This morning's message is entitled Greater Love. And that really stems from this idea that I had that, that there is a thread of humanity that runs through each of our lives. That really is a craving at the deepest levels of our soul that everyone in this room or watching right now or listening later has a desire for love. But with love comes sacrifice because every love story has conflict. In fact, of the 1189 chapters in the Bible, I went through and counted or I Googled and of the 1189 chapters in the Bible. Do you know how many are without conflict? Four? That's it. Four out of 1189 chapters in the Bible are without conflict. We have Genesis one and two. God creates the world and everything in it. And it's amazing. And by Genesis chapter three, we've messed it up and the rest of the Bible is filled with stories of an attempt to have restoration in relationship. And even when Jesus comes onto the scene in the New Testament, every single chapter there is conflict. There is challenge until ultimately Christ returns and establishes a new heaven and new earth in revelation 2021. And so you have this picture, the last two chapters here and you see Jesus move and we understand that we all desire love, but we all face conflict and that the way through conflict ultimately comes through sacrifice. See, we see this in our movies that we watch and the books that we read, no great story goes without sacrifice or without conflict. Maybe it's the selfless mother who works multiple jobs to provide for her Children. Maybe it's the brave soldier who puts his life on the line for his country. Maybe it's a dedicated teacher who goes above and beyond to help a struggling student or compassionate neighbor who sacrifices their time to invest in someone in need. Or maybe it's every single Hallmark love story, right? If you've seen one Hallmark movie, you've seen them all because the story is the same. And the reason I think that those Hallmark movies work is because they are speaking to the innermost desires of our soul. They are cheesy, they are predictable and they're exactly what we crave. Let me prove it to you. I just having some fun this week, I opened up chat GP T and I said, how well does A I artificial intelligence understand humanity? Like how we like how close are we to robots taking over the earth? You know what I mean? Like I said, how well do they know us? And so I just asked the question, I said, write, write me a Hallmark movie. And in one second, this is what it pumped out. OK? You be the judge. This is written by A I, you tell me if this could pass as a Hallmark movie created by artificial intelligence. OK. Here's the, here's the movie pitch. The movie is entitled a season of Second Chances. OK. The story revolves around Emily played by a popular Hallmark actress and Mark played by a charming handsome leading man. Emily, a talented baker has faced her fair share of setbacks and heartaches leading her to become somewhat delusion with life. Meanwhile, Mark is a successful but workaholic corporate executive who is searching for more meaning. Their paths cross in the charming town of Everwood known for its picturesque landscapes and tight knit community. Emily returns home to take care of her ailing mother during the Christmas season there. She rediscovers her passion for baking and opens a small bakery. Mark on the other hand, arrives in Everwood on a business trip just days before Christmas. However, a chance encounter leads him to Emily's bakery where her pastries rekindle his love for the simple joys of life. The two strike up of unlikely friendship with Emily teaching Mark about the magic of the holiday season and the importance of family and loved ones as they work together to organize the town's annual Christmas Festival. Emily and Mark find themselves drawn to each other, discovering deep connection, however unresolved issues from their past threaten to keep them apart with the support of the town's quirky but lovable residents. They learn that the holiday season is a time of second chances forgiveness and the power of love. That totally is a Hallmark movie. Some of you are thinking, did I watch that already? And so I'm gonna put my name on this and send it in to Hallmark and see, we're gonna see if we can get this thing made right now. I'm telling you if you've seen one Hallmark movie, you've seen them all. Why? Because at our core, at the deepest level, we long for love and that restoration that comes from a healthy relationship. But no relationship is without conflict and no conflict is without some level of sacrifice. And so to give you a set up for today's passage, we're really gonna land the plane in our study of Hebrews. So the last, uh, 10 weeks we've been walking through the book of Hebrews with a series entitled Jesus Is Greater. And so that title actually is the theme of the book. Well, the writer, we don't necessarily know the exact writer of Hebrews, but we know that he was writing to a group of Jewish Christians who were a little bit disillusioned with religious customs and then a relationship with Jesus and the, and at the same time, they were experiencing conflict and difficulties and division and they were suffering. And so they were wrestling with religion and, and hard times and challenges. And so the writer encourages them that in every situation, whether religious custom or difficulty in life that Jesus is greater and he lands the plane here in Hebrews chapter 13. And we see the progression of these final chapters that in Hebrews 11, we talked about examples