Would I follow Jesus if It cost me everything?

Good morning! I am glad to be with you. It’s been fun coming each and every single month just opening Gods word together and studying it.

As I thought and prayed about what to say this morning I had a lot of different thoughts.

Whether you know it or not it’s a challenge coming in here and sharing. You guys are easy to love but you are also well versed. Like you know the Bible.

You have great pastors, student pastors, teachers.....you have to take test on this stuff

Often when I tell people I am coming to speak at WCA I say it with a little fear and trembling. I question what’s going happening? Can anything really happening?

Like what could I say that you haven’t heard dozens of times? So as I prayed and as I pondered what today might look like I decided I’d share my heart a little with you.

I’ve often been fascinated with Time travel. Like I can watch any time travel show there is. Show timeless a few years ago awesemoe. Back to the future favorite movies

And so many different things that involve time travel I love.

There’s a comendian who my friend Justin(youth pastor) told me about recently had really good perspecitve

He said with his knowledge if he traveld back to the 20s he’d probably have no impact.

they asked him who was the next president he said Licoln.

They say that already happen and he would just be stuck working a normal job

but really its’ fascinating right

Like we deal with failure, disappointment, broken dreams all the time. Pain. and I wonder how much of our present or our past would we change if we could?

I asked my 10 year old that last night. She is amazing a true inspiriation to me

had her first track meet yestreday. I’m like alright we are a track school. She was sooo nervous. we were to

ran her first event it went okay

then she ran the 800....that’s a tough event for a 4th grader to run. after first 200 she’s in the back half of pack

after 400 she’s in last. and THE GAP grew

man our hearts were breaking. We thought she was going give up. We thought she was done. We were so devestated for her. ANyone who runs track knows this is kind of a nightmare scenrio. everyone finishes and she has the last 100 to go. So the whole crowd is focused on her

She didn’t stop running. She kept going and finished the race

and I asked her last night if you could travel back in time knowning what you know now would you tell yourself not to run....in fact not to do track at all.

She thought about it......and said no. I love running and racing and it was worth it.

man I dont’ know. That’s mature. Told her I was proud of her. Shes ready for the next meet

but it’s a great quesiton right?

At SLU 101 they ask a question in the dream session:

If you could do anything in the world and money wasn’t an issue and you knew you wouldn’t fail what would it be?

ANd then you dream right? Like you think about that with all of the hopes in the world. You have this moment of inspiration. And some people leave that room and they do it.

but others they leave the room and they either drop it....maybe discouragement or fear

or maybe you try it and you fail......and you ask the quesion Know what?

It’s a fair question right

Like we all love the Stories in the Bible about the sea parting, or the dead being raised to life, or the storm being calmed

but what happens when the sea doesnt part? When the storm isn’t calemed, when it feels like things don’t turn out the way we would imagine?

what happens when we are faced with the possiblity of losing everything?

We are told by James that we should in suffering this should be who we consider:

English Standard Version Chapter 5

10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take qthe prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of rthe steadfastness of Job, and you have seen sthe purpose of the Lord, how tthe Lord is compassionate and merciful.

man I don’t know someitmes when I read the stories of Job and I don’t really want to have that happen. Sure he lost sheep. But he lost his people. He lost his family. He LOST EVERYTHING.

and He said the Lord gives and takes away. Bless his name.

but that’s who james says to look at to see the compassion and mercy of God.

that’s hard at times right?

and as I have had this thought in my mind and heart the Lord just brought me back to stephens story in Acts

You know it

The church is growing

Gods moving

Revial is breaking out and then in we are introudced to Stephen

English Standard Version Chapter 6

mTherefore, brothers,2 pick out from among you seven men nof good repute, ofull of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But pwe will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, qa man full of faith and rof the Holy Spirit

sounds awesome

We are told he is

Full of the Spirit

Full of wisdom

and Full of Faith

sounds like a great guy

and then we know the story right.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

8 And Stephen, full of grace and zpower, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But athey could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then bthey secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they cset up false dwitnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against ethis holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth fwill destroy this place and will gchange hthe customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face iwas like the face of an angel.

Grace and Power

wonders and sings

this is the kind of person I want to be

Like I think if stephen had gone to SLU he probably thought one day I want to be like Peter and want to be like Jesus

I want to teach, heal, be full of Gods power

This is a pretty awesome life.

and the relgious leaders couldn’t even stand a chance against him.

SO they lied. Made up roomers. but yet the council saw his face and it looked like and angel.

He responds. Gives one of the most awesome presentions of the gospel

THings are going well.

But then they take a turn. A really bad one.

English Standard Version Chapter 7

54 Now when they heard these things lthey were enraged, and they mground their teeth at him. 55 But he, nfull of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw othe glory of God, and Jesus standing pat the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see qthe heavens opened, and rthe Son of Man standing pat the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together2 at him. 58 Then sthey cast him out of the city and tstoned him. And uthe witnesses laid down their garments vat the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, whe called out, “Lord Jesus, xreceive my spirit.” 60 And yfalling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, z“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ahe fell asleep.

