Embracing Surrender: Transformative Teachings of Jesus

In our journey through Lent, we are called to a path of surrender, to relinquish our egos, self-sufficiency, and unhelpful life patterns. We have been following Jesus in the final week of His life, learning what truly matters in the kingdom of God. Today, we focus on Jesus's interactions with the teachers of the law, as depicted in Matthew chapters 23 through 25. Jesus, the master teacher, delivers His message with clarity and force, despite the resistance from the religious leaders who attempt to trap Him with trick questions.

Jesus's teachings are not always well received, as truth can be challenging to accept. The Pharisees and teachers of the law knew the scriptures and traditions, yet they failed to apply them with the right heart and motivation. They loved the words but missed the essence behind them. This is a caution for us as well, as we can know biblical truths without them being evident in our lives. We must not only study Jesus's words but also practice them, embodying the teachings in our daily actions.

Jesus's teachings are transformative, but they can also be difficult to grasp. When His teachings challenge our preconceptions or seem too demanding, we may become defensive or evasive. Yet, if we take Jesus's teachings seriously, they will inevitably disrupt our lives, leading us to ask different questions and make changes. This is the power of Jesus's teaching—it broadens our perceptual horizon, allowing us to make choices that are not merely impulsive reactions.

Learning from Jesus requires a posture of humility, a willingness to sit at His feet, and a devotion to understanding His teachings amid the realities of daily life. Jesus, referred to as teacher and rabbi, used various teaching methods to convey His message, and we must be patient and devoted learners to grasp the full meaning of His words.

As we reflect on our faith during Lent, we must consider whether we truly believe and trust in Jesus's teachings. We are invited to let go of falsehoods and embrace practices that draw us closer to Jesus. Confession is one such practice, where we come clean before Jesus, acknowledging our need for His mercy and forgiveness.

In summary, to become faithful disciples and avoid the fate of the Pharisees, we must humbly submit to Jesus, organize our lives around His teachings, and be willing to fail and learn. We must take a long, loving look at our lives, embracing the path of surrender that leads to life, freedom, and hope.

Key Takeaways:

- Jesus's teachings are designed to reveal the truth and challenge the lies we believe. They are not merely informative but transformative, rewiring our mental maps to align with reality and leading us to a life of flourishing and thriving according to God's wisdom. This transformation begins with a humble and devoted heart, ready to learn and apply Jesus's words. [27:20]

- The true measure of spiritual formation is love. Jesus's teachings ultimately guide us to become more loving individuals, reflecting the divine love that is at the core of His message. As we grow in our understanding of Jesus's teachings, we must continually assess whether we are becoming more loving, as this is the acid test of our discipleship. [45:20]

- Taking Jesus's teachings seriously will disrupt our lives, challenging our preconceptions and comfort zones. This disruption is a sign of genuine engagement with His words, prompting us to live differently and pursue the good life that Jesus offers. If His teachings are not unsettling us in some way, we must question the depth of our commitment to following Him. [34:43]

- Humility is essential for learning from Jesus. We must adopt the posture of a disciple sitting at the feet of our Rabbi, embracing the dust of His journey, and submitting to His authority. This relational approach to learning from Jesus requires trust in His power and a willingness to be shaped by His life and teachings. [29:16]

- The path of surrender during Lent involves both letting go of untruths and embracing new practices that bring us closer to Jesus. This season is an opportunity to reflect on our faith, confront the realities of our hearts, and make choices that align with Jesus's teachings. It is in this surrender that we find true life and freedom. [48:26]

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. **Matthew 23:1-3 (NIV)**
> Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”

2. **Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)**
> “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

3. **1 John 4:8-11 (NIV)**
> Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

#### Observation Questions
1. What were the Pharisees and teachers of the law criticized for by Jesus in Matthew 23:1-3?
2. According to Matthew 7:24-27, what is the difference between the wise and foolish builders?
3. How does 1 John 4:8-11 describe the nature of God and the expected response from believers?
4. In the sermon, what did the pastor say about the Pharisees' knowledge and their application of it? ([41:04])