of faith. Here are the heroes of faith. These people who did great things for God or another way to look at it is how God did great things through his people. And we see this connection point. And so we have these great inspiring examples. And then last week, we looked at Hebrews chapter 12 where we had encouragement for faith and we were a challenge to run the race with our eyes fixed on him. Well, today we're gonna take a look at now what's known as the evidence of faith that if people really believe that Jesus is God, here is what their life will look like here is what their life will feel like. And it gives us a picture of a Christian. But if you're taking notes, I want you to write this down that the road of love is paved with sacrifice. The road of love is paved with sacrifice. Now, a few things on this thought, number one, it's not a road to love, but a road of love. Meaning that today we're talking about a way of life that there is a continual journey with daily decisions that have to be made. And that when we describe sacrifice, the way to think of that is giving up something that you want in order to get something that you need or that somebody else needs. So giving up what you want to give some to gain something that you need or that somebody else needs. So there is sacrifice for loved ones, there's sacrifice for family, there's sacrifice for your faith. Sometimes there's even sacrifice for yourself. Right. If you're gonna have spiritual or physical discipline, you're gonna give up the things that you temporarily want in order to gain something that has a greater impact and meets a greater, deeper need. Now in-laws a few years ago, uh, remodeled portions of their house and one of the sections back by the pool. Uh, my father in law had pavers put in by the pool and he was really excited for the pavers and it looked great, but there's a whole process to put in those pavers to level the ground and there's so many of them, they're, they're tiny and to get it. Exactly. Right. So everything is aligned and so there's a lot of pieces, there's a lot of steps and what I want you to think about in your relationships is that there are a lot of steps and daily decisions that have to be made. And so if you're gonna lay the groundwork for your relationship. Understand that, that road, that road, that way of life, the road of love is, is paved with sacrifice with daily choices to give up what you want to gain, what you actually need. And so today we're gonna talk about three sacrifices that we're gonna make three sections here in this final chapter of Hebrews. The first two are gonna challenge us and the last one is gonna actually give a little bit of empowerment and strength to allow us to actually accomplish all of these things. OK. So I want you to hang with me. The first section here is what I would describe as sacrifice in life, sacrifice in life. These are some of the most practical verses you will ever see in the Bible up to this point, you might have had some issues tracking with some of the things we talked about because they were connected to the Old Testament, the temple, the sacrificial system, a high priest, a covenant, like all these things sounds really churchy and like old time religion. And so it would be easy to kind of like, I don't know, the nice part of the theoretical is that we give ourselves excuses that we don't have to live it out. Well, that, that sounds kinda in the past that doesn't apply to me. Well, the writer is gonna get really direct here and just plainly say, do this, don't do that, do this and I like it and I hate it at the same time. Right? Because if the instructions are vague, I can deny it. I can say, oh, that's not meant for me. But when he directly says it looks like this, now I have to decide, do I want my life to look like this? And it makes us choose because faith is a choice. Here's what I mean. Uh Well, if you're taking notes, you can even write this down too. Here's the an idea within this passage is that trusting God transforms your life. Trusting God transforms your life that when you believe in Jesus, when you call yourself a Christian, when you have faith, it impacts every area of your life growing up in sports. We would have people that we would just call, oh they're just, they're a practice player. There was someone who gave it their all maybe during practice and they hit all the shots and they did all the right moves and made all the right plays. But when they got under the lights, when they faced the pressure of the game, they fell short. That's why as fans, we get so frustrated when we see players of great talent, not performing or living up to their talent or what we think they should be because they're not executing in the game. And while we're quick to judge as sports fans, how many of us spiritually speaking are just spiritual practice players Sunday morning in this gathering is not the game. This is the practice, this is the huddle, this is the locker room like this is important. This is a family meeting, right? But when we study the word together, when we plant the gospel into the heart of our soil, the soil of our lives, we are listening to God that we are encouraging each other to run the play so that we can go into our week and actually execute on game day that in our lives in our relationships, we reflect what we read and hear. I don't know about you. I don't want to be a spiritual practice player, right? With II, I love watching sportscenter and ESPN and they do the top 10 highlights, you know, they don't have, they