The Punishment of False Disciples
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
I recently heard a story about a high school football player who was a Christian.
He was a big fellow and a great athlete.
He led his team to the best season they had ever had and won many awards.
He was being interviewed and the reporter asked him this question:
“You know you have the reputation of being a devout Christian.
Isn’t it hard o be a devout Christian with all the peer pressure you face?”
And he said:
“Ma’am, I am the peer pressure.”
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It does not matter how old you are, everyone faces some degree of pressure.
But Christians should be so courageous, so unashamed, so distinctive in standing up for Jesus Christ that others are attracted to Him, not repulsed.
Life with Jesus is to be distinct from the world!
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The world wants us to deny Christ and be ashamed of Him...
But our only hope is found in Him and His commands...
So, we must stand strong if we are genuine disciples of Him.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 9 and focus on verses 26 through 27.
Our message this morning is titled, “The Punishment of False Disciples”
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This message today will focus on what our attitude should look like if we are truly followers of Jesus Christ.
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So, this morning we will cover two main points:
1) Those Ashamed of Jesus
And...
2) Those Who See God’s Kingdom
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
You are the very definition of good...
You are perfect in every way...
And following You is worth any cost.
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Thank You for Your patience with us...
Thank You for making a way for us as found in Your Son...
And thank You for Your unconditional love for Your elect.
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Help us to live by Your commands...
Help us to love You the way You deserve to be loved...
And help us to love others, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) Those Ashamed of Jesus
1) Those Ashamed of Jesus
Verse 26: For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Beloved, let’s start by breaking down a few of the key phrases in this packed verse.
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The phrase “for whoever is ashamed of me” is another way of saying “to disown me,” and the it is the opposite of the phrase “to acknowledge me.”
So, to be ashamed in this context means to reject, despise, and find unacceptable...
Unfortunately, this is how most of the world feels about Jesus...
And even sadder is the fact that many people who profess Christ with their lips also feel ashamed of the Jesus of Scripture.
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Pastor John MacArthur says in clarifying manner that:
“This describes a soul-damning denial of Christ—
Not the sort of temporary wavering Peter was guilty of—
But the sin of those who through fear, shame, neglect, delay, or love of the world reject all evidence and revelation and decline to confess Christ as Savior and King, until it is too late.”
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Now, notice that Jesus says “ashamed of me and of my words”...
It is paramount that we do not bypass this detail...
Jesus is talking about His person and He is talking about the words that He says...
So, the person and message of Jesus are indivisible with each other...
They cannot be separated or pinned against each other...
For one to claim to follow Jesus and with the same breath deny the teachings of Scripture is an example of a fake “Christian”...
To claim Jesus as Lord and live a life of wicked sin is to mock God!
It reveals that one in their heart is ashamed of the real Jesus...
They want the benefits of the promises of God without true allegiance to Jesus...
Well, that will not do!
God will not accept that!
In fact, when Jesus comes in His glory He will be ashamed of those who falsely claim to follow Him.
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Beloved, the phrase “when He comes in his glory” refers to the second coming...
When Jesus comes back...
When the Day of Judgement is upon us...
It will be too late to surrender to Him then...
As Matthew 16:27 says:
27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
If you are a genuine believer then you will have the Holy Spirit in you...
And if you have the Holy Spirit in you then you will as a by product produce good works...
You will not be perfect...
You will stumble...
But your life will be defined as a righteous life...
You will make a practice of good and grow in your walk with the Lord.
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However, if you are a false believer then you will not have the Holy Spirit in you...
And if you do not have the Holy Spirit in you then you will still be a slave to sin and all the works that you produce will be rotten to the core...
You will make sin a habit...
You will live in lawlessness...
And your life will be defined as a wicked life...
You will make a practice of sin and grow in your depravity.
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The ones who acknowledge Jesus are the ones whose life will reflect that choice...
The ones who refuse to acknowledge Jesus are the ones whose life will reflect that choice, too...
And there are major ramifications from ones choice is surrendering or not surrendering to God...
