As always, we start with a question:
What do you do, who do you know, or where do you go, that you know in your heart you shouldn’t do, know, or go?
Let me remind you of something:
It does not matter where you go, or in some people’s lives, where they try and hide.
God is still with you.
He knows everything you do; He hears everything you say; and He sees exactly where you are.
Jesus wants you to be His disciple,
God wants you to move forward in your faith,
but perhaps in order for you to move forward, really move forward, it’s time for you to leave behind whatever it is that is holding you back.
Tonight is our communion service, when we remember the sacrifice of Jesus on your behalf...
Is there something you need to sacrifice for Him?
Is there something you need to sacrifice for to draw closer to Him?
Is there something you need to sacrifice to move forward in your faith?
The sacrifice, or the cost, of being a follower of Jesus, is that you have to be willing to turn your back on certain things of this world.
What things am I talking about?
Anything in your life that keeps you from being fully devoted to Christ needs to be sacrificed.
So, What do you do, who do you know, or where do you go that you know in your heart you shouldn’t do, know, or go?
Could it be that you are in a situation that you should not be taking part in as a Christian?
Maybe its something else...
Perhaps you just don’t find going to church interesting enough anymore,
Perhaps you need to rest on a Sundays because you have been so busy all week long.
And God knows your heart... Yes, He knows your heart maybe better than you know it yourself.
Are you allowing Satan to steer you away from moving forward in your faith?
Jesus wants you to be a faithful follower, and He expects you to take the responsibilities of being a disciple seriously.
I wonder how willing we are to do it His way. ====
What are you willing to Sacrifice for Jesus?
I’m asking you to make a choice, a real choice.
Not just good intentions, not just thinking about it.
Actually doing it!
Is Jesus close enough to the center of your heart, that you love Him enough to really take a step forward, do you care enough about the Lord to leave stuff behind and move forward?
Are you willing to place God as the main focus of your heart, your mind, your life?
Peter walked on the water, yet when he took his focus off Jesus, he began to sink.
Remember Jesus didn’t immediately reach out and save Peter. Peter had to ask for help first, and as soon as He did, he received it.
Sometimes, stuff in our lives can seem so huge,
we want situations to change, we don’t know what to do.
So often, we focus on the problem and forget the bigger picture.
That big picture shows us that God IS in control, even when we don’t know what to do.
We are His children.
God has promised to protect us and heal us.
All we have to do is turn to God, to trust Him, He will direct our steps.
Throughout the Bible, God promises us over and over again that if we go to Him, He will come to us.
God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. His promises are unchanging.
His truth remains unchanged.
God continues to help those who rely on Him just as He has promised.
If your focus is not on God, then what are you focussing on?
For many people in this world,
their focus is themselves,
their comfort, their career, their family,
their hobbies, their wants, their needs,
their desires, their agenda, their time, their happiness.
And even those who say they “love God”,
people who call themselves Christians,
can often be just as guilty of focussing on everything except God.
Instead of putting God first, God has last place after Me, Myself and I.
Something simple like prayer, they pray when they want something and never thank God for what they already have.
The focus is on them not God.
Or Something simple like going to Church,
some people will only go to church when it suits them,
if it fits into everything else they have planned,
if they are not too tired after being out till stupid o’clock on a Saturday Night,
if there isn’t a boot sale or BBQ they “so NEED” to go to in the morning.
Hold on ...
The church has TWO services on a Sunday... morning AND evening...
Oh...
Could I go in the evening ?...
Er... Er... No...
I can’t go to the evening service I need to be up for work tomorrow...
What time do I go to bed?, oh probably 11 or 12 pm...
The service finishes at 8pm...
I could go and still have an early night ...
Well I could but there is something on TV I really want to watch....
BUT it’s OK... God knows I love Him and I will TRY to get to church sometime soon.
Wrong attitude, wrong focus and the only sacrifice is the time that should be spent drawing closer to God and worshiping Him.
Or Something simple like regular tithing -
giving back to God from what He has given to us ...
For some people all they choose to give is the spare change from the pocket or the bottom of the purse...
Some people would spend more on a Coffee or a round of drinks than they would ever consider giving back to God.
Some would never consider regular consistent giving... at least not to church anyway... maybe to the RSPCA, or the RSPB, or to a horse or cat sanctuary, never to the church...
And never anything that could be considered sacrificial giving.
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There are so many things that we can allow to get in the way,
so many things we can allow to hold us back,
so many things we allow ourselves to focus on,
We need to be willing to put them all aside so we can put God first.
We need to be willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary to draw closer to God, to move forward in faith.
If it takes our time, our effort, our finances, and it draws us away from God it needs to go.
We need to sacrifice the things of this world that remove our focus from Jesus.
Sacrifice.
Is that something you are willing to do?
What are you willing to Sacrifice for Jesus?
A young rich man once told Jesus he wanted to follow him.
When Jesus told him he first had to get rid of all the things of the world that held his attention, the man walked away unhappy.
The man wanted Jesus - But he didn’t want him enough to sacrifice anything for Jesus.
All Jesus wanted the young man to do was get ride of those things in life that meant more to him than Jesus did.
And that is what Jesus wants from each of us today; to get ride of those things we do in life that we put in front of Jesus.
Is your heart willing to give up something for Him?
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In Luke 9:57-62 there is an account of three men that Jesus met as He travelled with His disciples.
Two of those men declared that they wanted to follow Jesus; to become His disciples. The other man was a person Jesus asked to follow Him.
