March 25, 2025 • 30 mins
Lead Pastor Stephen Feith concludes the powerful 12-week "A Life That Matters" series with a profound exploration of surrender as the gateway to significance. As Jesus approaches Jerusalem in Luke 18-19, we witness both the anticipation of Palm Sunday and the heartbreak of misunderstanding that follows. Through encounters with a blind beggar who sees with spiritual clarity and a wealthy tax collector whose surrender transforms his entire life, Jesus demonstrates that recognizing our need is the first step toward true discipleship.
The tension between human expectations and divine reality becomes increasingly clear as the cross approaches. While the disciples and crowds want glory without suffering and transformation without discomfort, Jesus redefines power, purpose, and the very nature of God's kingdom. Through tears, he mourns for those who miss the peace he offers because it doesn't match their expectations—a challenge that resonates powerfully with our modern desire for comfort over surrender.
This message delivers a convicting reminder that surrender isn't weakness but requires tremendous strength. It isn't a one-time decision but a daily rhythm of letting go—of our preferences, our control, and our version of the story—to embrace God's greater purpose. Through honest reflection, humble confession, faithful stewardship, and persistent trust, we discover that what appears to be loss becomes the doorway to the life that truly matters.
Whether you're wrestling with areas of stubborn control or simply feeling stuck in your spiritual journey, this message offers a liberating perspective: the path to glory always runs through surrender. As A.W. Tozer wisely noted, "Many remain troubled because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves." What might change if we stopped trying to give orders and fully surrendered to the King who gave everything for us?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And welcome to our Madison Church online audience.
I'm Stephen Feith, lead pastor,and we've been in this series
and today, sadly, we areconcluding it.
It's been 12 weeks and we allwant a life that matters.
We, all of us in the room.
The thing that you have incommon with the person sitting
around you is that we all want alife filled with meaning, with
purpose.
(00:21):
We want to make a real impact.
If we can get meaning andpurpose, we'd also like to make
an impact, and that desire iswhat led us to start this year
in this series, asking thequestion like what kind of life
does Jesus actually invite usinto?
So we've been going through thegospel of Luke and we're
watching how Jesus taught, howhe served, how he loved, how he
(00:44):
challenged people to follow him.
And, as this season of Lent hasbeen, the last few weeks have
unfolded.
Our focus has shifted from whatdo we need to add to our lives
versus what do we need to giveaway, what do we need to
surrender, because discipleshipisn't just about doing more.
We kind of think that rightDiscipleship, I need to add more
and more to my plate, butsometimes discipleship isn't
just about doing more.
I know we kind of think thatright Discipleship I need to add
(01:06):
more and more to my plate, butsometimes discipleship is
honestly about letting somethinggo and letting go of something
that's holding you back.
And so, as I mentioned today,we're at the end of this series
and at the end of this journeyand at the end of Jesus's path
to Jerusalem.
Today, he's going to enter intoJerusalem.
But this isn't just theconclusion of a story.
(01:26):
This is a defining momentbecause, even as Jesus draws
near to the cross, the spotlightremains on him.
Let us not enter into today'stext thinking that Jesus is
passive or that he's a victim ofhis circumstances.
Jesus is still king.
He's moving with clarity.
Says Jesus is still king.
(01:48):
He's moving with clarity, withconviction and with authority
toward the mission he came tofulfill.
And, just like the disciples,the crowd, maybe the people in
Jerusalem who didn't know whoJesus was yet we are part of
that story today in Madison 2025, and we're faced with the same
questions that they were facing,and today I want you to focus
on that one.
Will I truly follow Jesus, evenwhen it costs me something?
(02:12):
It's been the question the lastfive weeks.
Am I willing to surrender?
Am I willing to give somethingup in order to follow Jesus,
because a life that matters, alife of true significance, those
things that we've been talkingabout, they begin with us laying
everything down at Jesus's feetto follow the King who gave
everything up for us.
(02:33):
And so we're going to Luke 18,verse 31.
If you want to follow along,we'll have the words on the
screen, but you can use a houseBible around you.
Feel free to use your phoneBible as well and what we're
going to see is that the tensionis building.
The cross is just ahead.
For some of you who are very intune to the Christian calendar,
you know that Easter is just afew weeks away from today.
That's what we are leaning into, and for the third time in
(02:57):
Luke's gospel, jesus is going toclearly spell out what is
coming, and the people closestto him still don't get it.
And that's where our passagebegins with the moment that
shows how easy it is to followJesus.
How easy it is to follow Jesusand still miss what he's about.
So let's take a look.
(03:18):
Taking the 12 disciples aside,jesus said listen, we're going
up to Jerusalem where all thepredictions of the prophets
concerning the son of man willcome true.
He'll be handed over to theRomans and he'll be mocked,
treated shamefully and spit upon.
They will flog him with a whipand kill him, but on the third
(03:38):
day he will rise again.
Now it's one thing to predictyour death I bet all of you in
the room could do that in thesense of someday I'm going to
die and we would say, yes, weknow that.
That's true, that that happens.
That's a part of being a person, it's part of being human.
We all die.
But instead of just doing that,he's framing it as a
(04:00):
fulfillment of the scriptures,texts that were written hundreds
, if not thousands, of yearsbefore Jesus's birth.
He's saying I'm fulfilling thatstuff, things that nobody could
have known on their own.
As such, daniel 7, who talksabout the son of man.
And so when Jesus uses the sonof man, he's using a very
specific title that those whoare Jewish and well-versed in
(04:23):
Daniel's writing would knowabout.
He's going to be both theexalted ruler who receives all
authority, but, as Daniel pointsout, he's also the suffering
servant who will lay down hislife.
This is the mission and this isthe moment he came for.
But for his disciples, raisedunder Roman rule and hoping for
(04:46):
a military deliverer, this kindof Messiah, didn't fit their
expectations.
We talk about that so much, andeven Jesus, quoting from Daniel
7, he says no, you know thewhole context of Daniel 7, both
the ruler and the servant.
They're like oh, we'll take theruler and we forget the servant
.
Going up to Jerusalem soundedlike a step toward victory.
(05:08):
This was a military crusade,this was an attack.
Jesus was redefining power,though, and he was redefining
purpose, and he was alsoredefining the very nature of
God's kingdom.
To people who just didn'tunderstand it.
He was saying that the path toglory runs through surrender and
(05:31):
through the cross.
That's how we were going to getit, and they didn't understand
it, and we are not so different.
