This is the fundamental point that that John the Baptist preaches. And in Matthew three and verse two, John the Baptist comes preaching and his message is this repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The king is coming. And you need to get ready for his coming and you slide all the way down to verse 11. He says, I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I and I am not fit to remove his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He will either give you a place in his kingdom or he will judge you eternally. And it and this judgment is imminent, verse 12, his winnowing fork is in his hand and he will thoroughly clear his threshing floor. He'll judge all. and he will gather his weed into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." You know what the first and most fundamental reason is for forsaking all and following Jesus? You genuinely will be forgiven of all of your sins, past, present, and future. You genuinely will escape God's wrath. The Bible from cover to cover talks about God's wrath that is due us. because we sin. In Romans 1 and verse 18, it's the Apostle Paul who makes it very clear that we all know God's wrath is coming. In Romans 1 verse 16, Paul says, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ because it is the power of God unto what? Salvation, deliverance, rescue. Rescue from what? Salvation from what? Deliverance from what? From God's wrath. Verse 18, the wrath of God is being continually revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and all unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in their own unrighteousness. Paul goes on to tell us that we all know there's a God and what we know about him first and foremost is that he is above us and we are accountable to him for everything we've ever done that's wrong. Have you ever done anything you regret? Denver took us through James 3 this morning and taming the tongue. Have you ever said anything that you wish you could unsay? Ever told a lie? Ever fired off a hateful statement? Ever experienced the temporal consequences of the damage to a relationship from your hateful or mean words? Ever actually done something and you knew it was wrong and you did it anyways and then you get caught? Or you feel that sense of shame and guilt. Every human being feels that because God has given us a conscience. God has given us inherent within us the knowledge that he exists. And we have all fallen short of his standard and we have all offended him. That's the whole reason Jesus came. God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish. should not suffer God's wrath. When Jesus hangs on the cross, as He is about to expire, He looks to heaven and says, Te telestai. It is finished. It is accomplished. Christ's perfect, sinless life was given in our place so that we could be forgiven of our sins. That's the first and most obvious answer to the question we've given up everything to follow you. What is there for us? Well, you're not going to suffer God's wrath because I'm going to the cross to do it for you. I will die in your place. Jesus has made it clear that everyone is accountable for their sins and even more accountable based on the amount of revelation they've been given. If you were to look at Matthew chapter 11, for example, you see when Jesus addresses the cities in which the majority of his miracles were done, he condemns them and warns them they will suffer more divine wrath than even the most wicked cities. Not because they were more wicked, but because they had more revelation. Verse 20 of Matthew 11, Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles were done because they did not repent. Woe to you, he says, Corazon, and woe to you, Bethsaida, because if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless, I say to you, it will be, listen to this, more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. There is a coming day of judgment and judgment includes divine wrath, not just for sin. But accountability even to the revelation you've been given in comparison to others. He goes on in verse 23 to say, and you, Capernaum will not be exalted to heaven, will you? No, you will descend into Hades. Why? Because if the miracles had occurred in Sodom, which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless, I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you. And if you're familiar with Genesis 18 and 19, what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah? First of all, there is gross immorality going on in Sodom and Gomorrah, is there not? Gross immorality. And how did God deal with, really judge, all the fire came down from heaven and consume Sodom and Gomorrah, burned them up. And that was just a temporal judgment. That's not the eternal wrath of God they will face. But you know what, who will suffer more eternal divine wrath than even those who were in Sodom and Gomorrah doing grotesque wickedness? Those in Capernaum who had Christ with them for most of his earthly ministry, preaching and teaching and doing uncountable miracles in their presence. And yet they still didn't repent. You know something, escaping from God's wrath would be more than enough reason to repent and give your life to Christ, would it not? If you really understand your sin and your sinfulness and God's righteousness, and began to contemplate the