As Matthew 10:32–33 says:
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
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Beloved, a life of true fellowship with Him means that we will endure to the very end...
We will finish strong for the Holy Spirit will preserve us until the end...
As 2 Timothy 2:12 says:
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;
So, a lack of enduring in the faith is a sign that we have denied Him...
Today, we hear so many stories of people who had their faith deconstructed...
Let me be clear...
Whatever faith they lost was never really in Jesus!
For a sign of genuine saving faith is endurance to the very end!
And genuine saving faith can only be in Jesus Christ!
For as Acts 4:12 says:
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
For those who put their faith in their own good works until the end...
They will experience eternal Hell...
For those who put their faith in false teachers until the end...
They will experience eternal Hell...
For those who put their faith in false religions until the end...
They will experience eternal Hell...
For those who put their faith in their family name or themselves until the end...
They will experience eternal Hell...
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The world hates that fact...
They are okay if Jesus is just another way to heaven...
But they despise us when we say that Jesus is the only way!
But as His followers we hang on every word He says in passages like John 14:6 which says:
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
For the one who is unashamed of Christ...
For the one who believes in Christ...
They will not be condemned!
Beloved, take comfort in what it says in John 3:18:
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
However, for those who do not believe, take this warning seriously!
And do not think that one can divorce Jesus from His teachings...
As we mentioned before they go hand in hand...
Jesus is eternal and so are His words...
As Mark 13:31 says:
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Jesus’ words as the Son of God are one and the same with the words of God the Father...
For the Father sent Him and all who seek to do the will of the Father will recognize that Jesus’ words have true authority...
As John 7:15–18 says:
15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?”
16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
So, we can’t reject the words, commands, and teachings of Scripture and think that everything is going to be okay...
We can’t treat the Bible like the Golden Corral and pick and choose what we are going to have!
You can’t just take a like bit of the Psalms and a few nice parables of Jesus and make your own religion in your own image!
The one who does not receive the Word of God in full rejects Jesus along with it!
As John 12:48–50 says:
48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
In fact, Paul combined being ashamed and the Gospel in passages like Romans 1:16 which says:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Likewise, Jesus puts it this way in John 5:24–29:
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
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Now, the difference between being ashamed or being unashamed of Christ corresponds to the sheep and goats mentioned in Scripture...
Those who in this life are unashamed of Jesus are the sheep...
They will be placed on Jesus’ right...
And they will be the ones who gave food to the hungry...
They will be the ones who gave drink to the thirsty...
They will be the ones who welcomed strangers...
They clothed the naked...
They visited the sick...
They visited those in prison.
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However, those who in this life are ashamed of Jesus are the goats...
They will be placed on Jesus’ left...
And they will be the ones who ignored the hungry...
They will be the ones who ignored the thirsty...
They will be the ones who ignored the strangers...
They ignored the naked...
They ignored the sick...
They ignored those in prison.
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For the sheep the things they did to the least of the brothers is considered that same as doing them to Christ directly...
And they will go into eternal life with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
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However, for the goats the things they did not do to the least of the brothers is considered that same as not doing these things to Christ directly...
And they will go into eternal punishment and eternal fire with the Devil and his demons.
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We know this all to be true as Matthew 25:31-46 says:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’
37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’
45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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The ones who are unashamed of Jesus are patient and seek to do good and obey the truth...
But, the ones ashamed of Jesus are self-seeking and refuse to obey the truth.
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The ones who are unashamed of Jesus seek to do good in Christ for honor and immortality...
But, the ones ashamed of Jesus are seeking unrighteousness that leads to wrath and fury.
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As Romans 2:5–11 puts it:
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 He will render to each one according to his works:
7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.
11 For God shows no partiality.
Likewise Revelation 20:11–15 paints a vivid picture for us regarding the Great White Throne Judgement:
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
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So, are we going to be unashamed or ashamed of Christ?
Are we going to follow the the Word of God or the wisdom of men?