We're not so different thanthose living under Roman Empire
rule.
We also want a Savior whoaffirms our assumptions, and not
one that challenges them.
I'm not alone when I say Ireally like it when I come
across Bible verses or teachingsof Jesus about things that I'm
(05:53):
good at or things that Ipassionately agree with, and I
can't tell you how quickly Iread over the parts I don't the
parts of Jesus's teachings whereit challenges me or it hits a
little too close to home, ormaybe it doesn't apply to me the
same way it seems that itapplied to them but following
Jesus means letting go of ourplans and our preferences and
(06:15):
trusting that his way, even whenit doesn't make sense or even
when it makes us uncomfortableor puts us in an awkward
position, that this is the wayto true life.
Now, the disciples couldn't seewhat Jesus was really saying.
I mean, they had a front rowseat for years and years and, if
anything, their experience eventhough Jesus kept saying this
was what was going to happen,their experience of all of the
(06:36):
things that Jesus did.
They said, no, that can't beright.
I got to be misunderstandingwhat he's saying, based on what
I see him doing.
But the next story is going toflip that dynamic completely.
As Jesus approaches Jericho, heencounters a blind man sitting
on the side of the road begging.
In the first century world, aswe've talked about, people with
(06:58):
disabilities were often pushedto the margins of society.
They didn't have hardly anyoptions for work and many of
them relied on public charity.
The Roman Empire did not have agovernment program to help out
or assist.
They relied on the public,their neighbors, those who lived
(07:18):
around them, for support.
They weren't just seen asburdens though, as you can
imagine, you might get to thementality, if you're walking by
the blind beggar every day, thathe is a burden to you because
every day you just want to go onyour way and he's asking for
spare change.
But they were also seen ascursed.
Remember that we talked aboutthat a couple weeks ago or last
week, where we talked about therich ruler was seen as somebody
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who was blessed because of hisstatus, his power, his authority
.
So therefore, if you didn'thave any status, this man hears
that Jesus is passing by.
He hears that Jesus is passingby.
Why?
Because he cannot see.
He is blind, he physicallycannot see that Jesus is coming.
(08:01):
But he hears that Jesus iscoming and he starts shouting,
but this time not for money.
This time he shouts for mercy,and not just to a healer, but to
the son of David.
He calls out a royal, messianictitle Again, going back
hundreds, if not thousands ofyears before Jesus' time.
(08:21):
He says son of David, havemercy.
Now the crowd tries to silencehim, just like they tried to
silence those kids.
He says Jesus is too big, tooimportant, he's got things to do
, we're on mission, we're aboutto overthrow the Roman Empire.
He doesn't have time for you.
But this blind beggar won't bequiet.
His cry grows more desperate,his cry grows more persistent.
(08:46):
His cry is full of faithbecause he knows that Jesus has
something to offer him that hisneighbors do not, and he's not
afraid to say it.
And Jesus showing his disciplesand all of those around him that
nobody is too unimportant forJesus.
He says what do you want me todo for you?
The blind man says well, lord,I want to see.
(09:07):
And Jesus said all right,receive your sight, for it is
your faith that has healed you.
And Jesus heals him.
And again it comes back to thatword.
That's not just a physicalhealing but a spiritual one.
He is physically delivered froman ailment, but he is also
spiritually liberated.
His faith leads to clarity.
(09:30):
It wasn't his eyes that helpedhim see who Jesus was, it was
his faith.
I mean, it's hard to miss thepicture that Luke paints.
Those with sight were missingJesus.
Those who could see what Jesuswas doing missed him.
But the blind man, the one fullof faith, was the one who
(09:53):
actually saw Jesus for who he is.
And here's the invitation for ustoday To follow Jesus.
We must first acknowledge ourneed, our own brokenness, our
own emptiness.
Surrender begins with thehumility to say I can't see
clearly without you.
As I prayed this morning.
Sometimes we're called to aplace.
(10:15):
We don't know what the nextstep is or the destination.
We're called to do somethingthat seems impossible or
intimidating.
So other times you're called tojust stay put, and that can
also be challenging, but itrequires us.
That's what discipleshiprequires a surrender to say you
know what I'll stay put, youknow what I'll take this step.
You know what I'll stay put.
(10:35):
You know what I'll take thisstep.
You know what I'll reach out.
Now, as Jesus continues throughJericho, he encounters someone
very different than the blindbeggar we're going to go from.
If there was a spectrum, we'regoing to go from one side to the
other.
Okay, this man isn't physicallyblind, he's not socially
powerless.
As a matter of fact, he's verywealthy, he's very influential
(10:56):
and he's deeply entangled into asystem of exploitation.
Zacchaeus, as many of you whohave grown up in or around the
church are probably familiarwith the story, but for those of
you who are not familiar withthe story, is a chief tax
collector.
Let me break that down for you.
You're like, chief taxcollector Sounds important.
What is it?
He is at the top of a corruptsystem that profited off the
(11:17):
backs of his own people.
He wasn't just the one doingthe exploiting, he was helping
others do the exploiting.
He helped make a system ofexploitation so that he could
become wealthy.
Now here's the thing he wouldhave already been wealthy being
a tax collector.
He didn't need to cheat, hedidn't need to exploit.
(11:37):
He would have been wealthyalready.
But you know what he said.
He said what I have isn'tenough, I'm not rich enough, I'm
not powerful enough, let's geta little bit more.
So he could have been rich, buthe says, nope, I want a little
bit more.
And so when the crowd in thepassage they call him a sinner,
they're not wrong, they'reabsolutely not wrong.
(11:59):
Conjure up images today of thosewho might be in politics, might
be very wealthy and usingsystems to benefit themselves at
the cost of other people.
That should be the image thatcomes to your head in this
passage.
And let's see how Jesusresponds to someone like that.
First off, jesus doesn't see alost cause.
(12:22):
What he does see is a lost son.
He calls Zacchaeus, not bysinner but by name, and he
invites himself into his homeand into his life.
The moment of grace changeseverything and, as Zacchaeus, he
doesn't just express belief, heresponds with a bold, tangible
(12:43):
repentance.
He gives away half his wealthwhich, mind you, all of his
wealth came from exploiting hisfellow citizens.
But he gives away half of itand he commits to repay what
he's stolen four times over.
Well, that's surrender, that'stransformation, and here's how
we see Jesus respond.
(13:03):
Salvation has come to this hometoday, for this man has shown
himself to be a true son ofAbraham, for the Son of man came
to seek and save those who arelost.