don't have the top 10 huddles, right? And you don't see in sports when a coach calls a play and the player runs something completely opposite. They don't really tend to celebrate that. But yet we do that all the time in church, don't we? We sing, we raise our hands, we close our eyes, we open our Bibles, we go Amen, right? Like depending on what level of, you know how charismatic we feel, right? Some, some of us just like this a little bit is like a lot for you, right? Some of you are like one to Amen every time. Like you're welcome to Amen. We can have a dialogue back and forth some of you just go mm Never quite understood that one but, but I get it like we respond. So we receive something on a Sunday and then we go into our week and we run a completely different play and we're like, ok, God, where are you? I want, I wanna feel you God, I wanna feel your presence. Ok? Do this. Uh not really, but I got really good church attendance. See, because the Christian life at its core is gonna require you to sacrifice, to give up something that you want to gain. Something that you actually need. Like I said, these are some of the most practical verses you will find in all of the Bible. Let's read it together. Verse one. Let brotherly love continue that word for love in there is where we get our word like the city of Philadelphia, right? The city of Brotherly love, which ironically has the most intense angry fans, right? But they're not in the World Series and we are. So anyway, that was fun to say, I'm just, I'm just enjoying that moment. Um So continue in brotherly love. Like if you've received love, don't let love stop with you. Don't be the cul de sac on the street of love. Don't just receive God's love and affirmation and just hang on to it. No, it's gotta pass through you to others, right? Let it continue. Verse two, do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares we'll read through and we'll come back through it actually. Uh So verse three, remember those who are in prison as those though in prison with them and those who are mistreated since you are also in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all and let the marriage bed be undefiled for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have for. He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we can confidently say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what can man do to me? Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God and consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Now let's walk back through this and think through what is he saying first? He says, hey, have hospitality for strangers. Are you willing to accept people in and show them love when it's inconvenient for you? It actually makes reference to a story. We don't have time to dive into. It's found in Genesis 18. For some folks invite people in and show hospitality and in turn, they were actually entertaining angels. You never know when you're meeting the needs of others who you're truly helping. Are you willing to get inconvenienced and uncomfortable to meet the needs of somebody else. Next, it talks about those who are in prison. In this case, it's those who are in prison most likely for their faith. Are you willing to stand in solidarity with those who are suffering? Are you willing to take on the pain of others? Because we're one body when someone hurts, do you hurt? Do you take that in? Then it challenges us in marriage. How does your marriage look like? Are you honoring God with your marriage and in your relationship? And when you think about marriage, what he's referring to here dates back to creation itself. When God created one man, one woman and the two shall become one. That, that is the picture of marriage that Jesus comes onto the scene and affirms that. And then Paul in Ephesians five refers to saying that, hey, the marriage relationship is a symbol representing Christ and the church that your most intimate relationship. Does it reflect God? Because if it doesn't with your choices, if you invite Satan into that, it's destructive and it will tear down. He says, if I haven't stepped on your toes enough, how's your money? How's your pocketbook? Are you content? Do you trust that God is with you in all things, God created the world and spoke everything out of nothing. So He doesn't need your money. But what He wants is the idol out of your heart or have you made money? Your God, whether having or not having prosperity. Gospel or poverty gospel says, do you honor God with your money? He continues on and he says, and what about leadership? Do you submit to the people of God? And the word of God? We don't like that word submission. We don't like obedience in listening and following. All right, this is America which ironically, we both get sacrifice and we don't, right? Because as soon as we talk about independence, we think about those who gave their lives for someone else. We're like, yeah, freedom. Or you think about the first responders on 911 or somebody that ran in to save the lives of somebody else and you go y that sacrifice. But then we think of our own lives like, but don't tell me what to do and I'll do whatever I want when I want it. You like and somehow we put these ideas together. And so when it comes to leadership, do we submit when we need to? And then the other side of it is when you are a leader, does your life reflect a life worth imitating? So what he says in these short verses is saying, OK, I get that. You want to believe in God. Cool. Does love continue? Do you show