#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why does Jesus emphasize the importance of practicing what is preached in Matthew 23:1-3? How does this relate to the Pharisees' behavior?
2. What does building a house on the rock versus sand symbolize in Matthew 7:24-27? How does this metaphor apply to our daily lives?
3. How does the description of love in 1 John 4:8-11 challenge our understanding of God's love and our love for others?
4. The sermon mentioned that Jesus' teachings are transformative and can disrupt our lives. How does this disruption manifest, and why is it necessary for spiritual growth? ([34:43])

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you knew the right thing to do but struggled to practice it. What steps can you take to align your actions with your beliefs more consistently? ([41:04])
2. Jesus' teachings often challenge our comfort zones. Identify one teaching of Jesus that you find particularly challenging. How can you begin to embrace and apply it in your life? ([34:43])
3. The sermon emphasized the importance of humility in learning from Jesus. What practical steps can you take to adopt a posture of humility in your spiritual journey? ([29:16])
4. During Lent, we are called to let go of untruths and embrace new practices. What is one untruth you need to let go of, and what new practice can you adopt to draw closer to Jesus? ([48:26])
5. The true measure of spiritual formation is love. Think of a recent interaction where you struggled to show love. How can you approach similar situations differently in the future? ([45:20])
6. Confession is a practice that brings us closer to Jesus. Is there something you need to confess to God today? How can this act of confession help you experience His mercy and forgiveness? ([49:05])
7. The sermon mentioned that taking Jesus' teachings seriously will mess with your life. How can you prepare yourself to embrace the changes that come with following Jesus more closely? ([34:43])

Day 1: Truth Transforms Perception
Transformation begins with a humble heart that is open to learning and applying the teachings of Jesus. It is not enough to simply know the words of Scripture; one must allow these words to change their understanding of the world and themselves. This process of transformation is akin to rewiring one's mental maps, aligning thoughts and actions with the reality of God's wisdom. It is a journey that requires a devoted heart, ready to embrace the truth and let it reshape every aspect of life. The truth of Jesus is not just informative; it is transformative, leading to a life of flourishing and thriving under God's guidance. Embracing this truth means being willing to let go of old patterns and lies, and to courageously step into the fullness of life that Jesus offers. [27:20]

James 1:22-25 (ESV)
"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."

Reflection:
How has your understanding of a specific biblical truth changed the way you perceive and interact with the world around you?

Day 2: Love as the Measure of Formation
The ultimate goal of spiritual formation is to become more loving, reflecting the divine love that is central to the teachings of Jesus. This journey of growth requires continual self-assessment to ensure that one's understanding of Jesus's teachings is indeed leading to an increase in love for others. Love is the acid test of discipleship; it is the true measure by which one can gauge their spiritual progress. As followers of Christ, individuals must strive to embody the love that Jesus exemplified, a love that is patient, kind, and selfless. This love is not passive; it actively seeks the good of others and is the hallmark of a life transformed by the teachings of Jesus. [45:20]

1 John 3:18-19 (ESV)
"Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;"

Reflection:
In what ways can you tangibly demonstrate love to someone in your life today, reflecting the love that Jesus has shown you?

Day 3: Disruption as a Sign of Engagement
Taking Jesus's teachings seriously means allowing them to disrupt and challenge our preconceptions and comfort zones. This disruption is a clear indication of genuine engagement with His words. It prompts believers to live differently, to pursue the good life that Jesus exemplifies. If His teachings do not unsettle us in some way, it may be a sign that we are not fully committed to following Him. True discipleship involves being open to the ways Jesus's teachings can turn our world upside down, leading us to make choices that are not merely impulsive reactions but are grounded in the pursuit of a life that aligns with the kingdom of God. [34:43]

Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)
"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Reflection:
What is one aspect of Jesus's teachings that has recently challenged you, and how are you responding to that challenge in your daily life?

Day 4: Humility in Learning from Jesus
Humility is the cornerstone of learning from Jesus. Adopting the posture of a disciple means sitting at the feet of the Rabbi, embracing the dust of His journey, and submitting to His authority. This relational approach to discipleship requires trust in Jesus's power and a willingness to be shaped by His life and teachings. It is through this humble posture that one can truly understand and embody the teachings of Jesus, allowing them to inform and transform every aspect of life. Trusting in Jesus means being open to the ways He wants to mold and use each person for His purposes, even when it requires stepping out of one's comfort zone. [29:16]

Luke 10:39-42 (ESV)
"And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.'"