reality of the depth and the breadth and the height of the wrath of God that will be expressed eternally against those who have sinned against him, you would repent in a heartbeat. In Matthew chapter 16, we've already talked about the call to total commitment. If you want to be my disciple, then you've got to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. But what he says in the in verses 26 and 27 kind of round out the scope of the justification for this. He says, for what would it profit a man if he gained the whole world and forfeited his soul? Or put a different way, what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Because the son of man is going to come in the glory of his father with his angels. And he will then repay every person according to his deeds. Judgment is coming. You need to commit your life to Jesus Christ because judgment is coming. And I think the the the profundity of verse 26 is just I hope it gets you. I hope you you you you do the math this way with me for a minute. When he says, what will it profit a person if he gained the whole world and forfeited his soul? Or put a different way, what would a person give in exchange for a soul? You do understand the logic there, don't you? What Jesus is essentially saying is whatever it is you love more than Jesus, whatever it is that you hold on to and want to hang on to rather than coming to Jesus and giving him your life and living for him. Whatever it is that keeps you from totally committing yourself to him, whether it's your pride, whether it's an earthly relationship, whether it's your prestige, whether it's your property, whatever it is, whether it's your sin, whatever it is that holds you back from fully committing yourself to following Jesus Christ, no matter what it costs. That's the price tag you put on your soul. What would it profit a man if he gained the whole world and forfeited his soul? Or put another way, what will a man give in exchange for his soul? How many of you expect that by the time you get to the end of your life, you will have ownership of everything on the planet? How many of you think that'll be you? How many of you think that you'll actually have everything that you want? You know, just a couple of nights ago, because I have one of the coolest sister-in-laws on the planet, I got to drive in that whatever that race is called on Friday night. I got to drive in that. So cool. And no, I didn't crash. It was so cool. So much fun racing in that race. OK. And no, I didn't win, but I did qualify for the final race. And it was cool. I had a great time. In that context, though, I met somebody. Actually, my whole family already knew her because she does the braces, did braces for all my kids and everything. But she was there and she was also driving for her first time. And she was driving for the orthodontist. And I'm standing there and she says to me, she says, you know what? We're getting ready to drive the first time. And we had just heard about in the preceding warm ups, somebody crashed. They got flipped clean out of their car. And the next car that came by almost ran over him. And so she's looking at me and she goes, You know what? I was pretty excited about this until we got here. And now I have no idea why I put this on my bucket list. I said, I'll tell you what, I'll make you a promise. If you get flipped out of your car, I promise to do my best not to run over you when I come by. If you promise to do the same for me. And we laughed and we went and did it. Neither one of us cried. It was a wonderful time. But you know something? What if everything you ever put on your bucket list, you got to do? Is it worth suffering God's eternal wrath? What if you got all the property on the planet? What if you got to do all the sin you ever wanted to do without any restrictions? What if your life was characterized by total happiness for yourself here and now in this life? What if you got to be the greatest quarterback the greatest basketball player, the greatest musician, the greatest movie star, the greatest whatever. What if you got to be them all at once? What if you lived to be a hundred and had perfect health? You understand, none of us get that, okay? None of us do. Is your life everything you ever wanted it to be from a temporal perspective? Nobody ever gets that, right? And that's what you won't give up. What you do have is what you won't give up. Just understand, that's the price tag you put on your soul. But if you give up everything, no matter what you have, see, salvation is a free gift. It just costs you everything. But when you get to glory, you'll realize you gave up in comparison. You gave up nothing. And he gave up everything so that you could have everything. And the first part of the everything that comes to you for giving your life to Jesus Christ is Escaping God's wrath, being delivered from God's wrath. That is the first best promise. Well, I won't say it's the best unless you're going to put them all as best. But that's the first fundamental problem. That's the most obvious one. The most basic one. Escaping God's wrath is clearly the first eternally significant benefit of coming to Christ that makes it worth it. And this if this were all, it would be more than enough. to justify giving everything to follow Christ, would it not? And if you don't say yes to that, if you can't