March 24th, AM

As I said, I feel like every time I'm up here. I forget to introduce myself Pat Patrick, whichever you prefer. I hope you all enjoyed my name day last week. It was it was wonderful. But what I was going to say was I probably would not be a normal time with me being up here. If I don't make it purely American reference. So just by a show of hands. I'm just intrigued who has been keeping track of March Madness anybody at all, what other America March Madness actually is Wow, what to say to an insane? Absolutely insane number of Prima Che 6268 team basketball bracket for college basketball, so doesn't look like maybe basketball fans or college sports fans in here. So I'll just keep on moving.

Six Nations, yes tide England I saw is that is that a winner? Is that like a 50 Cent

practice relates what good things pull at your heartstrings? I want you to think about that for a second and I placed an index card on each each chair and take a second to write those things. What good things pull at your Heartstrings?

Maybe it's it's things you might say. Well, I just feel like I can't live without blank. I feel like I would die if I lost blank. To be trivial things could be could be big things. And while you're while you're thinking through that I'll show you something that came to mind for me. It's it's three of the biggest reasons. It's slightly difficult for me to be in the UK because they are just too cute. These are my my nieces and nephews and nephew. So Malachi there at the bottom and Riley right here and you got Kenzie Kenzie up there crazy redhead women credibly proud of proud of them all but there's a little special place in my heart for another fellow redhead. So they live all the way 2000 miles or something like that. How far is the Atlantic Ocean during Pennsylvania? And you know, what from time to time? Thankfully I get to Skype them and made a quite a bit easier for me to come all the way over here. Because there's just something and I'm sure Charlie that maybe it's your kids. Maybe maybe you know, if your little vein maybe it's a really nice car. Maybe maybe she should just be able to relax and have a place you call you call home. What is it that that keeps you grounded? What is it that pulls at your heartstrings? I want you to to to write that on there and then fold it up and I want you to grasp it in your palm symbolically. These are things we we like to hold close to our heart, right? You don't have to hold on to it the whole message if you think it would help you are welcome to hang on to it the whole message but as we read this text and as I continue on with a talk, I want you to take a second to keep us in the back of your mind. And what are these these good things things that are good to have in our lives there really pull on our our heartstrings. And so I actually do not know who's doing the reading today. Oh, yeah. I do know he's doing the reading today cuz we talked about it. So we're going to be in lieu. chapter 9 verse 57 through 62

they were walking along the road. I meant that's to him. I will follow you follow you wherever you go just replied foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. He said to another man, follow me, but he replied Lord first. Let me go and bury my father. Jesus said to him let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Still another said I Will Follow You Lord but fast, let me go back and say goodbye to my family just replied. No one could put our hands to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

Thank you for that.

This is perhaps what we can call a a difficult teaching maybe maybe maybe it might seem like it's difficult to understand a practice difficult to understand simply because of a shock value is Jesus really responding to these individual in this way. So we have have three people who presumably want to follow Jesus xoriguer. And yet how does how does Jesus respond to them? Well to the first man. He says basically count the cost it goes through what was likely a common proverb of the day. We we see if you've if you listen to the T5i reference that is a man named Plutarch who is a Roman historian who reference to something very similar that was said by a Roman politician Tiberius Gracchus. If you like history how many Senate of the V the Roman soldiers when they were away from home? Business foxes have dens and birds have nests and then Jesus references himself as the son of man. He has no place to lay its head in the implication here and he's responded this man is if you choose to follow me you're going to be in the same predicament.

Let me tell you Jesus is probably the best salesman in the world. Right? I mean if if you're trying to think through how to sell someone on following Jesus, what would you put in this blank? Can I get a few suggestions? What would you what would you put in this blank?

Perfect.

I wish. meaningful meaningful true true satisfied you'll be satisfied anything else. joyful hopeful

although money

makgeolli confirm

besides two of those and I'll leave it to your imagination which two two of those were really good things that can be true when you choose to follow Jesus, right? Now surely we don't want to tell people their lives going to be perfect. Right because it doesn't take very long to figure that out. And I'm still confused how preachers get away with it because you just got to go out and leave your life when you realize it's not true. I guess you can just get people single. Maybe you don't want to face and that's why it's not true. You can see the Saints look in the Saints in the Bible and what happens their life ends in horrible death? right So why is Jesus starting this way he could have said so many true good things now. He's not a promising money. He's not going to promise. I'm a perfect life. But yes, even the other places besides. You know, what made me your burden be light, right? You can find joy in Jesus. You can be satisfied in Jesus. So why when he encounters these three individuals who seem eager to follow him? Does he does he say you know what slow your roll let's let's think about this.

