“The Call to Discipleship”
Notes
Transcript
Praise to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise to the Son, for he is risen.
Praise to the Holy Spirit who we call upon this morning to lead us to the throne room of our King.
Spring in Texas has settled in, which means that most feel like we need a jacket to start the day and then summer wear by 10 am. Spring in Texas isn’t like spring in other parts of our great nation. Last March, my family took a trip north…way north…and we visited Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. We left Texas in shorts and spent a week in heavy snow gear. And even though that wasn’t our first time in the snow, we weren’t aware of just how different the climate is in Wyoming than Texas. Like you know that Wyoming is different, but you don’t really know until you get there.
Here’s a picture of the Grand Tetons from a clear day on our trip. Pictures don’t do that place justice. Pictures also don’t give you a sense of scale. As far as snow accumulation there in March goes…Do you see that snow bank along either side of the road? Those snow banks were taller than me and I’m about 5’10”. Any way, the day before this picture was taken, we went to the park and our intention was to hike. Most hiking trails are closed during the early spring due to all the snow, but we went out on a trail that was still open to a place that’s nestled between two of those peaks. There were eleven of us who set out and once we were there, most of the group was ready to turn back and go on to the next tourist thing to do. But for three of us, all that hike did was stir up a desire to hike deeper and further into the park. There were other trails that reports that day said were “passable,” so Yvette, a young man, and I set out to see what we could see.
I led our little expedition troupe and I came to discover a few things that day as we hiked along so-called, “passable” trails. The first is, just like my eyes are often bigger than my stomach, some times I sign on for more than I should. The second thing I learned is that God intended for penguins to walk on snow, not me. As we went along, we noticed that all the locals were wearing snowshoes. Snowshoes are that footwear that probably few Texans have that distribute your weight over a larger area than just where your foot lands and are those things that make people look like they have big flippers for feet. God designed the penguin to walk on snow!
Any way, as we went along the passable trails, what made them passable is that there was probably an eight inch wide trail that had solidly packed-down and stable footing to walk. But I found out that if my foot went even a few millimeters outside either side of that packed down trail, my entire leg, up to my hip, went right down into that snow. And then comes the third thing I learned. When you sink in the snow down to your hip, there’s really no way to get up out of that and maintain any sense of dignity. You just sorta flail around and you look like a turtle who’s been placed on its back. Something you should know about that young man… He’s an excellent power lifter. And all I’ll say is that I my repeated rescues may have contributed to that.
In our Easter Sunday 2024 text, it is our King Jesus who is here announcing what you’ll need in order to follow him as a disciple on the journey of life. Don’t go thinking that you don’t need to prepare for the journey of life with Christ. If I were to ever return to the Grand Tetons to hike there, I’d need to talk to a local to guide me in selecting new gear to make me fit the journey otherwise I’ll fall from the trail again and again. If Jesus has called you to follow him or perhaps this morning, by the grace of God, you come to realize that he is calling you to trust your life and follow him, Jesus is outlining what it means to follow him, who is God’s Savior…the Savior who is to suffer, die, and be raised.
So our focus today is to answer
What do we need for the Christian journey?
What do we need for the Christian journey?
As we work our way through this passage, we will see that King Jesus is announcing that for anyone to follow him as a disciple, they’ll need some new things. Three new things in fact. The first thing that they’ll need is a
New Priority
New Priority
Now, when you see that word priority, I want you to take a deep breath. You need to take that deep breath because I know that you don’t need another priority. I know that life already feels like you have too many priorities that are suffocating you. If you don’t know me, I’m a husband and a father of two who think they’re teenagers, so I have an idea of how so many things there are that are competing for your attention and time. Concerts, ceremonies, practices, games, open houses, and sleep overs. And you plug along juggling those things until one morning while you’re trying to get them off to school, you look at the kids and you’re upset at them because they’re wearing shorts that are too short and their shirts are like crop-tops. You’re like, “What are you doing wearing that? Who bought you that?” And they tell you, “You did…when I was two inches shorter.” And you’re thinking to yourself, “Who do these kids think they are, outgrowing their clothes?” And a new priority slides in - the shopping trip.