57As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”
59He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”
The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”
60But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”
61Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”
62But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
(Luke 9:57-62)
There is a cost in following Jesus.
The words of Jesus here are towards people who it seems have not counted the cost of following Jesus.
When Jesus speaks to these men, He is not trying to discourage them from following Him, He is encouraging them to think through what following Him, really following Him requires.
He wants them to really understand the cost, the sacrifice involved to really follow Him.
Jesus speaks to these three men of 3 things that are non-negotiable.
“COUNT THE COST”
“LEAVE IT BEHIND”
“DON’T LOOK BACK”
The first man made a bold statement
“I will follow you WHEREVER you go!”
Have you said that? “Jesus I will follow you, whever you lead me, by Faith I will follow you”
Do you say that? Do you mean it?
Jesus answer to that man is that the “WHEREVER He is going” is not the easy option.
It’s a walk that will require faith.
It’s a walk that will test faith.
When Jesus came to this planet, to live and die for us, He left behind everything in He had.
Jesus says, “Foxes have dens, and birds have nests, but the Son of man has no place even to lay His head”.
The King of glory doesn’t have a place to call “home”.
He has no earthly home.
He was loaned accommodation by those who loved Him.
He borrowed a coin to tell a story.
He borrowed a donkey to ride into Jerusalem and fulfill prophecy.
He was even buried in a borrowed tomb!
Humanly speaking HE had NOTHING.
He gave up everything for you and for me.
Those who follow Jesus must be prepared to walk the same path.
If we are going to follow Jesus, wherever He will lead us there is a Cost involved.
We need to Count the Cost.
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Jesus CALLS the 2nd man to be His disciple, and the man asks to go and bury his father first.
Seem like a reasonable request doesn't it?
We can relate to how that man may feel...
BUT JESUS REPLIES: “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead: I’ve called you to preach for me.”
The conversation with the 2nd man is a little disturbing if you do not know about the Jewish funeral procedures of the time.
There was an initial burial that took place soon after a person’s death.
Then ONE YEAR LATER, after the first burial, the son would return to re-bury the bones in a special box, an ossaury, in a special slot in the tomb wall.
This man who has been called by Jesus could be asking for up to a YEAR’S delay before following!
What Jesus is saying is, “Let others can take care of that, my friend - the demands of the Kingdom of God are more urgent - MY call cannot wait!
The point Jesus makes here is that if you’re going to follow Jesus Christ then the claims of His Kingdom come before ANYTHING and ANYONE else.
Jesus said elsewhere that, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me”.
Can you see the level of devotion He is asking for!
He’s not telling us to dishonour parents, or shirk our responsibility to family, but when we need to make a choice, God comes first!
Anything that will stop us from moving forward in faith, anything that keeps us from being devoted to God - Jesus says we need to be willing to “LEAVE IT BEHIND!”
Jesus says, “LEAVE IT BEHIND . . . Follow Me!”
I hear people saying,
“I want to really follow Jesus, BUT....
But... I’ve got some important things to sort out.
But... I’ve got my career to think of.
But... I enjoy my hobbies.
But... I want a lie in on a Sunday Morning.
But... I’m tired and I want an early night.
But... I want...
But... I need...
But... I won’t...
But... God knows my heart.
Yes God knows your heart, and He is speaking to your heart when He calls you to follow Him -
to commit your life to Christ,
or to take up ministry for Him,
or whatever it may be, HIS CALL COMES FIRST!
Don’t make excuses for the things you allow in your life that hold you back and hinder you.
LEAVE IT BEHIND.
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Then there is Jesus’ conversation with the third man.
Again, it seem like a reasonable request?
Why would Jesus oppose a last chance to say goodbye?
Again Jesus is spelling out the cost of following Him.
“You have already said your are ready to follow me - you’ve already picked up the plow,
you’ve already started work,
you are already moving forward,
if you turn away now, if you turn back now,
if you return to where you came from,
you’re not fit for the Kingdom of God!”
Jesus is saying? “MOVE FORWARD - DON’T LOOK BACK!”
When Peter, James and John followed Jesus, they literally “DROPPED” their fishing nets to go after Him.
They did not look back.
Jesus called and they responded.
Following Jesus takes sacrifice, it takes commitment, there must be no going back.
That’s why we count the cost FIRST!
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Let me draw the message to a close
What will it cost you to follow Jesus?
The short answer is EVERYTHING.
He expects us to commit ourselves completely to Him, and hold nothing back.
That is genuine authentic Christianity.
We began with the question
What do you do, who do you know, or where do you go that you know in your heart you shouldn’t do, know, or go?
Jesus said to the first man: “COUNT THE COST”.
He said to the second man: “LEAVE IT BEHIND”. And He said to the third man: “DON’T LOOK BACK”.
What’s He saying to YOU tonight?
Jesus was willing to sacrifice Himself for you.
What are you willing to Sacrifice for Jesus?
Make a choice, a real choice.
You have to make a decision.
What does the way you live say about the decision you have already made? Is it time for a change?
Not just good intentions, not just thinking about it.
Actually doing it!
“COUNT THE COST” “LEAVE IT BEHIND”
“DON’T LOOK BACK”. ***********************
COMMUNION
Jesus knew what it would cost to set you free
He knew what He would face at the cross
The plan of salvation was not an afterthought
From Eternity Jesus knew the sacrifice He would make on your behalf.
He knew the cost.
He endured the cross.
He did it for you, He did it for me.
His sacrifice was sufficient for everyone that would believe and trust in Him.
He paid the price for our sin.