And I was going to jump straight to the bottom line. Of this message, so you can pretty much Aleve after you read this slide because this is what I'm covering right here. I'll talk about some other stuff as well. Please don't leave. The bottom line is that because it is God who calls and the mission is urgent. We first need to know to count the cost. Because it's not going to always be easy Jesus as being honest. Jesus cannot be accused of being a charlatan who's trying to you know, sell snake oil. Is that what the phrase says right sales and small snake oil? We're trying to pull the wool over people's eyes. He's simply not looking for followers of Jesus be would be horrible if he had Twitter today.

Because he doesn't do those things that seem to make people want to follow him easily. And when we track his wife as we track leading up to the Easter Story written see people continue to leave them because it's hard teaching. Jesus wants them to know to count. the cost he said foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head. That should do with safety belonging. How many times when we think of Jesus do we think of the word homeless? But if you think about it, and it's so true of his life. I'm not saying you never had a place to sleep. Just saying that you're never going to have a roof over your head. But Jesus was a stranger in the world. Was he not and are we called to be the same? Because this ultimately is not our home yet is it? It's going to be chained to our mission, which will see later is proclaiming the kingdom of God, which is meant to be our home. So good things perhaps you could write on this this index card safety belonging. Home, I mean who does not want to belong good things? I'm not talking about sins are bad stuff in our lives. I'm talking about good things and seeing what you follow me. You might have to be willing to give up some of those things.

Show me the may be familiar with the individual by the name of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich. Bonhoeffer was a one of the first individuals who spoke out in the Lutheran Church in Germany during the rise of Nazism. I became a leader what became known as the confessing church. He is no slouch at the age of 24. He got his Doctorate in Theology and at the time and Lutheran Church. She was too young to be ordained minister. And so we headed to the states to continue postgraduate studies at Union College.

He would come back to Germany and speak out. He would he would get a professorship there up two years later of a Nazis would come to power. And he would be on the radio. The day that that Hitler was made as a chancellor.

And he spoke out against Hitler was cut off mid-sentence.

For a time, he he he came to the UK because he said he wasn't finding a whole lot of support around his ideas. But he knew you know what I need to follow Jesus. I cannot just hold the line even though it would be comfortable even though I might feel like I belong even though it would be safe. I need to stand out so he came to the UK for a time, but then felt convicted.

I like the tune.

So is a phone everybody. I'm sorry. That's probably embarrassing for her.

She came back to gym because he was convicted that you know, I should not live away from Germany when these things are going on. So I need to go back and he spoke out against against the the persecution of of the Jews in Germany. Soon he was banned from Berlin. Any he he he started working for an underground Cemetery. Eventually, you would join a plot to try to overthrow to assassinate Hitler dude end up in a concentration camp and be killed shortly before. They were liberated during his time teaching at the underground Cemetery who wrote hero to two books primarily the cost of discipleship and life together. I highly recommend both He says this in the cost of discipleship when Christ calls a man. He bids him come and die. I mean back to this. How often is the first thing that comes to your mind by following Jesus life is death. I mean to say what pops into your mind. Life is literally walked the Christian walk all the way to his death Faithfully. But before that there was perhaps that much harder task often times. We think of martyrdom is a hardest task but it was the daily devotion to speak out to stand to follow Jesus. He died to his old life one of the things I didn't mention it before he returned to Germany after he was in the UK and an offer to ghost under study underneath Gandhi Gandhi. And he turned it down because he doesn't even know it. I need to go be a stranger in my own country. proclaim the kingdom of God So the first thing we need to do is count the cost. Why do we discount the cost? Because the mission is urgent and it's going to be tough things are going to happen. If you don't count the cost you're likely going to turn away. I mean, what does that say to us about how we share? The good news with others. I'm not saying your first conversation has to be a death talk with someone saying you know what you want to follow Jesus died.