And then amid all this, somewhere along the way, you have a friend who invites you to church and you think to yourself, “You know what, I’ll give that a try. I need to get right with God.” You know that you need to get right because there’s something deep within you that testifies to you that God is real and that you want to get on his good side. You’ve probably even heard people talk about the Son of God, Jesus, and you know something about him dying on a cross for sin. So you decide to give church a try.
And then you come and you hear someone like me talk and what you hear is inspirational. What you hear is motivating. And you figure, I went there once and it was ok, why not give it another shot? So you go another Sunday and then another, then all of a sudden, you’re going a couple times a week, you’ve signed up to bring a dish and a pie to the next church lunch, and they’re asking you to start getting more involved. And you take a step back, look at your week, and realize a few things… On one hand, you’ve got too many irons in the fire. On the other hand, in all those priorities that you’re trying to juggle, you sorta feel like everyone is just bleeding you dry. The kids never seem grateful. The practice you covered for the coach never came with a thank you. So you decide that you need another priority that’s going to trump all the games, practices, ceremonies, concerts, and even church. That priority that trumps all the others…it’s you. I mean, you’re under-appreciated and exhausted from trying to keep all those plates spinning and rather than letting a plate drop, you just decide you’ll spin less plates. I’ve been there, I get it.
But let me tell you, that’s not the answer. It doesn’t hold up because you’re going to enter into a new season and you’re gonna be bored, you’re gonna forget everything about how you were wore out, then start spinning new plates and you restart the cycle. When I say that if we are going to set out on this journey with Jesus that you need a new priority, I don’t mean another priority. I mean an altogether new way of prioritizing things. You need a whole new way of looking at the world.
If your Bible is still open, let me help you see what’s happening in this passage of the Bible. I started reading for you from Luke 9:23 but you should know that the thought that starts there is a thought that depends on what we are told immediately before it. What comes immediately before it is Jesus being identified as God’s Christ in Luke 9:20.
Luke 9:20 (ESV)
Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
If the word Christ maybe isn’t familiar to you, Jesus is God’s Messiah. Jesus is God’s Savior.
Luke 9:22 (ESV)
“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
Again, looking at our Bibles, Jesus says that the Messiah will suffer, be killed, and be raised again to life in Luke 9:22. And now in Luke 9:23, Jesus says that if you are going to follow the Messiah, you need to deny yourself and take up your cross. What is Jesus saying? There are immense depths to Luke 9:23 that as we live the Christian life, we come to better understand, but in at least a summary, Jesus is saying that the Messiah who will suffer, be killed, and be raised is supposed to be your priority. Not a priority among any number of priorities. The priority.
Someone’s thinking right now, “Well, isn’t Jesus just selfish? He expects me to put him first?” Yeah, God does expect to be first and foremost in our lives. He’s God. You and I…we aren’t. But you gotta understand something about God. He’s nothing like all the other things in your life that just drain you and suck the life out of you. In Jesus, God himself has become a man so that God himself would live the life that he intended for each one of us to live when God created everything. God intended that you and I would live without sin. God intended that we would live with him. And sin has severed that relationship with God because God can have nothing to do with sin. And in Jesus comes the offer of atonement for the sin that has severed your relationship with God. Jesus is the one way to be united to God.
See, God in Christ Jesus has made it a priority to restore the relationship we broke with him because of our sin. What motivates God is his nature. God is love. And John 3:16 “…God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Whoever believes in Jesus will have a relationship with God where God is your priority, but unlike those other thankless priorities, you are loved perfectly. Where those other priorities bled you dry, the Holy Spirit is a source of a refreshment and renewal. And when Jesus is first in your life, it’s not that Christians just magically juggle things better, but we have a new way of prioritizing and we have the Holy Spirit to lead us.
To follow Jesus we need a new priority and we also need a
New Identity
New Identity
If someone were to ask you today, “Who are you?” how would you answer that? Most Americans answer that question with, “Hi, my name is…” and then add to that some words about what they do. “Hi, my name is Dan and I’m a pastor.” I’m not sure if we realize how much we tie up who we are in what we do. But whatever it is that you think gives you your identity, after a while, you figure out that just being that isn’t enough. If you’re an a/c technician or you’re a teacher or whatever you do, you realize there’s a ton of other people who do what you do. So, it’s not enough to just be that so now you have to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack of technicians or teachers or whatevers by talking about your accomplishments that set you apart. We sorta flex on ourselves.