Reflection:
How can you adopt a posture of humility today to learn something new from Jesus's teachings, and how might this change your approach to a current situation?

Day 5: Surrender and Embrace During Lent
The path of surrender during Lent involves letting go of falsehoods and embracing new practices that draw us closer to Jesus. This season is a time for reflection on one's faith, confronting the realities of the heart, and making choices that align with Jesus's teachings. Surrender is not just about giving up something; it is about embracing a new way of living that leads to true life and freedom. It is in this surrender that one finds hope and the promise of transformation. As believers let go of untruths and embrace the practices that Jesus modeled, they will experience the fullness of life that He came to give. [48:26]

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Reflection:
What is one area of your life where you find yourself holding back from surrendering to Jesus? What would surrendering this area to Him actually look like in terms of daily habits?

Well, good morning, everybody! Great to see you all here with me in this room, and for those of you joining at one of our campuses in San Mateo, Mountain View, and Saratoga, and of course those who are joining with us online, we're grateful that you're here.

It's so much fun to be in worship together, and we're excited to see what God might do with us in this time. We also want to say it's this journey that we're on, we're doing this together too, called Lent, and it's good to be together in that season as well. Hopefully, you found our resources online that are helping you walk through this time. We've got it on YouVersion Bible, or you can find it on our website.

But whatever way that you are journeying through these weeks before Easter, I pray that God will reveal the things in your life that need attention. Hopefully, you'll draw closer to God because the big goal here is to have an honest conversation with God, wherever it may go. And to remember that Jesus, really, he already knows everything anyway.

So he wants to free you from the burdens that you're carrying. He wants to heal your heart. He wants you to take hold of the hope that the cross and his victory over death gives to us. As we're learning, this journey that we're on requires surrender. We're on this path of surrender, a surrender of our egos, our self-sufficiency, and patterns of life that are not helping us.

In the last couple of weeks, we've been following Jesus in this final week of his life. Through Matthew's gospel, we've seen Jesus interact with his disciples, the authorities, the religious leaders, and the crowds. We're learning about what really matters in the kingdom of God. Today, we're focused on Jesus's interaction with the teachers of the law. We can find these in Matthew chapters 23 through 25.

It's in this section that we see Jesus doing a lot of teaching, and his teaching is very pointed because the religious leaders are attempting to discredit and trap him with trick questions. We see Jesus, the master teacher, making his point clearly and forcefully.

Now, just because something is true doesn't mean it will be well received. Let's just say the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were not really open to a growth conversation. If we're honest, sometimes neither are we. So today, we're going to consider our own response to Jesus's teaching and how it moves us forward on the path of surrender.

Let's offer a prayer as we get started.

So, Jesus, we want to hear from you today. In this season of Lent, we ask that you would show us things that we need to see and help us, God, live into the truths that you teach us. May your words come through my teaching today that we'd hear what you want us to hear. In Jesus' name, amen.

All right, how do you feel about learning new things? Everybody excited about that? Great! That's exciting.

For a fun example, a couple of weeks ago, a few of our talented Menlo staff members attempted to teach our entire Menlo staff how to knit. Yes, knitting! Knitting was described to us as a satisfying activity that would relieve stress and improve well-being. You could do it while you were watching TV or having a conversation with a friend. It might even reduce the temptation to grab your phone and scroll. Wow, that's powerful! I was on board.

So we gathered together expectantly. Balls of yarn and knitting needles were handed out. We grabbed instruction sheets. A YouTube video started playing, and verbal instructions were shared from the front of the room. Our instructors patiently walked around offering hands-on help. There were so many ways to figure it out.

Now, I consider myself a capable adult, and I'm thinking, how hard can this be? It's basically just tying knots in the right order. No sweat. You may be thinking, pride cometh before the fall, and you'd be right. Because rather than gaining the satisfaction of learning a new skill and experiencing the stress-relieving power of doing a repetitive task with my hands, I found myself increasingly frustrated and angry. It was the opposite of stress-free.

