Not a Begging Savior

Our story tonight is a little different. Jesus is almost turning followers away in what we’re going to look at tonight. But wait, isn’t Jesus begging for people to follow Him? No. He’s definitely not. If you have to be begged to follow him then you’re likely not ready.

We’re going to see people come to Jesus saying they are ready to follow Him and Jesus respond with discouraging statements to them. He wanted them to count the cost before they began to follow him. We have to count that cost as well and be sure we’re ready to pay it. But, if you understand what Jesus did for you, if you truly love Him, if you believe his Word, you’ll be ready to pay it.

Read and tell the story as you read it.

Followers of Jesus are called to humbly and completely replace their mission with Jesus' mission in their hearts.

Jesus knows your heart.

Better than even you. So don’t try to hide it from him!

I really like baseball. I always loved playing, I love playing old man softball now. Watching on TV isn’t the most exciting thing, but being around the game is great.

There’s a play I was reminded of when was thinking about this story, the hidden ball trick. There are different ways to do it...

Here’s one example of it happening in a game… (show clip of hidden ball trick)

It actually happened to a team I was playing for in little league one time, all the parents got really mad at the other coach!

I think we try to do this to Jesus with our hearts sometimes...

These three guys were not making crazy requests. It seems like Jesus is being kind of harsh here.

But Jesus knows what is really going on in their hearts. He knows that they are really trying to split their faith between Jesus and worldly things, or even worse, they may be trying to juke Jesus.

1 Chronicles 28:9a ESV

“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

1 Chronicles 28:9

And there are so many times where Jesus knows what’s going on in people’s hearts. We cannot hide anything from Him.

Don’t think that you can tell Jesus you’re going to follow him but secretly hold something back.

“but I’m still going to do whatever it takes to be popular.”

When I was in eighth grade I literally said to myself one time that I was going to give everything to Jesus except my sexual desire.

Don’t think you can follow him only for your own reasons and Him not know about it.

Jesus tells the first guy that he’ll be homeless if he follows Him. Maybe the guy was coming to Jesus thinking it would give him a plush life.

If you come to Jesus looking for rewards, you have come for the wrong thing. Jesus is the reward! The only reward you need!

People will tell me sometimes that they keep praying and asking God for things, not even bad things, but asking for things and God doesn’t give them. You’re heart is in the wrong spot! You just need Jesus, not this other stuff!

The world tells us to follow our hearts, but God says that’s not the best idea.

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Instead, you should love God with your whole heart, not keeping anything from Him!

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It’s humbling to know God knows our hearts, knows our every thought. But that’s good, because Jesus calls us to be humble.

Jesus calls us to be humble.

We have to stop thinking of ourselves first and think of him first.

This is the fourth story in a line of Jesus stories that are all about being humble. The first is

An argument between the disciples about which of them is the greatest in verses 46-48.

Then John is upset or jealous that there are people besides them doing work in Jesus’ name in verses 49-50.

Next the disciples get their feelings hurt and want to call down fire from Heaven on a city that rejected them in verses 51-56.

The call to follow Jesus is a call to let go of seeking things for ourselves first. We have to lay our pride down. If we boast, we boast in Jesus. Stop seeking your own power, your own popularity, your own advancement, your own vengeance, your own gain.

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 2306 How to See Growth in Christ

Dr. Bonar once said that he could tell when a Christian was growing. In proportion to his growth in grace he would elevate his Master, talk less of what he himself was doing, and become smaller and smaller in his own esteem, until, like the morning star, he faded away before the rising sun.

—D. L. Moody

Jesus is our example of humility.

The Creator of the universe was homeless in his own creation. That’s humility and sacrifice. He divested himself of all the glories and privileges of Heaven to enter creation homeless.

–Thabiti Anyabwile

This is not usually an example we really want to follow though. It’s kind of like when you’re a little kid at the pool and you and your friend are going to go jump off the high dive. They go first and you watch them go up, jump off, and hit the water flat. They don’t even sink at first, they just lay on top of the water. Then you’re like, nah, I’m good. I don’t need to follow that example!

That’s how some people feel when they look at Jesus’ humility! But when you are truly following Him and loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you love it. You begin to have the attitude of John the Baptist.

John 3:30 ESV

He must increase, but I must decrease.”

When someone does you wrong, you don’t have to worry about it because you’re about making much of Jesus, not yourself.

When you don’t get that spot on the team or you don’t make All West, that stinks, but it’s ok because that’s not where your main focus is.

When you don’t get the new Galaxy coming out, it’s ok because that’s not what you want more that anything, that’s Jesus. And also, you know the iPhone is better anyway!

When you humble yourself before Christ and put him first, you lay down your mission and you pick up his mission. His mission is what matters. And that’s what these four stories about being humble are leading to. At the beginning of chapter ten Jesus sends his disciples out on his mission, telling people about the Gospel.

Jesus sends you on mission.

Following Jesus means you actually have to move! He doesn’t stay still! So many people think they just keep on doing what they are doing when they follow Jesus. You may continue in the same hobbies and activities and jobs, but your motivation completely changes. Your goals completely change. Your mission has completely changed! Following someone means you are moving!

Kristen and I were following my step-mom somewhere last week and she was flying! I mean it was like she was trying to qualify for Daytona on back roads in Munford! Screaming around turns, taking off from stop signs. She even sped by a school bus that was letting kids out! I had to move to follow her! I couldn’t just sit there! And I had to be focussed, like squinting to focus to see her car as it got farther and farther away!

If we are going to follow Jesus we can’t continue on doing the same things we’ve always done, in the same way we’ve always done them! Christ has given us a new mission!

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

1 Peter 2:9

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

And to do this mission well, we have to make it our main focus. We must be totally committed to it. Everything we do is about the mission.

Jesus tells the last guy who comes after him that no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for his Kingdom.

The plow means there is work, the work is the mission Jesus sends them on in the next verse.

Here’s what Jesus means, if you aren’t focussed on the one you are following then you won’t do well with the mission.

Get a volunteer, set some candy up on one side of the room, stand with the volunteer on the other side of the room. Have them try to get the candy while looking at you.

You’ve got to be focussed on Jesus to do well on his mission.

This does not mean that you’re supposed to abandon your family! (Or skip your parents funerals, or be homeless for that matter). Jesus’ point is that your heart must be first and foremost his.

It has to be for his mission, to spread the Gospel to the world.

This isn’t easy. Every time I go on a trip, but especially a mission trip for some reason, I hate leaving my family. I hate thinking about what I’m missing, I hate thinking about Kristen being there without me having to take care of the kids, or whoever it is taking care of them. And I just miss having them around! It’s a struggle, but I try to make myself focus on Jesus and the mission He’s given to me and his church. I ask God to help me with it.

All of Jesus’ followers must do this. If you are a follower of Jesus, you have to do this, because this mission He’s given us, of delivering the Gospel to the world, it’s a matter of everlasting life and everlasting death.

If you call yourself a follower of Jesus then you are called to humbly and completely replace your mission with Jesus' mission in you heart.

Are you being obedient to this?

If you’re not a Christian, you’re probably thinking, “this is a terrible sales pitch, why would I want this?” Because you were made to follow Jesus. That’s why whatever else you do will ultimately leave you unsatisfied. You were made for Jesus, to be in a relationship with God. But sin has broken that...