Sermon Tone Analysis

In following Jesus, count the cost.

mk 10:

Christianity is more than a get out of jail free pass.

mk 10:38

Illus: The way we talk about Jesus shows much of what we believe about him.

Lately in christian culture our songs have focused on the love of God, often painting him as a a desperate lover pursuing us.

Sermons in recent years have talked about how God is going to bless you, and communicate all the benefits of being a christian.

AS churches we employ a sneaky bait and switch program telling people all that God gives them but never communicating the whole picture.

Jesus was famous for running off crowds.

Frankly Jesus would probably be fired from most baptist churches for what would be considered an ineffective outreach program.

Jesus taught the whole picture.

He did not sugar coat the gospel, but communicated openly that the call to follow God was a call to die to yourself.

It was the call to voluntary slavery.

It was the call to complete surrender embracing a life of persecution and pain.

Generally when Jesus offered an invitation there was not a Billy Graham crowd that came forward, but instead there was a Billy Graham size crowd that walked away.

Why, because Jesus called people to count the cost.

Following Jesus means embracing the cost as well as the gain.

Illus: As a pastor my wife and I have learned a little bit about house shopping.

The idea of house shopping seems romantic as a realitor takes you from place to place and you dream of what your life would look like in the new dwelling.

You walk into one, and see the kitchen, and another the master bedroom.

But what we have learned is that the realtor's job is to get you into the biggest house possible to get the largest commission.

They may say, I know you haven’t found the perfect house yet, have you considered expanding your price range up so that we can look at a new tier of houses?

What Jennifer and I learned in the process of buying a house is to count the cost.

Our starting place is not to begin with what the creditor would lone us, but instead to sit with our budget and ask what we would be willing to pay.

When you buy a house you don’t just get the home to live in, you also get the mortgage to pay, the taxes, the air conditioning costs, the repair work… you get the point.

Jesus does not call people to make emotional one time reactions, he calls them to a thoughtful lifetime step of faith.

In following Jesus, check your privilege at the door.

We think far to highly of ourselves.

Illus: Have you noticed how dissatisfied with are with the world around us?

We complain about everything.

If a meal is not right we complain, if the temperature is not right we complain.

If it rains we complain, if it doesn’t rain we complain.

If someone does something we disagree with, we complain… why?

We complain because we have made our own comfort and preferences idols we worship.

Biblical Christianity teaches that we should consider ourselves nothing, that we check our rights and privileges at the door.

The picture scripture gives of believers is that the longer you follow Christ, the less you should think of your self, the more you should serve, and the greater you should consider the needs of others and the sacrifice of Jesus.

(within the context of our story)

Embracing Jesus means putting ourselves to death.

Illus: I remember one time sitting in a hospital waiting room as one of my church members was having surgery.

A church member looked at me and said, “I understand that we are supposed to do these missions things, and reach our community, but pastor when is this church going to do something for me.”

“I mean I’ve been in this church a long time and I believe I am due”

Take for a moment that I had been sitting there with this person for 4 hours during the surgery of her husband, I held my tongue.

She believed deep down that her time in the church was like paying into a social club, the longer you serve, the more you give, the more you are due.

That is anti biblical.

The Bible teaches the exact opposite.

It teaches that the longer you follow Christ, the less you demand, and the more you put yourself to death.

In following Jesus, be like Jesus.

Choose servanthood.

Illus: How much of your time is church is about what you get? From bible studies to the sermon most time spent in the church is spent absorbing the work of others on our behalf.

As we grow older, more mature in Christ, we should move from people coming to Jesus demanding what we want from Jesus to asking how we might serve him.

In life, what is most of your time spent doing, is your time spent with others serving you, or with you serving others?

In your family, do you come to your family expecting others to serve you or in the service of them?