hospitality? Do you show solidarity with those in suffering? Do you honor God in your marriage in view, marriage as such between one man and one woman? Do you honor God with your money with your view of money, heart of money with what you spend, what you give. Do you honor God with leadership? Those things all directly apply today, don't they? See? Verse eight feels like it's out of context because he's saying you, you, you, you, you and then he goes and Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever. You know why? I think that's in there because not only is Jesus the same yesterday today and forever. His word is the same yesterday and today and forever. And we live in a culture that is continually trying to change what is truth. And they're trying to move boundaries and they're trying to change definitions. They're trying to change vocabulary. Why? For sake of selfish desires and wants out of a claim for tolerance. Really? We just wanna live how we wanna live and we don't want anyone to tell us what to do when God say no, I am the same yesterday today and tomorrow. And my word is the same yesterday today and tomorrow. And if you want to thrive in this life, it involves sacrifice and submission to how I've designed life to be. And so it's great to sing some songs. But do you honor God with your money? Do you honor God in your marriage? Do you honor God in your leadership? Are you kind to strangers? Are you helpful for those who are suffering? That's game day stuff. It's not practice stuff that's real life. Game day stuff. I all right. Now that we feel great about ourselves. Let's continue on look, this is real, right? They say look, I mean, you're like, yeah, God is good, greater promises, greater covenant. He's our high priest. He's like, ok, let me read your mail real quick. There's another one here, it talks about sacrifice and worship again. Sacrifice is giving up something you want temporarily to gain something that you need eternally. And so here's, if you're taking notes, you can write this down that worship God with what you say with what you do and what you give. Worship includes singing like we just did here this morning, but it's so much more than singing. Like imagine getting the brand new whatever level borderline race car you could think of. Imagine getting this powerful engine. All right, I'm gonna be real with you. Some of those electrical cars are freaking me out with how fast they go with like no sound, no engine. It's like 0 to 100 in like two seconds. Like that doesn't seem safe at all, but I'm up for it. All right. Imagine getting in that car and then never leaving the parking lot. Imagine getting the car and you're like, wow, look how sweet this car is and imagine you're just doing a little loop right in here between Mission Grove Church and Briss and Tudor time. Like, check out my new vehicle, check out this new ride like man, there's so much more available to you. Worshiping is great and it is part but there is so much more to worship. Why? Because it involves all that you are Romans 12. It actually says to offer your body as a living sacrifice to God. This is holy and pleasing to him that this is our act of worship. The writer of Hebrews says something very similar here. Here's what he says, verse 14. For here, we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come that through Him, through Jesus. Then let us continually offer up a sacrifice. There, you see it, a sacrifice of praise to God that the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name then says, do not neglect to do good and to share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to God with what you say. Can you actually describe what you say as the fruit of your lips? Does that honor God? It was what you say, how you speak? Is that honoring to God in your relationships in your workplace? Because that's worship. You weren't simply created to worship but created worshiping. And so the question is what or whom are you worshiping? But he doesn't stop there because then he says, and remember to do good. He says that twice in these passages, it will take a sacrifice, it'll take sacrifice, it will be difficult but do good and then share what you have. I want us to be passionate and I want us to sing and it wants us to feel the emotion and experience that. But I also want us to take that spiritual car on the road and go for it and worship God with what we say with what we do and what we give. And that's on a daily basis. So worship is gonna take sacrifice, sacrifice in our life, a sacrifice in our worship. And this last one here is what we call sacrifice for obedience. But there is a good chance that hearing what I've said these last 20 minutes that you've been feeling down or depressed in one area or maybe you push back and you disagree with me and you think uh I don't know John. So think about that for a second. Is there an area in your life that you've not given over to God? Is there an area in life that you're holding back just a little bit? I want you to know that this next session is not just about you but God working through you that he's gonna give you the model, but then also the method through which you can actually live out this life. You see God empowers and equips you for obedience. God empowers and equips you for obedience. That left to your own devices. You will not be successful at these things, money, marriage ministry, workplace relationships, all these things, you will not on your own strength. You will not do it with God. You can do all things. Check