Just when I would make a little progress, it got harder, and I had this tangled mess. They taught us this little rhyme: "Stab it, strangle it, scoop out its guts, and throw it off a cliff." Who knew knitting was so violent? I wanted to throw the whole thing off a cliff.

So after a few more tries, I predictably gave up, throwing my tangled mess back into the box. Now, while I didn't learn how to knit, I did learn something about myself. In theory, I love to learn new things and be challenged, but in reality, I'm way too into image management. It turns out that I really like to be competent, and I don't like to look foolish. I might be afraid that I'm going to be judged or criticized, or maybe I'll just never be able to get it. I'm going to fail.

In the world of psychology, this is called a fixed mindset. Maybe some of you can relate. If I had been humble enough to follow the instructions, experience a little failure, ask for help, and keep trying, I would be somebody right now who could knit. A whole new world would have been opened up to me, or so I've been told.

Here's the thing: Jesus wants to teach us something far more valuable than knitting. He wants us to take hold of life that is really life. He wants us to experience the kingdom of God in every moment of every day, and it starts with the goal of his teaching, which is to help us know what is true and what is not true.

Now, remember, there are lots of teachers trying to teach us lots of things. Every day, we're getting bombarded with messages telling us that this is what really matters, or this is the best way to live, or this is how you should spend your time and your money. It's not a new problem. Remember, sin comes into the world when Satan lies to Adam and Eve, but they believe it's true.

We are not even aware of all the conflicting messages that are rolling around in our own hearts right now. What is really true, and how do I know? As our teacher, our rabbi, Jesus wants us to know what's true. That's what his teaching goal is for us.

A quote from John Mark Comer, pastor and author, says, "The best teaching does more than just inform us. It gets into our heads with a vision of the good life. It undermines the untrue stories we believe. It says, this is true and this is a lie. It shifts our trust. It rewires our mental maps to reality, making it possible for us to live in alignment with reality in such a way that we flourish and thrive according to God's wisdom and good intentions."

This is what's at stake. Are we patient enough to wrestle with Jesus' teaching, to let it reorient our mental maps? Do we give up when it gets challenging or hard? Will we humbly sit at his feet and trust that if we actually live out what he teaches, it will lead to the good life?

It begins with a posture of humility. The Mishnah is a collection of core rabbinic thoughts and teachings recorded from 200 BC to about 200 AD. One of the quotes from the Mishnah by Rabbi Yoazer says this: "Let thy house be a meeting house for the wise, and powder thyself in the dust of their feet, and drink their words with thirstiness."

The middle line is sometimes translated as "sit amid the dust of their feet," and it's understood as humbly sitting at the feet of one's teacher so that you can learn from them. This is because it was customary to honor a teacher by sitting on the floor while they taught from a chair or a raised position. From this, we get the familiar saying that you sat at the feet of a teacher.

For example, Paul says that he was educated at the feet of Gamaliel, and Mary says in Luke 10:39 that she sat at Jesus' feet. She was learning from him as a disciple.

Now, because disciples would learn from their teacher amid the realities of daily life—while sitting under a tree, in a marketplace, sharing a meal, walking along a road—it was sometimes said it was an honor to be covered in the dust of your rabbi. It showed devotion. It demonstrated humility.

Learning from Jesus doesn't involve a cool, distant learning posture. To understand Jesus, you need to stay close and not just hear what he says, but watch what he does. You need to submit to his authority, trust in his power, and it all takes place in a relational context.

Jesus is called teacher 45 times in the New Testament, and the Aramaic title rabbi is used 14 times for Jesus, even though he was not formally trained as a rabbi as far as we can tell. The people, however, recognize that Jesus was indeed a teacher sent from God.

Jesus uses all sorts of teaching techniques, including poetry and proverbs, exaggeration and parables, and many others such as puns, similes, metaphors, riddles, paradoxes, irony, and questions, to name a few. So when we think about what he's teaching, we must take all of that into account.