That is Jesus's mission.
That is why I'm here and doingall of the things I am doing Now
.
Zacchaeus came to see Jesus.
(13:25):
He responded to Jesus.
Zacchaeus had to let go ofgreed, of status and control.
That's what Zacchaeussurrendered.
He gave it all away to followJesus.
And Zacchaeus shows us thatsurrender changes everything.
It changes how we use ourresources, it changes where we
find our identity and it changesour role in God's story.
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But, as you know, not everybodyresponds that way.
As Jesus moves closer toJerusalem, the crowds are
buzzing with anticipation.
They're expecting a king, aJewish king, who will establish
his rule right now.
But Jesus knew that they and us, you and me, today, we need a
(14:11):
different perspective on what itmeans to follow when we're
waiting.
So he tells the story about anobleman, some servants, a test
of trust and responsibility, andonce again, surrender is at the
heart of it.
In the story, the nobleman heleaves on a journey to be
crowned king.
He's entrusting his servantswith all of his resources while
(14:33):
he is gone.
Now, some of these people, someof the servants, don't like that
.
He has become king, they're alittle angsty about that, they
don't love it and they rejecthis rule entirely, just as some
will reject Jesus and others,whether they like him or not, do
what's at hand, the job that heasked them to do.
Well, he asked us to dosomething good with his
(14:55):
resources, so let's do it.
A couple of those servants theytake risks, they act in faith
and they do.
They see a return.
But one is paralyzed by fearand he hides what he has been
given and he does nothing.
And this is where Jesus' partof the story jumps in.
He says yes.
The king replied, referring toall of his servants here,
looking at them all.
He says to those who use wellwhat they are given, even more
(15:17):
will be given.
But from those who do nothing,even with what little they have
will be taken away.
Now Jesus isn't just talkingabout financial gain here.
He's painting a picture ofdiscipleship in between, between
his first coming and his return.
You see, the king leaves and hetrusts his servants with all of
this stuff and he says I willbe coming back to see what you
(15:40):
did with what I gave you.
The message is clear.
Even though now you and I, welive between the cross and
Christ's return, we have beentrusted and whether you've been
trusted with a little or you'vebeen trusted with a lot, the
king will return.
He will see with what we havedone, with what he has been
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given to us.
Will we be fearful or faithful?
Will we do what we've beengiven or will we do something
with what we have been given, orwill we bury it, hide it, have
a scarcity mindset?
I got to bury this because whatif I lose it?
Won't he be mad at me?
What he's given you, he didn'tgive you out of fear, but he
(16:25):
gave you out of trust.
So act in faith.
Surrender means action.
It means investing what God hasgiven us, whether that's your
time, your gifts, your influencefor his purpose, not the
accumulation of comfort.
The question at this point inthe story becomes are we playing
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it safe with our faith or arewe surrendering control and
stepping out in obedience, evenwhen the outcome isn't
guaranteed?
And let me be explicitly clear,the outcome is not guaranteed.
The question becomes even moreurgent as Jesus, he, finally
arrives in Jerusalem.
The city is electric withanticipation.
The crowds are ready to crown aking.
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Those who have heard aboutJesus, they hear he's coming
back.
Those who have faith in Jesusare ready for him.
But, as I've said alreadymultiple times today, they don't
understand what kind of king hetruly is.
Their expectations are loud,rooted in hope of a political
liberation.
But Jesus' mission is quiet,it's humble.
It'll be radically differentthan what they expect.
(17:30):
They yell out blessings on theking who comes in the name of
the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory inthe highest heaven.
And some of the Pharisees amongthe crowd said teacher, rebuke
your followers for saying thingslike that.
And he replied if they keptquiet, the stones along the road
would burst in the cheers.
He's saying this is a happytime.
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I could tell them to shut up.
But all of creation right nowis cheering for me.
All of creation knows what'sabout to happen.
They spread their cloaks on theground.
They shout words from Psalm 118welcoming him as the
long-awaited king.
This is Palm Sunday and youmight realize we're a few weeks
early, but a lot happens betweenPalm Sunday and Easter Sunday
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that we're going to get intostarting next week.
His entrance is full ofprophetic and political
symbolism.
By riding a donkey, he echoesthe words written in Zechariah
9.9.
Riding the donkey was a sign ofpeace, not war.
Again, the symbols are right infront of them and yet they
still do not see it.
(18:33):
The Pharisees, who are alwaysgoing to be anxious about
political unrest, tell Jesus toquiet that crowd because the
King has truly come.
Whether people understand him ornot, true surrender means
following the real Jesus and notjust the version of him we want
.
That's the tension of PalmSunday.
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It's joyful praise wrapped inprofound misunderstanding.
And I think of us today.
And I was talking at ourmembership luncheon last week.
I said I'm convinced we'redoing a lot of things right.
I'm also convinced we'll get tothe end of our road here and
Jesus will say these are all thethings you didn't get right.
And that doesn't worry me,because I recognize myself in
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this story.
I recognize you in this story,enthusiastically praising the
coming King, knowing we don'tunderstand it all, knowing I
don't see it all the way that itshould be seen, knowing that,
yes, the signs might be allaround me just like they were to
them, I'm still going to getsomething wrong.
And yet, at the end of the day,jesus doesn't reject them.
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He accepts their praise.
The crowd is shouting with joyand then Jesus becomes overcome
with sorrow.
You see the Pharisees.
They see a parade.
Jesus sees a missed opportunity, the Pharisees, the religious
elite of the day.
They want victory.
But Jesus knows the cross iscoming and he looks out over the
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city, his city, his people,god's people, and Jesus weeps.
And it isn't just an emotionalmoment.
Jesus weeps.
And it isn't just an emotionalmoment, it's a prophetic one.
It reveals the heart of aSavior who not just longs to
bring peace, but whose heartbreaks over those who won't
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choose him, whose heart breaksand has mercy for even those who
will be the ones who end upkilling him.
Let's read how Jesus responds ashe draws near Luke 19, verse 41
.
As he came closer to Jerusalemand he saw the city ahead, he
began to weep.
I wish today that of all people, you of all people, would
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understand the way to peace.
But now it is too late andpeace is hidden from your eyes.
So as Jesus crests the top ofthe Mount of Olives here and
Jerusalem comes into view, thetone shifts.
Moments after being praised asking, he breaks down.
Public grief, not for himself,not because he's going to die an
(21:12):
awful way, but for the peoplewho have missed their moment,
the people who for thousands ofyears, god had been interacting
with and moving through thewilderness and into the promised
land.