Are we going to be careful with our words or reckless and careless with our tongue?
What path are we going to walk?
For do not forget what the Word of God says in Matthew 12:36–37:
36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,
37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Do not for a second think that you can ever hide your sinful life from God...
You can pretend to acknowledge God and convince others of your faith but God sees beyond what humans can see...
Gods see the heart...
God knows our deepest and darkest of secrets...
As Romans 2:16 says:
16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
So, ask yourselves on this very day...
Are you unashamed or ashamed of Christ?
What does your life prove?
For the one who makes a habit of sin is still in the darkness...
For the one who practices sin is still in the darkness and has not yet experienced the light...
John 8:34 says:
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
And if you are a slave to sin then you are not in fellowship with Him.
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Beloved, the only hope we have...
The only way to be unashamed of Christ is to die to self!
We have to be willing to take up our cross daily and follow Christ without shame!
As Matthew 10:38 says:
38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
To be unashamed of Christ one must truly confess Jesus with their mouth and believe in both their mind and heart...
They must surrender to Jesus as their personal Lord...
They must surrender to Jesus as their personal Savior...
They must genuinely believe all that Scripture says of Jesus...
Like the fact that God the Father raised Jesus, the Son of God by the power of God the Holy Spirit.
And to be unashamed of Jesus is to be saved!
As Romans 10:9–10 puts it:
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
So, in other words, those unashamed will be part of God’s Kingdom...
This truth was so critical that Jesus proves His claims by stating that even some of the disciples with Him will get a preview of the Kingdom of God during their life...
And this takes us to our second and final point.
2) Those Who See God’s Kingdom
2) Those Who See God’s Kingdom
Verse 27: But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
Now, the phrase “some standing here” refers to Peter, John, and James, who will witness the transfiguration in the following section of Luke’s Gospel.
This interpretation is also supported by passages like 2 Peter 1:16–18 which says:
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,”
18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
Notice that Peter equates Jesus’ “glory” with His transfiguration...
And this event was one in which Peter was an eyewitness to.
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In fact, the MacArthur Study Bible says:
“In all 3 of the synoptic gospels, this promise is made immediately prior to the Transfiguration.
Furthermore the word for ‘kingdom’ can be translated ‘royal splendor.’
Therefore, it seems most natural to interpret this promise as a reference to the Transfiguration, which ‘some’ of the disciples—Peter, James, and John, would witness only 6 days later.”
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So, the transfiguration is really a preview of where the kingdom program ultimately leads...
Or as the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on Luke says:
“Thus, the transfiguration will preview the ultimate full glory of the exalted Christ.
The kingdom program will end with the glorious Christ visible to all.
The distribution of its benefits begins with the Spirit’s being poured out as earnest after Jesus’ resurrection and exaltation.”
So, the transfiguration is foreshadowing Christ’s unveiled second coming, when He returns in full visible glory.
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Now, in the parallel account in Mark’s Gosepl we even see that the inner circle of disciples that witness the transfiguration are beforehand told that they will see the Kingdom of God after in has come with power as Mark 9:1 puts it:
1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
This is a great description of the transfiguration event that we will cover in detail next week...
However, let’s quickly take a look at this amazing event that is recorded in Luke 9:28-36:
28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white.
30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah,
31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.
33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.
34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
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Wow...
That was an incredible event.
For remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees...
He said that the Kingdom of God is not coming in a way that can be observed as it says in Luke 17:20–21:
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed,
21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
Yet, Christ, with the transfiguration, gave a preview of the fullness of the Kingdom of God for His closest disciples.
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You see Beloved, when Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God it was both an “already” and “future” event.
The Kingdom of God was already here as passages like Matthew 4:17 says:
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
And at the same time the Kingdom of God was a future event in that it would come into full consummation at the second coming as passages like Luke 19:11 says:
11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.
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As John Piper says regarding the Kingdom of God as both an “already” and “future” event, he says:
“First, the warning:
Beware of insisting that God demonstrate dimensions of the kingdom now which he has reserved for the consummation.