What do we do anybody a service to do the kingdom of God a service when we sugarcoat it? We say you lie to be perfect.

I was on Facebook earlier and saw a famous preacher named might not even know him, but he he he he had a post yesterday that said God is a space move around people places things to make your life better. Alex

I mean, it sounds inspiring. It sounds motivating. What is a truly counting the cost? Is it an honest assessment of what it means to follow Jesus because life is hard.

Living the wife of urgency for the gospel is even harder leading a life of urgency to Brooklyn with the kingdom of God is is even even harder.

So when this man is first man comes to Jesus and says, you know Jesus I'll follow you. He's pretty adamant about he says I will follow you wherever you go. She's like wait me doesn't sound like Peter right there, you know Lord, whether I'll follow you anywhere you go right? I'm not going to deny you and what happened to her Peter denied Jesus three times. We have no information on what happens after this with this man, but we do see the principal we see is that you know what before you say? I will follow you wherever you go. Make sure you really mean it count the cost. Be willing to count the cost in the big things and the small little daily things and sometimes it's going to cost what you wrote on this index card. Is it not Could be family could be friends to be romantic interests could be money could be status could be recognition.

Sometimes we have to release these things they can be tough because you know what? They're good things. Of course, we know when you get rid of bad habits right on the same page with that. You know, you might even say, you know, maybe I should get rid of my guilty pleasures. What's really hard to get rid of his the good things not saying go go go go burn your index card in and throw these things away. I think the principal In this passage that for the kingdom of God. We need to have an open hand with even the good things in our life of saying you know what God whatever you have for me. I need to follow you with my whole heart not a divided heart. So we come to the second man and this man Jesus actually invites to follow him. He says he says follow me or be my follower. this man replies Lord first Let me go bury my father. We talked about a good excuse right talk about a really good excuse.

No at this point, I understand. This is it this is a difficult saying it's a it's a hard saying to to grass with a seems rather harsh on the part of Jesus and his Pratt's too dangerous. We can hit when we encounter a harsh teaching or a hard teaching of Jesus. He was not actually claiming that she was using hyperbole in this case perhaps he was exaggerating simply to make the point that you know, what your priorities need to be right in the sense that the kingdom of God is so important that burying your loved ones pales in comparison.

The other the other danger is that we ignore the rest of scripture is take this passage. Then you know what? I became a Christian so I had to cut off all my family obligations, you know, I can wash my hands of them. So you guys might be too happy to do that. I don't know what your family situations look like. But no I didn't we we we we have to be careful not to interpret a small one verse without the rest of the context of scripture. For example, when Jesus was on the cross dying. He looked at John one of his disciples in a look at his mother and he says he goes woman behold your son what he saying there is is Mary John will take care of you. So even more Jesus dying on the cross, he's looking out for his loved ones. We see the Apostle Paul an early leader in the church and infusions 6 to reiterate the fifth commandment honor your father and mother. So surely Jesus is not saying disregard your family disregard. your loved ones

some suggest that this individual is simply asked me to send you what my father actually is not died yet, but let me wait indefinitely until he doesn't then I will follow you. I don't know if that's the case or not. Some later interpreters do that. But some of the earliest interpreters thought it was the harder reason it actually died or was sick and about to die in Jesus saying, you know what let it be come follow me now.

It reminds me of a passage will come to in in in probably two or three months as we work through Luke when a rich young ruler came to Jesus. I said I want to follow you. Show me you might recall when Jesus response is. Well, then sell all your things and follow me sometimes Jesus calls us to do the radical. Sometimes Jesus calls us to do the extreme.

I love reading our old stories of missionaries and it's fascinating thinking of men like like Hudson Taylor who went leaving quite literally did not expect to see his family again. Did not expect to see those in his hometown again because you get on a boat travel 4 months be gone for years, but you couldn't just simply Skype back home. Sometimes God calls us to the radical to step out. Maybe it's in big things. Maybe it's in small things. Maybe it's in getting generously even though you like to have a nest egg.

Maybe parents and saying you know what God whatever you have for my kids. It's okay with me.