say yes to that, then there's no real fear of God before your eyes yet. You don't really know who God is, how powerful he is, how sinful you are and how eternally accountable you are for your sin. There is no escape from eternal wrath, the eternal wrath of God. There is no end to the eternal wrath of God. You don't need to turn there. Just listen as I read in Revelation 19, the return of Jesus Christ to establish his kingdom on this earth is described. And we're told in verse 20 that when he comes back, there are two people, two people that Jesus gets a hold of. They're the two that led the rebellion on earth against God, the beast and the false prophet. And in Revelation 19 verse 20, we're told the beast was seized and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. And these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone. Now, the interesting thing is, if you read through Revelation 19 verse 21 and then through the beginning of Revelation chapter 20, you'll see that Jesus establishes a kingdom for a thousand years. And at the end of that thousand years, we're told verse seven of Revelation 20. And when a thousand years are complete, Satan is released and he leads the world in rebellion and a quick one last quick rebellion. And in verse 10, at the conclusion of that. We're told that the devil, Satan, who deceived them is thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, so it's that same lake of fire. where the beast and the false prophet are also. It's been a thousand years. Those two guys are still there. They're still suffering God's eternal wrath. And if you read the rest of the verse, it says, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Do you know how long forever is? Neither do I, but it's really, really long. You ever, ever, ever been someplace where the line just seems like it's forever? You ever been in a class where it seems like the lectures just go on forever, the semester goes on forever, the workday goes on forever, this sermon goes on forever? Ever been there? Not a word, ma'am. So, right? You ever been there? Now, that's not forever. That's not even the drop. A drop in the bucket of the ocean. That's how God's wrath is, and that's what we are due for our sin. So if all we got out of giving everything to follow Christ was escaping God's wrath, would it be worth it? Yes. Yes. Amen. Yes. But you know what? That's not all it is. That's not all it is. And there are two great points that Jesus makes here in Matthew chapter 19. When the disciples Peter speaks on behalf of the disciples, but you'll notice in verse 28, it says Jesus said to them. So Jesus recognizes Peter's asking on behalf of all of them. Peter says, behold, we've left everything and followed you. What then will there be for us? Jesus said to them, truly, I say to you and again, truly. It's it's the Greek word. I mean, it comes from the Hebrew word. I mean, we get our word. I'm men from it. It's a way to emphatically affirm something as as true. And unlike unlike everybody else who waits for people to add the amen to what they say. Jesus puts the amen to his own statement before he even declares it. because He speaks as one with absolute authority, because He's speaking for God and as God. So He says, Amen, I say to you, or truly, I say to you, or you can count on this being an absolute truth, I'm saying to you that you who have followed Me in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also will sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. This first declaration is a promise to these guys, to the disciples, to the apostles. Truly, I say to you that you who have followed me, you guys right here that are following me in the regeneration and that word is only used twice in the New Testament. Once is here and once is in Titus, I think it's three, five. I don't think I wrote it down. I think it's Titus three, five, where it refers to the regeneration of an individual heart in coming to saving faith. Here, Jesus uses it to refer to the time when the son of man sits on his glorious throne. It's a reference to the kingdom when that God establishes the millennial kingdom that we just looked at the beginning of it and Revelation 19 a minute ago. In the regeneration, When the world is made new, when the lion lies down with the lamb, Isaiah 65. When the son of man sits on his glorious thrones, a reference to Daniel seven, the establishment of God's kingdom here on this earth, when that happens. During my millennial reign, you know what you can count on? You guys will sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. And a lot of people have trouble with this word judging. You know why? Because when we think of judging, what do we think of? We think of Judge Wapner or Judge Judy or Judge down at the courthouse is saying guilty, not guilty, something like that. Somebody wearing black robes with a gavel. Judging in a biblical context is not just rendering verdicts and decisions. It's not just resolving arguments. The judges were heroes. The judges were deliverers. The judges were the rulers of Israel. Go back to the book of Judges. You will see they were all rulers and heroes. Samuel judged Israel for the better part of his lifetime. He governed it until such time as a king, specifically Saul, was anointed. So to judge the twelve tribes means to sit as rulers, as