The Cost of Following Jesus
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
I would like to share with you a story about two flight attendants who where called into the cockpit of a small passenger jet.
There the captain of the airliner told them the jet would soon crash and they needed to hand out parachutes but do so in an orderly manner so as not to cause problems.
The two talked it over to determine the best course of action in how to share the news.
The first spoke up and said we should sell the idea to the people that it’s about making the flight more luxurious.
The second attendant disagreed stating that would not work in the long run and they should just be honest but calm about the warning.
They couldn’t agree so they decided to go their different ways.
Each approached the first two passengers on the airline jet.
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The first passenger was told by the first attendant to put the parachute on because it was meant to enhance his flight experience.
The attendant explained that the seats would feel softer and the drink and food services would be more ample.
She further explained that by putting on the parachute, the flight would seem happier and fuller of an experience.
Lastly, the attendant told the passenger that he would experience some financial benefits to his wearing of the parachute as there would be in-flight discounts available.
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The second passenger was approached by the other flight attendant with the parachute.
He was told that the pilot called the attendants into the cockpit and told them the plane was experiencing malfunctions and would soon crash and that they needed to hand out parachutes to the passengers so they could be saved from the crash.
She told him how to wear it, gave him a book on how to wear it and deploy it, then handed him more parachutes, asking him to help hand them out to other passengers once he was well versed in how to wear and deploy the chute.
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The first passenger put his parachute on happily, then sat back in his seat expecting all the promises made to him.
As he tried to sit back he noticed he couldn’t sit back well enough to get comfortable.
He tried adjusting the parachute to assist in his comfort but couldn’t wear it properly and have the comfort he was promised.
He looked around and observed other passengers without parachutes on and wondered why they hadn’t signed up for the rewards program.
He saw them enjoying their flight experience more so than he was.
Their drinks and food services were coming just as frequently as his were.
He even over heard many of them exclaim their excitement over discounts and even free trips.
Some often looked at him oddly and laughed that he was wearing the parachute.
Unfortunately, he quickly threw off the chute and vowed never to don it again because he felt tricked into wearing it.
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The second passenger who was told that the plane would soon crash cared nothing about his comforts.
He quickly donned the chute and compared how he was wearing it to the manual he was given.
He checked and double checked.
Once he felt good about how he was wearing his chute and confident in how to deploy it, he grabbed the other chutes and more manuals and began approaching other passengers and explaining to them the situation, imploring them to put their chutes on.
Many ignored him which broke his heart, others put theirs on and sat down, even though they were asked to help spread the word, still others took care to don their chutes well and learn how to teach others to do the same.
They joined the efforts with the second passenger and the second flight attendant to spread the word about the impending doom of the flight.
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True faith is always grounded in true discipleship...
And true discipleship always comes with a cost!
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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 57 through 62.
Our message this morning is titled, “The Cost of Following Jesus”
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This message today will focus on three areas an individual must be willing to sacrifice if they are going to be following the Lord
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So, this morning we will cover three main points:
1) The Sacrifice of Comfort
2) The Sacrifice of Riches
And...
3) The Sacrifice of Relationships
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
You are the sovereign and mighty God of all creation seen and unseen...
You are like no other!
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Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit that You give everyone of Your followers...
Thank You for the Scriptures that are our final and ultimate authority in this life...
And thank You for sending Your Son who saves everyone of His sheep!
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Forgive us of of many sins...
Forgive us for not following the leading of the Holy Spirit at all times...
Forgive us for not following the commands in the Scriptures at all times...
And forgive us for not following the example and teaching of Jesus at all times.
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We desire to be more like Your Son so we ask you to model us into His image...
Help us to be more Christlike every day!
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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
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”
62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Sacrifice of Comfort
1) The Sacrifice of Comfort
Verses 57-58: As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
I would like to start by looking at a well constructed summary of our passage...
So, please consider what New Testament scholar, Darrell L. Bock, has to say:
“Any disciple who would follow Jesus needs to understand that this choice will require total commitment.
In this passage, three would-be disciples clearly receive this message from Jesus.
Since disciples will suffer rejection from the world, just as Jesus did, they need to place top priority on following Jesus.
They cannot look back once they ally themselves to him, for the opportunity to look back will be frequent and the dangers of doing so are great.
The individuals who converse with Jesus are not a focal point in the account, for there is no indication of their response.
The point resides solely in Jesus’ responses, which are given for the reader’s reflection.”
So, let us reflect together on the meaning of this passage, Beloved.