And he gave them all of theseprophecies, from Zechariah to
Daniel.
And he came and he's doing allof these great things.
And he says if anyone shouldhave noticed, it should have
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been you guys.
But it's not.
Jesus' words are filled withthe longing that I hope you can
kind of feel this morning, asyou think, maybe, of people in
your own life, those who you'relike.
You should know it's right infront of you.
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How do you not?
Jesus isn't filled with angertoward them.
He's not ready to just throwthem or kick them to the curb.
His heart breaks.
You can tell he's upset.
This isn't just what Jerusalemmissed.
Let's bring it to today.
It's what we might be missingtoo.
The people around Jesus saw whathappened in real time, and yet
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they didn't grasp what wasunfolding in front of them.
The disciples, along with thePharisees and many others,
expected glory without suffering, and you don't get glory
without suffering.
The crowds wanted the king whowould overthrow the oppressive
Roman Empire, expected glorywithout suffering, and you don't
get glory without suffering.
The crowds wanted the king whowould overthrow the oppressive
Roman Empire, and the religiousleaders were there, freaking out
that they were going to loseany power and influence they had
(22:41):
.
And we live on the other sideof the cross almost 2,000 years
later.
We know how the story ends, andyet I think at times we still
miss it.
We bring our expectations toJesus and we want him to make
those things happen.
We want peace without surrender.
We want transformation withoutdiscomfort.
We want glory without any cost.
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Their misunderstanding wasrooted in deferred hope.
Our misunderstanding is rootedin comfortable control.
But despite all of the culturaldifferences, the core human
struggle remains the same, andwhat we've been talking about
the last several weeks, it's allabout surrender.
The disciples, the crowds, theleaders, you and me, we all
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wrestle to let go of our versionof the story in order to
embrace God's story.
The theological principle inthis text, this last chapter and
a half, is clear.
True discipleship requiressurrendering our assumptions,
our agendas and our illusions ofcontrol in order to receive the
peace, purpose andtransformation that Jesus offers
(23:50):
.
Like Bartimaeus that's whatMark tells us, that's the blind
man's name, bartimaeus we needspiritual sight.
Like Zacchaeus, we must releasewhat we've clung to.
Like the fearful servant, wehesitate to risk what God has
entrusted to us.
And, like Jerusalem, we canmiss God's movement when it
doesn't match our expectations.
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And still Jesus doesn't crosshis arms and look down at us.
But I think once again, againand again, if anything, he's
waiting and his heart breaks.
Let's go, come with me into alife of surrender, a life that
is surrender, a life that isn'tweakness.
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I think we think surrender isweakness.
It's not Surrender.
It takes a lot of strength.
It's the path to peace.
It's where true life begins.
And so how do we live this outevery day?
It begins with honestreflection.
Like Bartimaeus, we come toJesus and we say I want to see.
We ask him to reveal what he'sbeen blind to what we have been
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blind to and perhaps that'sareas of pride, areas of fear,
areas of self-reliance that keepus from following him.
It comes to a humble confession,like Zacchaeus.
We have to name the thingswe've clung to.
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Zacchaeus had to get realuncomfortable with how much he
had, how he got it and how hewould make it right.
He had to think of the facesand the families of everyone he
exploited and knew it was goingto take a great deal of humility
to go back and to make it rightto them.
Humble confession and thenfaithful stewardship, like the
servants in the parable considerwhat God has entrusted to you,
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whether it's a little or it's alot, whether it's time,
relationships, finances orinfluence or something not named
yet.
It's time relationships,finances or influence or
something not named yet.
Surrender means trusting Godenough to invest in what he has
given you into his kingdom.
And then we embrace persistenttrust, and this is maybe the
hardest part of all.
That I mean I'm not sayinghonest reflection is easy, I'm
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not saying honest confession iseasy or humble confession, but
persistent trust.
I think this is where a lot ofus find ourselves today.
The crowds misunderstood Jesusbecause he didn't meet them,
meet them in their expectations,where they were exactly at,
with what they exactly wanted.
But Jesus invites them and usto follow him anyway,
(26:28):
misunderstandings or not.
Now the big thing here is, as weclose this series out,
surrender isn't a one-timedecision.
It's not something you decidedfour weeks ago.
It's not something you'redeciding today.
Surrender is an ongoing,everyday decision, when I wake
up and when I go to bed and themillions of decisions between
them.
It's a daily rhythm.
(26:48):
It's a practice of laying downour preferences, picking up our
cross and walking in step withthe Spirit, and it's how I know
my faith will never get boring,because who I was 18 years ago,
when I first decided to followJesus, is different than the
person I am today.
In my heart, I find things.
With the help of you guys, withthe help of community, I find
(27:10):
areas of my life where I haven'tsurrendered to Christ, but
things I wasn't even aware of 18years ago.
This is a call to surrender,this series, and it's woven into
the entire biblical story, fromAbraham leaving his homeland to
Moses laying down hisinsecurities to Mary saying let
(27:31):
me be as you have said.
God has always required lettinggo from his followers.
Jesus said whoever wants to bemy disciple must deny himself
and take up the cross daily andfollow me.
And Paul later wrote I've beencrucified with Christ and I no
longer live but Christ in me,and the biblical map is clear
(27:54):
longer live but Christ in me andthe biblical map is clear
Surrender is not loss, it's thedoorway to life.
Surrender is not loss, it's thedoorway.
It's not the end of your story,it's the better one.
Or I love how AW Tozer puts it.
He says the reason why many arestill troubled, still seeking,
still making little forwardprogress For those of you who
feel stuck today, perhaps thisis why he says it is because
(28:16):
they haven't yet come to the endof themselves.
We're still trying to giveorders and what does that do?
Interferes with God's workwithin us.
That convicted me this week aswe come to the end of a series.
What would it look like if allof us did that, if you and me?
(28:39):
I know you can only control youright, control yourself.
But what if every single personin here watching or listening
online?
We all said we're going to takea step of surrender and we
became a community church, notmarked by always striving to
accomplish some sort ofspiritual accolade or fear that
if I don't do something rightI'm going to be judged or struck
down by God orself-preservation.
(29:01):
I just need to fake it until Imake it but a deep trust in
Jesus.
What if you and I lay down ourpreferences and picked up God's
purpose?
What if we truly follow Jesus,not just with our words but with
our lives, from the time weleft here until the time we come
back?