The kingdom now is limited in its scope and effects.
And beware of assuming that all who are swept into the power of God's kingdom are the children of the kingdom.
The power of the kingdom gathers many into its net that will be cast out in the end because they loved healing and not holiness;
They loved power and not purity;
They loved wonders and not the will of God.
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And finally the encouragement:
The kingdom really has arrived.
Unprecedented fulfillments of God's purposes are in the offing.
The King has come.
The King has dealt with sin once for all in the sacrifice of himself.
The King sits at the Father's right hand and reigns now until all his enemies are under his feet.
The King's righteousness is now already ours by faith.
The King's Spirit is now already dwelling in us.
The King's holiness is now already being produced in us.
The King's joy and peace have now already been given to us.
The King's victory over Satan is now already ours as we use the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
The King's power to witness is now already available to us.
And the King's gifts—
The gifts of his Spirit—
Are now already available for ministry.
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And now with a sober awareness of the mystery of the kingdom—
Present yet future;
Fulfilled but not consummated—
Let us go on as a church to seek the kingdom first—
To discover all we yet should be for the salvation of lost sinners and the glory of King Jesus!”
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For those unashamed about Christ we will seek first the Kingdom of God...
For those ashamed of Christ they will seek first the fleeting and passing kingdom of this world...
So, let us be wise in our choice...
To follow Christ is to be willing to give up everything....
To follow Christ is to be willing to die to self...
But to follow Christ and to be unashamed of Him is to gain eternal life!
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like to share this that I came across in my study this week:
A dairy farmer went to buy a new pickup truck.
He had seen an ad in the paper about discounts and factory rebates, so he decided to trade in his old clunker.
He chose a new model and was ready to write the check for the full amount.
The salesman said, “Wait, I haven't given you the final cost yet.”
The farmer said, “Isn't it the price I saw in the paper?”
The salesman said, “No, that's for the basic model, all the options cost extra.”
So after the options were added, the farmer reluctantly wrote a check and drove off in his new pick-up.
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A few months later the car salesman called the farmer because he wanted to buy a cow for his son's 4-H project.
The farmer assured the car salesman he had several good milk cows for sale for $500.
The salesman drove out and selected a cow and took out his checkbook.
The farmer said, “Wait, I haven't given you the final cost yet.”
Then he handed the salesman a bill that read:
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Basic Cow: $500
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Two-tone exterior: $45
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Extra stomach: $75
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Milk storage compartment: $60
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Straw recycle compartment: $120
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Four handy spigots at $10 each: $40
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Leather upholstery: $125
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Dual horns: $45
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Automatic rear fly swatter: $38
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Natural fertilizer attachment: $185
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Grand Total: $1,233
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Whether you're buying cars or cows, it's important to get to what we call “the bottom line.”
What is the “bottom line” of following Jesus?
You may go into sticker shock when you discover it.
Many people are only interested in the basic model of Christian living.
They want just enough Christianity to keep them out of hell without intruding on their fun.
You don't find the full cost of discipleship advertised very often these days.
Few preachers discuss it because it is unpleasant; it doesn't fill churches.
It isn't the prosperity gospel that says, “Believe and you will be rich and happy.”
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his classic book, The Cost of Discipleship, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him to die.”
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So, are you ready to die to self?
Are you ready to live a life that is unashamed of Christ?
Remember what Luke 12:40 says:
40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
Are you ready if the Lord comes at this very hour?
Will you be found at that very hour to be unashamed or ashamed of the Lord?
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray...
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Heavenly Father...
If anyone hearing this message right now does not know You in a saving way...
Open their eyes to see that to be ashamed of You is to court eternal death...
So, shatter their stone hearts and give them a courageous heart of flesh that is unashamed of You!
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I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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For those hearing this message who already know You...
Continue to strength their unashamed faith...
Remind them of the many wonderful promises for those who endure to the very end!
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Again, I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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To God be all the glory.
Amen.
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Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.