authorities over those tribes. And notice that he goes on in verse twenty nine and he says, you know something, there is eternal reward, not just for you guys and a special place for you guys in my kingdom. This holds true for everybody. that forsakes all to follow me. Look at verse 29. He says, and everyone who's included in everyone. You don't have to be an apostle to get this reward, right? It's anybody, everyone who has left houses, OK, material possessions or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children, any earthly relationship or farms, occupations, property, wealth. Everyone who has left earthly possessions and earthly pursuits and earthly relationships for my name's sake will receive many times as much and will inherit eternal life many times as much. You know what that means? Way more than you give. God will repay way more than you give up. God will reward you with. In fact, if you look at the parallel account, I can't remember if it's the Luke 18 or the Mark 10, I think it's the Mark 10. In Mark 10, Jesus says, a hundred times as much. And that doesn't mean that he's going to sit there in glory and God's going to evaluate how much your house was worth that you gave up or how much your job, okay, and then do the math and run it through the big heavenly computer and say, okay, let's carry the one. Yes, there's your reward. That's a hundred times what that was worth. A hundred times or many times is essentially a way to say there's no comparison. Your heavenly reward, anything you do for God, anything you give up for God, you will get so much more for it in glory that you'll look back and go, I wish I gave more. Ever give something away and you wish you had it back or worse? Any of you guys have a wife that is a monk clean freak. Now, I'm not saying that I have one, right, kids? Okay, maybe I am. But anyways, so any of you have a wife that to help you out and to make the house nicer? Maybe you have a mom like this, that, oh, well, he hasn't used this forever, as in two days, so we'll just put it away or we'll store it in the shed and a month later we'll throw it out, something like that. Ever go looking for something and somebody gave it away or threw it away. Ever been there? Ever give something of your own away and wish you had it back? One thing's cool about eBay today, that the baseball cards that your mom gave away that are now worth hundreds, you could go and buy them back, maybe even the same ones. Unfortunately, you're going to pay hundreds. So then you decide, well, I didn't want them anyways. But you ever give something away and you wish you had it back? Anything you give away for God, When you get the glory, you'll never wish you had it back. You'll wish you gave more. That's the point. That's the point. You know, the second best reason to give your life to Jesus, to forsake all to follow him, not just because you'll be delivered from God's wrath, but because you'll be rewarded in God's kingdom. There was a special place in God's millennial kingdom promised to the 12 apostles. But it's not just they who will be honored. It's not just they who will be elevated. It's not just they who will be rewarded eternally. It's anyone who gives up anything and everything to follow Jesus that will be eternally rewarded by God. In fact, you'll never outgive God, you will receive many times as much. When you go back to Matthew 5, I want to remind you of the last of the Beatitudes. When Jesus is describing the characteristics of true kingdom citizens in Matthew 5, in verse 11, He says, Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad. Why? Because your reward in heaven is Great. Or in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Listen, it isn't just what you give up, it's what you suffer for Christ and for his glory and for his sake that God will reward you for. The more you stand for him, the more you speak for him, the more you're assaulted and insulted, the more you're persecuted. And remember, with regard to the apostles, Most of these guys were martyred. With the exception of the Apostle John, history tells us Judas committed suicide and was replaced. But as far as the rest goes, they were all martyred, with the exception probably of the Apostle John, who died in exile on the Isle of Patmos, or was released at the end and died an old man in Ephesus. But he suffered through his whole 90 plus years of life for the cause of Jesus Christ. And you know what? You know what? God saw every, every act of persecution, every insult, every challenge, every stripe, every crucifixion, every execution. The Apostle Paul goes through his grocery list talking about all the times he suffered for the cause of Christ when he's writing the Corinthians, shipwrecked, beaten times without number, etc., beaten and left for dead on one occasion, and in the end he is martyred as well. And you know what? There's an eternal reward coming to all of God's people for all they've ever suffered for Him. You want to know why it's worth giving up all to follow Christ? You want to know why there's no comparison to anything you would give up in this life compared with what you will get from God in eternity. It's because God will not be out given by anybody. You give up everything to follow him and he will give you many fold beyond eternally as a reward for everything you've given up and