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So, one of the first conclusions we can make about this passage is that the path of following Jesus is not easy and comfortable...
Any one who presents following Jesus as walking through a bed of roses is being dishonest...
For Jesus and the authors of Scripture never presented following Jesus in this manner.
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Beloved, we must understand that Jesus and His followers are never really home in this world...
We are really just passing through while we are living our lives in this world...
For our true home is with Christ in eternal life.
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Church, that is the message that Jesus was giving to this first would-be disciple that Matthew, in his account, identifies as a scribe in Matthew 8:19 which says:
19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Although, with words the scribe says, “I will follow you wherever you go” and even today people make many verbal commitments to Jesus...
The real question is if these individual really understand what they are saying...
The real question is if they are really genuine about their commitment they claim...
Beloved, we must ask ourselves if we really do understand the cost of following Jesus.
Have we really counted the cost?
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As theologian James R. Edwards says:
“The first candidate vows, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’
This vow is easier made than kept.
The chief apostle will make a similar promise—but the Rock himself will be unable to live up to it.
Jesus responds in characteristic parabolic imagery:
‘Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’
Animals can adapt to nature, but the Son of Man has not been sent into the world to adapt to it.
The Christian doctrine of the incarnation affirms an absolute identification of the divine Word with humanity, and yet the Son of God born of Mary, the ‘Word made flesh,’ is forever a stranger and alien in this world.
How foreign this Jesus to the domesticated Jesus of nineteenth-century liberalism so comfortably conventional and bourgeois!
The world may claim shelter as an inalienable human right, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head;
It may claim the right to a better future, but the Son of Man offers hope only in the coming kingdom of God; it may claim the right to rest, peace, and justice, but the Son of Man finds only tribulation in the world.
The response of Jesus in verse 58 may seem intolerably harsh, but have not the world’s great reformers and moralists [for example Dietrich Bonhoeffer] said essentially the same.”
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For example, Bonhoeffer famously says:
“Salvation is free, ... but discipleship will cost you your life.”
And another time he said:
“When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.
It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow Him, but cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
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Jesus never toned down His message or sugar coated the truth...
Jesus was loving but very blunt...
He was honest about what a disciple must endure if they are genuinely His followers...
Just look with me at Luke 14:28–33 which says:
28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
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This is the reality of following Jesus...
Anyone interested in the following the Jesus of the Scriptures needs to be aware of the high cost to follow Him...
However, the high cost of following Jesus is so worth it, Beloved!
Just look at what Jesus says in John 12:26:
26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
The uncomfortable life that following Jesus will lead to is not something that we endure in vain...
Those who are uncomfortable in this temporary life will be honored in the next life...
And that life is a life with Jesus in Heaven...
And that life is eternal!
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So, that suffering that you are experiencing today...
That suffering that you are experiencing because you follow Christ...
Count it as joy!
Praise the Lord that you are going through your current trials...
Why?
Because Christ intentionally gave us an example to follow...
Christ showed us that just as He suffered for us...
We too must suffer for Him...
And that acts as a sign that we are His.
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Just take a look at what it says in 1 Peter 2:21:
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
Yes, Beloved...
We have been called to a life of suffering for His sake...
But I promise you...
According to Scripture...
It is well worth it!
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Beloved, there is a reward to look forward to in the future...
There is a rest that we will experience in eternity...
But today...
Today you must stand strong...
Stand on the Word of God...
For although we must suffer...
He will be holding us throughout the process...
So, be strong and courageous in the face of suffering for Christ’s Name!
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As the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament o Luke says:
“In the parallel, Matthew 8:18–19, the man offers to be Jesus’ student and follow him, since there the man calls Jesus ‘teacher.’
But, of course, Jesus wants more than a student.
Students of Judaism lived with their teachers in order to learn the Torah, but what Jesus offers is a more compelling and dangerous course.
To follow Jesus means more than sitting at his feet and learning Torah.
It is a reorientation of life, involving suffering and perhaps death.
If one is to go wherever Jesus goes, one must be ready for the rejection that he experienced.
Jesus is no mere rabbi; his claims challenge commonly held views.
Thus the offer to follow him means facing risk and rejection.
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A disciple of Jesus must realize that following him means living as a stranger in the world, because a choice for Jesus is a choice rejected by many in the world.
Many will not follow Jesus and will reject his disciples.
To be a disciple takes resolve.”
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Now, following Jesus is more than just sacrificing one’s comfort...
We also have to sacrifice our material gain...
And this takes us to our second point.