out these verses. It's so cool when you read it, it's called a benediction, a prayer of blessing. And as we just saw that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, I believe this prayer still applies to you. And I today says now, may the God of peace who brought again from the dead? Our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the co eternal covenant. And he equip you with everything good that you may do his will working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and never amen. He could have simply said, Lord help us, right? That is a prayer of benediction too. If you ever have you ever thought, oh Lord, help him. Lord help her. That's a real quick prayer, right? Or in the South. Well, bless his heart, bless her heart. Like it's a prayer, but he describes Jesus in detail. And I don't think he describes God and Jesus in detail for his own sake. I think he describes God and Jesus for our sake because he could have simply said, hey, God will help you. But he goes through and establishes this argument that actually summarizes all of the book of Hebrews that we just walk through as a church to remind you the power that you have available to you says, may the God one God exists. God created the world on purpose with a purpose that we are not talking to nothingness that when we pick up our phone, there is someone that will answer on the other side at any point during the day, we don't have to speak out loud. We just have to think and God is there God. Then he says, the God of peace shalom that we are in a world that is filled with the vision and war and darkness. And I don't know about you, but I've especially felt that these last three weeks when you think about what's going on in Israel, I genuinely believe there is demonic forces at play and there is evil being done when you hear what's happening to women and Children in war and loss of life, it is evil and when left to our own devices, this world is dark, but we don't have a God of chaos. We have a God of peace and God who comes and brings victory, but that piece cost him everything. So it says here who brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ. God's own son gave his son died on the cross for your sins and for mine defeated death itself than Jesus who's described as the great shepherd throughout scripture. There's this picture that we are sheep, specifically sheep who've gone astray, but we have a God who leaves the 99 and goes after the one we have. The shepherd that protects, that knows that loves, that brings us into the fold and he does so it says by the blood because he gave his life, he gave the ultimate sacrifice and not just for some temporary transaction, but an eternal covenant, a promise that cannot and will not be broken. Why? To equip you, to empower you to do what God has called you to do. He didn't do all of these things so that we can stay on the sideline. It just like scripture. All of your life will be filled with conflict. But the road of love is paved with sacrifice. And it starts with the sacrifice of Jesus himself. There was a military chaplain visiting an injured soldier in the hospital and he said to him, I'm so sorry for the loss of your arm in this cause. And the soldier looked up, looked up and looked him right in the eye and says, no, no, no, I didn't lose my arm. I gave it. Jesus didn't lose his life. He gave his life for you. And for me, the road of love, the way of love. A life of love is paved with sacrifice that started with Jesus. And then he invites us in. He empowers, he equips us and says, now you can go and do likewise with your money in your marriage, in your leadership in your life. And all of that is worship when you're willing to obey our series is jesus' greater. And so I'll make it super personal to you that whatever the thing is that you're hanging on to this morning, maybe it's a sin, maybe it's an addiction. Maybe it's a worry, maybe it's a physical circumstance, a financial situation, a storm that you've started a storm that you're just experiencing. I don't know, but whatever it is, I want you to know that Jesus is greater, that there is nothing you can put on that side of the equation that makes the first part untrue, that Jesus is greater than any religious practice, but also any difficulty or sin or situation you've walked in because he sacrificed his life for us. So in closing, I just wanna ask you one question and that is what is one area of your life that you need to give to God. If you've been struggling, if you've fallen down, if you've had issues and you, I want you to know that God has not left you, that God is with you and God is here. And can we give that to Him? Because when you give that to Him, he will empower you. He will equip you to live a life of sacrifice and a life of love. Because if you're willing to give up what you temporarily want, you will get what you eternally will you do that today, dear Jesus. Thank you. Thank you for dying on the cross. God, you paved the road of love with sacrifice that you gave your life for us. Did you defeated death itself? That in you God, we can have victory that we can overcome, that we can experience love and purpose and joy. And so God, we boldly cla proclaim your truth today and we invite you into our relationships. We invite you into our marriages. We invite you into our bank account into our workplace, into our parenting, into our health, into every situation, God. We know that you are greater and we ask that you have victory in our lives today, Senior Thursday. And we pray.