Imagine the peace we wouldcarry, not just to the city of
Madison but to our neighbors andthose who live closest to us.
(29:24):
The freedom you could walk in,the light I could bring to the
world.
The kind of church we would be.
And that's the kind of churchJesus is forming.
That is the kind of churchJesus has called us here to be.
And if you're a leader at thischurch, you have a position at
this church, you're a person ofinfluence at the church.
(29:46):
That is who God is calling usto be.
That is the vision, that iswhat we are stepping into.
So let's be that kind of churchOne with eyes open, with hands
released, hearts completely andfully surrendered, because that
(30:09):
is where Life that Mattersbegins.
And welcome to our Madison Church online audience.
I'm Stephen Feith, lead pastor,and we've been in this series
and today, sadly, we areconcluding it.
It's been 12 weeks and we allwant a life that matters.
We, all of us in the room.
The thing that you have incommon with the person sitting
around you is that we all want alife filled with meaning, with
purpose.
(00:21):
We want to make a real impact.
If we can get meaning andpurpose, we'd also like to make
an impact, and that desire iswhat led us to start this year
in this series, asking thequestion like what kind of life
does Jesus actually invite usinto?
So we've been going through thegospel of Luke and we're
watching how Jesus taught, howhe served, how he loved, how he
(00:44):
challenged people to follow him.
And, as this season of Lent hasbeen, the last few weeks have
unfolded.
Our focus has shifted from whatdo we need to add to our lives
versus what do we need to giveaway, what do we need to
surrender, because discipleshipisn't just about doing more.
We kind of think that rightDiscipleship, I need to add more
and more to my plate, butsometimes discipleship isn't
just about doing more.
I know we kind of think thatright Discipleship I need to add
(01:06):
more and more to my plate, butsometimes discipleship is
honestly about letting somethinggo and letting go of something
that's holding you back.
And so, as I mentioned today,we're at the end of this series
and at the end of this journeyand at the end of Jesus's path
to Jerusalem.
Today, he's going to enter intoJerusalem.
But this isn't just theconclusion of a story.
(01:26):
This is a defining momentbecause, even as Jesus draws
near to the cross, the spotlightremains on him.
Let us not enter into today'stext thinking that Jesus is
passive or that he's a victim ofhis circumstances.
Jesus is still king.
He's moving with clarity.
Says Jesus is still king.
(01:48):
He's moving with clarity, withconviction and with authority
toward the mission he came tofulfill.
And, just like the disciples,the crowd, maybe the people in
Jerusalem who didn't know whoJesus was yet we are part of
that story today in Madison 2025, and we're faced with the same
questions that they were facing,and today I want you to focus
on that one.
Will I truly follow Jesus, evenwhen it costs me something?
(02:12):
It's been the question the lastfive weeks.
Am I willing to surrender?
Am I willing to give somethingup in order to follow Jesus,
because a life that matters, alife of true significance, those
things that we've been talkingabout, they begin with us laying
everything down at Jesus's feetto follow the King who gave
everything up for us.
(02:33):
And so we're going to Luke 18,verse 31.
If you want to follow along,we'll have the words on the
screen, but you can use a houseBible around you.
Feel free to use your phoneBible as well and what we're
going to see is that the tensionis building.
The cross is just ahead.
For some of you who are very intune to the Christian calendar,
you know that Easter is just afew weeks away from today.
That's what we are leaning into, and for the third time in
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Luke's gospel, jesus is going toclearly spell out what is
coming, and the people closestto him still don't get it.
And that's where our passagebegins with the moment that
shows how easy it is to followJesus.
How easy it is to follow Jesusand still miss what he's about.
So let's take a look.
(03:18):
Taking the 12 disciples aside,jesus said listen, we're going
up to Jerusalem where all thepredictions of the prophets
concerning the son of man willcome true.
He'll be handed over to theRomans and he'll be mocked,
treated shamefully and spit upon.
They will flog him with a whipand kill him, but on the third
(03:38):
day he will rise again.
Now it's one thing to predictyour death I bet all of you in
the room could do that in thesense of someday I'm going to
die and we would say, yes, weknow that.
That's true, that that happens.
That's a part of being a person, it's part of being human.
We all die.
But instead of just doing that,he's framing it as a
(04:00):
fulfillment of the scriptures,texts that were written hundreds
, if not thousands, of yearsbefore Jesus's birth.
He's saying I'm fulfilling thatstuff, things that nobody could
have known on their own.
As such, daniel 7, who talksabout the son of man.
And so when Jesus uses the sonof man, he's using a very
specific title that those whoare Jewish and well-versed in
(04:23):
Daniel's writing would knowabout.
He's going to be both theexalted ruler who receives all
authority, but, as Daniel pointsout, he's also the suffering
servant who will lay down hislife.
This is the mission and this isthe moment he came for.
But for his disciples, raisedunder Roman rule and hoping for
(04:46):
a military deliverer, this kindof Messiah, didn't fit their
expectations.
We talk about that so much, andeven Jesus, quoting from Daniel
7, he says no, you know thewhole context of Daniel 7, both
the ruler and the servant.
They're like oh, we'll take theruler and we forget the servant
.
Going up to Jerusalem soundedlike a step toward victory.
(05:08):
This was a military crusade,this was an attack.
Jesus was redefining power,though, and he was redefining
purpose, and he was alsoredefining the very nature of
God's kingdom.
To people who just didn'tunderstand it.
He was saying that the path toglory runs through surrender and
(05:31):
through the cross.
That's how we were going to getit, and they didn't understand
it, and we are not so different.
We're not so different thanthose living under Roman Empire
rule.
We also want a Savior whoaffirms our assumptions, and not
one that challenges them.
I'm not alone when I say Ireally like it when I come
across Bible verses or teachingsof Jesus about things that I'm
(05:53):
good at or things that Ipassionately agree with, and I
can't tell you how quickly Iread over the parts I don't the
parts of Jesus's teachings whereit challenges me or it hits a
little too close to home, ormaybe it doesn't apply to me the
same way it seems that itapplied to them but following
Jesus means letting go of ourplans and our preferences and
(06:15):
trusting that his way, even whenit doesn't make sense or even
when it makes us uncomfortableor puts us in an awkward
position, that this is the wayto true life.
Now, the disciples couldn't seewhat Jesus was really saying.
I mean, they had a front rowseat for years and years and, if
anything, their experience eventhough Jesus kept saying this
was what was going to happen,their experience of all of the
(06:36):
things that Jesus did.