everything you've suffered for him. Matthew chapter six, verse 16. Jesus says, well, we'll go to we'll go to verse 19. Jesus says, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. Rather, store up for yourselves treasures where? In heaven. Why? Because neither moth nor rust destroys, nor do thieves break in and steal. In fact, where your treasure is there, your heart will be. So the more you invest in God's kingdom, the more you sacrificially give to God and for his work and to his service and to his glory, the more you look forward to heaven, because that's where your store and all your treasure. Matthew, Chapter 25, when we get there, I'll probably spend some time going through a fuller description. of the degrees of rewards and the types of eternal rewards. But in Matthew, chapter 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. One of the rewards for a faithful faithfulness to what God has given you is that in glory and in the kingdom, those who manage the five talents well. get five more talents to manage for him. Those who manage the ten talents well, get ten more talents for him. And those that don't manage the little that they have well, have even that taken away from them. Do you know one of the coolest aspects as I study through the rewards for a Christian life that relate into glory is this. The better you honor God now, the more you serve Him and the more faithful you are, with your gifts, with your time, with your treasure and your talent, the more ability and the more opportunity to glorify you'll be given by him in the kingdom. That's the point of the parable of the talents. Listen, it's not about outdoing each other. It's never been about that. And it's not about trying to get yourself a really good place in the next life. But I'll tell you this. The more faithfully and sacrificially and consistently you honor God here and now in this life, the more ability and opportunity you will have to serve him in the future. That's one of the rewards. And listen, if you if you're a Christian, is there anything you want more than to glorify God? If there is, you've lost sight of what it means to be a Christian. You know, the The first most obvious and fundamental benefit and reason why you should forsake all and follow Jesus Christ is because you will escape God's wrath. You'll be delivered from God's wrath. The second is because you'll be rewarded in God's kingdom. And that's not just for apostles. It's for everyone. And the last one is. I think the best one. And this is the point of The end of verse 29 and all the way through the opening of Matthew 20. You'll be adopted into God's family. You'll be delivered from God's wrath. You'll be rewarded in God's kingdom and you'll be adopted into God's family. This is why you should forsake everything to follow Jesus Christ. Verse 29, Jesus says, everyone who has left homes or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for my name's sake will receive many times as much and will inherit what eternal life now I want to be clear here eternal life is not living forever okay that is not the definition of eternal life okay granted eternal life does include living forever but everyone will live forever everyone will we've already illustrated that in principle have we not we go to Revelation 19 and 20. What are we told? The beast and the false prophet are seized. And a thousand years later, they're still there suffering the wrath of God in the lake of fire. And then Satan is thrown in and they are tormented day and night forever. And how long? And ever. That's a long time. Now, if you were to look at verses 11 to 15, You will see this is the eternal fate of all who do not come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, all who do not come to a reconciled relationship with God through the work of Christ on the cross. Revelation 20 and verse 11, John says, I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and there was no place found for them. So when you get the call to the culmination of redemptive history, This whole earth burns up. The whole of this creation is destroyed. There's going to be a brand new creation is described in Revelation 21. But before that is the judgment, John says in verse 12, I saw the dead, the great and the small standing before the throne and the books were opened and another book was open, which is the book of life. Now, the dead were judged from the things which are written in the books according to their deeds. In other words, Those books that are open have a record of all the sins of all the people that stand before Christ on Judgment Day. Now, there's another book that's open. It's the Book of Life. It's the book that records the names of all those who have given their life to Jesus Christ. The sea gave up the dead which were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every one of them according to their deeds. Why does it mention the sea gave up their dead and death in Hades? And so why does it mean nobody escapes this judgment? Nobody escapes. I don't care how you died. I don't care where you died. I don't care how long ago you died. Everybody faces this judgment unless your name is written in the book of life and left. You did forsake all to follow God. Verse 14, then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, He was thrown into the lake of fire. Why? Because he