It leads me to another question: A question I wonder if stephen ever had in this moment.

“HOw do you respond to the possiblity of dying becasue you were a follower of Jesus?”

I love to write. I love to read what I’ve wrtten before. I think I connect to God really well becasue of that.

I love to read what others have written.

ONe of the strangest sources for me is always my high school year books.

So I brought some and I wanted to read some of the funny ones

JB

Jon SUmmarall

Katie hover-

Potetial- I still know her. Part of me wants to walk up to her at church on Sunday and let her read it and be like so how am I doing?

but another place I go often is my journals.

I remember Zach Johnson sharing wtih me once how he journaled thorugh acts and it wasa life changin

SO back in 2013 I tried. I knew I had hit acts 7....So let me read it to you

HMMM the last 3 words

RISK IS RIGHT

It lead me to start praying a prayer weekly.

It was this....some of you have heard me reference it before

Jesus whatever you have for my future my YES is on the Table

At the beginng of this journal I wrote this

IT’s a great question It’s the kind of Fatih I wanted to have and still do desire to have

started to dream big

but that yes be on the table has ebbed and flowed through the years. It’s lead me to do things I would have never done if it wasn’t on the table

but it also led me to disappoint people

I failed at times to follow

I failed at times with follow through

I remeber during “my yes is on the table season”

It was trendy and poplur to plant churches in unreached cites across the US

and I remeber videdly writing in my SLU 101 journal. My dream session

If i could do anything I’d plant a church in New York that would plant churches

I made phone calls. We starting praying about places to live.

We felt like we were doing everything Jesus wanted us to do. But it never happened.

It feels like we failed.

and in some ways it seemed like Jesus took it off the table. Door after door closed. And we didn’t go

It felt like a shattered dream

what was exciting, hopeful, inspiring just didn’t happen. Maybe one day it will maybe it wont’ but in this moment I share that with you becasue It’s a fair quesiton

what happens when the door doesn’t open? What happens when your dreams fail? what happens when you come in last?

Listen. I am a Bama guy. And I’m the worst kind of Bama guy. I pull for Bama to win always. ANd aurubn to lose everyitng

but something changed this eyar. I started really loving Auburn Basketball and Bruce pearl.

Went as far as buying and auburn shirt. Which I am going give everyone in this room some info on that

first be careful. You marry into a bama family you need to know this won’t be recived well

I bought 2

One was a fight agaisnt cancer shirt. I still got in trouble

# 2 Like it’s wierd being an auburn fan

Like people just passing by me “war eagle” I’m not sure how to respond. Like do they know. I’m kinda just a basketball fan.

But i’m bought in

and I was standing for the whole second half. I was ready to roll toomers conner

and then they lost. I was heartbroken

but I love Bruce pearls respnonse

"Sometimes they're going to go your way, sometimes they're not going to go your way. Are we going to give God less glory because we lost and ... only because we win? Stop. Grow up, this is part of the game. These kids taught us, I think, in many, many ways how to handle defeat and that's a difficult thing to do for these young kids and I'm proud of them."

Like what a profound thoguht. Do we only give God glory when things go our way?

When the sea parts?

When the storm is calm?

Or od we consider the streadfastness of Job who when his dreams where shattered he said blessed be the name of the lord

or even stephen

who was about to lose his life and in that moment he says

I SEE JESUS

He saw the glory of God

I know you looked at last week

Love Shd Meschach and abendog

They when being faced with being thrown in the fire Say

Even if He doesnt rescue us he is still God

I love that statement

Even if....

things don’t go my way

the miricale doesn’t happen

The prayer isn’t answered in the way we wanted

The dream is shattered

He is still God

and He is still good

How do we get there? How to we get to the place of the people in the Bible and the people in our life who have this perspecitve?

I think it only happens when Jesus is our greatest tresaure. when we treasure him above life, stuff, dreams, prayers, circumstances

and when he is our greatest treasure we can say Jesus wahtever the cost is my YES is on the table

something new

It’s changed. something the Lord has shifted in my perspective. I can get so lost in the future....but really all I am guarnteed is today

so my new prayer is this my Yes is on the table for today.

Help me walk in obedience today

Help me love like you today

Help me be present with the people you have for me today. That will be enough

and I’ll end with this thought.

I dont’ know where you are at

But if you going for it. YOu are chasing after your dream. Keep leaning in. It may not play out excactly how you thought it would a few years back but if you are walking with Jesus it will be owrth it

If your dreams have shattered....I’m so sorry. It’s hard. But he is still God and still good

he loves you, he wants you and he is faithful

recicve that today

Let’s pray