Come and Follow Me
Notes
Transcript
The Cost of Discipleship
The Cost of Discipleship
Good morning all, I hope you all are well today.
A couple of things happening this week....
The Frank Swinney Memorial Coon hunt Friday evening at 530pm, it benefits our youth. If you want to give a donation in memory of Frank for the youth, see Lois or Debbie.
Men’s prayer breakfast at 8am Saturday morning. Men please come out, we need you more than ever.
October is passing by very quickly and the temperatures are getting cooler, hard to imagine how fast our days go by...
The trees are beautiful, but with that beauty comes death, soon the leaves will be gone off the trees and we will have grey hill sides until we see the new birth of spring coming our way.
That is the course of our time, it reminds me we must do our best to make the most of each day, time is running out!
I believe Jesus return will happen soon, I really think we are closing in on the finish line of life. So much is happening around us.
We must remain faithful my friends.
We must live for Jesus!
Today we come again to the 16th of the Gospel of Matthew and we are looking at a topic I believe is crucial for the day we live in… more so now than ever perhaps.
The Call to come and follow Jesus...
So lets turn there my friends, to verses 24 to 28 in Matthew 16
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? 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. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Now, without a doubt, we are at a timely passage. I think this is one that should be remembered each day.
Why?
Because we walk with the Lord Daily.... and it is important to remember Who He is and our place as His disciple.
So as Jesus and His disciples have traveled north in the previous passages to the regions of Cesarea Philipi, and as they are returning from that area Jesus continues to teach his disciples and otherss about being his disciple and nature of the journey life will be as they live for Him.
It is here that Jesus will give them one of the strongest metaphors for life.
So lets begin with this thought today
1. The Invitation is for All....
The greatest hope and truth for the world today is that Jesus welcomes all who come to Him by faith and repentance.
This is the message we carry to all the places we go… Jesus welcomes all!
It began with those 12, they in turn will share the gospel and call others to come and join them. As Jesus preached, as He ministered and the disciples along with him the numbers of people following grew and grew.
We see this all through church history.......
Look at what Jesus says here, verse 24
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Jesus is teaching his disciples here, we know this… but they are not alone. The other parallel gospel accounts of this event here also tell us there is a crowd around them, they are listening as well.
So Jesus will teach them as well… And so listen to what He says....
If anyone… Any person - if any man, woman, or child would come.... the invitation is universal, it is open to any person ....
Nationality doesn’t matter,
What you have believed in the past doesn’t matter.
All that matters is that a person come to Jesus by faith… if they will come, Jesus will receive them...
There is the freedom of the gospel, all are welcome...
Now lets move on...
Jesus says.... if anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up His cross and follow me.
I love what Jesus says… would come after me.... to come after - means to walk after, to walk as He walked… If anyone would come, if anyone makes the decision to follow, it is a life that is lived to do not His own will, but the will of the Father, the will of the one who sent him into the world.
Can you imagine, the disciples as they followed Jesus? What they saw, heard and what they learned.. Jesus invites people today to do the same, to walk with Him
To make that decision to let go of ourselves and to follow ...
To learn of Him… to grow and come away as the person He desires us to be...
Jesus has a plan for you, a marvelous plan to grow you, so that you can obtain the place in His Kingdom that He knows you are capable of
But the road isn’t always easy.
In fact He says: those who wish to follow must take up His cross in order to follow him.
When Jesus speaks of his disciples taking up their up their cross, He is taking about death…
We have talked a little about this before, when a person in the Roman era carried their cross, it meant they were going to be executed, they would be crucified and their bodies usually left there to rot until the bones fell off. It was a warning for all coming into these Romans occupied areas, towns and cities. Roman doesn’t mess around or tolerate criminal activity.
But here, Jesus is speaking symbolically, to take up our cross is the willingness to lay down our lives, literally we are dying to self and selfish ambition to take on Jesus
Paul said this in Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Everyone is welcome, Jesus says all who come by faith are received by the Savior.
And having been received, literally saved we are then to begin a life of following Jesus, but we must be willing to be second, to die to self and follow Jesus fully, no matter where He leads.
Let me stop right here and ask you a question: Have you lifted, taken your cross up and died to self? To your will, your voice, your plans and said Jesus! I want all of you and all of your plans for my life.
If you want life, you must have Jesus.
Now this brings us to my second through for today..
2. Give it All Away....
Friends, when we talk about being a disciple of the Lord Jesus, we come to the understanding pretty quickly that we are the student, we are the one who is learning....
We are one who is learning from Jesus.
Jesus has just said that following Him comes with a cost.
We do this with the intent of an exchange...
