This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

I want to welcome you to day five of our look through Matthew chapter 19. We're
going to continue in one sense the discussion that started with the rich young
ruler yesterday. Remember, Jesus said to the ruler, "You have to leave it all to
follow me.

" And the disciples have a question about that, just like many of you had a
question about that as we looked through this. Peter asked the question, as he
often did, he's the one who asked. So in verses 27 to 30, listen to what
happened.

Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you. What then will there
be for us? " Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth.

At the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne,
you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or
father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times
as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and
many who are last will be first.

" So here they are talking about riches and whether riches can get you into
heaven. And Peter out of that asks a question about them leaving everything. And
then Jesus teaches us about the economy of God.

And he reminds us that the economy of God is not the economy of man. God looks
at things entirely different than we do. He talks very honestly in these verses
about losing things for his sake.

And I know that you've lost some things for his sake. It may be a small thing.
It may be one of the most significant things in your life that has been lost for
the sake of your faith.

It may be a relationship that was lost or a job that was lost or I don't know
what it was but you do. One of the most difficult steps of faith is the step
that causes me to lose something that I love. As I look at these verses I can
see the faces of many of you listening to this right now who made the very
choices that are listed here.

A woman who left her dream house, lived in for only a year in order to follow
God's next steps for her family. Or a man whose brother cut off all
communication with him when he discovered that he put his faith in Christ
fearing that he was one of those Jesus freaks now. Or a couple who have parents
who won't visit their grandkids because of the fact that Jesus has made his way
into that home.

Or a man, in fact I picture many men and women here, who have made a stand for
integrity in their business only to lose their job. Most of us have the attitude
that however difficult it is, we're willing to give things up for the sake of
our love for Christ. I mean look at how much Jesus has given for us.

So sometimes we think we've got to give up things for him, that's the end of the
story. Well no, that's not the end of the story. I think it's good that we have
that attitude.

That I'm willing to give those things up for him. I praise God that he's gotten
to the place of having that attitude. But that is not the end of the story what
you've given up.

You see, God is a better giver than you and I could ever be. And if I have given
something up for him, he was going to give back to me. When we give up one of
the greatest treasures of life for him, Jesus promises us here a hundred times
more back.

Now Mark's account of these same words makes it clear that Jesus is making this
promise about life even on this side of heaven. That God's going to bless us
even on this side of heaven and then even more in eternal life. So how does this
work?

If I give up a 2,500 square foot house for him, does that mean he's going to
give me a 250,000 square foot mansion? Buckingham Palace, is that what's going
to happen? I hope that shows you how ridiculous it would be to take these words
exactly literally.

It's much deeper than that, it's much greater than that. God's part of the
blessings that God gives to us. When he talks about a hundred, the only way it
can get to a hundred is when he blesses us not only physically but also
spiritually.

When he blesses us not only on this side of heaven but also as Mark says, in
eternal life. The scripture here is talking about the multiplication that God
wants to work in your life. God wants to multiply your life.

God wants to multiply your blessings. And so Jesus, as he talks about this,
walks through the economy of God and how it works. He says yes, there are people
who will leave things for my sake.

But when you leave things for my sake, God's blessings will be a part of that.
There's no doubt about that. And then he says to his disciples, the blessing for
your life is literally going to be when I sit on my glorious throne, you who
have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of
Israel.

Wow. This is the thing these disciples have been asking for all along. Who's
going to sit on the throne?

Now, they're going to argue later about who's going to sit next to you on the
throne. That shows our human nature. Who's going to sit closest to you on the
twelve thrones?

But Jesus here says, the following you're doing for me here now in this world,
you cannot even imagine how that's going to translate into the glories of
heaven. How that's going to translate into the joys of heaven. You're going to
sit with me.

These kinds of blessings aren't just for the disciples, the first twelve
followers of Jesus. Now, I know the number twelve confuses many of us. It's one
of the common questions out of this, wait a minute, didn't Judas not follow
Jesus in the end?

So who's the real twelfth disciple? I've always believed that it's Paul. Paul
talks about himself as being the one who was called as of one out of time.

I believe it's probably the apostle Paul. But the Bible never tells us anywhere
exactly who it is. It just says there's going to be twelve sitting next to me.

They're going to have this incredible blessing out of this time of serving God
in their lives. Most of these disciples are going to face martyrdom for their
faith, but that's not the end of their story. The end of their story is the
glory of God forever and eternity.

But even that isn't the end of the story. You think about these disciples
sitting with Jesus, the glory that they're going to have in heaven. You think,
well, we'll have some glory too, but nothing like that.

But then you read verse thirty. Many who are first will be last, and many who
are last will be first. That verse reminds me of how God's economy is going to
work in heaven.

The people who seem greatest on this earth, the people who seem to get the most
notice on this earth, or the most blessings on this earth, in eternity are going
to be blessed, but there will be those who seem to be last on this earth who are
going to have even greater blessings. And when we get to heaven, we're going to
rejoice in that. We're going to have the deepest joy in that.

A couple of years ago, I was sitting with a group of about fourteen Rwandan
pastors in Rwanda, the upper part of the country, a poor area of the country.
The whole country is poor, but this is a poorer area. And I was sitting and
teaching them about the kingdom of God.

They'd asked for some teaching on the kingdom of God, and I came to talking
about God blessing us as servants. I was teaching them. These men who all had to
work two jobs in order to be a pastor, who all had to work 14, 16, 18 hours a
day, work until they were worn out during the day, and then come home and study
and go and serve and pray for people, maybe sit all night with a family that had
just had somebody die, and then go back to work the next day.

These men who had very, very little in terms of material wealth, as I sat and
taught them, the thought came into my mind, "If in heaven my job was to serve
these ten, twelve men that were there that day, that would be more than enough.
That would be more than a privilege to be able to serve those who have so well
served you on this earth. Jesus, I would be privileged to do that.

" The economy of God is different than our economy. The blessings of God are
different than our blessings, but the joys of eternity, wherever you fit in the
economy of God in eternity, the joys of eternity are multiplied and abundant.
This simple question that Peter begins with about who's going to be blessed and
how people are going to be blessed, it ends with you and I thinking about God's
blessings in our lives now for the things we've given up for him, but also those
blessings that translate all the way into eternity.

It ends with us realizing that God's blessings for eternity are going to be
greater than we could possibly imagine, but it also ends with us realizing that
maybe the blessing we're going to have in eternity is the blessing of serving
someone who on this earth gave so much for Jesus but was never noticed. That
would be more than enough. Jesus, as we talk to you today, we thank you for the
blessing of salvation.

We thank you for the blessing of eternal life. I pray specifically for those who
have just lost something for your sake, maybe a job, maybe a relationship. Lord,
you know the hurt that's in that, and I pray you'd give comfort in that hurt.

You'd give your love in the midst of that hurt, but I also pray that you'd speak
just your gentle voice of the fact that even through that hurt, you're going to
bring blessing. Serving in eternity doesn't take the hurt away, but helps us to
recognize God that you're greater than that hurt, that you're working even in
the midst of that hurt. And so we trust you with it.

We trust you with our lives. And we know that the losses we might have in this
world, they're nothing compared to the joys we'll have in eternity. We know that
the blessings we have in this world, they're nothing compared to the
opportunities we'll have to serve you in eternity.

And for those blessings, for those opportunities, we thank you. In Jesus' name
we thank you. Amen.

Make sure to join us next week, everyone. Next week we're going to be looking at
Matthew chapter 20 at the parables and miracles and teaching of Jesus, and all
of them focus on this life-changing choice to serve others.