2) The Sacrifice of Riches
2) The Sacrifice of Riches
Verses 59-60: To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Let’s start this section of our study with a brief word study...
Regarding the word “follow me,” pastor John MacArthur has this to say:
“During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly called people who were attracted to Him to follow Him permanently as Messiah and Lord.
Some singularly responded to His call and became His true disciples; others rejected it when His demands were stringent and left Him.
Whenever Jesus called people, such as Matthew, Philip, Peter, as well as the rest of those who became His disciples, He used the same word, akoloutheō (“to follow,” “to accompany,” “to be a disciple”).
He always employed that verb in the present imperative tense, to indicate He was not seeking a momentary following, but a continuous, lifelong commitment.
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The Lord’s approach is very different from contemporary evangelism, which views becoming a Christian as an emotional and even impulsive decision; a feeling-induced act to which people are led by fiery preaching, heartrending stories, and emotion-stirring music.
The goal of contemporary evangelistic methodology is to induce people to seize the moment, pray a prayer, and make a decision to accept Christ.
But Jesus never tried to move people emotionally into a moment of crisis in which they would accept Him.
There is no record in the New Testament of Jesus or the apostles counseling someone to make such a momentary choice, or pray a prayer in order to be saved.
When the Lord invited a person to receive forgiveness and salvation by faith in Him, He did not want the emotion of a moment’s feeling of guilt, fear, or desire for a better life, but a carefully thought out lifetime commitment to Himself as Lord.
To Jesus, and the apostles as well, following Christ salvifically was not an event, but a way of life.
Martin Luther captured the essence of that principle in the very first of his famed Ninety-five Theses:
‘When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said ‘Repent,’ He called for the entire life of believers to be one of penitence.’”
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Now, the would-be disciple’s response, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” does not mean that the man’s father was already dead...
This phrase, was a common figure of speech in Jesus’ day...
And what it meant was essentially, “Let me wait until I receive my inheritance.”
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Furthermore, burial at this time in Judaism often involved a year-long period from the time when the body was first buried until a year later when the bones of the deceased were placed in an ossuary box.
Though this was a basic family obligation in Jesus’ day, Jesus was teaching the priority of the Kingdom of God over cultural family obligations and one’s family inheritance...
To clarify, this was not an excuse to ignore family obligations that are based of Scripture...
However, the year-long burial process was not a requirement of God but one that society created...
It was fine to participate in...
However, it was not to interfere with God’s calling on one’s life.
That is why when Jesus said, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead” He was in essence saying let the world or those that are “spiritually dead” take care of mundane things.
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The main point is that those without kingdom priorities can take care of such matters...
Nothing is to block the pursuit of discipleship and nothing is to postpone its start...
The kingdom’s coming requires such priorities...
One can’t place societal traditions and one’s inheritance even over the priorities of God.
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In other words, there are issues that are priorities to the “spiritually dead,” but not to those who are alive in Christ.
Jesus challenged this individual, and all of us today, to leave temporal, earthly matters to worldly people and not make them our overriding priority.
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Secular people are preoccupied with secular matters...
However, we are to go and proclaim everywhere the Kingdom of God...
And we are to do this no matter what it might cost us.
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We can’t satisfy the world and God at the same time...
We can’t serve both...
As Jesus said in Matthew 6:24:
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
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Likewise, Please keep in mind the truth of Matthew 16:24–26 which says:
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
What profit is it to be faithful to all your families requests if we in the process disobey God?
What profit is it to be a good son or good daughter and receive a huge inheritance if we in the process disobey God?
What profit is it to have a wonderful reputation to one’s community if we in the process disobey God?
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Beloved, let me be clear...
We do have family obligations that are commanded in the Word of God...
We do have a command by God to honor our parents...
We do have a responsibility by God to treat others well in our communities...
But when we go beyond the Word of God or when we have selfish ulterior motive then we find ourselves in conflict with God.
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Likewise, it is not sinful to be rich...
But if we are making an idol of our riches then it would be better to be poor than to put our faith is riches that will one day go away...
As Matthew 19:21 says regarding the rich young ruler that talked with Jesus:
21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
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The reality is that nothing should get in the way of us following Christ...
We must be ready to renounce anything in our lives...
We must be ready to renounce everything for Christ’s name sake!
That is what it means to be a disciple...
In fact, that is a requirement as Jesus says in Luke 14:33:
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
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Finally, we need to discuss the potential of sacrificing the relationship we have with our family and friends...
And this takes us to our third and final point.