was condemned according to his deeds. Everybody answers for the whole of their life unless Jesus paid it all for you. And you know what? If Jesus paid it all for you, you are granted eternal life. You say, well, then what is, since everybody lives forever, either living forever in the lake of fire or living forever with God, what is the definition of eternal life then? Great question. Great question. Take your Bibles and turn with me to John chapter 17. Jesus gives us a very straightforward, simple and profound definition. John 17. This is in the context of the high priestly prayer. This is what Jesus prays before he heads to the cross. Jesus spoke these things, John 17 and verse one, that is all of the instructions he gave to the disciples in the upper room. And then he lifts his eyes to heaven and he says, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son that your son may glorify you, even as you gave him authority over all flesh, that to all whom you have given him, he may give eternal life. The whole reason I we have come to the whole reason for me coming in the first place, and that is so that I can give my life so that you can give them eternal life. Well, what is eternal life exactly? Verse three, this is eternal life that they may what? Know you. This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. That's the definition of eternal life. Eternal life isn't living forever. Eternal life isn't just being forgiven. Eternal life isn't just being rewarded for all the sacrifices you make for God and all the investment that you make in his kingdom and all the things that you suffer for his name. Listen, eternal life is so much bigger than that. Eternal life isn't just a wonderful life in the future and a new creation. Eternal life isn't just no more tears and no more sorrow and no more suffering and no more sin. Eternal life is knowing God. Eternal life is having an intimate personal relationship with God as one of his children. You know, the apostle Paul, when he goes through and talks about the gospel from Romans one through Romans eight, At the at the start of Romans eight, having gone through the whole explanation of the gospel of Christ, death pays for our sins. It's not by works, but by faith we're justified. It's not by our effort, but by his sacrifice. We're reconciled to God. And in Romans eight, verses one to four, he says there is therefore now no condom. What? No condemnation for those who are in Christ. Because his death paid it all, but he doesn't stop there. He goes on to say, And we are. Children of God. Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ Jesus. See, this is the best part right here of giving your life to Christ. Not only do you get forgiveness of sins and eternal reward. Best of all. You got an intimate personal relationship with God as your father. That's the best. That's what salvation is all about. You understand that? Salvation isn't about just escaping wrath. Salvation isn't about just storing for yourself treasure in the future. Salvation isn't just about a reversal of roles. Well, I had a really tough in this life and I'm looking forward to having it way better in the next life. You know what salvation is about? An intimate personal relationship with God. as one of His children where He loves you. And He indeed does work all things together for your good because He loves you and fixed His love upon you. You're one of His kids. Matthew 19 and verse 29. Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father, mother, children or farms for my name's sake will receive many times as much as what they what they left for me. And best of all, they will inherit eternal life. They will inherit a right relationship with God as one of his children. Now, here's the clarifying instruction for the disciples. Are you ready? And we're going to go through these last verses very quickly. So so pay attention. Verse 30, he says, but many who are first will. First, Now, as I went through the commentators, et cetera, and as I've as I've studied this in the past through the years, one of the things that people typically look at this verse and decide is the first shall be last and last first means that those who have a good in this life are going to be condemned in the next. And those who have it tough in this life are going to be elevated above them in the next. And that certainly makes sense and and can fit in kind of maybe our understanding But chapter 20 and verse one is the absolute worst place for a chapter break in the whole Bible, because if you look at verse one of chapter 20, you'll notice you've got quotes there. And Jesus says for this is the continuation of that same explanation. It's he's still talking, this is still the same statement, the same instruction. He says many who are first will be last and last first. Why? Notice the explanation, he says, because the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. This illustration explains the point that he makes. The first will be last and the last first. Let's take a look at the illustration. He says the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner. A landowner is somebody who owns property in the context that we're looking at specifically here. The guy owns a vineyard. So he's got a lot of property. He's got a vineyard. Typically, a guy like this has slaves. And before you