A DIFFICULT PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE: WE NOW FOLLOW JESUS EXCLUSIVELY
Matthew 16.24-25
S: Following Jesus
C: Commitment
Th: Never the Same Again
Pr: PASSIONATELY PURSUE FULL DEVOTION TO JESUS.
?: How? How do we do it?
KW: Instructions
TS: We will find in Matthew 16 three instructions that show us how to pursue full devotion to Jesus.
CV: “We will passionately pursue full devotion to Jesus Christ.”
Type: Propositional
I. LAY DOWN
II. LIFT UP
III. LIVE OUT
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Follow Him – He is the Lord!
• Fulfill the mission!
• Focus on giving the opportunity.
Version: ESV
RMBC 07 September 08 AM
INTRODUCTION:
I was in a church yesterday performing a wedding for someone outside our church.
And one of their pamphlets caught my attention.
They were advertizing “lite church.”
Not light, but lite.
It reminded me of a cartoon I once saw…
ILL Commitment (H)
"The LITE CHURCH: 24% fewer commitments, home of the 7½% tithe, 15 minute sermons, 45 minute services; we have only 8 commandments — your choice, and we have an 800 year millennium. Next week’s exciting text is the story of the feeding of the 500. Everything you’ve wanted in a church … and less.
We may find that humorous, but the concept of making things “liter” is not all that funny.
And it does reveal a truth to us…
The Christian faith is not meant to be casual, convenient, or comfortable.
If we come to church on Sunday morning, looking for and getting an experience with God, that is a good thing.
But let me tell you, if there is no commitment to Jesus on Monday morning, there is a huge disconnect that has taken place.
Worship is not meant for us, but for God.
It is an opportunity for us to get our hearts right with God.
It is an opportunity to connect with what we were made for.
ILL Apathy (S)
Ronald Meredith, in his book Hurryin’ Big for Little Reasons, describes one quiet night in early spring:
Suddenly out of the night came the sound of wild geese flying. I ran to the house and breathlessly announced the excitement I felt. What is to compare with wild geese across the moon?
It might have ended there except for the sight of our tame mallards on the pond. They heard the wild call they had once known. The honking out of the night sent little arrows of prompt¬ing deep into their wild yes¬terdays. Their wings flut¬tered a feeble response. The urge to fly - to take their place in the sky for which God made them - was sounding in their feath¬ered breasts, but they never raised from the water.
The matter had been set¬tled long ago. The corn of the barnyard was too tempt¬ing! Now their desire to fly only made them uncomfort¬able.
Like the ducks, we are made to fly, as well as swim in the pond.
If it is our desire to live casually, conveniently, and comfortably, we will end up with something less than what we are made for.
We are going to miss the exhilaration of flight.
In the same way…
When we decide to follow Jesus, it is “never the same again.”
That is our theme for discipleship emphasis, and you are seeing it on posters all about the church.
The theme is reflective of the familiar verse, II Corinthians 5.17:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
When we experience God’s grace, He brings change to our lives.
We become “in Christ.”
And the new life we receive revolutionizes us.
It is never the same again.
In fact, the change continues.
There is a continuing renewal of the new nature as it works to give the old self last place.
We play a role in this renewal.
We keep letting go of the old and grabbing onto the new, because we are made to fly.
Let me put this concept into an exhortation…
PASSIONATELY PURSUE FULL DEVOTION TO JESUS.
So how do we do that?
That’s the question we want to answer.
And we are going to Matthew 16 to find it where there are three instructions that show us how to pursue full devotion to Jesus.
OUR STUDY:
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Did that sound easy?
No, it does not.
It is not supposed to sound easy.
It is not supposed to sound easy, because it is not easy.
The plan is difficult.
So, let’s go over these instructions…
I. LAY DOWN
We are instructed to deny self.
So what is self-denial all about?
It does not mean that you give up something.
It is not like Lent – giving up a bad habit, or something you really enjoy like chocolate, or like giving up wearing your Tasmanian Devil slippers.
The word deny here as the idea of completely disowning something.
It is the idea of utterly separating oneself.
So what do we disown?
We need to let go of our independence.
Self-denial means renouncing our right to ourselves.
It means laying down the right to rule our own lives.
It means turning from our selfish ways.
It means giving up on…
• self-righteousness
• self-centeredness
• self-interest
• self-confidence
• self-importance
• self-indulgence
• self-opinion
• self-reliance
• self-satisfaction
• self-sufficiency.
But you know what?
Self does not like to be denied.
This is hard work.