They said, no, that can't beright.
I got to be misunderstandingwhat he's saying, based on what
I see him doing.
But the next story is going toflip that dynamic completely.
As Jesus approaches Jericho, heencounters a blind man sitting
on the side of the road begging.
In the first century world, aswe've talked about, people with
(06:58):
disabilities were often pushedto the margins of society.
They didn't have hardly anyoptions for work and many of
them relied on public charity.
The Roman Empire did not have agovernment program to help out
or assist.
They relied on the public,their neighbors, those who lived
(07:18):
around them, for support.
They weren't just seen asburdens though, as you can
imagine, you might get to thementality, if you're walking by
the blind beggar every day, thathe is a burden to you because
every day you just want to go onyour way and he's asking for
spare change.
But they were also seen ascursed.
Remember that we talked aboutthat a couple weeks ago or last
week, where we talked about therich ruler was seen as somebody
(07:40):
who was blessed because of hisstatus, his power, his authority
.
So therefore, if you didn'thave any status, this man hears
that Jesus is passing by.
He hears that Jesus is passingby.
Why?
Because he cannot see.
He is blind, he physicallycannot see that Jesus is coming.
(08:01):
But he hears that Jesus iscoming and he starts shouting,
but this time not for money.
This time he shouts for mercy,and not just to a healer, but to
the son of David.
He calls out a royal, messianictitle Again, going back
hundreds, if not thousands ofyears before Jesus' time.
(08:21):
He says son of David, havemercy.
Now the crowd tries to silencehim, just like they tried to
silence those kids.
He says Jesus is too big, tooimportant, he's got things to do
, we're on mission, we're aboutto overthrow the Roman Empire.
He doesn't have time for you.
But this blind beggar won't bequiet.
His cry grows more desperate,his cry grows more persistent.
(08:46):
His cry is full of faithbecause he knows that Jesus has
something to offer him that hisneighbors do not, and he's not
afraid to say it.
And Jesus showing his disciplesand all of those around him that
nobody is too unimportant forJesus.
He says what do you want me todo for you?
The blind man says well, lord,I want to see.
(09:07):
And Jesus said all right,receive your sight, for it is
your faith that has healed you.
And Jesus heals him.
And again it comes back to thatword.
That's not just a physicalhealing but a spiritual one.
He is physically delivered froman ailment, but he is also
spiritually liberated.
His faith leads to clarity.
(09:30):
It wasn't his eyes that helpedhim see who Jesus was, it was
his faith.
I mean, it's hard to miss thepicture that Luke paints.
Those with sight were missingJesus.
Those who could see what Jesuswas doing missed him.
But the blind man, the one fullof faith, was the one who
(09:53):
actually saw Jesus for who he is.
And here's the invitation for ustoday To follow Jesus.
We must first acknowledge ourneed, our own brokenness, our
own emptiness.
Surrender begins with thehumility to say I can't see
clearly without you.
As I prayed this morning.
Sometimes we're called to aplace.
(10:15):
We don't know what the nextstep is or the destination.
We're called to do somethingthat seems impossible or
intimidating.
So other times you're called tojust stay put, and that can
also be challenging, but itrequires us.
That's what discipleshiprequires a surrender to say you
know what I'll stay put, youknow what I'll take this step.
You know what I'll stay put.
(10:35):
You know what I'll take thisstep.
You know what I'll reach out.
Now, as Jesus continues throughJericho, he encounters someone
very different than the blindbeggar we're going to go from.
If there was a spectrum, we'regoing to go from one side to the
other.
Okay, this man isn't physicallyblind, he's not socially
powerless.
As a matter of fact, he's verywealthy, he's very influential
(10:56):
and he's deeply entangled into asystem of exploitation.
Zacchaeus, as many of you whohave grown up in or around the
church are probably familiarwith the story, but for those of
you who are not familiar withthe story, is a chief tax
collector.
Let me break that down for you.
You're like, chief taxcollector Sounds important.
What is it?
He is at the top of a corruptsystem that profited off the
(11:17):
backs of his own people.
He wasn't just the one doingthe exploiting, he was helping
others do the exploiting.
He helped make a system ofexploitation so that he could
become wealthy.
Now here's the thing he wouldhave already been wealthy being
a tax collector.
He didn't need to cheat, hedidn't need to exploit.
(11:37):
He would have been wealthyalready.
But you know what he said.
He said what I have isn'tenough, I'm not rich enough, I'm
not powerful enough, let's geta little bit more.
So he could have been rich, buthe says, nope, I want a little
bit more.
And so when the crowd in thepassage they call him a sinner,
they're not wrong, they'reabsolutely not wrong.
(11:59):
Conjure up images today of thosewho might be in politics, might
be very wealthy and usingsystems to benefit themselves at
the cost of other people.
That should be the image thatcomes to your head in this
passage.
And let's see how Jesusresponds to someone like that.
First off, jesus doesn't see alost cause.
(12:22):
What he does see is a lost son.
He calls Zacchaeus, not bysinner but by name, and he
invites himself into his homeand into his life.
The moment of grace changeseverything and, as Zacchaeus, he
doesn't just express belief, heresponds with a bold, tangible
(12:43):
repentance.
He gives away half his wealthwhich, mind you, all of his
wealth came from exploiting hisfellow citizens.
But he gives away half of itand he commits to repay what
he's stolen four times over.
Well, that's surrender, that'stransformation, and here's how
we see Jesus respond.
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Salvation has come to this hometoday, for this man has shown
himself to be a true son ofAbraham, for the Son of man came
to seek and save those who arelost.
That is Jesus's mission.
That is why I'm here and doingall of the things I am doing Now
.
Zacchaeus came to see Jesus.
(13:25):
He responded to Jesus.
Zacchaeus had to let go ofgreed, of status and control.
That's what Zacchaeussurrendered.
He gave it all away to followJesus.
And Zacchaeus shows us thatsurrender changes everything.
It changes how we use ourresources, it changes where we
find our identity and it changesour role in God's story.
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But, as you know, not everybodyresponds that way.
As Jesus moves closer toJerusalem, the crowds are
buzzing with anticipation.
They're expecting a king, aJewish king, who will establish
his rule right now.
But Jesus knew that they and us, you and me, today, we need a
(14:11):
different perspective on what itmeans to follow when we're
waiting.
So he tells the story about anobleman, some servants, a test
of trust and responsibility, andonce again, surrender is at the
heart of it.