3) The Sacrifice of Relationships
3) The Sacrifice of Relationships
Verses 61-62: Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
So, this final section of our passage shows that Jesus is painting a picture of a plowman who is looking back while he is working and then cuts a crooked furrow.
The reality is that a plowman must keep looking forward to guide the plow...
If he looks back the plow will quickly veer off course...
And the same is true of a the followers of Jesus.
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Look at what is said by this individual to Jesus...
He will follow...
But...
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He is saying that he will follow Jesus under this one condition...
He wants to say farewell to his family...
Yet Jesus and His ministry must be above even our relationships with family and friends.
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Simply put, one cannot call Jesus Lord, as this would-be disciple does in our passage, and then impose limits on his lordship to Jesus...
It does not work that way!
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Furthermore, Jesus made it clear that to follow Him would most definitely result in some lost relationships...
To follow Christ mean one may lose some close family and friends...
As our Lord and Savior said in Matthew 10:34–38:
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.
37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Jesus was very clear...
A follower of Christ can expect enemies within their family and circle of friends once they follow Him...
So, the love we have for Jesus has to be well beyond the love we have for our own fathers...
The love we have for Jesus has to be well beyond the love we have for our own mothers...
The love we have for Jesus has to be well beyond the love we have for our own brothers, sisters, daughters, sons...
The love we have for Jesus has to be well beyond the love we have for our own spouses and even our own selves.
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No relationship should ever come between our relationship with Jesus...
Not one!
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We have to be honest with ourselves...
Who is the person we love the most?
If your answer is anything but Jesus then He is not really your personal Lord and Savior...
Jesus has to be our number one!
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In fact, not only does Jesus need to be number one in our lives...
But our love for Him needs to be so great that the love we have for anyone else would in comparison be seen as hate...
Or as Luke 14:26 records how Jesus says it:
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
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So, it is clear from Scripture that to be a follower of Christ one need to be all in...
Those with half-hearted commitments and the double-minded need not apply!
Only those willing to give up everything for Jesus are considered His followers and His children.
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Yes, this is a great cost...
Some, have such a great cross to bear in this area...
Some, have lots their whole family...
Some, have lost their whole circle of friends in the Name of Christ...
But let me remind you, Beloved...
God knows about every tear you shed...
He knows the cost you paid to follow Him...
And that will all be takes into account in the age to come...
As Christ said to His disciples in Luke 18:29–30:
29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Your lose in this life is not in vain, Beloved!
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The prize of a relationship with Christ is the greatest treasure one can have...
That prize is so valuable that it is worth everything we have in this life...
As Matthew 13:44 says:
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
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As J.C. Ryle once said:
“It costs something to be a true Christian.
Let that never be forgotten.
To be a (lukewarm) Christian, and go to church, is cheap and easy work.
But to hear Christ’s voice, follow Christ, believe in Christ, and confess Christ, requires much self-denial.
It will cost us our sins, our self-righteousness, our ease, and our worldliness.
ALL must be given up.
Our Lord Jesus Christ would have us thoroughly understand this.
He bids us count the cost.”
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So, count the cost if you haven’t already...
And if you have already counted the cost and are currently following our Lord and Savior...
Then be encouraged by the words found in Acts 14:22:
22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like you to consider this:
In the book, “Not a Fan,” author and pastor Kyle Idleman says:
“The most literal way to define a follower of Jesus is ‘Someone who goes where Jesus goes.’
I'm not sure how you can call yourself a follower of Jesus if you refuse to go where Jesus went.
If you're following Jesus ‘wherever,’ He will take you towards a sinner that others wouldn't want to be seen with.
You will find yourself among the sick that others tried to avoid.
If you follow Jesus, expect yourself to be criticized by some of the religious people in your life.
If you follow Jesus you might find that your family thinks you're crazy ... His did.
You may find yourself being unfairly accused and unjustly treated by those in political office.
Ultimately if you follow Jesus ‘wherever,’ you won't just end up covered in His dust, you will end up covered in His blood.”
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...
Then show them that the high cost of following you is worth it...
To exchange the comforts of this world...
To exchange the riches of this world...
To exchange the relationships we have in this world...
All of it is worth it to lose to gain your Son!
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I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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For those hearing this message who already know You...
Strengthen the souls of Your disciples...
Encourage them to continue in the faith...
Remind them that the many tribulation them must endure is not in vain...
All of it is worth it...
All of it is for a great purpose...
And all of it leads to the greatest of treasures...
A relationship with Your Son!
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Again, I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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It is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
To God be all the glory.
Amen.