This is a difficult plan.
In order to pursue full devotion to Jesus, the second instruction is…
II. LIFT UP
We need to take up the cross.
To understand what this cross is Jesus refers to, we need to talk about what it isn’t.
It is not your husband or wife.
It is not your children.
It is not your nutty neighbor.
It is not your difficulties, your health or the bad situations you face in life.
We say “that’s my cross to bear,” but it is not!
That is not what Jesus meant.
The cross is more than a place of suffering.
It is a place of death!
Today the cross is an accepted symbol of love and sacrifice.
But if you lived back in New Testament times, you would think much differently.
In that day, the cross was a horrible means of capital punishment.
In fact, it was so horrible, that no Roman citizen would mention the cross in polite society.
It was such a terrible means to execute a criminal, no Roman citizen was allowed to die this way.
To take up the cross, then, means to identify with Christ in His rejection, shame, suffering, and death.
So…
We need to live as dead men.
Lifting up the cross…
Taking up the cross…
It is a choice.
Cross bearing is not a circumstance or something that is placed on you.
Cross bearing is the choice you make when you decide to allow Jesus to be Lord of your life and you are willing to turn your back on the things of this world in order to lift up the cause of Christ.
You lift a cross when you choose to faithfully follow the words of God regardless of public opinion – regardless of what your fellow students or fellow co-workers think.
You lift a cross when you choose to forgo your rights to be first - so that you may serve others.
You lift a cross when you choose to sacrifice your wants for the needs of the kingdom.
Lifting up the cross…this is no small thing.
For when Jesus took up the cross, there was no turning back.
He had continual opportunity to reject the way of the cross, but over and over again, He refused.
He took the cross, because He knew, in the end, it was worth it.
We need to live with the same conviction.
In order to pursue full devotion to Jesus, the third instruction is…
III. LIVE OUT
Jesus said to follow Him.
What He asks us to do here takes genuine courage.
To live out the Christian faith to completion is not for sissies.
Because…
We will follow His lead, no matter where He takes us.
It has been said that Jesus promised His disciples three things – that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy and in constant trouble.
It is a difficult plan.
But we keep on following.
It is continual.
And we are willing to be led, no matter where He leads us.
We are willing to be led into places that we don’t understand.
Why?
Because we love Jesus and nothing else matters!
So…
If your Christianity is dull and boring, if it’s a burden and not a blessing, then most likely your involved in a project, not a Person; a system, not a Savior; rules, rather that a relationship.
This is why we…
PASSIONATELY PURSUE FULL DEVOTION TO JESUS.
We love Jesus.
Nothing else matters!
CHALLENGE:
The series for our discipleship emphasis is centered on our church values.
If you have been around here for the past year, you know the leadership teams have been working diligently on accurately stating our values.
Values are important, for they affect us as a church.
They affect us, because we act on what we value.
The value that has been the center of our study today is…
“We will passionately pursue full devotion to Jesus Christ.”
Do you know what that statement tells us?
Our faith is about relationship!
Our faith is about a relationship with Jesus.
It is a relationship, that when it begins, we are never the same again.
When I became a Christian at 11 years old, I was no longer living for me.
I understood this.
I had purpose.
I was living for Jesus.
I was telling my friends about Jesus.
They thought I was a bit nutty.
But, by the time I was out of high school, many of my closest friends were committed to Jesus – Doug, Scott, Bill and Steve.
It was a good thing, especially for Bill, who was senselessly murdered in a gas station robbery.
Do you have that relationship?
Are you passionate for Jesus?
Is He what you long for?
Are you pursuing Jesus?
Are you keeping after Him?
Is it easy?
No way!
Is it difficult?
Yes way!
Why do it, then?
Because it is absolutely worth it.
Absolutely!
Paul reflects this pursuit in Philippians 3.12-14:
(12) Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. (13) Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, (14) I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Nothing is more important, folks, than being all-out for Jesus.
So there is only one response…
Follow Him – He is the Lord!
And do you know what it takes.
It takes courage.
It takes commitment.
ILL Commitment (S)
Tim Bowden, in his book One Crowded Hour about cameraman Neil Davis, tells about an incident that happened in Borneo during the confrontation between Malaysia and Indonesia in 1964. A group of Gurkhas from Nepal were asked if they would be willing to jump from transport planes into combat against the Indonesians if the need arose. The Gurkhas had the right to turn down the request because they had never been trained as paratroopers. Bowden quotes Davis’s account of the story:
"Now the Gurkhas usually agreed to anything, but on this occasion they provisionally rejected the plan. But the next day one of their NCO’s sought out the British officer who made the request and said they had discussed the matter further and would be prepared to jump under certain conditions.