Before God called me to be a pastor, I was a software engineer. I lived in the world of information technology. If I were to try to return to that world and get a job, I would be expected to communicate my unique value so I could stand out from the pack. I’d say something like that I was fluent in five different programming languages. I was a specialist in some of the most sophisticated software there is, with an ability to uniquely tailor fit things as I worked for and with Fortune 100 companies. I managed multi-million dollar deals and projects. One of the projects I led was so innovative that I have a patent.
So what did I do just now? I flexed on things I’ve done. If I’ve been successful, I’ve given you a sense that I carried some importance in what I used to do, but there’s something deeper than that in what I just did… I communicated an identity to you. An identity that is tied up in what I can do. An identity that was based on comparing myself to others. And it’s an identity that I had to attain for myself through my commitment, my education, and my experiences. An identity that hopes to convince you that from all my effort, I’m the best.
There’s nothing wrong with commitment or education or experience, but there’s a huge problem that comes from an identity that we attain for ourselves. No matter how committed you are to something, how educated you are in something, how much experience you have, there’s always someone somewhere who’s got more to offer than you. Students, if your identity is wrapped up in your GPA or your athletic ability, at some point you’ll encounter someone who’s smarter or someone who’s better than you. Folks, if your identity is wrapped up in the amount of revenue you’re bringing to your company or the number of pins placed on your chest, there’s going to always be someone somewhere who has more. And if your identity is wrapped up in whatever your ability is, what’s left for you if, in comparison to others in your field, you’re running in the middle or the back of the pack? What if you’re running anywhere but first in whatever you can do? It was that modern sage, Reese Bobby, who told his son, Ricky, “If you’re not first, you’re last.” And as silly as that movie is, that line has its finger on the pulse of how this fallen world operates.
We need a new identity and not one that is based on what we can achieve for ourselves. What we need is for an identity to be given to us. And in that identity that is given, it matters that the identity comes from someone important.
And Jesus is talking about the dangers of where our identity is sourced from in Luke 9:24-25. Jesus is effectively saying, “So what if you are the best teacher? So what if you’re the best technician? So what if you’re the best athlete? All that it took to get you there has distracted you from the Savior and the identity I want to give you.” Jesus is saying that if you get caught up chasing after all the success in this world, you will miss the salvation he is extending to you and the identity he will give you. There’s no one more important than God, I mean, God has always existed. God spoke everything seen and unseen into existence. And right here, the God of the cosmos is inviting you and me to know him personally and in knowing him, he will redefine who you are. You won’t find anyone greater to define who you are. You won’t find anyone more concerned for your welfare and for your soul than Jesus.
Faith in Jesus means you’re freed from performing to make a name for yourself… Faith in Jesus means that you are fully known by God and loved on the basis of who God is in creating you in his image. Faith in Jesus means that you have been given a new name. You are a son of God. You are a daughter of the King. By his blood shed for you, you are no longer a slave to sin and death. You are God’s blessed child.
Following Jesus requires a new priority. It requires a new identity. We’ll also see that we need a
New Direction
New Direction
Remember what I shared about hiking those “passable” trails in the Tetons? One of the most challenging things about hiking that day was that we couldn’t really make out where the trail even was. If you’ve ever gone hiking on an established trail, you’ll remember that the trail is worn and the direction you should head is obvious. And an obvious direction is what we want many times in life, isn’t it? You wouldn’t have to fret about where you’re heading or what’s next because you just keep going.
Yet for us on that hike, with all the snow cover, there was no visible trail. Nothing was worn. We were multiple feet above the actual trail with no way of knowing if we were even going along the path we were supposed to. I wasn’t the guide that anyone hiking with me should follow because honestly, I had no clue where I was going.
As I’ve thought about that experience, I’ve come to realize how it is so much like life. You face a moment of crisis, you don’t see a worn trail, and you ask, “What do I do now? Where do I go now?” Let me ask you, as you’ve been going along in life…do you know where you’re going? The answer to that depends on how you answer this question: Who steers your ship? As you’ve gone along in life, have you found that you get just a few steps down the road only to take as many steps back? Who are you following?