The cost isn’t a monetary number, no! The cost is your will, your life, your desires your plans..
Listen, Jesus is asking that we give up control of our lives, that we truly become second. He is not asking you to join the monastery, just laying aside every portion of your life.
What Jesus is asking you to allow Him to walk with you, and allow His ways, His purposes to supersede your own. That you, like He did - complete the will of the Father and his purposes in this world.
It is here we find the greatest fulfillment of life..
And Jesus builds upon this thought, Lets look at verses 25-26
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?
Here is a thought that we are normally not accustomed too....
We are taught to hold on to life, to grab all we can while we are able.... we are taught this is what a successful life looks like....
Society has taught us that work is the most important, and if we do not push for the most money, the most wealth then we have failed… Now Jesus is not saying you cannot make a good life for yourself, but when greed takes over we have failed.
But is this truly how life is or should be defined???.
Jesus says if you place your emphasis on this life, the physical. You miss the eternal and you miss Him, You miss the One who is Life
Instead He commands us to take hold of the eternal, make that your priority and that will teach you what true life is..
Do you remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Do you remember that passage… the pagans, the people who lives around the land worried if they would have enough.... When Jesus is our priority, He will take care of our life and do so abundantly....
Listen if you start with Jesus, you can never go wrong. Amen…
If you live for Jesus, in every way… Literally Jesus says at the end of verse 25, for my sake. For the sake of the Gospel. You find life....
Here is where your best life is found… living for Jesus and His purposes.
My friends this is the greatest challenge of life… You or Jesus. Your purposes or His Purposes..
Paul was one who had obtained a great deal of respect, a great deal of prestige , and listen to what He says...
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Truly, Paul says living for Christ is all that truly matters.
And look at what Jesus continues to say in verse 26
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?
Is there any profit for a person to have it all, but lose or forfeit their human soul.? It is interesting, Jesus introduces a business transactions model here.
It is like your total profits do not outweigh your debt, your sin debt cannot be overcome by self effort.
You may do well in this life but to still come up short… is the venture then really worth all the effort.. the answer is no.
The soul being saved, preserved is the greatest need of man, the only way to save it is to let go of yourself, humble yourself and ask Jesus for forgiveness and salvation.
There in is life...
Give away your life, your ambitions and your purposes and embrace His....
You will be surprised at what you find when you take hold of Jesus…
Now just one last thought today my friends...
Here is the last truth we must hold onto today....
3. Time is Running Out....
If there is a certain truth I can share with you today my friends, it is this...
Time is running out.
There is only 24 hours in a day, and the days are passing quickly...
We are only here for a certain period of time, and along with that truth, we know that Jesus is coming again. Each moment moves us closer to that point in time.
It moves us closer to His second coming and yes, either we will experience that or death..
Lets continue and look at the last two verses
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. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Jesus voluntarily left His place beside the Father (all the splendor, all the wonder of heaven) to take on His humble state as the Son of Man.
Jesus is the Messiah, the one who the Old Testament prophesied was coming… and He did.
But He is emphatic here, He is coming again … Jesus is speaking about the soon coming future.
He will be killed, be buried and rise again … and we know form Acts 1:9-11 ascended back to the Father in heaven...
9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Now, Jesus is speaking to that future time of His second coming back into the world.
Jesus says He will come soon with the angels in the glory of His Father. The glory He will once again display and His return is with purpose.
Coming with the angels, with the most radiant display of the Father’s glory, with power and might, the King will return.
And in His return, Jesus says He will repay each person according to what He has done....
Think about the times in Scripture were Jesus told the parable of the the Master, the owner of the property or business who left his employees in charge. He went away and told them He would return… and when they least expected it, the Master did and settled all the accounts
Jesus says that here...He will be the final judge, the phrase “according to what He has done speaks to every action, practice that occurs along the way of life.
For every thought, word and deed or even the failure to speak or act… all will be judged. And Jesus, King Jesus will be Judge!
This truth is affirmed in both the Old Testament and the New Testament… Jesus will be the judge of all people.
Even the church!
Remember my friends, we are saved but we will be judged ( certain judgment) for the deeds done in the body where good or bad 2 Cor 5:10.
Let me stop here and ask...
What do we have in our life that Jesus is pleased about....
And what about those things He is not pleased about...
Time is running out, cast of those fleshly chains that hinder and hurt you.
Cast them off so that when we do stand before the Lord, saved and knowing He is pleased with the way we have lived in front of others and God.
Cast off all that will stop you from following Him freely.
Time is running out....
The call is to come and follow Jesus.
And the call is to invite others to do the same....
Let’s pray!
Time is running out
Son of Man in coming