think of slaves as always being bad, a lot of times slaves had it better than most free peoples. And the rank-and-file because if they had a good master and a noble master with integrity Provided a place for them to live. He provided jobs for them to do put food on the table They had regular employment and income slaves were paid In a context like this and you are essentially an extension of the family Now they weren't all in that case but but in a context like this that's kind of the description so you have a full-time job year-round But there are times in an agricultural community, and some of you perhaps are familiar with this firsthand, there are times in an agricultural community when at harvest and springtime, and especially at harvest time, when bringing all the crops in is a ton of work. So what do you have to do? You have to go hire some extra hands, but you don't want them on the payroll year round. You only need them during the crunch time, right? If you work in the super, not supermarkets, in the mall or Walmart or whatever, when do you need extra help? Christmas time. But you don't bring them on full-time payroll, right? Because on December 26th, you're fired. Or maybe sometime in January after you clean up the mess. Right? But it's just for that short time. So that's the context here. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner. And he went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Early in the morning would be about 6 a.m. right when the sun comes up. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, that's a common wage. A denarius was the common wage for one day's pay for one day's work for the day laborer. The guys that don't have a job that are waiting to be hired to odd jobs, they go to the main marketplace and they're there waiting. And somebody that owns the land comes and shows up and says, hey, you want to work in my vineyard? OK, so he gets these guys together and he says, I'll pay you the normal wage, a denarius for working the day for me. They agreed to it. He sends them into his vineyard. Now we move ahead to verse three, and he went out about the third hour. Now, the third hour is the third hour from dawn. So it's about nine a.m. 9 a.m. So you've already missed about a fourth of today's work, right? So he goes about the third hour and saw other standing idle in the marketplace. And to those, he said, you also go into the vineyard and whatever is right, I will give you notice. He doesn't even negotiate what he's going to pay them. He just says, whatever's right, I'll do right by you. You just go. So without even knowing what they're going to be paid. They go. So they went. Verse 5, he again went out in the 6th hour and the 9th hour. So that's noon and 3 p.m. And he did the same thing. He doesn't even negotiate what he's going to pay him. He just says, hey, you guys still standing here? You want a job? You go work in my vineyard and I'll pay. I'll do right by you. So they agree and they go work. They agree and they go work. Verse 6 at about the 11th hour. This is where the whole expression of something happening at the 11th hour Meaning the last minute kind of a thing. The 11th hour is 5 p.m. It's an hour to quit in time. At the 11th hour, the householder goes and he went out and he found others standing around. And he said to them, why have you been standing here idle all day long? And they said, because nobody hired us. He says to them, you go into the vineyard too. Notice he doesn't even promise to pay them. He just said, OK, you guys go into the vineyard, go get the work and they go. They don't even negotiate. They don't even talk. They don't even have to hear the promise of pay. They just go because he offered them work. They're just going to trust him to do whatever. Verse eight, when evening came, so we've come to quit in time, six o'clock, sun's going down at the end of the day and the normal practice for day laborers is that you pay them when at the end of the day. This is their livelihood. They're looking for a paycheck. They're looking for cash in hand at the end of every day's work. There's no guarantee there's work for tomorrow. And this the money you put in my hand is what I'm putting on the table tonight. So when the evening came, the owner of Vineyard said to his foreman, he's one of the guys that has a full time job with him. He says, call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first. So those that came in the 11th hour, pay them first. Those that came in the 9th, the 6th, et cetera. So just pay them in reverse order of when they started working. And when those hired first came, I'm sorry, I missed a verse here. When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, call the laborers and pay them their wages beginning with the last group to the first. And when those hired at about the 11th hour came, each one received what? A denarius, a full day's pay. They only worked an hour. And he gave him a full day's pay. What would you say that is? Very gracious. Very gracious. Some of you may say that's bad business sense. That's the whole point. That's the whole point. Listen, the householder isn't getting a full day's work out of these guys, and yet he's giving them a full day's pay. Do they deserve it? Do they deserve it? No. So what is the characteristic of the householder? He is gracious. to those who