What's the point he's trying to make? What does he want us to understand? What does this mean for me? We may not always get it right. The disciples frequently have to ask Jesus to explain things to them, and they were right with him all the time. So it requires a growth mindset and some devotion.

Think about something that you learned in your life that you're good at. Maybe it was a while ago, maybe it was recently, but something that you're good at. I recently took up fly fishing. I'm trying to learn how to do that. There are many things I enjoy about fly fishing, and I've had some moderate success, but I would say for me it's more of a hobby, something fun I do when I have time.

Now, I have a friend, Kevin, and he treats fishing as a devotion. He watches videos, he listens to blogs, he reads constantly, he monitors the river flows in the Sierra, and modified his SUV to be the perfect fishing rig. When we fish with a guide, he eagerly picks their brain for any learning he can get. He gets out on the river, any river, any chance he can get.

Who do you think is the better fisherman? It's not me. If we have that kind of devotion to learn from Jesus, it will change our focus and attention. It will drown out the other voices and attachments that take over our lives.

There's a quote here from author Daniel Napier. It's a little dense, but I'm going to unpack it here. "When Jesus' teachings become the enduring focus of our attention, potentially lasting and positive change begins. Moral growth requires sustaining a broad enough range of awareness to effectively counteract the intense narrowing of focus that ordinary desires instigate as they arise or pass through a person."

We have to have the focus of our attention be Jesus' teaching because it raises our awareness high enough that we can realize that we're being told lies, that the things we narrowly focus on aren't leading us where we want to go.

Moral descriptions and exhortations found in Jesus' teaching, when actively attended to, will produce a broadening of perceptual horizon and allow a form of choice that's not mere yielding to impulse. This is the seminal moment change starts here. It produces the broadening of perceptual horizon, allowing a form of choice that's not just yielding to impulse.

This is the power of Jesus' teaching, that it can help us to not just go through life yielding to our impulses that are unexamined or not brought forth in the light of Jesus' teaching. Because when we do that, our life is just on autopilot. Can we put those impulses before God? We can gain an awareness that opens our mind to different choices, and that's where change begins.

But what happens when Jesus teaches something that's really hard or something that just doesn't make sense to us or seems impossible? Here's something to remember. Hold on to this: If you take Jesus' teaching seriously, it will mess with your life.

I'll say that again: If you take Jesus' teaching seriously, it will mess with your life. If it's not messing with your life in some way, I wonder how seriously you're taking it. It will change you. It will lead you to ask different questions.

So here's a couple of hard things that Jesus taught: "Unless you hate your mother or father or children or your own life, you cannot be my disciple." What does that mean? "Sell everything you own and come follow me." Whoa! "Love your enemies." What? "If someone wrongs you, turn the other cheek." Wait a second. Anyone offended yet?

Now, we can be hard on the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, but we're more like them than we think. When Jesus starts presenting me with some challenging words, I can get evasive and even defensive. You know, "God, what about so-and-so? They're way worse than me. There's no way you can expect this from me, God. It's way too hard. I can't give that up. I've worked too hard for it. It costs too much."

Then the nice thing we do is we want to divert attention: "Hey, that's something so-and-so should hear. I'm going to send them the link." Anybody do that?

On one occasion recorded in John chapter 6, Jesus was teaching a larger group of his disciples and started talking about communion, but he talked about it as drinking his blood and eating his flesh. It was weird, and they were confused, and it didn't make sense to them. It was just too hard.

It says this: "Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, 'Does this offend you?'" From this time, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

Now, I don't blame them. They came to the realization that Jesus was not who they wanted him to be or who they thought he was. He no longer fit the box that they had constructed in their mind. Jesus wasn't unaffected by this. It bothered him. It hurt. He didn't want anyone to miss out.

He says to them, "You don't want to leave too." He says to his twelve, the close inner circle of disciples, "You don't want to leave too, do you?" Then Peter answers him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We've come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God."

Peter may not have it all figured out, but he knows and trusts the teacher. Peter knows that Jesus is not just another rabbi, that love and devotion for Jesus will get him through the hard teachings. Ultimately, he knows that Jesus is the way, and he trusts Jesus only wants what's best for him.