“What are they?” asked the British officer.
"The Gurkhas told him they would jump if the land was marshy or reasonably soft with no rocky out-crops, because they were inexperienced in falling. The British officer considered this, and said that the dropping area would almost certainly be over jungle, and there would not be rocky outcrops, so that seemed all right. Was there anything else?
"Yes, said the Gurkhas. They wanted the plane to fly as slowly as possible and no more than one hun¬dred feet high. The British officer pointed out the planes always did fly as slowly as possible when dropping troops, but to jump from one hundred feet was impossible, because the parachutes would not open in time from that height.
“Oh,” said the Gurkhas, “that’s all right, then. We’ll jump with parachutes anywhere. You didn’t mention parachutes before!”
We need to have that kind of Gurkha-like commitment and courage.
When we passionately pursue full devotion to Jesus, we do so to accomplish a greater purpose.
We set aside our personal desires and wants, and pursue what Jesus wants of us.
We spend time praying – individually and corporately – so that we can discover and submit to His will.
You see, the question is not whether God is speaking.
He is speaking.
The question is, are we listening?
When we listen, we discover the mission.
And what do we do with the mission?
We…
Fulfill the mission!
Our mission is outward, not inward.
We have come to recognize here at Randal that we have spent too much time maintaining the programs and ministries of Randall without evaluating their effectiveness.
We tend to keep things the way they are because we are comfortable with them that way.
We have invited people to come in and be like us.
We have invited people to join the Randall culture.
But what we are discovering is that Willy and Wilma Williamsville are not interested in coming or joining.
We need to rethink.
We need to think and act differently.
We need an outward focus.
We are not here to please ourselves.
We are here to please God, be fully devoted to Jesus, which we do by fulfilling the mission.
Are we ready to be a missional church?
We are called to be missionaries to our culture.
Why?
So people will hear.
This is why on our last Sunday during discipleship emphasis, Oct. 12, we will be doing something entirely different.
In the morning, we will be doing, The Church Has Left the Building.
We have a team that is formulating opportunities of witness and service across our community for us to participate on that Sunday morning.
Then we will reconvene for a meal and time of testimony of the events of the morning.
You know, we know that we can’t save anybody.
That is God’s job.
But here is what we can do…
Focus on giving the opportunity.
It should be our goal, as a church, to give every man, woman and child an opportunity to hear and understand the gospel.
That’s our assignment.
And when we are passionately pursuing full devotion to Jesus, we will settle for nothing less.
For Further Study: Joshua 22.5, 23.8; II Chronicles 16.9; Psalm 23.1-6, 40.8; Matthew 6.33, 20.26-28; John 12.26
Romans 6.11, 12.1-2; Galatians 2.20; Philippians 2.5-8; Hebrews 12.1
BENEDICTION:
Are you fully devoted to Jesus?
If that is a need of yours today, I will be available to you down here in the front after the postlude has concluded.
Be passionate about Jesus.
Pursue Jesus.
Be fully devoted to Jesus.
And be determined to fulfill His mission for us.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
COMMUNION:
Note what we have sung so far in preparation for our time at the table…
We started out with:
Crown Him the Lord of love,
behold His hands and side,
Those wounds, yet visible above,
in beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky
can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends his burning eye
at mysteries so bright.
Right in the heart of the choir’s number were these powerful words that describe the work of Jesus on our behalf:
Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didst me
Upon the cross embrace;
For me didst nails and spear
And manifold disgrace.
Then just now we sang:
King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I’m weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath
I’ll bring You more than just a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart
I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about You
All about You, Jesus
I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about You
It’s all about You Jesus
I hope you know Jesus today, for there is nothing greater.
We are here today, because it is all about Jesus.
If you know Jesus today, you are invited to share in the elements of the table.
You do not have to be a member of our church, but we do ask that you know Jesus and have a relationship with Him.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
PRAYER – Rich
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
PRAYER – Troy
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Prayer for offering
(note separate love offering for Pastor Lewis)
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral
Blount, Stuart Following the Leader
Hamby, John Principles of Discipleship
Huffman, Ewan How Can I Make the Most of the Rest of My Life?
Johnson, Travis Casual Faith or Committed Faith?
Tison, Alan Shift
Other
Robertson, Archibald Thomas. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament: Broadman Press, 1985.
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament. Colorado Springs: ChariotVictor Publishing, 1989.