You know, what if they want to go study the Bible and make practically no money. If that's what you want. It's okay. Not if you send them to the Middle East to Proclaim your good news at the risk of their own life God. They're yours. It's hard. It's hard to release what's on this index card those things that pull on our heartstrings. Sometimes Jesus calls us to the radical to do the extreme in the principal is we must go. No, I meant there's attention here. I'll share one story for my life is about three and a half years ago. I was offered a great job in Washington DC. I was going to be a pastor to high school students at a rather large Church down there and there was something in my heart pulling me away from it. There's a lot of great stuff in there things were secure as people enjoy telling me time and time again when I visited there and had a 5-day interview. It was the richest county in the US. Didn't sound too appealing to me.

And it was a it was a great job. It was a church that needed someone to step in its work in these students lives. I could see the stress on their faith under face when the pressure put upon them by their parents to succeed.

Can you throw something about home that was pulling it by my heart is saying oh God God seems to be saying don't leave home yet. And I'd ask myself. Did I make the right choice to this day? I don't know if I made the right choice have a lot of those Crossroads in our life. So we just don't know if we make the right choice or not, but we need to pray. To seek God is saying you know, what is it these good things that I'm holding onto simply because I want to hold on to them. Are you telling me to hold on to them? The principal In this passage today is is not that we need to give these things up. It's not that everybody needs to forget about their family obligations.

What is that? We need to hold these things with with an open hand. Because it is God who calls in the mission? Is urgent. The third man, it seems like even more extreme. He simply asks to go home and and say bye to his mom and dad.

Jesus doesn't technically say no don't go do it but what he says we read Harry says no one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. So what do we see? We see there's an urgency so we shouldn't delay. And we see that there needs to be a focus not turning back.

It's idea of going back and saying bye to Mom and Dad actually Echoes back to the Old Testament. There's an interesting case in First Kings in which Elijah calls Elijah calls Elijah to be a servant to Great to to some the greatest prophets in miracle workers in the Old Testament and Elijah says well first, let me let me kiss my mom and dad. Goodbye.

And yet in this case, Jesus not even giving him that courtesy. You say you want no no, no. No, no go go. It seems extreme. What is teaching us as the principal to have these things with an open hand. We need to prioritize God and his kingdom. But I wouldn't really be sharing much with you today. If we didn't talk for a moment about what is the mission that is so urgent.

That seems to be the focus in verse 60 the center of this passage raptor. Jesus asked this man to follow him and he says it says, you know, let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. What is so urgent about proclaiming the kingdom of God. What is the kingdom? Let me suggest you quickly. The kingdom of God is about what is to come the ultimate Destiny of History? What makes all this ultimately meaningful? It's ultimately the coming of God. Would God himself once again dwell among men not simply as friends. But as king. That's good. Why is it good that he was well as king because when god reigns love Reigns when god reigns Justice rains when god reigns peace Joy patience at all drains when I rain those things don't rain, so thank goodness. I won't be the king.

History is moving toward the coming of God. God will establish the perfect government regardless of what happens with brexit. A perfect. Kingdom is coming a perfect government is coming.

Not only that it is a kingdom that not even death can overcome because it a kingdom of Resurrection.

That will not be the end. So the king preaching the kingdom of God is about what is the, that gives hope? We also get to urgency because we need to know when we need to tell people how to get there. Are they get there? It's through Jesus invitations have been sent out there been given us to send out to spread all over the world. To see who will come. Who will put their faith and trust in Jesus?

The promise of Resurrection in the kingdom of God. Yes. We need to count the cost But ultimately it will be worth it.

In the Gospel of John a bunch of followers were leaving Jesus and Jesus turns to his disciples and asks, will you leave me to Sunny Peter answered him Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to you believe in to know we we have come to believe in to know that you are the Holy One Of God, so I ask you these questions.

What does counting the cost look like for you? What did you put on this? Envelope? What do you put on this envelope?

Are you prioritizing are you making excuses? Are you being urgent Rita Lane? What might being on will my being urgent urgent Mission look like for you this week. I'm a couple minutes to think about those things. So what does counting the cost look like for you and what might being urgently on Mission look like for you this week. So. Take a couple minutes into that place.