This would only be blind trust if Jesus was not Jesus, if he was not the Son of God. This is the big question that Jesus has to address with the Pharisees and others in this entire week before he goes to the cross. Is there something special about Jesus, or is he just another teacher? Does his power come from heaven or of human origin? Is Jesus the Son of God or just a gifted human?

When those disillusioned disciples were leaving him, Jesus makes one more plea. He doesn't want them to regret their decision to leave. He says, "What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?" For the incarnation, before he came to earth, "The flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you, they are full of spirit and life."

Jesus is not just another rabbi with some good wisdom. His words and teaching have power. They are full of spirit and life. They're trustworthy. But it doesn't stop there. The goal of any teacher is not just that students would learn, but that they would go out and take that learning and change the world.

He reminds them of this in this passage from Matthew 7: "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house. But it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like the foolish man who built his house on the sand that shifts here and there. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell. Great was the fall of it."

No, wisdom and knowledge are not enough. It's what you do with it. It's how you live it out. This is where Jesus focuses his teaching in the Passion Week and where he turns his attention when he's talking with the teachers of the law and the Pharisees.

The Pharisees knew the scriptures. They knew the history. They knew the law. They kept the traditions. Yet they missed the point. Jesus illustrates this, and you can read this in those passages. Jesus illustrates through parables comparing the Pharisees to disobedient sons, treacherous renters, and disrespectful wedding guests.

Then he goes on to take a more direct approach. He condemns them with a scathing rebuke, calling them blind guides, snakes, and hypocrites. You can read all about it in Matthew 23. It's pretty intense.

But he sums it all up with a warning to his disciples. He says this: "You must be careful to do everything the Pharisees tell you, but do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. You must be careful to do everything they tell you, but not do what they do because they do not practice what they preach."

The Pharisees say the right things. They have the right information. You can listen to that. They just don't actually apply it correctly. They know the right answers, but it's not impacted their hearts. When they do the right things, they do them with the wrong motivation. They miss the big picture. They love the words but fail to see what's behind them.

Before I'm too hard on them, I need to hear that rebuke for myself. There are so many biblical truths I know that do not always show up in my life. I can literally be sitting in a church worship service, listening to a worship song about loving others while simultaneously judging a person I see across the room. Maybe it's just me.

Now you're all going to look at me when I'm worshipping and think that. But my heart is fickle. I remember going to a Bible study group that had been studying the Bible for years, and I was excited to be with them to just absorb all the wisdom that years of study had impacted upon them. They were doing a lesson on hospitality, and I remember sitting down and somebody coming over to me and telling me that I had taken their seat and that I needed to move. It was a little disillusioning.

We often have the assumption that as a person's knowledge of the Bible increases, their maturity will increase with it. Now, don't get me wrong, Bible study helps. It's super critical and important. But if it's not applied or lived out, greater maturity is not a guarantee.

Pastor Francis Chan humorously makes this point during a talk he gave at a conference. He says, "Do you remember that game Simon Says? Pretty simple. Whenever you hear Simon Says, you do the action requested. If you don't hear Simon Says, you don't do it. But what about when Jesus says? That's a different game. We don't do it. We just study it or memorize it."

Now, when I ask my daughter to clean her room, she doesn't come back to me two hours later and say, "I memorized what you said. You said, Kira, go clean your room. I can say it in Greek. How about this? My friends are going to come over, and we're going to have a study on what it would look like if I cleaned my room. It's going to be awesome."

Do we practice what we preach? Do we follow the teachings we've received? Do we love the idea of faith and the trappings of church more than where it all leads? And where does it lead?

This is where we start talking about love at the center. In the middle of this discourse that Jesus is having with the Pharisees, one of them comes up to him and says, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?"

Jesus replies, "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments."

You get it all right if you just do these two things. Behind every teaching, every commandment, every message is the reality of divine love. If we hear and follow correctly, we will become more loving people. We will learn how to love God and what it means to love our neighbor.

John Mark Comer summarizes like this: "If you had to summarize Christlike character in one word, there would be no competition. It's love. Love is the acid test of spiritual formation."