otherwise would have no ability to provide for themselves. He gives them a full provision even though they came at the last minute. Now, here's the lesson for the disciples and the lesson for you and I and the ultimate answer to our question of what did Jesus' statement mean, the first shall be last and the last first. Verse 10, when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more. Why? Well, because if he's that gracious to the guys that came at the last minute, Surely he's going to pay us. Wow. Four or five denarius. When those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And when they received it, they recognized they got exactly what they were promised and exactly what they negotiated for. One day's pay for one day's work. And they went home happy. Is that what it says? No. It says they grumble. They literally they began grumbling at the owner, saying these last men have worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat of the day. And before you start to identify yourself and connect yourself with with the context. Remember, this is an illustration teaching a spiritual point. What did the disciples start this whole narrative with? What do we get? Because we've left everything. When they received the denarius, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, These last men have worked only one hour. You've made them equal to us, we who have borne the burden of the score, the burden and the scorching heat of the day. But the landowner answered and he said to them, Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Didn't you come to begin with on the basis of giving me a full day's work for a full day's pay? Take what is yours and go. But I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Don't I have a right Do whatever I want with my money. Don't I have a right to decide if I want to be abundantly gracious to the guys that just showed up in the 11th hour and pay them the same as I pay you for working the whole day? Don't I have the right as the landowner and the one who has the money to begin with to spend it how I want? Didn't I give you exactly what we agreed to? Or is your eye envious because I'm generous? Are you bothered? Because you are only thinking about who? You. Now, Jesus draws the whole narrative to a conclusion, he says, so the last shall be first and the first last. Well, what's the only way the last can be first and the first is last? I think about a race, OK? I told you I just now actually in the finals, I came in last. And you know what? They didn't give me the trophy. I should have taken this text and read it to them. Right? They didn't give me the trophy. But what's the only way that the last can be first and the first is last? Is if we all finish what? At the same time. What was the complaint of the workers that were at the beginning of the day? You've made them equal with us. Do you know the reality here and the message that Jesus is teaching to his disciples? You look at this rich young man and you think just because he would have given up more than you that I would have elevated him above you? And your whole thought process is wrong, guys. Your whole thought process is wrong. See, the gift that is equal To all who forsake all to follow Christ is eternal life equally to all. You know what? If you're a child of God, if you've given up all to follow Christ, you are no more important to God than I am. And I am no more important to God than you are. Yes, we have different roles. We have different gifts. We have different abilities. We have different ministries. And yes, there are aspects in which faithfulness will be rewarded. But you know what comes to all equally and what is most important and the best part of giving your life to Jesus Christ? It's eternal life and everyone who forsakes all to follow Him, no matter how much you do or don't give up, no matter whether you come the first hour or the last hour. I don't care if you're the Apostle John or if you're the thief on the cross. I don't care if you walk with Christ for 70 years or hang with him for seven minutes. All who forsake all to follow him. Get eternal life and eternal life is the best part of salvation. Is it worth it to forsake all to follow Christ? Yes, yes, without question. One, you'll be delivered from God's wrath to you'll be rewarded in God's kingdom for all that you give up for him. But best of all is you'll be adopted into God's family. You'll be adopted into God's family and be one of his children forever. And friends, that is the best reason to forsake all and follow Christ. Lord, in heaven high above, thank you for the great way in which you have revealed yourself to us. Thank you for coming and being willing to die for us, Lord Jesus. Thank you, Father, for being willing to pour out your wrath on your one and only Son, when we deserved it. And for those among us who do not know you, Lord, please open their eyes to the truth of their own sinfulness and your utter eternal righteousness and holiness. And may it be that you would bring many to repentance and faith and reconcile them to yourself so that we all might equally be God's children forever. In Christ's name I pray, Amen. Gentlemen, if you'll come forward. We have the joy of celebrating the Lord's table this morning. And in this context, I know we have some visitors with us, so I want to just give a few.