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Introduction
Good morning and welcome!
This morning we are going to be continuing our Journey Through Matthew.
We are going to be continuing in but this morning we are going to be looking at verses 18-27.
And the topic for this morning is the “Fair Weather Followers.”
And it is very important that we talk about the actual cost of following Jesus, because the reality is, the cost of following is actually very high.
Jesus himself tells us that . . .
Luke 14:
Now, these verses do not mean “hate” as we think about hate, but rather what Jesus is saying is if he is not first in our lives, then we cannot be true disciples.
Jesus has to be #1 in our lives.
And there is more to it than just loving Jesus more than anyone else.
Notice Jesus also says . . .
When we talk about carrying our cross, here’s what Jesus says about that . . .
Luke 9:23-
And when we stop and think about it, that is actually some pretty tough stuff.
And when we stop and think about it, that is actually some pretty tough stuff.
Jesus says if we really want to follow him then we must:
Deny ourselves-our wants and desires.
Take up our cross DAILY -meaning take up the calling every day.
Follow him-Probably the hardest.
Following Him wherever he leads.
Are really willing to do that?
Or, have we accepted Jesus as a “get out of hell free card?”
And that’s not all.
Jesus goes on to say . . .
Luke 9:24
Meaning that again, the calling that Jesus has given us must come first.
We must be willing to give up our life, give up what we want, for what God wants and the life that God has for us.
And probably what may be going through some of your heads, that is a natural response is, “what about my life?”
“What about what I want to do?
What I think is important?”
And Jesus anticipates that here as well . . .
Luke 9:
Because Jesus knows one thing about this life and this world.
It will distract us and tempt us.
It will pull us away from God.
And sooner or later, without us even knowing it it can cause us to forfeit our very soul.
And much of the reason being because we have gotten caught up in this idea that here on this earth is all there is.
That this is the most important thing out there, when it’s not.
The truth is, all of this is temporary.
And all of this is fleeting.
Jesus also says that . . .
Matthew 24:35
And John tells us that . . .
And that is the key.
Who wants to live forever?
And what John is talking about is not living down here on this earth.
John is talking about living eternally with God in heaven.
That is where the rubber meets the road folks.
The reality is the soul goes on forever, either with God or apart from God.
Which do we prefer?
We say Heaven, but do our actions back up what we say?
And I ask that because the reality is in our passage today, this is exactly what Jesus is addressing as well.
Jesus first reveals the cost of being his disciples and then they have an opportunity to demonstrate their faith in him.
So, if you have found in your Bible, I’d invite you to stand as we read about Fair Weather Followers.
Matthew writes . . .
Scripture Focus
Matthew 8:18-
The Cost of Following
Now Jesus starts out here like I said taking about the actual cost of discipleship.
And he is not going to sugarcoat anything or beat around the bush with them either.
The passage starts out with . . . .
Now, this is sort of odd because we would think that if there was a crowd gathered around Jesus would want all of them to hear what he had to say.
However, Jesus had a purpose for beginning to separate himself from the whole crowd.
And that purpose was to see who was serious, or at least thought they were serious about following Jesus.
Because there are always those who are just there to go along with the crowd, but when things started to get serious or the journey gets a little bit tougher, they cut out and take off.
This is really all Jesus is doing here.
Seeing who was willing to go the extra mile and follow him across the the lake.
Nothing too severe, but you’d be amazed at how many wouldn’t even follow this far.
They are faithful so long as they are not inconvenienced in any way.
But as soon as Jesus asks them to go with him a little further, they change their mind.
However, there were some who decided they wanted to go . . .
Matthew 8:
So, this guy, this teacher of the law had seen something in Jesus that impressed him and he decided this is what he wanted and he would follow Jesus anywhere.
And I think sometimes we do the same thing without really knowing what we are saying.
Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go .
Really?
Are you so sure about that?
We had better think about it before we make that commitment.
And I am not saying we should not make that commitment because we absolutely should.
We should be absolutely 100% commited to Jesus, but I will tell you this, we had better be ready for what we are getting into.
Don’t go into following Jesus with the attitude that you’ve got all you need and you can take care of things.
Because we cannot.
We do not have the ability.
That is what the Holy Spirit is for.
We had better be prayed up and filled up and we had better stay prayed up and filled up.
Because the journey is long and sometimes the journey is hard.
It’s not all sunshine and roses.
Jesus tells the man . . .
Meaning that you may not even know where you will lay your head tomorrow, where you will be.
Are we willing to place that level of trust in God?
No assurance of anything other than that God will be with us?
Because that’s what we are getting at here.
And this guy wasn’t the only one either.
There was a second one too that decided he would go wherever Jesus led but first he had to take care of some personal business . . .
Sounds pretty reasonable on the surface.
After all, Jesus is sensitive to those we love and care about.
Surely this isn’t an unreasonable request.
But Jesus responds . . .
Now that is harsh isn’t it.
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