In the story, the nobleman heleaves on a journey to be
crowned king.
He's entrusting his servantswith all of his resources while
(14:33):
he is gone.
Now, some of these people, someof the servants, don't like that
.
He has become king, they're alittle angsty about that, they
don't love it and they rejecthis rule entirely, just as some
will reject Jesus and others,whether they like him or not, do
what's at hand, the job that heasked them to do.
Well, he asked us to dosomething good with his
(14:55):
resources, so let's do it.
A couple of those servants theytake risks, they act in faith
and they do.
They see a return.
But one is paralyzed by fearand he hides what he has been
given and he does nothing.
And this is where Jesus' partof the story jumps in.
He says yes.
The king replied, referring toall of his servants here,
looking at them all.
He says to those who use wellwhat they are given, even more
(15:17):
will be given.
But from those who do nothing,even with what little they have
will be taken away.
Now Jesus isn't just talkingabout financial gain here.
He's painting a picture ofdiscipleship in between, between
his first coming and his return.
You see, the king leaves and hetrusts his servants with all of
this stuff and he says I willbe coming back to see what you
(15:40):
did with what I gave you.
The message is clear.
Even though now you and I, welive between the cross and
Christ's return, we have beentrusted and whether you've been
trusted with a little or you'vebeen trusted with a lot, the
king will return.
He will see with what we havedone, with what he has been
(16:01):
given to us.
Will we be fearful or faithful?
Will we do what we've beengiven or will we do something
with what we have been given, orwill we bury it, hide it, have
a scarcity mindset?
I got to bury this because whatif I lose it?
Won't he be mad at me?
What he's given you, he didn'tgive you out of fear, but he
(16:25):
gave you out of trust.
So act in faith.
Surrender means action.
It means investing what God hasgiven us, whether that's your
time, your gifts, your influencefor his purpose, not the
accumulation of comfort.
The question at this point inthe story becomes are we playing
(16:46):
it safe with our faith or arewe surrendering control and
stepping out in obedience, evenwhen the outcome isn't
guaranteed?
And let me be explicitly clear,the outcome is not guaranteed.
The question becomes even moreurgent as Jesus, he, finally
arrives in Jerusalem.
The city is electric withanticipation.
The crowds are ready to crown aking.
(17:08):
Those who have heard aboutJesus, they hear he's coming
back.
Those who have faith in Jesusare ready for him.
But, as I've said alreadymultiple times today, they don't
understand what kind of king hetruly is.
Their expectations are loud,rooted in hope of a political
liberation.
But Jesus' mission is quiet,it's humble.
It'll be radically differentthan what they expect.
(17:30):
They yell out blessings on theking who comes in the name of
the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory inthe highest heaven.
And some of the Pharisees amongthe crowd said teacher, rebuke
your followers for saying thingslike that.
And he replied if they keptquiet, the stones along the road
would burst in the cheers.
He's saying this is a happytime.
(17:51):
I could tell them to shut up.
But all of creation right nowis cheering for me.
All of creation knows what'sabout to happen.
They spread their cloaks on theground.
They shout words from Psalm 118welcoming him as the
long-awaited king.
This is Palm Sunday and youmight realize we're a few weeks
early, but a lot happens betweenPalm Sunday and Easter Sunday
(18:13):
that we're going to get intostarting next week.
His entrance is full ofprophetic and political
symbolism.
By riding a donkey, he echoesthe words written in Zechariah
9.9.
Riding the donkey was a sign ofpeace, not war.
Again, the symbols are right infront of them and yet they
still do not see it.
(18:33):
The Pharisees, who are alwaysgoing to be anxious about
political unrest, tell Jesus toquiet that crowd because the
King has truly come.
Whether people understand him ornot, true surrender means
following the real Jesus and notjust the version of him we want
.
That's the tension of PalmSunday.
(18:55):
It's joyful praise wrapped inprofound misunderstanding.
And I think of us today.
And I was talking at ourmembership luncheon last week.
I said I'm convinced we'redoing a lot of things right.
I'm also convinced we'll get tothe end of our road here and
Jesus will say these are all thethings you didn't get right.
And that doesn't worry me,because I recognize myself in
(19:17):
this story.
I recognize you in this story,enthusiastically praising the
coming King, knowing we don'tunderstand it all, knowing I
don't see it all the way that itshould be seen, knowing that,
yes, the signs might be allaround me just like they were to
them, I'm still going to getsomething wrong.
And yet, at the end of the day,jesus doesn't reject them.
(19:38):
He accepts their praise.
The crowd is shouting with joyand then Jesus becomes overcome
with sorrow.
You see the Pharisees.
They see a parade.
Jesus sees a missed opportunity, the Pharisees, the religious
elite of the day.
They want victory.
But Jesus knows the cross iscoming and he looks out over the
(20:03):
city, his city, his people,god's people, and Jesus weeps.
And it isn't just an emotionalmoment.
Jesus weeps.
And it isn't just an emotionalmoment, it's a prophetic one.
It reveals the heart of aSavior who not just longs to
bring peace, but whose heartbreaks over those who won't
(20:24):
choose him, whose heart breaksand has mercy for even those who
will be the ones who end upkilling him.
Let's read how Jesus responds ashe draws near Luke 19, verse 41
.
As he came closer to Jerusalemand he saw the city ahead, he
began to weep.
I wish today that of all people, you of all people, would
(20:46):
understand the way to peace.
But now it is too late andpeace is hidden from your eyes.
So as Jesus crests the top ofthe Mount of Olives here and
Jerusalem comes into view, thetone shifts.
Moments after being praised asking, he breaks down.
Public grief, not for himself,not because he's going to die an
(21:12):
awful way, but for the peoplewho have missed their moment,
the people who for thousands ofyears, god had been interacting
with and moving through thewilderness and into the promised
land.
And he gave them all of theseprophecies, from Zechariah to
Daniel.
And he came and he's doing allof these great things.
And he says if anyone shouldhave noticed, it should have
(21:34):
been you guys.
But it's not.
Jesus' words are filled withthe longing that I hope you can
kind of feel this morning, asyou think, maybe, of people in
your own life, those who you'relike.
You should know it's right infront of you.
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How do you not?
Jesus isn't filled with angertoward them.
He's not ready to just throwthem or kick them to the curb.
His heart breaks.
You can tell he's upset.
This isn't just what Jerusalemmissed.
Let's bring it to today.
It's what we might be missingtoo.