That’s the question that Jesus would have us ask of ourselves from Luke 9:26. When Jesus said, “whoever is ashamed of me and my words,” he was referring to those who reject him. This is the opposite of following him. Please hear me clearly, because Jesus is communicating a word of warning that I need you to be tuned in for. In this very same chapter of Luke, we’ve seen Jesus demonstrate that he is God himself in human flesh. You don’t get to encounter this and leave here thinking to yourself, “I’m not that sure about this Jesus character.” Let me put that doubt to bed - he’s God!
And refusing to follow Jesus is rejecting him. You might prefer a middle ground between following and rejecting where you do some religious things every once in a while but otherwise you’re good with doing things your own way. But Jesus doesn’t allow for a middle ground. Either you follow him, or you deny him. There’s no in between. There’s no gray area to this. You’re either with him or against him.
And here is the significance to you about following Jesus today. There is a day coming that will be your last day in life as you know it. Death is coming to each of us in this room. Sure, your death may be decades away…but it may be only hours away. Only God, who has numbered your days, knows. Let me ask you, when you enter into the valley of the shadow of death, when you enter into the unknown that lay beyond the moment of death, do you know your way out of it? How can you? Just like I needed an expert guide to keep me from falling every five steps on the path I’d never been down before, you need someone to lead you in this life and to lead you out of the grave that awaits you. Who fits that bill?
Billions around the world are following Mohammad and they go to his grave all the time. He’s still there. Billions more follow Krishna and they know where his bones are. You can evaluate every religion in this world that is not Christianity and they all fail to provide you an answer to the crisis of death.
In order for someone to lead you out of the grave, that person would need to know the way to return. Who can lead you out of the grave except someone who has met death and returned from it. Is there anyone more qualified than Jesus? No! Why? What qualifies Jesus? The fact that he got up! He got up! Jesus Christ is alive! He. Got. Up.
He predicted his suffering and death. He suffered and died for the so many ways that we have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Jesus predicted his resurrection. He got up! My friend, Jesus is worthy of your trust. Jesus is worthy of your loyalty. Jesus is worthy of your allegiance. Jesus is worthy of your undivided faith.
And there’s just one more thing in this verse. The same Jesus who said that he would suffer and die and be raised before he suffered, died, and was raised, is also saying that he is going to come back one day. And when he comes back, it won’t be a good day for anyone who has rejected him. On that day, he will be ashamed of everyone who was ashamed of him in their lifetime. Jesus will reject every one who rejected him because they thought following Jesus wasn’t worth their time. If that’s you…if following Jesus isn’t worth your time…would it be worth your eternity?
Are you too ashamed to publicly confess your faith this morning? I’m about to give an invitation for you to do that. Are you too proud to be baptized and identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus? That day is coming. The King is coming. Once dead, he’s alive!
How do you prepare? You need a new priority. You need a new identity. You need a new direction. Do you know what we ultimately need?
We need the risen Savior, Jesus Christ
We need the risen Savior, Jesus Christ
You need to trust and believe today, my friend. I can’t think of a more unsettling scene than standing before the Lord Jesus Christ on judgment day and hearing him say, Matthew 7:23 “I never knew you; depart from me.” Imagine Jesus the judge saying, “You were ashamed of me and my words in your life, and now, throughout all eternity, I am ashamed of you.”
These words should make you pause. You should reflect on your life. Do you genuinely believe the gospel? Do you trust and treasure Jesus?
If you reject him now, he’ll reject you then. But it’s not too late. If you are hearing these words, then the door of mercy is still flung open wide. Trust and treasure this glorious Savior!
Consider again his worth; instead of devaluing his glory, make much of it. Think on his authority; instead of rejecting his lordship, submit to it. Notice again his heart; instead of neglecting his salvation, receive it. He’s not ashamed of people like you and me. He’s willing to have you, no matter what you’ve done. I can only imagine what it must’ve taken for you to come to church today. I want to validate that maybe it was a strug coming here today. But hear me, please. When he went to the cross where he suffered unimaginably and incomparably, he willingly took your shame upon himself so that today I can tell you that his arms are open wide, ready to receive you. He died a terrible death to make a reunion with God possible for you. But don’t go thinkin’ he’s laid up in a grave some where.
No, Jesus is alive and well. He’s reigning now. He’s returning and he will bring to completion all that he’s started.
As we begin to prepare ourselves to come to remember his death in observing the Lord’s Supper in a few moments, come before this King. Give your life to him. Place your full faith and trust in him.
That is, if he’s not beneath you.