When we hear Jesus teaching, we're going to be confronted with that dissonance between what we say we love and what we really love. We're going to have to wrestle with the cost of love. We're going to be challenged by the power of love in our lives and overcome with gratitude for the way God has loved us.

If you want to know if Jesus's teaching is impacting you, ask this simple question: Are you becoming more loving?

In 1 John, it says this: "Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

To follow the teaching of Jesus, we have to love the teacher. We must know that we're loved. We must believe that Jesus alone has the words that will lead us to new life, to a changed life, and be willing to step out and live it.

Now, Jesus' disciples were not the most educated. They didn't always get the rules right, but they knew Jesus loved them, and they could trust him. They saw him demonstrate it day after day, and it enabled them to sacrifice their very lives for the gospel.

As we close today, I want to ask this question: How do we become faithful disciples and avoid the fate of the Pharisees?

Well, I'll tell you this: It takes more than willpower and good intentions and trying harder. We need to give ourselves over to our Rabbi Jesus with humility and devotion. We need to organize our lives around following what Jesus says to us. We need a growth mindset and be willing to fail so that we can learn.

The season of Lent is a time to reflect on how we're doing with our faith, to open our eyes to things we don't always see or want to see. Sometimes we don't actually believe what Jesus teaches us, if we're honest, or we don't trust it, or we just plain old don't want to do it.

Jesuit theologian Walter Burghardt described contemplation like this: "It's taking a long, loving look at the real." I think this is a good way to describe the goal of Lent. As we take a long, loving look, things are going to come up in our hearts, and we typically respond in one of two ways: by letting go of things or taking hold of things.

Maybe you need to let go of an idea or a story that's not true, or a habit that's not helping you move toward love. Maybe you need to embrace a new practice or habit that will bring you closer to Jesus, like study, solitude, or a group. We would love to help you find something.

Maybe it's just coming clean so that nothing gets in the way of your relationship with Jesus. That's the practice of confession. We can't fix it, but he can if we let him know. This is the path of surrender, that we're dealing with reality, and we're throwing ourselves on God's mercy.

Folks, I want you to know this is a good place to be. Matthew 23:12: "For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, but those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Your teacher knows you, and he's not surprised by your life. He has the words that bring real life. He has the truth. He wants your best. He loves you completely. He gave his life for you. His mercy never ends, and his forgiveness is sure. You can trust him. You can trust his teaching.

Will you sit at his feet? Will you ask for his help? Will you join the path of surrender and take a long, loving look at your life? Because that's the way that leads to life and freedom and hope.

So let's take that path together. Amen?

And pray for us.

Jesus, you are the patient teacher. We're so thankful that we could have your words to us in the Bible and the words that you speak to our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Forgive us when we fail to practice what we preach.

But Lord, use this season of Lent to reorient our hearts back to you. We want the life you offer. We trust you. We love you. And it's in your precious name we pray. Amen.

- "Jesus wants to teach us something far more valuable than knitting. He wants us to take hold of life that is really life." [26:17] (Download | Crop for social media)

- "If you take Jesus' teaching seriously, it will mess with your life. And if it's not messing with your life in some way, I wonder how seriously you're taking it." [34:43] (Download | Crop for social media)

- "Learning from Jesus doesn't involve a cool, distant learning posture. To understand Jesus you need to stay close and not just hear what he says, but watch what he does." [30:29] (Download | Crop for social media)

- "The goal of any teacher is not just that students would learn, but that they would go out and take that learning and change the world." [39:45] (Download | Crop for social media)

- "We need to give ourselves over to our Rabbi Jesus with humility and devotion. We need to organize our lives around following what Jesus says to us." [48:26] (Download | Crop for social media)

- "They love the words, but fail to see what's behind them. And again, before I'm too hard on them, I need to hear that rebuke for myself." [41:51] (Download | Crop for social media)

- "Love is the acid test of spiritual formation. And when we hear Jesus teaching, we're going to be confronted with that dissonance between what we say we love and what we really love." [45:20] (Download | Crop for social media)

- "To follow the teaching of Jesus, we have to love the teacher. We must know that we're loved. We must believe that Jesus alone has the words that will lead us to new life, to a changed life, and be willing to step out and live it." [46:42] (Download | Crop for social media)