The people around Jesus saw whathappened in real time, and yet
(22:20):
they didn't grasp what wasunfolding in front of them.
The disciples, along with thePharisees and many others,
expected glory without suffering, and you don't get glory
without suffering.
The crowds wanted the king whowould overthrow the oppressive
Roman Empire, expected glorywithout suffering, and you don't
get glory without suffering.
The crowds wanted the king whowould overthrow the oppressive
Roman Empire, and the religiousleaders were there, freaking out
that they were going to loseany power and influence they had
(22:41):
.
And we live on the other sideof the cross almost 2,000 years
later.
We know how the story ends, andyet I think at times we still
miss it.
We bring our expectations toJesus and we want him to make
those things happen.
We want peace without surrender.
We want transformation withoutdiscomfort.
We want glory without any cost.
(23:04):
Their misunderstanding wasrooted in deferred hope.
Our misunderstanding is rootedin comfortable control.
But despite all of the culturaldifferences, the core human
struggle remains the same, andwhat we've been talking about
the last several weeks, it's allabout surrender.
The disciples, the crowds, theleaders, you and me, we all
(23:27):
wrestle to let go of our versionof the story in order to
embrace God's story.
The theological principle inthis text, this last chapter and
a half, is clear.
True discipleship requiressurrendering our assumptions,
our agendas and our illusions ofcontrol in order to receive the
peace, purpose andtransformation that Jesus offers
(23:50):
.
Like Bartimaeus that's whatMark tells us, that's the blind
man's name, bartimaeus we needspiritual sight.
Like Zacchaeus, we must releasewhat we've clung to.
Like the fearful servant, wehesitate to risk what God has
entrusted to us.
And, like Jerusalem, we canmiss God's movement when it
doesn't match our expectations.
(24:11):
And still Jesus doesn't crosshis arms and look down at us.
But I think once again, againand again, if anything, he's
waiting and his heart breaks.
Let's go, come with me into alife of surrender, a life that
is surrender, a life that isn'tweakness.
(24:34):
I think we think surrender isweakness.
It's not Surrender.
It takes a lot of strength.
It's the path to peace.
It's where true life begins.
And so how do we live this outevery day?
It begins with honestreflection.
Like Bartimaeus, we come toJesus and we say I want to see.
We ask him to reveal what he'sbeen blind to what we have been
(24:58):
blind to and perhaps that'sareas of pride, areas of fear,
areas of self-reliance that keepus from following him.
It comes to a humble confession,like Zacchaeus.
We have to name the thingswe've clung to.
(25:20):
Zacchaeus had to get realuncomfortable with how much he
had, how he got it and how hewould make it right.
He had to think of the facesand the families of everyone he
exploited and knew it was goingto take a great deal of humility
to go back and to make it rightto them.
Humble confession and thenfaithful stewardship, like the
servants in the parable considerwhat God has entrusted to you,
(25:43):
whether it's a little or it's alot, whether it's time,
relationships, finances orinfluence or something not named
yet.
It's time relationships,finances or influence or
something not named yet.
Surrender means trusting Godenough to invest in what he has
given you into his kingdom.
And then we embrace persistenttrust, and this is maybe the
hardest part of all.
That I mean I'm not sayinghonest reflection is easy, I'm
(26:06):
not saying honest confession iseasy or humble confession, but
persistent trust.
I think this is where a lot ofus find ourselves today.
The crowds misunderstood Jesusbecause he didn't meet them,
meet them in their expectations,where they were exactly at,
with what they exactly wanted.
But Jesus invites them and usto follow him anyway,
(26:28):
misunderstandings or not.
Now the big thing here is, as weclose this series out,
surrender isn't a one-timedecision.
It's not something you decidedfour weeks ago.
It's not something you'redeciding today.
Surrender is an ongoing,everyday decision, when I wake
up and when I go to bed and themillions of decisions between
them.
It's a daily rhythm.
(26:48):
It's a practice of laying downour preferences, picking up our
cross and walking in step withthe Spirit, and it's how I know
my faith will never get boring,because who I was 18 years ago,
when I first decided to followJesus, is different than the
person I am today.
In my heart, I find things.
With the help of you guys, withthe help of community, I find
(27:10):
areas of my life where I haven'tsurrendered to Christ, but
things I wasn't even aware of 18years ago.
This is a call to surrender,this series, and it's woven into
the entire biblical story, fromAbraham leaving his homeland to
Moses laying down hisinsecurities to Mary saying let
(27:31):
me be as you have said.
God has always required lettinggo from his followers.
Jesus said whoever wants to bemy disciple must deny himself
and take up the cross daily andfollow me.
And Paul later wrote I've beencrucified with Christ and I no
longer live but Christ in me,and the biblical map is clear
(27:54):
longer live but Christ in me andthe biblical map is clear
Surrender is not loss, it's thedoorway to life.
Surrender is not loss, it's thedoorway.
It's not the end of your story,it's the better one.
Or I love how AW Tozer puts it.
He says the reason why many arestill troubled, still seeking,
still making little forwardprogress For those of you who
feel stuck today, perhaps thisis why he says it is because
(28:16):
they haven't yet come to the endof themselves.
We're still trying to giveorders and what does that do?
Interferes with God's workwithin us.
That convicted me this week aswe come to the end of a series.
What would it look like if allof us did that, if you and me?
(28:39):
I know you can only control youright, control yourself.
But what if every single personin here watching or listening
online?
We all said we're going to takea step of surrender and we
became a community church, notmarked by always striving to
accomplish some sort ofspiritual accolade or fear that
if I don't do something rightI'm going to be judged or struck
down by God orself-preservation.
(29:01):
I just need to fake it until Imake it but a deep trust in
Jesus.
What if you and I lay down ourpreferences and picked up God's
purpose?
What if we truly follow Jesus,not just with our words but with
our lives, from the time weleft here until the time we come
back?
Imagine the peace we wouldcarry, not just to the city of
Madison but to our neighbors andthose who live closest to us.
(29:24):
The freedom you could walk in,the light I could bring to the
world.
The kind of church we would be.
And that's the kind of churchJesus is forming.
That is the kind of churchJesus has called us here to be.
And if you're a leader at thischurch, you have a position at
this church, you're a person ofinfluence at the church.
(29:46):
That is who God is calling usto be.
That is the vision, that iswhat we are stepping into.
So let's be that kind of churchOne with eyes open, with hands
released, hearts completely andfully surrendered, because that
(30:09):
is where Life that Mattersbegins.
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